Liverpool Lunatic Asylum |
| Hob Uid: 1075361 | |
Location :
Liverpool
Non Civil Parish
|
| Grid Ref : SJ3490090600 |
| Summary : The former Liverpool Lunatic Asylum was built in 1792 and was designed by an architect unknown at the time of this record's amendment. The Asylum owed its foundation to James Currie who was a physician at the Liverpool Infirmary in 1786. He campaigned for separate care of people with psychiatric needs in their own hospital. In 1789 a proposal to build a psychiatric hospital, or 'lunatic asylum' as it was known in the Victorian period, in connection with the Infirmary was put forward. The Asylum was built in the Infirmary gardens and opened in September 1792 at a cost of £5,918 10s. 7d. Originally the building had accommodation for 60-70 patients and was run in conjunction with the Infirmary. The design of the Liverpool Lunatic Asylum was adopted by several county authorities in the building of their own institutions. In 1881 the Liverpool Lunatic Asylum was closed and the site was acquired by the London and North-Western Railway. The money from this sale went towards the building of a third Infirmary. During the last few years of the Asylum there were about 35 patients. They were removed and sent to similar institutions or were cared for by City and County Councils. The building has since been demolished.(See 1075357 for the 1830-1831 asylum).Customer comment recieved August 2016: The record appears to conflate two buildings, the first being the original asylum located in what is now St Johns Gardens, the second being the asylum in Ashton Street whence the original asylum moved. The second buiilding (by John Foster Jnr) was on land purchased by the railway but subsequently became the nucleus of the new University College, Liverpool. For details see https://artistresearcher.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/menatl-health-liverpool-history-timeline/ |
More information : The former Liverpool Lunatic Asylum was built in 1792 in Lime Street, Liverpool and was designed by an architect unknown at the time of this record’s amendment. The Asylum owed its foundation to James Currie who was a physician at the Liverpool Infirmary in 1786. He campaigned for separate care of people with psychiatric needs in their own hospital. In 1789 a proposal to build a psychiatric hospital, or ‘lunatic asylum’ as it was known in the Victorian period, in connection with the Infirmary was put forward. The Asylum was built in the Infirmary gardens and opened in September 1792 at a cost of £5,918 10s. 7d. Originally the building had accommodation for 60-70 patients and was run in conjunction with the Infirmary. The design of the Liverpool Lunatic Asylum was adopted by several county authorities in the building of their own institutions.
In 1881 the Liverpool Lunatic Asylum was closed and the site was acquired by the London and North-Western Railway. The money from this sale went towards the building of a third Infirmary. During the last few years of the Asylum there were about 35 patients. They were removed and sent to similar institutions or were cared for by City and County Councils. The building has since been demolished. (1)
According to English Heritage’s Corporate GIS the site of this former building lies in a World Heritage Site. The National Grid Reference for the site of the former Liverpool Lunatic Asylum is: SJ349906 (2)
Customer comment recieved August 2016: The record appears to conflate two buildings, the first being the original asylum located in what is now St Johns Gardens, the second being the asylum in Ashton Street whence the original asylum moved. The second buiilding (by John Foster Jnr) was on land purchased by the railway but subsequently became the nucleus of the new University College, Liverpool. For details see https://artistresearcher.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/menatl-health-liverpool-history-timeline/(3) |