Powick Hospital
Formerly the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, Powick Hospital was founded in
1847 under the supervision of
architects John R. Hamilton & James Medland of
Gloucester and opened in the August of
1852.
It consisted of an estate of about 46 acres and was situated halfway between
Worcester and
Malvern just outside the village of
Powick. 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 staff and resident officers in
1855 numbered 31. 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. In 1855 James Sherlock Esq.,. M.D., was the Medical Superintendent; Rev Edward Horton, Chaplain, Martin Curtler, Esq., Clerk to the Committee; Mr J C Hume, Clerk and House Steward and Miss Giddings was Matron.
The hospital 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 Superintendant's Residence was converted to company offices.
*As a young man the composer
Edward Elgar was appointed here as 'bandmaster' and composed a number of works for the attendants band.
*The use of
LSD by psychiatrists in Britain was pioneered here, where some 700 people are thought to have received it. LSD was first used as a form of therapy by
Powick Hospital's Dr Ronald Sandison in 1952, and a special LSD unit was set up in 1958. Sandison called the experiments Psycholytic (literally "mind loosening") Therapy.
*
Info & Pics on Powick Hospital from Countyasylums.com
