health archives – Borthwick Institute Blog

Who came to see the Retreat? A look through the Retreat Visitors’ Books

Posted by sallyanneshearn on 29 May 2015

Written by Kath Webb. Queen Victoria and the Duke of Wellington didn’t visit the Retreat! The monarch would never have signed herself “Queen Victoria” in 1856, and the signature of the Iron Duke in 1821 fails to match up with authenticated examples. Mischievous or deluded patients from the democratic Retreat “family” were probably responsible for … Continue reading Who came to see the Retreat? A look through the Retreat Visitors’ Books

Rehabilitating John Summerland

Posted by sallyanneshearn on 27 March 2015

This is one of a series of blog posts published as material from the Retreat archive is digitised and made available online. More information about the Wellcome Library funded project to digitise the Retreat archive can be found on the project pages of our website. Digital surrogates from the Retreat archive project so far are … Continue reading Rehabilitating John Summerland

Continuity and Change at The Retreat

Posted by sallyanneshearn on 29 January 2015

Written by Jenny Mitcham, Digital Archivist, Borthwick Institute Arranging a tour of the grounds of the Retreat for a morning in January was a bit of a risk. We were truly at the mercy of the elements! We were fortunate however to have picked a day when there was no snow or ice on the … Continue reading Continuity and Change at The Retreat

The York Lunatic Asylum Scandal

Posted by sallyanneshearn on 10 October 2014

Written by Alexandra Medcalf The York Lunatic Asylum opened in 1777, at a time when little was understood about mental illness. Without organised institutional care available, families were left to deal with the mentally ill at home as well as they could. It was usual to chain lunatics to the walls and to leave them naked (it … Continue reading The York Lunatic Asylum Scandal

‘An end and a beginning’: York County Hospital and the NHS

Posted by sallyanneshearn on 5 July 2013

Written by Lydia Dean. Today marks the 65th anniversary of the National Health Service. During the Second World War, concerns for the sustainability of voluntary hospitals (already subsidised by the government before 1945) contributed to the proposal of a comprehensive health service, open to all members of the community and free at the point of … Continue reading ‘An end and a beginning’: York County Hospital and the NHS