Current Major Project

THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE IN BRITISH LUNATIC ASYLUMS 1861-1901

Project Co-ordinator: Joan Reid
Project Steering Group: Jean Fitzgerald, Anne Langley, Julie Moores, Susan Pearson, Darryn Robson, Sharon Ryan
Dedicated email: asylums@fachrs.com

What is the project about?
The aim of the project is to investigate the experience of those who were treated in British county asylums between the mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries.

Phase 1 ran from January 2021 and looked at asylum Annual Reports for certain key information. Census returns for the asylum were examined, and newspaper reports investigated, detailing notable events picked out of the annual reports. Much valuable information was collected and is available for researchers in Phase 2. A booklet is currently being written utilising the material collected by researchers.

Phase 2 is currently underway, focussing more on material available in local archives. As well as the census data already mentioned, there are three other main areas of research:

• Patient Admissions (who were they and why were they admitted)
• The experiences of Patients within Asylums
• The experiences of Asylum Staff

What are the planned outcomes?
It is intended that articles and booklets will be written based on the material found by the project participants. There is also a FACHRS conference, dedicated to the asylum project, planned for 10 May 2025.

Who can participate?
Any member of FACHRS can join the project. If you have a local asylum that you would like to investigate, then please let the co-ordinator know and it will be allocated to you wherever possible. Please also give the co-ordinator a second choice asylum, so that an alternative is available if your first choice has already been allocated.

How can I participate?
Please send an e-mail to the project email address, stating first and second choice of asylum and which of the three areas of Phase 2 research you are most interested in.