Smith, C. A. (2007) Parsimony, power and prescriptive legislation: the politics of pauper lunacy in Northamptonshire 1845-1876. Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 81(2), pp. 359-385. 0007-5140.
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Abstract:
The Northampton General Lunatic Asylum opened in 1836 and was funded through local subscriptions. Unlike many other subscription asylums, it did not become a county asylum after the 1845 Lunacy Acts, but was registered as a charitable hospital. This article explores the dynamics that resulted in the Northamptonshire authorities' successfully evading their responsibility to build a county asylum. The loopholes in the supposedly mandatory legislation are examined, with the implications this had for the relationship between the Commissioners in Lunacy and the NGLA governors, as well as the conflict between the local magistrates and the NGLA governors that eventually forced Northamptonshire to conform and build its own specific county asylum in 1876
Uncontrolled Keywords:
lunacy legislation, lunatic asylum, charitable hospital, Commissioners in Lunacy, local and central politics, Northamptonshire
Subjects:
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV4023 Poor in cities. Slums
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA670 Local history and description > DA670.N7 Northamptonshire
K Law > KD England and Wales
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC435 Psychiatry > RC450 Psychiatric hospitals
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA670 Local history and description > DA670.N7 Northamptonshire
K Law > KD England and Wales
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC435 Psychiatry > RC450 Psychiatric hospitals
Creators:
Smith, C. A.
Northamptonshire and East Midlands:
Health
Social Issues
Social Issues
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
Date:
2007
Date Type:
Publication
Page Range:
pp. 359-385
Journal or Publication Title:
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Volume:
81
Number:
2
Language:
English
ISSN:
0007-5140
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
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