Lunacy Act
Encyclopedia
The Lunacy Act 1845 and the County Asylums Act 1845 formed mental health law
in England and Wales
from 1845 to 1890. The Lunacy Act's most important provision was a change in the status of mentally ill
people to patients.
.
Shaftesbury was the head of the Commission from its founding in 1845 until his death in 1885. The Lunacy Commission was made up of eleven Metropolitan Commissioners. The Commission was monumental as it was not only a full-time commission, but it was also salaried for six of its members. The six members of the commission that were full-time and salaried were made of up three members of the legal system and three members of the medical community. The other five members of the commission were all honorary members that simply had to attend board meetings. The duty of the Commission was to establish and carry out the provisions of the Act.
to inspect plans for asylums on behalf of the Home Secretary
(s.3). The Act required asylums, other than Bethlem Hospital, to be registered with the Commission, to have written regulations and to have a resident physician
(s.42). Under the Act, patients lost their right of access to the courts to challenge their detention. Detention could only be reviewed by the commissioners or county visitors.
The Commission had many roles in carrying out the act. It established a network of public county institutions. It monitored the conditions in the asylums and the treatment of the patients. It made a point of reaching out to patients in workhouses and prisons and getting them to the proper institutions where they could be treated. It also focused on "single lunatics" who were not connected with any prisons or workhouse but needed psychiatric care. It monitored the treatment and mental condition of patients whom the Commission could not remove from prisons and workhouses.
The importance of these two acts together is that they consolidated Lunacy Law in England. However, they did not and nor has any legislation ever combined the entirety of Lunacy Law together. Both of these acts were the basis for Lunacy Law in England until 1890 when both of them were repealed by the Lunacy Act of 1890.
Part of the inspections that took place and were conducted by the Lunacy Commission involved inspecting workhouses for patients that could be removed from the workhouses and placed in institutions. The Commission would often find mentally unhealthy children and push for them to be removed from the workhouses. However, many of the institutions were hesitant to take in the children seeing as they believed they served a threat in the way their institution was to be run. Because of this, many children were admitted, under the guise that they were in desperate need of help and served a serious danger to themselves and others.
The asylums of the day, while typically filled with poor lunatics or criminally insane persons, were meant to be asylums in the true sense of the word. They were to be a place were those who were paupers or mentally could go and find solace and safety and get away from the harsh work conditions of the workhouses. Many of these children were only looking for just that, somewhere to go and find safety. Therefore, admitting them under such false pretenses, that they are a serious danger to themselves and others was causing them receive improper treatment.
Mental health law
Mental health law is the area of the law that applies to persons with a diagnosis or possible diagnosis of mental illness, and to those involved in managing or treating such people.-Mental health law in general:...
in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
from 1845 to 1890. The Lunacy Act's most important provision was a change in the status of mentally ill
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
people to patients.
Background
Prior to the Lunacy Act lunacy legislation in England was enshrined in the County Asylums Act of 1808, which established institutions for poor and for criminally-insane mentally ill people. The institutions were called asylums and they gave refuge where mental illness could receive proper treatment. The first asylum owing to the County Asylums Act opened at Northampton in 1811. By 1827 however only nine county asylums had opened and many patients were still in gaol as prisoners and criminals. As a consequence of this slow progress the Lunacy Act 1845 created the Lunacy Commission to focus on lunacy legislation. The Act was championed by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Seventh Earl of ShaftesburyAnthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury KG , styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was an English politician and philanthropist, one of the best-known of the Victorian era and one of the main proponents of Christian Zionism.-Youth:He was born in London and known informally as Lord Ashley...
.
Shaftesbury was the head of the Commission from its founding in 1845 until his death in 1885. The Lunacy Commission was made up of eleven Metropolitan Commissioners. The Commission was monumental as it was not only a full-time commission, but it was also salaried for six of its members. The six members of the commission that were full-time and salaried were made of up three members of the legal system and three members of the medical community. The other five members of the commission were all honorary members that simply had to attend board meetings. The duty of the Commission was to establish and carry out the provisions of the Act.
Provisions
The Act established the Commissioners in LunacyCommissioners in Lunacy
The Commissioners in Lunacy or Lunacy Commission were a UK public body established by the Lunacy Act 1845 to oversee asylums and the welfare of mentally ill people. It succeeded the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy.-Establishment:...
to inspect plans for asylums on behalf of the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
(s.3). The Act required asylums, other than Bethlem Hospital, to be registered with the Commission, to have written regulations and to have a resident physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
(s.42). Under the Act, patients lost their right of access to the courts to challenge their detention. Detention could only be reviewed by the commissioners or county visitors.
The Commission had many roles in carrying out the act. It established a network of public county institutions. It monitored the conditions in the asylums and the treatment of the patients. It made a point of reaching out to patients in workhouses and prisons and getting them to the proper institutions where they could be treated. It also focused on "single lunatics" who were not connected with any prisons or workhouse but needed psychiatric care. It monitored the treatment and mental condition of patients whom the Commission could not remove from prisons and workhouses.
1845 County Asylums Act
The Lunacy Act of 1845 was passed through Parliament simultaneously with the 1845 County Asylums Act. The two acts were dependent on each other. The Lunacy Act established the Lunacy Commission and the County Asylums Act set forth most of the provisions as to what was to be monitored within the asylums and helped establish the public network of the county asylums. Like the Lunacy Act, there had been several drafts of this act passed before 1845 and several afterward as well. The most notable of these were the 1808, and the 1853 County Asylum Acts. The Lunacy Act itself was amended several times after its conception. There was a new version written in both 1846 and 1847. Both of these versions were actually repealed by the 1853 County Asylums Act.The importance of these two acts together is that they consolidated Lunacy Law in England. However, they did not and nor has any legislation ever combined the entirety of Lunacy Law together. Both of these acts were the basis for Lunacy Law in England until 1890 when both of them were repealed by the Lunacy Act of 1890.
Children and the Lunacy Act of 1845
When the Lunacy Act was passed in 1845, there were many questions raised about what to do with the children that were not in good mental health. Insane children were more common than most people know. The confusion on what to do with them was because the Act gave no age limits on who was to be admitted into the asylums.Part of the inspections that took place and were conducted by the Lunacy Commission involved inspecting workhouses for patients that could be removed from the workhouses and placed in institutions. The Commission would often find mentally unhealthy children and push for them to be removed from the workhouses. However, many of the institutions were hesitant to take in the children seeing as they believed they served a threat in the way their institution was to be run. Because of this, many children were admitted, under the guise that they were in desperate need of help and served a serious danger to themselves and others.
The asylums of the day, while typically filled with poor lunatics or criminally insane persons, were meant to be asylums in the true sense of the word. They were to be a place were those who were paupers or mentally could go and find solace and safety and get away from the harsh work conditions of the workhouses. Many of these children were only looking for just that, somewhere to go and find safety. Therefore, admitting them under such false pretenses, that they are a serious danger to themselves and others was causing them receive improper treatment.
External links
- Web pages by Andrew Roberts at Middlesex UniversityMiddlesex UniversityMiddlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
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