|
The (1st Middlesex) County Asylum at Hanwell, also known as Hanwell Insane Asylum, and Hanwell Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, was built for the pauper insane. Hanwell was the first purpose-built asylum in England and Wales, and it opened in 1831. Some of the original buildings are now part of the headquarters for the West London Mental Health (NHS) Trust (WLMHT). Its first superintendent, Dr William Charles Ellis, was known in his lifetime for his pioneering work and his adherence to his "great principle of therapeutic employment". Sceptical contemporaries were amazed that such therapy speeded recovery at Hanwell. This greatly pleased the visiting Justices of the Peace as it reduced the long term cost of keeping each patient. Under the third superintendent John Conolly the institution became famous as the first large asylum to dispense with all mechanical restraints.〔 〕 The asylum is next to the village of Hanwell but parochially belongs to the suburb of Southall (and before a boundary change it was in Norwood). It is about 8 miles or 13 km west of Central London and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Uxbridge. (O/S map ed 1896) The building lies on a gently sloping river gravel terrace, a common feature of the Thames Valley. The land immediately to the east was further eroded by the River Brent, which flows along its eastern perimeter. At its southern boundary is the Grand Union Canal and a flight of six locks. Both the southern wall of the old asylum and the flight of locks have been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument.〔Ealing Borough Council (2007). (St Marks and Canal Conservation Area. Management Plan ). Pages 19 Accessed 9 October 2010.〕 Today the on-site facilities have been reduced from what was once the world's largest asylum, although it is still used for treatment of and research into serious mental distress. A prior trust created the London West Mental Health R&D Consortium〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title =Home page )〕 which also has its administrative base there. There is now a complex of other buildings known as Ealing Hospital NHS Trust built on the old asylum's recreational grounds and cycle track to the east. At the back of the main building are some disused wards that still belong to the Regional Health Authority. ==Early history== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hanwell Asylum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|