New Orphan Houses, Ashley Down, Bristol

The New Orphan Houses, Ashley Down, commonly known as the Muller Homes, were an orphanage in the district of Ashley Down, in the north of Bristol. They were built between 1849 and 1870 by the Prussian evangelist George Müller to show the world that God not only heard, but answered, prayer. The five Houses held 2,050 children at any one time and some 17,000 passed through their doors before the buildings were sold to Bristol City Council in 1958.

The work of George Müller and his wife with orphans began in 1836 with the preparation of their own home at 6 Wilson Street, Bristol for the accommodation of thirty girls. At that time, there were very few orphanages in the country - there was accommodation for only 3,600 orphans in England. Orphans tended to go to "homes for foundlings" or the workhouses, which were akin to slave labour. In his Annual Report for 1861, Müller informs that there is still "entirely inadequate accommodation" in the UK and that admission was by votes for most of the available homes. This, he said, made it "difficult, if not impossible, for the poorest and most destitute of persons, to avail themselves of them. ... .. Thousands of votes, sometimes even many thousands, are required, in order that the candidate should be successful. But the really poor and destitute have neither time, nor money, nor ability, nor influence, to set about canvassing for votes; and therefore, with rare exceptions, they derive no benefit from such Institutions". Although Müller ran the orphanage on Christian principles, no regard was made to the religious denomination of the orphan. Müller's only requirements for admission were that the child be born in wedlock, that both parents were dead and that the child be in needy circumstances.

On 20 November 1835, Müller had it in mind to open an orphan house in Bristol to prove that God not only existed but that He heard and answered prayer, and Müller set about doing so on 21 November. He prayed that he might be given £40 as an encouragement but by 23 November he received gifts of around £50 from unexpected sources. His reasons for establishing this work were "1. That God may be glorified, should He be pleased to furnish me with the means, in its being seen that it is not a vain thing to trust in Him; and that thus the faith of His children may be strengthened. 2. The spiritual welfare of fatherless and motherless children. 3. Their temporal welfare." He took inspiration from the large orphanage established in the 18th century by AH Francke at Halle, Germany. A public meeting was held at which Müller announced his intentions but that he would be making no appeal to any man for funding. It was his intention to receive only children who had lost both parents through death, to train girls for domestic service and boys for a trade. He prayed for £1,000 and staff to run the home, together with premises from which to operate. Although the £1,000 had yet to be received, 6 Wilson Street was fitted up for the orphans, Mr and Mrs Müller moving to 14 Wilson Street, and, on 11 April 1836, the first girls moved in. By 21 April, 26 children had taken up residence.

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