The Diocese of Winchester endorses the apology made by the Church of England to people affected by historic adoption practices and has announced it will be holding a Service of Lament and Reflection on Saturday 11 July 2026 at 3pm at St Bartholomew’s Church in Winchester.
The full Church of England apology and background report can be found here: Historical adoption practices | The Church of England
Our own research has shown that our diocese ran one maternity home in Winchester and a further seven smaller homes and shelters in Basingstoke, Southampton, Bournemouth, Alton, the Channel Islands (see list in appendix below). These homes were part of a complex network of maternity and adoption services delivered by government, other charitable agencies and faith groups across the UK, up until the 1970s.
While we believe that much of the practice was well-intentioned and the homes were set up as a response to a social need to care for unmarried pregnant women and in response to poor maternal and child health outcomes, we have learned that some of the practices caused significant pain and trauma, and perpetuated a culture of shame and stigma. We have also learned that, as well as facilitating adoptions, the regimes in many of the Church-run homes were inappropriately strict and demeaning and often involved heavy housework tasks.
Last year, the Diocese of Winchester released an appeal for information (see here). As a result, we have engaged with a number of people, both mothers and adoptees, who have bravely shared their stories with us. We want to offer our deepest thanks to these women and pay tribute to their generous engagement with our research.
In response to our findings, the diocese is holding a Service of Reflection and Lament which will be led by the Bishop of Basingstoke, the Rt Revd Kelly Betteridge, and will include stories, prayers, and the unveiling of a plaque in the church which is located in the same parish as the historic Winchester maternity home. We invite anyone affected by this issue to join us, both from within our diocese and beyond.
Bishop Kelly said: “Our diocese wants to reiterate the apology for the church’s role and the harm caused to women and their children, many of whom still carry the scars of the past. We do not claim to know every detail of what happened, but in our diocese we are committed to learning more and hearing the stories of those affected, so that the church can be what it is meant to be: a place where every person is treated as being made in the image of God, with dignity and love rather than judgement.”
If you would like to share your story or that of a family member, please get in touch with the diocese via mandb@winchesterdiocese.org or 01962 854050. We would be pleased to hear from you.
Further specialist support is available via the following agencies:
- PAC-UK and the FamilyConnect: www.familyconnect.org.uk
- Email: familyconnect@pac-uk.org
- Tel: 0300 1800 205
- Adoption UK: https://www.adoptionuk.org/information-and-support-service
- Email: informationsupport@adoptionuk.org.uk
- Tel: 0300 666 0006
NOTES FOR EDITORS
- A list of homes in our diocese:
Winchester Diocesan Maternity Home, 1 North Walls, Winchester
St. Anne’s, Petersfield Road, Winchester
St Thomas’ Lodge, 12 Charminster Road, Bournemouth
St Mary’s Home, Turk Street, Alton
Hope Lodge, Cross Street, Southampton
St Thomas’ Lodge, Sherborne Road, Basingstoke
Elizabeth House, Belmont Road, both in St Helier, Jersey*
Guernsey Girls’ Hostel, Victoria Road, St Peter’s Port, Guernsey*
*please note that the Channel Islands are now part of the Diocese of Salisbury
This list may not be exhaustive but is based on the archival research conducted so far. The homes varied in size and function – most were shelters offering temporary or emergency accommodation. The Winchester Diocesan Maternity Home was larger and included ante- and post-natal maternity services.
ii. The official guidance from the Church of England was for babies to remain with their mothers wherever possible. However, we have learned that the practice varied greatly. In the largest home, the Winchester Diocesan maternity home, the records show the number of adoptions steadily increasing.
1916 – 1939 – no adoptions on record: children recorded as going home with their mothers, going ‘to relatives’, occasionally to foster care
1954 – 19 admissions, 1 adoption
1956 – 27 admissions, 6 adoptions
1957 – 32 admissions, 3 adoptions
1958 – 30 admissions, 5 adoptions
1959 – 31 admissions, 18 adoptions
1960 – 31 admissions, 15 adoptions
1961 -31 admissions, 20 adoptions
1962 – 31 admissions, 16 adoptions
1965 – 38 admissions, 23 adoptions
iii. The Winchester Diocesan Maternity Home was for unmarried young women who generally were under 18. While many parents sent their daughters to these homes with the expectation that the babies would be adopted, we have learned that many of the young women themselves were not consulted, were made to feel ashamed, and were denied dignity and choice around the future of their children.
iv. The diocese also recognises that many adoptions were consented to by mothers and their wider families and were considered the best option at the time, and that some led to loving family placements. This apology does not diminish those experiences but rather addresses the cases where practices fell short and compassionate care and agency was denied.
v. All the records of mothers and children at our homes and shelters were passed to the local authorities following The Local Government Act 1972. Therefore the diocese no longer holds any information about specific cases or individuals. For information of this kind, please contact your local Post Adoption Support Service, see:
The Adoption Contact Register: https://www.gov.uk/adoption-records/the-adoption-contact-register
Phone: 0300 123 1837
Adopt South: I’m adopted | Health and social care | Hampshire County Council
vi. For access to other documentation such as administrative records (such as annual reports and minutes of the homes), see Hampshire Archives | Leisure and culture | Hampshire County Council
For further media enquiries, please contact Jemima Lewis, Head of Communications for the Diocese of Winchester: Jemima.lewis@winchesterdiocese.org
