The 2007 Annual Report and Accounts is available from the Trust

The Reedham Trust Summer 2008 Newsletter is now available from the Trust.
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The site at Purley on which the Reedham Orphanage stood was opened in July 1858.  Reedham now celebrates this 150th Anniversary.  See “Our Background" page for more details.
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A biography of
our Founder, The Rev
Dr Andrew Reed was  published in July 2005.  See "Our Background" page on this website for details.

OUR BACKGROUND

The Reedham Foundation was created in 1844 by the Rev. Dr. Andrew Reed, a Congregational Minister who, during the mid 19th Century was closely involved in the foundation of several orphanages and institutions.

The original name of the Foundation was the Asylum for Fatherless Children and the "Home on the Hill" as it became known, was renamed Reedham Orphanage in 1904, then Reedham School in 1950.  Until 1979, the large Victorian buildings at Purley, Surrey, which had a capacity of over 300, were used to care for children of all ages.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, with the changing social scene, the population of the School began to decline.  The School was placed under increasing financial pressure as running costs increased and, in 1979, the Board reluctantly decided to close the School.

The proceeds from the sale of the buildings and land were invested and are used to finance the work carried out by the Trust today.  Grants are now made to the same type of child our Founder would have helped or to those children in desperate circumstances resulting from modern problems.

The Trust is proud that the Royal Patronage granted to us during the reign of Queen Victoria has continued throughout the reigns of successive Monarchs to the present time.

Those who previously attended Reedham remain in contact via the Old Scholars' Association who can be contacted via this link to their website Reedham Old Scholars Association

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REEDHAM - 150 YEARS AT PURLEY

The Asylum for Fatherless Children was founded in a large house in Richmond on Thames in 1844.  The demands on this building rose rapidly and a larger one was purchased at Stoke Newington.  The home outgrew that establishment too and in 1846 an extensive mansion was taken over at Stamford Hill.  By then some 80 children were being cared for at Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill and a number boarded out.  This was both unsatisfactory and very expensive and Dr Andrew Reed resolved to achieve his principle ambition of building a wholly new edifice on a greenfield site.  His oratory, dedication and charitable appeals bore fruit and an estate was purchased three miles from Croydon on the trunk line of the Dover and Brighton Railway at a cost of £3,895.  On 5 August 1856 the foundation stone was laid by the Lord Mayor of London.  In July 1858 the Lord Mayor elect attended to official open The Asylum for Fatherless Children or “The Home on the Hill” as it became affectionately known.

(Text adapted from the Book “Faith is the Spur” by James McMillan and Norman Alvey)

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BIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW REED - "THE GREATEST IS CHARITY"

"The definitive biography of a man whose life and work was dedicated to the needs of others"

"Although Andrew Reed's name was once mentioned in the same breath as those of William Wilberforce, Lord Shaftesbury or Thomas Barnardo, his remarkable ministry has now sadly passed from public notice"

Written by Ian J Shaw this book, launched in July 2005, charts the life and work of Andrew Reed, the Founder in the 1800s, of five charities, four of which, including The Reedham Trust, are still in existence today.

                                                            
Casebound, 432 pages, ISBN 0 85234 593 3
Available at a special offer price of £13.95 (inc p&p) from:
ROSA Merchandising
29 St Frances Close, Dukes Ride,
Crowthorne, Berkshire RG45 6DF
Cheque for correct amount payable to ROSA
Overseas p&p add £1.50
The Reedham Trust benefits from a £1 donation for each copy sold by ROSA