Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum

Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum

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Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London.

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Collection of artefacts from the Asylum Museum, St. Audry's Hospital, Melton, Suffolk

Details

Category:
Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry
Object Number:
1990-183
type:
collection
credit:
East Suffolk Health Authority

Parts

Hospital ward notice, England, 1914-1940

Hospital ward notice, England, 1914-1940

Framed ward notice giving details of rules for visitors and regulations for patients when sending letters, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1914-1940.

More

Rules for hospital visitors and regulations for patients sending and receiving letters are detailed on this ward notice. It was displayed at St Audry’s Hospital in Suffolk. It states all patient parcels were checked, but not letters. Presumably this was to stop banned substances or objects such as knives entering the hospital. A patient’s relatives and friends were allowed to visit once a fortnight, but not on Sundays. However, in the case of serious illness they could visit any time of night or day. This notice symbolises the extensive rules and regulations that characterised much psychiatric care. It also indicates the growing contact between psychiatric patients and the wider world during the 20th century.

Measurements:
overall: 470 mm x 205 mm .987kg
Materials:
frame, wood , glass , paper and instructions, paper
Object Number:
1990-183/1
type:
notice
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Hospital ward letter box, England, 1870-1910

Hospital ward letter box, England, 1870-1910

Hospital ward letter box for the posting of patients' letters, from St Audry's Hospital, formerly The Suffolk District Asylum, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1870-1910.

More

Letter boxes in asylum wards allowed patients to communicate with the outside world. The number of people confined to asylums grew rapidly after the 1890 Lunacy Act. This gave local officials the power to order internment. Some patients spent their lives in such institutions. The institutions were often self-sufficient, with little contact with the outside. This example was collected from the Asylum Museum at St Audry's Hospital in Suffolk, England, when the hospital and the museum closed in the late 1980s.

Measurements:
overall: 325 mm x 275 mm x 210 mm, 2.781kg
Materials:
wood (unidentified) , glass , brass (copper, zinc alloy) and paper (fibre product)
Object Number:
1990-183/2
type:
post box
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Food tokens used at Psychiatric Hospital, England, 1939-1945

Food tokens used at Psychiatric Hospital, England, 1939-1945

Box containing 21 plastic tokens, in various colours, stamped a range of values (such as 9d or 2/6) which were redeemable at the hospital canteen. Used as an incentive for patients taking part in occupational therapy at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1925-1952.

More

These tokens were reward payments to patients for work done, probably in the asylum workshops or gardens at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1925-1952.. This work was a type of occupational therapy. Coloured tokens were exchanged for items in the hospital's canteen. They encouraged positive behaviour and were crucial in upholding asylums’ elaborate systems of privileges.

St Audry’s Hospital opened in 1765 as a workhouse for the poor. It became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. The hospital was also known as St Audry’s Hospital for Mental Diseases from 1917.

Materials:
box, cardboard , paper and coins, plastic
Object Number:
1990-183/3
type:
token
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Box of card tokens at St Audry's Hospital, England, 1939-1945

Box of card and linen tokens marked with different prices, used as an incentive for patients taking part in occupational therapy at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1939-1945.

More

These tokens were reward payments to patients for work done in asylum workshops or gardens. This work was a type of occupational therapy. Coloured tokens were exchanged for items such as cigarettes and cakes. They encouraged positive behaviour and were crucial in upholding asylums’ elaborate systems of privileges.

St Audry’s Hospital opened in 1765 as a workhouse for the poor. It became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. The hospital was also known as St Audry’s Hospital for Mental Diseases from 1917. The hospital and the associated Asylum Museum shut down in the late 1980s. This object was once displayed at the museum.

Measurements:
overall: 44 mm,
Materials:
cardboard , linen (textile) and paper (fibre product)
Object Number:
1990-183/4
type:
token
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Cash book used for occupational therapy payments at St. Audry’s Hospital, United Kingdom, 1952-1972

Cash book used to record payments made to patients as part of incentive scheme for occupational therapy, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1952-1972.

More

St. Audry’s Hospital, Suffolk recorded payments made to patients in this book. This was part of an incentive scheme for occupational therapy. The hospital opened in 1829, originally as the Suffolk County Asylum for Pauper Lunatics. Early on, it had used manual labour such as gardening or laundry work as therapy. In the 1900s, it began using more expressive therapies such as arts and crafts as rehabilitation. It introduced occupational therapy for men in 1934 and for women in 1947. This empty payments book indicates patients could only work in three-hour blocks. All monies were signed for by patient and nursing staff.

Measurements:
overall: 290 mm x 230 mm x 15 mm,
Materials:
paper and cloth
Object Number:
1990-183/5
type:
account book
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) machine, with head electrodes

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) machine, with two head electrodes and handles, Model R1135, SIFAM Electrical Instruments LTD England, with Voltage meter made by AEI., from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1945-1960.

More

St Audry’s Hospital opened in 1765 as a workhouse for the poor. It became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. The hospital was also known as St Audry’s Hospital for Mental Diseases from 1917. The hospital and the associated Asylum Museum shut down in the late 1980s. This object was once used at St Audry's and later displayed at the museum.

Materials:
case, wood , electrodes, metal , plastic , control panel, plastic and vulcanite
Object Number:
1990-183/6
type:
electroconvulsive therapy machine
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Earthenware jug from St Audry's Hospital

Earthenware jug from St Audry's Hospital

Large earthenware jug, with hospital crest, for use in wards, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1924-1950

More

St Audry’s Hospital opened in 1765 as a workhouse for the poor. It became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. The hospital was also known as St Audry’s Hospital for Mental Diseases from 1917. The hospital and the associated Asylum Museum shut down in the late 1980s. This object was once used on the wards at St Audry's and later formed part of the Asylum Museum's collection.

Materials:
pottery, earthenware
Object Number:
1990-183/7
type:
jug
Earthenware basin from St Audry's Hospital

Earthenware basin from St Audry's Hospital

Earthenware basin, with hospital creast, for use in wards, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1924-1950

Materials:
pottery, earthenware
Object Number:
1990-183/8
type:
bowl
Earthenware soap dish from St Audry's Hospital

Earthenware soap dish from St Audry's Hospital

Earthenware soap dish, with hospital crest, for use in wards, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1924-1950

Materials:
pottery, earthenware
Object Number:
1990-183/9
type:
soap dishes
Earthenware chamber pot from St Audry's Hospital

Earthenware chamber pot from St Audry's Hospital

Handle-less earthenware chamber pot, with hospital crest, for use on wards, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1924-1950

Materials:
pottery, earthenware
Object Number:
1990-183/10
type:
chamber pot
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Shaving mug from St Audry's Hospital

Shaving mug from St Audry's Hospital

Shaving mug, with hospital crest, for use on wards, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1924-1950

Materials:
pottery, earthenware
Object Number:
1990-183/11
type:
mug
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Knife and fork for carving meat from St Audry's Hospital

Knife and fork for carving meat from St Audry's Hospital

Knife and fork for carving meat, carved with ward number M12, from St Audry's Hospital, once The Suffolk County Asylum, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1851-1907

Materials:
bone and steel
Object Number:
1990-183/12
type:
knife and fork
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Teaspoon, fork and tablespoon stamped S.C.A.

Teaspoon, fork and tablespoon stamped S.C.A.

Teaspoon, fork and tablespoon stamped S.C.A., from St Audry's Hospital, once known as The Suffolk County Asylum, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1870-1905.

Object Number:
1990-183/13
type:
cutlery
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Fork, stamped S.L.A.

Fork, stamped S.L.A.

Fork, stamped S.L.A., for use by patient, by J. Lewis, Sheffield(?), from St Audry's Hospital, previously known by a number of names including the Suffolk Lunatic Asylum, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England,1850-1891

Materials:
metal
Object Number:
1990-183/14
type:
fork
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Fork, stamped S.M.H.

Fork, stamped S.M.H.

Fork, nickel silver, stamped S.M.H., probably standing for 'Suffolk Mental Hospital', for use by patient from ward M13,from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, which in the 1940s came under the control of the Suffolk Mental Hospital Management Committee.

Materials:
metal, nickel silver
Object Number:
1990-183/15
type:
fork
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Teaspoon, fork, dessertspoon and tablespoon stamped S.A.H.

Teaspoon, fork, dessertspoon and tablespoon stamped S.A.H.

Teaspoon, fork, dessertspoon and tablespoon stamped S.A.H., from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1917-1950

Object Number:
1990-183/16
type:
cutlery
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Nurse's order book, St Audry's Hospital

Nurse's order book, St Audry's Hospital

Book used by nursing staff for ordering new ward supplies, with red cover and perforated pages, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1901-1950.

Materials:
cardboard and paper
Object Number:
1990-183/17
type:
book
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Picture painted by psychiatric patient, Suffolk, England, 1930-1985

Picture painted by psychiatric patient, Suffolk, England, 1930-1985

Picture of St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, showing the main hospital building with vegetable and flower gardens in the foreground, painted by patient, c.1934-1990.

More

Dominating the canvas of this painting is a large house with an extensive garden and a greenhouse. A man in the foreground tends to flowers and waters the fruit and vegetables. It is not your typical image of a psychiatric hospital. The painting was made by a patient at St Audry’s Hospital in Suffolk, England. The ‘house’ in the painting resembles the hospital building at St. Audry’s. In many respects, the artist faithfully captured the ideals of ‘moral treatment’. These included manual labour and a calming, home-like environment. Moral treatment dominated psychiatry when St. Audry’s was founded in 1829. These ideals remained influential into the 1900s. The hospital had extensive and productive gardens. Patients tended them as part of their rehabilitation. The painting may have been painted for personal pleasure or as part of an art therapy programme. Psychoanalysis became prominent in the early 1900s. Psychiatrists saw therapeutic value in self-expression such as painting or poetry as well as manual labour. St Audry’s introduced occupational therapy for men in 1934 and for women in 1947. Paintings also allowed patients to indirectly comment on their feelings about life in a mental hospital. Look closely at the windows of the house. You can see a psychiatrist in a white coat observing the scene. A woman, perhaps the artist, looks out from another window. Is she trapped or is she painting?

Measurements:
overall: 546 mm x 320 mm x 50 mm,
Materials:
wood composites
Object Number:
1990-183/18
type:
painting
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Iron used by patients in psychiatric hospital, c. 1920-1940

Iron used by patients in psychiatric hospital, c. 1920-1940

Electric iron used by patients in the laundry of St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1920-1940.

More

Patients in the laundry department of St Audry’s Hospital in Suffolk used this iron. The hospital opened in 1829. During the 20th century, it used manual labour such as gardening or laundry work as therapy. This stimulation was thought healthy for mind and body. The iron may have been part of this work therapy. It was only used by a patient considered stable enough.

In the 20th century, many institutions began using more expressive therapies such as arts and crafts as rehabilitation. Suffolk County Asylum was renamed St Audry’s Hospital in 1919. It introduced occupational therapy for men in 1934 and for women in 1947.

Measurements:
overall: 140 mm x 280 mm x 100 mm,
Materials:
cast iron , wood , metal and rubber
Object Number:
1990-183/19
type:
iron
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Laundry basket from St Audry's Hospital

Laundry basket from St Audry's Hospital

Basket used by patients for carrying laundry and stores, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution, previously known by other names, including the Suffolk County Asylum, in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1900-1950.

More

Patients in the laundry department of St Audry's Hospital used this basket. Opened in 1765, the hospital was originally a workhouse for the poor until it became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. From 1917, the hospital was also known as St Audry's Hospital for Mental Diseases.

Measurements:
overall: 393 mm x 832 mm x 636 mm, 3.94 kg
Object Number:
1990-183/20
type:
laundry basket
Box of buttons

Box of buttons

Box of buttons of type used by patients when making and repairing clothes, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1930-1970.

Object Number:
1990-183/21
type:
buttons
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Patient's hat, St Audry's Hospital

Patient's hat, St Audry's Hospital

Hat worn by patient when working on the farm at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1910-1940.

More

St Audry’s Hospital opened in 1765 as a workhouse for the poor. It became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. The hospital was also known as St Audry’s Hospital for Mental Diseases from 1917. The hospital and the associated Asylum Museum shut down in the late 1980s. This object was once displayed at the museum.

Measurements:
overall: 118 mm x 278 mm x 290 mm, .1 kg
Object Number:
1990-183/22
type:
hat
Shepherd's crook used on hospital farm

Shepherd's crook used on hospital farm

Shepherd's crook used on the farm at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1910-1940.

Measurements:
overall: 1 kg
Object Number:
1990-183/23
type:
crook
Griddle from St Audry's Hospital farm

Griddle from St Audry's Hospital farm

Metal griddle used on the farm at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1910-1940.

Object Number:
1990-183/24
type:
griddle
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Spade used on St Audry's Hospital farm

Spade used on St Audry's Hospital farm

Spade used on the farm at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1920-1950.

More

Workers on the St Audry's Hospital farm used this spade. Opened in 1765, the hospital was originally a workhouse for the poor until it became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. From 1917, the hospital was also known as St Audry's Hospital for Mental Diseases.

Measurements:
overall: 930 mm x 200 mm x 70 mm, 1.83 kg
Object Number:
1990-183/25
type:
spade
Cobbler's foot for shoemaking

Cobbler's foot for shoemaking

Cobbler's foot, used by patients for making and repairing shoes at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1920-1950.

More

Patients in St Audry's Hospital were encouraged to keep busy and this cobbler's foot was used by a patient for making shoes. Opened in 1765, the hospital was originally a workhouse for the poor until it became the Suffolk County Lunatic Asylum in 1827. From 1917, the hospital was also known as St Audry's Hospital for Mental Diseases.

Object Number:
1990-183/26
type:
cobblers foot
Glass slide encouraging recruitment of psychiatric nurses

Glass slide encouraging recruitment of psychiatric nurses

Glass projector slide encouraging recruitment of psychiatric nurses to St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1948-60.

Materials:
glass
Object Number:
1990-183/27
type:
glass slide
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Glass slide encouraging recruitment of Psychiatric nurses

Glass slide encouraging recruitment of Psychiatric nurses

Glass projector slide encouraging recruitment of psychiatric nurses to St Clement's Hospital, a psychiatric institution, formerly Ipswich Borough Lunatic Asylum in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, c1948-60.

Materials:
glass
Object Number:
1990-183/28
type:
glass slide
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Asylum safety tag

"Suicide tag" given to an individual nurse responsibile for a suicidal patient, marked 'This patient not to be left' and number 41, from the Suffolk District Asylum, later known as St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, c1900-1935.

More

This ‘suicide tag’ was used at Suffolk District Asylum between 1900 and 1935 and it gave an individual nurse responsibility for a suicidal patient. Such tags were handed over at the end of every shift to the next nurse on duty to ensure continuous observation of the patient. The tag is made of brass and embossed with the name of the institution and the words, ‘This patient is not to be left’ and ‘No.41’. The number could mean 40 similar labels existed. This would indicate a significant number of vulnerable patients at risk within the Hospital.

Measurements:
overall: 25 mm x 75 mm x 2 mm, .04kg
Materials:
brass (copper, zinc alloy)
Object Number:
1990-183/29
type:
tag
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Town pass for psychiatric patients, Suffolk, England, 1953

Town pass for a patient named 'R W Redit' and dated 23rd May 1953, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England.

More

Rules, regulations and behaviour expected of patients when they were allowed to visit the local town were outlined on this town pass, issued in 1953 by St Audry’s Hospital in Suffolk. Such passes are indicative of the increasing level of freedom allowed to some patients during the 1950s. But institutions still closely controlled their behaviour and how they were perceived by the local community. Patients were not allowed to visit pubs, drink alcohol or post letters for other patients. They had to dress tidily at all times and return to the hospital by 7pm. Passes such as this indicate the progress towards greater integration within the wider community, more characteristic of today’s psychiatric care.

Measurements:
overall: 110 mm x 165 mm,
Materials:
paper
Object Number:
1990-183/30
type:
instructions - document genre
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Register of restraint and seclusion, London, England, 1948

Register of mechanical restraint and seclusion, unused, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton,Suffolk, England, c.1948.

More

Psychiatric hospital staff recorded which patients had been physically restrained or kept in seclusion, and for what reasons. Details noted included the means and duration of restraint, the name and sex of the patient, and whether they were a temporary or certified patient. The origins of such registers lie with the Lunacy Act of 1830 which introduced government oversight of private asylums to prevent some of the worst abuses. Regular amendments were issued throughout the first half of the 1900s, reminding hospital staff how far psychiatric institutions had improved since the early 1800s. They reinforced the fact excessive unjustified use of restraints and extended periods of seclusion were illegal. The first significant drug treatments appeared in mental hospitals in the mid-1950s. Restraint and seclusion were lessened, but never eliminated.

Measurements:
overall: 20380 mm x 280 mm 1.17kg
Materials:
paper and cardboard
Object Number:
1990-183/31
type:
register
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Nurses training school badge

Nurses training school badge, in box, from St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, c1970-1990.

Materials:
metal (unknown) and plastic (unidentified)
Object Number:
1990-183/32
type:
badge
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Brass observation hole from St. Audry's Hospital, Suffolk, England, 1851-1900

Brass observation hole from St. Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution, previously the Suffolk County Asylum for Pauper Lunatics and founded 1829, Melton, Suffolk, 1851-1900.

More

Mounted on a door at the Suffolk County Asylum a century ago, this brass peephole allowed doctors and warders to check on a patient locked in solitary confinement. Perhaps few objects communicate the stigma and the loneliness of living with mental illness as well as this one. An eye peering occasionally through the peephole may have been the only human contact the inmate received for days. It was carefully engineered to protect both patients and staff. It had no window glass, since broken glass could become a weapon for those intent on committing suicide or wounding their keepers. For the same reason, the room itself would probably have had no windows, or at least no glazed ones. Welded pegs also prevented the peephole’s cover from being broken off or twisted open from inside the cell. The Suffolk County Asylum for Pauper Lunatics (later renamed St. Audry's Hospital) was founded in 1829. Around the same time, a small number of English asylums for mentally ill patients, inspired by the ideals of moral therapy, were renouncing the use of physical restraint. However, large government-funded institutions like Suffolk, with patients whose families could not afford to pay for exceptional care, continued to rely on straitjackets and solitary confinement to subdue patients whom doctors judged likely to harm themselves or others. Frequently, suicidal patients would be put in the cell naked, to prevent them from tying clothing around their necks or swallowing strips of fabric. While potentially life-saving, it stripped patients of their dignity. New laws in the 1800s required asylums to carefully record every time they confined or secluded a patient, and to state why. This curbed some of the abuses associated with earlier asylums where some patients could be kept in chains or solitary confinement for years. To a scared, unclothed, suicidal patient behind this peephole, however, such slow legislative changes must have felt worlds away.

Measurements:
overall: 90 mm, .1kg
Materials:
brass (copper, zinc alloy)
Object Number:
1990-183/33
type:
observation hole
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Improvised knife made by a patient

Improvised knife made by a patient

Improvised knife made by a patient at St Audry's Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Melton, Suffolk, England, c1870-1948.

More

This improvised knife was made by a psychiatric patient at St Audry’s Hospital in Suffolk. Details of the patient are unknown, but he or she clearly took considerable time creating this makeshift artefact. It is also unknown whether the knife was for domestic use, an escape attempt or something more sinister.

Measurements:
overall: 10 mm x 10 mm x 15 mm, .06kg
Materials:
metal and textile
Object Number:
1990-183/34
type:
knife
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Rule book for St. Audry's Hospital

Rule book for St. Audry's Hospital

Rule book for nurses and attendants at The Suffolk District Asylum, a psychiatric institution, late known as St Audry's Hospital, in Melton, Suffolk, England, 1907-1916.

Materials:
paper (fibre product)
Object Number:
1990-183/36
type:
instructions
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum