St Leonard's Cottage Homes, Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch, Greater London
St Leonard's Cottage Homes were built between 1887 and 1889 at a cost of £55,639. Cottage home villages were a major aspect of the policy of Poor Law Authorities by the 1870s. They tried to house 'pauper' children in a healthy, natural environment separate from the workhouses in which they had previously been housed. Most cottages accommodated small groups of children who were looked after by a 'house-mother' and a 'house-father'. St Leonard's had an entrance/probationary block, six cottages capable of accommodating 32 children each, two cottages for children who could not be admitted into the other homes on medical grounds, a school, infirmary, bakery, laundry and workshops. The buildings were designed along a roadway emulating a village street. Boys at the school were given a wide variety of industrial training including engineering, carpentry, painting, tailoring and shoemaking. Girls received training in a variety of domestic tasks.
