Styal Cottage Homes, which were open from October 1898 to 1956, housed destitute children from the Manchester area.

They were established in Styal by the Chorlton Poor Law Union Board of Guardians, who financed the project with a loan of £50,000 from Liverpool Corporation.

The foundation stone for the homes was laid on 31 August 1896, by Arthur Balfour, who was then MP for East Manchester.

[citation needed] In 1951 it was agreed that the number of children accommodated would be reduced and that cottages should have both boys and girls.

[3] Between December 1956 and September 1959, Styal Cottage Homes were used to house 1100 refugees who had fled Hungary following the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956.