‘The Rags to Riches Story of the Founder of Stockport’s Blind Institute’

We are very excited to share the news that a brand new book about the life of our charity’s founder, John Walthew, is now available to purchase! The book has been written by Angela Kenrick, whose late grandmother had been a Walthew House service user.

John had been born into poverty and started work as a child in the cotton mills of Stockport, but worked his way up to become one of the town’s leading philanthropists and Mayor. He was inspired by his blind and deaf daughter to establish Stockport’s Institute for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, which is now known as Walthew House, where his legacy lives on.

The suggested minimum donation for the book is £12, with all profits being donated to our charity. They are available to purchase from Walthew House or the Heritage Centre inside St.Mary’s Parish Church in the Market Place.

Thank you so much to Angela for her years of hard work and research – it really is a fascinating and incredible read, which we can’t wait to share with our community.