This FAQ lists information sources for orphanages in the UK.
From a very useful posting by A. Jones (acjj [at] clara [dot] net):
For archives of the Children's Society (formerly the Church of England Central Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays) follow the links from:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult_details.asp?LR=2180
Barnardo's Homes:
http://sca.lib.liv.ac.uk/collections/colldescs/barnardos.html or
http://www.barnardos.org.uk/who_we_are.htm
Contact details for sources relating to other former orphanages (including some quite obscure ones) can sometimes - but not always - be found by using he Adoption Search Reunion database:
http://www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/search/questions/ or
http://www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk/search/adoptionrecords/.
"Virtual Archive" for children in care http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/
