From the 1870s, a number of charitable and poor-relief organizations in the United Kingdom who were involved in providing residential care for children began to make use of accommodation known as cottage homes. Rather than a single, large building which was then more typically used to house children in care, the cottage homes model placed them into family-style groups, typically of around 15-25 children. Each group lived in a 'cottage' (in reality, it was often a fair-sized house) under the care of an adult 'house mother' (or a married couple as 'house-parents'). The family group principle was originally developed at the Rauhes Haus in Germany and at the agricultural colony for young delinquents at Mettray in France. The first example of its use in the United Kingdom was the Home for Little Boys, at Farningham, opened in 1865.
The cottage home developments constructed in the UK were often built in rural locations and in the style of a small village, with a number of the cottages arranged around a central green, or laid out as a village street. The sites usually included a school, infirmary, church, laundry, workshops, and sometimes a swimming bath.
Around 115 Poor Law Unions in England and Wales set up cottage homes accommodation for children in their care. Children's Charities that used cottage homes included the National Children's Home (sites at Harpenden, Frodsham and Bramhope) and Barnardo's (sites at Barkingside and Woodford Bridge).