Description:Dormitory at the Royal School Orphanage on Penn Road, Woverhampton. Boys are reading and playing with toy blocks.
The Royal Wolverhampton School was originally founded as The Wolverhampton Orphan Asylum in 1850. It was founded by John Lees, a local lock-manufacturer and freemason, after a cholera epidemic ravaged the town and left many children orphaned. The orphanage was completely funded by voluntary subscription and was dedicated to the education and maintenance of children who had lost one or both parents.
The Royal Orphanage of Wolverhampton was created in 1891 when Queen Victoria gave permission for the prefix 'Royal' to be used. The charity carried on using this title until the late 1940s when King George VI permitted it to be re-styled The Royal Wolverhampton School