Welcome To The Florrie Digital Archive!

Within this digital archive you can find out more about the history of The Florrie. Take a glimpse into what life was like for Florrie boys and the young people of Toxteth and Dingle, understand the financial constraints and obstacles faced by the management committees, celebrate the achievements and share the laughs before being be moved by stories of hardship faced by Florrie boys and their families over the last 130 years.

The story of our digital archive began in 2019 with the discovery of almost every Annual Report since 1890, sitting forgotten in dusty boxes at the Unitarian Church, Ullet Road, Liverpool.

What we uncovered in those boxes was truly ‘archive gold’. For the first time, we were able to start piecing together a complete history of The Florrie, enriched by our pre-existing collection of donated artefacts, photographs and documents.

As a ‘living archive’ we are continuing to add to the site and enrich the telling of The Florrie story for future generations. Please visit our online ‘Visitors Book’ to share your Florrie memories.

Thank you to everyone who has, and continues to, contribute to this archive. Thank you to Catherine Tully who volunteered to start cataloguing and organising the archive as part of her PHD. Thank you to John Hussey and Jill Drower for permission to share their research into the Hall and Cunningham families. Special thanks to the team at Heritage Lottery Fund NW who have once again supported The Florrie, honoured our heritage and invested in our future.