Children’s Home

Steve Kennedy posted this photograph on Facebook in 2014: –

“Was back in Stirling last weekend. This is where I used to live ! The Children’s Home in the Cornton. I left the home in 1978 moved to Manchester 1980. Run down and unkept unfortunately. I found this a lot around Stirling. Very sad! I love getting home when I can but thinking that the place has gone down quite a bit, upsetting !!”

Michael McDonald said: – A few kids passed through there, I knew loads of them as well , went to school with them. But they were a decent bunch of kids!

Steve replied – Michael it was ok , I don’t think I lived with any bad kid in that place, you hear of some horror stories of care homes, I lived in Aberlour homes all my child life, left when I was 17, made me who I am today!

Douglas Turner said: – Council have just taken it over from Aberlour. Think its gonna be a nursery school

Mary Cochrane commented: – The Ewings were the houseparents in the children’s home Jean and George sadly no longer with us. – and Steve replied: – That’s right Mary I was with them since I was 7 yrs old.

Mary went on to expand upon the history as follows: –

“The children’s home closed a long time ago and part of the building was used by Barnardos with the other side still retained by Aberlour – I retired from Aberlour in 2010 after 27 years”

Steve continued: – “Yeh Mary, Laura and Martin were in the home with us Dave used to come down regularly. I remember him giving me a lift in the sidecar of his motorbike.

This exchange illustrates a side of Cornton that is rarely aired. After the establishment of her original “Home” Annie Croall’s initiative was to prosper in the care of young people culminating in what we hear here. The building was indeed repurposed and extended into what is now Cornton Nursery.