Idiocy, Imbecility and Insanity in Victorian Society: Caterham Asylum, 1867–1911 (Mental Health in Historical Perspective)

"This book explores the understudied history of the so-called 'incurables' in the Victorian period, the people identified as idiots, imbeciles and the weak-minded, as opposed to those thought to have curable conditions. It focuses on Caterham, England's first state imbecile asylum, and analyses its founding, purpose, character, and most importantly, its residents, innovatively recreating the biographies of these people. Created to relieve pressure on London's overcrowded workhouses, Caterham opened in September 1870. It was originally intended as a long-stay institution for the chronic and incurable insane paupers of the metropolis, more commonly referred to as idiots and imbeciles. This purpose instantly differentiates Caterham from the more familiar, and more researched, lunatic asylums, which were predicated on the notion of cure and restoration of the senses. Indeed Caterham, built following the welfare and sanitary reforms of the late 1860s, was an important feature of the Victorian institutional landscape, and it represented a shift in social, medical and political responsibility towards the care and management of idiot and imbecile paupers." -- Publisher's description Acknowledgements A Note on the Text Contents Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction and the Roots of Caterham Asylums, Idiocy and Scholarship Aims and Scope Sources and Methodology Overview of the Book 2 Creating Caterham Ideal Institutions Lay Attitudes to Idiocy and Imbecility Workhouse Reform and Pauper Idiots The Metropolitan Asylum Board Designing Caterham Design Features: Sanitation and Surveillance Healthy Spaces, Healthy Bodies Conclusion 3 Populating Caterham Making the Patient Population Popular Perceptions Accommodating Patients Patient Admissions Age, Admission and Residency at Caterham Classification of Patients Insane Patients Death in the Asylum Discharged Patients Conclusion 4 Experiencing Caterham: Work, Occupation and Asylum Life Creating a Culture of Care? Staff and the Asylum Daily Life in the Asylum Occupation, Instruction and Work Entertainment, Exercise and Interaction Conclusion 5 Visualising Idiocy, Visualising Caterham Patient Photography in the Poor Law Asylum Caterham Patient Photographs Patient Photographs: Interface, Interaction and Institutional Intimacy Conclusion 6 Geographies of Idiocy and Imbecility Record Linkage: Recreating Lives Across Sources Accommodated Patients, Pathways and Geographies Places, People and Perceptions of Idiocy Homes, Families and Social Visibility Visibility and Negative Attention Life After Caterham Conclusion 7 Conclusion Appendix A—Admissions Appendix B—Deaths Appendix C—Discharges Index