Menston Asylum http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/ 77 rows en-gb 60 Tracing Your Ancestors http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1784215.html Unfortunately I do not have access to the admission or case books for Menston, however if you contact the West Yorkshire Archive Service on Newstead Road,Wakefield, the staff there are very friendly and should be able to help. The archive service can be contacted by cutting and pasting the link below and I'm sure that the staff will be happy to point you in the right direction. http://www.archives.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=indexhome.htm To access the records of someone who has died you need to apply under the Access to Medical Records Act, 1990. You will only be able to access the records if: * you are the next of kin or legal executor * you have the permission of the next of kin * you have written permission from the deceased person given before they died You will need to state which records you want to access and if you are taking or intend to take legal action. The same charges apply as under the Data Protection Act. http://www.patients-association.com/FAQ-Category/8 As far as hospital records go, there are many surviving, particularly admission and discharge registers, and the location and scope of such records can be traced via the Hospital Records Database. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/?WT.lp=sa-33620 I do however have a complete list of all the people buried at the Buckle Lane, Cemetery and can check any names you provide. for this please email me at, highroyds.archive@gmail.com Do let me know how you get on. All the best with your research. Mark. ............................................................. Annie Moran Chargeable to Keighley Admitted on the 10th day of February 1898. Facts observed: She rolls her head from side to side, making grimaces and uttering inarticulate sounds. She pays no attention to simple commands addressed to her and could only say a few simple words. Other facts communicated: States that she sits about doing nothing all day and does not join in the play of the other children, also that she has never been able to learn anything of such a simple nature as the day of the week. Age 13, Religious Persuasion: R.C Single Previous Place of abode Mental State: Patient is an idiot. She appears to understand something of what is said to her and makes an attempt to answer “Baby” when asked her name. She seems to have some rudimentary notion of numbers, putting up all of her fingers when asked how old she is. She exhibits no other evidence of any reasoning or observing power. She is cheerful and happy and clean with attention. Very small and sparsely nourished. Hair and eyes: brown Oct 28th 1905: She is getting stronger and proportionately more destructive. In good health. April 30th 1906: She is out every day and takes all her meals. Remains mentally undeveloped. At times she has attacks of excitement and is very destructive. Jan 31st 1907: She is violent and troublesome at times. Her health continues good. June 7th 1907: Patient was finally discharged. .................................................... Nellie Leighton Chargeable to Leeds Admitted on the 16th June 1898 Facts observed by: A F Bacon- there was an absence of intellect so far as I could judge, she appears to be quite devoid of intelligence. Other facts communicated: Her father states that she has been devoid of intelligence since birth. Father: GW Leighton, 14 Spring Grove View, Leeds. Mental State: An idiot child, appears happy. Does not attempt to speak. Shews no interest in anything and cannot be induced to do so. Rocks herself a little and makes meaningless movements and grimaces, but not to an excessive extent. Physical condition: Of about average size and development for her age but of obviously defective mental and physical organisation. Hair: brown, Eyes: blue Diagnosis: Idiocy Causation: Congenital Prognosis: Helpless Treatment: Palliative June 28th 1898: Has been fairly good since admission. Is not fretful or more troublesome than her condition must necessarily render her. Is hopelessly negligent and requires feeding. June 10th – She grows steadily worse, her temperature is usually elevated rising often at night to 103°F - 104°F. She is very emaciated and sores are forming on the bony prominences. Is in the last stages of phthisis. June 17th – During the last few days her weakness has increased and there is difficulty in getting her to take food owing to her cough. June 18th 1899 – She steadily sank, the temperature was 104ºF, she took very little nourishment and died today at 6pm. ................................................... Sunday 22 November 2009: Unfortunately I do not have access to the admission or case books for Menston, however if you contact the West Yorkshire Archive Service on Newstead Road,Wakefield, the staff there are very friendly and should be able to help. The archive service can be contacted by cutting and pasting the link below and I'm sure that the staff will be happy to point you in the right direction. http://www.archives.wyjs.org.uk/index.asp?pg=indexhome.htm To access the records of someone who has died you need to apply under the Access to Medical Records Act, 1990. You will only be able to access the records if: * you are the next of kin or legal executor * you have the permission of the next of kin * you have written permission from the deceased person given before they died You will need to state which records you want to access and if you are taking or intend to take legal action. The same charges apply as under the Data Protection Act. http://www.patients-association.com/FAQ-Category/8 As far as hospital records go, there are many surviving, particularly admission and discharge registers, and the location and scope of such records can be traced via the Hospital Records Database. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/?WT.lp=sa-33620 I do however have a complete list of all the people buried at the Buckle Lane, Cemetery and can check any names you provide. for this please email me at, highroyds.archive@gmail.com Do let me know how you get on. All the best with your research. Mark. ............................................................. Annie Moran Chargeable to Keighley Admitted on the 10th day of February 1898. Facts observed: She rolls her head from side to side, making grimaces and uttering inarticulate sounds. She pays no attention to simple commands addressed to her and could only say a few simple words. Other facts communicated: States that she sits about doing nothing all day and does not join in the play of the other children, also that she has never been able to learn anything of such a simple nature as the day of the week. Age 13, Religious Persuasion: R.C Single Previous Place of abode Mental State: Patient is an idiot. She appears to understand something of what is said to her and makes an attempt to answer _Baby_ when asked her name. She seems to have some rudimentary notion of numbers, putting up all of her fingers when asked how old she is. She exhibits no other evidence of any reasoning or observing power. She is cheerful and happy and clean with attention. Very small and sparsely nourished. Hair and eyes: brown Oct 28th 1905: She is getting stronger and proportionately more destructive. In good health. April 30th 1906: She is out every day and takes all her meals. Remains mentally undeveloped. At times she has attacks of excitement and is very destructive. Jan 31st 1907: She is violent and troublesome at times. Her health continues good. June 7th 1907: Patient was finally discharged. .................................................... Nellie Leighton Chargeable to Leeds Admitted on the 16th June 1898 Facts observed by: A F Bacon- there was an absence of intellect so far as I could judge, she appears to be quite devoid of intelligence. Other facts communicated: Her father states that she has been devoid of intelligence since birth. Father: GW Leighton, 14 Spring Grove View, Leeds. Mental State: An idiot child, appears happy. Does not attempt to speak. Shews no interest in anything and cannot be induced to do so. Rocks herself a little and makes meaningless movements and grimaces, but not to an excessive extent. Physical condition: Of about average size and development for her age but of obviously defective mental and physical organisation. Hair: brown, Eyes: blue Diagnosis: Idiocy Causation: Congenital Prognosis: Helpless Treatment: Palliative June 28th 1898: Has been fairly good since admission. Is not fretful or more troublesome than her condition must necessarily render her. Is hopelessly negligent and requires feeding. June 10th _ She grows steadily worse, her temperature is usually elevated rising often at night to 103_F - 104_F. She is very emaciated and sores are forming on the bony prominences. Is in the last stages of phthisis. June 17th _ During the last few days her weakness has increased and there is difficulty in getting her to take food owing to her cough. June 18th 1899 _ She steadily sank, the temperature was 104_F, she took very little nourishment and died today at 6pm. ...................................................

William Briars, 50 years in the Asylum, 1907 till his death in 1957, William is buried at Buckle Lane, Menston. Annie Moran, admitted 10th February 1898 Nellie Leighton, Admitted on the 16th June 1898, aged 8, Nellie Leighton death certificate. Nellie Leighton, Admitted on the 16th June 1898, aged 8, Mental State: An idiot child, appears happy. Does not attempt to speak. Shews no interest in anything and cannot be induced to do so. Rocks herself a little and makes meaningless movements and grimaces, but not to an excessive extent. Nellie Leighton, Admitted on the 16th June 1898, aged 8, Mental State: An idiot child, appears happy. Does not attempt to speak. Shews no interest in anything and cannot be induced to do so. Rocks herself a little and makes meaningless movements and grimaces, but not to an excessive extent.

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Sun Nov 22 2009 High Royds Voluntary Services Booklet http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1774250.html Kindly donated By Ken Duesberry.. High Royds is a large psychiatric hospital, the main part of which was built in the 1880's and is situated in approximately 220 acres of grounds and countryside in the village of Menston , near llkley . The Hospital serves a population of 350,000 and provides the main psychiatric service for Leeds Western Health Authority. Over the years various capital and maintenance works have been carried out and many departments extensively modernised. Departments within the Hospital include Occupational Therapy, IndustrialTherapy, Psychology, Social Work, Adult Education, Physiotherapy and a Social and Recreational Department. There are two shops, a patients' bank, a hairdressing and beauty salon, a library and a chapel. A Citizens' Advice Bureau offering advice to both patients and staff has recently been opened. Attached to the hospital is an Addiction Unit for the treatment of alcohol, drug and solvent abuse and this is situated at Clarendon Road in Leeds. Occupational Therapy is an important part of the treatment programme and the skilled staff provide a wide range of activities. Many patients are employed in the Industrial Therapy Department for which they receive wages. The Adult Education Department offers help to patients with literacy and numeracy (up to '0' level) together with development of social skills. Some social activities are also arranged by the Friends of the Hospital, for example, galas, pantomimes, concerts, etc. but a high percentage of patients, through handicap or age, are unable to participate and these are the ones the volunteer can most help . The hospital has 36 wards and they have adopted names of Villages and Dales in North and West Yorkshire. Female Wards: Lindley , Farnley, Askwith, Clifton, Rigton , Rylstone , Beamsley, Kingsdale House, Melbeck, Whernside, Woodale, Birkdale, Masham, Grassington, Buckden. Male Wards: Barden, Askrigg, Bolton, Denton, Ribston,Norwood, Burnsall, Langbar, Hawes, Ingleborough, Litton. Mixed: Leyburn Day Hospital, Richmond, Escroft, Fewston, Nesfield, RamsgiII, Aysgarth Day Hospital, Kanner Unit (Children), Linton House (Adolescents), ArncIiffe House. THE ROLE OF THE VOLUNTEER At the time of the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948 it was feared the spirit of voluntary service would be extinguished. It has, however, flourished and is still expanding . The role of the volunteer is complementary and not supplementary to the work of the professional staff. Volunteers are colleagues, not competitors. They are there essentially to help bring interest and variety to people who happen to be in hospital, and this is particularly beneficial to long-stay patients. The following is a guide to the qualities required of a voluntary helper: - (a) Initiative (to be able to get on with the job, not asking all the time; then to seek out what is next to be done). (b) Reliability. (c) Common sense and a genuine desire to help the patients. (d) Patience. cheerfulness. tolerance, understanding, confidentiality and tact. HOW TO BECOME A VOLUNTARY HELPER Volunteers of all ages are welcome, although it is necessary to have reached the age of 15. Young helpers in 'particular are encouraged to come in to our hospital to learn about its work and to help on activities with patients. Retired people, who can still achieve something useful to society and themselves by helping others, are also urged to come. The amount of time offered by volunteers varies considerably, but any visit. no matter how short. is always readily received. A regular visit enables the patient to learn to trust the volunteer and to feel he can rely on the friendship and interest offered. This can provide the foundation of a rewarding relationship for both patient and volunteer. Prospective volunteers are encouraged to contact the Voluntary Services Organiser for a chat and to have a look around the hospital. The happiness of the volunteer in a placement is very important and it is essential to the well-being of the patient. A meal is available, when appropriate, free of charge, and out of pocket travelling expenses are offered to all volunteers. INDUCTION The new volunteer must feel comfortable and every endeavour is made to ensure this. Volunteers will learn something of the history and layout of the hospital - its functions and activities - and will quickly realise the desirability and importance of the role they have to play. A set of notes offering guidance to volunteers is issued at the time of; appointment, and training sessions are arranged at regular intervals. Volunteers are required to sign an agreement which includes a declaration of confidentiality. It is imperative that any information which volunteers may learn during the course of their work is never disclosed outside the hospital. Volunteers are given a trial period of three months. They are issued with a badge and protective clothing if necessary, e.g. when helping with art, cookery and crafts. It is expected that volunteers wiII agree to help and accept directions from professional staff when necessary and without reserve. Sometimes volunteers may feel they are not really suited helping within the hospital and the Voluntary Services Organiser will make every effort to find a suitable voluntary placement elsewhere, for example in community-based groups. The Voluntary Services Organiser will always try to help with any problems or misgivings the volunteer may have, and is ready to offer support and guidance. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Kindly donated By Ken Duesberry.. High Royds is a large psychiatric hospital, the main part of which was built in the 1880's and is situated in approximately 220 acres of grounds and countryside in the village of Menston , near llkley . The Hospital serves a population of 350,000 and provides the main psychiatric service for Leeds Western Health Authority. Over the years various capital and maintenance works have been carried out and many departments extensively modernised. Departments within the Hospital include Occupational Therapy, IndustrialTherapy, Psychology, Social Work, Adult Education, Physiotherapy and a Social and Recreational Department. There are two shops, a patients' bank, a hairdressing and beauty salon, a library and a chapel. A Citizens' Advice Bureau offering advice to both patients and staff has recently been opened. Attached to the hospital is an Addiction Unit for the treatment of alcohol, drug and solvent abuse and this is situated at Clarendon Road in Leeds. Occupational Therapy is an important part of the treatment programme and the skilled staff provide a wide range of activities. Many patients are employed in the Industrial Therapy Department for which they receive wages. The Adult Education Department offers help to patients with literacy and numeracy (up to '0' level) together with development of social skills. Some social activities are also arranged by the Friends of the Hospital, for example, galas, pantomimes, concerts, etc. but a high percentage of patients, through handicap or age, are unable to participate and these are the ones the volunteer can most help . The hospital has 36 wards and they have adopted names of Villages and Dales in North and West Yorkshire. Female Wards: Lindley , Farnley, Askwith, Clifton, Rigton , Rylstone , Beamsley, Kingsdale House, Melbeck, Whernside, Woodale, Birkdale, Masham, Grassington, Buckden. Male Wards: Barden, Askrigg, Bolton, Denton, Ribston,Norwood, Burnsall, Langbar, Hawes, Ingleborough, Litton. Mixed: Leyburn Day Hospital, Richmond, Escroft, Fewston, Nesfield, RamsgiII, Aysgarth Day Hospital, Kanner Unit (Children), Linton House (Adolescents), ArncIiffe House. THE ROLE OF THE VOLUNTEER At the time of the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948 it was feared the spirit of voluntary service would be extinguished. It has, however, flourished and is still expanding . The role of the volunteer is complementary and not supplementary to the work of the professional staff. Volunteers are colleagues, not competitors. They are there essentially to help bring interest and variety to people who happen to be in hospital, and this is particularly beneficial to long-stay patients. The following is a guide to the qualities required of a voluntary helper: - (a) Initiative (to be able to get on with the job, not asking all the time; then to seek out what is next to be done). (b) Reliability. (c) Common sense and a genuine desire to help the patients. (d) Patience. cheerfulness. tolerance, understanding, confidentiality and tact. HOW TO BECOME A VOLUNTARY HELPER Volunteers of all ages are welcome, although it is necessary to have reached the age of 15. Young helpers in 'particular are encouraged to come in to our hospital to learn about its work and to help on activities with patients. Retired people, who can still achieve something useful to society and themselves by helping others, are also urged to come. The amount of time offered by volunteers varies considerably, but any visit. no matter how short. is always readily received. A regular visit enables the patient to learn to trust the volunteer and to feel he can rely on the friendship and interest offered. This can provide the foundation of a rewarding relationship for both patient and volunteer. Prospective volunteers are encouraged to contact the Voluntary Services Organiser for a chat and to have a look around the hospital. The happiness of the volunteer in a placement is very important and it is essential to the well-being of the patient. A meal is available, when appropriate, free of charge, and out of pocket travelling expenses are offered to all volunteers. INDUCTION The new volunteer must feel comfortable and every endeavour is made to ensure this. Volunteers will learn something of the history and layout of the hospital - its functions and activities - and will quickly realise the desirability and importance of the role they have to play. A set of notes offering guidance to volunteers is issued at the time of; appointment, and training sessions are arranged at regular intervals. Volunteers are required to sign an agreement which includes a declaration of confidentiality. It is imperative that any information which volunteers may learn during the course of their work is never disclosed outside the hospital. Volunteers are given a trial period of three months. They are issued with a badge and protective clothing if necessary, e.g. when helping with art, cookery and crafts. It is expected that volunteers wiII agree to help and accept directions from professional staff when necessary and without reserve. Sometimes volunteers may feel they are not really suited helping within the hospital and the Voluntary Services Organiser will make every effort to find a suitable voluntary placement elsewhere, for example in community-based groups. The Voluntary Services Organiser will always try to help with any problems or misgivings the volunteer may have, and is ready to offer support and guidance.

Ken Duesberry Ken Duesberry Page 8 Page 7 Cookery Adult Education Page 6 Library Trolley Page 5 Page 4 Page 3 Page 2 Page 1 Front Cover Cover Image

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Isabella Duesbury Collection http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1771947.html All photos in this collection most kindly donated by her Grandson Ken Duesberry who also worked at the Hospital although much later. Isabella commenced her employment at Menson Asylum in the early 1920's passing her exams in 1928, she worked at Menston right up to her retirement in the mid 1950's Tuesday 30 November 1999: All photos in this collection most kindly donated by her Grandson Ken Duesberry who also worked at the Hospital although much later. Isabella commenced her employment at Menson Asylum in the early 1920's passing her exams in 1928, she worked at Menston right up to her retirement in the mid 1950's

Fancy Dress, 1920's Isabella Portrait, 1920's Isabella Duesberry in uniform, 1920's My favourite, Isabella in a female ward gallery, far left. A drawing given to Ken by a former patient at High Royds. A drawing given to Ken by a former patient at High Royds. Isabella with her charges Isabella and friends Isabella and a friend Isabella and friends in costume for an Asylum production Isabella, front right, 1920's An Asylum Production. Isabella 1980 Presentation, Ken Duesberry, page 1 1980 Presentation, Ken Duesberry, page 2 1980 Presentation, Ken Duesberry, page 3 1980 Presentation, Ken Duesberry, page 4 Isabella in costume for an Asylum production

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 The Great Escape. http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1767535.html December 7th 1906. Bradford Daily Telegraph LUNATICS AT LARGE ESCAPE FROM MENSTON ASYLUM HUNT BY POLICE AND WARDERS THREE FUGITIVES CAUGHT AT HAWORTH During the night, Bingley, Keighley and the surrounding districts have been the scene of an exciting hunt after four escaped lunatics. The quartet succeeded in gaining liberty form detention at Menston Asylum and made their way through Baildon and Shipley to Bingley. How they effected their escape is at present a mystery, but it is reported that being quiet patients they were allowed considerable licence whilst at exercise in the grounds late yesterday afternoon. Finding themselves unobserved they walked away, and once outside the grounds they took to flight, making their destination the Worth Valley, where it is supposed one of the lunatics hails from. Their escape was soon discovered and warders were immediately sent out to scour the countryside and one of the warders was sent forward on a bicycle to inform the police authorities at Shipley. Notwithstanding these precautions the fugitives managed to pass through both Baildon and Shipley in daylight, undetected. This is somewhat strange considering the fact that all the men were dressed in the regulation inmates garb, consisting of dark tweed suits branded “Menston Asylum”, shirts and stockings with red bands on the top, and black buckled boots. On hearing of the matter a “Telegraph” representative immediately made inquiries at Menston Asylum, but the authorities were very reticent, but confessed that an escape had been effected, and that the warders were in stern pursuit. Subsequently however, our representative ascertained that the men’s names and descriptions were as follows:- James Knott, 44 years of age , five feet nine inches in height and of dark complexion. Walter Longbottom, 40 years of age, 4ft 6in. in height, dark hair turning grey. Charles Tillotson, 26 years of age, 5ft 6in. in height, dark complexion with slight moustache. Charles Frederick Sutcliffe, 26 years of age, 5ft 6in. high of light complexion. After leaving Shipley, the men – who evidently separated – made their way through Nab Wood and along the Bradford Road. Just before reaching Messrs W.R. and R. Atkinson’s joinery works at Bingley, they narrowly escaped capture through the keen observation of Police Constable Hardy. This officer saw a man of diminutive stature – evidently Longbottom – behaving in a suspicious manner. He was ambling along in a peculiar manner, and behaving with pronounced eccentricity. His suspicions aroused, he followed the man and passed close by him at Messrs. Atkinsons works. Longbottom, noticing he was observed, doubled into the road and walked quicklyt on, repassing the policeman. On reaching the Kings Head Hotel, the man was joined by another, and the two walked together into Myrtle Place, where they joined two others. Hardy – who it should be mentioned did not know that lunatics were at large, turned down Myrtle Pace to the Police Station. He looked around, and saw the four men standing by Mr Butterfield’s shop watching him. Immediately they realised that he had again seen them they made off down Main Street in the direction of Keighley. The news of the escape from Menston was shortly afterwards conveyed to the police authorities at Bingley, and Hardy who immediately suspicioned the men he had seen as being the persons wanted, set off on a bicycle in the direction of Keighley. He was assisted by Police constable Mobbs, who proceeded on foot to Sandbeds. In the meantime the police at Keighley were notified of the approach of the suspected pedestrians, and elaborate arrangements were made to effect their capture by means of a cordon. Hardy’s efforts to overtake the men was unsuccessful, though it was afterwards ascertained from a Bradford carrier that the fugitives had been seen at Sandbeds. The men must have had a suspicion that the police authorities at Keighley had been informed of their approach, and they then struck across country in the direction of the Worth Valley. A keen lookout was maintained by the police throughout the night, and early this morning, three of the escaped men – Knott, Longbottom, and Sutcliffe – were captured at Haworth. The arrests were made quietly, for the men apparently realised the futility of resistance. The officers bringing about the capture were Sergeant Lambert and Police Constable Clarke of the West Riding Constabulary. The whereabouts of Tillotson were at the time unknown. The prisoners were conveyed to the Keighley Police Station where they will be detained until an escort of warders arrives to convey them back to the asylum. .................................................................................... December 8th 1906, Bradford Daily Telegraph THE ESCAPED LUNATICS, AMUSING INCIDENT AT KEIGHLEY The report that the four lunatics who escaped from Menston Asylum yesterday sought to evade the police by striking across country from Sandbeds, appears to have been incorrect. They appear to have proceeded via Stockbridge to Keighley. An amusing incident in connection with their visit is that immediately on arrival in Keighley they went into Turner’s hairdressing rooms near the station and requested the barber to shave them. From the conduct of the men the barber was suspicious, but it was not until shaving the last man that he felt convinved of the insanity of his customers. He questioned the last man to be shaved as to where he came from, and he was informed that the quartet had walked from Menston that day. “Have you been working there” inquired the barber, and the reply was “yes; working a whole week for three half ounces of shag; we’re sick of it and we’re determined not to stand it any longer”. The men then went out of the shop, and proceeded through Keighley. The barber confessed that he was thankful that he had not known the character of his customers from the first, for if they had been at all violent disposed the array of razors might have tempted them. The man, Tillotson, is still at large, and it is thought he is somewhere upon the hills overlooking the Worth Valley. ................................................................................................ December 14th 1906, Bradford Daily Telegraph. THE ESCAPED LUNATICS THE FOURTH CAPTURED All the four lunatics who escaped from Menston Asylum have now been accounted for. Three were returned to their quarters on Friday, but the fourth, a man named Tillotson, was not taken till Saturday morning. He was a native of Oakworth, and the warders and police naturally surmised that he would make for his home. Nor were they surprised, for the house was watched, and Tillotson was seen to approach. He was taken quietly by the warders and removed to Menston asylum. Our Menston correspondent writes: The last of the men who escaped from Menston Asylum, Charles Tillotson, was taken back to the asylum shortly before one o clock on Saturday and they were interviewed by the doctor of the asylum. The men were asked the reason why they went away, and they replied that they wanted a day off to see their friends. They went by way of Baildon, Saltaire and Bingley and Tillotson was standing in front of a newsagent’s shop on Friday at Keighley, and saw a placard announcing that madmen were at large. A policeman came up to him and said “It’s a bad do about these madmen getting away” and Tillotson replied, “Yes, it is: but I think they will be glad to get back again. I don’t think they will do anyone any harm.” And the policeman said “I don’t know so much about that; we want to get hold of them.” Tillotson then went away and, and visited several friends in Keighley, and finally went to his mother’s at Oakworth, where he was captured, and was brought back to the Asylum on Saturday morning. Tuesday 30 November 1999: December 7th 1906. Bradford Daily Telegraph LUNATICS AT LARGE ESCAPE FROM MENSTON ASYLUM HUNT BY POLICE AND WARDERS THREE FUGITIVES CAUGHT AT HAWORTH During the night, Bingley, Keighley and the surrounding districts have been the scene of an exciting hunt after four escaped lunatics. The quartet succeeded in gaining liberty form detention at Menston Asylum and made their way through Baildon and Shipley to Bingley. How they effected their escape is at present a mystery, but it is reported that being quiet patients they were allowed considerable licence whilst at exercise in the grounds late yesterday afternoon. Finding themselves unobserved they walked away, and once outside the grounds they took to flight, making their destination the Worth Valley, where it is supposed one of the lunatics hails from. Their escape was soon discovered and warders were immediately sent out to scour the countryside and one of the warders was sent forward on a bicycle to inform the police authorities at Shipley. Notwithstanding these precautions the fugitives managed to pass through both Baildon and Shipley in daylight, undetected. This is somewhat strange considering the fact that all the men were dressed in the regulation inmates garb, consisting of dark tweed suits branded _Menston Asylum_, shirts and stockings with red bands on the top, and black buckled boots. On hearing of the matter a _Telegraph_ representative immediately made inquiries at Menston Asylum, but the authorities were very reticent, but confessed that an escape had been effected, and that the warders were in stern pursuit. Subsequently however, our representative ascertained that the men_s names and descriptions were as follows:- James Knott, 44 years of age , five feet nine inches in height and of dark complexion. Walter Longbottom, 40 years of age, 4ft 6in. in height, dark hair turning grey. Charles Tillotson, 26 years of age, 5ft 6in. in height, dark complexion with slight moustache. Charles Frederick Sutcliffe, 26 years of age, 5ft 6in. high of light complexion. After leaving Shipley, the men _ who evidently separated _ made their way through Nab Wood and along the Bradford Road. Just before reaching Messrs W.R. and R. Atkinson_s joinery works at Bingley, they narrowly escaped capture through the keen observation of Police Constable Hardy. This officer saw a man of diminutive stature _ evidently Longbottom _ behaving in a suspicious manner. He was ambling along in a peculiar manner, and behaving with pronounced eccentricity. His suspicions aroused, he followed the man and passed close by him at Messrs. Atkinsons works. Longbottom, noticing he was observed, doubled into the road and walked quicklyt on, repassing the policeman. On reaching the Kings Head Hotel, the man was joined by another, and the two walked together into Myrtle Place, where they joined two others. Hardy _ who it should be mentioned did not know that lunatics were at large, turned down Myrtle Pace to the Police Station. He looked around, and saw the four men standing by Mr Butterfield_s shop watching him. Immediately they realised that he had again seen them they made off down Main Street in the direction of Keighley. The news of the escape from Menston was shortly afterwards conveyed to the police authorities at Bingley, and Hardy who immediately suspicioned the men he had seen as being the persons wanted, set off on a bicycle in the direction of Keighley. He was assisted by Police constable Mobbs, who proceeded on foot to Sandbeds. In the meantime the police at Keighley were notified of the approach of the suspected pedestrians, and elaborate arrangements were made to effect their capture by means of a cordon. Hardy_s efforts to overtake the men was unsuccessful, though it was afterwards ascertained from a Bradford carrier that the fugitives had been seen at Sandbeds. The men must have had a suspicion that the police authorities at Keighley had been informed of their approach, and they then struck across country in the direction of the Worth Valley. A keen lookout was maintained by the police throughout the night, and early this morning, three of the escaped men _ Knott, Longbottom, and Sutcliffe _ were captured at Haworth. The arrests were made quietly, for the men apparently realised the futility of resistance. The officers bringing about the capture were Sergeant Lambert and Police Constable Clarke of the West Riding Constabulary. The whereabouts of Tillotson were at the time unknown. The prisoners were conveyed to the Keighley Police Station where they will be detained until an escort of warders arrives to convey them back to the asylum. .................................................................................... December 8th 1906, Bradford Daily Telegraph THE ESCAPED LUNATICS, AMUSING INCIDENT AT KEIGHLEY The report that the four lunatics who escaped from Menston Asylum yesterday sought to evade the police by striking across country from Sandbeds, appears to have been incorrect. They appear to have proceeded via Stockbridge to Keighley. An amusing incident in connection with their visit is that immediately on arrival in Keighley they went into Turner_s hairdressing rooms near the station and requested the barber to shave them. From the conduct of the men the barber was suspicious, but it was not until shaving the last man that he felt convinved of the insanity of his customers. He questioned the last man to be shaved as to where he came from, and he was informed that the quartet had walked from Menston that day. _Have you been working there_ inquired the barber, and the reply was _yes; working a whole week for three half ounces of shag; we_re sick of it and we_re determined not to stand it any longer_. The men then went out of the shop, and proceeded through Keighley. The barber confessed that he was thankful that he had not known the character of his customers from the first, for if they had been at all violent disposed the array of razors might have tempted them. The man, Tillotson, is still at large, and it is thought he is somewhere upon the hills overlooking the Worth Valley. ................................................................................................ December 14th 1906, Bradford Daily Telegraph. THE ESCAPED LUNATICS THE FOURTH CAPTURED All the four lunatics who escaped from Menston Asylum have now been accounted for. Three were returned to their quarters on Friday, but the fourth, a man named Tillotson, was not taken till Saturday morning. He was a native of Oakworth, and the warders and police naturally surmised that he would make for his home. Nor were they surprised, for the house was watched, and Tillotson was seen to approach. He was taken quietly by the warders and removed to Menston asylum. Our Menston correspondent writes: The last of the men who escaped from Menston Asylum, Charles Tillotson, was taken back to the asylum shortly before one o clock on Saturday and they were interviewed by the doctor of the asylum. The men were asked the reason why they went away, and they replied that they wanted a day off to see their friends. They went by way of Baildon, Saltaire and Bingley and Tillotson was standing in front of a newsagent_s shop on Friday at Keighley, and saw a placard announcing that madmen were at large. A policeman came up to him and said _It_s a bad do about these madmen getting away_ and Tillotson replied, _Yes, it is: but I think they will be glad to get back again. I don_t think they will do anyone any harm._ And the policeman said _I don_t know so much about that; we want to get hold of them._ Tillotson then went away and, and visited several friends in Keighley, and finally went to his mother_s at Oakworth, where he was captured, and was brought back to the Asylum on Saturday morning.

The Fourth Captured, December 14th 1906 Amusing Incident At Keighley.. Dec 8th 1906 December 7th 1906. LUNATICS AT LARGE, ESCAPE FROM MENSTON ASYLUM, HUNT BY POLICE AND WARDERS, THREE FUGITIVES CAUGHT AT HAWORTH. During the night, Bingley, Keighley and the surrounding districts have been the scene of an exciting hunt after four escaped lunatics.The quartet succeeded in gaining liberty from detention at Menston Asylum and made their way through Baildon and Shipley to Bingley. How they effected their escape is at present a mystery, but it is reported that being quiet patients they were allowed considerable licence whilst at exercise in the grounds late yesterday afternoon. Finding themselves unobserved they walked away, and once outside the grounds they took to flight, making their destination the Worth Valley, where it is supposed one of the lunatics hails from.

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Enoch Powell - The Water Tower Speech http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1747666.html “There they stand, isolated, majestic, imperious, brooded over by the gigantic water-tower and chimney combined, rising unmistakable and daunting out of the countryside - the asylums which our forefathers built with such immense solidity to express the notions of their day. Do not for a moment underestimate their powers of resistance to our assault” 1961 was a turning point for institutionalised mental healthcare. Enoch Powell had stood as Health Minister for Harold McMillan’s conservative government since July 1960, and was set with the immense task of reforming the nation’s antiquating hospital services, including the Mental Hospitals. At the party conference in March 1961, Powell slammed the institutions. He spoke of the transition to community based care, the horrors of the asylums, the implications of the changes due, the services he envisaged and the finances needed to facilitate this. The speech set the wheels turning for community care. Please see below for further details of the speech. Summary of Powell’s ‘Water Tower’ Speech Powell introduced himself and briefly summarised his predecessor's speech from the previous year’s conference. He followed this by introducing the theme of his speech, and his aspirations for a ten-year plan of change for Mental Health provision. Powell continued to explain why a programme of change was needed, with a view to assessing the needs of the mid and long-term future, and the changes that must take place to accommodate those needs Powell then expressed the need for ruthlessness in preparing these provisions, and to reduce the number of mental health beds by 50%. This was related to the advances made in recent years, not just in terms of treatment but also in the legislation recently passed. The next part of Powell’s speech was a question. Where would these beds be, and what environment would be suitable for mental health treatment in the future? He suggested that provisions be made in wings of general hospitals, which would assist in the deinstitutionalisation of mental healthcare. Powell then described the enormity of the task ahead, the change of attitude needed and the identity of the asylums that needed to be dissolved. This was followed by questions of instinctive resistance, and the need to overcome notions of nostalgia and sentiment. The next point of the speech was to enforce ideas of change of attitude. The services themselves were to form the identity of mental healthcare, rather than the buildings, and as such, the buildings and operational framework must be dismantled. Powell then expressed the need to forget the money spent to improve institutionalised services, and to rather consider the benefits of the changes to be made in order to provide something ‘different and better’ The next point was regarding emotions; to not overlook the work of thousands of members of staff in the mental hospitals. It was essential to understand and respect the work of those members of staff. It was also important for them to not be complacent and content with the current services available. Powell then declared his and the governing bodies’ own responsibilities in this matter, which were to favour change and to be efficient to act where they can. Powell’s next point was regarding those he described as the ‘sub-normal’, (presumably those with learning disabilities), and the requirement to assess their needs and develop a more concise understanding of the issues faced in managing and caring for them. Powell stated that the Local Authorities needed to work with medical staff in hospitals in order to develop community services, and that they must take responsibility for those in their care. In essence, it was no longer acceptable to place somebody in a hospital and have no further involvement in his or her care. Teamwork would be required. The next point was regarding the benefits of community care. There would be more flexibility in the services provided, both in a sense of the accommodation provided and the degree of care to be provided to individuals. The services would be more individual-centric. Powell then stated that the forthcoming provision was not to cut down on the costs of healthcare, and that he expected the costs of community care to equal that of the hospitals. He then stated that 1961 would be the start of this great process of change, with the consciousness of those involved being a key factor in the degree of success this project would have in it’s early stages. Powell finally called for support in this cause, from the hospitals, the ministers and the general public, expressing the need for widespread support in order to fulfil the aims of this early design for community care. Tuesday 30 November 1999: _There they stand, isolated, majestic, imperious, brooded over by the gigantic water-tower and chimney combined, rising unmistakable and daunting out of the countryside - the asylums which our forefathers built with such immense solidity to express the notions of their day. Do not for a moment underestimate their powers of resistance to our assault_ 1961 was a turning point for institutionalised mental healthcare. Enoch Powell had stood as Health Minister for Harold McMillan_s conservative government since July 1960, and was set with the immense task of reforming the nation_s antiquating hospital services, including the Mental Hospitals. At the party conference in March 1961, Powell slammed the institutions. He spoke of the transition to community based care, the horrors of the asylums, the implications of the changes due, the services he envisaged and the finances needed to facilitate this. The speech set the wheels turning for community care. Please see below for further details of the speech. Summary of Powell_s _Water Tower_ Speech Powell introduced himself and briefly summarised his predecessor's speech from the previous year_s conference. He followed this by introducing the theme of his speech, and his aspirations for a ten-year plan of change for Mental Health provision. Powell continued to explain why a programme of change was needed, with a view to assessing the needs of the mid and long-term future, and the changes that must take place to accommodate those needs Powell then expressed the need for ruthlessness in preparing these provisions, and to reduce the number of mental health beds by 50%. This was related to the advances made in recent years, not just in terms of treatment but also in the legislation recently passed. The next part of Powell_s speech was a question. Where would these beds be, and what environment would be suitable for mental health treatment in the future? He suggested that provisions be made in wings of general hospitals, which would assist in the deinstitutionalisation of mental healthcare. Powell then described the enormity of the task ahead, the change of attitude needed and the identity of the asylums that needed to be dissolved. This was followed by questions of instinctive resistance, and the need to overcome notions of nostalgia and sentiment. The next point of the speech was to enforce ideas of change of attitude. The services themselves were to form the identity of mental healthcare, rather than the buildings, and as such, the buildings and operational framework must be dismantled. Powell then expressed the need to forget the money spent to improve institutionalised services, and to rather consider the benefits of the changes to be made in order to provide something _different and better_ The next point was regarding emotions; to not overlook the work of thousands of members of staff in the mental hospitals. It was essential to understand and respect the work of those members of staff. It was also important for them to not be complacent and content with the current services available. Powell then declared his and the governing bodies_ own responsibilities in this matter, which were to favour change and to be efficient to act where they can. Powell_s next point was regarding those he described as the _sub-normal_, (presumably those with learning disabilities), and the requirement to assess their needs and develop a more concise understanding of the issues faced in managing and caring for them. Powell stated that the Local Authorities needed to work with medical staff in hospitals in order to develop community services, and that they must take responsibility for those in their care. In essence, it was no longer acceptable to place somebody in a hospital and have no further involvement in his or her care. Teamwork would be required. The next point was regarding the benefits of community care. There would be more flexibility in the services provided, both in a sense of the accommodation provided and the degree of care to be provided to individuals. The services would be more individual-centric. Powell then stated that the forthcoming provision was not to cut down on the costs of healthcare, and that he expected the costs of community care to equal that of the hospitals. He then stated that 1961 would be the start of this great process of change, with the consciousness of those involved being a key factor in the degree of success this project would have in it_s early stages. Powell finally called for support in this cause, from the hospitals, the ministers and the general public, expressing the need for widespread support in order to fulfil the aims of this early design for community care.

Stanley Royd, Wakefield, Photograph taken on the occasion of the visit of the Rt.Hon. Enoch Powell, Minister of Health 23rd September 1963, Back Row, First on Left, A.L.Ashworth, Hospital Secretary, Back Row Second from Right, S.G. Beaumont, Chairman Wakefield Hospital Management Committee, Front Row, second from right, Rt.Hon. Enoch Powell

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Ephemera http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1746568.html Documents and various interesting articles Tuesday 30 November 1999: Documents and various interesting articles

Sarah Tolson comes to life, Wakefield Express 26th June 2009 Donated by Ken Duesbery - High Royds, Voluntary Services Coronation Celebrations 1937 Ex Male Nurse, Walton The Full Plan Pre 1939, Escroft Has Been Drawn In With Pencil Later. Ilkley Gazette October 9th 2008 Feature Appeal To The Minister Page 2 Appeal To The Minister Page 1 Clerks Questionare Purloining 1931 Kings Silver Jubilee 6th May 1935 Patient Suicide, Christmas Day 1930 Herbert Wild Patient Death 1928 Wharfedale Union 1929 Death Of Patient Broadmoor Jan 1949 Renaming The Hospital Suicide Of Patient 1933 Application To Recieve Criminal Patient Memorial Stone In Cemetery. Application Shooting rights Resignation Of Deputy Cheif Nurse Purchase Of Motor Lorry 1946 Dr Henderson Brain Specialist Dr Carty January 1946 Dr Carty Military Service Resignations August 1945 Release Of Men From The Forces August 1945 Transfer Of 150 Female Patients November 1945 Staffing Sub Committee July 1945 Application For Accommodation Dr R W Carty July 1945 Yorkshire Evening Post 1990 Sewerage 1896 Increased Accomodation March 1897 Christmas Morning 1946 Albert Edward Waite, May 1969 Wakefield Express, March 2009 Driven To The Asylum 1894 A Description Of Armley Gaol 1894, With The Exception Of The Hard Labour And Executions The Conditions Were Similar At The Time To Life In A Victorian Asylum, Containment Not cure. Death Notice 22nd Feb 1910 Hospitals Not Gaols 1929 Cruelty Charges Unfounded 1929 Tour Of West Riding Hospitals 1929 Sane People Menston Asylum, Artists Impression, Note Chapel - Bottom Left. Grateful Thanks to Peter Johnstone for providing us with this image. Ilkley Gazettte, 7th May 2009 Padded Cell, Comic Humour, circa 1900 Asylum bell, Comic Humour Feb 1904 Asylum bell, Comic Humour Feb 1904

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Between Sanity And Madness http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1743588.html Mental health is a popular topic in the media these days and everyone has an opinion. Something surely needs to be done and I wonder why I am not consulted more often, having spent much of my childhood adjacent to the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, reputedly the biggest institution of its sort in Western Europe at the time. Those of us whose combination of poverty and bizarre behaviour had not yet been judged sufficiently culpable were able to move freely on one side of the formal barrier between sanity and madness. This consisted of a mile or two of low stone wall topped with rusty barbed wire, enclosing several acres of bleak theme park where the less ferocious of the insane were put on regular display, weather permitting. Cycling past or walking to and from the school bus stop, our amusement always tinged with apprehension, children were able to study those of the perambulating lunatics considered insufficiently threatening to require straight-jacketed confinement in padded cells. We were told that a vast huddle of sinister stone buildings in the middle distance had been soundproofed to protect our ears from the muffled reverberations of punitive therapies and the screams of the seriously afflicted. Nowadays of course there are no lunatic asylums; although I suspect that that this is a game with words because there is abundant evidence that lunatics are more abundant than ever. One need only pay attention to the activities of politicians, read any of the academic journals, watch commercial television or study the opinion columns in The Australian. The concept of mental health no longer embraces that of madness with old-time enthusiasm. This may be why my opinion is not eagerly sought despite the expertise I acquired in the course of several clandestine trips over the asylum wall into the heart of darkness, the last of which is indelibly etched on my memory. One early winter morning I had negotiated the barbed wire between our two worlds, together with a friend. Unobserved, we crept across a dew-soaked meadow to a position of vantage on a flimsy barrier of fencing that concealed one of the less massively fortified buildings. It was part of the small asylum farm, reputedly managed by the veritable lunatics themselves. The rationale for this activity was allegedly therapeutic, but the fact is that the place was desperately ill-funded. It reduced its costs by running its own bakery, butchery and tailors' shop on freely available slave labour. The sense of style has to be counted minimal. On the farm, for example, an appearance of uniformity and a signal of commitment to animal husbandry were achieved by issuing free string to the ill-coordinated paupers so that they could tie it around their ragged trousers, just below the knees. Although we had not known it, the facility on which we chose to spy was the slaughterhouse. I might explain that my friend qualified for this hazardous escapade on the ground that he had once demonstrated to an admiring group of boys his ability to manually excite both himself and the family dog simultaneously, to the point of orgasm. It was surmised that this much ambidexterity might turn out to be useful in an emergency. My own qualification for leadership was more academic than practical. An objective study of the behaviour of the insane at close quarters had been my idea. The slaughterhouse comprised a cobbled yard surrounded by low stalls built of rough stone, all roofed over with slate and provided with hinged wooden gates opening into the central space. The yard was slightly dished toward the centre where an open drain was protected by a latticed cast-iron cover. We arrived in time to find one enormous lunatic standing beside the open gate of a stall, nonchalantly swinging a sledgehammer. Several companion lunatics stood by with cleavers. Fierce blows with a broom handle and uncouth utterances in the patois of the West Riding of Yorkshire persuaded an extremely reluctant cow with prominent hips and rolling eyes to enter the stall. As soon as the wretched animal was in place the gate was slammed shut on her. There followed a crescendo of horrifying sounds culminating in a strange silence with, at first, a trickle and then a profuse flow of blood emerging under the closed door and across the sill. This crimson tide was guided by a lunatic playing a hosepipe, causing it to foam among the cobblestones down toward the central drain. After a delay the door swung open and the madman with the sledgehammer emerged from the darkness, now with an armful of intestines that he played out until one end of his sloppy bundle lay beside the drain. Starting from the other end he began to urge the internal faecal matter along this tube by contractions of his hands so that it discharged in a way that facilitated hosing by his companion, along with the blood. It was a cold morning. A haze of steam rose above the hot detritus. Rough cuts of meat with bone protruding were passed hand to hand out of the gloom, to be hosed on the cobbled ground before being loaded onto the tarpaulin floor of a farm cart that had been propped horizontally on sticks to await the introduction of a horse grazing nearby. A heavy head with black eyes that no longer rolled was finally swung, two-handed by its short horns, onto the pinnacle of the heap of meat. Our fascination with this finale to the theatre of violence led to a fatal incaution. One of us must have dislodged a clattering stone from our place of concealment, and we were spotted. The next few moments were among the most terrifying of our lives. We were pursued across the sodden meadow all the way to the boundary wall by a terrifying posse of lunatics, each one yelling and wielding a bloody cleaver. They were also—as I am mightily relieved to admit in retrospect—all laughing heartily. On reflection there can be no doubt that they must have slowed down their pursuit sufficiently to make sure that we found our way safely over the wall, back into sanity. So, as I say, the modern tendency to disassociate mental health from lunacy has left me unable to offer the valuable contribution to public discussion that my experience warrants. What do I really know about serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or about the benefits of de-institutionalisation, that is not already either superseded or impossible to spell? Donald Brook http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2651845.htm Tuesday 30 November 1999: Mental health is a popular topic in the media these days and everyone has an opinion. Something surely needs to be done and I wonder why I am not consulted more often, having spent much of my childhood adjacent to the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, reputedly the biggest institution of its sort in Western Europe at the time. Those of us whose combination of poverty and bizarre behaviour had not yet been judged sufficiently culpable were able to move freely on one side of the formal barrier between sanity and madness. This consisted of a mile or two of low stone wall topped with rusty barbed wire, enclosing several acres of bleak theme park where the less ferocious of the insane were put on regular display, weather permitting. Cycling past or walking to and from the school bus stop, our amusement always tinged with apprehension, children were able to study those of the perambulating lunatics considered insufficiently threatening to require straight-jacketed confinement in padded cells. We were told that a vast huddle of sinister stone buildings in the middle distance had been soundproofed to protect our ears from the muffled reverberations of punitive therapies and the screams of the seriously afflicted. Nowadays of course there are no lunatic asylums; although I suspect that that this is a game with words because there is abundant evidence that lunatics are more abundant than ever. One need only pay attention to the activities of politicians, read any of the academic journals, watch commercial television or study the opinion columns in The Australian. The concept of mental health no longer embraces that of madness with old-time enthusiasm. This may be why my opinion is not eagerly sought despite the expertise I acquired in the course of several clandestine trips over the asylum wall into the heart of darkness, the last of which is indelibly etched on my memory. One early winter morning I had negotiated the barbed wire between our two worlds, together with a friend. Unobserved, we crept across a dew-soaked meadow to a position of vantage on a flimsy barrier of fencing that concealed one of the less massively fortified buildings. It was part of the small asylum farm, reputedly managed by the veritable lunatics themselves. The rationale for this activity was allegedly therapeutic, but the fact is that the place was desperately ill-funded. It reduced its costs by running its own bakery, butchery and tailors' shop on freely available slave labour. The sense of style has to be counted minimal. On the farm, for example, an appearance of uniformity and a signal of commitment to animal husbandry were achieved by issuing free string to the ill-coordinated paupers so that they could tie it around their ragged trousers, just below the knees. Although we had not known it, the facility on which we chose to spy was the slaughterhouse. I might explain that my friend qualified for this hazardous escapade on the ground that he had once demonstrated to an admiring group of boys his ability to manually excite both himself and the family dog simultaneously, to the point of orgasm. It was surmised that this much ambidexterity might turn out to be useful in an emergency. My own qualification for leadership was more academic than practical. An objective study of the behaviour of the insane at close quarters had been my idea. The slaughterhouse comprised a cobbled yard surrounded by low stalls built of rough stone, all roofed over with slate and provided with hinged wooden gates opening into the central space. The yard was slightly dished toward the centre where an open drain was protected by a latticed cast-iron cover. We arrived in time to find one enormous lunatic standing beside the open gate of a stall, nonchalantly swinging a sledgehammer. Several companion lunatics stood by with cleavers. Fierce blows with a broom handle and uncouth utterances in the patois of the West Riding of Yorkshire persuaded an extremely reluctant cow with prominent hips and rolling eyes to enter the stall. As soon as the wretched animal was in place the gate was slammed shut on her. There followed a crescendo of horrifying sounds culminating in a strange silence with, at first, a trickle and then a profuse flow of blood emerging under the closed door and across the sill. This crimson tide was guided by a lunatic playing a hosepipe, causing it to foam among the cobblestones down toward the central drain. After a delay the door swung open and the madman with the sledgehammer emerged from the darkness, now with an armful of intestines that he played out until one end of his sloppy bundle lay beside the drain. Starting from the other end he began to urge the internal faecal matter along this tube by contractions of his hands so that it discharged in a way that facilitated hosing by his companion, along with the blood. It was a cold morning. A haze of steam rose above the hot detritus. Rough cuts of meat with bone protruding were passed hand to hand out of the gloom, to be hosed on the cobbled ground before being loaded onto the tarpaulin floor of a farm cart that had been propped horizontally on sticks to await the introduction of a horse grazing nearby. A heavy head with black eyes that no longer rolled was finally swung, two-handed by its short horns, onto the pinnacle of the heap of meat. Our fascination with this finale to the theatre of violence led to a fatal incaution. One of us must have dislodged a clattering stone from our place of concealment, and we were spotted. The next few moments were among the most terrifying of our lives. We were pursued across the sodden meadow all the way to the boundary wall by a terrifying posse of lunatics, each one yelling and wielding a bloody cleaver. They were also_as I am mightily relieved to admit in retrospect_all laughing heartily. On reflection there can be no doubt that they must have slowed down their pursuit sufficiently to make sure that we found our way safely over the wall, back into sanity. So, as I say, the modern tendency to disassociate mental health from lunacy has left me unable to offer the valuable contribution to public discussion that my experience warrants. What do I really know about serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or about the benefits of de-institutionalisation, that is not already either superseded or impossible to spell? Donald Brook http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2651845.htm

Donald Brook, Abc News, Australia

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Blakeway Productions http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1739983.html Anybody Interested In Taking Part In This Production Please Email Me At, highroyds.archive@gmail.com And I Will Put You In Touch With Adam Blakeway Productions are making an important documentary for BBC4 TV about the history of mental healthcare in the UK from the Second World War until the 1990s. This will be a testimony film, in which service users recount their experiences from different eras within this broad time frame. These accounts from service users will shed light on how the diagnosis, treatment and social perception of mental health issues evolved within the second half of the C.20th in the UK. We hope the result will be a strong and timely programme. I am in the process of getting in touch with service users, who are interested in talking about their experiences. I understand this is not an easy thing for many to talk about. However, we at Blakeway Productions are experienced in making programmes about sensitive subjects, and are renowned for our integrity as producers. Some of our previous programmes include "Shell Shock" (a series for Channel 4 about the history of soldiers and trauma), "Coma" (a series for BBC2 about recovering coma patients), "Heat Or Eat" (a Dispatches for Channel 4 about pensioners in poverty), amongst many others. If you have access to the internet, more details about us are available at www.blakeway.tv Please do get in touch for a chat if you are interested in participating in this important programme. Best wishes, Adam Jessel Blakeway Productions Tuesday 30 November 1999: Anybody Interested In Taking Part In This Production Please Email Me At, highroyds.archive@gmail.com And I Will Put You In Touch With Adam Blakeway Productions are making an important documentary for BBC4 TV about the history of mental healthcare in the UK from the Second World War until the 1990s. This will be a testimony film, in which service users recount their experiences from different eras within this broad time frame. These accounts from service users will shed light on how the diagnosis, treatment and social perception of mental health issues evolved within the second half of the C.20th in the UK. We hope the result will be a strong and timely programme. I am in the process of getting in touch with service users, who are interested in talking about their experiences. I understand this is not an easy thing for many to talk about. However, we at Blakeway Productions are experienced in making programmes about sensitive subjects, and are renowned for our integrity as producers. Some of our previous programmes include "Shell Shock" (a series for Channel 4 about the history of soldiers and trauma), "Coma" (a series for BBC2 about recovering coma patients), "Heat Or Eat" (a Dispatches for Channel 4 about pensioners in poverty), amongst many others. If you have access to the internet, more details about us are available at www.blakeway.tv Please do get in touch for a chat if you are interested in participating in this important programme. Best wishes, Adam Jessel Blakeway Productions

Denys Blakeway set up Blakeway Productions in 1994. He started in television as a General Trainee with the BBC in 1980 and then worked on Newsnight and Panorama. In 1990 he left the BBC and worked as a freelance. Blakeway Productions rapidly became one of Britain’s leading production companies. Splendid Isolation Administration Sitting Pretty.. Look, come closer The grand entrance.. Outside Broadcast Denton, Clifton.. Lets focus.. Vickers Edwards Finest Hour.. Blakeway Where is the light.. Lets just remember Division Leftovers What if... Only you can see.. The oblong window Is this really happening... Demon Barbers.. Ward 1 And...! Denton, Clifton I.C.U This used to be our playground This door? Mr Tom Booth Mr Tom Booth, started at the Hospital in 1954 as a young 17 year old lad. Shadows Female Corridor Central Dead Centre.. The film set for Asylum Admin Block Ballroom Corridor The Heart Of The Hospital.. Male Corridor Central Central Corridor Central Corridor Admin Block Time is all we have... Wandering through the back stairs.. Blakeway Crew Strike the pose.. Holding back the years.. Kanner Unit Jean Davison, see the Jean Davison remembers.. Jean Davison

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 High Royds Hospital School of Nursing http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1739966.html This new section will contain images and text most generously donated by Allan Harkin. "The Images entitled "Bed Push" are a set of photographs that I took outside the Staff Social club.I cannot give a date but I think it was around May 1972. As the sign on the side of the bed states it was to raise funds for the High Royds Hospital League of Friends (I think they were called the High Royds Hospital vouluntary association then). Some of the faces are...Roger Helm,Kevin Barron,David Tricklebank and I am sure that Tom Booth is on the far right. The two people sat on the bed are Mrs. Lloyd, nursing Officer and T.O'Connell. The photo of two people talking I am not sure about but it could be Miss Loftus." All Images And Text - Copyright Allan Harkin. **************************************************************************** When you started as a student nurse in 1970 you were given a “Red Book”. In these pages was the record of what experience the student had. Gordon Woolescroft handed these out to us all one day in June 1970 with the words “Whatever you do do NOT lose the blooming things” After every placement the book was signed by the person in charge of the ward. We had some very interesting visits…the disinfestations centre in Leeds which is were people (and sometimes their furniture) went to get rid of head lice, bed bugs and all things deemed parasitic. The juvenile and adult courts in Leeds Also, when we were in our third year of training we were taken to see a post mortem. Some of the signatures will be familiar:- Ken Walker-Charge Nurse Arthur Brown-Charge Nurse on Ingle borough Ward. Played the trumpet in the hospital band.Allways had time for the students on the ward as long as they worked hard and showed interest. Worked opposite? Peter Ingram. Walter Kyriako-Charge Nurse. Not sure of spelling. Eva Midgley-Sister on Whernside.A very caring, professional nurse who was a very positive role model for me and other students. Harry Myers-Charge Nurse on Buckden Ward and also the COHSE representative at the hospital. Harry was one of the first people we were introduced to to sign up for the union when we started. Bob Wright-Charge nurse on Denton I think (the admission ward).Went on I heard to St. James A&E.Clever man who knew his stuff. Gordon Woolescroft-Tutor throughout the 3 years with Mr. Clough. Herbert Gattis.-Charge nurse Litton ward. I said to him once, I think you should have a picture of Litton on the wall to which he replied “OK lad…go and take one!”I went up to the Yorkshire dales and took the photo…had it enlarged and framed. It was still there when I went back for a visit in 1974.If you were on his ward and due to take your finals he was very supportive. He would give me two or three sample questions and send me off into a side room to write up. A larger than life character but very likeable. Tuesday 30 November 1999: This new section will contain images and text most generously donated by Allan Harkin. "The Images entitled "Bed Push" are a set of photographs that I took outside the Staff Social club.I cannot give a date but I think it was around May 1972. As the sign on the side of the bed states it was to raise funds for the High Royds Hospital League of Friends (I think they were called the High Royds Hospital vouluntary association then). Some of the faces are...Roger Helm,Kevin Barron,David Tricklebank and I am sure that Tom Booth is on the far right. The two people sat on the bed are Mrs. Lloyd, nursing Officer and T.O'Connell. The photo of two people talking I am not sure about but it could be Miss Loftus." All Images And Text - Copyright Allan Harkin. **************************************************************************** When you started as a student nurse in 1970 you were given a _Red Book_. In these pages was the record of what experience the student had. Gordon Woolescroft handed these out to us all one day in June 1970 with the words _Whatever you do do NOT lose the blooming things_ After every placement the book was signed by the person in charge of the ward. We had some very interesting visits_the disinfestations centre in Leeds which is were people (and sometimes their furniture) went to get rid of head lice, bed bugs and all things deemed parasitic. The juvenile and adult courts in Leeds Also, when we were in our third year of training we were taken to see a post mortem. Some of the signatures will be familiar:- Ken Walker-Charge Nurse Arthur Brown-Charge Nurse on Ingle borough Ward. Played the trumpet in the hospital band.Allways had time for the students on the ward as long as they worked hard and showed interest. Worked opposite? Peter Ingram. Walter Kyriako-Charge Nurse. Not sure of spelling. Eva Midgley-Sister on Whernside.A very caring, professional nurse who was a very positive role model for me and other students. Harry Myers-Charge Nurse on Buckden Ward and also the COHSE representative at the hospital. Harry was one of the first people we were introduced to to sign up for the union when we started. Bob Wright-Charge nurse on Denton I think (the admission ward).Went on I heard to St. James A&E.Clever man who knew his stuff. Gordon Woolescroft-Tutor throughout the 3 years with Mr. Clough. Herbert Gattis.-Charge nurse Litton ward. I said to him once, I think you should have a picture of Litton on the wall to which he replied _OK lad_go and take one!_I went up to the Yorkshire dales and took the photo_had it enlarged and framed. It was still there when I went back for a visit in 1974.If you were on his ward and due to take your finals he was very supportive. He would give me two or three sample questions and send me off into a side room to write up. A larger than life character but very likeable.

Access to main corridor to Hazelwood Ward from Mortuary Approach to Hospital from Menston Drive.Filming of Asylum Charity Bed Push Charity Bed Push Charity Bed Push I am unsure who this person is but I think he was talking to Mrs. Lloyd. Entrance corridor looking towards main corridor Feb 1872 - View From East Side Male Residence High Royds Rugby Team circa 1971 High Royds Rugby Team Circa 1971 High Royds Rugby Team Circa 1971 High Royds Rugby Team Circa 1971 High Royds Rugby Team in Action 1972 June 1972 from East Side Male Residence June 1973 - Photo from East Side Male Residence towards social club. Main corridor looking West May 1973 -Photo from East Side Male Residence Mrs Lloyd Nursing Officer, Charity Bed Push Student Syllabus Page 10 Student Syllabus Page 11 Student syllabus page 12 Student Syllabus Page 13 Student Syllabus page 2 Student Syllabus Page 3 Student Syllabus Page 4 Student Syllabus Page 5 Student Syllabus Page 6 Student Syllabus Page 7 Student Syllabus Page 8 Student Syllabus Details Student Syllabus Front Cover Student Syllabus page 1 When you started as a student nurse in 1970 you were given a “Red Book”. In these pages was the record of what experience the student had. Gordon Woolescroft handed these out to us all one day in June 1970 with the words “Whatever you do do NOT lose the blooming things” After every placement the book was signed by the person in charge of the ward. Student Syllabus Student Syllabus Donated by Ken Duesbery - School Of Nursing 1980 Donated by Ken Duesbery - State Enrolled Nurses General Nursing Council Willing Passenger The hospital badges at that time were a work of art and your GNC badge had your name and year of qualification.

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Asylum Nation http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1739854.html Images of other Asylums - Hospitals around the country.... Tuesday 30 November 1999: Images of other Asylums - Hospitals around the country....

Asylum Lodge, Devizes Ballamona Hospital, Isle of Man Barming Mental Hospital Barming Mental Hospital Bethlam Royal Hospital, Beckenham Brentwood Broadmoor Broadmoor Burghill Asylum, Herefordshire Burghill Hospital, Herefordshire Burghill Asylum, Herefordshire Burghill Asylum Burghill Hospital, Herefordshire Burghill Asylum, Herefordshire Burghill Asylum, Herefordshire Burntwood Asylum Carmarthen Joint Counties Asylum, Carmarthen Chichester West Sussex City Asylum, Stone City Of London Mental Hospital Claybury Claybury Coldeast Hospital, Fareham Denbigh Asylum, North Wales Fulborn Fulborn Fulbourn, Cambridge Hants Count Asylum Hanwell Asylum Hanwell Asylum Hellingly Asylum Hellingly Asylum Hellingly Hospital, Eastbourne Hortham Hospital Horton Asylum, Epsom Whitecroft, Isle of White Knowle Hospital Knowle Hospital Knowle Hospital, Fareham Lancaster County Asylum Leavsden Asylum Leicestershire and Rutland Lunatic Asylum Llangwyfan Hospital, Denbigh Long Grove Asylum, Epsom Long Grove Asylum, Epsom Manor Hospital, Epsom Melton Asylum Melton Asylum Melton Asylum Mens Quarters, Manor Asylum, Epsom

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Dark Threads http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1739826.html Yorkshire Post, Health Wednesday August 19th 2009 Misdiagnosis led to five years in darkness. At the age of 18, Jean Davison sought help from her GP. what followed was five years of misdiagnosis, strong drugs and elctro-shocktreatment By Catherine Scott JEAN Davison is understandably angry. Forty years after she went to her GP for help with depression, she is still aggrieved at a system that she feels robbed her of five years of her life. "I was a troubled teenager," explains Jean. "I was bullied at school in Bradford and left when I was 15 and ended up in boring factory jobs which just didn't stimulate me. "I started to question what life was about. I turned to religion but then I started to question that too." Unhappy at home and work, excruciatingly shy and in need of someone to talk to Jean turned to her GP for help. "He just prescribed antidepressants, tranquillisers and sleeping tablets, but they made me feel worse." Jean now realises that she was showing classic signs of depression, but back in the 1960s the medical profession was quick to prescribe drugs rather than get to the root cause of a patient's problems. "Rather naively I asked the GP whether he felt I should see a psychiatrist. I felt that there must be someone able to help me." An awkward, shy teenager at the time, Jean can see looking back that she may not have put over very well how she was feeling about life and religion and, as a result, the psychiatrist suggested she go to hospital, just for a week, for a rest. "He made it sound like the natural thing, and I suppose I trusted him." When she was told it would be to High Royds she knew it was a mental hospital but she agreed to go as a voluntary patient. "He made it sound no big deal, but it was the biggest mistake of my life." What happened over the next five years forms the basis of Jean's book The Dark Threads, out this week. "How was I to know thatstraight away the system would come down on me like a steamroller? I was heavily drugged with anti-psychotic drugs although I had shown no psychotic tendencies and while in this stupor I agreed to ECT (electro convulsive therapy." Rather than making Jean feel better, all these treatments made her feel worse, mainly as side effects of the medication. "No-one ever suggested I come off the drugs and see how I was without them. Once in that system it was impossible to get out." What started as a week's "rest" ended up as four months in hospital followed by years as an outpatient. "Starting from when I first saw a psychiatrist, my past was rewritten to fit a 'mental illness' label," says Jean in her book. "No longer a normal teenager but a 'case'. My thoughts and experiences were devalued, their content seen as nothing but 'symptoms'. "What little self-confidence I had was crushed out of me. The messages I received were loud and clear. Something was fundamentally wrong with me, my brain needed changing; I was tragically flawed." It was only while getting ready to publish The Dark Threads from diaries that she had kept during her illness that Jean stumbled over a shocking fact which gave some explanation as to the rigours of her treatment. "I asked for my case notes, many of which I have included in the book and discovered that the original psychiatrist had diagnosed me as having schizophrenia 'simplex' based on the negative symptoms of the condition, such as lethargy, blunted emotions, social withdrawal. I had none of the 'positive' symptoms such as hearing voices, hallucinations or psychotic delusions. But that label dictated how I was treated. By the age of 20 I was said to have chronic schizophrenia. "I had mixed emotion when I read the case notes. It explained a lot but I still didn't understand why I had been given that diagnosis. I was heavily drugged and while in a stupor agreed to electroconvulsive therapy. One psychiatrist did say that he thought I might not have a mental illness and that I was just very intelligent, but then he left and it was never followed up." after five years of strong drugs, Jean decided one day to come off them. "I did make the mistake of coming off everything at once, but no-one seemed to want to help me. But that is no way to come off drugs and so I ended up back on them. But then I tried again and it worked and I haven't touched them since." Jean describes in the book how coming off the drugs made her feel. "No more pills. No more zombie days. I could see, feel, taste, smell, laugh and cry. Had I ever really been alive before? When you emerge from a long, dark tunnel the light dazzles." Immediately her life started to turn around. She got a job and started to study first for the O-levels she had missed at school and then A -levels and a degree, all at night school, while holding down a job. It appeared that one psychiatrist had been right; Jean was very intelligent, and graduated with a first-class honours degree in Combined Studies from Leeds Metropolitan University. It was during this time that she met and married her husband Ian. "When I realised that it was serious, I told him I had been in a mental hospital, but it didn't seem to bother him." Ian did have reservations later when Jean was determined to publish her book. "A part of me felt that the past should stay in the past. But it was important for Jean to lay those ghosts to rest," he says. So has she managed to do that? "Writing the book has helped, although I too have reservations about telling the world my story. "But it is the only way that I can raise awareness about the treatment of psychiatric patients still relevant today. Things have improved but there is still a long way to go." Jean now lives happily in a modest semi-detached house in the Bramley area of Leeds with Ian. She works for a charity associated with the mental health charity Mind, lending a listening ear to those worried about their mental health - an ear that , was not there for her. • The Dark Threads by Jean Davison is published by Accent Press Ltd (£7.99). To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post bookshop, call free on 0800 0153232 or go online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop. co.uk. Postage and packing is £2.75. Accent Press: 01443 710930 or online at www.accentpress.co.uk If you feel you or a member of your family may have a mental health problem there are a number of organisations that might be able to help. • MIND: 0845 7660163 www.mind.org.uk • The Mental Health Foundation: www.mentalhealth.org.uk • Depression Alliance: www.depressi6nalliance.org Tuesday 30 November 1999: Yorkshire Post, Health Wednesday August 19th 2009 Misdiagnosis led to five years in darkness. At the age of 18, Jean Davison sought help from her GP. what followed was five years of misdiagnosis, strong drugs and elctro-shocktreatment By Catherine Scott JEAN Davison is understandably angry. Forty years after she went to her GP for help with depression, she is still aggrieved at a system that she feels robbed her of five years of her life. "I was a troubled teenager," explains Jean. "I was bullied at school in Bradford and left when I was 15 and ended up in boring factory jobs which just didn't stimulate me. "I started to question what life was about. I turned to religion but then I started to question that too." Unhappy at home and work, excruciatingly shy and in need of someone to talk to Jean turned to her GP for help. "He just prescribed antidepressants, tranquillisers and sleeping tablets, but they made me feel worse." Jean now realises that she was showing classic signs of depression, but back in the 1960s the medical profession was quick to prescribe drugs rather than get to the root cause of a patient's problems. "Rather naively I asked the GP whether he felt I should see a psychiatrist. I felt that there must be someone able to help me." An awkward, shy teenager at the time, Jean can see looking back that she may not have put over very well how she was feeling about life and religion and, as a result, the psychiatrist suggested she go to hospital, just for a week, for a rest. "He made it sound like the natural thing, and I suppose I trusted him." When she was told it would be to High Royds she knew it was a mental hospital but she agreed to go as a voluntary patient. "He made it sound no big deal, but it was the biggest mistake of my life." What happened over the next five years forms the basis of Jean's book The Dark Threads, out this week. "How was I to know thatstraight away the system would come down on me like a steamroller? I was heavily drugged with anti-psychotic drugs although I had shown no psychotic tendencies and while in this stupor I agreed to ECT (electro convulsive therapy." Rather than making Jean feel better, all these treatments made her feel worse, mainly as side effects of the medication. "No-one ever suggested I come off the drugs and see how I was without them. Once in that system it was impossible to get out." What started as a week's "rest" ended up as four months in hospital followed by years as an outpatient. "Starting from when I first saw a psychiatrist, my past was rewritten to fit a 'mental illness' label," says Jean in her book. "No longer a normal teenager but a 'case'. My thoughts and experiences were devalued, their content seen as nothing but 'symptoms'. "What little self-confidence I had was crushed out of me. The messages I received were loud and clear. Something was fundamentally wrong with me, my brain needed changing; I was tragically flawed." It was only while getting ready to publish The Dark Threads from diaries that she had kept during her illness that Jean stumbled over a shocking fact which gave some explanation as to the rigours of her treatment. "I asked for my case notes, many of which I have included in the book and discovered that the original psychiatrist had diagnosed me as having schizophrenia 'simplex' based on the negative symptoms of the condition, such as lethargy, blunted emotions, social withdrawal. I had none of the 'positive' symptoms such as hearing voices, hallucinations or psychotic delusions. But that label dictated how I was treated. By the age of 20 I was said to have chronic schizophrenia. "I had mixed emotion when I read the case notes. It explained a lot but I still didn't understand why I had been given that diagnosis. I was heavily drugged and while in a stupor agreed to electroconvulsive therapy. One psychiatrist did say that he thought I might not have a mental illness and that I was just very intelligent, but then he left and it was never followed up." after five years of strong drugs, Jean decided one day to come off them. "I did make the mistake of coming off everything at once, but no-one seemed to want to help me. But that is no way to come off drugs and so I ended up back on them. But then I tried again and it worked and I haven't touched them since." Jean describes in the book how coming off the drugs made her feel. "No more pills. No more zombie days. I could see, feel, taste, smell, laugh and cry. Had I ever really been alive before? When you emerge from a long, dark tunnel the light dazzles." Immediately her life started to turn around. She got a job and started to study first for the O-levels she had missed at school and then A -levels and a degree, all at night school, while holding down a job. It appeared that one psychiatrist had been right; Jean was very intelligent, and graduated with a first-class honours degree in Combined Studies from Leeds Metropolitan University. It was during this time that she met and married her husband Ian. "When I realised that it was serious, I told him I had been in a mental hospital, but it didn't seem to bother him." Ian did have reservations later when Jean was determined to publish her book. "A part of me felt that the past should stay in the past. But it was important for Jean to lay those ghosts to rest," he says. So has she managed to do that? "Writing the book has helped, although I too have reservations about telling the world my story. "But it is the only way that I can raise awareness about the treatment of psychiatric patients still relevant today. Things have improved but there is still a long way to go." Jean now lives happily in a modest semi-detached house in the Bramley area of Leeds with Ian. She works for a charity associated with the mental health charity Mind, lending a listening ear to those worried about their mental health - an ear that , was not there for her. _ The Dark Threads by Jean Davison is published by Accent Press Ltd (_7.99). To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post bookshop, call free on 0800 0153232 or go online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop. co.uk. Postage and packing is _2.75. Accent Press: 01443 710930 or online at www.accentpress.co.uk If you feel you or a member of your family may have a mental health problem there are a number of organisations that might be able to help. _ MIND: 0845 7660163 www.mind.org.uk _ The Mental Health Foundation: www.mentalhealth.org.uk _ Depression Alliance: www.depressi6nalliance.org

Jean Davison, copyright - Telegraph & Argus Jean Davison And Derek Hutchinson At Buckle Lane Chapel, 21st August 2009 Jean Davison Author Of Jean And Me, 21st August 2009 Jean Davison, 21st August 2009 Jean Davison As A Teenager. See

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 A Padded Environment http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1739267.html As infamous as the Asylums themselves, the Padded Cell was an essential requirement in the general care and management of Asylum Inmates. Although the Padded Cell was a special room it was not intended that patients would be housed in them for extended periods of time and would in an ideal world only be used as a last resort. Their primary function being a means of ensuring the patient avoided injury when suffering from an epileptic or psychotic attack. Suicidal and violent patients were also subject to periods within them in order that the nursing staff were able to effectively monitor the patient in a safe enviroment, patients were on occasion further restrained during their confinement in order to further reinforce the primary function. Padded cells became fashionable when Dr John Conolly, the Third Medical Superintendent at Hanwell Asylum, brought about new reforms abolishing the use of mechanical restraint to control the patients within the Hanwell Hospital when he was elected the in-house physician in 1839. This was the first time that the idea had been implemented on a large scale; the Lincoln Asylum & the Retreat at York were the first to use the principle - however it was to initially meet stiff resistance countrywide from other Asylum Superintendents. Unperturbed Conolly's ideals eventually won through leading to the abolishment of mechanical restraint in other institutions. By using a system of therapy, seclusion (including padded cells), confinement and some sedatives Conolly was able to effectively control patients within the Hanwell Hospital. The only restraint used was 'heavy clothing' but this was to prevent patients from tearing their clothes or breaking crockery. With these ideas, the Lunacy commission adopted the ideas and implemented them around the country. Pictured is the padded cell at Stanley Royd Hospital formerly the "West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Wakefield", this cell was last used in 1959 and ultimately removed in 1963. An account from a visit to St Francis Hospital by a reporter from the Brighton Gazette on the 1st of August, 1861 describes the padded cell. "One small door was unlocked, and we looked in, not upon a patient, but upon an empty room, a room we had heard of as part of such a building, - the padded room, - thickly covered all around and on the floor with padded cloth, a sure preventative of self-mischief from even the most violent. And this was untenuated, and more than this it was seldom used we were told." Taken from Sweet Bells Jangled Out of Time - James Gardener - ISBN 0-9536101-0-1. The construction of a Padded Cell was quite uncomplicated, a normal seclusion room would be modified to allow the fitment of a double locking door and a series padded panels to make up the walls, a padded floor and ceiling would be added in order to make it a completely safe enviroment. The padded walls themselves were either consructed of leather pouches, or canvas, they would be then stuffed with horses hair and painted; this provided a very durable but firm padding. Often the panels would become ripped by patients and in some instances actually eaten, if this was to occur they would be sent to the in house upholsterer for repair, whereby they would be recovered this being a relatively quick process before being sent for painting, the painting process was both laborious and time consuming involving multiple coats of paint, more often than not taking at least a week to complete. One such manufacturer, and installer, the Pocock Brothers advertised their padded rooms in trade directories dedicated to supplying Goverment Institutions of this nature. The more modern padded rooms that have been found at Harperbury (originally a Defective Colony) were construced from foam and plastic; this provided a perfect enviroment in which epileptic patients would be placed whilst suffering a seizure. With the advent of new psychiatric treatments, sedatives and medical procedures the padded cell became a redundant tool in the mental health profession. Their withdrawal started after World War Two, along with the shift in the treatment of patients - Whitecroft Hospital had theirs removed as late as the 1980's. There is only one padded cell remaining in a former Psychiatric Hospital that being at West Park Hospital, Epsom; another example is at the The Stephen Beaumont Museum of Mental Health, Feildhead Hospital, Wakefield. The Cell at the Museum originates from Rampton, unfortunately during modernisation at Stanley Royd in the 1960's the one you see pictured was consigned to the skip. Many Thanks to Nick Combes for the bulk of the text.. www.thetimechamber.co.uk Tuesday 30 November 1999: As infamous as the Asylums themselves, the Padded Cell was an essential requirement in the general care and management of Asylum Inmates. Although the Padded Cell was a special room it was not intended that patients would be housed in them for extended periods of time and would in an ideal world only be used as a last resort. Their primary function being a means of ensuring the patient avoided injury when suffering from an epileptic or psychotic attack. Suicidal and violent patients were also subject to periods within them in order that the nursing staff were able to effectively monitor the patient in a safe enviroment, patients were on occasion further restrained during their confinement in order to further reinforce the primary function. Padded cells became fashionable when Dr John Conolly, the Third Medical Superintendent at Hanwell Asylum, brought about new reforms abolishing the use of mechanical restraint to control the patients within the Hanwell Hospital when he was elected the in-house physician in 1839. This was the first time that the idea had been implemented on a large scale; the Lincoln Asylum & the Retreat at York were the first to use the principle - however it was to initially meet stiff resistance countrywide from other Asylum Superintendents. Unperturbed Conolly's ideals eventually won through leading to the abolishment of mechanical restraint in other institutions. By using a system of therapy, seclusion (including padded cells), confinement and some sedatives Conolly was able to effectively control patients within the Hanwell Hospital. The only restraint used was 'heavy clothing' but this was to prevent patients from tearing their clothes or breaking crockery. With these ideas, the Lunacy commission adopted the ideas and implemented them around the country. Pictured is the padded cell at Stanley Royd Hospital formerly the "West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Wakefield", this cell was last used in 1959 and ultimately removed in 1963. An account from a visit to St Francis Hospital by a reporter from the Brighton Gazette on the 1st of August, 1861 describes the padded cell. "One small door was unlocked, and we looked in, not upon a patient, but upon an empty room, a room we had heard of as part of such a building, - the padded room, - thickly covered all around and on the floor with padded cloth, a sure preventative of self-mischief from even the most violent. And this was untenuated, and more than this it was seldom used we were told." Taken from Sweet Bells Jangled Out of Time - James Gardener - ISBN 0-9536101-0-1. The construction of a Padded Cell was quite uncomplicated, a normal seclusion room would be modified to allow the fitment of a double locking door and a series padded panels to make up the walls, a padded floor and ceiling would be added in order to make it a completely safe enviroment. The padded walls themselves were either consructed of leather pouches, or canvas, they would be then stuffed with horses hair and painted; this provided a very durable but firm padding. Often the panels would become ripped by patients and in some instances actually eaten, if this was to occur they would be sent to the in house upholsterer for repair, whereby they would be recovered this being a relatively quick process before being sent for painting, the painting process was both laborious and time consuming involving multiple coats of paint, more often than not taking at least a week to complete. One such manufacturer, and installer, the Pocock Brothers advertised their padded rooms in trade directories dedicated to supplying Goverment Institutions of this nature. The more modern padded rooms that have been found at Harperbury (originally a Defective Colony) were construced from foam and plastic; this provided a perfect enviroment in which epileptic patients would be placed whilst suffering a seizure. With the advent of new psychiatric treatments, sedatives and medical procedures the padded cell became a redundant tool in the mental health profession. Their withdrawal started after World War Two, along with the shift in the treatment of patients - Whitecroft Hospital had theirs removed as late as the 1980's. There is only one padded cell remaining in a former Psychiatric Hospital that being at West Park Hospital, Epsom; another example is at the The Stephen Beaumont Museum of Mental Health, Feildhead Hospital, Wakefield. The Cell at the Museum originates from Rampton, unfortunately during modernisation at Stanley Royd in the 1960's the one you see pictured was consigned to the skip. Many Thanks to Nick Combes for the bulk of the text.. www.thetimechamber.co.uk

The Modern Equivalent Of The Padded Cell, Picu Harperbury Padded Room Harperbury Padded Room Harperbury Padded Room Harperbury Padded Play Area The The The The A Look At The Original Stanley Royd Padded Cell, This Image Taken 1959 Aysgarth Ward, High Royds, Menston. This Seclusion Room Was Formerly The Padded Cell, A Former Nurse Who Worked The Ward Tells Me The Cell Was Pink In Colour. West Park, Epsom Barrow Gurney picu unit The Original Padded Cell At Denbigh, North Wales Pocock Bros, Trade Advert circa 1915 Padded Cell - Humour Rampton

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Escape from The Asylum 1913 http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1734301.html Bradford Daily Telegraph Monday May 19th 1913 MANIAC’S FURY DESPERATE FIGHT WITH POLICE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM MENSTON CAPTURED AT WAKEFIELD A VISIT TO IDLE. Considerable alarm has been occasioned throughout the West Riding, and especially in the surrounding districts of Bradford, consequent upon the escape on Thursday from Menston Asylum of Arthur Wildman, one of the most dangerous inmates of the institution. Wildman who is a native of Bingley, will be remembered as the man who for two days last August defied the authorities at Armley Gaol by climbing to the roof and maintaining a stage of siege. That daring exploit caused quite a sensation throughout the country and stamped the “hero” as a most dangerous individual to be at large. His second exploit, though hardly as “heroic” as the former, displays not a little ingenuity on the part of the man Wildman, for for nearly five days he has kept his liberty and travelled no little distance in doing so. Under present conditions, however, recapture was inevitable, and Nemesis overtook the fugitive last night at Wakefield. WELL KNOWN AT BINGLEY Wildman is well known in the Bingley district and it would appear that he also has some association with Idle and the neighbourhood. He is not altogether unknown ton the Bradford police, for it was for an offence here that he was sentenced to eighteen months hard labour and on that occasion he behaved very violently whilst in custody, giving great trouble to the authorities. His conduct in the cells was that of a dangerous lunatic, and it appears that he was almost constantly under surveillance. THE ARMLEY EXPLOIT. Whilst undergoing imprisonment at Armley however he got completely out of hand. Escaping from the warders one day, he scaled the fall pipe , and reached the roof, where in spite of many efforts to bring him down , he remained for a couple of days. First the warders tried dislodge him with the hosepipe, but though the fellow was drenched to the skin he would not yield but plucked the slates off the roof and flung them at the besiegers. Ultimately, the pangs of humours proved to be too strong, and he was tempted to come down of his own accord. As a result of that daring escapade Wildman was lodged in the West Riding Asylum at Menston, in which institution he has since been an inmate. ESCAPED FROM ASYLUM. Last Thursday afternoon however he again outwitted the attendants, and regained his liberty. Seizing a favourable opportunity when the attention of the warders was engaged, he clambered over the seven feet high railings and made off. Wildman’s disappearance was discovered within a quarter of an hour and a hue and cry was instantly raised, but the fugitive had made good use of his time and no trace of his whereabouts could be found. On leaving the neighbourhood of the asylum it is still unknown in which direction Wildman made his escape, but from inquiries made by the police it appears that he wandered into the Idle district. VISITED IDLE A “Telegraph” representative has since discovered that when at Idle the man went to see a woman whose husband is an inmate at Menston asylum. He told her he had been discharged that day by the authorities at Menston, and the woman believing his story entertained him to tea and allowed him to wash himself and tidy himself up. He remained at the house for several hours and the woman did not notice anything strange in his conduct. Before leaving he was given some money to take to the woman’s husband, and he received generous treatment from others in the district. Those who saw him declare that “he looked as right as a clock”. Wildman, it would appear, carefully avoided the Bradford district, making for Elland and Halifax – apparently with the help of the money he obtained through his visit to Idle and forward to Wakefield, and it was in that neighbourhood that he was recaptured last night. THE CAPTURE. The details of the affair are quite in keeping with the facts of the case. Wildman fighting desperately for his liberty. The details of the capture are related by our Wakefield correspondent as follows:- “There was quite a scene in the Thornes district of Wakefield last night, when Wildman was recaptured after a severe struggle with two police officers and several civilians. At the time it was not known that he was the man wanted by the asylum officials in Menston, but he was recognised by Sergt Walton of Elland, who was walking along Thorne Lane in company with Detective Officer Marsden of the West Riding Constabulary, as the person who was “wanted” for stealing some clothing from a canal boat at Elland. “Wildman it appears, had been endeavouring to dispose of a jersey, one of the stolen articles at a public house, and in that way the police had got on his tracks” ATTEMPTED SUICIDE “On attempting to take him into custody Wildman became extremely violent, and taking a piece of glass from his pocket he attempted to cut his throat. The glass was knocked out of his hand, however but he continued to resist arrest, kicking, striking and struggling with his would be captors and displaying extra-ordinary strength. “The two police officers were powerless to resist his fury, and they had to appeal for assistance to the large crowd which had by this time gathered. Only three civilians responded to the call, however, but even then Wildman could not be overpowered. A telephone message was sent to the city police for assistance and only with the help of several constables was the maniac eventually properly secured and taken to the West Riding police office, where he was with difficulty placed in the cells. So violently did he struggle that it took seven strong men to quieten him. “This morning Wildman was taken back to Menston in a motor car, but he was quite a different man, walking quietly to the vehicle and making no attempt to break away from his guardians”. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Bradford Daily Telegraph Monday May 19th 1913 MANIAC_S FURY DESPERATE FIGHT WITH POLICE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM MENSTON CAPTURED AT WAKEFIELD A VISIT TO IDLE. Considerable alarm has been occasioned throughout the West Riding, and especially in the surrounding districts of Bradford, consequent upon the escape on Thursday from Menston Asylum of Arthur Wildman, one of the most dangerous inmates of the institution. Wildman who is a native of Bingley, will be remembered as the man who for two days last August defied the authorities at Armley Gaol by climbing to the roof and maintaining a stage of siege. That daring exploit caused quite a sensation throughout the country and stamped the _hero_ as a most dangerous individual to be at large. His second exploit, though hardly as _heroic_ as the former, displays not a little ingenuity on the part of the man Wildman, for for nearly five days he has kept his liberty and travelled no little distance in doing so. Under present conditions, however, recapture was inevitable, and Nemesis overtook the fugitive last night at Wakefield. WELL KNOWN AT BINGLEY Wildman is well known in the Bingley district and it would appear that he also has some association with Idle and the neighbourhood. He is not altogether unknown ton the Bradford police, for it was for an offence here that he was sentenced to eighteen months hard labour and on that occasion he behaved very violently whilst in custody, giving great trouble to the authorities. His conduct in the cells was that of a dangerous lunatic, and it appears that he was almost constantly under surveillance. THE ARMLEY EXPLOIT. Whilst undergoing imprisonment at Armley however he got completely out of hand. Escaping from the warders one day, he scaled the fall pipe , and reached the roof, where in spite of many efforts to bring him down , he remained for a couple of days. First the warders tried dislodge him with the hosepipe, but though the fellow was drenched to the skin he would not yield but plucked the slates off the roof and flung them at the besiegers. Ultimately, the pangs of humours proved to be too strong, and he was tempted to come down of his own accord. As a result of that daring escapade Wildman was lodged in the West Riding Asylum at Menston, in which institution he has since been an inmate. ESCAPED FROM ASYLUM. Last Thursday afternoon however he again outwitted the attendants, and regained his liberty. Seizing a favourable opportunity when the attention of the warders was engaged, he clambered over the seven feet high railings and made off. Wildman_s disappearance was discovered within a quarter of an hour and a hue and cry was instantly raised, but the fugitive had made good use of his time and no trace of his whereabouts could be found. On leaving the neighbourhood of the asylum it is still unknown in which direction Wildman made his escape, but from inquiries made by the police it appears that he wandered into the Idle district. VISITED IDLE A _Telegraph_ representative has since discovered that when at Idle the man went to see a woman whose husband is an inmate at Menston asylum. He told her he had been discharged that day by the authorities at Menston, and the woman believing his story entertained him to tea and allowed him to wash himself and tidy himself up. He remained at the house for several hours and the woman did not notice anything strange in his conduct. Before leaving he was given some money to take to the woman_s husband, and he received generous treatment from others in the district. Those who saw him declare that _he looked as right as a clock_. Wildman, it would appear, carefully avoided the Bradford district, making for Elland and Halifax _ apparently with the help of the money he obtained through his visit to Idle and forward to Wakefield, and it was in that neighbourhood that he was recaptured last night. THE CAPTURE. The details of the affair are quite in keeping with the facts of the case. Wildman fighting desperately for his liberty. The details of the capture are related by our Wakefield correspondent as follows:- _There was quite a scene in the Thornes district of Wakefield last night, when Wildman was recaptured after a severe struggle with two police officers and several civilians. At the time it was not known that he was the man wanted by the asylum officials in Menston, but he was recognised by Sergt Walton of Elland, who was walking along Thorne Lane in company with Detective Officer Marsden of the West Riding Constabulary, as the person who was _wanted_ for stealing some clothing from a canal boat at Elland. _Wildman it appears, had been endeavouring to dispose of a jersey, one of the stolen articles at a public house, and in that way the police had got on his tracks_ ATTEMPTED SUICIDE _On attempting to take him into custody Wildman became extremely violent, and taking a piece of glass from his pocket he attempted to cut his throat. The glass was knocked out of his hand, however but he continued to resist arrest, kicking, striking and struggling with his would be captors and displaying extra-ordinary strength. _The two police officers were powerless to resist his fury, and they had to appeal for assistance to the large crowd which had by this time gathered. Only three civilians responded to the call, however, but even then Wildman could not be overpowered. A telephone message was sent to the city police for assistance and only with the help of several constables was the maniac eventually properly secured and taken to the West Riding police office, where he was with difficulty placed in the cells. So violently did he struggle that it took seven strong men to quieten him. _This morning Wildman was taken back to Menston in a motor car, but he was quite a different man, walking quietly to the vehicle and making no attempt to break away from his guardians_.

Arthur Wildman - Escape From Menston 1913 Arthur Wildman - Escape From Menston 1913

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Prof Dick Mindham http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1709341.html Professor Richard Mindham worked at Menston hospital from 1977 to his retirement in 2000. In 1977 he was appointed to the University of Leeds as Nuffield Professor of Psychiatry with the remit of setting up the 'Professorial Unit' at HRH. For the first ten years or so the unit was accommodated in the Escroft Block which is the 'Modernist' building second on the left entering the hospital by the main entrance. Later due to the structural faults in that building and the general contraction in the hospital the team moved to the 'Admission' block wich was the first major building to the left of the Administrative building. The professorial unit provided part of the psychiatric service to the western part of Leeds. One of Dr.Mindham's colleagues from the start was Dr Tim Jerram who still lives in the area. After he retired Richard took up his long-standing interest in architecture more seriously and joined a course run by the University of Leeds. For his dissertation he undertook a study of mental hospital architecture entitled 'The influence of clinical factors on the design of hospitals for the mentally ill.' This included a substantial study of the architecture of HRH but his aim was to place its design in a more general context rather than to study it in detail. Richard describes High Royds "as a fine building and very well executed by Whittaker Bros. It was in many ways the ultimate in mental hospital design. I was intrigued by the new buildings of 1938 which are of great architectural interest; a fact which I had not fully appreciated when I was working in one of them!" For some time now he has been communicating with Leeds Civic Trust over the fixing of a plaque to draw public attention to the buildings importance. An extract of his dissertation on the architecture is published below with the kind permission of Professor Mindham. The full text can be accessed through the Library of the University of Leeds, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, Centre for Architecture and Material Culture. "The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Menston shows how the Board responded to its experiences at Wakefield and represents the most advanced design of hospitals for pauper lunatics. For this reason I have chosen it from among the West Riding Asylums to be described in some detail and to relate its layout to the themes which have emerged in the designs of Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Wakefield Asylum. Early mental hospitals had suffered from a series of problems in conducting their work many of which could be attributed to the inadequate design of their premises. The requirements which had emerged included: a need for the separation of the sexes, suppression of noise, ventilation, heating, delivery of supplies and disposal of waste, separation of patients on the basis of diagnosis or degree of disturbance, observation of patients and supervision of staff, accommodation of patients who failed to improve, provision of occupation for patients, segregation and care of the physically ill, security of patients, staff and hospital property. However it was the provision of a humane system of care for large numbers of people in the absence of means for effecting cures of mental illness which provided the greatest challenge. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century the mental hospital had to provide facilities for the care of mentally ill patients at all stages of their illnesses. Initially they had to care for the acutely ill. This required accommodation which could provide a secure environment for disturbed and vulnerable patients with arrangements which protected patients, relatives and staff from harm and at the same time allow such treatments as were available to be effectively applied. After the acute stage of an illness patients required a regimen which could prepare them for ordinary life after discharge from hospital. This required the provision of facilities for rehabilitation. A substantial proportion of those admitted did not recover sufficiently for them to return to a normal life outside hospital and this led to an ever-increasing need for accommodation of patients who resided in the hospital indefinitely. The long-stay patients needed occupation as well as accommodation and their needs had a major influence on the siting, design and construction of county mental hospitals. All of these needs had to be met within the budget. The design of High Royds Hospital [HRH] demonstrates how many of these demands were met. The hospital was essentially two hospitals, one for men and one for women, each being a mirror image of the other. This allowed segregation of the sexes including both patients and staff: only the most senior staff worked on both sides of the hospital. The pavilion model was adopted for the wards which allowed segregation of patients with different conditions or clinical requirements. This layout also had advantages reducing the likelihood of cross-infection and reduced the transmission of noise between the wards. The hospital was built on the echelon plan with the administration and residential accommodation for staff at the apex of the triangle, the wards stretching backwards on each side, one male, one female,and the supporting services set behind the administrative block. The individual buildings were joined together by a v-shaped corridor with some connecting corridors. The administrative block was surmounted by a massive tower which held a water tank and carried a clock visible all over the grounds. The clock was controlled by a master-clock which also governed repeater clocks all over the hospital. This was perhaps, an indication of how the hospital was to be administered. A particular advantage of the echelon plan here is that the wards mostly enjoy a southerly aspect with extensive views over gardens and of open country. Patients admitted acutely to the hospital were initially observed and treated in wards close to the administrative block on each side unless they had special requirements on account of exceptional disturbance, infectious diseases or age. At HRH the wards immediately adjacent to the administrative block and those closest to the resident medical officers quarters were those for the elderly and frail. The wards for the newly admitted were placed next in the corridor. After some weeks or months of treatment in the admission blocks patients might be discharged, transferred to a rehabilitation ward or admitted to a long - stay ward. The long stay- wards were further away from the centre and in some cases detached from the main hospital corridor system. There were special wards for epileptic patients and those suffering from the late effects of venereal diseases. In the nineteenth century there were no effective anticonvulsive drugs so that many patients were admitted to mental hospitals for care. Many of those who suffered from syphilis had the form known as dementia paralytica in which there are both problems in movement and impairment of intellectual functions which required distinct methods of management. An important feature of the later mental hospitals, including HRH, was that there was provision for the separate care of the physically ill. At HRH the "infirmary wards' were at the back of the hospital to the north beyond the boiler house and well away from the other wards. Tuberculosis was a particular problem in institutions where large numbers of people lived and slept in close contact. Tuberculosis is infectious but is not usually acquired by casual contact ; transmission requires close and regular contact with people who may be susceptible though other adverse circumstances such as poor diet and general ill- health. The conditions of a large mental hospital made tuberculosis a regular problem. As the operation of the hospital was originally conceived patients formed an important element in the hospital workforce and this was seen to be therapeutic and desirable. They were employed on the farm, in the gardens, in all the domestic departments including the kitchen, bakery, laundry, cobbler’s shop. tailor's shop, plumber's shop, carpenter's shop, paint shop, hairdressers and library. These forms of employment were seen as fitting to their previous stations in life. As time went by specific occupational facilities were developed as part of rehabilitation. This included an occupational therapy department which used handicrafts for stimulating activity, a readiness for a return to tasks at home, and social interaction. Later an industrial therapy department with special workshops which simulated the working environment of the district was established allow to patients to participate in their former work. Each required special accommodation. The heating of the hospital was initially by coal fires which were fed by gangs of patients who moved around the hospital throughout the day. Later central heating was introduced and this was initially fired by coal but later by other fuels. During the erection of the hospital a railway branch-line had been constructed to carry building materials and this was retained for the delivery of coal and other supplies. Ventilation was achieved by individual shafts for each ward that led to ventilation towers in each of the pavilions. These form a striking architectural feature of the hospital. The hospital has its own water supply which was initially stored in cisterns before distribution from the tank in the central tower. The hospital was connected to the public sewer. Lighting was initially by gas but this was later converted to electric power. All the doors in the hospital had locks that were part of a coordinated system of security and could be opened by a single key. The type of key which was issued to a member of staff depended on their seniority, the Medical Superintendent and the Matron had 'Grand Master' keys giving access to all parts of the hospital; staff at others levels in the hierarchy had keys giving access only to those parts of the hospital in which they worked ; patients did not have keys. The design of the wards was very different from those at Wakefield or at Bethlem. All those subjects who did not require a separate room for clinical reasons were accommodated in large wards. Dormitories holding as many as a hundred people were used for the chronic wards and even the admission wards. Approaching the hospital from the main entrance one is impressed by the scale of the building and its landscaped grounds. The central tower, with its clock, dominates the front of the building. There are extensive buildings to each side and others which stretch behind. The building is constructed of local stone which has weathered with age. There are three levels of decoration of the stonework of door and window surrounds, the most elaborate at the front, the intermediate type for ward blocks and other distinctly separate buildings, and a plainer type for corridors and subsidiary buildings. Windows are made in wood in small panes; this provides inconspicuous security as the sashes can only be opened a few inches. The roof is of green Westmorland slate with lead flashings and finials. The entrance hall is impressive with faience tiling to dado height, tessellated flooring with decoration of flowers and geometric patterns, and stained glass windows all set in a space of gracious proportions. In the administrative block the woodwork is of oak, the doors are panelled and the ceilings elaborately plastered. Beyond the entrance hall the wood- work is in pitch pine from northern Russia, and the joinery is of the same high standard. The corridors are all lined by glazed tiles.The quality of the building drew praise not long after its completion. Dr Daniel Tuke commented: .... it would have been wise to avoid anything in the way of costly embellishment calculated to prejudice the mind of the rate-payer on entering the building. He clarified this point : When visiting this fine asylum I could not help thinking that it may very Possibly be utilized someday as an asylum for the middle and upper classes, Some of whom at present occupy much humbler quarters in private asylums. The building evoked some of the same responses as Hooke's Bethlem in prompting a contrast between the grand appearance of the exterior with the modest provision for for inmates. It is sobering to recognise that High Royds Hospital is an example of the most advanced thinking in mental hospital design of the late nineteenth century. The scale of the hospital, the expectation that there would be large numbers of patients who would require minimal care and could contribute to the running of the establishment, the provision of occupation for patients, and the likelihood that many patients would live there until death were dominating influences in the design. The facilities provided for curative treatments and rehabilitation were minimal. Between the world wars there was increasing optimism about the likelihood of recovery of patients admitted to mental hospitals. This showed itself around the United Kingdom by the building of units for newly admitted patients in which the regimes of patient management were orientated towards the recovery of patients and their discharge from hospital. Most of these units were on the sites of existing mental hospitals and were often called 'neurosis units'. The name implied that the conditions treated were less severe than in the average patient admitted to mental hospitals and that recovery was generally to be expected. Units of this type were built all over the British Isles. At HRH the building of the new unit began on a peripheral part of the site in 1937 and was opened in 1938. As in the main hospital the unit was in two halves, one for men and one for women, on either side of a central facility which held administrative offices and treatment rooms which were common to the whole unit. The unit was in Modern style with flat roofs, clean rendered walls, metal fittings, verandahs, conservatories, glass bricks and period finishes. Each wing had staff offices and changing rooms near its entrance with a block of bedrooms and bathrooms going off at an angle. The angled wings with verandahs produced a sheltered south facing aspect to each side of the building that allowed patients to sit outside protected from the wind but out of sight of people in the other parts of the building. These features resembled those seen in many houses of the period and gave an atmosphere of modernity and domesticity to the building. The surrounding area was landscaped to enhance these aspects of the design. When the range of therapies increased in the 1950s, new 'treatment' blocks were added to many of the neurosis units around the country. At HRH such an extension was planned but not built. The proposed unit would have accommodated outpatient clinics, facilities for investigation such as x-rays suites and pathologicallaboratories, with accommodation for staff from a range of disciplines. The development of neurosis units was in many respects a response to a false dawn ; mental illness still had a poor outcome. Many of the units came to be absorbed into the general provision of the hospital in whose grounds they were situated and this was the case at HRH. The closure of HRH in 2003 marked the end of the comprehensive scheme of provision for the mentally ill in the West Riding of Yorkshire which had begun with the planning of Stanley Royd Hospital in 1814, had led to the building of several major hospitals around the county, and had passed through several distinct phases in the management of mental illness. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Professor Richard Mindham worked at Menston hospital from 1977 to his retirement in 2000. In 1977 he was appointed to the University of Leeds as Nuffield Professor of Psychiatry with the remit of setting up the 'Professorial Unit' at HRH. For the first ten years or so the unit was accommodated in the Escroft Block which is the 'Modernist' building second on the left entering the hospital by the main entrance. Later due to the structural faults in that building and the general contraction in the hospital the team moved to the 'Admission' block wich was the first major building to the left of the Administrative building. The professorial unit provided part of the psychiatric service to the western part of Leeds. One of Dr.Mindham's colleagues from the start was Dr Tim Jerram who still lives in the area. After he retired Richard took up his long-standing interest in architecture more seriously and joined a course run by the University of Leeds. For his dissertation he undertook a study of mental hospital architecture entitled 'The influence of clinical factors on the design of hospitals for the mentally ill.' This included a substantial study of the architecture of HRH but his aim was to place its design in a more general context rather than to study it in detail. Richard describes High Royds "as a fine building and very well executed by Whittaker Bros. It was in many ways the ultimate in mental hospital design. I was intrigued by the new buildings of 1938 which are of great architectural interest; a fact which I had not fully appreciated when I was working in one of them!" For some time now he has been communicating with Leeds Civic Trust over the fixing of a plaque to draw public attention to the buildings importance. An extract of his dissertation on the architecture is published below with the kind permission of Professor Mindham. The full text can be accessed through the Library of the University of Leeds, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, Centre for Architecture and Material Culture. "The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Menston shows how the Board responded to its experiences at Wakefield and represents the most advanced design of hospitals for pauper lunatics. For this reason I have chosen it from among the West Riding Asylums to be described in some detail and to relate its layout to the themes which have emerged in the designs of Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Wakefield Asylum. Early mental hospitals had suffered from a series of problems in conducting their work many of which could be attributed to the inadequate design of their premises. The requirements which had emerged included: a need for the separation of the sexes, suppression of noise, ventilation, heating, delivery of supplies and disposal of waste, separation of patients on the basis of diagnosis or degree of disturbance, observation of patients and supervision of staff, accommodation of patients who failed to improve, provision of occupation for patients, segregation and care of the physically ill, security of patients, staff and hospital property. However it was the provision of a humane system of care for large numbers of people in the absence of means for effecting cures of mental illness which provided the greatest challenge. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century the mental hospital had to provide facilities for the care of mentally ill patients at all stages of their illnesses. Initially they had to care for the acutely ill. This required accommodation which could provide a secure environment for disturbed and vulnerable patients with arrangements which protected patients, relatives and staff from harm and at the same time allow such treatments as were available to be effectively applied. After the acute stage of an illness patients required a regimen which could prepare them for ordinary life after discharge from hospital. This required the provision of facilities for rehabilitation. A substantial proportion of those admitted did not recover sufficiently for them to return to a normal life outside hospital and this led to an ever-increasing need for accommodation of patients who resided in the hospital indefinitely. The long-stay patients needed occupation as well as accommodation and their needs had a major influence on the siting, design and construction of county mental hospitals. All of these needs had to be met within the budget. The design of High Royds Hospital [HRH] demonstrates how many of these demands were met. The hospital was essentially two hospitals, one for men and one for women, each being a mirror image of the other. This allowed segregation of the sexes including both patients and staff: only the most senior staff worked on both sides of the hospital. The pavilion model was adopted for the wards which allowed segregation of patients with different conditions or clinical requirements. This layout also had advantages reducing the likelihood of cross-infection and reduced the transmission of noise between the wards. The hospital was built on the echelon plan with the administration and residential accommodation for staff at the apex of the triangle, the wards stretching backwards on each side, one male, one female,and the supporting services set behind the administrative block. The individual buildings were joined together by a v-shaped corridor with some connecting corridors. The administrative block was surmounted by a massive tower which held a water tank and carried a clock visible all over the grounds. The clock was controlled by a master-clock which also governed repeater clocks all over the hospital. This was perhaps, an indication of how the hospital was to be administered. A particular advantage of the echelon plan here is that the wards mostly enjoy a southerly aspect with extensive views over gardens and of open country. Patients admitted acutely to the hospital were initially observed and treated in wards close to the administrative block on each side unless they had special requirements on account of exceptional disturbance, infectious diseases or age. At HRH the wards immediately adjacent to the administrative block and those closest to the resident medical officers quarters were those for the elderly and frail. The wards for the newly admitted were placed next in the corridor. After some weeks or months of treatment in the admission blocks patients might be discharged, transferred to a rehabilitation ward or admitted to a long - stay ward. The long stay- wards were further away from the centre and in some cases detached from the main hospital corridor system. There were special wards for epileptic patients and those suffering from the late effects of venereal diseases. In the nineteenth century there were no effective anticonvulsive drugs so that many patients were admitted to mental hospitals for care. Many of those who suffered from syphilis had the form known as dementia paralytica in which there are both problems in movement and impairment of intellectual functions which required distinct methods of management. An important feature of the later mental hospitals, including HRH, was that there was provision for the separate care of the physically ill. At HRH the "infirmary wards' were at the back of the hospital to the north beyond the boiler house and well away from the other wards. Tuberculosis was a particular problem in institutions where large numbers of people lived and slept in close contact. Tuberculosis is infectious but is not usually acquired by casual contact ; transmission requires close and regular contact with people who may be susceptible though other adverse circumstances such as poor diet and general ill- health. The conditions of a large mental hospital made tuberculosis a regular problem. As the operation of the hospital was originally conceived patients formed an important element in the hospital workforce and this was seen to be therapeutic and desirable. They were employed on the farm, in the gardens, in all the domestic departments including the kitchen, bakery, laundry, cobbler_s shop. tailor's shop, plumber's shop, carpenter's shop, paint shop, hairdressers and library. These forms of employment were seen as fitting to their previous stations in life. As time went by specific occupational facilities were developed as part of rehabilitation. This included an occupational therapy department which used handicrafts for stimulating activity, a readiness for a return to tasks at home, and social interaction. Later an industrial therapy department with special workshops which simulated the working environment of the district was established allow to patients to participate in their former work. Each required special accommodation. The heating of the hospital was initially by coal fires which were fed by gangs of patients who moved around the hospital throughout the day. Later central heating was introduced and this was initially fired by coal but later by other fuels. During the erection of the hospital a railway branch-line had been constructed to carry building materials and this was retained for the delivery of coal and other supplies. Ventilation was achieved by individual shafts for each ward that led to ventilation towers in each of the pavilions. These form a striking architectural feature of the hospital. The hospital has its own water supply which was initially stored in cisterns before distribution from the tank in the central tower. The hospital was connected to the public sewer. Lighting was initially by gas but this was later converted to electric power. All the doors in the hospital had locks that were part of a coordinated system of security and could be opened by a single key. The type of key which was issued to a member of staff depended on their seniority, the Medical Superintendent and the Matron had 'Grand Master' keys giving access to all parts of the hospital; staff at others levels in the hierarchy had keys giving access only to those parts of the hospital in which they worked ; patients did not have keys. The design of the wards was very different from those at Wakefield or at Bethlem. All those subjects who did not require a separate room for clinical reasons were accommodated in large wards. Dormitories holding as many as a hundred people were used for the chronic wards and even the admission wards. Approaching the hospital from the main entrance one is impressed by the scale of the building and its landscaped grounds. The central tower, with its clock, dominates the front of the building. There are extensive buildings to each side and others which stretch behind. The building is constructed of local stone which has weathered with age. There are three levels of decoration of the stonework of door and window surrounds, the most elaborate at the front, the intermediate type for ward blocks and other distinctly separate buildings, and a plainer type for corridors and subsidiary buildings. Windows are made in wood in small panes; this provides inconspicuous security as the sashes can only be opened a few inches. The roof is of green Westmorland slate with lead flashings and finials. The entrance hall is impressive with faience tiling to dado height, tessellated flooring with decoration of flowers and geometric patterns, and stained glass windows all set in a space of gracious proportions. In the administrative block the woodwork is of oak, the doors are panelled and the ceilings elaborately plastered. Beyond the entrance hall the wood- work is in pitch pine from northern Russia, and the joinery is of the same high standard. The corridors are all lined by glazed tiles.The quality of the building drew praise not long after its completion. Dr Daniel Tuke commented: .... it would have been wise to avoid anything in the way of costly embellishment calculated to prejudice the mind of the rate-payer on entering the building. He clarified this point : When visiting this fine asylum I could not help thinking that it may very Possibly be utilized someday as an asylum for the middle and upper classes, Some of whom at present occupy much humbler quarters in private asylums. The building evoked some of the same responses as Hooke's Bethlem in prompting a contrast between the grand appearance of the exterior with the modest provision for for inmates. It is sobering to recognise that High Royds Hospital is an example of the most advanced thinking in mental hospital design of the late nineteenth century. The scale of the hospital, the expectation that there would be large numbers of patients who would require minimal care and could contribute to the running of the establishment, the provision of occupation for patients, and the likelihood that many patients would live there until death were dominating influences in the design. The facilities provided for curative treatments and rehabilitation were minimal. Between the world wars there was increasing optimism about the likelihood of recovery of patients admitted to mental hospitals. This showed itself around the United Kingdom by the building of units for newly admitted patients in which the regimes of patient management were orientated towards the recovery of patients and their discharge from hospital. Most of these units were on the sites of existing mental hospitals and were often called 'neurosis units'. The name implied that the conditions treated were less severe than in the average patient admitted to mental hospitals and that recovery was generally to be expected. Units of this type were built all over the British Isles. At HRH the building of the new unit began on a peripheral part of the site in 1937 and was opened in 1938. As in the main hospital the unit was in two halves, one for men and one for women, on either side of a central facility which held administrative offices and treatment rooms which were common to the whole unit. The unit was in Modern style with flat roofs, clean rendered walls, metal fittings, verandahs, conservatories, glass bricks and period finishes. Each wing had staff offices and changing rooms near its entrance with a block of bedrooms and bathrooms going off at an angle. The angled wings with verandahs produced a sheltered south facing aspect to each side of the building that allowed patients to sit outside protected from the wind but out of sight of people in the other parts of the building. These features resembled those seen in many houses of the period and gave an atmosphere of modernity and domesticity to the building. The surrounding area was landscaped to enhance these aspects of the design. When the range of therapies increased in the 1950s, new 'treatment' blocks were added to many of the neurosis units around the country. At HRH such an extension was planned but not built. The proposed unit would have accommodated outpatient clinics, facilities for investigation such as x-rays suites and pathologicallaboratories, with accommodation for staff from a range of disciplines. The development of neurosis units was in many respects a response to a false dawn ; mental illness still had a poor outcome. Many of the units came to be absorbed into the general provision of the hospital in whose grounds they were situated and this was the case at HRH. The closure of HRH in 2003 marked the end of the comprehensive scheme of provision for the mentally ill in the West Riding of Yorkshire which had begun with the planning of Stanley Royd Hospital in 1814, had led to the building of several major hospitals around the county, and had passed through several distinct phases in the management of mental illness.

May 25th 1999, Yorkshire Post March 9th 1999, Yorkshire Post March 5th 1999, Yorkshire Post March 13th 1999, Yorkshire Post July 25th 2002, Yorkshire Post Jan 2oth 2001, Yorkshire Post March 18th 1999, Yorkshire Post March 6th 1999, Yorkshire Post May 25th 1999, Yorkshire Evening Post Yorkshire Post March 18th 1999, part 2, Yorkshire Post September 11th 1999, Yorkshire Post April 23rs 1999, Yorkshire Post May 27th 1999, part 2, Yorkshire Post March 4th 1999, part 1, Yorkshire Post March 4th 1999, part 2, Yorkshire Post March 4th 1999 Yorkshire Post March 4th 1999, Yorkshire Post July 14th 1999, Yorkshire Post July 17th 1999, Yorkshire Post 1999, exact date unknown July 14th 1999, part 1,Yorkshire Post April 17th 1999, Yorkshire Post April 14th 1999, Yorkshire Post March 13th 1999, Yorkshire Evening Post March 12th 1999, Yorkshire Post March 3rd 1999, Yorkshire Post Prof Dick Mindham, far right. March 3rd 1999, part 2, Yorkshire Post February 26th 2000, Yorkshire Post

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Pop Turner http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1703154.html Grateful thanks to Mr. Keith Turner for providing us with these images and commentary. "My father worked at High Royds from the early 1950’s to 1971 starting as a student nurse and becoming a Charge Nurse before he left to go to Bournemouth to run a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre with my mother. He played football (you have some photo’s of him already) and cricket and my brother and I both scored for the cricket teams in the 1960’s. The furthest fixture I remember we went to was Lancaster to play Lancaster Moor Hospital. Thank you for a great website which brought back many memories on the cricket pitch with the cinder track around, and the ballroom which my father and fellow nurse Ernest French and their patients used to decorate for about a month before Xmas ready for the patients and staff Christmas parties. I also remember being taken into the engine house where the electricity was generated using two enormous submarine engines (so I was told), the cobblers shop and then led up the huge corridor on the male side going through numerous locked doors which my father meticulously unlocked and locked as we passed through. He also told me that when the Italian workmen laid the mosaic floor in the corridors they had a screen around them so that people could not see how they laid the mosaic. At various times he would take the patients on holiday and they went to Marske by the sea (near Redcar), Grassington and Middleton Hospital For more images of "Pop" Turner please check "The Sporting Images" Collection. If you have any reminiscences or recollections you would like to add please do not hesitate to get in touch via email to highroyds.archive@gmail.com Tuesday 30 November 1999: Grateful thanks to Mr. Keith Turner for providing us with these images and commentary. "My father worked at High Royds from the early 1950_s to 1971 starting as a student nurse and becoming a Charge Nurse before he left to go to Bournemouth to run a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre with my mother. He played football (you have some photo_s of him already) and cricket and my brother and I both scored for the cricket teams in the 1960_s. The furthest fixture I remember we went to was Lancaster to play Lancaster Moor Hospital. Thank you for a great website which brought back many memories on the cricket pitch with the cinder track around, and the ballroom which my father and fellow nurse Ernest French and their patients used to decorate for about a month before Xmas ready for the patients and staff Christmas parties. I also remember being taken into the engine house where the electricity was generated using two enormous submarine engines (so I was told), the cobblers shop and then led up the huge corridor on the male side going through numerous locked doors which my father meticulously unlocked and locked as we passed through. He also told me that when the Italian workmen laid the mosaic floor in the corridors they had a screen around them so that people could not see how they laid the mosaic. At various times he would take the patients on holiday and they went to Marske by the sea (near Redcar), Grassington and Middleton Hospital For more images of "Pop" Turner please check "The Sporting Images" Collection. If you have any reminiscences or recollections you would like to add please do not hesitate to get in touch via email to highroyds.archive@gmail.com

The Civil Defence Awards is from the newspaper – it is titled “CD awards to hospital staff”. The caption reads – The Lord Mayor of Leeds (Ald Mrs L Hammond) third from the left, front row with members of Menston Hospital staff, to whom she presented Civil Defence certificates today. On her left is Mr M Wheeler, secretary of Menston Hospital Management Committee, and behind him (wearing glasses) is Mr A Watson, assistant chief male nurse and instructor, headquarters warden section Major A L Andress, Civil Defence Officer, Leeds Hospital Board, is the second from the left, front row. Leonard Edgar Turner (known as Pop) is on the left on the top step at the back.

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 October 2008 http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1685345.html A look around The Administration Building October 2008 Tuesday 30 November 1999: A look around The Administration Building October 2008

Ballroom Stage Struck Asylum Wallpaper Doctors Res Security Log Security Log Security Office Field Of View Doctors residence, Part Of Admin Doctors residence, Part Of Admin Ballroom Corridor Central Corridor Admin Office Central Corridor Whitewash Road To Nowhere Admin Toilets Detail And Splendour Central Corridor Looking Towards The Memorial Hospital Shop

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Miss Sarah Hannah Rose Tolson http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1679350.html Although Sarah Worked at the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum Wakefield ( The First of The West Riding Group, opening 1818) I feel this collection has a place in the High Royds Archive. wages, working conditions, dress, regulations and routine would have been very similar given that Stanley Royd was part of the group under the Hospital Management Committee. This collection gives us a rare snapshot of a long forgotten era and in my opinion a valuable addition to the site. * Latest News* On the 26th June 2009 the Wakefield Express via Emma Hakier brought Sarah Tolson to life in their excellent Nostalgia section. An appeal was made for further information with the following result. Many thanks to Sally Buchanan rang me to say that Sarah used to babysit her when she lived at 157 Church Lane, Normanton, Sally remembers her as a kindly woman yet firm who liked baking. Sadly Sarah died on the 12th of April 1997 aged 99. Sally's mother Linda Becket used to hide the childrens Christmas presents at Sarah's house and Sarah would babysit Sally even when she was in her 90's. Sarah's neice Olive Meers kindly met me to talk about Aunt Sally as she was known to one and all. Mark: I am i right in thinking, Sally originated in Goole. Is that where the family were from? Olive: Yes she was born in Goole, well my Grandfather originated from the Dewsbury area and then he must have been working on the docks or something at Goole, I’m not quite sure what it was. It’s on Granny’s marriage certificate what he did, but Granny Tolson she was from the Goole area and they lived in Goole and then eventually that photograph of the five children, is taken in Goole, while Aunt Sally was still at school, my grandfather got a job as a lockkeeper at Altofts, and Aunt Sally was still at school because she went to the Martin Frobisher school at Altofts and she said that at Goole they were so far ahead of the other children she knew what they were teaching and instead of being in the lesson she was teaching the youngsters to knit. Mark: Was Sally the only girl in the family Olive: Oh no, she had an elder sister, Annie May, but Auntie Annie, she was married and had three children during the First World War. She was quite a bit older. There was Annie May, and Charles William who died as an infant and then the next boy was called Charles Wilfred and then there was Auntie Sally and then there was my Dad and another boy called William and then there was Harold. Mark: What happened to Harold Olive: Oh, he died a few years ago. He was in the army in the second world war and he was taken a prisoner of war and he was married but when he came back, he divorced that wife, he’d had three children with that one and when he came back, he married again and had three children with that one and it’s only a few years ago that he died. Mark: Did he move to Wakefield too? Olive: Well he lived in various places but he was in Altofts at the end Mark: And Sally ended up living in Church Lane in Normanton? Olive: Yes Mark:When did she move there? Olive: Well we’ve got that, because we’ve got the deeds of the house, my grandfather when he was at Fox Lock, one foggy night, he slipped in the lock and drowned because he couldn’t swim and of course Granny had to get out of the lock and they moved her to Pen Bank, at a house somewhere further up the river, the river and the canal were quite close to each other. I can remember saying to my Aunt Sally When I was little, could I have been walking with water at either side and she said Yes at Pen Bank, beside the river and the canal. I had this vague idea of walking somewhere with water flowing there and water flowing there and they lived there for quite a while and then Granny bought a house in Normanton and then they had problems because it had a tenant in it and she couldn’t get the tenant out. They was always going to move, but she had a baby and they said oh well, we’ll give her time to get somewhere else, she didn’t and then she was having another baby and she still didn’t get out but they brought it in that if you wanted to live in the house you could actually have the people turned out and so Auntie Sally said now you’ll have to go cos the law says we can turn you out , we’ll give you a certain amount of time to find somewhere else to live and that, so then they could move into t he house. But the interesting thing was this woman kept on in the house and they kept giving them time to get out, and they decided they were going to buy a house, I don’t know exactly, I think they’d been renting the other one, I don’t know. Auntie Sally said that the neighbours told her that they turned up at 9 o’ clock at night and turned the people out, she didn’t give them chance to do anything, you know. Aunt Sally used to tell all these tales you know. M : So the house in Church Lane, she lived there quite a long time? O: Oh yes I think it will have been 1920s that they went M: Who? O: Granny Tolson, Auntie Sally and I think that Uncle Harold was still at home when they first moved M: And eventually Sally ended up living there all by herself? O: Yes, I went to live with Auntie Sally and Granny when I was 8. Granny Tolson was Sally’s mother. It all happened in a strange way, when my mother and father married they went to live with Granny Hartley, my mother’s mother and she didn’t get on with my father, in fact she didn’t want my mother to marry him, but she did, she insisted she was going to, and then they lived with her for a while and then she said Go. So they went to live with Granny Tolson for a while, so I was there and my father got a job working at Glass Houghton colliery and we moved into living with an old man in Glass Houghton , in a right old fashioned house, a terraced house, they were specially built for the miners. Straight onto the pavement at the front, nothing at the back and open space and far along the end was your middens. Paraffin lamps and the old fashioned coal fires and we lived there quite a while and in the 1926 coal strike, cos Granny was at Normanton then and my father was out of work, Auntie and Granny took me to stay with them because I hadn’t started school by then to make it easier for my mother, because she’d got Wilf, I can’t remember if she had Joyce or a baby, so I stayed with them for quite a while and then of course I went back to my parents and I started school at Glass Houghton, but my father didn’t get his job back and he was out of work for a long time and then he got a job in Nottinghamshire and we moved down to a colliery house at Church Warsap and it was fascinating because we’d been in this little old terraced house, well it was still a terraced house but it was three bedrooms, it had hot and cold water and the water came from the village, Church Warsap was a mining village and it had a communal boiler that supplied the whole village with hot water. It had electric light and by the back door it had a bathroom with a flush toilet. We went from paraffin lamps and candles to one with a garden back and front. It would be about in 1930, they came over to come and visit us and it was just after bonfire night and I’d got a splinter in the end of my finger or thumb and it had festered and I’d got my arm in a sling and Aunt Sally joked “ Oh it’s a pity you’ve got your arm in a sling, if not then we’d have taken you back with us till Christmas. Now that upset the apple cart didn’t it and in the end they took me back till Christmas because my parents were going to come up to my other grandmothers for Christmas and then my mother was ill, she was expecting another baby, in the end hse had 9 altogether, I was the eldest of 9. M: How old were you when you had your arm in the sling O: About 8 Tom Stevens was Olive Meers father ( known as Steven) I came up to Normanton, mid Novemeber My mother wasn’t well enough to come over, well keep her till Easter and then they didn’t come up at Easter either, and you see Auntie Sally always worked nights at Stanley Royd and I was company for my Granny, so they said to my parents would it be alright if I stayed with them, to be company for Granny Tolson and so they sort of said yes and so I stayed with them. I used to go visit my parents but I still lived with Granny and Auntie. Then when Granny died there was just Auntie Sally and me. I stayed with Auntie Sally until I was married except when I was away teaching, my first two jobs were at boarding schools so I was only at home on the holidays and I went back to teach at Normanton and I was there till we were married. In fact we couldn’t get into the blinking house, could we, it was supposed to be ready for us in December, we were getting married at Easter and we couldn’t get in and the house was finished, but they were using this house for storage, for paint and things and we had quite a job getting them out, we had nowhere to live, we tried getting somewhere temporarily and in the end we ended up living with Auntie Sally for a few weeks. And then we came here and we’ve been here ever since. Auntie Sally lived by herself then. I think she enjoyed her work at Stanley Royd. They could retire at 55 and it was only towards the end, that her life was very hard, because Granny (pauses) …..the reason Auntie Sally went on nights was, she Granny, when she was 60, had a heart attack and the doctors said that she only had six months to live and Auntie Sally went on nights so that she would be at home during the day if necessary, cos Uncle Harold was still at home then. Towards the end of course, Granny, she had the heart attack at 60 and she lived to be 84, and she was very much overweight, very big and she became more or less bedridden, and of course Auntie Sally was working and looking after Granny as well, and I Think that towards the end she had to have a bit of time off work and Auntie Sally’ doctor said that she herself was really rundown and so she actually…. She retired at 55, they could stay on longer if they wanted and one of her contemporaries, she decided to stay on because the longer you worked, the bigger the pension would be, so she stayed on till she was 70 and she died six months later. Auntie Sally had a long life after she retired. The other thing that that happened, a year or two before she retired, they altered the pension scheme. The old scheme was they got a big lump sum and a small fixed pension which never altered. They brought it in that they could have a smaller lump sum and have the pension fixed with the nurses salaries, so that when the salaries went up their pensions went up, so she opted for the new scheme. When she retired, she met someone else who had retired at the same time and she had been on the old one and she was creating about the fact because her pension and all these other pensions were going up and up and up every year, and Auntie Sally said you had the same chance as we had. Auntie Sally worked 33 years for them and she was retired 44! So I bet she did very well out of it! Granny died before I came back to Normanton to work. I had to clear all of Auntie Sallys’ things when she died and there was all these things about Stanley Royd and when I found out that there was a museum, I thought take them and see if they want them at the museum. The chappie I saw, was very pleased with them and planned to have them in an exhibition. The group when they went to lunch, they used to take them somewhere once a year and that particular year, 1995, they were taking them to Meadowhall. The driver, Alan, organised Auntie Sally, a wheelchair, because she couldn’t have walked and we went round. It was a group for housebound pensioners. Auntie Sally used to tell tales about what happened at Stanley Royd. It was quite interesting what she was telling on the tapes. When I was young, before the war, on Boxing Day, the nurses were allowed to take visitors in to go round all the wards, because all the wards were decorated, they were beautiful and she used to take me up to go round and see all the decorations and things. I will have been about 8 or 9. Some of the nurses that were still there had been there quite a long time and they had known my mother and Auntie Sally would say this is Sarah Hartley’s daughter and there were Christmas Trees on every ward and I came out with something off the Christmas Tree. I remember a young person there and her shoes were padlocked on to her ankles and apparently she had a habit of taking her shoes off and throwing them on the fire. ............................................................................................. Having compiled three historical digital archives relating to the care of the Mentally ill in Yorkshire, I have had access through my research to some truly wonderful images and memories, many donated by the people that lived, worked and experienced life in these large self contained Institutions. I have never before had the pleasure to put forward for veiwing such a complete collection of images and paperwork as Sarah Tolson's. Sarah Hannah Rose Tolson's appointment at the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum commenced on the 11th July 1919 (a year after the centenary having opened in 1818) as a probationer on trial, on a weekly wage of 32 shillings with an additional War bonus. Her appointment clearly stated if she was to marry she would forfeit her position, In May1953 after 33 years continuous service she received a letter on the occasion of her retirement from the Hospital Management Committee offering their best wishes, this was addressed to Miss Tolson, One can only presume Sarah at no point married. This collection contains many articles of paperwork relating to Stanley Royd as well as many photographs of both staff and patients all collected by Sarah. There are no descriptions on the back of the photographs despite that we know they were all taken between 1919 and 1953 on location at Stanley Royd. Each picture tells a story however if any one recognises any of the people in the pictures please get in touch so we can eleborate on that story. Here is a record of one womans life devoted to the care of others, I only wish she had written some memoirs to accompany this rare collection, but maybe I'm being a little greedy now... Let me introduce you to, Sarah Hannah Rose Tolson.. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Although Sarah Worked at the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum Wakefield ( The First of The West Riding Group, opening 1818) I feel this collection has a place in the High Royds Archive. wages, working conditions, dress, regulations and routine would have been very similar given that Stanley Royd was part of the group under the Hospital Management Committee. This collection gives us a rare snapshot of a long forgotten era and in my opinion a valuable addition to the site. * Latest News* On the 26th June 2009 the Wakefield Express via Emma Hakier brought Sarah Tolson to life in their excellent Nostalgia section. An appeal was made for further information with the following result. Many thanks to Sally Buchanan rang me to say that Sarah used to babysit her when she lived at 157 Church Lane, Normanton, Sally remembers her as a kindly woman yet firm who liked baking. Sadly Sarah died on the 12th of April 1997 aged 99. Sally's mother Linda Becket used to hide the childrens Christmas presents at Sarah's house and Sarah would babysit Sally even when she was in her 90's. Sarah's neice Olive Meers kindly met me to talk about Aunt Sally as she was known to one and all. Mark: I am i right in thinking, Sally originated in Goole. Is that where the family were from? Olive: Yes she was born in Goole, well my Grandfather originated from the Dewsbury area and then he must have been working on the docks or something at Goole, I_m not quite sure what it was. It_s on Granny_s marriage certificate what he did, but Granny Tolson she was from the Goole area and they lived in Goole and then eventually that photograph of the five children, is taken in Goole, while Aunt Sally was still at school, my grandfather got a job as a lockkeeper at Altofts, and Aunt Sally was still at school because she went to the Martin Frobisher school at Altofts and she said that at Goole they were so far ahead of the other children she knew what they were teaching and instead of being in the lesson she was teaching the youngsters to knit. Mark: Was Sally the only girl in the family Olive: Oh no, she had an elder sister, Annie May, but Auntie Annie, she was married and had three children during the First World War. She was quite a bit older. There was Annie May, and Charles William who died as an infant and then the next boy was called Charles Wilfred and then there was Auntie Sally and then there was my Dad and another boy called William and then there was Harold. Mark: What happened to Harold Olive: Oh, he died a few years ago. He was in the army in the second world war and he was taken a prisoner of war and he was married but when he came back, he divorced that wife, he_d had three children with that one and when he came back, he married again and had three children with that one and it_s only a few years ago that he died. Mark: Did he move to Wakefield too? Olive: Well he lived in various places but he was in Altofts at the end Mark: And Sally ended up living in Church Lane in Normanton? Olive: Yes Mark:When did she move there? Olive: Well we_ve got that, because we_ve got the deeds of the house, my grandfather when he was at Fox Lock, one foggy night, he slipped in the lock and drowned because he couldn_t swim and of course Granny had to get out of the lock and they moved her to Pen Bank, at a house somewhere further up the river, the river and the canal were quite close to each other. I can remember saying to my Aunt Sally When I was little, could I have been walking with water at either side and she said Yes at Pen Bank, beside the river and the canal. I had this vague idea of walking somewhere with water flowing there and water flowing there and they lived there for quite a while and then Granny bought a house in Normanton and then they had problems because it had a tenant in it and she couldn_t get the tenant out. They was always going to move, but she had a baby and they said oh well, we_ll give her time to get somewhere else, she didn_t and then she was having another baby and she still didn_t get out but they brought it in that if you wanted to live in the house you could actually have the people turned out and so Auntie Sally said now you_ll have to go cos the law says we can turn you out , we_ll give you a certain amount of time to find somewhere else to live and that, so then they could move into t he house. But the interesting thing was this woman kept on in the house and they kept giving them time to get out, and they decided they were going to buy a house, I don_t know exactly, I think they_d been renting the other one, I don_t know. Auntie Sally said that the neighbours told her that they turned up at 9 o_ clock at night and turned the people out, she didn_t give them chance to do anything, you know. Aunt Sally used to tell all these tales you know. M : So the house in Church Lane, she lived there quite a long time? O: Oh yes I think it will have been 1920s that they went M: Who? O: Granny Tolson, Auntie Sally and I think that Uncle Harold was still at home when they first moved M: And eventually Sally ended up living there all by herself? O: Yes, I went to live with Auntie Sally and Granny when I was 8. Granny Tolson was Sally_s mother. It all happened in a strange way, when my mother and father married they went to live with Granny Hartley, my mother_s mother and she didn_t get on with my father, in fact she didn_t want my mother to marry him, but she did, she insisted she was going to, and then they lived with her for a while and then she said Go. So they went to live with Granny Tolson for a while, so I was there and my father got a job working at Glass Houghton colliery and we moved into living with an old man in Glass Houghton , in a right old fashioned house, a terraced house, they were specially built for the miners. Straight onto the pavement at the front, nothing at the back and open space and far along the end was your middens. Paraffin lamps and the old fashioned coal fires and we lived there quite a while and in the 1926 coal strike, cos Granny was at Normanton then and my father was out of work, Auntie and Granny took me to stay with them because I hadn_t started school by then to make it easier for my mother, because she_d got Wilf, I can_t remember if she had Joyce or a baby, so I stayed with them for quite a while and then of course I went back to my parents and I started school at Glass Houghton, but my father didn_t get his job back and he was out of work for a long time and then he got a job in Nottinghamshire and we moved down to a colliery house at Church Warsap and it was fascinating because we_d been in this little old terraced house, well it was still a terraced house but it was three bedrooms, it had hot and cold water and the water came from the village, Church Warsap was a mining village and it had a communal boiler that supplied the whole village with hot water. It had electric light and by the back door it had a bathroom with a flush toilet. We went from paraffin lamps and candles to one with a garden back and front. It would be about in 1930, they came over to come and visit us and it was just after bonfire night and I_d got a splinter in the end of my finger or thumb and it had festered and I_d got my arm in a sling and Aunt Sally joked _ Oh it_s a pity you_ve got your arm in a sling, if not then we_d have taken you back with us till Christmas. Now that upset the apple cart didn_t it and in the end they took me back till Christmas because my parents were going to come up to my other grandmothers for Christmas and then my mother was ill, she was expecting another baby, in the end hse had 9 altogether, I was the eldest of 9. M: How old were you when you had your arm in the sling O: About 8 Tom Stevens was Olive Meers father ( known as Steven) I came up to Normanton, mid Novemeber My mother wasn_t well enough to come over, well keep her till Easter and then they didn_t come up at Easter either, and you see Auntie Sally always worked nights at Stanley Royd and I was company for my Granny, so they said to my parents would it be alright if I stayed with them, to be company for Granny Tolson and so they sort of said yes and so I stayed with them. I used to go visit my parents but I still lived with Granny and Auntie. Then when Granny died there was just Auntie Sally and me. I stayed with Auntie Sally until I was married except when I was away teaching, my first two jobs were at boarding schools so I was only at home on the holidays and I went back to teach at Normanton and I was there till we were married. In fact we couldn_t get into the blinking house, could we, it was supposed to be ready for us in December, we were getting married at Easter and we couldn_t get in and the house was finished, but they were using this house for storage, for paint and things and we had quite a job getting them out, we had nowhere to live, we tried getting somewhere temporarily and in the end we ended up living with Auntie Sally for a few weeks. And then we came here and we_ve been here ever since. Auntie Sally lived by herself then. I think she enjoyed her work at Stanley Royd. They could retire at 55 and it was only towards the end, that her life was very hard, because Granny (pauses) _..the reason Auntie Sally went on nights was, she Granny, when she was 60, had a heart attack and the doctors said that she only had six months to live and Auntie Sally went on nights so that she would be at home during the day if necessary, cos Uncle Harold was still at home then. Towards the end of course, Granny, she had the heart attack at 60 and she lived to be 84, and she was very much overweight, very big and she became more or less bedridden, and of course Auntie Sally was working and looking after Granny as well, and I Think that towards the end she had to have a bit of time off work and Auntie Sally_ doctor said that she herself was really rundown and so she actually_. She retired at 55, they could stay on longer if they wanted and one of her contemporaries, she decided to stay on because the longer you worked, the bigger the pension would be, so she stayed on till she was 70 and she died six months later. Auntie Sally had a long life after she retired. The other thing that that happened, a year or two before she retired, they altered the pension scheme. The old scheme was they got a big lump sum and a small fixed pension which never altered. They brought it in that they could have a smaller lump sum and have the pension fixed with the nurses salaries, so that when the salaries went up their pensions went up, so she opted for the new scheme. When she retired, she met someone else who had retired at the same time and she had been on the old one and she was creating about the fact because her pension and all these other pensions were going up and up and up every year, and Auntie Sally said you had the same chance as we had. Auntie Sally worked 33 years for them and she was retired 44! So I bet she did very well out of it! Granny died before I came back to Normanton to work. I had to clear all of Auntie Sallys_ things when she died and there was all these things about Stanley Royd and when I found out that there was a museum, I thought take them and see if they want them at the museum. The chappie I saw, was very pleased with them and planned to have them in an exhibition. The group when they went to lunch, they used to take them somewhere once a year and that particular year, 1995, they were taking them to Meadowhall. The driver, Alan, organised Auntie Sally, a wheelchair, because she couldn_t have walked and we went round. It was a group for housebound pensioners. Auntie Sally used to tell tales about what happened at Stanley Royd. It was quite interesting what she was telling on the tapes. When I was young, before the war, on Boxing Day, the nurses were allowed to take visitors in to go round all the wards, because all the wards were decorated, they were beautiful and she used to take me up to go round and see all the decorations and things. I will have been about 8 or 9. Some of the nurses that were still there had been there quite a long time and they had known my mother and Auntie Sally would say this is Sarah Hartley_s daughter and there were Christmas Trees on every ward and I came out with something off the Christmas Tree. I remember a young person there and her shoes were padlocked on to her ankles and apparently she had a habit of taking her shoes off and throwing them on the fire. ............................................................................................. Having compiled three historical digital archives relating to the care of the Mentally ill in Yorkshire, I have had access through my research to some truly wonderful images and memories, many donated by the people that lived, worked and experienced life in these large self contained Institutions. I have never before had the pleasure to put forward for veiwing such a complete collection of images and paperwork as Sarah Tolson's. Sarah Hannah Rose Tolson's appointment at the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum commenced on the 11th July 1919 (a year after the centenary having opened in 1818) as a probationer on trial, on a weekly wage of 32 shillings with an additional War bonus. Her appointment clearly stated if she was to marry she would forfeit her position, In May1953 after 33 years continuous service she received a letter on the occasion of her retirement from the Hospital Management Committee offering their best wishes, this was addressed to Miss Tolson, One can only presume Sarah at no point married. This collection contains many articles of paperwork relating to Stanley Royd as well as many photographs of both staff and patients all collected by Sarah. There are no descriptions on the back of the photographs despite that we know they were all taken between 1919 and 1953 on location at Stanley Royd. Each picture tells a story however if any one recognises any of the people in the pictures please get in touch so we can eleborate on that story. Here is a record of one womans life devoted to the care of others, I only wish she had written some memoirs to accompany this rare collection, but maybe I'm being a little greedy now... Let me introduce you to, Sarah Hannah Rose Tolson..

A Letter From Miss Whalley, Matron On Her Retirement 4th April 1962 Fellow Nursing staff 1920 - 1921 A Young Sarah Hannah Rose Tolson, Circa 1921 Conditions Of appointment 1938 National Registration Card 1940 Pension of £198, 5s 3d Employees Record, October 1948 Memories Memories Memories Afternoon High Tea Blood Transfusion, June 1940 Memories Blood Transfusion, June 1940 National Health Insurance August 1932 Miss Tolson, A Life Devoted To Caring. Appointment As Temp, Nursing Assistant, July 1919 Appointment As Temp, Nursing Assistant, July 1919 Benevolment Fund 1949 Sarah Tolson Blood Group A Happy Retirement, 7th May 1953 Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Note The Large Bunch Of Keys Attached To The Waist Of This Nurse, The Keys Would Only Operate The Female Wards. Memories Memories Here Today, Gone Tommorow. Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Staff And Patient Memories Regulations And Orders, July 1919 Regulations And Orders, July 1919

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 A Theatrical Hospital http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1666849.html Grateful thanks to Denis and Elizabeth Sharp for sharing this scrapbook which was received out of the blue, following a telephone call from Frank Egan of Galway, a relative of Dr.R. Kirwan, who had been a senior physician at Menston Hospital in the early part of the twentieth century. The scrapbook shows that amid the routines and rituals, the long and arduous days at the hospital, the spirit of the theatre was thriving as hospital staff were cast in the highly acclaimed bi annual productions which took place in the magnificent recreation hall. So much so that romance blossomed; Dr. R. Clive Walker who commenced work at the asylum in 1907 took an active interest in the amateur theatrical troupe which gave intermittant performances for the benefit of the patients and staff. In the many plays and comedies that were produced, Dr.Walker usually impersonated the leading character and when Miss Dolly Green, who joined the staff as an asylum nurse in 1919 (and who was also the possessor of histrionic abilities) became a member of the troupe, she took the part of leading lady in the comedy produced, " Beauty and the Barge", Walker, who became the third medical superintendent at the hospital in 1933, married Dolly, in June 1921 and they had four children, in June 1922, Dorothy , in December 1923 David Johnstone, June 1925, Sheila and in September 1928 Rosemary H. The opening pages of the scrapbook feature the programme and a selection of photographs from that production of Beauty And The Barge, a farce in three acts by W W Jacobs and Louis N Parker, which featured a spectacular set including an on-stage boat apparently on a river. Sadly Denis Sharpe passed away in December 2008 and did not see the scrapbook featured in the Telegraph and Argus on 15th January 2009. * N.B. - It is fascinating to note that the roman chair pictured in the cast photographs can also be seen in use when photographing the pauper patients * ************************************************************************************************ “The Private Secretary” A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts by CHARLES HAWTREY ON Tuesday and Wednesday the 27th and 28th March 1923 At 7p.m. The Dramatic Society at the West Riding Asylum gave a performance on Tuesday night of that evergreen farce, “The Private Secretary” , which was repeated after a lapse of 14 years. Rehearsing for the production was commenced early in the year, under the direction of Mr. H. Leach, a former member of the Bradford Operatic Society. Mr Leach has just completed 26 years as the manager of the productions at the Asylum. The performance was greatly enjoyed by the staff and their friends, and all the artists successfully carried out their parts. There were only five who took the same parts as in the original performance. These were Dr R. Clive. Walker, who performed the exacting and humorous role of the Rev. Robert Spalding; Mr B.P. Haley as Mr Marsland, M.F.H.; Dr R.R. Kirwan as Douglas Cattermole; Mr J.A.Hodgson as Mr Sydney Gibson and Miss Edith Ormond in the dual role of Mrs Stead and Miss Ashford. The new performers included Mr. Fred Woods as Harry Marsland; Mr Arthur Weightman as Mr. Cattermole; Mr Herbert Kempton as John, Mr. Harry Longfield as Knox, Miss Annie Rea as Edith Marsland; and Miss Florence Hopwood as Eva Webster. The Asylum orchestra, composed of members of the staff, under the direction of Mr G Terry, provided incidental music and selections between the acts. The piece was repeated last night to number of friends and some of the patients. ************************************************** The Menston Players. Asylum Players in Melodrama "Officer 666" A Melodramatic Farce in Three Acts By Augustin MacHugh on Monday and Wednesday 17th and 19th December 1923. at 7p.m. Tuesday, 18th December 1923 at 2p.m. The high standard of plays given at Menston asylum by the Dramatic Company each Christmas was maintained this year, when an admirable presentation was given of “Officer 666”, a melodramatic farce by Augustin MacHugh. The players were medical men, attendants and nurses at the institution, and the audience on the first night consisted of the remaining attendants and 500 or 600 patients. On Tuesday afternoon the farce was repeated before the members of the West Riding Asylums Board and their guests, whilst a final performance was given on Wednesday evening. The large hall, which makes an excellent theatre, had been beautifully decorated with shields, flags, festoons and evergreens, whilst palms were tastefully arranged round the entrances and besides the stage. The acting of the players, on the whole, was excellent. Dr R.C.Walker successfully undertook the role of the millionaire, Travers Gladwin, who returns home to find that his valuable collection of paintings is being burgled by Alfred Wilson (Dr R.R Kirwan). He acted to the life the part of the happy go lucky millionaire, and, whilst infusing real humour into the part , did not lose any of the manliness even under the lash of the contemptuous Wilson’s tongue. Dr Kirwan, perhaps, made his villain too likeable, weaving round his character some of the romance of Dick Turpin and Gut Fawkes. Certainly there were some murmurs of approval when he made his escape. Mr. J. A .Hodgson, who took the title role of P.C.666, the foolish old Irish Policeman, had plenty of humour and a really broad brogue, whilst the man about town , Whitney Barnes, who by the way, claimed the honour of stopping the burglary and the elopement, and who made good use of a pair of handcuffs in capturing the girl he wanted, had a spirited interpreter in Mr K.M. Rodgers. The head strong girl, who caused all the trouble by trying to elope with the fascinating Wilson - Helen Burton - was finely portrayed by Miss Florrie Hopwood, whilst her cousin and companion, Sadie Small had a demure interpreter in the hands of Miss Annie Rea. Bateato, the Negro servant, was played with considerable effect by Mr B.P.Haley, whilst the loud voiced but matronly Mrs Burton had an excellent actor in Miss Nellie Shepherd. Others who took praiseworthy parts in the production were Mr H Long field (Watkins), Mr A. Weight man (Police Captain Stone), Mr. H. Kempton (Kearney), Mr. J.R. Barnes (Ryan) and Messrs . L. Norfolk, J. Bennett, C.E. Teale and N. Hancock (policemen). The scenery, which represented the room in which Gladwin kept his many costly paintings, was wonderfully realistic, whilst the paintings hung round certainly appeared costly , if not exactly Rubens, Van Dykes and Turners. Much praise is due to Mr H. Leach ( under whose direction the play was produced) who acted as stage manager; whilst the conductor of t he orchestra, Mr G Terry deserves great credit for the high musical quality of the selections during the entr’actes. The costuming arrangements were in the hands of the Misses Marshall and Shepherd and Mrs Smith, whilst Mr. H. Kempton made an excellent “property man”. ************************************************** “Hobson’s Choice” 21st and 23rd December 1925. Production at Menston Mental Hospital. The choice of play by the Menston Hospital Players for their annual Easter production was indeed a happy one for the patients greatly enjoyed Harold Brighouse’s four act Lancashire comedy, “Hobson’s Choice”. The production went much better than the Christmas play, which was a mystery thriller, the many humorous episodes appealing to the audiences much more than did the adventure of crooks and detectives . “Hobson’s Choice” was given in the Theatre at the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesdaty evenings. This typically Lancashire comedy was given at Christmas three years ago by the Players and it was interesting to note that all but one member of the cast on that occasion took part in this week’s productions. Laid in Salford in the year 1880, it concerns the trials of a shopkeeper who suffers greatly as a result of the matrimonial adventures of his three daughters. He decides to select husbands for them, but the girls will have nothing to do with his arrangements., and they each marry a man of whom their father does not approve. Matters go from bad to worse when one of the unwanted sons in a law sets up a rival business, but the real bitter bit for the father comes when he is forced through bad trade to allow his business rival to become senior partner in his firm. There are many real humorous episodes, and the Players are to be congratulated on getting the most out of their material. Although each member of the cast acted very well, special mention must be made of the performance of Mr Herbert Kempton, who scored a great success as William Mossop, the man who sets up as a business rival to his father in law. He was very funny as the ambitious boot-maker who allowed his master’s daughter to force him to marry her. With his success in business he gained quite a masterful personality, and finished up a polished performance by making his irate parent accede to his business proposals. Mr Kempton was well supported by Miss Nellie Shepherd, the deputy matron, who appeared as his wife. The manner in which she inveigled the man into marrying her was very funny. The part of Henry Horatio Hobson , the unfortunate father, was capitally taken by Mr Arthur Weightman, the deputy chief attendant. He was at all times the perfect hard headed business man, yet he never allowed business to interfere with his drinking feats. Mr. Weightman was at his best when he received treatment for alcoholic poisoning. Misses Ida Harlington and Eve Walters ( the new member of the cast) did very well as Alice and Vickey Hobsonb respectively and Dr R. Clive Walker and Mr W.K. Gibbons, were successful as their husbands. Mr. B.P.Haley, the dispenser did good work as Jin Heeler, Hobson’s drinking companion, and other parts were taken by Misses Edith Ormond and Jennie Talbot, Mr Harry Long field (assistant clerk of works) and Mr J.A. Hodgson (store master). Dr R.R. Kirwan was the producer and Mr Charles Kempton conducted the orchestra, which gave selections at intervals. Mr Herbert Kempton was the property master, and the costumes were in charge of Mrs Smith and the Misses Shepherd and Marshall. ************************************************** “The Optimist” A Cheerful Comedy in three acts by Vincent Douglas. On Monday & Wednesday the 20th & 22nd December 1926 at 7p.m. For their Christmas Play this year , the players at the Menston Mental Hospital have chosen Vincent Douglas’s comedy “The Optimist”, the first performance of which was given in the large hall of the Institution last night. It is to be repeated this afternoon, when the visiting committee of the hospital will be present, and again tomorrow. “The Optimist” is a bright and lively comedy with an abundance of humorous situations, of which the players were quick to take advantage. The vivacious part of Paulette Touquet, the French actress was admirably done by Miss Jennie Talbot, and she had an excellent foil in the Rev. Robert Parable, which part was in the hands of Mr J.A. Hodgson. Low comedy was portrayed by Miss Nellie Shepherd as Minty the cook and by Mr Harry Longfield as Jeremiah, the gardener. All the other parts were well filled, and the performance was greatly enjoyed. Music was provided by the hospital orchestra, under the leadership of Mr. Charles Kempton. ************************************************** Mental Hospital Players “The Sport of Kings” A Domestic Comedy in Three Acts by Ian Hay On the 3rd & 4th April 1928 For many years the Menston Mental Hospital Players have been contributing to the entertainment of the patients in the Institution by their theatrical productions each Christmas and Easter. In the choice of their productions, the Players have shown considerable ambition, and in their long history have given many of the outstanding successes of the times , including “Tons of Money”, “Tilly of Bloomsbury”, “The Rising Generation” and “Hobson’s Choice”. Maintaining their tradition in this respect the Players chose for their Easter Production this year Ian Hay’s comedy “The Sport of Kings”, which they presented in the Hospital Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. For an amateur organisation of this kind “The Sport of Kings” is by no means an easy production. The humour is not of the farcical, inevitable type which makes the task of the players light; it requires careful reproduction and development. It is essentially a character study, and the success of the play depends upon the ability with which the central character is impersonated. This is Amos Purdie, a narrow-minded Justice of the Peace, who resides close to the venue of a race meeting. At the outset, he is presented as practically the only member of his household who cherishes no interest in matters appertaining to the turf, but with the advent of two irresponsible young sportsmen, who join the family as paying guests, he is induced to depart at first surreptitiously, from the narrow path. To his discomfiture he is found out by his butler, who gets him into an even worse predicament by persuading him to blossom out as a bookmaker. He is saved from a public lynching through the coolness of one of his guests, and is restored financially as the result of a successful bet made in all innocence by his inoffensive and browbeaten wife. The Players were fortunate in their Principal, for Dr. R. Clive Walker was a natural Amos Purdie. In the opening scenes he represented Purdie, the bullying, law laying martinet, with great effect, and was equally as good where the character is reduced to unwelcome submissiveness by the discovery of his betting transactions. He was supported splendidly by Mr. J. A Hodgson, as a butler who was formerly a bookmakers clerk. His bearing throughout was very good indeed. Miss Lily Hopper showed a fine understanding in the part of Purdie’s secretary, in whom a sense of duty is always struggling with a sense of decency, and Miss Ida Harlington made much of a colourless part as Mrs Purdie. Mr W.K. Gibbons impersonated with success the character of Spriggs, the smart young man who first leads Mr Purdie from the narrow path, and his pessimistic incompetent friend had an able exponent in Mr Herbert Kempton. The minor parts were well filled by Miss Nellie Shepherd, Miss Mabel Bona, Miss Mary O Appleton, Miss Milly Cree, Miss Edith Ormond, Miss Jennie Talbot, Mr. E Cooper, Mr. B.P.Haley, Mr Arthur Weightman and Masters Teddie and Paddie Kirwan. Dr R.R. Kirwan was the producer. Mr Herbert Kempton was property master, and Mrs Smith, Miss Shepherd and Miss Marshall were in charge of the costumes. During the intervals, selections were played by the hospital orchestra, under the conductorship of Mr Charles Kempton. The performance on Tuesday evening was for the patients and on Wednesday for friends of the staff. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Grateful thanks to Denis and Elizabeth Sharp for sharing this scrapbook which was received out of the blue, following a telephone call from Frank Egan of Galway, a relative of Dr.R. Kirwan, who had been a senior physician at Menston Hospital in the early part of the twentieth century. The scrapbook shows that amid the routines and rituals, the long and arduous days at the hospital, the spirit of the theatre was thriving as hospital staff were cast in the highly acclaimed bi annual productions which took place in the magnificent recreation hall. So much so that romance blossomed; Dr. R. Clive Walker who commenced work at the asylum in 1907 took an active interest in the amateur theatrical troupe which gave intermittant performances for the benefit of the patients and staff. In the many plays and comedies that were produced, Dr.Walker usually impersonated the leading character and when Miss Dolly Green, who joined the staff as an asylum nurse in 1919 (and who was also the possessor of histrionic abilities) became a member of the troupe, she took the part of leading lady in the comedy produced, " Beauty and the Barge", Walker, who became the third medical superintendent at the hospital in 1933, married Dolly, in June 1921 and they had four children, in June 1922, Dorothy , in December 1923 David Johnstone, June 1925, Sheila and in September 1928 Rosemary H. The opening pages of the scrapbook feature the programme and a selection of photographs from that production of Beauty And The Barge, a farce in three acts by W W Jacobs and Louis N Parker, which featured a spectacular set including an on-stage boat apparently on a river. Sadly Denis Sharpe passed away in December 2008 and did not see the scrapbook featured in the Telegraph and Argus on 15th January 2009. * N.B. - It is fascinating to note that the roman chair pictured in the cast photographs can also be seen in use when photographing the pauper patients * ************************************************************************************************ _The Private Secretary_ A Farcical Comedy in Three Acts by CHARLES HAWTREY ON Tuesday and Wednesday the 27th and 28th March 1923 At 7p.m. The Dramatic Society at the West Riding Asylum gave a performance on Tuesday night of that evergreen farce, _The Private Secretary_ , which was repeated after a lapse of 14 years. Rehearsing for the production was commenced early in the year, under the direction of Mr. H. Leach, a former member of the Bradford Operatic Society. Mr Leach has just completed 26 years as the manager of the productions at the Asylum. The performance was greatly enjoyed by the staff and their friends, and all the artists successfully carried out their parts. There were only five who took the same parts as in the original performance. These were Dr R. Clive. Walker, who performed the exacting and humorous role of the Rev. Robert Spalding; Mr B.P. Haley as Mr Marsland, M.F.H.; Dr R.R. Kirwan as Douglas Cattermole; Mr J.A.Hodgson as Mr Sydney Gibson and Miss Edith Ormond in the dual role of Mrs Stead and Miss Ashford. The new performers included Mr. Fred Woods as Harry Marsland; Mr Arthur Weightman as Mr. Cattermole; Mr Herbert Kempton as John, Mr. Harry Longfield as Knox, Miss Annie Rea as Edith Marsland; and Miss Florence Hopwood as Eva Webster. The Asylum orchestra, composed of members of the staff, under the direction of Mr G Terry, provided incidental music and selections between the acts. The piece was repeated last night to number of friends and some of the patients. ************************************************** The Menston Players. Asylum Players in Melodrama "Officer 666" A Melodramatic Farce in Three Acts By Augustin MacHugh on Monday and Wednesday 17th and 19th December 1923. at 7p.m. Tuesday, 18th December 1923 at 2p.m. The high standard of plays given at Menston asylum by the Dramatic Company each Christmas was maintained this year, when an admirable presentation was given of _Officer 666_, a melodramatic farce by Augustin MacHugh. The players were medical men, attendants and nurses at the institution, and the audience on the first night consisted of the remaining attendants and 500 or 600 patients. On Tuesday afternoon the farce was repeated before the members of the West Riding Asylums Board and their guests, whilst a final performance was given on Wednesday evening. The large hall, which makes an excellent theatre, had been beautifully decorated with shields, flags, festoons and evergreens, whilst palms were tastefully arranged round the entrances and besides the stage. The acting of the players, on the whole, was excellent. Dr R.C.Walker successfully undertook the role of the millionaire, Travers Gladwin, who returns home to find that his valuable collection of paintings is being burgled by Alfred Wilson (Dr R.R Kirwan). He acted to the life the part of the happy go lucky millionaire, and, whilst infusing real humour into the part , did not lose any of the manliness even under the lash of the contemptuous Wilson_s tongue. Dr Kirwan, perhaps, made his villain too likeable, weaving round his character some of the romance of Dick Turpin and Gut Fawkes. Certainly there were some murmurs of approval when he made his escape. Mr. J. A .Hodgson, who took the title role of P.C.666, the foolish old Irish Policeman, had plenty of humour and a really broad brogue, whilst the man about town , Whitney Barnes, who by the way, claimed the honour of stopping the burglary and the elopement, and who made good use of a pair of handcuffs in capturing the girl he wanted, had a spirited interpreter in Mr K.M. Rodgers. The head strong girl, who caused all the trouble by trying to elope with the fascinating Wilson - Helen Burton - was finely portrayed by Miss Florrie Hopwood, whilst her cousin and companion, Sadie Small had a demure interpreter in the hands of Miss Annie Rea. Bateato, the Negro servant, was played with considerable effect by Mr B.P.Haley, whilst the loud voiced but matronly Mrs Burton had an excellent actor in Miss Nellie Shepherd. Others who took praiseworthy parts in the production were Mr H Long field (Watkins), Mr A. Weight man (Police Captain Stone), Mr. H. Kempton (Kearney), Mr. J.R. Barnes (Ryan) and Messrs . L. Norfolk, J. Bennett, C.E. Teale and N. Hancock (policemen). The scenery, which represented the room in which Gladwin kept his many costly paintings, was wonderfully realistic, whilst the paintings hung round certainly appeared costly , if not exactly Rubens, Van Dykes and Turners. Much praise is due to Mr H. Leach ( under whose direction the play was produced) who acted as stage manager; whilst the conductor of t he orchestra, Mr G Terry deserves great credit for the high musical quality of the selections during the entr_actes. The costuming arrangements were in the hands of the Misses Marshall and Shepherd and Mrs Smith, whilst Mr. H. Kempton made an excellent _property man_. ************************************************** _Hobson_s Choice_ 21st and 23rd December 1925. Production at Menston Mental Hospital. The choice of play by the Menston Hospital Players for their annual Easter production was indeed a happy one for the patients greatly enjoyed Harold Brighouse_s four act Lancashire comedy, _Hobson_s Choice_. The production went much better than the Christmas play, which was a mystery thriller, the many humorous episodes appealing to the audiences much more than did the adventure of crooks and detectives . _Hobson_s Choice_ was given in the Theatre at the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesdaty evenings. This typically Lancashire comedy was given at Christmas three years ago by the Players and it was interesting to note that all but one member of the cast on that occasion took part in this week_s productions. Laid in Salford in the year 1880, it concerns the trials of a shopkeeper who suffers greatly as a result of the matrimonial adventures of his three daughters. He decides to select husbands for them, but the girls will have nothing to do with his arrangements., and they each marry a man of whom their father does not approve. Matters go from bad to worse when one of the unwanted sons in a law sets up a rival business, but the real bitter bit for the father comes when he is forced through bad trade to allow his business rival to become senior partner in his firm. There are many real humorous episodes, and the Players are to be congratulated on getting the most out of their material. Although each member of the cast acted very well, special mention must be made of the performance of Mr Herbert Kempton, who scored a great success as William Mossop, the man who sets up as a business rival to his father in law. He was very funny as the ambitious boot-maker who allowed his master_s daughter to force him to marry her. With his success in business he gained quite a masterful personality, and finished up a polished performance by making his irate parent accede to his business proposals. Mr Kempton was well supported by Miss Nellie Shepherd, the deputy matron, who appeared as his wife. The manner in which she inveigled the man into marrying her was very funny. The part of Henry Horatio Hobson , the unfortunate father, was capitally taken by Mr Arthur Weightman, the deputy chief attendant. He was at all times the perfect hard headed business man, yet he never allowed business to interfere with his drinking feats. Mr. Weightman was at his best when he received treatment for alcoholic poisoning. Misses Ida Harlington and Eve Walters ( the new member of the cast) did very well as Alice and Vickey Hobsonb respectively and Dr R. Clive Walker and Mr W.K. Gibbons, were successful as their husbands. Mr. B.P.Haley, the dispenser did good work as Jin Heeler, Hobson_s drinking companion, and other parts were taken by Misses Edith Ormond and Jennie Talbot, Mr Harry Long field (assistant clerk of works) and Mr J.A. Hodgson (store master). Dr R.R. Kirwan was the producer and Mr Charles Kempton conducted the orchestra, which gave selections at intervals. Mr Herbert Kempton was the property master, and the costumes were in charge of Mrs Smith and the Misses Shepherd and Marshall. ************************************************** _The Optimist_ A Cheerful Comedy in three acts by Vincent Douglas. On Monday & Wednesday the 20th & 22nd December 1926 at 7p.m. For their Christmas Play this year , the players at the Menston Mental Hospital have chosen Vincent Douglas_s comedy _The Optimist_, the first performance of which was given in the large hall of the Institution last night. It is to be repeated this afternoon, when the visiting committee of the hospital will be present, and again tomorrow. _The Optimist_ is a bright and lively comedy with an abundance of humorous situations, of which the players were quick to take advantage. The vivacious part of Paulette Touquet, the French actress was admirably done by Miss Jennie Talbot, and she had an excellent foil in the Rev. Robert Parable, which part was in the hands of Mr J.A. Hodgson. Low comedy was portrayed by Miss Nellie Shepherd as Minty the cook and by Mr Harry Longfield as Jeremiah, the gardener. All the other parts were well filled, and the performance was greatly enjoyed. Music was provided by the hospital orchestra, under the leadership of Mr. Charles Kempton. ************************************************** Mental Hospital Players _The Sport of Kings_ A Domestic Comedy in Three Acts by Ian Hay On the 3rd & 4th April 1928 For many years the Menston Mental Hospital Players have been contributing to the entertainment of the patients in the Institution by their theatrical productions each Christmas and Easter. In the choice of their productions, the Players have shown considerable ambition, and in their long history have given many of the outstanding successes of the times , including _Tons of Money_, _Tilly of Bloomsbury_, _The Rising Generation_ and _Hobson_s Choice_. Maintaining their tradition in this respect the Players chose for their Easter Production this year Ian Hay_s comedy _The Sport of Kings_, which they presented in the Hospital Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. For an amateur organisation of this kind _The Sport of Kings_ is by no means an easy production. The humour is not of the farcical, inevitable type which makes the task of the players light; it requires careful reproduction and development. It is essentially a character study, and the success of the play depends upon the ability with which the central character is impersonated. This is Amos Purdie, a narrow-minded Justice of the Peace, who resides close to the venue of a race meeting. At the outset, he is presented as practically the only member of his household who cherishes no interest in matters appertaining to the turf, but with the advent of two irresponsible young sportsmen, who join the family as paying guests, he is induced to depart at first surreptitiously, from the narrow path. To his discomfiture he is found out by his butler, who gets him into an even worse predicament by persuading him to blossom out as a bookmaker. He is saved from a public lynching through the coolness of one of his guests, and is restored financially as the result of a successful bet made in all innocence by his inoffensive and browbeaten wife. The Players were fortunate in their Principal, for Dr. R. Clive Walker was a natural Amos Purdie. In the opening scenes he represented Purdie, the bullying, law laying martinet, with great effect, and was equally as good where the character is reduced to unwelcome submissiveness by the discovery of his betting transactions. He was supported splendidly by Mr. J. A Hodgson, as a butler who was formerly a bookmakers clerk. His bearing throughout was very good indeed. Miss Lily Hopper showed a fine understanding in the part of Purdie_s secretary, in whom a sense of duty is always struggling with a sense of decency, and Miss Ida Harlington made much of a colourless part as Mrs Purdie. Mr W.K. Gibbons impersonated with success the character of Spriggs, the smart young man who first leads Mr Purdie from the narrow path, and his pessimistic incompetent friend had an able exponent in Mr Herbert Kempton. The minor parts were well filled by Miss Nellie Shepherd, Miss Mabel Bona, Miss Mary O Appleton, Miss Milly Cree, Miss Edith Ormond, Miss Jennie Talbot, Mr. E Cooper, Mr. B.P.Haley, Mr Arthur Weightman and Masters Teddie and Paddie Kirwan. Dr R.R. Kirwan was the producer. Mr Herbert Kempton was property master, and Mrs Smith, Miss Shepherd and Miss Marshall were in charge of the costumes. During the intervals, selections were played by the hospital orchestra, under the conductorship of Mr Charles Kempton. The performance on Tuesday evening was for the patients and on Wednesday for friends of the staff.

Seven Keys To Baldpate, December 1936 Seven Keys To Baldpate, December 1936 Seven Keys To Baldpate, December 1936 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 Beauty And The Barge, March 1921 The Magistrate, December 1921 The Magistrate Cast, December 1921 The Magistrate, December 1921 The Magistrate, December 1921 The Magistrate, December 1921 The Magistrate, December 1921 The Magistrate, December 1921 Three Short Plays, March 1922, Faithfull James Three Short Plays, March 1922, Faithfull James Three Short Plays, March 1922, Faithfull James Three Short Plays, March 1922, Faithfull James Three Short Plays, March 1922, The Botsawin's Mate Three Short Plays, March 1922 Three Short Plays, March 1922, The Botsawin's Mate Three Short Plays, March 1922, The Botsawin's Mate Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Why Smith Left Home, December 1922 Three Short Plays, March 1922, Gentlemen Of The Road Three Short Plays, March 1922, Gentlemen Of The Road Three Short Plays, March 1922, Gentlemen Of The Road Three Short Plays, March 1922, Gentlemen Of The Road Officer 666, December 1923 Officer 666, December 1923 Officer 666, December 1923 Officer 666, December 1923 Officer 666, December 1923 Officer 666, December 1923 Officer 666, December 1923 Private Secretary, March 1923 Private Secretary, March 1923 Private Secretary, March 1923 Private Secretary, March 1923 A Little Bit Of Fluff, March 1924 A Little Bit Of Fluff, March 1924

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Sylva's Memoirs http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1666423.html Grateful thanks to Sylva for submitting his vivid and fascinating recollections of nursing life. ****************************************************************************************************************************************** In front of me is my first pay note with a commencement date March 3rd 1959 and a take home amount of £2:18:11 (old money) for one weeks work as a male Cadet mental nurse. I became a student in July of the same year on my 18th birthday and completed my three years training in 1962. Following on from army service, my father started his Mental nurse training and was already a Charge nurse, my mother untrained (became Enrolled by default.) and my brother a Staff nurse at the time I started my own training. The majority of all grades of staff were employed from the surrounding villages. The recent article (Lindsay Pantry) in the Wakefield Express has prompted me to put ‘pen to paper’ some memory notes without any specific story line, or categorisation. If I am to make notations of social history in a specific area, for example Coal Mines, Fishing Industry, Acute General Hospitals etc then it is imperative to give some indication regarding the way of life and level of technology outside the subject matter, because invariably the two develop in tandem in a generational time scale. In the 1950’s life was relatively simple with lots of bicycles and fewer cars. Mining industry was flourishing, not everyone had a television but most had a valve radio. Washing machines, fridges, gas and electric ovens were ‘thin on the ground’, no fitted carpets and an electric vac or home telephone would be considered luxury. No such commodity as the two way light dimmer, no modern bathroom appliances and yet it was quite common to have an outside toilet with normal chain pull flush. Open coal fires were commonly found in most households and the sight of the coal man was a very welcome visitor. There was a seemingly decent public transport bus service (bus conductor) with the private sector fulfilling the need of the workers at the factories and mines. As young children and teenagers, we devised our own outdoor play pursuits and sometimes this bordered on being mischievous. Clothing in families were usually handed down and altered by hand where applicable, and holes in socks were darned by your mother as was the making of clippie mats. Whether it was private, or council owned property everyone tended to their gardens with neat bordered lawns at the front and vegetable plots at the rear. Children from council housing mixed equally well with private housing children as did their parents. We did not have school uniform, yet all children went to school neat and tidy with polished footwear. If you walked about with hands in your trouser pockets, my mother would simply sew them together until you stopped the habit. Swearing and really bad language----I never knew what it was like to hear this uttered. From an illness point of view there was of course your local village doctor whose surgery was an open house with no appointment system, you simply walked into the waiting room and asked someone who was the last person in, consequently you then knew when it was your turn to see the doctor. At that time, the local cinema had two projectors which were illuminated inside the casing not by a powerful lamp bulb, but by two carbon rods. My interview for RMN training. Following a psychology test involving written and verbal questions (stop watch timing) I have a further interview with a tutor and Chief Male Nurse, subsequently I am told that I can initially start as a cadet nurse working in the Medical/ records office until I reach 18years of age when I will formerly commence RMN training. Uniform----Good quality made to measure navy blue suit with waistcoat and two pairs of trousers plus a trilby hat which had to be carried in one hand when moving a deceased body from a ward to the mortuary. Wages, these were paid every Thursday in cash, with a facility to nominate a colleague to collect on your behalf. Day Shift pattern was an alternative week of mornings then a week of afternoons. Hours of duty were (6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm with night duty 10pm to 6am) One day off per week set in rotational fashion, Monday one week, then Tuesday the following week and so on. Holidays were something you did not request, they were given you. At my early age the hospital viewed from the outside was very elegant indeed with its litter free grounds, immaculate cricket/sports area, and an abundance of flower beds provided by the hospital gardens, which would have equalled today’s Garden Centres, (A limited supply of allotments were provided and offered to any staff member group). Wherever you viewed ‘looked lived in’ with freshly painted woodwork and neat curtains where applicable, for there were in many areas, wooden shutters which replaced curtains as a safety measure. Male and Female patients were physically segregated and separately managed with a Chief Male Nurse responsible for the male side of the hospital and a Matron for the female side. Often the male and female nursing staff came from the same family. For all intents and purposes the area covered by the hospital and its ‘workings’ were akin to being a small self contained village, for indeed there was a church/chapel and its own choir (hospital staff.). All the artisan workforce were permanently employed as staff members, so you had plumbers/boiler men/electricians/joiners/painters and decorators/ fire officer/seamstresses/ gardeners/shoe repairer/porters/ hospital laundry. The admin side of hospital life was governed by a ‘Hospital Secretary’ with the overall responsibility taken by the Medical Superintendent and Hospital Management Committee. Residential quarters were supplied to single nursing staff, married nursing staff (houses) Medical staff, Head gardener, Hospital Secretary, Chief boiler house/engineer/Fire Officer (small emergency fire tender on permanent standby with trained rotational duty volunteers from the male nursing staff). The staff canteen was a single storey stone building that actually segregated nursing staff from all other staff in respective dining rooms. In the nursing dining room there were tables set with table cloths and cutlery for resident staff and a waitress service. Staff Social Club, this was a flourishing area for developing community spirit and gossip. Nurse Training School: This depended on periods of block training in the classroom, visits to other mental hospitals and ward based learning in different category wards. The tutors always gave the students an insight in to the previous generations of life in a hospital asylum, with its associated available treatments in comparison with the 1959 era, for example pre frontal leucotomy, or Deep Insulin Therapy to name two, whilst nursing staff were called Attendants. As nursing students we were told that all aspects of mental health treatments in each new generation always looked back with disdain at the previous one, and thought the present was more ideal and humane. I always remembered this ruling, and it is perfectly true, so sometimes when articles are written and illustrated with macabre methods of mental health treatments 200 years previous, then the article should also portray general life as is was on a day to day basis. My first placement on a ward was a little frightening to say the least, even though my father had tried to prepare me for the unexpected. It was known as a locked ward (some wards were unlocked and others locked) and I remember the Charge Nurse who was physically built like an outhouse (not uncommon) taking me into his office and giving me a talk on basic points: Never ever leave a key in a lock and always keep it secured to a chain. Never lend a key to a patient (some patients will tell you the other shift do so.) Always when unlocking a door to leave the ward turn to face the room. Never show fear. Never run to a fight, take stock of the situation and wait for assistance, because some patients were deemed clever enough to stage the fight to cause a distraction whilst the key is wrenched from your person. Fire regulations and precautions were literally ‘drummed in to you’. Suicidal Caution Card (SCC) The Charge Nurse went to great lengths to explain the fact that even though every duty shift had one designated member of staff with special responsibilities for a named suicidal patient it was every member of staff’s business to be equally vigilant. The SSC card had to be signed at the beginning and end of each shift at ‘handover’. Self defence training did not exist but there were certain members of staff who would demonstrate safe restraint techniques. The Charge Nurse then said that he was giving me a ‘minder’ until at such times I gained confidence, he then proceeded to take a pack of five Woodbines out of a locked cupboard and shouted out the name Boris, and at that another very physically proportioned person appeared in the door way (not staff.) and the patient was given the Woodbines and told to look after this boy, (me). I cannot pretend that I was not frightened because I was, but I was to become eternally grateful for this particular Charge Nurse’s introduction and the ‘Minder’ who never left my side when on duty and even though his English was poor, his signs and gestures spoke volumes. It has to be remembered that a locked ward contained some very unpredictable personalities prone to outbursts of violent behaviour and who would be a danger to the public if ever escaped. Also this collection of Paranoia persons in one locked environment required some special qualities of staff members who always had to be seen as dominant group leaders. In reality the nursing care philosophy given in nurse training, whilst been good in theory and for exams, was no match whatsoever for the hands on experience gained from real life situations on the wards. The fact that I started my training in the deep end was a brilliant confidence booster for the remainder of my training and ‘stood me in good stead’ on many occasions. Other wards in the hospital were a mixture of patient categories and numbers except for the admission/treatment unit which had a specific function. When I was allocated this unit for a period of training you had to learn some extra observational skills and after care nursing of patients undergoing Electro convulsive Therapy (straight and modified). It was in this unit that I first saw a fixed steel bath in the centre of a single bathroom with water jets on either side, the Charge Nurse told me that the bath was originally used for violent or agitated patients as method of physical control. The patient (male or female) would be placed in the bath, forcibly if necessary, and a wooden lid with neck opening placed over the patient/bath and held down by nursing staff, at which point the jets would open to release COLD water. In general, some of the long stay wards, housed patients who had almost grown up from boy to man and this had become their home. It was unfortunate in many ways that given adequate support and accommodation some patients would indeed have benefited from living in the community. The lack of single room accommodation was also a drawback to give identity and personal living space to some patients who would have valued the opportunity to live normal. This was indeed recognised by all senior nursing staff but the implementing of such a scheme would have enormous repercussions on cost as at that time they had just built a brand new nurse’s home and refurbished another after many years of debate. The nearest I can remember that closely resembled community care, was when a patient was discharged and allowed a room on a ward to ‘live in’ and being full time employed on the gardening team. Parole was given in two stages, one was not to leave the hospital grounds, and the second group were allowed to visit the local village. I do not recall any problems at all except for their habit of picking up ‘tab ends’ but perhaps it is worth mentioning that the local organist for the Catholic Church was in fact a long stay patient. The hospital housed app 2000 patients at any one time, and to cater for their individual needs required a dedicated army of all staff grades and departments to do so. Some wards contained upwards of 70 patients, and were normally housed with the ground floor for the dayroom, ward kitchen, Charge Nurse’s office, store rooms etc and the upper floor being the dormitory area. Within different hospital departments (including wards) male and female patients were ‘employed’ as proficient and semi proficient labour force for a monetary payment (I am unclear regarding how this actually worked). As I have already indicated, the hospital deemed itself to be almost self sufficient which included the following supporting services: Shop and tea bar. Chapel/Church Laundry Sewing room Gardens ? Farm Cobblers for leather shoe repairs. Artisan helpers Hospital kitchen (patient meals were very substantial) The dayrooms and dormitories which had an almost universal colour scheme of creams, greens and browns, were generally kept very clean, with the industrial heavy duty linoleum flooring buffed to a soft sheen. From a recreational viewpoint there were some definite positives, such as snooker tables, organised dances, cinema, cricket & football, walking parties over nearby rural areas. Visiting hours were restricted to Sat and Sun afternoons which were held in a very large dining room with a centre separation corridor to divide female and male patients and their visitors. There were two long tables for a charge nurse and a ward sister to receive visitors who had to show the staff a visitor’s card which was duly recorded in a visitors’ ledger. A junior member of nursing staff would then go to the respective ward and escort the patient (each had a biscuit tin) back to the visiting room where visitors would fill the tin with sweets and cakes. Other members of nursing staff would remain in the visitor’s area to quell any fights, which did happen fairly frequently. Sickness among patients was a normal process, and a ‘sick ward’ was used to accommodate none life threatening illnesses. However deaths did occur and these were treated with dignity, for example when a person died and a doctor certified death, two male student nurses would be despatched to the mortuary to collect a polished wood large wheeled hand trolley called a bier to which was added a coffin, this was then wheeled through the hospital grounds where the empty coffin would be taken to the ward for the deceased to be placed in the box. On the return journey a large black cloth sheet was draped over the coffin, and each staff member would be carrying a trilby hat by their side. Whilst I enjoyed my mental nurse training some fifty years ago, it was refreshing to realise that even then, thoughts of improving future quality of care was mooted, even by the most senior nursing staff and it would be true to say I never once witnessed patient cruelty by any member of staff. Incidentally one unusual feature of staff promotion, was that to become a charge nurse you had to wait in line for a staff death or retirement, so for example when my father died, the next most senior staff nurse was promoted to Charge Nurse without any competitive interviewing. From a positive aspect, the beginning of a new era of pharmacological drugs were seen to be a major force in the treatment of mental illness and together with the publication of the1959Mental Act hopes for a better future were high. On the down side, it must be said that for the vast majority of patients there was a very distinct lack of privacy and individual choice. 1/ all dormitories were very sparse with row upon row of black tubular steel beds, white counterpanes and one pillow, NO bed side lockers were provided so when patients undressed, their clothes were folded in a bundle and placed on the floor underneath the bed. Chamber pots had just been removed. There was once an incident where a male patient did ‘hang himself’ and died whilst still in bed (admission ward) and a full investigation followed with two members of nursing staff severely reprimanded. The tubular head frames were quite high and he used his own tie to form a noose attached round his neck and the free end tied to a bed head rail then his own body became a dead weight which resulted in asphyxiation. 2/ clean shirt day was a system where all patients were asked to remove their shirts and they were handed out a clean replacement to the nearest fit. 3/The ten head shower room was a communal area, with the availability of perhaps one single bath. 4/ Wet shaving 60-70 patients was sometimes a nightmare, In the dayroom long trestle type tables were set up with each member of staff given a bowl of warm to hot water, one razor with one blade, and a towel. A small table on the left side was set up with a trustee patient acting as ‘latherer’ and a similar table was set up on the right side with towel and roll of toilet tissue manned by another trustee. The patients lined up in front of the ‘latherer’ who very quickly commenced lathering while the staff commenced shaving and the patient went to the small right table to repair any small bleeding skin cuts. Restraint issues: Side rooms, padded rooms, restraining harnesses, padded helmets should not be really seen as draconian treatment measures, for in the absence of large numbers of staff to physically contain a prolonged violent outburst or an issue of self harm, the use of other physical measures were deemed necessary to prevent harm to the patient in an era when selective medication was not available. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Grateful thanks to Sylva for submitting his vivid and fascinating recollections of nursing life. ****************************************************************************************************************************************** In front of me is my first pay note with a commencement date March 3rd 1959 and a take home amount of _2:18:11 (old money) for one weeks work as a male Cadet mental nurse. I became a student in July of the same year on my 18th birthday and completed my three years training in 1962. Following on from army service, my father started his Mental nurse training and was already a Charge nurse, my mother untrained (became Enrolled by default.) and my brother a Staff nurse at the time I started my own training. The majority of all grades of staff were employed from the surrounding villages. The recent article (Lindsay Pantry) in the Wakefield Express has prompted me to put _pen to paper_ some memory notes without any specific story line, or categorisation. If I am to make notations of social history in a specific area, for example Coal Mines, Fishing Industry, Acute General Hospitals etc then it is imperative to give some indication regarding the way of life and level of technology outside the subject matter, because invariably the two develop in tandem in a generational time scale. In the 1950_s life was relatively simple with lots of bicycles and fewer cars. Mining industry was flourishing, not everyone had a television but most had a valve radio. Washing machines, fridges, gas and electric ovens were _thin on the ground_, no fitted carpets and an electric vac or home telephone would be considered luxury. No such commodity as the two way light dimmer, no modern bathroom appliances and yet it was quite common to have an outside toilet with normal chain pull flush. Open coal fires were commonly found in most households and the sight of the coal man was a very welcome visitor. There was a seemingly decent public transport bus service (bus conductor) with the private sector fulfilling the need of the workers at the factories and mines. As young children and teenagers, we devised our own outdoor play pursuits and sometimes this bordered on being mischievous. Clothing in families were usually handed down and altered by hand where applicable, and holes in socks were darned by your mother as was the making of clippie mats. Whether it was private, or council owned property everyone tended to their gardens with neat bordered lawns at the front and vegetable plots at the rear. Children from council housing mixed equally well with private housing children as did their parents. We did not have school uniform, yet all children went to school neat and tidy with polished footwear. If you walked about with hands in your trouser pockets, my mother would simply sew them together until you stopped the habit. Swearing and really bad language----I never knew what it was like to hear this uttered. From an illness point of view there was of course your local village doctor whose surgery was an open house with no appointment system, you simply walked into the waiting room and asked someone who was the last person in, consequently you then knew when it was your turn to see the doctor. At that time, the local cinema had two projectors which were illuminated inside the casing not by a powerful lamp bulb, but by two carbon rods. My interview for RMN training. Following a psychology test involving written and verbal questions (stop watch timing) I have a further interview with a tutor and Chief Male Nurse, subsequently I am told that I can initially start as a cadet nurse working in the Medical/ records office until I reach 18years of age when I will formerly commence RMN training. Uniform----Good quality made to measure navy blue suit with waistcoat and two pairs of trousers plus a trilby hat which had to be carried in one hand when moving a deceased body from a ward to the mortuary. Wages, these were paid every Thursday in cash, with a facility to nominate a colleague to collect on your behalf. Day Shift pattern was an alternative week of mornings then a week of afternoons. Hours of duty were (6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm with night duty 10pm to 6am) One day off per week set in rotational fashion, Monday one week, then Tuesday the following week and so on. Holidays were something you did not request, they were given you. At my early age the hospital viewed from the outside was very elegant indeed with its litter free grounds, immaculate cricket/sports area, and an abundance of flower beds provided by the hospital gardens, which would have equalled today_s Garden Centres, (A limited supply of allotments were provided and offered to any staff member group). Wherever you viewed _looked lived in_ with freshly painted woodwork and neat curtains where applicable, for there were in many areas, wooden shutters which replaced curtains as a safety measure. Male and Female patients were physically segregated and separately managed with a Chief Male Nurse responsible for the male side of the hospital and a Matron for the female side. Often the male and female nursing staff came from the same family. For all intents and purposes the area covered by the hospital and its _workings_ were akin to being a small self contained village, for indeed there was a church/chapel and its own choir (hospital staff.). All the artisan workforce were permanently employed as staff members, so you had plumbers/boiler men/electricians/joiners/painters and decorators/ fire officer/seamstresses/ gardeners/shoe repairer/porters/ hospital laundry. The admin side of hospital life was governed by a _Hospital Secretary_ with the overall responsibility taken by the Medical Superintendent and Hospital Management Committee. Residential quarters were supplied to single nursing staff, married nursing staff (houses) Medical staff, Head gardener, Hospital Secretary, Chief boiler house/engineer/Fire Officer (small emergency fire tender on permanent standby with trained rotational duty volunteers from the male nursing staff). The staff canteen was a single storey stone building that actually segregated nursing staff from all other staff in respective dining rooms. In the nursing dining room there were tables set with table cloths and cutlery for resident staff and a waitress service. Staff Social Club, this was a flourishing area for developing community spirit and gossip. Nurse Training School: This depended on periods of block training in the classroom, visits to other mental hospitals and ward based learning in different category wards. The tutors always gave the students an insight in to the previous generations of life in a hospital asylum, with its associated available treatments in comparison with the 1959 era, for example pre frontal leucotomy, or Deep Insulin Therapy to name two, whilst nursing staff were called Attendants. As nursing students we were told that all aspects of mental health treatments in each new generation always looked back with disdain at the previous one, and thought the present was more ideal and humane. I always remembered this ruling, and it is perfectly true, so sometimes when articles are written and illustrated with macabre methods of mental health treatments 200 years previous, then the article should also portray general life as is was on a day to day basis. My first placement on a ward was a little frightening to say the least, even though my father had tried to prepare me for the unexpected. It was known as a locked ward (some wards were unlocked and others locked) and I remember the Charge Nurse who was physically built like an outhouse (not uncommon) taking me into his office and giving me a talk on basic points: Never ever leave a key in a lock and always keep it secured to a chain. Never lend a key to a patient (some patients will tell you the other shift do so.) Always when unlocking a door to leave the ward turn to face the room. Never show fear. Never run to a fight, take stock of the situation and wait for assistance, because some patients were deemed clever enough to stage the fight to cause a distraction whilst the key is wrenched from your person. Fire regulations and precautions were literally _drummed in to you_. Suicidal Caution Card (SCC) The Charge Nurse went to great lengths to explain the fact that even though every duty shift had one designated member of staff with special responsibilities for a named suicidal patient it was every member of staff_s business to be equally vigilant. The SSC card had to be signed at the beginning and end of each shift at _handover_. Self defence training did not exist but there were certain members of staff who would demonstrate safe restraint techniques. The Charge Nurse then said that he was giving me a _minder_ until at such times I gained confidence, he then proceeded to take a pack of five Woodbines out of a locked cupboard and shouted out the name Boris, and at that another very physically proportioned person appeared in the door way (not staff.) and the patient was given the Woodbines and told to look after this boy, (me). I cannot pretend that I was not frightened because I was, but I was to become eternally grateful for this particular Charge Nurse_s introduction and the _Minder_ who never left my side when on duty and even though his English was poor, his signs and gestures spoke volumes. It has to be remembered that a locked ward contained some very unpredictable personalities prone to outbursts of violent behaviour and who would be a danger to the public if ever escaped. Also this collection of Paranoia persons in one locked environment required some special qualities of staff members who always had to be seen as dominant group leaders. In reality the nursing care philosophy given in nurse training, whilst been good in theory and for exams, was no match whatsoever for the hands on experience gained from real life situations on the wards. The fact that I started my training in the deep end was a brilliant confidence booster for the remainder of my training and _stood me in good stead_ on many occasions. Other wards in the hospital were a mixture of patient categories and numbers except for the admission/treatment unit which had a specific function. When I was allocated this unit for a period of training you had to learn some extra observational skills and after care nursing of patients undergoing Electro convulsive Therapy (straight and modified). It was in this unit that I first saw a fixed steel bath in the centre of a single bathroom with water jets on either side, the Charge Nurse told me that the bath was originally used for violent or agitated patients as method of physical control. The patient (male or female) would be placed in the bath, forcibly if necessary, and a wooden lid with neck opening placed over the patient/bath and held down by nursing staff, at which point the jets would open to release COLD water. In general, some of the long stay wards, housed patients who had almost grown up from boy to man and this had become their home. It was unfortunate in many ways that given adequate support and accommodation some patients would indeed have benefited from living in the community. The lack of single room accommodation was also a drawback to give identity and personal living space to some patients who would have valued the opportunity to live normal. This was indeed recognised by all senior nursing staff but the implementing of such a scheme would have enormous repercussions on cost as at that time they had just built a brand new nurse_s home and refurbished another after many years of debate. The nearest I can remember that closely resembled community care, was when a patient was discharged and allowed a room on a ward to _live in_ and being full time employed on the gardening team. Parole was given in two stages, one was not to leave the hospital grounds, and the second group were allowed to visit the local village. I do not recall any problems at all except for their habit of picking up _tab ends_ but perhaps it is worth mentioning that the local organist for the Catholic Church was in fact a long stay patient. The hospital housed app 2000 patients at any one time, and to cater for their individual needs required a dedicated army of all staff grades and departments to do so. Some wards contained upwards of 70 patients, and were normally housed with the ground floor for the dayroom, ward kitchen, Charge Nurse_s office, store rooms etc and the upper floor being the dormitory area. Within different hospital departments (including wards) male and female patients were _employed_ as proficient and semi proficient labour force for a monetary payment (I am unclear regarding how this actually worked). As I have already indicated, the hospital deemed itself to be almost self sufficient which included the following supporting services: Shop and tea bar. Chapel/Church Laundry Sewing room Gardens ? Farm Cobblers for leather shoe repairs. Artisan helpers Hospital kitchen (patient meals were very substantial) The dayrooms and dormitories which had an almost universal colour scheme of creams, greens and browns, were generally kept very clean, with the industrial heavy duty linoleum flooring buffed to a soft sheen. From a recreational viewpoint there were some definite positives, such as snooker tables, organised dances, cinema, cricket & football, walking parties over nearby rural areas. Visiting hours were restricted to Sat and Sun afternoons which were held in a very large dining room with a centre separation corridor to divide female and male patients and their visitors. There were two long tables for a charge nurse and a ward sister to receive visitors who had to show the staff a visitor_s card which was duly recorded in a visitors_ ledger. A junior member of nursing staff would then go to the respective ward and escort the patient (each had a biscuit tin) back to the visiting room where visitors would fill the tin with sweets and cakes. Other members of nursing staff would remain in the visitor_s area to quell any fights, which did happen fairly frequently. Sickness among patients was a normal process, and a _sick ward_ was used to accommodate none life threatening illnesses. However deaths did occur and these were treated with dignity, for example when a person died and a doctor certified death, two male student nurses would be despatched to the mortuary to collect a polished wood large wheeled hand trolley called a bier to which was added a coffin, this was then wheeled through the hospital grounds where the empty coffin would be taken to the ward for the deceased to be placed in the box. On the return journey a large black cloth sheet was draped over the coffin, and each staff member would be carrying a trilby hat by their side. Whilst I enjoyed my mental nurse training some fifty years ago, it was refreshing to realise that even then, thoughts of improving future quality of care was mooted, even by the most senior nursing staff and it would be true to say I never once witnessed patient cruelty by any member of staff. Incidentally one unusual feature of staff promotion, was that to become a charge nurse you had to wait in line for a staff death or retirement, so for example when my father died, the next most senior staff nurse was promoted to Charge Nurse without any competitive interviewing. From a positive aspect, the beginning of a new era of pharmacological drugs were seen to be a major force in the treatment of mental illness and together with the publication of the1959Mental Act hopes for a better future were high. On the down side, it must be said that for the vast majority of patients there was a very distinct lack of privacy and individual choice. 1/ all dormitories were very sparse with row upon row of black tubular steel beds, white counterpanes and one pillow, NO bed side lockers were provided so when patients undressed, their clothes were folded in a bundle and placed on the floor underneath the bed. Chamber pots had just been removed. There was once an incident where a male patient did _hang himself_ and died whilst still in bed (admission ward) and a full investigation followed with two members of nursing staff severely reprimanded. The tubular head frames were quite high and he used his own tie to form a noose attached round his neck and the free end tied to a bed head rail then his own body became a dead weight which resulted in asphyxiation. 2/ clean shirt day was a system where all patients were asked to remove their shirts and they were handed out a clean replacement to the nearest fit. 3/The ten head shower room was a communal area, with the availability of perhaps one single bath. 4/ Wet shaving 60-70 patients was sometimes a nightmare, In the dayroom long trestle type tables were set up with each member of staff given a bowl of warm to hot water, one razor with one blade, and a towel. A small table on the left side was set up with a trustee patient acting as _latherer_ and a similar table was set up on the right side with towel and roll of toilet tissue manned by another trustee. The patients lined up in front of the _latherer_ who very quickly commenced lathering while the staff commenced shaving and the patient went to the small right table to repair any small bleeding skin cuts. Restraint issues: Side rooms, padded rooms, restraining harnesses, padded helmets should not be really seen as draconian treatment measures, for in the absence of large numbers of staff to physically contain a prolonged violent outburst or an issue of self harm, the use of other physical measures were deemed necessary to prevent harm to the patient in an era when selective medication was not available.

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Nurse Patricks Tour 2003 http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1665589.html Many thanks to Patrick Goulden for donating these wonderful images from 2003. Patrick sent me the following message with the photos. "I did have a small 'brief' for these photographs - as a member of staff for some years, I wanted my own collection of how I wanted to remember the place, taken on the same route that I used to walk round it, as I did quite often" "To me, digital images are quite unnerving to look at sometimes, because there is no sense of age to them - in that they don't deteriorate and give a sense of passed time, like paper or celluloid images do. It's odd to look at them now - at the time, I didn't attach much significance to them because it was just the same familiar place, but this was some years ago and obviously things have changed a great deal - I remember something about a plan to redevelop the hospital tastefully, and to retain its character" "Anyway - what you have here is my favourite walk around a very favourite place, and I hope other people visiting your site can now enjoy this as much as I did" I'm very proud of the fact that I worked at High Royds. I miss it like hell, but I'll be saying that about where I work now in a short time. You have to enjoy what you have while you have it, because it'll be gone much sooner than you think. I want to thank you for a brilliant site, Mark, keep up the excellent work - nice to see the 'family home' is in such careful hands." See more of Patricks Time at High Royds by looking in the section titled, Psychiatric Nurse - Patrick's Story http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1545135.html Tuesday 30 November 1999: Many thanks to Patrick Goulden for donating these wonderful images from 2003. Patrick sent me the following message with the photos. "I did have a small 'brief' for these photographs - as a member of staff for some years, I wanted my own collection of how I wanted to remember the place, taken on the same route that I used to walk round it, as I did quite often" "To me, digital images are quite unnerving to look at sometimes, because there is no sense of age to them - in that they don't deteriorate and give a sense of passed time, like paper or celluloid images do. It's odd to look at them now - at the time, I didn't attach much significance to them because it was just the same familiar place, but this was some years ago and obviously things have changed a great deal - I remember something about a plan to redevelop the hospital tastefully, and to retain its character" "Anyway - what you have here is my favourite walk around a very favourite place, and I hope other people visiting your site can now enjoy this as much as I did" I'm very proud of the fact that I worked at High Royds. I miss it like hell, but I'll be saying that about where I work now in a short time. You have to enjoy what you have while you have it, because it'll be gone much sooner than you think. I want to thank you for a brilliant site, Mark, keep up the excellent work - nice to see the 'family home' is in such careful hands." See more of Patricks Time at High Royds by looking in the section titled, Psychiatric Nurse - Patrick's Story http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1545135.html

Approaching Norwood & Burnsall, new social club on the left. Norwood Burnsall, Originally An Extension Of The Male Chronic Block, This Block Was Demolished In Recent Years Norwood Burnsall, Originally An Extension Of The Male Chronic Block, This Block Was Demolished In Recent Years View From The Old Bowling Green Taking In What Was The Originally The Male Chronic Block Ward 10 The New Social club, Originally The Male Chronic Block Hazelwood To The Left, In The Sixties David Oluwale Spent a Number Of Years In This Refractory Ward Hazelwood To The Left The Refractory Ward During The 1960's, To The Right Barden - Bolton Originally The Male Epileptic Block Barden - Bolton Corridor Stainton - Marrick Originally The Male Acute Block Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 View from rear of Richmond Ward Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 Pretty In Pink. Escroft - Richmond Prior To Demolition 2003 Side road off the main drive, leading to to Escroft / Richmond / old treatment unit & pathology labs. On The Bend Not Round It. Admin, Dead Centre The Beautiful Clock Tower Administration Building Taking A well Earned Rest After 115 Years Of Loyal Service Denton - Clifton to The Right, Originally The Male Sick And Infirm Block Old School of Nursing. Hawes To The Left, Askrigg To The Right Aysgarth To The Right, Originally The Female Sick And Infirm Block. Driveway To Askrigg, Originally The Female Acute Block Askrigg, Originally The Female Acute Block Rear Of Aysgarth - Hawes the Window looking into Masham Ward. Askrigg (later Conistone), taken facing away from Litton & Masham wards. One Of The Many Airing Shelters Askrigg Towards Aysgarth The Cricket Pitch Cricket Pavllion This road is what used to run in front of the old Birkdale / Whernside / Ingleborough / Woodale block, which is now all new housing. It was taken roughly where the road barrier is now in place. Cricket Pitch This house was built for Dr Kirwan in the late 20s - at the time of photographing - it had been disused for many years - you could actually see the whole left side of the house leaning to one side, with big cracks in the brickwork. It was just next to the old tennis courts on the Laundry drive, and was demolished for the new housing. Aysgarth - Hawes Originally The Female Sick And Infirm Unit Directions Laundry Drive, The Old Social Club Is To The Right Whernside To The Left, Originally The Female Chronic Block Rear of Birkdale, Whernside etc Rear of Birkdale, Whernside etc From the other side of the ward -the ward behind the post room, which I think was Deepdale - on the ground floor, next to Melbeck. Nurses Residence 2, Now Converted To Housing The ward behind the post room, which I think was Deepdale - on the ground floor, next to Melbeck. Nurses Residence To The Left The Underpass

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Electric Convulsive Therapy (ect) http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1652467.html The story of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) began in 1938, when Italian psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti visited a Rome slaughterhouse to see what could be learned from the method that was employed to butcher hogs. In Cerletti's own words, "As soon as the hogs were clamped by the [electric] tongs, they fell unconscious, stiffened, then after a few seconds they were shaken by convulsions.... During this period of unconsciousness (epileptic coma), the butcher stabbed and bled the animals without difficulty.... "At this point I felt we could venture to experiment on man, and I instructed my assistants to be on the alert for the selection of a suitable subject." Cerletti's first victim was provided by the local police - a diagnosed schizophrenic with delusions, hallucinations and confusion. After surviving the first blast without losing consciousness, the victim overheard Cerletti discussing a second application with a higher voltage. He begged Cerletti, "Non una seconda! Mortifierel" ("Not another one! It will kill me!") Ignoring the objections of his assistants, Cerletti increased the voltage and duration and fired again. With the 'successful' electrically induced convulsion of his victim, Ugo Cerletti brought about the application of hog-slaughtering skills to humans, creating one of the most brutal techniques of psychiatry. In ECT, 180 to 460 volts of electricity (the current is between 750 and 900 mA) are fired through the brain, for a tenth of a second to six seconds, either from temple to temple or from the front to the back of one side of the head. The result is a severe convulsion, or seizure, of long duration, as in an epileptic fit. The usual course of treatment involves 10 to 12 shocks over a period of weeks. For some, the experience is traumatic and devastating, while for others, it is a blessing and a salvation. Tuesday 30 November 1999: The story of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) began in 1938, when Italian psychiatrist Ugo Cerletti visited a Rome slaughterhouse to see what could be learned from the method that was employed to butcher hogs. In Cerletti's own words, "As soon as the hogs were clamped by the [electric] tongs, they fell unconscious, stiffened, then after a few seconds they were shaken by convulsions.... During this period of unconsciousness (epileptic coma), the butcher stabbed and bled the animals without difficulty.... "At this point I felt we could venture to experiment on man, and I instructed my assistants to be on the alert for the selection of a suitable subject." Cerletti's first victim was provided by the local police - a diagnosed schizophrenic with delusions, hallucinations and confusion. After surviving the first blast without losing consciousness, the victim overheard Cerletti discussing a second application with a higher voltage. He begged Cerletti, "Non una seconda! Mortifierel" ("Not another one! It will kill me!") Ignoring the objections of his assistants, Cerletti increased the voltage and duration and fired again. With the 'successful' electrically induced convulsion of his victim, Ugo Cerletti brought about the application of hog-slaughtering skills to humans, creating one of the most brutal techniques of psychiatry. In ECT, 180 to 460 volts of electricity (the current is between 750 and 900 mA) are fired through the brain, for a tenth of a second to six seconds, either from temple to temple or from the front to the back of one side of the head. The result is a severe convulsion, or seizure, of long duration, as in an epileptic fit. The usual course of treatment involves 10 to 12 shocks over a period of weeks. For some, the experience is traumatic and devastating, while for others, it is a blessing and a salvation.

Teatment Ugo Cerletti 1887 - 1963 Shock Therapy Shock Therapy Shock Therapy Operating Instructions 2 Operating Instructions 1 Operating Instructions 4 Operating Instructions 3

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 A War To End All Wars 1914 - 1918 http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1644472.html World War I, 1914 - 1918 Proceedings At A Meeting Of The West Riding Of Yorkshire Asylums Board Held At Storthes Hall Asylum On Friday, the 26th February 1915. Accommodation For Sick And Wounded Soldiers. The Chairman reported that he, along with Clerk, Treasurer and The Medical Superintendent Of Wakefield Asylum, had on the invitation of the Board of Control, attended a Conference in London, on Monday, the 8th February, 1915, when it was decided that all the Asylums in England and Wales should be grouped according to geographical contiguity into eight groups, and that from each group, one Asylum should be offered through the Board of Control to the War Office, and that the Visiting Committee of the Asylums in each group should combine, and at once formulate the details of a thorough Scheme under which, at very short notice, that particular Asylum could be cleared of all its Patients and handed over, and that under this arrangement the West Riding Asylums had been grouped with eight neighbouring Institutions, and that the Asylum which should dbe offered to the War Office should be the Wadsley Asylum. A conference had accordingly been held at Wakefield, on the 15th February 1915 ( the Chairman Of the Asylums Board being in the Chair ), between the Visiting Committees of the grouped Asylums in which the Weest Riding Asylums were included, when a Resolution and Scheme were approved for utilising Wadsley Asylum as a Hospital for Sick and Wounded Soldiers Subject to the Military Authorities defraying all expenses caused by the use of the Asylum for such purposes. resolved. That this Board Approve the Resolution and Scheme passed and adopted at the Conference held at the Asylum, Wakefield on the 15th February, 1915 and authorise their Clerk to sign any agreement or other Document that may required to formally record this approval, and that the Common Seal of the Board be affixed to all necessary documents in the matter. ..................................................... Wadsley Asylum was renamed "Wharncliffe War Hospital" The transferring of Inmates - nearly 1700 was commenced on March 16th 1915 and completed by the 30th March 1915. The Asylum was thus cleared in a fortnight. The great many of the Patients (1400) were transferred to the Sister Asylums, Menston, Storthes Hall and Wakefield, by motor Char - a - bancs. The remainder were sent to out of County Asylums, Hull, Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, etc. the Privare class of male and female Patients were tranferred to Scalebor Park And Menston Respectively without mishap. Only 12 Patients were retained at the Farm Residence. With The approval of the War Office The Institution was named Wharncliffe War Hospital. It was first assumed the the Hospital would provide beds for 2,000 Sick and Wounded Soldiers. This was found to be impossible - not only would would there have been undue overcrowding, but part of the building had to be set aside to provide accommodation for the large Staff of Sisters and Staff Nurses, and for the R.A.M.C Personnel. The number of beds made available was 1,500 and was hoped that the number not be exceeded. Authority was given by the War Office, through the Board of Control, for the Committee to carry out such structural alterations as were deemed neccesary ................................................................................................. World War I was a war without parallel - all previous wars were eclipsed by its scale of destruction. It was a struggle between Europe's great powers, which were grouped into two hostile alliances. The number of men mobilised by both sides: the central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey), and the allied powers (Britain and Empire, France, Belgium, Russia, Italy, USA), totalled over 65 million. When the fighting was finally over, no-one could tell exactly how many had been killed but historians estimate that up to 10 million men lost their lives on the battlefield - and another 20 million were wounded. As well as all the great powers of Europe being involved, the war also extended into Asia and Africa. Troops throughout the Commonwealth rallied to support Britain.Over three million came from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. Sea battles took place in the South Atlantic and the Pacific. The USA also intervened in European affairs for the first time, with more than 100,000 American troops killed helping to guarantee an allied victory. World War I is also regarded as the first "total war" in which the combatants mobilised all their resources, military, industrial and human, on a scale never before thought possible. Trench warfare For the first time war involved the use of new technology such as aeroplanes, tanks and submarines. But it is trench warfare that remains the lasting image of World War I. The increased power of the more modern weapons gave much greater advantages to defence, making it more difficult to win quick victories. This led to often huge losses by the attackers - on the first day of the Battle of the Somme 60,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded. Trench warfare created an endless demand for men, munitions and supplies with often no apparent gains or victories. The armistice and after 10 million were killed in World War I By the beginning of 1918 the tide of battle turned and the German armies began to retreat. Demoralised German workers, suffering from food and fuel shortages, threatened revolution at home. German leaders feared a communist take-over and eventually asked the allies for peace. The armistice went into effect at 11am on 11 November, 1918. The war resulted in a radical reshaping of the political map of Europe. It spelled the end of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires and was the catalyst for the Russian revolution. It left much of Europe in severe economic hardship. As well as political changes the war led to social changes in Europe too - with wider opportunities and greater equality for women. But 90 years later it is perhaps best remembered for the staggering loss of human life. In the decade following the Great War many had the firm conviction that it should be "the war to end all wars". ..................................................................................................... 1914 - 1918 Fighting for King and Country. The Asylum minutes record with pride, that the call to arms heralded by propoganda posters such as these, was heeded as every man sought to do his duty. THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN In 1914 Great Britain was plunged into a desperate war - the likes of which could scarcely be imagined in even the worst hallucinations of the learned Mr Z. - and the world would never be quite the same again. The Asylum at Menston was a mirror of the national situation, with many members of staff getting caught up in the excitement and hastening to join the colours to play their part in a fight which many confidently predicted would end in victory by Christmas. By the end of 1914 the war was far from won, and 26 staff – including two out of the four assistant medical officers – had left for active service, causing problems at Menston which were compounded when the Asylum at Wadsley was converted into a military hospital. Some 254 extra patients were transferred to Menston, swelling the total of patients to 2,061. By the end of 1915 a further 35 attendants and ten artisans had enlisted, and desperate measures were required. For the first time in 1916 two male medical wards were placed under the care of female nurses, and the whole Asylum had to manage with just the medical superintendent, a permanent assistant medical officer and one locum. As the war dragged on and the numbers of soldiers killed or maimed on the Western Front continued to rise inexorably, Britain’s resources were stretched almost to breaking point. The arrival of a new ally, the United States, did much to raise morale in 1917, but the level of American casualties meant by 1918 they too were looking for hospital facilities, and a plan to transfer Menston to the United States army was only averted by the longedfor peace in November 1918. Suffering on the Home Front continued, however, as the unprecedented influenza epidemic ravaged the country. As a result of the epidemic, the death rate at Menston shot up from around 14% to 21%. At its height, 520 patients and 132 staff were affected, and 89 patients and one nurse died as a result. The legacy of the Great War, and particularly the great bombardments of the Western Front , would linger on at Menston. A number severely shellshocked servicemen invalided out of the forces ended up as patients, staying on for many years after the end of hostilities. A Bannister. February 1915 Dr G M Graham left the asylum service in order to enter the Royal Navy, having acted as Junior Assistant Medical Officer for nine months. Dr Kelly who acted as Assistant to the temporary Medical Officer also resigned and is now on active service. In addition to these, 24 members of the staff have left to join the army since the outbreak of the war and several others are on the point of going. The vacancies in most cases have been filled by temporary appointments. During the year the hours of duty of attendants and nurses have been considerably reduced, necessitating an increase in the number of staff. In the minutes of the 1st January 1917 in changes in staff on Dec 26th, Dr C J Stack who acted as temporary Assistant Medical Officer for 18 months, died after a few weeks illness. He had proved himself a valuable member of the staff and his early death was greatly deplored. All the attendants of military age offered themselves for attestation under Lord Derby’s scheme, and have now been called up, with the exception of those exempted by the tribunal and those rejected on medical grounds. In order to compensate to some extent for the consequent reduction of staff, two male wards have been placed under the care of female nurses and 11 of the latter are now employed in the care of male patients. Dr R C Walker Senior Assistant Medical Officer joined the army in May and proceeded abroad on active service. Menston Asylum accommodation for sick and wounded soldiers of US forces. The chairman reported that he along with the clerk had on 21st August 1918, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Board of Control attended in London, when a request was put forward as to whether the Board might be willing to favourably entertain an application for the use of Menston Asylum as an hospital, by the US forces for their sick and wounded. It was stated that the expeditionary forces apart from the desire to do everything possible to provide for the treatment of the wounded soldiers of our allies, the question of affording health, at this juncture, to the US authorities an additional important aspect namely an international one. The army council had informed the Board of Control that they have received a request from the US headquarters in Great Britain asking that arrangements might be made for the provision of a large amount of hospital accommodation for the wounded and sick of the US expeditionary forces, and that it had been found possible to provide for only a portion of the total amount desired. Certain excellent accommodation has been generously given for the purpose by an Asylum authority in the south of England, but they were still lacking 3000 beds. Lord Derby - Secretary Of State For War 1916 -1918 A Call To Arms The Derby Scheme Prime Minister Asquith appointed Lord Derby Director-General of Recruitment in 1915. It was Derby who unveiled what came to be known as the Derby Scheme, a recruitment policy under which men could give their voluntary 'assent' to being called up if necessary; the government in turn promised to call up married men last. Herbert Henry Asquith, born in Morley Yorkshire, resigned on 5 December 1916; Lloyd George succeeded him on 7 December. Tuesday 30 November 1999: World War I, 1914 - 1918 Proceedings At A Meeting Of The West Riding Of Yorkshire Asylums Board Held At Storthes Hall Asylum On Friday, the 26th February 1915. Accommodation For Sick And Wounded Soldiers. The Chairman reported that he, along with Clerk, Treasurer and The Medical Superintendent Of Wakefield Asylum, had on the invitation of the Board of Control, attended a Conference in London, on Monday, the 8th February, 1915, when it was decided that all the Asylums in England and Wales should be grouped according to geographical contiguity into eight groups, and that from each group, one Asylum should be offered through the Board of Control to the War Office, and that the Visiting Committee of the Asylums in each group should combine, and at once formulate the details of a thorough Scheme under which, at very short notice, that particular Asylum could be cleared of all its Patients and handed over, and that under this arrangement the West Riding Asylums had been grouped with eight neighbouring Institutions, and that the Asylum which should dbe offered to the War Office should be the Wadsley Asylum. A conference had accordingly been held at Wakefield, on the 15th February 1915 ( the Chairman Of the Asylums Board being in the Chair ), between the Visiting Committees of the grouped Asylums in which the Weest Riding Asylums were included, when a Resolution and Scheme were approved for utilising Wadsley Asylum as a Hospital for Sick and Wounded Soldiers Subject to the Military Authorities defraying all expenses caused by the use of the Asylum for such purposes. resolved. That this Board Approve the Resolution and Scheme passed and adopted at the Conference held at the Asylum, Wakefield on the 15th February, 1915 and authorise their Clerk to sign any agreement or other Document that may required to formally record this approval, and that the Common Seal of the Board be affixed to all necessary documents in the matter. ..................................................... Wadsley Asylum was renamed "Wharncliffe War Hospital" The transferring of Inmates - nearly 1700 was commenced on March 16th 1915 and completed by the 30th March 1915. The Asylum was thus cleared in a fortnight. The great many of the Patients (1400) were transferred to the Sister Asylums, Menston, Storthes Hall and Wakefield, by motor Char - a - bancs. The remainder were sent to out of County Asylums, Hull, Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, etc. the Privare class of male and female Patients were tranferred to Scalebor Park And Menston Respectively without mishap. Only 12 Patients were retained at the Farm Residence. With The approval of the War Office The Institution was named Wharncliffe War Hospital. It was first assumed the the Hospital would provide beds for 2,000 Sick and Wounded Soldiers. This was found to be impossible - not only would would there have been undue overcrowding, but part of the building had to be set aside to provide accommodation for the large Staff of Sisters and Staff Nurses, and for the R.A.M.C Personnel. The number of beds made available was 1,500 and was hoped that the number not be exceeded. Authority was given by the War Office, through the Board of Control, for the Committee to carry out such structural alterations as were deemed neccesary ................................................................................................. World War I was a war without parallel - all previous wars were eclipsed by its scale of destruction. It was a struggle between Europe's great powers, which were grouped into two hostile alliances. The number of men mobilised by both sides: the central powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey), and the allied powers (Britain and Empire, France, Belgium, Russia, Italy, USA), totalled over 65 million. When the fighting was finally over, no-one could tell exactly how many had been killed but historians estimate that up to 10 million men lost their lives on the battlefield - and another 20 million were wounded. As well as all the great powers of Europe being involved, the war also extended into Asia and Africa. Troops throughout the Commonwealth rallied to support Britain.Over three million came from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. Sea battles took place in the South Atlantic and the Pacific. The USA also intervened in European affairs for the first time, with more than 100,000 American troops killed helping to guarantee an allied victory. World War I is also regarded as the first "total war" in which the combatants mobilised all their resources, military, industrial and human, on a scale never before thought possible. Trench warfare For the first time war involved the use of new technology such as aeroplanes, tanks and submarines. But it is trench warfare that remains the lasting image of World War I. The increased power of the more modern weapons gave much greater advantages to defence, making it more difficult to win quick victories. This led to often huge losses by the attackers - on the first day of the Battle of the Somme 60,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded. Trench warfare created an endless demand for men, munitions and supplies with often no apparent gains or victories. The armistice and after 10 million were killed in World War I By the beginning of 1918 the tide of battle turned and the German armies began to retreat. Demoralised German workers, suffering from food and fuel shortages, threatened revolution at home. German leaders feared a communist take-over and eventually asked the allies for peace. The armistice went into effect at 11am on 11 November, 1918. The war resulted in a radical reshaping of the political map of Europe. It spelled the end of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires and was the catalyst for the Russian revolution. It left much of Europe in severe economic hardship. As well as political changes the war led to social changes in Europe too - with wider opportunities and greater equality for women. But 90 years later it is perhaps best remembered for the staggering loss of human life. In the decade following the Great War many had the firm conviction that it should be "the war to end all wars". ..................................................................................................... 1914 - 1918 Fighting for King and Country. The Asylum minutes record with pride, that the call to arms heralded by propoganda posters such as these, was heeded as every man sought to do his duty. THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN In 1914 Great Britain was plunged into a desperate war - the likes of which could scarcely be imagined in even the worst hallucinations of the learned Mr Z. - and the world would never be quite the same again. The Asylum at Menston was a mirror of the national situation, with many members of staff getting caught up in the excitement and hastening to join the colours to play their part in a fight which many confidently predicted would end in victory by Christmas. By the end of 1914 the war was far from won, and 26 staff _ including two out of the four assistant medical officers _ had left for active service, causing problems at Menston which were compounded when the Asylum at Wadsley was converted into a military hospital. Some 254 extra patients were transferred to Menston, swelling the total of patients to 2,061. By the end of 1915 a further 35 attendants and ten artisans had enlisted, and desperate measures were required. For the first time in 1916 two male medical wards were placed under the care of female nurses, and the whole Asylum had to manage with just the medical superintendent, a permanent assistant medical officer and one locum. As the war dragged on and the numbers of soldiers killed or maimed on the Western Front continued to rise inexorably, Britain_s resources were stretched almost to breaking point. The arrival of a new ally, the United States, did much to raise morale in 1917, but the level of American casualties meant by 1918 they too were looking for hospital facilities, and a plan to transfer Menston to the United States army was only averted by the longedfor peace in November 1918. Suffering on the Home Front continued, however, as the unprecedented influenza epidemic ravaged the country. As a result of the epidemic, the death rate at Menston shot up from around 14% to 21%. At its height, 520 patients and 132 staff were affected, and 89 patients and one nurse died as a result. The legacy of the Great War, and particularly the great bombardments of the Western Front , would linger on at Menston. A number severely shellshocked servicemen invalided out of the forces ended up as patients, staying on for many years after the end of hostilities. A Bannister. February 1915 Dr G M Graham left the asylum service in order to enter the Royal Navy, having acted as Junior Assistant Medical Officer for nine months. Dr Kelly who acted as Assistant to the temporary Medical Officer also resigned and is now on active service. In addition to these, 24 members of the staff have left to join the army since the outbreak of the war and several others are on the point of going. The vacancies in most cases have been filled by temporary appointments. During the year the hours of duty of attendants and nurses have been considerably reduced, necessitating an increase in the number of staff. In the minutes of the 1st January 1917 in changes in staff on Dec 26th, Dr C J Stack who acted as temporary Assistant Medical Officer for 18 months, died after a few weeks illness. He had proved himself a valuable member of the staff and his early death was greatly deplored. All the attendants of military age offered themselves for attestation under Lord Derby_s scheme, and have now been called up, with the exception of those exempted by the tribunal and those rejected on medical grounds. In order to compensate to some extent for the consequent reduction of staff, two male wards have been placed under the care of female nurses and 11 of the latter are now employed in the care of male patients. Dr R C Walker Senior Assistant Medical Officer joined the army in May and proceeded abroad on active service. Menston Asylum accommodation for sick and wounded soldiers of US forces. The chairman reported that he along with the clerk had on 21st August 1918, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Board of Control attended in London, when a request was put forward as to whether the Board might be willing to favourably entertain an application for the use of Menston Asylum as an hospital, by the US forces for their sick and wounded. It was stated that the expeditionary forces apart from the desire to do everything possible to provide for the treatment of the wounded soldiers of our allies, the question of affording health, at this juncture, to the US authorities an additional important aspect namely an international one. The army council had informed the Board of Control that they have received a request from the US headquarters in Great Britain asking that arrangements might be made for the provision of a large amount of hospital accommodation for the wounded and sick of the US expeditionary forces, and that it had been found possible to provide for only a portion of the total amount desired. Certain excellent accommodation has been generously given for the purpose by an Asylum authority in the south of England, but they were still lacking 3000 beds. Lord Derby - Secretary Of State For War 1916 -1918 A Call To Arms The Derby Scheme Prime Minister Asquith appointed Lord Derby Director-General of Recruitment in 1915. It was Derby who unveiled what came to be known as the Derby Scheme, a recruitment policy under which men could give their voluntary 'assent' to being called up if necessary; the government in turn promised to call up married men last. Herbert Henry Asquith, born in Morley Yorkshire, resigned on 5 December 1916; Lloyd George succeeded him on 7 December.

Admiral Lord Charles Beresford Visited Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley) On The 30th November 1915 The Trenches - France Lord Derby Visit Of His Majesty King George V. Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley) 29th September 1915 Red Cross Face The Bullets Who? Green And Pleasant Every Fit Briton Englands Finest Join The Ranks Appeal Women Of Britain Say Go.. Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley Pauper Lunatic Asylum Sheffield) Taken Over By The Army During World War 1 A View Of Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley Pauper Lunatic Asylum Sheffield) Taken Over By The Army During World War 1 Menston Asylum, The Roof Above The War Memorial IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THOSE OF THE STAFF OF THIS INSTITUTION WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 J.W.Ackroyd, A.L.Appleby, J.Currie,L.Holmes, W.Marshall, J.T.Mitchell, M.Nangle, W.Powell, F.Raistrick, E.Smith and H.Towell. IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THOSE OF THE STAFF OF THIS INSTITUTION WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 J.W.Ackroyd, A.L.Appleby, J.Currie,L.Holmes, W.Marshall, J.T.Mitchell, M.Nangle, W.Powell, F.Raistrick, E.Smith and H.Towell. Menston Asylum - Image circa 1910 Menston Asylum, Wards 5 & 6 Male Epileptic Block 1910 Menston Asylum, Central Corridor 1910 The Early Days, Note Admin Wearing A Cap. The Ballroom Decorated, Note All The Chairs Either Side. War Memorial, Image Donated By Saul Son Menston Asylum, The War Memorial Fram e After Thieves Stole The Memorial 2008 Menston Asylum, Charles Edward Teale born on 10/01/1890 joined the first world war as a private and became a 2nd lieutenant. After war he worked on ward six , originally the male epileptic block, more recently known as Bolton, Menston Asylum and became a charge nurse also in charge of the male dining room. He retired at 60 in 1950, two years before his son Frank started his own career at the asylum in the works department. Menston Asylum, Charles Edward Teale born on 10/01/1890 joined the first world war as a private and became a 2nd lieutenant. After war he worked on ward six , originally the male epileptic block, more recently known as Bolton, Menston Asylum and became a charge nurse also in charge of the male dining room. He retired at 60 in 1950, two years before his son Frank started his own career at the asylum in the works department. The Army Marching Through Guiseley ww1 Menston Asylum, Male Dining Room Wakefield Asylum, War Memorial Wadsley Asyum chapel Jan 2009 Wadsley Was Renamed Middlewood Hospital Wadsley Asyum Administration Building, Now Converted To Housing Jan 2009 Wadsley Was Renamed Middlewood Hospital Wadsley Asyum chapel Jan 2009 Wadsley Was Renamed Middlewood Hospital Wadsley, The Former Kingswood Ward Now Converted To Housing But Used During World War 1 To House Injured Soldiers, Wharncliffe War Hospital, Image Taken Jan 2009 Wadsley, The Former Kingswood Ward Now Converted To Housing But Used During World War 1 To House Injured Soldiers, Wharncliffe War Hospital, Image Taken Jan 2009 Wadsley Graveyard For The Pauper Inmates, There Are Over 800 Former Inmates Buried In Unmarked Graves Here. Wadsley Parish Church Wharncliffe War Hospital Memorial 1915 - 1920, The Memorial At Wadsley Parish Church Armistice Day Wakefield Asylum Wakefield Asylum 1913 Armistice Day Wakefield Asylum Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley) The Committee Desire To Thank The Members Of The Board Of Control, Doctor C Hubert Bond, February 1916 Hospital Accommodation For Sick And Wounded Soldiers Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley) April 1915 p1 Hospital Accommodation For Sick And Wounded Soldiers Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley) April 1915 p2 Hospital Accommodation For Sick And Wounded Soldiers Wharncliffe War Hospital (Wadsley) April 1915 Menston Asylum, Application By Dr R R Kirwan, For Married Privilege April 1915 Accommodation In The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylums On 31st December 1914 Active Service, Staff From Menston Asylum In The Services February 1915 Cost Of Removal Of Bodies Of Patients Dying In The Receiving Asylums November 1915 Killed In Action, Attendant Arthur Vann (Wakefield) 31st August 1915 Enlistment Of Asylum Employees, The Board Of Control - November 1915

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Stapleton Park - The Hospital That Never Was http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1642643.html STAPLETON PARK ESTATE. By the year 1934 it seemed evident that available bed space in the four mental hospitals under the control of the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board, Menston (Highroyds) , wadsley (Middlewood), wakefield (stanley Royd) and Storthes Hall, was rapidly approaching a point at which the situation would be out of hand, and additional accommodation was felt to be urgently required. An analysis of the situation revealed the fact that the area of the Riding least satisfactorily provided for was the South East corner, i.e., Pontefract, Hemsworth and the surrounding districts. A search for land on which to build an entirely new mental hospital (which would have been one of the few to have been built in this century), revealed a suitable Estate called Stapleton Park, in the parishes of Darrington, Stapleton, Little Sneaton and Kirk Smeaton, four miles from Pontefract and 13 from Doncaster. It would provide all the seclusion then felt to be essential for a mental hospital, Yet would be reasonably accessible for all the areas in need of this facility . Stapleton Park had been a typical country Estate, consisting of a Hall with gardens extending to some 1O acres, farm buildinge, arable and meadowland a further 243 acres, a park of 39O acres, plantations 4OO acres, and a lake of some 6 acres, 1049.8 acres in all. The Estate had changed hands a number of times around the post-1914/18 War years, each owner apparently aiming for a quick profit. As a result the Hall had been stripped of all its valuable contents, including lead and copper and had fallen into such decay that an order had been placed on it by the Local Authority, either for its total demolition, or for it to be securely fenced off. The former choice was decided upon, and on its being taken over by the Board the only use being made of the site was the growing of mushroorns in the cellars by the Estate Farm Manager. The farm buildings and cottages were in a most dilapidated state and were not connected to mains services. Generally the Estate had suffered from indifferent management. There was a range of rather elegant limestone stabling, over 100 years old but in reasonable condition, part of which was in use as living accommodatlon, being occupied by one of the Executors of the Estate. The Executors first asked a sum of £15OOO for the Estate but finally accepted £1OOOO. Purchase was completed on the 30th September 1937. An interesting sidelight, which caused. a good deal of sardonic amusement for many years was the Inclusion on the letter heads of the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board, which announced that it controlled hospitals at Menston, Wadsley, Wakefield and Storthes Hall, of the legend "and stapleton park (site purchased)." After this, seldom were the words "Stapleton Park" uttered by the lower orders than a soto voce "site purchased" was added! After the purchase a few of the existing Estate staff were retained, and, pending commencement of building work, the estate was to be operated by the Board as a farm, produce to be sent in the main to the four Mental hospitals. A stone quarry on the Estate continued to be worked privately on payment of Royalties. The affairs of the Estate were in the hands of an "Accommodation Committee" a sub-committee of the Board. The name of the committee was later changed to "Stapleton Park Sub-Committee", and its affairs were eventually merged. with the general business of the Farms and Gardens Sub-Committee. At the first it was charged. with the task of submitting to the Board its recommendations on the planning of the proposed new hospital. Before application could be nade to the Ministry of Health for consent to the borrowing of money for the hospital, detailed proposals and plans had to be submitted to the Board of Control (Successors to the old Lunacy Commission), who, if satisfied that its various criteria were being met, would give its authority for the miinistry to proceed further. The Lancashire Mental. Hospitals Board being at that time considering building a new mental hospital, and having adopted a policy of holding an Open Architectural Competition with premiums of £500, £4OO, and £300 for the three designs placed first, second and third (with the prospect of further valuable commissions), the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board considered how it should act, but decided that as the designs would in any case be severely restricted by the Board of Control building regulations, but even more importantly that it had already a large Architects and Engineers Department, supervised by a fully qualified Architect and Engineer (a somewhat rare double qualification), planning and design could well be undertaken using the existing resources of the Board under the general control of this officer, Mr, W .H. Burton, It so transpired that before more than preliminary work towards planning and design could be put in hand, the whole project had to be shelved by the advent of the 1939-45 War. Perhaps this was fortuitous, as by the time the War was over the health Service was in the throes of massive reorganisation, and, almost imerceptibly at first, new methods of treatment and the discovery of new drugs were gradually reducing mental hospital populations and rendering unnecessary the building of large purpose-built mental hospitals. The estate continued to be run as a farm, and as is so often the case, became almost self-perpetuating. Stapleton Park had become almost a way of life, and the Management Committee which had superseded the oId Board found the farming activities at this large Estate fascinating and novel. Under its Secretary Mr. G. L. Banner, who had been responsible for the apparent far-sighted purchase of the Estate back in 1937, the Management Committee sought to retain it. The policy of the ministry however was to dispense with all hospital farming activities, considering that the employment of mental patients, which had been the chief reason for the acquisition of farms was by this time of little more than marginal value, and otherwise farming formed no proper part of the activities of a hospital. If land used for farming could not be justified on grounds of probable future hospital development, or to give reasonable seclusion to the existing hospital, it had to be sold. The retention of Stapleton Park could therefore not be justified on any grounds, sad though it was as with careful administration and the investment of no inconsiderable amounts of capital over the years, the Estate had appreciated very considerably in value. A decision was taken by the Leeds Regional - Hospital Board, in whose hands the property had by then devolved, that the Ministry be recommended to authorise the sale of all but approximately 40 acres of the Estate, which was to be reserved for possible future hospital developnent. Its use for this purpose was considered when it was decided to build a Mental Handicap Hospital, but it was tbought to be unsuitable. The Ministry's approval was predictably swift, and a year later, on the 21st January 1958, the Estate was disposed of at the Red Lion Hotel in Pontefract, by Public Auction. The main part of the Estate (73O acres) was sold for £53OOO to a Mr.A.E. Brown of Doncaster, a further 23 acre s fetching £1550 at the same time. The 37 acres at first retained for possible future hospital development was leased to Mr. Brown, and later, when it became apparent that it would not be required, was sold to him. The price of this, and of the remaining 254 acres of woodlands sold to the Forestry Commission, does not seen to have been recorded on the Committee's Minutes, if indeed the Regional Hospitals Board ever divulged this. Tuesday 30 November 1999: STAPLETON PARK ESTATE. By the year 1934 it seemed evident that available bed space in the four mental hospitals under the control of the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board, Menston (Highroyds) , wadsley (Middlewood), wakefield (stanley Royd) and Storthes Hall, was rapidly approaching a point at which the situation would be out of hand, and additional accommodation was felt to be urgently required. An analysis of the situation revealed the fact that the area of the Riding least satisfactorily provided for was the South East corner, i.e., Pontefract, Hemsworth and the surrounding districts. A search for land on which to build an entirely new mental hospital (which would have been one of the few to have been built in this century), revealed a suitable Estate called Stapleton Park, in the parishes of Darrington, Stapleton, Little Sneaton and Kirk Smeaton, four miles from Pontefract and 13 from Doncaster. It would provide all the seclusion then felt to be essential for a mental hospital, Yet would be reasonably accessible for all the areas in need of this facility . Stapleton Park had been a typical country Estate, consisting of a Hall with gardens extending to some 1O acres, farm buildinge, arable and meadowland a further 243 acres, a park of 39O acres, plantations 4OO acres, and a lake of some 6 acres, 1049.8 acres in all. The Estate had changed hands a number of times around the post-1914/18 War years, each owner apparently aiming for a quick profit. As a result the Hall had been stripped of all its valuable contents, including lead and copper and had fallen into such decay that an order had been placed on it by the Local Authority, either for its total demolition, or for it to be securely fenced off. The former choice was decided upon, and on its being taken over by the Board the only use being made of the site was the growing of mushroorns in the cellars by the Estate Farm Manager. The farm buildings and cottages were in a most dilapidated state and were not connected to mains services. Generally the Estate had suffered from indifferent management. There was a range of rather elegant limestone stabling, over 100 years old but in reasonable condition, part of which was in use as living accommodatlon, being occupied by one of the Executors of the Estate. The Executors first asked a sum of _15OOO for the Estate but finally accepted _1OOOO. Purchase was completed on the 30th September 1937. An interesting sidelight, which caused. a good deal of sardonic amusement for many years was the Inclusion on the letter heads of the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board, which announced that it controlled hospitals at Menston, Wadsley, Wakefield and Storthes Hall, of the legend "and stapleton park (site purchased)." After this, seldom were the words "Stapleton Park" uttered by the lower orders than a soto voce "site purchased" was added! After the purchase a few of the existing Estate staff were retained, and, pending commencement of building work, the estate was to be operated by the Board as a farm, produce to be sent in the main to the four Mental hospitals. A stone quarry on the Estate continued to be worked privately on payment of Royalties. The affairs of the Estate were in the hands of an "Accommodation Committee" a sub-committee of the Board. The name of the committee was later changed to "Stapleton Park Sub-Committee", and its affairs were eventually merged. with the general business of the Farms and Gardens Sub-Committee. At the first it was charged. with the task of submitting to the Board its recommendations on the planning of the proposed new hospital. Before application could be nade to the Ministry of Health for consent to the borrowing of money for the hospital, detailed proposals and plans had to be submitted to the Board of Control (Successors to the old Lunacy Commission), who, if satisfied that its various criteria were being met, would give its authority for the miinistry to proceed further. The Lancashire Mental. Hospitals Board being at that time considering building a new mental hospital, and having adopted a policy of holding an Open Architectural Competition with premiums of _500, _4OO, and _300 for the three designs placed first, second and third (with the prospect of further valuable commissions), the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board considered how it should act, but decided that as the designs would in any case be severely restricted by the Board of Control building regulations, but even more importantly that it had already a large Architects and Engineers Department, supervised by a fully qualified Architect and Engineer (a somewhat rare double qualification), planning and design could well be undertaken using the existing resources of the Board under the general control of this officer, Mr, W .H. Burton, It so transpired that before more than preliminary work towards planning and design could be put in hand, the whole project had to be shelved by the advent of the 1939-45 War. Perhaps this was fortuitous, as by the time the War was over the health Service was in the throes of massive reorganisation, and, almost imerceptibly at first, new methods of treatment and the discovery of new drugs were gradually reducing mental hospital populations and rendering unnecessary the building of large purpose-built mental hospitals. The estate continued to be run as a farm, and as is so often the case, became almost self-perpetuating. Stapleton Park had become almost a way of life, and the Management Committee which had superseded the oId Board found the farming activities at this large Estate fascinating and novel. Under its Secretary Mr. G. L. Banner, who had been responsible for the apparent far-sighted purchase of the Estate back in 1937, the Management Committee sought to retain it. The policy of the ministry however was to dispense with all hospital farming activities, considering that the employment of mental patients, which had been the chief reason for the acquisition of farms was by this time of little more than marginal value, and otherwise farming formed no proper part of the activities of a hospital. If land used for farming could not be justified on grounds of probable future hospital development, or to give reasonable seclusion to the existing hospital, it had to be sold. The retention of Stapleton Park could therefore not be justified on any grounds, sad though it was as with careful administration and the investment of no inconsiderable amounts of capital over the years, the Estate had appreciated very considerably in value. A decision was taken by the Leeds Regional - Hospital Board, in whose hands the property had by then devolved, that the Ministry be recommended to authorise the sale of all but approximately 40 acres of the Estate, which was to be reserved for possible future hospital developnent. Its use for this purpose was considered when it was decided to build a Mental Handicap Hospital, but it was tbought to be unsuitable. The Ministry's approval was predictably swift, and a year later, on the 21st January 1958, the Estate was disposed of at the Red Lion Hotel in Pontefract, by Public Auction. The main part of the Estate (73O acres) was sold for _53OOO to a Mr.A.E. Brown of Doncaster, a further 23 acre s fetching _1550 at the same time. The 37 acres at first retained for possible future hospital development was leased to Mr. Brown, and later, when it became apparent that it would not be required, was sold to him. The price of this, and of the remaining 254 acres of woodlands sold to the Forestry Commission, does not seen to have been recorded on the Committee's Minutes, if indeed the Regional Hospitals Board ever divulged this.

The Stabling Block, Farm Buildings, And Part Of The Estate, Stapleton Park. The Elegant Stabling Block Was Built circa 1830 The Hall, Stapleton Park. On the Acquisition of Stapleton Park Estate by the West Riding Mental Hospitals Board in 1937 the hall was in ruins.Mr G. L. Banner, the clerk to the Board became deeply involved in the running of the Estate. This image shows the Hall as it was in the early 1900's

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 A Modern Day Hero - Martin Smith - http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1641441.html Not Out Of Mind After recently seeing the documentary ‘Out Of Sight’ originally broadcast in February 1993, I felt compelled to go in search of two featured individuals. Martin Smith, Former Principal of the Deaf Centre, Leeds and Geoffrey Abbot, a profoundly deaf man who had spent over twenty years in Institutional care. Their lives had become inextricably linked, and their stories were remarkable. Martin Smith, was a champion in his field, dedicating his career to the identification and resettlement of many unfortunate individuals who had unjustly been confined to a life in a secure mental establishment. Having studied the long term effects of institutional care I found Martin’s work truly inspirational. Through sheer determination he sought out the forgotten in their various hospitals, and brought the light of hope into their hitherto dark acceptance that they would never again experience a normal life in the outside world. He believed that everybody should live in hope and rebuffed the system which had removed the basic right to freedom in many sad cases. Martin tirelessly fought to rescue them and restore them to their rightful place in society. As he recalled…….. ….“I would think that you would probably find in most of the major fairly secure hospitals throughout the country there are perhaps one or two examples of profoundly deaf people who had found their way in there with no good reason.” Martin Smith 1993 Unfortunately, during my research to follow up on ‘Out Of Sight’, I was to discover that Geoffrey had died some 10 years ago but Martin, a gentleman of seventy years young, did me the honour of granting me an interview at Centurion House. During our 90 minute talk he recalled many poignant stories from his career and memories of people he had met over the years. My sincerest thanks go to him for giving so generously of his time and permitting me to record his incredible journey. His foresight certainly blazed a trail signposting the agenda for change within the mental health system we see today. You can watch the original documentary ‘Out Of Sight’, by accessing the links on the front page. Parts 1 to 6 you would probably find in most of the major fairly secure there perhaps one or two examples of profoundly deaf people who had found their way in there with no good reason.” A Brief Overview Of Martin Smith’s Career Started visiting Menston Psychiatric Hospital September 1957 Visited monthly for 4 years. Reviewed all cases; Denbigh Psychiatric Hospital, North Wales 1961 Started Deaf club in Hospital. Visited Deva Countess Of Chester Psychiatric Hospital 1961 – 1964. Reviewed all cases at Meanwood Park Colony-Started Inmate Deaf Club and began getting people released, including Geoffrey Abbott. Worked to create service provision in Rampton, High Security Psychiatric Hospital 1980 -1992. Below is the transcript of Martins recollections, interviewed by Mark Davis, January 2009 “If you think about going into a hospital for the first time, what would that engender? Fear, real apprehension, sense of inadequacy, those things that are very, very powerful were part of the indoctrination into saying that this is a very difficult job you’ve come to, and you’ve got to respect me because I can do it, but you can’t because you are a new boy. You’re a new boy and these are the things that you’ve got to learn and you’ve got to go through the hoops before you can learn" “I wasn’t taken seriously because I had no sign language. I got status in society because I came from a middle class background, middle class southern voice, toffee nosed fart, and I ‘d just come out of the navy as an officer, a commissioned officer, public school background, a commissioned officer, all the credentials and what was happening to me? I got there and I’d got no speech, nobody could hear my voice a massive language barrier; into a culture I’d never been into, a working class culture that I’d never been into before." "I was sent to High Royds - Menston at the end of my first week. I came to work as a trainee welfare officer, specifically with deaf people and in the first week of joining, I arrived on the Monday and I was given what they call a finger spelling card. So I had to learn the manual alphabet, which has got very little to do with sign language, it’s not how deaf people communicate, although you use finger spelling to help them with their communication, it was my first step and they gave it to me but it was not their language that I was learning. Actually nobody taught me their language; that was a kind of secret weapon, which the children of deaf parents had up their sleeve, because they grew up with the language they were completely within it and they had the proper emotional contacts with deaf people because they could be looked at, oh yes his mum and dad were deaf and dumb, as they used to be called and those people could actually get inside the language and they could create the emotional strength of a relationship, they could feel their emotions and they could produce them. I couldn’t. All I Had was a kind of straight face and still had a naval officers voice going on in my head, I wasn’t a tactile human being like deaf people are who produce the language." “When you saw me talking earlier you saw a huge amount of body language and attitudes, nobody taught me that, it was just something that was part of my being. I was just a straight Englishman with a straight Englishman’s voice and I could talk like this, like a missionary, like a vicar and my book is called "The Vanishing Missionary". I went in to this work and then actually discovered, accepted everything I was taught, bit by bit I became passionate about it, particularly the mental hospital bit, once you get in side there and you see what’s going on, so many games just so many clues, the ultimate in repression, it’s total power of one group over another, leaving them with no hope whatsoever, with nowhere to go and nothing to do." "And people, just completely institutionalised; you only get little glimmers of people resisting that like you did from the epileptics, little glimpses coming out, most of the time, you went in there and for a lot of folks it took all of the pressures away, that’s the balance of the thing, it took all the pressures away; if you were ill and you had a clinical mental illness and it came and it went, you swung, you changed, you weren’t always mentally ill, you had better periods and you were depressed or not depressed." "To go into a hospital and be brought back in and everybody would say "Oo hello" and you’re phew- back down to your fags and you’re back down to your cups of tea and you’re back down to not having to communicate unless you want to, sitting in the same chair that you were and you’ve gone right back to that kind of un-pressurised situation”. “And when they got rid of places like High Royds, they got rid of a lot of the power that got to be exerted and got exercised, but their value was considerable but not recognised." "From my experience at Denbigh Psychiatric Hospital and Deva The Countess Of Chester Psychiatric Hospital and some of the things I did at Oldham, I decided when I came back as the Principal of the Centre for Deaf people in Leeds which was part of the Leeds Incorporated Institution for Blind and Deaf people, it’s origins went back to 1854, so well established; it became local authority supported after the war 1948, the local authority then had responsibility to create facilities for deaf people, that was the point the centre started to get money from the local authority and that changed the way it operated. Well it didn’t actually change the way it operated, it changed the way that they were funded, because they didn’t ask and they didn’t know how to ask any questions about how a service should be administered and as usual because of the communication barriers which were actually made stronger by the bosses of the organisation because they didn’t want their clients telling the local authority what was going on, and there were no deaf people on the committees, management committees, that was because they couldn’t manage and they weren’t responsible enough so you kept them there and so the local authority gave money to the voluntary organisations and they didn’t ask any questions about it. “Just do the right things by us” “So you had a lot of freedoms and I just decided that I would go to Meanwood Park Colony. I went to see the superintendent, Douglas Spencer, got on very well with him, deep down he was a very nice human being and he just said carry on so we circulated all the wards and said that if you got any deaf people or you think that people have a history having been in a school for the deaf or deaf people, wearing hearing aids, bring them in. So I had two or three days, just sitting at a desk with different wards or villas bringing in their folks and that’s when I found Geoffrey Abbot.” “Because Geoffrey came in and I signed to him. My signing was getting better. Geoffrey could sign language he had been to a school for the deaf and he’d got sign language and I signed to him and he responded and we started to joke together and there was Geoffrey, he was in lots of ways quite happy and it took in fact, 7 years to get him out of hospital, because nobody wanted him to go, he was too useful to people and by that time I’d moved on, I’d created this club and ran it met the deaf people there and got to know them and tried to put the word around the hospital who these folks were.” “Eventually we got Geoffrey out and into a hostel with other deaf people and got him coming to the Deaf Club and he began to build a life with other deaf people.” “There was resistance to him leaving because he was too useful, he’d got a lot of friends in there, he’d got friends who just visited the hospital, who he knew, he was very observant, I know people now who used to go there voluntarily years ago, who saw Geoffrey and got to know him there, he was a definite personality, got a lot about him and that of course was the reason he went in, ‘cos he was a sparky guy and he used to fight like hell, he was a difficult guy with this big personality, he used to react to you in a marvellous way and people just loved him, so getting him out was a kind of mission and it needed to be done and you had to nudge away and nudge away, but eventually he broke down and came out, we got him into a hostel.” “I think people within institutions like that have this power to control events and it takes an awful lot of time, for them to feel that you are a recognisable human being somebody who can be trusted and valued enough to look after Geoffrey, and that was probably a lot of it and when he came out he obviously had to go through a great deal of difficulties in order to adjust, he always had this place and he had to go through all the experiments about himself, generally he had to go through a range of different experiences. Like in the hospitals, you got the corridor livers, they lived there and they stay there, they operate in the corridors, you can walk over them, they’ll look at you, they’ll look at each other, they will know what the routines are and they will feel comfortable in the corridor, they’ve got a certain degree of freedom, and that’s all that there is for them and they’ve come to be institutionalised into feeling that freedom and not going any further. Coming out of hospital is like ricocheting down a corridor and at the other end there is a light, which is kind of like an unknown light and a frightening light and in order to get out into that light you’ve got to ricochet down that corridor in order to get there, so you bounce against society on either side, you meet prejudices, you meet attitudes which you don’t know, you meet the rules and regulations which society lays down, you don’t know those so you have to experience them and react against them and to learn how to cope with them and reinforce them so that they become part of your survival technique. So you’ve got the survival techniques that have got to be learnt when you come out of hospital, it’s not a matter of everybody saying “Whey -hey” We’ve done it.” “The kind of people I got out of High Royds, the chap who came to work as the caretaker, I think he’d had 14 years in there, I got him out in 1966/67 because I started visiting him in 1957 and I visited him for four years. I came back from when I was away in North Wales 5 years later and he was still in High Royds and I was trying to get him out and the caretaker’s job arose at the Deaf centre. I said come on work here and what he had was ready access to what we had here; other deaf people and he had a safety net and he kept going with that safety net and he had quite loving caring parents. He came out and he worked perfectly well as a caretaker. He cleaned and got the boiler going and all of those kind of things and eventually packed it in and got married and went to live in Wakefield, a real success story.” “I remember when I used to meet the caretaker out in the gardens at High Royds quite close to the white former Superintendents house to the front. There was nothing the matter with him, he wasn’t in a locked ward or anything. Ward 14 was the secure unit, on one occasion in my early days at High Royds I was attempting to get to Ward 14, at the time money was short so I would often buy clothes from the second hand shops, that particular day I was wearing a black mac similar to the type worn in the hospital. A rather large male attendant approached asked me where I was going, as I explained I was heading to Ward 24, he presumed me to be a patient and promptly frog marched me to my destination.” “Eventually there were other people who came and worked with me who got other people out who used to come to that club, in particular someone who had got sight loss as well, I didn’t get them out but that was the kind of exit basis, their sensory condition had been important in the reason why they had been put away in the first place, they couldn’t have a response to what people were doing.” “The 1959 act had no impact on me whatsoever.” “Nobody representing Geoffrey and the conditions at home meant that there wouldn’t be any enthusiasm from his parents to get him out, they’d got a settled home life and Geoffrey had always been a difficult person.” “Life for deaf patients in the institutions had been pretty grim. They were moved from one ward to another, except for people like Geoffrey who had got jobs, they worked in people’s homes. At the entrance to Meanwood Park there was a lodge, he worked in there. There was quite a big social life in Meanwood Park the cricket teams, a lot of Downs Syndrome people that could take part in games.” “All the deaf people were in different wards, but they weren’t brought together, when you think conditions of the villas, there were little outbreaks and you could always tell if someone was going to have one and everyone knew what to do, and there were little rooms, little secured rooms, they were lock up places just as there were in High Royds and also in Armley prison. In High Royds there was one occasion when one person was stripped and put in a cell and I’m sure that kind of thing went on in Meanwood, the possibilities of abuse and cruelty were enormous, I’m not saying that I have seen instances, but the possibilities were enormous.” “There were 20 Epileptic Patients in the cage that I saw at High Royds, you went in and it was on the way through, it wasn’t a closed ward , it was a pen, on the right hand side as you walked through into another area as you were going through down the long corridor, going towards the annex and they were literally in this cage and I said who are these people and they said these are the epileptics. As I walked past them they were singing a song about being in Menston:- THE EPILEPTIC SONG Buggered in the morning Buggered in the evening Buggered at supper time If you get stuck in Menston You get Buggered all the time. This was sung to the tune of a popular song of the time "Sugar in the morning." Roy Orbison “What I did learn are that those places are very sensitive and you’ve got to work your passage.” “There is a kind of philosophy, about the situations, and those people that lived on corridors and their way out, kind of trying to get descriptions of what was going on and trying to get your mind around what was happening to people, rather than they’re in there and they’re coming out, what’s the processes for coming out, what are the human interaction going on around it, what are the non verbal insights into what’s happening. There was one very important occasion that I recall regarding somebody that had been in a mental institution since he was six and the local authority whose responsibility he was said will you go an look at him because we’ve been paying a lot of money to the organisation that is looking after him, he’s now about 22 he’d been in since he was six.” “So I went to see this guy down in St.Lawrence’s hospital in Carsholton in Surrey and I found this guy and they took me to the ward, here he is, I signed to him and there wasn’t anything, no sign language there at all, he’d never been with other deaf people and he grabbed my face and twisted it and looked at me and I thought what do I do about this and I put my hand up and I stroked him and just try and show some kind of feeling. Some kind of affection and he thought this was alright, this was in the purest sense that one could get and he then grabbed me by the hand and he took me on a walk around the hospital, profoundly deaf, he’d got, he’d obviously got myopic vision, he’d got real tunnel vision and he then took me for a walk which was utterly sensorial, in so much as that he took me down a corridor and when we got to a radiator he stopped and warmed himself, when we got to a window, he got the air going in and blowing on him and everything he did was sensorial, it wasn’t anything to do with anyone’s speech or words or anything, he was a complete sensorial animal and he was also quite amazing, he wasn’t violent, he was autistic in the extreme but like many autistic people he had got one area where he was brilliant, half of the professors in this country are autistic, and his one area was playing music, he could actually pick out tunes on the piano and he could hear them and he could manage that, he got no speech, very little sight but he could just pick up a piano. I wrote the report about him in these terms, that he was a sensorial animal and they seemed to understand and said can you get him out. So they gave me carte blanche, as did the hospital because they knew him and they knew he shouldn’t be there,” “So I got him out of the hospital and into a specialist rehabilitation place and the only possession that he had got was a tie that his mother had given him and eventually he was making quite a lot of progress, he seemed to be happier and had much more freedoms, in the end tragically they took him to Majorca and crossing the road, he didn’t know how to cross roads and the bloke that was crossing the road and holding his hand, he stopped and went back and the other bloke came and a car came along.” “It was quite a remarkable experience to come across someone like that. So far away from everyone else, with no words, no other descriptions apart from cold, food, touch, smooth rough all those things and he just wanted to take you around his sensorial journey, if you shared it with him you were sharing his life and he liked that. Something there that had just trickled through.” “I keep it in these terms, what the hell have I learned doing this job and what would I have learned if I had stayed in the navy, I’d have learned nothing about communication, working class life, all the joy I’ve had communicating with people, I’ve had a fantastic time that I wouldn’t have got if I hadn’t have done this job. I’ve gone into every sector of society and gleaned so much from it.” Interview with Martin Smith, January 2009. About The Deaf And Blind Society Leeds. Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People has existed since 1866. Throughout its long history, the single objective has been to respond to the expressed needs and aspirations of deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, blind and partially sighted people. This has been achieved by the active participation of sensory-impaired people, both as members of committees at every level and as members of staff. The success of the Society is without doubt due to the active pursuit of this policy. However, sensory-impaired people recognise the value of the large number of people who have given and continue to give their time and talents in a voluntary capacity, and this valuable input has been a significant factor in the progress of the Society. There are few, if any, other voluntary societies which provide services for both sensory impairments. The reputation of Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People is virtually without equal in this regard, and the benefit of our advice, opinion and experience is sought by people throughout the UK. The Society recognises that its long partnership since the 1950s with Leeds City Council Social Services has also been a significant factor in this success. The Society is neither complacent nor static. We may never achieve perfection, but we can continually strive to improve, and this will be achieved by listening to our members and service users. By consultation and cooperation, we shall ensure that we enable each person to have the opportunity of choice, leading to achieving their personal potential and independent living. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Not Out Of Mind After recently seeing the documentary _Out Of Sight_ originally broadcast in February 1993, I felt compelled to go in search of two featured individuals. Martin Smith, Former Principal of the Deaf Centre, Leeds and Geoffrey Abbot, a profoundly deaf man who had spent over twenty years in Institutional care. Their lives had become inextricably linked, and their stories were remarkable. Martin Smith, was a champion in his field, dedicating his career to the identification and resettlement of many unfortunate individuals who had unjustly been confined to a life in a secure mental establishment. Having studied the long term effects of institutional care I found Martin_s work truly inspirational. Through sheer determination he sought out the forgotten in their various hospitals, and brought the light of hope into their hitherto dark acceptance that they would never again experience a normal life in the outside world. He believed that everybody should live in hope and rebuffed the system which had removed the basic right to freedom in many sad cases. Martin tirelessly fought to rescue them and restore them to their rightful place in society. As he recalled__.. _._I would think that you would probably find in most of the major fairly secure hospitals throughout the country there are perhaps one or two examples of profoundly deaf people who had found their way in there with no good reason._ Martin Smith 1993 Unfortunately, during my research to follow up on _Out Of Sight_, I was to discover that Geoffrey had died some 10 years ago but Martin, a gentleman of seventy years young, did me the honour of granting me an interview at Centurion House. During our 90 minute talk he recalled many poignant stories from his career and memories of people he had met over the years. My sincerest thanks go to him for giving so generously of his time and permitting me to record his incredible journey. His foresight certainly blazed a trail signposting the agenda for change within the mental health system we see today. You can watch the original documentary _Out Of Sight_, by accessing the links on the front page. Parts 1 to 6 you would probably find in most of the major fairly secure there perhaps one or two examples of profoundly deaf people who had found their way in there with no good reason._ A Brief Overview Of Martin Smith_s Career Started visiting Menston Psychiatric Hospital September 1957 Visited monthly for 4 years. Reviewed all cases; Denbigh Psychiatric Hospital, North Wales 1961 Started Deaf club in Hospital. Visited Deva Countess Of Chester Psychiatric Hospital 1961 _ 1964. Reviewed all cases at Meanwood Park Colony-Started Inmate Deaf Club and began getting people released, including Geoffrey Abbott. Worked to create service provision in Rampton, High Security Psychiatric Hospital 1980 -1992. Below is the transcript of Martins recollections, interviewed by Mark Davis, January 2009 _If you think about going into a hospital for the first time, what would that engender? Fear, real apprehension, sense of inadequacy, those things that are very, very powerful were part of the indoctrination into saying that this is a very difficult job you_ve come to, and you_ve got to respect me because I can do it, but you can_t because you are a new boy. You_re a new boy and these are the things that you_ve got to learn and you_ve got to go through the hoops before you can learn" _I wasn_t taken seriously because I had no sign language. I got status in society because I came from a middle class background, middle class southern voice, toffee nosed fart, and I _d just come out of the navy as an officer, a commissioned officer, public school background, a commissioned officer, all the credentials and what was happening to me? I got there and I_d got no speech, nobody could hear my voice a massive language barrier; into a culture I_d never been into, a working class culture that I_d never been into before." "I was sent to High Royds - Menston at the end of my first week. I came to work as a trainee welfare officer, specifically with deaf people and in the first week of joining, I arrived on the Monday and I was given what they call a finger spelling card. So I had to learn the manual alphabet, which has got very little to do with sign language, it_s not how deaf people communicate, although you use finger spelling to help them with their communication, it was my first step and they gave it to me but it was not their language that I was learning. Actually nobody taught me their language; that was a kind of secret weapon, which the children of deaf parents had up their sleeve, because they grew up with the language they were completely within it and they had the proper emotional contacts with deaf people because they could be looked at, oh yes his mum and dad were deaf and dumb, as they used to be called and those people could actually get inside the language and they could create the emotional strength of a relationship, they could feel their emotions and they could produce them. I couldn_t. All I Had was a kind of straight face and still had a naval officers voice going on in my head, I wasn_t a tactile human being like deaf people are who produce the language." _When you saw me talking earlier you saw a huge amount of body language and attitudes, nobody taught me that, it was just something that was part of my being. I was just a straight Englishman with a straight Englishman_s voice and I could talk like this, like a missionary, like a vicar and my book is called "The Vanishing Missionary". I went in to this work and then actually discovered, accepted everything I was taught, bit by bit I became passionate about it, particularly the mental hospital bit, once you get in side there and you see what_s going on, so many games just so many clues, the ultimate in repression, it_s total power of one group over another, leaving them with no hope whatsoever, with nowhere to go and nothing to do." "And people, just completely institutionalised; you only get little glimmers of people resisting that like you did from the epileptics, little glimpses coming out, most of the time, you went in there and for a lot of folks it took all of the pressures away, that_s the balance of the thing, it took all the pressures away; if you were ill and you had a clinical mental illness and it came and it went, you swung, you changed, you weren_t always mentally ill, you had better periods and you were depressed or not depressed." "To go into a hospital and be brought back in and everybody would say "Oo hello" and you_re phew- back down to your fags and you_re back down to your cups of tea and you_re back down to not having to communicate unless you want to, sitting in the same chair that you were and you_ve gone right back to that kind of un-pressurised situation_. _And when they got rid of places like High Royds, they got rid of a lot of the power that got to be exerted and got exercised, but their value was considerable but not recognised." "From my experience at Denbigh Psychiatric Hospital and Deva The Countess Of Chester Psychiatric Hospital and some of the things I did at Oldham, I decided when I came back as the Principal of the Centre for Deaf people in Leeds which was part of the Leeds Incorporated Institution for Blind and Deaf people, it_s origins went back to 1854, so well established; it became local authority supported after the war 1948, the local authority then had responsibility to create facilities for deaf people, that was the point the centre started to get money from the local authority and that changed the way it operated. Well it didn_t actually change the way it operated, it changed the way that they were funded, because they didn_t ask and they didn_t know how to ask any questions about how a service should be administered and as usual because of the communication barriers which were actually made stronger by the bosses of the organisation because they didn_t want their clients telling the local authority what was going on, and there were no deaf people on the committees, management committees, that was because they couldn_t manage and they weren_t responsible enough so you kept them there and so the local authority gave money to the voluntary organisations and they didn_t ask any questions about it. _Just do the right things by us_ _So you had a lot of freedoms and I just decided that I would go to Meanwood Park Colony. I went to see the superintendent, Douglas Spencer, got on very well with him, deep down he was a very nice human being and he just said carry on so we circulated all the wards and said that if you got any deaf people or you think that people have a history having been in a school for the deaf or deaf people, wearing hearing aids, bring them in. So I had two or three days, just sitting at a desk with different wards or villas bringing in their folks and that_s when I found Geoffrey Abbot._ _Because Geoffrey came in and I signed to him. My signing was getting better. Geoffrey could sign language he had been to a school for the deaf and he_d got sign language and I signed to him and he responded and we started to joke together and there was Geoffrey, he was in lots of ways quite happy and it took in fact, 7 years to get him out of hospital, because nobody wanted him to go, he was too useful to people and by that time I_d moved on, I_d created this club and ran it met the deaf people there and got to know them and tried to put the word around the hospital who these folks were._ _Eventually we got Geoffrey out and into a hostel with other deaf people and got him coming to the Deaf Club and he began to build a life with other deaf people._ _There was resistance to him leaving because he was too useful, he_d got a lot of friends in there, he_d got friends who just visited the hospital, who he knew, he was very observant, I know people now who used to go there voluntarily years ago, who saw Geoffrey and got to know him there, he was a definite personality, got a lot about him and that of course was the reason he went in, _cos he was a sparky guy and he used to fight like hell, he was a difficult guy with this big personality, he used to react to you in a marvellous way and people just loved him, so getting him out was a kind of mission and it needed to be done and you had to nudge away and nudge away, but eventually he broke down and came out, we got him into a hostel._ _I think people within institutions like that have this power to control events and it takes an awful lot of time, for them to feel that you are a recognisable human being somebody who can be trusted and valued enough to look after Geoffrey, and that was probably a lot of it and when he came out he obviously had to go through a great deal of difficulties in order to adjust, he always had this place and he had to go through all the experiments about himself, generally he had to go through a range of different experiences. Like in the hospitals, you got the corridor livers, they lived there and they stay there, they operate in the corridors, you can walk over them, they_ll look at you, they_ll look at each other, they will know what the routines are and they will feel comfortable in the corridor, they_ve got a certain degree of freedom, and that_s all that there is for them and they_ve come to be institutionalised into feeling that freedom and not going any further. Coming out of hospital is like ricocheting down a corridor and at the other end there is a light, which is kind of like an unknown light and a frightening light and in order to get out into that light you_ve got to ricochet down that corridor in order to get there, so you bounce against society on either side, you meet prejudices, you meet attitudes which you don_t know, you meet the rules and regulations which society lays down, you don_t know those so you have to experience them and react against them and to learn how to cope with them and reinforce them so that they become part of your survival technique. So you_ve got the survival techniques that have got to be learnt when you come out of hospital, it_s not a matter of everybody saying _Whey -hey_ We_ve done it._ _The kind of people I got out of High Royds, the chap who came to work as the caretaker, I think he_d had 14 years in there, I got him out in 1966/67 because I started visiting him in 1957 and I visited him for four years. I came back from when I was away in North Wales 5 years later and he was still in High Royds and I was trying to get him out and the caretaker_s job arose at the Deaf centre. I said come on work here and what he had was ready access to what we had here; other deaf people and he had a safety net and he kept going with that safety net and he had quite loving caring parents. He came out and he worked perfectly well as a caretaker. He cleaned and got the boiler going and all of those kind of things and eventually packed it in and got married and went to live in Wakefield, a real success story._ _I remember when I used to meet the caretaker out in the gardens at High Royds quite close to the white former Superintendents house to the front. There was nothing the matter with him, he wasn_t in a locked ward or anything. Ward 14 was the secure unit, on one occasion in my early days at High Royds I was attempting to get to Ward 14, at the time money was short so I would often buy clothes from the second hand shops, that particular day I was wearing a black mac similar to the type worn in the hospital. A rather large male attendant approached asked me where I was going, as I explained I was heading to Ward 24, he presumed me to be a patient and promptly frog marched me to my destination._ _Eventually there were other people who came and worked with me who got other people out who used to come to that club, in particular someone who had got sight loss as well, I didn_t get them out but that was the kind of exit basis, their sensory condition had been important in the reason why they had been put away in the first place, they couldn_t have a response to what people were doing._ _The 1959 act had no impact on me whatsoever._ _Nobody representing Geoffrey and the conditions at home meant that there wouldn_t be any enthusiasm from his parents to get him out, they_d got a settled home life and Geoffrey had always been a difficult person._ _Life for deaf patients in the institutions had been pretty grim. They were moved from one ward to another, except for people like Geoffrey who had got jobs, they worked in people_s homes. At the entrance to Meanwood Park there was a lodge, he worked in there. There was quite a big social life in Meanwood Park the cricket teams, a lot of Downs Syndrome people that could take part in games._ _All the deaf people were in different wards, but they weren_t brought together, when you think conditions of the villas, there were little outbreaks and you could always tell if someone was going to have one and everyone knew what to do, and there were little rooms, little secured rooms, they were lock up places just as there were in High Royds and also in Armley prison. In High Royds there was one occasion when one person was stripped and put in a cell and I_m sure that kind of thing went on in Meanwood, the possibilities of abuse and cruelty were enormous, I_m not saying that I have seen instances, but the possibilities were enormous._ _There were 20 Epileptic Patients in the cage that I saw at High Royds, you went in and it was on the way through, it wasn_t a closed ward , it was a pen, on the right hand side as you walked through into another area as you were going through down the long corridor, going towards the annex and they were literally in this cage and I said who are these people and they said these are the epileptics. As I walked past them they were singing a song about being in Menston:- THE EPILEPTIC SONG Buggered in the morning Buggered in the evening Buggered at supper time If you get stuck in Menston You get Buggered all the time. This was sung to the tune of a popular song of the time "Sugar in the morning." Roy Orbison _What I did learn are that those places are very sensitive and you_ve got to work your passage._ _There is a kind of philosophy, about the situations, and those people that lived on corridors and their way out, kind of trying to get descriptions of what was going on and trying to get your mind around what was happening to people, rather than they_re in there and they_re coming out, what_s the processes for coming out, what are the human interaction going on around it, what are the non verbal insights into what_s happening. There was one very important occasion that I recall regarding somebody that had been in a mental institution since he was six and the local authority whose responsibility he was said will you go an look at him because we_ve been paying a lot of money to the organisation that is looking after him, he_s now about 22 he_d been in since he was six._ _So I went to see this guy down in St.Lawrence_s hospital in Carsholton in Surrey and I found this guy and they took me to the ward, here he is, I signed to him and there wasn_t anything, no sign language there at all, he_d never been with other deaf people and he grabbed my face and twisted it and looked at me and I thought what do I do about this and I put my hand up and I stroked him and just try and show some kind of feeling. Some kind of affection and he thought this was alright, this was in the purest sense that one could get and he then grabbed me by the hand and he took me on a walk around the hospital, profoundly deaf, he_d got, he_d obviously got myopic vision, he_d got real tunnel vision and he then took me for a walk which was utterly sensorial, in so much as that he took me down a corridor and when we got to a radiator he stopped and warmed himself, when we got to a window, he got the air going in and blowing on him and everything he did was sensorial, it wasn_t anything to do with anyone_s speech or words or anything, he was a complete sensorial animal and he was also quite amazing, he wasn_t violent, he was autistic in the extreme but like many autistic people he had got one area where he was brilliant, half of the professors in this country are autistic, and his one area was playing music, he could actually pick out tunes on the piano and he could hear them and he could manage that, he got no speech, very little sight but he could just pick up a piano. I wrote the report about him in these terms, that he was a sensorial animal and they seemed to understand and said can you get him out. So they gave me carte blanche, as did the hospital because they knew him and they knew he shouldn_t be there,_ _So I got him out of the hospital and into a specialist rehabilitation place and the only possession that he had got was a tie that his mother had given him and eventually he was making quite a lot of progress, he seemed to be happier and had much more freedoms, in the end tragically they took him to Majorca and crossing the road, he didn_t know how to cross roads and the bloke that was crossing the road and holding his hand, he stopped and went back and the other bloke came and a car came along._ _It was quite a remarkable experience to come across someone like that. So far away from everyone else, with no words, no other descriptions apart from cold, food, touch, smooth rough all those things and he just wanted to take you around his sensorial journey, if you shared it with him you were sharing his life and he liked that. Something there that had just trickled through._ _I keep it in these terms, what the hell have I learned doing this job and what would I have learned if I had stayed in the navy, I_d have learned nothing about communication, working class life, all the joy I_ve had communicating with people, I_ve had a fantastic time that I wouldn_t have got if I hadn_t have done this job. I_ve gone into every sector of society and gleaned so much from it._ Interview with Martin Smith, January 2009. About The Deaf And Blind Society Leeds. Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People has existed since 1866. Throughout its long history, the single objective has been to respond to the expressed needs and aspirations of deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, blind and partially sighted people. This has been achieved by the active participation of sensory-impaired people, both as members of committees at every level and as members of staff. The success of the Society is without doubt due to the active pursuit of this policy. However, sensory-impaired people recognise the value of the large number of people who have given and continue to give their time and talents in a voluntary capacity, and this valuable input has been a significant factor in the progress of the Society. There are few, if any, other voluntary societies which provide services for both sensory impairments. The reputation of Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People is virtually without equal in this regard, and the benefit of our advice, opinion and experience is sought by people throughout the UK. The Society recognises that its long partnership since the 1950s with Leeds City Council Social Services has also been a significant factor in this success. The Society is neither complacent nor static. We may never achieve perfection, but we can continually strive to improve, and this will be achieved by listening to our members and service users. By consultation and cooperation, we shall ensure that we enable each person to have the opportunity of choice, leading to achieving their personal potential and independent living.

Martin Smith - January 2009 Martin Smith Talking About His Fascinating Career January 2009 Geoffrey Abbott With Martin Smith The Man Who Realised His Only Ailment Being The Fact He Was Deaf And Saved Him From Further Confinement Geoffrey Abbott A True Survivor, 22 Years In Meanwood For Being Deaf.“My father signed a paper and put me away and put me into hospital, he just signed it. This hearing man just put me in hospital and it was my father’s fault, my father who was bad, it was wrong. Well I didn’t communicate. I didn’t talk to them, it was full of hearing people and I was by myself and there were like warders there with keys who like locked things up and I really had to be quite patient.” Martin Smith (Far Right) At Meanwood 1960's Club Presentation - Denbigh, North Wales Hospital. Martin Smith (second From Left) Denbigh 1964

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 The Law And Mental illness http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1641431.html The Law and Mental Illness Until the repeal of the Lunacy Act of 1890 by the operation of the Mental Health Act 1959, there was an element of judicial involvement in all compulsory admissions to psychiatric hospitals. Historically, involvement of the legal process in the affairs of the mentally ill did not arise from medical or social necessity, but from a need to protect the financial interests of the afflicted person. The Romans were the first to recognise this need, legislating to safeguard the estates of the "non compus mentis" by the appointment of Curators to act in their best interests. They even extended these powers to include those who were profligate, in order to protect them against their own inadequacies. Early English Law, in the reign of Edward II, embraced and extended these concepts, but dealing with mental illness differently from mental handicap ("Lunacy" and "Idiocy" as they were respectively termed). It was argued that an "idiot" never having possessed reason, could never be expected to attain it, whereas a "lunatic", having lost his reason by injury, grief or illness, could well be expected to regain it. There was therefore seen to be a need to manage the affairs of the latter in such a way that at some future time, on his possible recovery, he could resume management of his own affairs without having suffered any loss of income or capital as a result of his absence from the scene. In the case of the "idiot", however it was felt that so long as he was provided with adequate food and drink, clothing, shelter, warmth and reasonable comfort while he lived, ("sustentation" as it was termed), any remaining profits from the management of his estate could be with advantage be used by the Crown, the remnants of his estate only devolving on his heirs on his demise. Functionally, the profits were shared between the Crown and a person appointed by the Courts to undertake the care of the "idiot". In many cases there was a most profitable and prized appointment, and the practise became known as "begging a man for a fool", and as might be expected was much abused. It remained law for at least four centuries, and was referred to by Shakespeare in his play "Love's Labour Lost". The evil and insidious practice was only discontinued only by the judiciary deciding whenever an application came before them, to adjudge the mentally disordered person a "lunatic", so affording to all the safeguards denied the mental handicapped. During these years the mentally ill were treated variously with cruelty, abuse, occasionally with kindness, but more usually with ridicule. Sometimes, of course, they were venerated as possessing mystical powers. Some were feared, thought to be capable of communicating with the powers of Darkness. Early records in the Stanley Royd Hospital Museum, refer to patients as "witches", "being possessed by ye Devil", consulting wise men", etc. The growth of workhouses and private "Madhouses" in the 18th Century led to a much greater awareness of the problem. An Act of 1714 had authorised any two justices to order a "furiously mad" pauper to be apprehended, kept securely locked and chained if necessary, for such time as the madness should continue. So long as few such cases offended the public conscience nothing was done to protect the mentally ill, but when dozens began to be congregated in workhouses and private "madhouses" the public conscience was awakened. Private madhouses had been run in most cases entirely as profit making ventures . There were no restrictions as to who could set up such practices, nor as to the suitability of the premises, nor was there any check on the care ( or lack of it) afforded the patients. Admission procedures were dangerously simple, hence the incarceration of unwanted husbands or wives, disobedient daughters and other inconvenient relatives, frequently the subject of Victorian novels. The first faltering steps to control the abuses of madhouses were taken through an Act of 1774 which provided for a primitive form of licensing and supervision of such establishments and their owners. Perhaps the strongest influence in legislation at this time was the illness of George III. The King was stricken with recurrent bouts of mental illness, and was attended by a Dr. Willis, who kept a private madhouse in Lincolnshire, and was thought to possess special skills in the treatment of the mentally ill. The poor monarch was subjected to all the horrific, and as we know today, the most useless of methods of treatment, and when it became public knowledge that no less a person than the King had suffered such cruelties and indignities in the name of medical treatment there were demands for a complete review of the subject. An attempt on the King's life and the subsequent acquittal of the accused on the grounds of insanity led to an Act of 1800 providing for custodial care for such offenders (at first in Bethlem, or "Bedlam" as it was better known) and was the forerunner of the present law relating to "diminished responsibility". So far legislation had reflected the need to protect the public rather than the afflicted, but the revelations of cruelty and deprivation in Bedlam and York Asylum (now "Bootham Park"), and the serious shortcomings of so many private madhouses led to the setting up of a Select Committee, resulting eventually, among other things, in the County Asylums Act of 1808, under which Stanley Royd, as we now call it, was built in 1818. Many factors, not least of which was the tremendous population explosion of Victorian England, combined to create a frightening increase in the need for Asylum and Madhouse accommodation, and the Madhouse Act of 1828 was designed further to control wrongful detention of the sane. Not until 1845 was an Act passed to compel counties to build asylums. An Act of the same year extended to asylums the same degree of external supervision as applied to madhouses and Metropolitan asylums. An Act consolidating all such previous Lunacy legislation as was thought desirable to retain came into force in 1890. It was entitled the "Lunacy Act 1890", and in relation to compulsory admissions and detention, remained in force until repealed in 1959. It is sobering to reflect that the only method of obtaining admission to hospitals such as Stanley Royd until as recently as 1930 was by "Certification" I.e./ by means of a certificate signed by a Justice ( or a Secretary of State). In 1930 was enacted the "Mental Treatment Act". This signalled a complete and fundamental change in the law. For the first time in Mental State Hospitals patients could opt for treatment on a voluntary basis, and could usually leave with little formality. Perhaps an even more significant advance was that the Act permitted all suitable patients to be removed from the "Certificate" and remain voluntarily, thus freeing from stigma all but a small number of the patients in the hospital, permitting them, subject to safeguards, to discharge themselves if they so wished. Under the Act, many patients had restored to them civil rights (e.g., the right to vote), previously denied to them. There remained however, in respect of compulsory admissions, the element of judicial involvement mentioned at the beginning of this article, in that no person could be admitted against his or her will unless an order signed by a justice accompanied the admission. A Royal Commission was set up to review the law in relation to mental illness, resulting in the Mental Health Act, 1959. This placed the responsibility and powers in relation to compulsory admissions firmly in the hands of consultant psychiatrists, removing completely from lay involvement all matters pertaining to admissions and discharges, except insofar as ensuring observance of the law, and the appeals mechanism. In relation to other forms of admission the law applies no more than is the case in general hospitals. Tuesday 30 November 1999: The Law and Mental Illness Until the repeal of the Lunacy Act of 1890 by the operation of the Mental Health Act 1959, there was an element of judicial involvement in all compulsory admissions to psychiatric hospitals. Historically, involvement of the legal process in the affairs of the mentally ill did not arise from medical or social necessity, but from a need to protect the financial interests of the afflicted person. The Romans were the first to recognise this need, legislating to safeguard the estates of the "non compus mentis" by the appointment of Curators to act in their best interests. They even extended these powers to include those who were profligate, in order to protect them against their own inadequacies. Early English Law, in the reign of Edward II, embraced and extended these concepts, but dealing with mental illness differently from mental handicap ("Lunacy" and "Idiocy" as they were respectively termed). It was argued that an "idiot" never having possessed reason, could never be expected to attain it, whereas a "lunatic", having lost his reason by injury, grief or illness, could well be expected to regain it. There was therefore seen to be a need to manage the affairs of the latter in such a way that at some future time, on his possible recovery, he could resume management of his own affairs without having suffered any loss of income or capital as a result of his absence from the scene. In the case of the "idiot", however it was felt that so long as he was provided with adequate food and drink, clothing, shelter, warmth and reasonable comfort while he lived, ("sustentation" as it was termed), any remaining profits from the management of his estate could be with advantage be used by the Crown, the remnants of his estate only devolving on his heirs on his demise. Functionally, the profits were shared between the Crown and a person appointed by the Courts to undertake the care of the "idiot". In many cases there was a most profitable and prized appointment, and the practise became known as "begging a man for a fool", and as might be expected was much abused. It remained law for at least four centuries, and was referred to by Shakespeare in his play "Love's Labour Lost". The evil and insidious practice was only discontinued only by the judiciary deciding whenever an application came before them, to adjudge the mentally disordered person a "lunatic", so affording to all the safeguards denied the mental handicapped. During these years the mentally ill were treated variously with cruelty, abuse, occasionally with kindness, but more usually with ridicule. Sometimes, of course, they were venerated as possessing mystical powers. Some were feared, thought to be capable of communicating with the powers of Darkness. Early records in the Stanley Royd Hospital Museum, refer to patients as "witches", "being possessed by ye Devil", consulting wise men", etc. The growth of workhouses and private "Madhouses" in the 18th Century led to a much greater awareness of the problem. An Act of 1714 had authorised any two justices to order a "furiously mad" pauper to be apprehended, kept securely locked and chained if necessary, for such time as the madness should continue. So long as few such cases offended the public conscience nothing was done to protect the mentally ill, but when dozens began to be congregated in workhouses and private "madhouses" the public conscience was awakened. Private madhouses had been run in most cases entirely as profit making ventures . There were no restrictions as to who could set up such practices, nor as to the suitability of the premises, nor was there any check on the care ( or lack of it) afforded the patients. Admission procedures were dangerously simple, hence the incarceration of unwanted husbands or wives, disobedient daughters and other inconvenient relatives, frequently the subject of Victorian novels. The first faltering steps to control the abuses of madhouses were taken through an Act of 1774 which provided for a primitive form of licensing and supervision of such establishments and their owners. Perhaps the strongest influence in legislation at this time was the illness of George III. The King was stricken with recurrent bouts of mental illness, and was attended by a Dr. Willis, who kept a private madhouse in Lincolnshire, and was thought to possess special skills in the treatment of the mentally ill. The poor monarch was subjected to all the horrific, and as we know today, the most useless of methods of treatment, and when it became public knowledge that no less a person than the King had suffered such cruelties and indignities in the name of medical treatment there were demands for a complete review of the subject. An attempt on the King's life and the subsequent acquittal of the accused on the grounds of insanity led to an Act of 1800 providing for custodial care for such offenders (at first in Bethlem, or "Bedlam" as it was better known) and was the forerunner of the present law relating to "diminished responsibility". So far legislation had reflected the need to protect the public rather than the afflicted, but the revelations of cruelty and deprivation in Bedlam and York Asylum (now "Bootham Park"), and the serious shortcomings of so many private madhouses led to the setting up of a Select Committee, resulting eventually, among other things, in the County Asylums Act of 1808, under which Stanley Royd, as we now call it, was built in 1818. Many factors, not least of which was the tremendous population explosion of Victorian England, combined to create a frightening increase in the need for Asylum and Madhouse accommodation, and the Madhouse Act of 1828 was designed further to control wrongful detention of the sane. Not until 1845 was an Act passed to compel counties to build asylums. An Act of the same year extended to asylums the same degree of external supervision as applied to madhouses and Metropolitan asylums. An Act consolidating all such previous Lunacy legislation as was thought desirable to retain came into force in 1890. It was entitled the "Lunacy Act 1890", and in relation to compulsory admissions and detention, remained in force until repealed in 1959. It is sobering to reflect that the only method of obtaining admission to hospitals such as Stanley Royd until as recently as 1930 was by "Certification" I.e./ by means of a certificate signed by a Justice ( or a Secretary of State). In 1930 was enacted the "Mental Treatment Act". This signalled a complete and fundamental change in the law. For the first time in Mental State Hospitals patients could opt for treatment on a voluntary basis, and could usually leave with little formality. Perhaps an even more significant advance was that the Act permitted all suitable patients to be removed from the "Certificate" and remain voluntarily, thus freeing from stigma all but a small number of the patients in the hospital, permitting them, subject to safeguards, to discharge themselves if they so wished. Under the Act, many patients had restored to them civil rights (e.g., the right to vote), previously denied to them. There remained however, in respect of compulsory admissions, the element of judicial involvement mentioned at the beginning of this article, in that no person could be admitted against his or her will unless an order signed by a justice accompanied the admission. A Royal Commission was set up to review the law in relation to mental illness, resulting in the Mental Health Act, 1959. This placed the responsibility and powers in relation to compulsory admissions firmly in the hands of consultant psychiatrists, removing completely from lay involvement all matters pertaining to admissions and discharges, except insofar as ensuring observance of the law, and the appeals mechanism. In relation to other forms of admission the law applies no more than is the case in general hospitals.

Stanley Royd 1818

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Maple House - St Mary's http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1641411.html In 1995 Ramsgill Ward moved to Maple House, a new purpose built unit at St Mary's Hospital in Armley, and the new financing possibilities introduced by the Goverment known as PFI (private finance initiative) opened up new possibilities for reproviding the hospital in the community. (In Splendid Isolation 2003) Maple House Rehabilitation Unit St Mary's Hospital Greenhill Road Leeds Service details: Part of the city-wide Continuing Treatment, Rehabilitation and Recovery Service. Additional Access Details: Moving to Millside Meanwood DEC 08 Criteria: 1:Areas Served - Postcode: All Leeds P'codes (Leeds-based Org) 4:Access - Disability: Level Access 4:Access - Disability: Parking 4:Access - Disability: Wheelchair Accessible Toilet 4:Access - Disability: Lift 5:Access - Language: Interpreters Available 6:Access - Referral by: Mental Health Professional 6:Access - Referral by: Social Worker 8:Organisation Sector: Statutory (Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation Tuesday 30 November 1999: In 1995 Ramsgill Ward moved to Maple House, a new purpose built unit at St Mary's Hospital in Armley, and the new financing possibilities introduced by the Goverment known as PFI (private finance initiative) opened up new possibilities for reproviding the hospital in the community. (In Splendid Isolation 2003) Maple House Rehabilitation Unit St Mary's Hospital Greenhill Road Leeds Service details: Part of the city-wide Continuing Treatment, Rehabilitation and Recovery Service. Additional Access Details: Moving to Millside Meanwood DEC 08 Criteria: 1:Areas Served - Postcode: All Leeds P'codes (Leeds-based Org) 4:Access - Disability: Level Access 4:Access - Disability: Parking 4:Access - Disability: Wheelchair Accessible Toilet 4:Access - Disability: Lift 5:Access - Language: Interpreters Available 6:Access - Referral by: Mental Health Professional 6:Access - Referral by: Social Worker 8:Organisation Sector: Statutory (Leeds Partnerships NHS Foundation

Maple House Side by Side Clinicians Only Single Room Laminate Twin socket Fire Escape Room with a View Ground Floor Corridor Juxtaposed Bed Rest Halfway Up the Stairs Stairway to Heaven Unit Office On Call Utilities Relaxation Room Welcome Storage Area Reflections of..... Lounge Lounge Corridor Bathroom Long Way Down Side Entrance Maple House Front Elevation

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 January 2009 http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1633558.html Work is under way on the conversion of Aysgarth and Hawes ward, originally the female sick and infirm pavillion. The mortuary is completely sealed with all the windows and doors bricked up. The old asylum continues to evolve albeit at a slow pace. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Work is under way on the conversion of Aysgarth and Hawes ward, originally the female sick and infirm pavillion. The mortuary is completely sealed with all the windows and doors bricked up. The old asylum continues to evolve albeit at a slow pace.

Central Memorial Centre Dead Centre Ballroom Entrance Doctors Res Gated Corridor Gated Corridor Gated Corridor Tiled Storeroom Stop Corridor To Aysgarth Support Ballroom Rear Corridor Kitchen, Ballroom Corridor Enging Room Engine Room Engine Room The Old Male Barbers Shop Surgical Block Male Dining Room exterior Surgical Block Surgical Block Skylight Andrew Sims Walk The Line Kitchen Side Elevation Clock Tower Ballroom Projector Room Projector Room Projector Room Developing Landscape Spic And Span Male Dining Room Ceiling Male Dining Room, Hidden Gem Male Barbers Shop Bon Accord Classic Design Sinking Feeling Stairwell Aysgarth handrail Little Pieces Aysgarth Being Stripped Aysgarth Bay.. Aysgarth Pillar Work In Progress Warning Stripped Bare Seasoned Stores Aysgarth looking to admin

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Mental Health Services Leeds 1959 http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1631338.html City Of Leeds, Report on the Mental Health Services for 1959. Tuesday 30 November 1999: City Of Leeds, Report on the Mental Health Services for 1959.

Meanwood Industry Centre Page 17 Page 16 Page 15 Page 14 Page 13 Page 12 Page 11 Page 10 Page 09 Page 08 Page 07 Page 06 Page 04 Page 03 Page 02 Page 01 Front cover Index Page 05 Rutland Lodge (North Leeds) 1955 Mountside Rehabilitation Centre Workshop Pioneer Laundry - South Leeds Occupation Centre West Leeds Occupation Centre North Leeds Industry Centre For Men And Boys.

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]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 Dr D A Spencers Scrapbook http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1630301.html We have Dr Douglas Spencer to thank for the documents in this section, He was prolific in his collecting of Newspaper Articles between the early 1970's up until the 1990's Although the majority of clippings relate to Meanwood Park he also collected articles of local medical interest. ........................................................................... Obituaries Douglas Anthony Spencer Born in Leeds, Douglas trained at Edinburgh but moved back to his beloved Yorkshire to start his hospital career. After a period of national service he trained in psychiatry, eventually specialising in learning difficulties. In June 1965, aged 34, he was appointed consultant at Meanwood Park Hospital, Leeds, later becoming medical director at Westwood, Todmorden, and Castleberg Hospitals from 1966. His professional interests covered all aspects of mental handicap, and he published about 500 papers and letters. He was a foundation member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1971 and was elected fellow in 1982. He was appointed senior clinical lecturer at Leeds University in 1984. After retirement at 65 from his full time post he continued to work part time at Meanwood in the resettlement of patients until the hospital closed in May 1997.As the hospitals for mental handicap became scheduled for closure he took a special interest in personally recording details of the histories of the local hospitals and organisations, copies of which he donated to selected libraries. He moved to Northampton to be near his family. He remained a medical member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal until retiring fully in 2003. He was a gentle, dignified family man and a keen gardener He leaves a wife, Ann; two daughters; and four granddaughters. Former consultant psychiatrist Leeds (b 1931; qualified Edinburgh 1956; Fellow of The Royal College Of Psychiatrists ), Died from renal cancer on 11 July 2006. Dr Spencer Was A Prolific Writer, Upon his Retirement He Considered The Time Opportune To Fullfill A Duty, An Obligation And A Responsibility To Compile Some Record Of What Had Been Done At Meanwood Park Hospital. .......................................................................... Speech for the retirement of Dr Douglas Spencer Douglas Anthony Spencer was born on 28th September 1931. He attended school in Otley and then went to Edinburgh to attend medical school. He came back to Harrogate and District General Hospital as House Surgeon and House Physician in 1956 and then did 2 years National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He then attended the Psychiatric Services within Stanley Royd and St James’ before joining Meanwood Park Hospital as a Consultant Psychiatrist in 1965. In 1966 he went to the new Westwood Hospital as Medical Director, returning to Meanwood Park Hospital some 4 years later, in 1970. He has remained Consultant Psychiatrist in Meanwood Park Hospital from 1970 until 1996. Douglas Spencer is a Yorkshire man. He is a true Yorkshire man because he has not only spent his life in Yorkshire, but he was born in Yorkshire. The only length of time he has spent outside of Yorkshire has been that of his early medical training in Scotland. Occasionally, even today Dr Spencer suggests that he has left Yorkshire and has offered evidence of postcards from Cornwall and from the Isle of Skye and cakes, biscuits and sweets from local manufacturers of other counties he has claimed to visit. These claims are to be treated with some misgivings because it is well known that true Yorkshire men do not like leaving Yorkshire. Douglas Spencer has spent a lifetime in the care of learning disabled people and in particular in the supervision of Meanwood Park Hospital. He has now arrived at the age of 65 and we must praise him for having survived this arduous obstacle course. He has withstood all the threats and all the promises which have been made by various administrations throughout his time. For a long time now, changes in government have been outpaced by the rapid changes in management and administrative systems. Ethical and moral movements have come and gone and the hospital itself has been in the process of closure for 20 years. Through it all Douglas Spencer has remained reliable, he is a survivor of it all and we must congratulate him for that, and what is more, as far as I know and as far as I can see, he is as fit as flea and always ready with a smile and a greeting. We who remain in the service for learning disabled people will undoubtedly miss him. He has remained a steadfast anchor for an otherwise drifting vessel, but those who are left will do their best to provide and maintain a similar and improving level of service, and we hope that Douglas and his wife will enjoy and interesting, fruitful and well deserved retirement. Thank you very much indeed. ........................................................................... Dr Spencer’s response Thank you Stephen (Read), John (Oldham) and Faith (Hewitt) for your kind words. Thank you to the Trust for the generous spread. Thank you for the splendid gifts, the cards and good wishes we have received. Thank you all, for coming her at 4pm on Friday afternoon, the most dangerous hour of the week for emergencies to join Ann and me in what has to be for me a celebration of gratitude for over 40 years in medical work, luckily without time off for serious illness and for over a third of a century in what is now called Learning Disability. When I was a medical student in Edinburgh it was Mental Deficiency, on which Dr Bailey of Gogarburn Hospital gave five lectures and a demonstration in which he made occasional mention of a benighted land to the south he called “Ngland”! My first visit to Meanwood Park Hospital was in April 1961 for the Diploma in Psychological Medicine course with when Dr Wilson advised us to park our various heap or ruins a distance out from the Mansion because of the risk of falling masonry from the parapets! After the DPM I was persuaded by Dr Brian Ward, the Assistant Senior Medical Officer with Leeds Regional Hospital Board, to enter ‘Mental Sub normality’, as it had become. The region at that time had three Consultants for 26 hospitals with 4000 beds; the ‘norm’ was 1.3 beds per 1000 of the population, virtually all full of long stay patients. In archived records is a letter from region to a local hospital which ended with ‘shall be grateful if you can move heaven and earth to admit this patient’. The more it changes the more it stays the same! In 1963 there were over 800 patients at Meanwood Park Hospital at a cost of £8.00 per patient per week. Over 200 more patients were at Oulton Hall Hospital which was described, in the Yorkshire vernacular, as ‘a reight muck ‘oil’. Now it is a 5 star De Vere Hotel, to show what 20 million pounds can do! I went to meet Dr John Newcombe at Whixley Hospital, the outcome of which was that I visited there for 17 years. Whixley provided for what were then called ‘sub normal psychopaths’, now people with challenging behaviour and special needs. I was fortunate to come into mental sub normality at a time of mission, vision and renaissance, with innovations that would become bench marks of quality services in the future. The years at Meanwood Park Hospital provided a fund of stories and anecdotes. There was the patient who said “You won’t go away from here will you, Dr Spencer?”. With her brow furrowed in thought she added “We might get somebody worse”. I knew the feeling. Over the years there has accumulated at Meanwood Park Hospital a variety of official publications and reports, information about medical conditions and topics in daily practice, drugs and records or hospitals and services. It would be vandalism to destroy this irreplaceable ‘Trust Silver’ material which reflects the development of Learning Disability in the twentieth century. As this material is extant and with redundant cards to divide it up, the only cost of keeping it is the space of three cabinets at Crooked Acres Lodge where it is available for use in daily work and projects. Recently people going to Meanwood Park Hospital have said that what they missed about MPH was that it was a happy and friendly place. Memories of that ethos will live on and speak long after the buildings are no more. What greater tribute could any place deserve or need? Certainly Ann and I will always be thankful for the happy connection with MPH that people here have given us, and for the cordial association we have enjoyed with psychiatry in West Yorkshire and life in the National Health Service. Thank you. Tuesday 30 November 1999: We have Dr Douglas Spencer to thank for the documents in this section, He was prolific in his collecting of Newspaper Articles between the early 1970's up until the 1990's Although the majority of clippings relate to Meanwood Park he also collected articles of local medical interest. ........................................................................... Obituaries Douglas Anthony Spencer Born in Leeds, Douglas trained at Edinburgh but moved back to his beloved Yorkshire to start his hospital career. After a period of national service he trained in psychiatry, eventually specialising in learning difficulties. In June 1965, aged 34, he was appointed consultant at Meanwood Park Hospital, Leeds, later becoming medical director at Westwood, Todmorden, and Castleberg Hospitals from 1966. His professional interests covered all aspects of mental handicap, and he published about 500 papers and letters. He was a foundation member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1971 and was elected fellow in 1982. He was appointed senior clinical lecturer at Leeds University in 1984. After retirement at 65 from his full time post he continued to work part time at Meanwood in the resettlement of patients until the hospital closed in May 1997.As the hospitals for mental handicap became scheduled for closure he took a special interest in personally recording details of the histories of the local hospitals and organisations, copies of which he donated to selected libraries. He moved to Northampton to be near his family. He remained a medical member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal until retiring fully in 2003. He was a gentle, dignified family man and a keen gardener He leaves a wife, Ann; two daughters; and four granddaughters. Former consultant psychiatrist Leeds (b 1931; qualified Edinburgh 1956; Fellow of The Royal College Of Psychiatrists ), Died from renal cancer on 11 July 2006. Dr Spencer Was A Prolific Writer, Upon his Retirement He Considered The Time Opportune To Fullfill A Duty, An Obligation And A Responsibility To Compile Some Record Of What Had Been Done At Meanwood Park Hospital. .......................................................................... Speech for the retirement of Dr Douglas Spencer Douglas Anthony Spencer was born on 28th September 1931. He attended school in Otley and then went to Edinburgh to attend medical school. He came back to Harrogate and District General Hospital as House Surgeon and House Physician in 1956 and then did 2 years National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He then attended the Psychiatric Services within Stanley Royd and St James_ before joining Meanwood Park Hospital as a Consultant Psychiatrist in 1965. In 1966 he went to the new Westwood Hospital as Medical Director, returning to Meanwood Park Hospital some 4 years later, in 1970. He has remained Consultant Psychiatrist in Meanwood Park Hospital from 1970 until 1996. Douglas Spencer is a Yorkshire man. He is a true Yorkshire man because he has not only spent his life in Yorkshire, but he was born in Yorkshire. The only length of time he has spent outside of Yorkshire has been that of his early medical training in Scotland. Occasionally, even today Dr Spencer suggests that he has left Yorkshire and has offered evidence of postcards from Cornwall and from the Isle of Skye and cakes, biscuits and sweets from local manufacturers of other counties he has claimed to visit. These claims are to be treated with some misgivings because it is well known that true Yorkshire men do not like leaving Yorkshire. Douglas Spencer has spent a lifetime in the care of learning disabled people and in particular in the supervision of Meanwood Park Hospital. He has now arrived at the age of 65 and we must praise him for having survived this arduous obstacle course. He has withstood all the threats and all the promises which have been made by various administrations throughout his time. For a long time now, changes in government have been outpaced by the rapid changes in management and administrative systems. Ethical and moral movements have come and gone and the hospital itself has been in the process of closure for 20 years. Through it all Douglas Spencer has remained reliable, he is a survivor of it all and we must congratulate him for that, and what is more, as far as I know and as far as I can see, he is as fit as flea and always ready with a smile and a greeting. We who remain in the service for learning disabled people will undoubtedly miss him. He has remained a steadfast anchor for an otherwise drifting vessel, but those who are left will do their best to provide and maintain a similar and improving level of service, and we hope that Douglas and his wife will enjoy and interesting, fruitful and well deserved retirement. Thank you very much indeed. ........................................................................... Dr Spencer_s response Thank you Stephen (Read), John (Oldham) and Faith (Hewitt) for your kind words. Thank you to the Trust for the generous spread. Thank you for the splendid gifts, the cards and good wishes we have received. Thank you all, for coming her at 4pm on Friday afternoon, the most dangerous hour of the week for emergencies to join Ann and me in what has to be for me a celebration of gratitude for over 40 years in medical work, luckily without time off for serious illness and for over a third of a century in what is now called Learning Disability. When I was a medical student in Edinburgh it was Mental Deficiency, on which Dr Bailey of Gogarburn Hospital gave five lectures and a demonstration in which he made occasional mention of a benighted land to the south he called _Ngland_! My first visit to Meanwood Park Hospital was in April 1961 for the Diploma in Psychological Medicine course with when Dr Wilson advised us to park our various heap or ruins a distance out from the Mansion because of the risk of falling masonry from the parapets! After the DPM I was persuaded by Dr Brian Ward, the Assistant Senior Medical Officer with Leeds Regional Hospital Board, to enter _Mental Sub normality_, as it had become. The region at that time had three Consultants for 26 hospitals with 4000 beds; the _norm_ was 1.3 beds per 1000 of the population, virtually all full of long stay patients. In archived records is a letter from region to a local hospital which ended with _shall be grateful if you can move heaven and earth to admit this patient_. The more it changes the more it stays the same! In 1963 there were over 800 patients at Meanwood Park Hospital at a cost of _8.00 per patient per week. Over 200 more patients were at Oulton Hall Hospital which was described, in the Yorkshire vernacular, as _a reight muck _oil_. Now it is a 5 star De Vere Hotel, to show what 20 million pounds can do! I went to meet Dr John Newcombe at Whixley Hospital, the outcome of which was that I visited there for 17 years. Whixley provided for what were then called _sub normal psychopaths_, now people with challenging behaviour and special needs. I was fortunate to come into mental sub normality at a time of mission, vision and renaissance, with innovations that would become bench marks of quality services in the future. The years at Meanwood Park Hospital provided a fund of stories and anecdotes. There was the patient who said _You won_t go away from here will you, Dr Spencer?_. With her brow furrowed in thought she added _We might get somebody worse_. I knew the feeling. Over the years there has accumulated at Meanwood Park Hospital a variety of official publications and reports, information about medical conditions and topics in daily practice, drugs and records or hospitals and services. It would be vandalism to destroy this irreplaceable _Trust Silver_ material which reflects the development of Learning Disability in the twentieth century. As this material is extant and with redundant cards to divide it up, the only cost of keeping it is the space of three cabinets at Crooked Acres Lodge where it is available for use in daily work and projects. Recently people going to Meanwood Park Hospital have said that what they missed about MPH was that it was a happy and friendly place. Memories of that ethos will live on and speak long after the buildings are no more. What greater tribute could any place deserve or need? Certainly Ann and I will always be thankful for the happy connection with MPH that people here have given us, and for the cordial association we have enjoyed with psychiatry in West Yorkshire and life in the National Health Service. Thank you.

Dr Douglas Spencer. Julian Roberts, Consultant Psychiatrist At High Royds, Yorkshire Evening Post 13th May 1976 High Royds, Yorkshire Post 15th May 1975 Whittingham Psychiatric Hospital, Yorkshire Post 7th Feb 1975 Isaac (Ishe) Harris, Hospital Visitor Obituary, From The Jewish Gazette 24th November 1974 Ghostly Nurses, Yorkshire Post 2nd June 1975 Storthes Hall, Huddersfield 3rd June 1975 No Stefan Kopko, Yorkshire Evening Post 26th May 1977 Sacked Nurse, 21st August 1975 Opening Of Stanley Royd Museum 25th September 1975 Laundry Crisis 16th October 1979 Silent Minority June 11th 1981, (St Lawrence's) From 1920 to 1941, the asylum was known as Caterham Mental Hospital. In 1930, administration of the hospital passed to the London County Council. It then had 323 beds plus a nursery unit. In 1941, it became St Lawrence's Hospital and continued to provide care for the mentally handicapped. In 1974, the hospital came to public attention with the publication of the book Tongue Tied by Joseph ('Joey') John Deacon who had been a patient at the hospital since the age of eight in 1928. This was followed by the TV documentary Silent Minority in which the hospital featured in an unfavourable light. International Year Of Disabled People 1981 More Cash, Yorkshire Evening Post 28th August 1980 Silent Minority, Yorkshire Post 22nd June 1981 Silent Minority 4th June 1981 Patient Dumped By Hospital, 2nd Feb 1981 Ledgers Found In Sealed Outhouse 10th May 1983 Silent Minority, 4th June 1981 Uniform Brutality, Yorkshire Post 22nd Feb 1983 Mental Care Put Top Priority, Dr Julian Roberts, 25th November 1983 Changes For Mentally Ill, 17th June 1983 High Royds Security Fear, 2nd Feb 1986 Grassington Hospital Closure. 16th May 1985 John McLoughlan, When He's Not At Home Or At A Training Centre In Wetherby. He Wanders Around The Grounds Of His Former Home Torment For John, Institutionalised From 1964 To 1987 In Meanwood Park, Yorkshire Evening Post 25th March 1993

Published in Menston Asylum

]]> Tue Nov 30 1999 A Chronicle Of Meanwood Park http://highroydspauperlunaticasylum.fotopic.net/c1629962.html Working In Conjunction with Leeds Partnerships N.H.S. Foundation Trust, we offer our latest digital historical archive. Meanwood Park: A Colony For Mental Defectives. www.meanwoodpark.co.uk Meanwood Park Colony was opened on 3rd June 1920 by Sir William Byrne, K.C.V.O., C.B., and Chairman of the Board of Control. The ceremony was reported in the Yorkshire Post 4th June 1920. The number of patients accommodated was later increased to 103. 87 patients resided in the Hall and 16 in a nearby block. Patient number 1 was Mr Frank Tottie, admitted on 25th August 1919. He lived in the hospital for over 60 years to his death on 17th November 1979. In October 1921 Sir Hickman Beckett Bacon, then 66, the 11th Baron of Redgrave and the 12th Baronet of Millenhall and Thonock, Gainsborough, sold 658 acres of Moortown and Meanwood to the City of Leeds for £37,000. Included were six 18th century cottages in Parkside Road, Leeds. The Growth of Meanwood Park In 1928 a limited competition was held and the plans of Messrs J M Sheppard and Partners, Architects of London were selected for a ‘colony’ which provided for ultimate extension up to 900 places, divided into male, female and children all grouped round central buildings. The first section was opened by Councillor Arthur Hawkyard M.D., LL.D., J.P., during his Chairmanship of the Mental Health Service Committee on 3rd October 1932. This development provided for the accommodation of a further 328 residents in ten villas and brought the total number of places to 433. (Villas 2, 5, 6,7,10, 11, 13 and part of school.) On 20th November 1934 during the Chairmanship of Councillor Z P Fernandez the city Council approved the second part of the sachem which was later completed during the Chairmanship of Councillor John R Chappell. It was comprised of seven additional villas, a hospital villa, a villa for the most severely handicapped cases, a recreation hall for 600, the nurses’ home, a three storey structure with 70 separate bedrooms, six staff houses, the kitchen, stores, workshops and house for the medical officer. These extensions provided for an additional 410 patients and the total was brought up to 841 beds. The water supply allowed 40 gallons per head per day. The contractor was Messrs J Ledgard and the cost was £206.650.00. Her Royal Highness, The Princess royal opened the new extensions at a ceremony held on Monday 23rd June 1941. A commemorative plaque in the entrance lobby of the recreation hall recorded the opening ceremony. The Lord Mayor of Leeds was Alderman Willie Withey, J.P. The Chairman of the Mental Health Service Committee was Councillor John Richard Chappell, the Deputy Chairman Councillor Zacharias Peter Fernandez, B.A., M.D., D.P.H. Members of the Committee were Alderman Ernest Vincent Steel and Councillors Elizabeth Mary Lister, Harry Spink and Gertrude Wardle. The co-opted members of the Committee were Emily Bonell, Hilda Nicholson and William Beardshaw Booth. The Town Clerk was O.A Radley, M.C., LL.B., and the medical officer Dr Alexander Hogarth Wilson, M.B., Ch.B. D.P.M. The executive officer of the Committee was Mr J Squire Hoyle. The Hall often called ‘the Mansion’ ceased to be used for the accommodation of patients and was adapted for administration and staff residential purposes. The other original block which had housed 10 or more patients was no longer used for patients. The Villas were numbered 1 to 17 but no villa 16 was built in the original scheme because of the war and a gap remained between villa 15 and 17 until 1971. Meanwood Park in Wartime 1939 – 1945 During the war Meanwood Park was part of the emergency medical service and many war casualties remembered with gratitude the treatment they received there. The mentally handicapped residents were crowded into certain villas, some were moved elsewhere. Trains brought wounded soldiers to Leeds and Bradford, at first English, later German. After treatment the Germans passed to prisoner of war camps. An ambulance was used to convey soldiers form the villas to the operating theatre in villa 3. Miss Wilson was Matron, Miss Smyth was Assistant Matron, and kept a small white Sealyham called Buzzy and had fantail pigeons on the lawns. The mansion was reported to be haunted by a ‘grey lady’. The recreation hall was used for concerts and shows. A popular comic trio of those days ‘Mr Lovejoy, Ramsbottom and Enoch’ appeared there with their catchphrases ‘ let me tell you’ from Enoch and ‘take it away Ramsbottom’ from Mr Lovejoy. Memories of those who were associated with the hospital in wartime conveyed the impression of a busy place were morale was high. Staff enjoyed life and made the best of things under the wartime conditions. Each mentally handicapped patient had a respirator or ‘gaspirator’ as one remember it, and trenches were dug for use in air raids. Please hit the Meanwood Park Link on the front page to access the site. Tuesday 30 November 1999: Working In Conjunction with Leeds Partnerships N.H.S. Foundation Trust, we offer our latest digital historical archive. Meanwood Park: A Colony For Mental Defectives. www.meanwoodpark.co.uk Meanwood Park Colony was opened on 3rd June 1920 by Sir William Byrne, K.C.V.O., C.B., and Chairman of the Board of Control. The ceremony was reported in the Yorkshire Post 4th June 1920. The number of patients accommodated was later increased to 103. 87 patients resided in the Hall and 16 in a nearby block. Patient number 1 was Mr Frank Tottie, admitted on 25th August 1919. He lived in the hospital for over 60 years to his death on 17th November 1979. In October 1921 Sir Hickman Beckett Bacon, then 66, the 11th Baron of Redgrave and the 12th Baronet of Millenhall and Thonock, Gainsborough, sold 658 acres of Moortown and Meanwood to the City of Leeds for _37,000. Included were six 18th century cottages in Parkside Road, Leeds. The Growth of Meanwood Park In 1928 a limited competition was held and the plans of Messrs J M Sheppard and Partners, Architects of London were selected for a _colony_ which provided for ultimate extension up to 900 places, divided into male, female and children all grouped round central buildings. The first section was opened by Councillor Arthur Hawkyard M.D., LL.D., J.P., during his Chairmanship of the Mental Health Service Committee on 3rd October 1932. This development provided for the accommodation of a further 328 residents in ten villas and brought the total number of places to 433. (Villas 2, 5, 6,7,10, 11, 13 and part of school.) On 20th November 1934 during the Chairmanship of Councillor Z P Fernandez the city Council approved the second part of the sachem which was later completed during the Chairmanship of Councillor John R Chappell. It was comprised of seven additional villas, a hospital villa, a villa for the most severely handicapped cases, a recreation hall for 600, the nurses_ home, a three storey structure with 70 separate bedrooms, six staff houses, the kitchen, stores, workshops and house for the medical officer. These extensions provided for an additional 410 patients and the total was brought up to 841 beds. The water supply allowed 40 gallons per head per day. The contractor was Messrs J Ledgard and the cost was _206.650.00. Her Royal Highness, The Princess royal ope