Woking Homes



London and South Western Railway Servants’ Orphanage, Woking
South Western Railway Magazine, January 1921

From small beginnings to the present day

The London and South Western Railway Servants’ Orphanage was founded in Clapham, South London, by the Rev Canon Allen Edwards who was Vicar of All Saints Church Lambeth and the Railway Chaplain of Nine Elms. In 1885 he rented a large terrace house, 76 Jeffreys Road, to house 10 fatherless girls from railway families. A similar venture set up by the London & North Eastern Railway Company, St.Christopher's Railway Servants' Orphanage, had opened in Derby on 5th August 1874 supporting both boys and girls. In 1886 the Board of Managers bought the freehold and within a few years had bought the house next door also. Sir Charles Scotter, General Manager of the London & South Western Railway Company, contributed £500 in 1895 in memory of his wife which enabled the purchase of a third house in order to house 26 boys. This was followed in 1899 by the London & South Western Railway directors contributing 500 guineas for the board of management to buy 29 Guildford Road. This house subsequently became the girls' home and the boys occupied the three houses in Jeffreys Road.

As the number of children continued to grow the existing accommodation was proving inadequate. A four acre site was found and purchased at Cove, near Farnborough. Plans were drawn up and it was intended to start building in 1904. There was a hardening of attitudes against the site amongst the Trustees which led to the scheme being put on hold and a search for an alternative, and more acceptable site was begun. Eventually, seven and a half acres of land near Woking station, and adjacent to the main railway line, were bought from the London Necropolis Company. The architect was the same one who had drawn up plans for the Cove site and the foundation stone was laid on 1st October 1907 by the Duchess of Albany. The finished was also opened by her on 5th July 1909. As a result of the railway grouping in 1923 the name was changed to the Southern Railway Servant's Orphanage and in 1935 a new wing was added increasing the home's capacity to 200 children. There was a site hospital, opened in 1929, which could cater for minor illnesses and operations, a fully equipped gymnasium (built in 1932), workshops and stables which dated from 1927, a fully equipped laundry and a resident cobbler who took care of the children's footwear and taught those who showed an interest how to mend shoes. In 1937 a further 2 acres were purchased as an additional playing field for the girls, together with a large house across the road which became the nursery known as Brantwood. During the Second World War the Homes were taken over by St.Thomas’ Hospital and all the children were evacuated. In 1947 the Board of Management opened a home for retired railwaymen called Wynberg, later changed to Evershed House. It was across the road from the main Woking Grange site and the organisation's name was changed to the Railwaymen's Home for Children and Old People.

The Orphanage was featured in a short film by British Pathé entitled Childrens' Railway HomeClick or tap to watch the short British Pathé News film from 1960 which is dated as being taken in 1960. In the early 1970s the children’s hospital, Grace Groom House, was repurposed to house the older residents and an extension was added in 1981. In 1982 the name of the charity changed to Woking Homes and it was by now accommodating not just residents and children from the Southern Region, but from all over the country. A decline in the number of children and the increasing need to improve facilities for the older residents led to a refurbishment programme which commenced in 1987. Woking Grange was demolished in October 1988 and a new home, Allen Edwards House, was built to house 20 residents. In August 1988 the few remaining children had moved into a new building, The Foxes, but all had left by 1990. This building was then used as short stay for residents’ families and rail staff working in the area. Evershed House was closed with the site being redeveloped. Woking Homes continues as a charity which primarily looks after those who had been employed in the rail industry.

Locomotive name

To mark the centenary of its founding in 1985 Woking Homes was honoured to have a class 73 electro-diesel, locomotive number 73134, named Woking Homes 1885 - 1985. These versatile locomotives were introduced in the 1960s and could operate on the electrified Southern Region lines using the third rail supply, and on non-electrified lines with power being provided by an onboard generating set. The special name is believed to have been carried from November 1985 until the end of June 2003.

Fund raising

The home was always supported by railwaymen themselves with regular voluntary contributions taken out of their wages. The Board of Management was made up of senior railwaymen and they, with the members from District Committees also raised money through various fund-raising activities. Amongst these was an annual rail excursion for which, until cutailed by wartime, the L&SWR provided two or three trains free of charge.

One method of collecting small public donations was that of using collecting dogs. Donation boxes would be attached to a special harness and the dogs performed tricks or barked in recognition of coins being placed in their box. One such dog was London Jack who was owned by SR Motor Driver Farley and when not working he and Jack often met the trains at Waterloo. Jack was born in 1917 and collected from 1923 until he retired at the end of 1930 during which time he is said to have raised more than £4,500. Following his death on 22nd June 1931, Jack was stuffed and he continued to collect money for the orphanage on the platform at Bournemouth railway station up until 1967 when it was decided by the Railway Management that he was not an appropriate feature of the newly electrified railway. He was found a new home at Sheffield Park Station on the on heritage Bluebell Railway in Sussex, moving on 5th August 1967 he resumed collecting for the charity. Not to be confused with London Jack there was another Jack who collected on Reigate Station for the Railwaymen's Convalescent Homes at Herne Bay and Leasowe Castle.


'Southern Miniature Railway
Run for the benefit of the Southern Railway Orphanage, Woking'

Courtesy of G.Martin

Miniature railways have always proved a popular attraction and one helped raise valuable funds for the charity for over 30 years. It was built and operated by Frederick Russell Hutchinson of Surbiton who donated the proceeds to the Southern Railway Servants' Orphanage. The 6" gauge train visited fairs and fêtes running on a temporary track. A short silent film showing the trainClick or tap to open a new page and access the film on BFI player running on its temporary track at a fête in about 1926 is held in the BFI archives. From July 1928 the miniature steam railway ran along the southern edge of number one Western Lawns on Hove seafront, just west of the RNR Battery and Coastguard station and was a summer fixture on the seafront during the 1930s. It operated on a single track, returning to the start point in reverse, and had two locomotives 'Pacific' and 'Drummond', with many local railwaymen apparently lending a hand in their operation and maintenance. The last ever run at Hove took place on Saturday 2nd September 1939, the day before Britain declared war on Germany. When he passed away in the mid fifties an advert was placed in the staff magazine for anyone to take over the running of the railway and it went on to be run once more at fêtes and events using a portable track.


Photograph © Robin Webster, cc-by-sa/2.0


In the mid 1960s a permanent line was built in the 'boys field' at the orphanage. This photograph was taken by Robin Webster in 1969 and shows the train operating at the home. When the orphanage closed the line was taken up and a shorter section reinstated at the old peoples home. Eventually the train ceased to be operated and that line too was taken up. The two locomotives were sold with the proceeds going to the home.