Trushali
- 10 June 2026
Sarah Corker
Social Affairs Correspondent
St Monica’s home in Kendal, Cumbria.Credit: ITV News
Evidence has been submitted to Cumbria Police in connection with allegations of historical abuse at a church-run mother and baby institution where more than 60 newborn babies died, following an ITV News investigation.
A new report by Dr Michael Lambert, an historian of the welfare state at Lancaster University, has outlined a high infant death rate at St Monica’s home in Kendal.
The report concluded that the deaths were due to a combination of failings, including inadequate facilities, malpractice and poor care from those delivering babies and a lack of oversight from the church and state.
Analysis of public health records, alongside birth and death certificates, indicated that children with disabilities born at the mother and baby home were deemed “un-adoptable” and denied modern medical care, according to the new research.
Unmarried pregnant women from across the north of England were sent to St Monica’s, which was run by the Diocese of Carlisle, to give birth in secret from 1917 until its closure in 1970.
These latest revelations come after an ITV News Freedom of Information Request in 2024 obtained burial records which showed that 43 babies, who were born and then died at the home, were buried in mass unmarked graves in secret, alongside two mothers.
And now more fatalities have been identified.
Dr Lambert’s report detailed an additional 18 infant deaths, taking the total to 61, and 54 stillbirths. It remains unclear where these babies are buried.
An ITV News investigation found there were hundreds of mass unmarked graves of babies in cemeteries across England, from Newcastle to Hampshire
Dr Lambert said numerous warnings about sub-standard care over many years “were not acted upon” by the health authorities who subsidised the home and the Anglican bodies involved in its governance.
“These represent a failure by the Church of England to discharge its responsibility over all the mother and baby homes run in its name,” he told ITV News.
“And the UK government whose system of funding and inspections was wholly ineffective in ensuring unmarried mothers were cared for.”
What happened at St Monica’s was emblematic of a system operating across Britain.
Between 1949 and the mid-1970s, an estimated 200,000 unmarried women were sent away to mother and baby homes run by churches and the state, where they were pressured and coerced into giving up their babies for adoption. Other infants died due to poor care.
Our long-running ITV News investigation has exposed a culture of cruelty and neglect at these institutions, driven by the societal belief that unmarried women were unfit to be mothers and deserved to be punished.
Families are still living with the consequences of that cruelty today.
The Lancaster University report focused on the life and death of Stephen Holt who died aged three months old at St Monica’s in 1964.
His mother Judith was 17 and unmarried when she gave birth to Stephen, but it soon became clear he was very unwell.
Dr Lambert said the baby boy was born with spina bifida and later denied medical treatment and “instead left or encouraged to die given its assumed inevitability”.
“Because he was born with a disability, this made Stephen ‘unadoptable’, as such children – including those of mixed heritage – were seen as a burden rather than a blessing,” he said.
“Being ‘unadoptable’, and the alternative being local authority care and a cost to the public purse, Stephen was denied advances in modern medical care afforded to legitimate children and effectively allowed to die.
“He was not the only infant to die with a treatable condition in the home.”
For more than 20 years, Stephen’s step-Dad, Stephen Hindley, has been searching for the truth.
Last year he told ITV News that his wife Judith never recovered from the trauma and abuse she endured at St Monica’s, and in 2006, she took her own life close to the cemetery where her baby is buried.
The Lancaster University report concluded that staffing issues and the home’s long-serving matron, whose “maternity care and culture was stuck in time”, resembling a standard of treatment from the 1930s, bore significant responsibility for the high infant death rate.
These revelations will increase pressure on the Church of England to officially apologise for its role in the wider forced adoption scandal and provide support to victims.
It is currently consulting with survivor groups on the wording and format of that apology, which is expected as early as this summer.
The church operated and funded 107 mother and baby homes and had over 30 adoption agencies over a period of four decades.
In March the Prime Minister Keir Starmer told ITV News that his “instinct” was to issue a government apology as the state played a central role in these adoption practices.#
Sir Keir Starmer told ITV News in March that ‘his instinct’ is to issue a government apology for the state’s role in the forced adoption scandal
Cumbria Police told ITV News that it “welcomed” the report received from Dr Lambert, and it is now being reviewed by senior officers within the force.
A spokesperson said: ‘We understand that although the practices occurred several decades ago, those who suffered or have been affected by the practices – including immediate family members – will continue to be affected and concerned. As such, we always welcome any new information.”
The Diocese of Carlisle said in a statement: “We continue to offer our heartfelt apologies to those people affected by accounts of malpractice at the home, which closed in 1970.
“Their testimonies are truly shocking, and our prayers remain with all those affected, directly or indirectly. We are committed to work with full transparency in support of any subsequent police investigation.
“Each child and mother at St Monica’s deserved the utmost care. One avoidable death was one too many.
“Cruel or incompetent practice should have been prevented. Any behaviour which countered this was reprehensible.”
If you have been affected by the issues in this report, please visit these links for help and support:
Movement for Adoption Apology – provides information on forced and coerced adoption in the UK and around the globe
Adult Adoptee Movement – provides information and support for adult adoptees around the UK
PAC UK – Specialist therapy, advice, support, counselling and training for all affected by adoption and permanency
The Diocese of Winchester has issued an appeal for information, find out more on their website here
Safe Spaces – an independent service offering confidential support to survivors of Church-related abuse on 0300 303 1056 or on their website
Samaritans is an organisation offering confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair. Phone 116 123 (a free 24-hour helpline)
If you want to share your experience with ITV News, get in touch by emailing: socialaffairs@itv.com