Normansfield Hospital is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

in the London Borough of

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

, England. It was built as a facility for patients with an

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental ...

and included a theatre. It now houses the national office of the Down's Syndrome Association, and the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability.

History

The Normansfield Hospital was founded at the White House in

as an institution for mentally disabled children by

John Langdon Down John Langdon Haydon Down (18 November 1828 – 7 October 1896) was a British physician best known for his description of the genetic condition now known as Down's or Down syndrome, which he originally classified in 1862. He is also noted for h ...

, after whom Down syndrome was named. It was opened as the Normansfield Training Institution for Imbeciles in May 1868. The south wing was built in 1869, the north wing was added in 1873 and the Normansfield Theatre was opened by the

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. It was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the Redvers family (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.), and later by the Courtenay famil ...

in 1879. When Down died in 1896, his sons, Reginald and Percival, succeeded him as managers of the institution. It was renamed Normansfield in 1925 and joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 1951. The hospital was the scene of a strike by the nursing staff in the

Trades Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

COHSE The Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) was a United Kingdom trade union representing workers primarily in the National Health Service. History The union was founded in 1946 with the merger of the Mental Hospital and Institutional ...

in 1976. The nurses were angry that the regional health authority had ignored their grievances against the consultant psychiatrist Terence Lawlor and demanded that he be suspended. His suspension led to a public inquiry chaired by Michael Sherrard. It was one of many official inquiries into

mental hospitals during that period. Dr Lawlor's professional style emerged as intolerant, abusive and tyrannical. COHSE was roundly criticised for a strike over which its officials had broken union rules, misled their membership and then blamed the nurses. An NHS administrator was found to be fearful of Dr Lawlor. The only body to emerge with any credit was the local Community Health Council, which was abolished in 2003. The inquiry recommended that Lawlor should be sacked. The same judgement applied to several senior nurses and administrators. The hospital closed in 1997. The Down's Syndrome Association operates the Langdon Down Centre in the former hospital's theatre wing, which includes the national office of the Down's Syndrome Association, the Normansfield Theatre (a Grade II* listed Victorian theatre) and the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability. The museum's exhibits include information on John Langdon Down and his family, the history of the care of people with learning disabilities, and the history of the Normansfield Hospital and its residents. The museum also features art, including many works by James Henry Pullen, and artefacts of the former Royal Earlswood Museum in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

about the former

Royal Earlswood Hospital The Royal Earlswood Hospital, formerly The Asylum for Idiots and The Royal Earlswood Institution for Mental Defectives, in Redhill, Surrey, was the first establishment to cater specifically for people with developmental disabilities. Previously t ...

. The museum opened in 2012, and is a member of

The London Museums of Health & Medicine The London Museums of Health & Medicine is a group that brings together some of the activities of several museums in London, England, related to health and medicine. The group was founded in 1991. The museums and medical organisations are: * Al ...

group.

References

External links

Bruinsma, Miriam: ''Back to Normansfield Hospital, a photo gallery of my work experience''

Langdon Down Museum
– official site
Normansfield Hospital Oral History Project

Normansfield Hospital History
{{Hospitals in Richmond upon Thames 1868 establishments in England Down syndrome organizations History of mental health in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed hospital buildings Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Hospitals established in 1868 Teddington Intellectual disability hospitals Defunct hospitals in London Hospitals in Richmond upon Thames

History

See also

References

External links