Reports - Orphanage
St Edward's Home for Boys
Where? Coleshill, Warwickshire. Photos 26. Comments 2. Posted 9 October 2007.
St Edward's Home for Boys was built in 1904 by a Catholic priest - Father Hudson. It was basically just that - a home for boys - usually given up by their poor parents. He died in 1936 and is buried in the grounds.
Father Hudson also had a home in Canada and many boys were sent there from the Midlands. This finished in 1935, but a few years later many boys were forced to emigrate to Australia instead, ending in 1955. In 1998 a priest who was in charge of the school was jailed - convicted of 18 cases of abusing children between 1957 and 1965 - he was jailed for 7 years. In 2001 he died in jail, a few months after the Pope stripped him of his rights as a priest.
The building has remained empty since 1996 and there are calls to demolish it because of it's chequered history.
