HANWELL LUNATIC ASYLUM RECORDS

[pinner-girl]

I would be so grateful if someone is able to visit the LMA to have a look at the records of patients who were in Hanwell Lunatic Asylum at the beginning of the 20th century.

I have two ancestors listed there in the 1911 Census.  One of them had been a wardrobe mistress for a school and the other was a housekeeper for her brother and his family.  It appears that after their father died, these ladies plus a 3rd sister, ended up as the responsibility of their brother in Islington.  The 3rd sister died in 1908.  The other two were then were placed in the London County Lunatic Asylum (Hanwell) and it would be fascinating to find out more.  Details from the Census:-  MARY HELENA ORGAN (listed as M H Organ) : 62 yrs and a lunatic siince 59 and LAURA JANE ORGAN (transcribed wrongly as L G Organ) : 55 yrs and a lunatic since 52.

It does seem somewhat strange that in 1908 their sister died and at the same time, both these women were declared to be lunatics and presumably then sent to the asylum.  MARY HELENA however, did remain in mental institutions because she died in the Cane Hill Asylum in 1929.  LAURA JANE seems to have returned as housekeeper for her brother's wife (her brother having died in 1923).  She herself died in 1927.

I presume that records for these ladies would start at about 1908 if that is the time they were both declared to be lunatics. 



 

[dawnsh]

Hi

Have you contacted the LMA to find out what records they may have that would be relevant and open for access. A lot are closed because of a 100 yr ruling, not from the date of the entry in the registers but the date of the last entry in a particular register which could be many years later.

Researchers in and around London are few and far between, and these are original documents that haven't been scanned onto microfilm.

Dawn

[anpefa1]

hello p/g

i recently checked the hanwell asylum records on behalf of another member and essentially you have most of the information that is in the record.

the only additional information is the names of the people who sectioned them and the "cause" of their internment.

tony

[pinner-girl]

Thank you both so much for your advice.  I will definitely have to check with the LMA.  It may well be that the ladies in question were in Hanwell beyond 1911 and of course, the 100 year rule will therefore still apply.  What a shame that the mystery is likely to remain unsolved!

I  really appreciate your replies.

 

[Valda]

Hi

The LMA hold the clinical patient records for Hanwell as well as the admissions and discharge registers. These are medical casebook records often written in large volumes with other patient records giving details of clinical symptoms and treatments.

Details of Hanwell Asylum records

http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=11807&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=basic

Under the Freedom of Information Act the 100 year ruling is not fixed in stone by record offices and there is some room for negotiation particularly if you are the closest direct descendant or have their permission It maybe that you cannot look at the case books because of other patient records as Dawn says, but the LMA will do the research and release all or some of the information.
Only admission and discharge registers survive for Cane Hill Asylum.
If they were pauper lunatics, these were county asylums, they may have arrived at the asylum through the poor law system in which case there will also be information in the poor law union records also held at the LMA.

Regards

Valda

[pinner-girl]

Thank you, Valda.  You have provided me with some very useful information and the Freedom of Information Act might well be a way of progessing.  I will certainly have to contact the LMA and not give up at this point.

Kind regards,

Sylvia