Merrifield Children's Unit (also known as Merryfield or colloquially as Merrifields) was a residential children's and adolescents' psychiatric institution in the grounds of Tone Vale Hospital (an adult mental hospital) approximately north west of

Norton Fitzwarren Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton. The village has a population of 3,046. History The village is on the southern slope of Norton Camp, a large hillfort that s ...

, near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, in what is now the village

Cotford St Luke Cotford St Luke () is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is located approximately northwest of Norton Fitzwarren and south of Bishops Lydeard. The population recorded by the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

History

The Merrifield Unit was established by

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

Dr Martin Frank (known as 'Jim') Bethell (''d.'' 1982) as a regional unit for the treatment of young people. By November 1961, it was catering for 36 'psychotic and maladjusted' children. In the mid-1970s, the Merrifield buildings were upgraded, and a substantial new extension was opened in March 1976 by

Sir Desmond Pond Sir Desmond Arthur Pond (2 September 1919 – 29 June 1986) was a British psychiatrist. He was born the son of electrical engineer Thomas Pond in Catford, London and educated at the John Lyon School in Harrow and at St Olave's Grammar School in O ...

. The Unit served the whole of South West England, and for much of its existence its management was under the control of Dr Bethell and nursing officer Donald Mackey.Hinton, David, & Clarke, Fred. (Eds.). (1997). ''The Tone Vale story: a century of care''. Bishop's Lydeard: Rocket Publishing. p. 43. Other

child psychiatry Child and adolescent psychiatry (or pediatric psychiatry) is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial fact ...

specialists associated with Merrifield included Dr Adriaan Bakker and Dr Frank Bayley. Of the Merrifield patients, one observer notes, "Some of the children, although highly disturbed, were extremely well read and educated." Tone Vale Hospital, Merrifield Unit's parent institution, was closed in 1995, as was Merrifield itself. The entire site is now occupied by the newly built village of

. Merrifield is succeeded by the Orchard Lodge Young People's Unit located in Cotford St Luke.

References and allusions in literature

In her memoir, ''The Light in My Mind'', Joyce Passmore writes of being admitted to Merrifield in 1957 at the age of 13 suffering with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

, prior to being transferred to the main adult hospital. The novel ''Delivered Unto Lions''Austin, David. (2010). ''Delivered Unto Lions''. Dooagh, Ireland: CheckPoint Press. by David Austin is based on the experiences of a Merrifield patient in the 1970s.

References

External links

*, which shows some of the former hospital buildings {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1961 Defunct children's hospitals in the United Kingdom Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospitals in Somerset 1995 disestablishments in England Defunct hospitals in England

History

References and allusions in literature

See also

References

External links