Sarah - According to the admission page of my g.uncle's notes (which is all the Manchester Archivists would let me have as he went into the asylum more than 100 years ago, but stayed there until he died in 1964, less than 100 years ago) my g.uncle was hearing voices, so I assume he was something like a schizophrenic, rather than a lunatic, which to me implies someone whose mental illness cannot be treated, even today. My mum remembers visiting him when she was a young girl and told me he seemed (to her) quite normal and was working as a gardener at the asylum.
