Exploring an abandoned Lunatic Asylum in the heart of Yorkshire.
Opening in 1888 The hospital, like most other Victorian Asylums, was designed to be as self-sufficient as possible. Patients living in the wards were expected to work towards their keep, where possible, either on the hospital’s farm, in the kitchens and laundry, or doing various handicrafts.
The asylum was designed to contain patients rather than treat them. There was no known cure for Insanity so patients would often spend many years, if not the remainder of their life locked within the high walls.
By the 1920s changes to the way patients with psychiatric problems were treated resulted in major changes at the hospital. By this time doctors were attempting to treat mental illness, and the idea of a cure appealed to many patients. Barbaric shock therapies were introduced including Insulin Shock Therapy – a practice that was soon phased out due to the number of patients screaming in pain rather than being cured! Electroconvulsive therapy was popular at the asylum and is still in use in some establishments today. Another popular treatment was the lobotomy – it wasn’t uncommon for patients to wander around the wards aimlessly with a hole in each side of their head.
Major changes to the way patients with mental health problems were treated saw the hospital become outdated. An emphasis on community care saw development of new centers and as a result the large asylums were closed down in the 1990s – 2000s. Services were gradually transferred out and the hospital finally closed in June 2003.
