St Michael's Home For Girls, Crawley

Unfortunately we know very little about St Michael's Home, as it is rarely mentioned in our records. The Home became part of the Waifs and Strays' Society in 1903, but we believe that it was running for some time beforehand. St Michael's was described as a cottage home, which was a name used by the Society for many of its smaller homes. This home could only house six children who were aged 6-12. Cottage homes were often run by one individual who acted as head of the 'family'. In the case of St Michael's, the children were looked after by their Matron, Miss HL Stone. She seems to have also taken care of the Honorary Secretary's duties, as there is no separate mention of such a post in our records.

Local people seem to have taken an interest in St Michael's. Children from the nearby school were encouraged to raise money for the Society. In December 1905 each pupil took a collection tin home for one night and asked people from their neighbourhood to contribute.

The Home closed in 1916.