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    George Muller Lifestyle

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    Tolulope Olakitan
    George Muller established orphanages in Bristol in the 1830s that came to house over 2,000 orphaned children by 1886. He operated the orphanages solely through donations in response to prayer, with no other fundraising. He purchased land in Ashley Down in 1845 to build new, purpose-built buildings to house 300 orphans. The buildings came to dominate the ridge at Ashley Down and were known for generations as the Muller Homes, though Muller insisted they be called the New Orphan House as he did not want prominence for his own name. Muller provided high standards of education and ensured the children had jobs or domestic placements when they left the orphanages.

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    George Muller Lifestyle

    Uploaded by

    Tolulope Olakitan
    18 views2 pages
    George Muller established orphanages in Bristol in the 1830s that came to house over 2,000 orphaned children by 1886. He operated the orphanages solely through donations in response to prayer, with no other fundraising. He purchased land in Ashley Down in 1845 to build new, purpose-built buildings to house 300 orphans. The buildings came to dominate the ridge at Ashley Down and were known for generations as the Muller Homes, though Muller insisted they be called the New Orphan House as he did not want prominence for his own name. Muller provided high standards of education and ensured the children had jobs or domestic placements when they left the orphanages.

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    A biography that can be applied to today's world!!!

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    George Muller established orphanages in Bristol in the 1830s that came to house over 2,000 orphaned children by 1886. He operated the orphanages solely through donations in response to prayer, with no other fundraising. He purchased land in Ashley Down in 1845 to build new, purpose-built buildings to house 300 orphans. The buildings came to dominate the ridge at Ashley Down and were known for generations as the Muller Homes, though Muller insisted they be called the New Orphan House as he did not want prominence for his own name. Muller provided high standards of education and ensured the children had jobs or domestic placements when they left the orphanages.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    18 views2 pages

    George Muller Lifestyle

    Uploaded by

    Tolulope Olakitan
    George Muller established orphanages in Bristol in the 1830s that came to house over 2,000 orphaned children by 1886. He operated the orphanages solely through donations in response to prayer, with no other fundraising. He purchased land in Ashley Down in 1845 to build new, purpose-built buildings to house 300 orphans. The buildings came to dominate the ridge at Ashley Down and were known for generations as the Muller Homes, though Muller insisted they be called the New Orphan House as he did not want prominence for his own name. Muller provided high standards of education and ensured the children had jobs or domestic placements when they left the orphanages.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    It is ironic that these massive buildings that dominate the ridge at Ashley Down were known for

    generations as the Muller Homes. Their founder, German immigrant George Muller, was insistent on the
    title 'The New Orphan House' as he did not want his name to be prominent, for he considered himself
    merely an instrument in the venture. In fact, in his youth he must have seemed an unlikely candidate for
    such benevolent activities, due to his dissolute lifestyle.

    After a great change of heart he became a minister and in 1832 was appointed joint pastor of Bethesda
    Chapel in Great George Street. In 1836 he started an orphanage at no 6 Wilson Street, St Pauls, near to
    where Elizabeth Blackwell once lived. The Blackwell house, though dilapidated, still stands but the Muller
    house was pulled down several years ago.

    Over time George Muller rented several other houses in Wilson Street, to accommodate the increasing
    number of orphans he took into care. As the work expanded he realised that these rented houses were
    far from ideal for many reasons. One of these was the fact that the residents of the street raised
    objections to the noise made by the children playing outside. Purpose built premises were the answer.

    Muller operated his orphanages on the 'faith' system - having faith that money would be provided to him
    for their upkeep and never asking any man for money, trusting solely that God would answer his prayers.
    In this faith he embarked on the search for suitable land and found it in Ashley Down. The money for the
    construction as well as the other costs came from donations.

    In 1845 he entered into a contract for the purchase of the 7 acres of ground at £120 per acre for the
    accommodation, feeding, clothing and education of 300 destitute and orphan children. On June 18th
    1849 the orphans transferred to the new building. By 1886 he had received £700,000 through prayer and
    had over 2,000 children in his care.

    The buildings are made of grey Pennant stone dressed with freestone. They may present a grim exterior
    to the world, but one of the features is the high ceilings and the number of windows - 300 in Number 1
    House.

    Although the day started at 6am for the orphans, this was normal for working-class children of Victorian
    times.

    The standard of education was high, with boys staying at school until 14 years old and always being
    provided with a job to go to when they left the home.
    Girls stayed until they were 17 years old and went into domestic service, nursing and teaching. All were
    provided with an outfit of clothes.

    George Muller died a poor man in 1898, with few possessions. At his funeral over 100 carriages followed
    the hearse and thousands of people lined the route to Arnos Vale Cemetery. His work was carried on but
    by the 1950s the large communal dwellings were being phased out in favour of smaller family units in
    ordinary houses. In 1958 the children and organisation headquarters had moved from Ashley Down and
    the buildings became Bristol College of Science and Technology, later changed to City of Bristol College,
    Brunel Campus. Now new houses have been built on the site as the Orphanage no longer exsts.

    A museum showing items from Muller's work, including information on the children, is at Muller House,
    7 Cotham Park, Bristol, BS6 6DA. The museum is open between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday
    excluding bank holidays. Visitors are welcome but prior notification is appreciated. Muller Foundation
    website

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