The phrase ‘end of an era’ tends to get bandied about too often these days, and is often used when less dramatic language would more accurately describe the situation at hand.

In the case of Inglewood Children’s Home in Otley, however, which closes this weekend after operating in town for more than a century, it seems entirely appropriate.

The home, originally based on Inglewood Drive, has been helping young people who have not had the easiest starts in life since 1899 – when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.

Leeds City Council has now decided to bring that long history to an end, by replacing Inglewood – now deemed too big to best cater for current needs – with several smaller places.

All of its final batch of young people have now been, apparently successfully, re-homed and its staff are in the process of being re-located.

Perhaps, as one former resident suggested to this newspaper this week, there were aspects of how the closure was handled that weren’t ideal, though we suspect there is no perfect way of telling anyone that they are soon to be moved because their home has been deemed surplus to requirements.

But let’s focus on the positives here, for there are many.

This is a home that, by all accounts, has been run for 114 years by dedicated staff who always did their best to assist successive generations of young people, and it will – as the same former resident told us – be missed.