Commissioners in Lunacy

The Commissioners in Lunacy, alternatively the Lunacy Commission, was a public body which was established by the Lunacy Act 1845 to oversee asylums and the welfare of mentally ill people in England and Wales. Its origin comprises the County Asylums Act 1808 (48 Geo. 3. c. 96), which was alternatively called the 'Lunatic Paupers' or the 'Criminals Act 1808' or, after its promoter Charles Williams-Wynn (1775–1850), 'Wynn's Act'. This Act was replaced by the County Lunatic Asylums (England) Act 1828, informally the Madhouse Act 1828, which introduced the 'Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy'. By 1842 the scope of the 'Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy' had been enlarged from London to cover the whole country. And the jurisdiction of the Lord Chancellor over lunatics, so found by writ of De Lunatico Inquirendo, had been delegated to two Masters-in-Chancery. The 'Lunacy Act 1842' (5 & 6 Vict. c. 64) established the 'Commissioners in Lunacy', and was repealed by the Lunacy Act 1845, by which the Commissioners were retitled 'Masters in Lunacy'.[1]

The structure of the Lunacy Commision

The Lunacy Commission comprised eleven Metropolitan Commissioners: five lay, three medical and three legal, and constituted 'a permanent insopectorate for all asylums and houses licensed for the care of the insane in the country (with the single exception of Bethlem Hospital in London).'[2] The five lay members were all honorary and solely had to attend board meetings. However, the medical members and the legal members and its Secretary were full-time and salaried. The Commissioners were required to 'visit gaols, workhouses and other institutions where the mentally afflicted might be found and, in the case of the workhouses they were to report their findings to the Poor Law commissioners and to the Lord Chancellor.'[2]

The first Chairman of the Comissioners was Lord Shaftesbury, who remained in post until he died in 1885.[3] The first Secretary was Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge, a barrister and uncle of Lewis Carroll.[4] He had previously been one of the 'Metropolitan Commissioners', and later become an 'Inspector' of the Commission.[5][6] In the order of precedence, the post of 'Master in Lunacy' ranked next after that of a Master in Chancery.[7]

The asylums which were commissioned

The following asylums were commissioned under the auspices of the 'Commissioners in Lunacy' (or their predecessors).[8][9]

English county asylums
"New" mental hospitals established later by Middlesex County Council

Note: The 'First Surrey County Asylum' at Tooting (see above) was transferred to Middlesex County Council in 1888 and became the 'First Middlesex County Mental Hospital' in the early 20th century

English borough asylums
Metropolitan Asylums Board asylums (established for chronic cases)
Welsh county asylums
Welsh borough asylums

The Commissioners

Incomplete list:

The replacement of the Commission

The Mental Deficiency Act 1913 replaced the Commission with the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Jones 1955, p. 223; Jones 2003, p. 222.
  2. ^ a b Watkin 1975, p. 358.
  3. ^ Unsworth 1993, p. 482.
  4. ^ Seiberling & Bloore 1986, p. 135.
  5. ^ a b Torrey & Miller 2001, p. 87.
  6. ^ Mellett 1981.
  7. ^ Ingram 1922, p. 154.
  8. ^ Taylor 1991.
  9. ^ "The Asylums List". Time Chamber. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  10. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  11. ^ a b Jones 2003, p. 191.
  12. ^ Marggraf Turley 2009, p. 60.
  13. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  14. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  15. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  16. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  17. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  18. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  19. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  20. ^ Jones 1955, p. 191; Jones 2003, p. 191.
  21. ^ Anonymous 1901, p. 653.
  22. ^ a b "No. 25917". The London Gazette. 2 April 1889. p. 1870.
  23. ^ B. 1931, pp. 829–830.
  24. ^ Fennell 1996, p. 75.

References

Further reading

See also

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