Timeline
TIMELINE – Royal Albert and the Rest…(*Using the language of the time reflects our desire for historical accuracy. We do not agree with the everyday use of labels which were used for people with learning difficulties and others.) | |
| Year | Events |
| 1840 – 1900
1900 | Key Legislation: 1845 Lunacy Act – this legislation, administered by Commissioners in Lunacy, was dominant for the early years of the Royal Albert. It made no clear distinction between learning disability and mental illness stating that “Lunatic shall mean insane person or any person being idiot or lunatic or of unsound mind.’ 1886 Idiots Act. For the first time legislation dealing with the educational needs of those with learning disability. It made a clear distinction between lunatics on one hand and ‘idiots’ and ‘imbeciles’ on the other.* 1890 Lunacy Act which like its 1845 predecessor again muddied distinctions between learning disability and mental illness. National Developments and Policies: 1847 The Charity for the Asylum of Idiots – established in London. 1850s and 60s Along with Earlswood Asylum in Surrey, The Charity for the Asylum of Idiots gave impetus and support to the establishment of 4 regional voluntary large scale asylums for ‘idiots’ in England: the Northern Counties (i.e. The Royal Albert); Eastern Counties Idiot Asylum (Colchester); Western Counties Asylum (Starcross, near Exeter); and Midland Counties Asylum (Staffordshire). Royal Albert: 1864 James Brunton, a local Quaker businessman and patient of Dr. Edward Dennis de Vitre, donated £2,000 for the establishment, in Lancaster, of an asylum specifically for ‘idiots and imbeciles’. De Vitre (twice the town’s mayor and visiting physician at the Moor Hospital – County Lunatic Asylum) set up a fundraising committee for the creation of the Northern Counties Asylum for Idiots. Around this time royal patronage (and 100 guineas) was bestowed by Queen Victoria. 1866 43 acres of the Greaves estate bought for £5,613 for the now named – Royal Albert Asylum for Idiots and Imbeciles of the Northern Counties. 1868 Foundation Stone laid of The Royal Albert Asylum for Idiots and Imbeciles of the Northern Counties; special trains brought 8-9,000 visitors to Lancaster, the afternoon declared a public holiday; the suggestion being that Royal Albert was a cause of civic pride, financially supported by a broad cross section of the community across Northern England. 1870 December 14 the Royal Albert admitted its first patients. The main building designed by Lancaster Architect – E.G. Paley. Its priority was the training and education of children and young people with learning difficulties. 1871 August - First girls admitted. 1874 The Royal Albert had 196 patients 1884 Renamed: Royal Albert Asylum for the Care, Education and Training of Idiots, Imbeciles and Weak-Minded Children and Young Persons of the Northern Counties. |
| 1900- 1910 | National Developments and Policies: 1902 Mary Dendy’s Sandlebridge Colony opened. 1907 Formation of Eugenics Education Society 1908 Report of Royal Commission on Care and Control of the Feeble-Minded Publications: 1908 Tredgold 1st edition of Mental Deficiency which was the main reference text (with revisions) for the next 50 years. Used in nurse training during that period. Labelling: ‘Mental defective’ and ‘mental deficiency’ most common terms 1900-c.1950 Royal Albert: 1900 Brannan, former patient, killed fighting for the British Army in the Boer War. 1909 662 Patients, of whom 85% (563) were aged under 15 years old. Also of the total patients just over three quarters had been there less than 10 years. |
| 1910- 1920 1910- 1920 | Key Legislation: 1913 Mental Deficiency Act. Use of terms ‘idiot’, ‘imbecile’, feeble-minded’ and ‘moral imbecile’. In particular this influential Act made it possible to institutionalise women with illegitimate children who were receiving poor relief. 1914 Elementary Education Act Publications: 1910 Mary Dendy – The Problem of the Feeble-Minded Royal Albert: 1910 Renamed The Royal Albert Institution, Lancaster. 1916 In contrast to prevailing Royal Albert regime, the Mental Deficiency Act Board of Control insisted that in future no more than 10% of the Institution’s patients should be over 16 years old. Combined with the increasingly dominant emphasis on life long segregation for people with learning difficulties this directive arguably established the Royal Albert as a long stay hospital for adults. 1918 World War One Roll of Honour: 16 patients (1 killed in action); 35 members of staff (5 killed in action) |
| 1920- 1930 | Key Legislation: 1927 Mental Deficiency (Amendment) Act: replaced the term ‘moral defective’ with ‘moral imbecile’; crucially allowed for mental deficiency resulting from illness or accident - previously it had to have been there from birth. National Developments and Policies: 1920s-1940s major local authority colony (hospital) building 1929 Wood report published Central Association of Mental Welfare (CAMW) major voluntary organisation active in field of ‘mental deficiency’ Royal Albert: 1923 - 800 patients. Hospital’s Central Committee pledged to build a custodial block for, in the words of the Annual Report, ‘low grade’ patients. |
| 1930- 1940 | National Developments and Policies: Campaign for Voluntary Sterilisation Eugenics Movement at its height 1931 South Ockendon colony admitted its first ‘mental defectives’ 1931 the average number of patients in the 98 ‘County, County Borough and City Asylums’ was 1,221 (Jones 1972, p357) 1934 Brock Report recommends sterilisation Publications: 1934: Alva and Gunnar Myrdal’s Crisis of the Population 1937 Cyril Burt’s ‘The Backward Child’ published 1938 Lionel Penrose ‘Colchester Report’ (a clinical and genetic study of 1280 cases on Mental Defect) Royal Albert: 1937 Reported that nearly 20,000 articles of clothing were washed each week. 1938 Adult literacy classes offered to those patents over 16 who wanted to participate. In his report the Medical Superintendent noted that: ‘So far there have been more volunteers from male than female patients, largely I believe, because the boys wish to be able to read the reports and result of football matches – another instance in which games are useful in the training of mental defectives.’ Hospital routines at this time: The floor of the basement corridor was stone flagged which, along with the stone steps leading to all floors, was scrubbed 2 or 3 times a week by supervised male patients. |
| 1940- 1950 | Key Legislation: 1944 Education Act 1944 Disabled Persons’ Employment Act 1948 National Health Service began National Developments and Policies: Eugenics discredited after World War 2, but eugenicist agenda still in evidence in local and national policies 1946 National Association of Parents of Backward Children founded (later Mencap); Local Mencap Societies established CAMW voluntary organisation still active 1948 NHS took over hospital services 1948 Mental Welfare Officers appointed to work outside hospitals Beveridge establishes framework for Welfare State Development of Occupation Centres Mental Health Subcommittees replaced Mental Deficiency Committees Labelling: ‘Ineducable’ label used with regard to people with learning disabilities. Royal Albert: 1948 Became part of the newly created National Health Service and renamed the Royal Albert Hospital (instead of Institution). The Central Committee which ran the Royal Albert replaced by Hospital Management Committee whose members were now appointed by the Manchester Regional Hospital Board. |
| 1950- 1960 | Key Legislation: 1959 Mental Health Act (England and Wales; 1960 Scotland) repealed the Mental Deficiency Acts: espoused ‘community care’ but little funding; and said that patients should only be admitted on a voluntary basis unless seen as a danger to themselves or others (subsequently know as being ‘sectioned’). National Developments and Policies: 1951 NCCLs ’50,000 Outside the Law’ highlighted affront to civil liberties represented by detention of ‘mental defectives’ 1953 Nearly half the National Health Service’s hospital beds were for ‘mental illness or mental defect.’ Concerns about the level of spending were likely to be a factor in shifting government thinking towards Community Care policies 1954 - 7 Royal Commission on the Law Relating to Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency (under Lord Percy); National Association of Parents of Backward Children gave evidence to Royal Commission 1955 Botton Village founded – first Camphill Community 1955 Guild of Teachers of Backward Children founded 1958 NAPBC’s ‘Brookland’s Experiment’ ‘Little Stephen’ logo adopted by NAPBC – representing pathos instead of fear Labelling: ‘Subnormal’ ‘and ‘severely subnormal’ terms used in 1959 Act Backward’ came into vogue as a descriptive term Publications: 1956 Tizard and O’Connor’s The Social Problem of Mental Deficiency Royal Albert: ‘Parole’ introduced: selected male patients initially, then women, were allowed to go unaccompanied into town, or elsewhere locally, on Saturday afternoons. 1958 Two 54 bedded residential blocks (Sturton and Tomlinson) built to accommodate growing numbers of patients. |
| 1960- 1970 | National Developments and Policies: 1961 Enoch Powell, Minister of Health, says mental hospitals to close in 15 years. 1962 Ministry of Health Report: A Hospital Plan for England and Wales – a 10-year report that included the development of hostels. Hospital scandals – Ely, Farleigh, South Ockendon, Normansfield Publications: 1961 Erving Goffman’s ‘Asylums’ critiques institutions 1964 Tizard’s Community Services for the Mentally Handicapped argues for small residential units. 1967 Stanley Segal’s ‘No child is ineducable’ paved the way for education for all 1969 earliest publications on normalisation by Bank-Mikkelson & Bengt Nirje (Sweden); Pauline Morris’s ‘Put Away’ put case against hospitals. Royal Albert: During this decade staff numbers increased ten fold. Possibly greater proportion of people with more severe disabilities, less patient labour available and so, for instance, more domestic staff employed. Mid 1960s above 1,000 residents. 1967 Hospital Farm closed. |
| 1970- 1980 1970-1980 | Key Legislation: 1970 Education (Handicapped Children) Act made education universal. 1970 Local Authority Social Services Act: new Social Services Departments to assume responsibility for Local Authority health and welfare services. 1970 Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act National Developments and Policies: Late 1960s to early 1980s major hostel building era 1971 White Paper Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped advocated care in the community 1974 NHS reorganisation 1975 National Development Group founded to advise on policy and practice Publications: 1971 Maureen Oswin’s The Empty Hours showed the deprived lives led by children in long stay hospitals. 1972 Wolf Wolfensberger’s ‘The Principal of Normalisation in Human Services’ published in Toronto Royal Albert: 1974 NHS Reorganisation leading to Lancashire Area Health Authority (based at Preston) responsible for the hospital. Hospital Management Team disbanded. 1978 Richard Smith Ward ordered to be closed because of poor state of repair; 8 prefab bungalows built in its place, & 3 blocks of flats planned and later erected. |
| 1980- 1990 1980-1990 | Key Legislation: 1981 Education Act laid down that children should be educated in mainstream schools or classes wherever possible 1988 Disabled Persons (services Consultations and Representation) Act National Developments and Policies: 1980s-1990s Group Home era 1982 3 residents of Gogarburn Hospital (for people with learning difficulties) in Edinburgh win the right to vote in General Elections. 1984 The first People First group founded in England 1986 Closure of Royal Western Counties Institution, Starcross, Exeter 1989 ‘Caring for People’ White Paper set out principles for shift to community care in NHS and Community Care Act 1989 Sandlebridge Colony closed Publications: 1980 Kings Fund ‘An Ordinary Life’ advocated ‘an ordinary life’ i.e. normalisation. 1986 Open University’s ‘Mental Handicap: Patterns for Living’ course published Labelling: c.1980 ‘People with Mental Handicap’ became the preferred term 1985 ‘People with learning difficulties’ adopted by self advocacy groups. Royal Albert: Early 1980s Reflecting the increasing drive towards community rather than hospital based services the Community Mental Handicap Team came into being along with the establishment of a Royal Albert Hospital Resettlement Team. 1983 Regional Health Authority published the policy document - ‘A Model District Service’. Outline ideas regarding community based provision, this drew heavily upon the principles of normalisation. During the decade growth in range of creative and educational opportunities available to residents both inside and outside the institution. 1990 Resettlement policy meant numbers of residents nearly halved to about 500. |
| 1990- 2000 | Key Legislation: 1990 National Health Service and Community Care Act 1995 Disability Discrimination Act National Developments and Policies: Ideal model became the mixed economy of care: state, voluntary organisations, private sector and family. 1994 South Ockendon, St. Lawrence’s Hospitals closed 1994 First ‘England People First’ Conference 1996 OU’s ‘Equal People’ published 1996 Mencap’s 50th anniversary Labelling: c1990 Department of Health official term: ‘people with learning disabilities’ Royal Albert: 1996 Royal Albert Hospital closed; site sold to Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College |
| 2000- | Key Legislation: 2001 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA): removed two of three caveats for mainstream education; made educational discrimination unlawful National Developments and Policies: 2001 White Paper Valuing People. Revised Code of Practice (DfES); emphasis on consultation with parents. |
