Prestwich Asylum was opened in January 1851, and had become one of the largest of it’s kind in Europe by 1900. It was extended in order to increase the capacity: ‘The Annex’ created space for an extra 1,100 patients, meaning that by 1903 around 3,135 patients could be housed there. Eventually, the asylum closed in the 1990s having run for over 150 years. I decided to investigate the records held at the Central Library to get more of an idea about the Asylum and some of the patients that were admitted.
I found many interesting (and often sad) passages from the records that I was looking at, which were mainly between the years of 1900-1901. What was very noticeable was the language used and the strange treatments often prescribed for the patients- very different from today! A regular term was ‘Phthisis’, used to check the medical background of the patient. Phthisis is an archaic term for Tuberculosis.
The reason for admission was often ‘melancholia’, another example of the older language used. This is a term for depression, but for us it sounds like quite an odd diagnosis.
Here are some of the records that stood out to me as being particularly sad. The treatment and diagnoses of the patients in particular are interesting to look at, especially when you compare them against more modern perceptions of mental health. The doctors are quite blunt and insensitive with their language, and describe their health in ways that I don’t think we would see today.
A common theme for the cause of illness for many of the male patients was ‘worry at work’, or ‘money troubles’. This was much more common in the male patients, and was hardly seen in the female records. The role of the male in the family around this period was to provide and earn, and these records show how much working and earning was a vital part of people’s lives.
A lot of patients were clearly concerned about the workhouse, which tells us a lot about the horrible conditions many of these people lived and worked in before staying at Prestwich Asylum.
Another interesting feature of many of the records was the treatment given. This was often ‘moral’ or ’employment’. After some research, it seems that ‘moral’ was a method of psychiatric treatment founded on religious motivations. It was seen as a positive move from the often brutal treatments used previously and often described as a cornerstone for psychiatric treatment. However, the practise was still criticised by some, who argued that it made the patient increasingly dependant on the doctor. Employment was a form of daily structure given to the patient in order to create a routine for them, and thus hopefully act as a sort of distraction from their illness.
Treatment in Asylum’s before this time was notoriously gruesome, and they were used as prisons rather than places to help people. Practises such as blood-letting and purging were common, with chains often used to control people.
I found looking through these records extremely fascinating, mainly because it is such a huge resource that the library has, and there was so much choice regarding the dates I wanted to look at. I was shocked at the volume of entries from month to month- there seems to have been a huge amount of people who came and went through the asylum’s doors. There were some patients that I came across that would probably not be treated the same if it was today, or even admitted to somewhere like Prestwich Asylum. It says a lot about the way treatment and therapy has changed, but also how we perceive mental health.
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/moraltreatment.aspx
Safety in Numbers: Life Inside Prestwich Asylum in 1900
manchesterarchiveplus.wordpress.com 
My daughter and I have been astounded to see the record you have referred to in your excellent piece. I am the great granddaughter of Walter Chappell and the photograph you have included bears a striking resemblance to my father, John Chappell, who died in 1959. We have been doing our research into the Chappell family history for a long time, motivated by the fact that my father died when I was 2 and a half so I barely had a chance to know him and have always wanted to find out more. We have come a long way in our search and today – there was the photograph which is indisputably my great great grandad!!!
We know quite a lot about Walter, his birth in Sheffield in 1840 to Harriet Chappell, his siblings, his marriage in Dublin in 1858 to Rachel Macartney (b in 1834 in Carlow, d 1900 in Liverpool) and their 3 children Richard Walter (b 1860 d 1863), Harriet (b 1863 d 1865) and William Alfred (b1866 d 1932) who was my grandad.
This is a long way of saying, If you can direct us towards another strand of enquiry we would be very grateful. Walter’s story was and is, as you say, very sad in many ways but it didn’t end in Prestwich Asylum as could be inferred!
Hi Linda
Thanks very much for your message. This is amazing information and it’s great to hear that Walter’s story didn’t end in the hospital. You can make an appointment to view Walter’s register at Manchester Central Library by filling in this form for GB124.A.PRES/ADMM2/1: manchester.gov.uk/thesearchroom. Alternatively if you can’t visit we can send you an image of the page following the one on the blog which should contain details of Walter’s treatment and discharge – there’s a £15 charge for this service: http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_history/4260/research_service/3
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I live in Hunmanby, a village on the north east coast, so a trip to Manchester isn’t very realistic. However, I would be happy to pay for further details about Walter, my great grandad, his treatment and ‘discharge’ (I know he died in Prestwich and have a copy of his death certificate). You can’t imagine how much this means to me. I will follow the the link above and see where it takes me next. Thank you . Best wishes, Linda.
Hi Linda,
I’m researching my great grandmother Ellen Lilian or Lillian SMITH. Admission Date to Prestwich Asylum, 30 Apr 1901. Discharge Date, 15 Apr 1905. I live in Australia. Is there any way to access these files or pay for a digital copy? I have the admission register but would like to know a little about her reasoning for being there.
Kindest Regards,
Amanda
Hi Amanda
I’ve just received your post and, whilst I’m not in a position to help you because I live a long way from Manchester where the Prestwich records are stored, the archivists there are very helpful and I believe they do perform searches, for a small fee. The only contact email I have is: D.govier@manchester.gov.uk. Perhaps you could try that and see if it offers a way forward for you in your search? Good luck! I know how very frustrating it can be, trying to find information and hitting a blank wall, especially living on the other side of the world!
Very best wishes and fingers crossed for you!
Linda
I have justfound yhat one of the ancestors on my first husbands side was admitted to Prestwich Asylum on 25th May 1889 and he died there on 23 August 1889, his name was Frederick Kilner, my question is, how can I obtain his record, and was there a photograph of him, it is so sad to read how they were treated there, i would love to find out more information. regards Marg.
What an interesting site this is. Thanks for sharing.
My aunt was out in there because as I understand it she was in Isle of Man and dropped a window on her fingers and lost her temper …I don’t know the date but I feel before 53 or not long after she had always been in there throughout my life she was allowed out on overnight stays from around 1960, when it closed she was loved to a care home I havent been able to find out anything else. When I went with my Dad to pick her up for visit there were big wooden doors with locks and bolts very much on the lines of a prison.
Also my Gran was in here with what they called hardening of the arteries , this I would say was dementia don’t know her age when in I was a small child around 7 and she died when I was 10, she was seeing things.