Kibble Reformatory for Boys

[Miss Poohs]

in Paisley I believe.

Was it essentially a poor house, or some sort of home for "bad boys"?

I can't seem to find much info on it.

Ta muchly

Janice

[LesleyB]

Hi Janice
on an older webpage, www.kibble.org/charity.htm , now only accessible in a cached version:

Building On Our History
In 1841, Paisley bade a graceful farewell to Miss Elizabeth Kibble, one of its most visionary citizens. In her Will she had laid down that part of her estate should be used to "found and endow in Paisley, an Institution for the purpose of reclaiming youthful offenders against the law." By 1845, prudent investment along with charitable donations had realised the sum of £8,518 which enabled ground to be purchased on the outskirts of Paisley. On 1 July 1859 the Kibble Reformatory was opened with 14 boys being transferred from the Ragged School.

Since then, the centre has witnessed many changes, moving from Reformatory to Industrial School to Approved School to List D School and on 1 April 1996 to Kibble Education and Care Centre.

For most of the twentieth century, central and local government grants financed the work of the centre. This situation came to an abrupt end in 1996 when the desegregation of local government confronted Kibble with two stark choices. We either closed our doors, or opted to enter the "social market" to sell education and residential care services to local authorities throughout Scotland. The latter course of action was chosen, but it was recognised that major investment was required in the buildings and campus infrastructure if the centre was to realise its vision of being at the forefront of effective and innovative services for young people in trouble. We therefore set about reclaiming our charitable mission and in recent years as the work of the centre has expanded, charitable support in cash and kind from a wide range of grant making trusts, the Community Fund and other philanthropic benefactors has improved not just the assets of this public trust but also facilities for the local community. This planned and sustained investment demonstrates our belief that even specialist services for young people at risk can be complemented and enhanced by an active local community role.

Today, Kibble is firmly established as both a social enterprise and a key player in the emerging social economy.

"Social enterprises are dynamic, progressive businesses that
we can all learn from.
They experiment and innovate, and have the advantage of being able to draw upon best practice in the voluntary sector, as well as the entrepreneurial flair that exists in the best of our companies."

Patricia Hewitt Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Social Enterprise - A Strategy for Success July 2002
http://www.dti.gov.uk/socialenterprise/ ... rategy.pdf


Miss Kibble could scarcely have imagined the Paisley and Scotland of 2002 and yet her initial vision is as relevant today as it was when her Last Will and Testament was prepared in 1840. Kibble is proud of its long charitable history and recognises that from its foundation, philanthropy has played a key role in both sustaining and developing the work with young people at risk.

As a charity with an enormous heritage, both in historical terms and in proven commitment and compassion for Scotland's young people at risk from social exclusion, we welcome any proposals of assistance whether in the form of funds, goods, partnerships or expertise.

Thank you to all who have contributed to Kibble in the past. To view all contributors please click here.

For further information, please contact graham.bell@kibble.org

Scottish Charity Number SC026917

and found at http://www.gcal.ac.uk/researchcollectio ... ldren.html :

In 1841 in Paisley Miss Elizabeth Kibble left a large bequest in her will to found and endow in Paisley, an institution for the purpose of reclaiming youthful offenders against the law. This resulted in the opening in 1859 of the Kibble Reformatory and the transfer of 14 boys from the Ragged School. Nearly 150 years later the Kibble Education and Care Centre now cares residentially for 57 children with an additional 40 attending on a daily basis. Today's Chief Executive, Graham Bell, says It can be difficult to raise finds, particularly as we are not a school that looks after kids who appeal to people's sympathies. A conversation between Mr Bell and Dr.Guthrie would be interesting!

and contemporary info at :
http://www.euroarc.net/partner.html
and the Kibble web site at:
http://www.kibble.org/index.php

Best wishes
Lesley

[Rockford]

Janice

Kibble has been many things since it opened in the late 1850s. It used to be an 'Industrial School' and a Reformatory, before being known as a List D School until the late 1980s. Known today as Kibble Education and Care Centre, it now offers a range of specialist provision to young people.

See www.kibble.org

Best wishes

Brian

[Miss Poohs]

Awwww thanks Lesley - lots of read up on there.

[Miss Poohs]

Thanks Brian - so it's still on the go then?

I've never heard of it.

I found a marriage between David Graham and Catherine Colquhoun 1883, then found their children - Roseann (Annie) and Alexander (Alex) with Catherines sister Sarah Hislop in 1891 - no mention of mum and dad.

Had a hunt for them - and found Annie (18 ) 1901 in the Glasgow Ciy Poorhouse, as an inmate, and Alex (15) as an inmate joiner pupil.

No idea what happened to mum and dad.

[Russell]

Hi Janice

Glad you raised this. I missed it out when I was doing the Homes & Institutions bit and all this can just slot in nicely.

Russell

[joette]

I can remember threatening my young brother with "You'll end up in the Kibble" when he was not following my directions This would be early seventies.
Glad to say he didn't & we do get along much better now.He is also much more civilised.

[AnneM]

Kibble is most certainly still on the go. They do some good work there.

Anne

[AnnieMack]

I grew up in Paisley and remember my mum telling me the Kibble was a private school - I then harboured desires to go there, I don't think that is what she intended lol!

Annie

[Miss Poohs]

My next question

Would an entry there be likely to be entered on the poor records?