The Bedford Lunatic Asylum was a mental health facility. It opened in 1812 and closed in 1860.
History
Samuel Whitbread headed the committee which commissioned the asylum. The Bedford Lunatic Asylum, designed by John Wing, was opened in April 1812. In 1845, the
UK parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...
passed a new act requiring that counties either build their own asylums or operate an asylum jointly with another county. Many other counties did not build asylums like Bedford,
so there were now twice as many inmates in the asylum and not enough staff to help with their needs. Bedford's neighbouring counties,
Hertfordshire and
Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The p ...
, then sent patients to Bedford. In 1860 the three counties combined asylums in
Fairfield Hospital near
Arlesey
Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station p ...
and the Bedford Lunatic Asylum closed soon after.
Renovation
The site of the asylum is now a residential building. The bodies of patients that died at the hospital are now buried underneath the children's playground.
See also
*
Healthcare in Bedfordshire Healthcare in Bedfordshire is the responsibility of Bedfordshire and Luton Integrated Care Systems.
History
From 1947 to 1965 NHS services in Bedfordshire were managed by the North-West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. In 1974 the Boards wer ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Asylum projects - Bedford Hospital
{{authority control
1812 establishments in England
1860 disestablishments in England
Former psychiatric hospitals in England
Hospital buildings completed in 1812
Hospitals in Bedfordshire
History of Bedfordshire
Defunct hospitals in England
Hospitals established in 1812
Buildings and structures in Bedford