The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum2. Life in the asylum
Life in the asylum would have been hard by today's standards - strict discipline and routine were considered essential to provide a good moral atmosphere. Photographs from the time show something of the atmosphere inside. At first glance a picture of a ward dining room shows domestic comforts such as plants, a tablecloth and pictures on the wall. However on closer inspection the floor is bare and metal balls hang from the ceiling - these were used by staff to see in to all corners of the room and behind them if necessary. The dining chairs are placed with military precision along the sides of a long table. Patients are sitting on uncomfortable chairs while the nurses are pristine in their uniforms with bunches of keys on their aprons.
The asylum was a separate world where patients were kept apart from the rest of society - there were high railings around the grounds, locked wards and even look out points built into the staircases so that staff could survey the corridors and day rooms. Highlights of the week would have been singing and dancing evenings in the concert hall and country walks to Walton Hall. |
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