Springfield Hospital (formerly the first 'Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum'), Glenburnie Road, London Borough of Wandsworth, Greater London

Date:
Nov 1992
Location:
Springfield Hospital, Glenburnie Road, Wandsworth, Greater London Authority, SW11
Show all locations
Surrey County Lunatic Asylum, Wandsworth, Greater London Authority
Wandsworth Asylum, Wandsworth, Greater London Authority
Springfield Mental Hospital, Wandsworth, Greater London Authority
Reference:
BF101087/1
Type:
Report
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Description

Site visited on 19th July 1991 and again on 21st November 1991, report written November 1992.

The 'Surrey County Lunatic Asylum' opened in 1841. It was renamed 'Wandsworth Asylum' in around 1889, and was also known as 'Springfield Asylum'. After the First World War the hospital became 'Springfield Mental Hospital'. By 1939 it had been renamed Springfield Hospital.

The term 'pauper lunatic', in the title of this record, referred to patients who were admitted to any public or local authority 'asylum' (early forms of psychiatric hospitals) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A patient was referred to as a 'pauper lunatic' if the Poor Law Board of Guardians was required to make any financial contribution towards their admission and in-patient treatment. If a patient could afford the full cost of treatment, they were referred to as 'private patients'. Some 'asylums' admitted both 'pauper' and 'private' patients, others were 'pauper lunatic asylums' only.

Sources: Hilton, Claire (2022), ‘Pauper Lunatics were not Paupers’, Royal College of Psychiatrists website, accessed 08/08/2024.

Roberts, Andrew (1981), Glossary - Mental Health History Words: ‘Pauper Lunatics’, Middlesex University, Archived 2007, accessed 08/08/2024.

Content

This is part of the Volume: BF101087 Springfield Hospital, Glenburnie Road, Wandsworth; within the Series: RCH01/008 Hospitals Project; within the Collection: RCH01 Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) Archive

Rights

© Crown Copyright. Historic England Archive

People & Organisations

Author: Thom, Colin

Keywords

Psychiatric Hospital