Powick Hospital

The Powick Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located on 46 acres outside the village of Powick, Worcestershire.

Founded in 1847 as the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, it was designed by architects John R. Hamilton & James Medland of Gloucester and opened in the August 1852.

Situated between Worcester and Malvern on an estate, the asylum was originally erected for the accommodation of 200 inmates but was later extended.

The asylum also had a variety of workshops for various trades, a gas works, a farm, brewhouse, bakehouse and a chapel. The management of the asylum was carried on by a committee of visiting visitors. The treatment of the patients was carried out by a resident physician and qualified assistants.

The hospital became notorious for its program of psychedelic psychotherapy using LSD as a treatment for illnesses such as severe depression and schizophrenia. The British pioneering work in the use of LSD for psychiatric purposes was performed here, beginning in 1952 by Dr. Ronald Sandison, who developed a treatment program he called "Physolytic Therapy" (literally "mind loosening therapy"). An LSD treatment unit was established here in 1958 in which Dr. Sandison administered his therapy until he left the institution in 1964. Medical Superintendent Dr. Arthur Spencer continued the program until his retirement in 1972. Records indicate that 683 patients had been treated with LSD in 13,785 separate sessions before the program was discontinued with Dr. Spencer's departure.

The asylum closed in 1989 and has now all but been torn down to make way for a housing estate. The main building, however, was converted into flats and the Superintendent's Residence was converted to company offices.

Powick Hospital featured in an edition of World in Action (Granada Television, 1963-1989) showing elderly patients of Ward F13 being left soaking in their own urine. The programme also featured other examples of how the institution 'cared' for its patients. This footage was subsequently re-used in the current affairs strand Disguises (Granada Television, 1993-1994). The footage of Ward F13's patients was superimposed on the asylum wall while a reporter (in the 'disguise' of a homeless schizophrenic) looks back at how psychiatric patients were (mis)treated.

Trivia

*As a young man the composer Edward Elgar was appointed here as band instructor and composed a number of works for the attendants band. The doctors at the Asylum in the 1870’s showed a remarkably enlightened attitude when they instituted a series of orchestral concerts there, as well as the Friday night dances for the inmates. Elgar, as a young violinist in the district played in the concerts from 1877, and in January 1879 succeeded Fred S. May in the post of Band Instructor. His job consisted of conducting the Asylum Band, made up of the staff of the Asylum, and composing music for the Friday dances. The authorities paid him £4 per annum less than his predecessor, no doubt because of his inexperience, but he received about £30 per year, plus 5 shillings for every polka and quadrille and one shilling and sixpence for accompaniments to the Christy Minstrel ditties of the day. [Moore, Jerrold N. (1984). Edward Elgar: a creative life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0193154471]

External links

* [http://www.countyasylums.com/mentalasylums/powick01.htm Info & Pics on Powick Hospital from Countyasylums.com]

* [http://pb.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/25/11/432 The forgotten children: children admitted to a county asylum between 1854 and 1900 (Article about Powick)]

* [http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/4056/tour04.html Elgar at Powick Hospital]

Notes