The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum4. Work therapy
The asylum was self-sufficient and the daily routine included chopping wood for the open fires, growing food, washing the sheets and clothes and cleaning the wards. Many patients worked in the weaving shed, which made cloth for staff and patient uniforms. Those who could not work were marched around small, grassed yards called "airing courts" for exercise.
"Work Therapy" was one of the principle methods of treatment brought in by the first superintendent William Ellis. This ensured that patients were occupied mentally and physically to stop them thinking gloomy thoughts which might "harass and distress" them. In 1861 the Superintendent John Cleaton recorded in his report the importance given to patient labour - out of a total of 500 women, 370 were engaged in domestic work around the asylum. |
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