In 1909,  a row of cottage homes was built at Cleadon, about three miles from the South Shields Harton Moor Workhouse which I believe is now part of South Tyneside Hospital.  The homes provided accommodation for pauper children in  groups of fifteen to twenty children, each looked after by a house-parent. There were six  boys' cottages (the Ivy, Sycamore, Snowdrop, Hawthorn, Daisy and Laburnum) and six girls' cottages (named Pansy, Violet, Rose, Primrose, Maple, and Oak).
Closed in 1962 , it was on the site of  recently closed Oakleigh Gardens School.

Dot Foster writes - My gran and her brother were in The Cottage Homes on Cleadon Hills, from 1908 for about 7 years, and attended the little school next to the pond.  My gran never wanted to talk about the home much, it was a very strict place, where she was kept separate from her brother. In fact when he left the home to work, he put adverts in local papers to try and find his sister.
While in there she was not allowed to drink while eating, and certainly not talk during meals. He was forced to put on his best clothes on a Sunday and sit with the others by the door, in case someone came to visit, but no one ever came as their parents were both dead from TB.
Gingerbread was hated by them both, as this was a regular item on the menu. I was wondering if  anyone else had any information on the homes, that I can include in my family history.