Cromey, James Martin (2019) A system in ruins; the Victorian asylums of Britain. MPhil(R) thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/41178/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/
[email protected] A System in Ruins; The Victorian Asylums of Britain. The architecture, heritage and fictional reimagining of the asylum institutions of Britain and their impact on the stigma surrounding mental illness. Cover; North Wales County Pauper Asylum (Flickr, 2018) James Martin Cromey Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Philosophy (Research) Archaeology; School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow October 2018 Abstract Despite its closure prior to the beginning of the 21st century, echoes of the county and district asylum system still remain across Britain. These grand architectural monoliths housed hundreds of people in various sites at their peak, across the countryside of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and offered care to mental health patients for over a century. Despite this, many will know the asylum complexes from whistle-blower accounts or newspaper articles declaring them unfit for purpose and highlighting incidents where negligence was commonplace.