I have just advanced my knowledge of what it was to be 14 and undertaking an apprenticeship here in Manchester around the turn of the last century.
Now I have seen indentures before but these are particularly interesting as they come from the archives of the Together Trust and relate to “the five different workshops located in the Central Refuge on Francis Street.
These workshops; printing, shoemaking, tailoring, joinery and firewood were created to give the boys a skill and consequently a career for life.
Documents of indenture were signed by the boys to a particular trade providing a contract between the apprentice and the Refuge.”*
The charity had started up in 1870 as a response to the large numbers of destitute children living in the streets of Manchester & Salford and developed into an organisation which provided care, shelter and training for young people.
It expanded into the provision of holiday camps, campaigned against some of the worst excesses of child labour, intervened in cases of parental cruelty and for a while migrated some young people to Canada.
Much of what they did can be read in their regular blog which is always fascinating and thought provoking.
And so back to today’s post on Indenture of Apprenticeship which is particularly revealing given that these were young people taking their first steps on careers which were meant to set them up for life and I suppose could be judged against the experiences of many young Home Children.
But if you want more you will have to go to their blog.
*Getting down and dusty, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/
Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/p/about-together-trust.html
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