Henshaws Society for Blind People (1837–Present Day) is a specialist charity providing expert support, advice and training to anyone affected by sight loss and other disabilities.

Background

Henshaws Society for Blind People is a charity which was founded by Oldham businessman Thomas Henshaw

Thomas Henshaw

Thomas Henshaw was the fifth Bishop of Salford, a Roman Catholic diocese in the north-west of England.-Early life and education:He was born on 2nd February 1873 in Miles Platting in Manchester...

 in 1837. Henshaw bequeathed £20,000 in his will after his death in 1810 for the establishment of an ‘institution of the blind’ in Manchester. His will was contested by family members for 26 years, which eventually was overruled by the Court of Chancery in favour of the scheme.

Thomas Henshaw

Thomas Henshaw

Thomas Henshaw was the fifth Bishop of Salford, a Roman Catholic diocese in the north-west of England.-Early life and education:He was born on 2nd February 1873 in Miles Platting in Manchester...

 stated in his will that it was his ‘expectation that other persons at their expense purchase land and buildings’ which was matched by public donations and subscriptions procured through a subscription list across the City and surrounding districts.

In September 1834 the committee or ‘Board of Management’ Henshaw’s Blind Asylum and the committee of the Deaf and Dumb schools jointly purchased a plot of land adjoining the botanical gardens at Old Trafford Manchester.

Board of Management, was chosen on the grounds of Henshaw’s constitution that “all subscribers of two guineas or upwards, and donors in any one year of twenty guineas or upwards shall form a Board of Management, to whom the whole direction and control of the Institutions be entrusted.” (Annual report 1841 page 5)

One of the largest institutions in the country, the asylum later known as Henshaw’s Institution for the blind occupied a plot of land beside Boyer Street in Old Trafford. In 1930 it had 118 school pupils, 155 technical pupils, 194 workshop employees, 29 home workers, 64 residents in its Homes and 19 blind instructors, teachers, or persons otherwise employed. Today it is occupied by the Greater Manchester Police Headquarters and dominated by its multi-storey office block called Chester House.

Since its opening, the title of the charity has changed three times, in 1921 it was Henshaw’s Institution for the Blind, January 1971 it changed to Henshaw’s Society for the Blind and then finally in 2000 to Henshaws Society for Blind People.

Original aims of the society

These were stated as:

The object of the Charity is the relief of the blind and partially sighted persons in all or any of the following ways or in such ways as the board think fit:

• The provision and maintenance of accommodation for blind and partially sighted persons in need of residential care.
• The provision and maintenance of a handicap centre of centres for blind and partially sighted persons.
• The provision of education for blind and partially sighted young persons.
• The provision of vocational training for blind and partially sighted persons.
• The provision of employment for blind and partially sighted persons.
• The provision of holiday accommodation for blind and partially sighted persons
• The provision of accommodation for the sighted spouse or any blind or partially sighted person residing in such accommodation as aforesaid where the interests if such blind or partially sighted persons so require.

1810 Manchester, Lancashire

Death of Thomas Henshaw

Thomas Henshaw

Thomas Henshaw was the fifth Bishop of Salford, a Roman Catholic diocese in the north-west of England.-Early life and education:He was born on 2nd February 1873 in Miles Platting in Manchester...

 of Oldham, who left a sum of £20,000 for the purpose of establishing an Asylum for the Indigent Blind. The will was contested by his wife, but after twenty three years the Court of Chancery gave a verdict in accordance with the terms of the will, which provided that none of the money should be spent on the building (See 1837).

1837

Henshaw's Blind Asylum, later known as Henshaw's Institution for the Blind, was founded in a building erected by public subscription in Old Trafford; it became one of the largest Institutions in the country. (In 1930 it had 118 school pupils, 155 technical pupils, 194 workshop employees, 29 home workers, 64 residents in its Homes, and 19 blind instructors, teachers, or persons otherwise employed.)

1850

Mr. and Mrs G.A. Hughes were for twenty years the first Governor and Matron of Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Manchester. In 1850 Mr.Hughes took out a patent for the Hughes Typograph, which he claimed to be the first typewriting machine, and which was designed primarily to enable the blind to communicate with the seeing.

(A Hughes Typograph was awarded the gold medal at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851; one of these machines is in the Museum of the National Institute for the Blind, and another in the Science Section of the South Kensington Museum, where it is the oldest English Model - the one older machine is American).

1859

The Family of Lord Derby became the President of the Society, continuing this tradition to the present day.

1861

Henshaw's Blind Asylum added workshop accommodation for brush-making; this was soon discontinued, basket-making and mat-making being continued as before. Outside blind workers were now employed in addition to the inmates.

1881

Henshaw's Blind Asylum introduced the Braille

Braille

The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...

systems into the school, one of the many improvements introduced by James McCormick (Governor 1876-1892).

1887

Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Old Trafford, as a result of a munificent bequest by Mr J Pendlebury, carried out a large extension known as the Pendlebury Extension, consisting of dormitories and workshops.

1891

Henshaw's Blind Asylum opened workshops for the blind at the corner of Deansgate and Wood Street; the building cost about £9,000 and provided new workshops for the workers, who were formerly in Bloom Street.

1892

Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Old Trafford, having received a bequest of nearly £14,000 from Mr. James Nasmyth, built the Nasmyth extensions, consisting of a large concert hall to seat 500 persons, and kitchens. Inmates 180.

1895

Henshaw's Blind Asylum started giving instruction in massage; its pupils were the first in the country to follow this profession.

1900

The Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society, 30 Tonman Street, Deansgate, Manchester, was founded by Miss Isabel M Heywood of Pendleton, and a small Home opened at the Crescent, Salford. (In 1930 there were 1,390 blind persons on its register - 1,160 in Manchester and 230 in other parts of Lancashire).

1902

Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society started a brush department, which it handed over to Henshaw's Institution twenty years later.

1904

W.H. Illingworth, for twenty years a Head Master, and author of History of the Education of the Blind (1910), was appointed Superintendent of Henshaw's Blind Asylum. (An account of his career appeared in The Beacon, in December, 1924)

1905

Henshaw's Blind Asylum received £10,000 from the trustees of the late James Holden, of Rochdale, forming The James Holden Trust, providing fifty-five weekly grants to blind people in the area. (In 1930 the income from this fund was £380, half of which was used by Henshaw's Institution for general expenses, and the other half paid to the Rochdale and District Society).

1908

Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society moved their women to a larger home, The Elms, Eccles Old Road, Pendleton, with accommodation for thirty-five blind people.

1910

Henshaw's Blind Asylum opened the Hayesleigh Home and Workshops in Old Trafford on October 18 , a very valuable addition. It was given by Mr C.H. Scott, a Board Member, who afterwards left £3,000 for its endowment. As a permanent tribute to Mr Scott, the complex was named The Mary Ann Scott Memorial Home and Workshop after his wife.

1915

Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Old Trafford, opened the Gresham Home for 30 blind men, and the Birch Avenue Home for 30 blind women.

1918

Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society opened a Home, Oaklands, for 30 aged blind men, next to its Women's Home in the Eccles Old Road, Pendleton.

1921

The name of Henshaw's Blind Asylum was changed to Henshaw's Institution for the Blind.

1924

Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society opened an additional house in Eccles Old Road, Pendleton, to accommodate 20 blind women.

1927

New workshops, built on the Hayesleigh site, were officially opened in July 1927, resulting in more efficient and economic production.

1930

Mr. W.H.Thurman was appointed Director and Secretary of Henshaw's Institution for the Blind.

1932

The Gresham Home for Men and the Birch Avenue Home for Women were disposed of and a new home in Rhyl purchased for residents.

1945

During the war, school children had been evacuated - the boys to Ellesmere, Shropshire, and the girls to Fulwood, Preston. They returned to Old Trafford in 1945.

1946

Under a policy of the Ministry of Education, Henshaw's School changed from an all-age school for boys and girls into a secondary special school for pupils of both sexes, aged 12 to 16.

1948

The Society purchased Astle Park at Chelford, Cheshire, for £15,000 with a view to building a new school in the country.

After spending the war years at Hare Hill, Macclesfield, the residents of the Mary Ann Scott Memorial Home moved to a new permanent home in Southport on September 27. The home was officially opened on November 2.

1966

The Society's plans to build a new school at Astle Park were turned down following complaints by Sir Bernard Lovell at Jodrell Bank that the expansion of computers would eventually interfere with the operation of his radar dish.

The Government approached the Society and offered a 50-acre site in Harrogate. The Society was offered a grant of £250,000 in return for
re-locating to North Yorkshire. The land at Astle Park was finally disposed of in 1995.

1971

The new school was opened in October and new headquarters were built on part of the old workshop site in Old Trafford.

A new scheme for the regulation of the charity, amending the 1924 Scheme was sealed by the Charity Commissioners. A number of outdated clauses in the old scheme were replaced. An important one that was inserted gave effect to a change of title to 'Henshaw's Society for the Blind'. This change enabled the Society to leave behind the image that the word 'institution' often conveyed.

1972

The Society opened a new holiday home in Llandudno, the Belmont Hotel and a few years later a special care centre was built at Rhyl to accommodate the more frail elderly blind.

1980

The Society merged with the Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society, making the charity one of the largest in the country. Henshaw's also became a Housing Association and opened Dr Pigott Lodge, a sheltered housing scheme in Blackley for blind and partially sighted people around retirement age.

1982

The Pendleton Special Care Centre was built as an addition to The Elms Home in Salford for people requiring nursing care, known as the Isabel Heywood Centre.

1985

Government Policy required Henshaw's School in Harrogate to implement drastic changes and part of the pupil accommodation was converted into single study bedrooms to provide residential independence training for pupils over the age of 16. A small special unit was also established for deaf-blind students in this age group.

1986/7

The Society developed a Community Housing Scheme in Harrogate for students about to leave the College who wished to remain in the locality but needed some further support in order to achieve independence. (By 2000, the Society had acquired 17 community houses in Harrogate & Knaresborough).

1990

Phase I of the Lottie Hobson Centre was completed in November and 30 people moved into the home which was formerly the Elms. It was officially opened in September 1991.

1992

Community services had been delivered from Warwick Road for several years but these services were expanded to create a regional resource centre.

1992/1993

The Society became a founder member of Opsis, the National Association for the Education, Training and Support of Blind and Partially Sighted People.
The work of the charity ‘Eyeline’ was continued in the form of a family and Patient Support Service – a pre-cursor to our Children and Family Services today.

Godfrey Ermen Home

The Society embarked on a scheme to build a new residential home in Southport after realising that its high standards of care could not be maintained at the original Godfrey Ermen Home.

Merseyside Regional Resource Centre

A merger between the Liverpool Workshops and Birkenhead Society for the Blind resulted in the opening of Henshaws Merseyside Resource Centre in The Strand, Liverpool, in April 1993.

Patient Support Service

In June 1993, in collaboration with Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, the Society established a Patient Support Service to provide advice, information, support, counselling and rehabilitation to patients attending hospital appointments.

1995 Newcastle

A Community Housing initiative in Newcastle was developed for people leaving long-stay hospital accommodation. The project began in 1994 with the opening of a home for five people.

John Derby House

In March 1995, Henshaws Head Office and Greater Manchester Resource Centre moved to new premises in Talbot Road, Old Trafford. John Derby House, named after the late 18th Earl of Derby, President of the Society for 46 years, was officially opened in September 1995 by his nephew, the 19th Earl of Derby.

Godfrey Ermen Home

Residents moved into the new Godfrey Ermen Home in Norwood Road, Southport, in September.

School of Visual Impairment Studies

Based at Henshaws College, the school opened to provide training for Rehabilitation Officers. It quickly became established as a leading training provider – the only one of its kind in the North of England.

1997

The Society celebrated its 160th Anniversary by holding a range of fundraising and profile raising events.

1998

On September 8, Henshaws opened its new Arts and Crafts Centre in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. Part funded by a £1.8m grant from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England, the centre was built on disused land at Conyngham Hall.

On September 9, 50 clients moved in to the craft workshops to begin their training and employment.

Funding for an adjoining Garden of the Senses continued.

1999

The Arts and Crafts Centre opened to the general public on April 25 with a carnival parade involving clients, staff and the local community with facilities for visitors including a café, exhibition gallery and shop.

2000

New Corporate Image. In December, the Society changed its name from Henshaw’s Society for the Blind to Henshaws Society for Blind People, bringing the charity more in line with the 21st Century.

The new corporate image also led to a change of name for the Society’s residential establishments in the North West. The Godfrey Ermen Home, Isabel Heywood & Lottie Hobson Centre and Doctor Pigott Lodge became known as the Southport Centre, Pendleton Centre and Blackley Centre respectively.

The Society also launched its own website – www.hsbp.co.uk

Garden of the Senses

On October 9, Phase I of the Garden of the Senses at the Arts and Crafts Centre was officially opened by Henshaws Chairman Mrs MG Lawrence.

Crown Green Road

This new housing scheme, located off Barton Lane, Eccles, was opened on October 23 to provide supported community accommodation for visually impaired people in their 20s to 50s, some with additional disabilities. Henshaws worked in partnership with Manchester Methodist Housing Group on the six-flat scheme.

2001

In June 2001, due to lack of demand and a shortage of nursing staff, the Pendleton de-registered as a nursing home and
re-registered as a residential home only.

Also in June, the Blackley Centre announced it was going to close permanently due to the massive amount of refurbishment work required to bring it up to scratch.

The Merseyside Resource Centre moved premises – it is still in Wellington Buildings but is now next door to the old premises and is spread over three floors.

2002

Ownership of Henshaws Belmont Hotel was transferred to the Royal Blind Society (RBS).
In September, the 12 week, pre-vocational Skillstep to Success course was launched at the Manchester centre.

The School of Visual Impairment Studies became known as the Training & Professional Development Centre.

2003

The introduction of the pre-vocational training Skillstep to Success course at John Derby House, Manchester.

In September, hsbp hosted an Early Years Conference to debate the needs of young visually impaired children and their families which attracted over 60 professionals from a wide variety of local health and education authorities and voluntary organisations.

World Sight was celebrated across our four regions in October.

The Patient Support Service celebrated its 10th Anniversary and has been expanded to eye hospitals and clinics in Bolton, Eccles and Wythenshawe.

2004

• A new I.T service was introduced in Merseyside thanks to money from the Big Lottery Fund.
• World Sight Day in Manchester was launched by HRH the Countess of Wessex in October.
• The pre-vocational Skillstep to Success course was established in all four Henshaws regions thanks to a strategic lottery grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
• The first house in Greater Manchester opened to accommodate six College leavers and one house has been purchased in Gateshead. Two new and improved houses replace four older ones in Harrogate, where service provision has been restructured.
• Henshaws won a Visionary Design Award as the most accessible website of any visual impairment organisation.
• The revolutionary ‘Handy Guide for families’ was published.
• Merseyside celebrated 10 years of ESF funded Skillstep and the achievements of 40 former Skillsteppers were recognized at a special presentation evening. The centre was also awarded a significant grant which would secure the I.T training in the region for the next two years.

2004 also saw the 10th Anniversary of Henshaws Salford Community Outreach Scheme which has supported over 500 pensioners since its inception.

2005

• The Children and Family Services was established in all four of Henshaws regions with the help of a grant from the Parenting Fund/DfES.
• The first 4 Skillstep students at Wakefield graduated from the course.
• Red Admiral Court in Newcastle upon Tyne opened in December with 3 service users and will eventually house 6 service users.

Henshaws Today

Henshaws Society for Blind People today provides a comprehensive range of residential, education training and community care services for blind and partially sighted people of all ages at and from our various establishments in the North of England.

Henshaws College

Henshaws College in Harrogate provides vocational education and training opportunities for a hundred visually impaired students living both on and off campus, many of whom also have additional physical and learning disabilities. The majority of courses offered from the purpose built college facilities are aimed at maximizing independence skills in preparation for a full life in the community.

Supported Living and Community Housing

As a Registered Social Landlord, Henshaws owns and manages a wide range of accommodation. Yew Tree Lane in Northenden is the only residential home for young visually impaired people in the Greater Manchester area. It offers residential care, personal support and individual development for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or a visual impairment. This can be on a permanent or a respite basis.

Crown Green Road in Eccles

Is a block of self-contained flats, specially adapted for visually impaired people in their 20s to 50s. Residents receive support from a support worker for 3 hours a week.
Community Housing – cuurently have 17 community houses in Harrogate and Knaresborough for young people, many of whom are former Henshaws College students.

Community Housing in the North West may also be able to offer similar support services to people in their own accommodation who are in receipt of individual budgets. Henshaws can also advise on housing options.

Resource Centres

Henshaws has two resource centres in Liverpool and Manchester which support the local communities through Information and Advice; Social and Self-help Groups; Informal Learning; and Accredited Learning.

In Liverpool and Manchester, their popular information technology and pre-vocational guidance courses have been designed to meet the needs of visually impaired people. The centre has a range of specialist equipment for purchase or demonstration.

Community Outreach Centres

The Greater Manchester Resource Centre offers a range of outreach services aimed at re-building peoples confidence by providing information, advice and support.

At the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, the Patient Support Service provides a listening ear when people are feeling anxious and vulnerable, at the often distressing time of diagnosis.

In Salford, the Community Outreach Worker works closely with Salford Social Services and our volunteers to reduce social isolation, increase confidence and improve quality of life for older people with a visual impairment.

Henshaws Children and Family Services aim to ease families fears and concerns by offering a range of support, social and training activities throughout the year. Our Family Support Officer works with children aged 0–18 years.

Both Resource Centres are stocked with specialist toys, contain soft play areas and sensory stimulation rooms.

Rehabilitation Services

Henshaws currently contract with a number of social services across NW England to supply rehabilitation services. The rehabilitation officers provide training in daily living skills to help visually impaired people achieve greater independence.

Professional Training

Henshaws Training and Professional Development Centre (formerly known as the School of Visual Impairment Studies) is based at College and delivers full and part time professional training courses for Rehabilitation Officers and others working with people who are visually impaired.

The Visual Impairment Awareness Training scheme has been undertaken by many health and social services personnel, schools and colleges, voluntary agencies and commercial organisations.

To summarise, Henshaws provide a wide range of services for blind and partially sighted people of all ages:

• College of Further Education
• Residential Care
• Community Housing and Support
• Resource Centres
• Children and Families Service
• Patient Support Service
• Community Outreach Services
• Training & Professional Development Centre – Mobile IT and Skillstep to Success