Our journey began on March 11th 1867 at the Corn Exchange in Preston as the ‘Preston Industrial Institute for the Blind’.
Thanks to the generosity of the Preston Banking Co., we secured rent-free accommodation on Derby Street in 1874, quickly gaining support from local businesses like Matthew Brown Brewers, E.H. Booth Grocers, and Horrocks cotton merchants.
Over the years, we’ve hit several significant milestones. In 1895, we proudly opened the ‘Fulwood Institute and Workshops’, and in 1926, we established the ‘Roper Hostel’, which provided shelter for blind children evacuated during World War II. By 1939, we expanded our services with new social centres in Preston, Lancaster, and Morecambe.
We made history in 1945 by opening England’s first ‘School for the Partially Sighted’ (later known as Derby School), welcoming pupils from across the region. The school remained open until 1988.
Our commitment to innovation continued with the launch of our talking news service in 1977 and the pioneering ‘Driving Day’ at BAE Salmesbury in 1995.
During the last year of the 20th century (2000), we rebranded as ‘Galloway’s Society for the Blind’ to honour our largest benefactor, William Wilding Galloway.
Further milestones followed. In 2004 we continued to grow by merging with the Chorley and District Blind Welfare Society and the Southport Blind Aid Society in 2010.
2016 witnessed the opening of our award-winning social enterprise cafe/community hub ‘Brew Me Sunshine’, in Morecambe.
More recently, the charity launched the ‘1867 Club’ to forge new relationships with local businesses and refreshed its charity brand to ‘Galloways’ in 2023.
In 2024, we’re also transitioning to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), marking a new governance chapter in our 156-year history.
Former Derby School pupil Garry Cheesbrough has written a personal and honest account of life at Derby School. “Those Derby Days,” can be purchased by clicking below. (Link will take Galloways website visitors to Amazon UK)
