Society For Blind People

   Thomas Henshaw left £20,000 in 1810 to establish “a place for learning for life skills and trades”.  His wife contested the will on the grounds of insanity but lost her case after a battle which lasted 23 years.

Henshaws was established in Manchester in 1837 in a grim Victorian building in Old Trafford and remained there until the move to Harrogate.  It changed from a secondary school to a college in 1985 and the Arts and Crafts Centre opened on the site of Knaresborough Zoo in 1999.  As 1 in 4 registered blind people do not work, the training offered is valuable.

 Frank Ellis thanked Hannah for a lucid, Power Point presentation.

The Forum made a donation of £30 to Henshaws in lieu of a speaker fee and Hannah invited us to visit the site at some time.

 A possible venue for the Spring Visit!

John Taylor