"A History of London County Lunatic Asylums & Mental Hospitals" edited by Ed Brandon is a comprehensive exploration of the development and evolution of mental health care facilities in London. The book delves into the history, architecture, treatment methods, and societal attitudes towards mental illness from the establishment of the first asylums to the present day. Through detailed research and archival materials, the book sheds light on the challenges faced by patients, staff, and administrators, as well as the changing perspectives on mental health over time. It offers valuable insights into the past and present of mental health care in London and its impact on individuals and communities

I find the history of mental health and the development of modern healthcare fascinating. It just is mind boggling what used to be considered mental illness and how large the class and gender disparities are with treatment. Women and the poor were treated so much more harshly. And people with developmental or physical disabilities were thrown in with the patients with suicidal or homicidal ideations. The staff weren't vetted or made to treat the patients with any sort of respect or dignity and were often abusive and neglectful if not downright sadistic. Thankfully, the world has come a long way.

Cover: Intriguing. The urbex feeling is eye-catching.

Oh dear. I went in with great expectations, which, my mistake. I should know better by now—I’m not really a green reader anymore, a cover doesn’t speak for the actual content of a book, and so on.

Still, A History of London County Lunatic Asylums & Mental Hospitals promised something in the blurb and then didn’t deliver, not fully. For example, I love architecture, but focusing too much on this aspect here is a bit odd. A general overview might be fine, but it should be left on the side: I’m not here for this, you know? On the other hand, I like the way Brandon describes the stories of some inpatients.

The grammar is good, while the flow stutters a little here and there. I’m willing to chalk it up to the nature of this book, though; nonfiction is a ponderous beast to tame. The graphic aspect doesn’t do it for me either.

Another complaint I have has to do with the formatting. Pen and Sword is a good publishing house, and I enjoyed many of their books before—I read 95% or so of them straight from the NetGalley app. I get the reasoning behind it, as Kindle is not great at handling pictures. It’s all good. Unfortunately, the app has its issues with written texts, sometimes. I had to zoom in the entire book, swiping left and right just to read a single line. Let’s just say it made for some serious eye-strain.

My suggestion? Make it available for Kindle, too, and let people choose if they prefer quality pictures or an easy read.

2.5 stars on GR.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I've always been interested the history of mental hospitals and how mentally ill people were treated. It never surprises me to a lot how well a hospital "helped" depended on money and there were always staffing shortages. Wow, we haven't come very far.
The different asylums that were discussed in this book were similar so the author chose different issues to focus on for each one.
This isn't a book I'd ever sit down and read all of it again but it would make a good reference book.

Unfortunately I have DNF’d this book at 56%, however there’s a chance that I might pick it up again in the future. I really enjoyed the parts of this book that were about history and the patients of hospitals. However, most of it was about the architecture and the people who built the buildings. I don’t have a big interest in architecture, so I found myself becoming bored and also not paying full attention to the writing as it’s quite heavy on details about how the building was built and designed. Normally when I DNF a book I’ll never go back to it, however I might try this one again in the future.

I really struggled with A History of London County Lunatic Asylums & Mental Hospitals by Ed Brandon. The title and subject interested me and couldn’t wait to start it but I felt it was a long drawn out read. I found myself bored and I gave up on it after a few chapters. Disappointed, but sorry was not for me.

The author brings to life how the asylums and mental hospitals was built, as well as their history, the treatment of the patients , plus you get to meet and read about these who was considered to be famous. One of the the things I loved if not my all time favorite part of the book was the black and white photos you get, they definitely helped the story as well bring it even more to life . You can tell by the way author wrote the he did a lot of research on this topic and it showed though out the book.

I've always been fascinated with the history of mental hospitals and I thought this book was really interesting and taught me a lot about how things use to work. It's honestly so crazy how people were treated back then and what they would consider as "crazy". If you are like me, and enjoy learning about this stuff, or it's something you never thought about, this book will teach you a lot!

A fascinating insight in to how life was for the people of the time.. very emotional to read but glad that I did

Love books about Asylums and mental hospitals and just how the world has changed so much since a time when you went to one for basically being a woman. I found this history really intersting and now want to read more around Bedlam and other hospitals.

The Industrial Revolution saw a sudden increase in those perceived as ‘mad. ‘County asylums’ were seen as the most humane or cost-effective way to offer mass confinement and treatment to the patients.

I really enjoyed reading this. It was very informative on a topic that I am interested in but know little about. This book breaks down the ‘county asylums’ that were built in the Victorian era into the Edwardian era. Each operated with everything needed to ensure the patients never needed to leave the asylum’s grounds.

The author details the architect of each place, when they were built, some ‘famous’ patients who stayed in the asylum, and some of the treatments that were used. I especially appreciated the pictures showing the buildings, and what happened to the buildings when the asylums were closed down.

Readers who have an interest in the history of mental hospitals or even just an interest in architecture will no doubt enjoy this book. I received a free copy through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am interested in this subject for another book I am writing. Also, my mum was in a mental hospital when I was a child of Highroyds, and I remember her being there. Not good ones, I'm afraid.

This book is excellently written and well researched. Recommended.

I had hoped that this would be an extremely fascinating read, but unfortunately I found it quite dry. The information given was very heavy in terms of floor plans etc, and I found it difficult to remain interested.

It may well just by my personal taste - I'm sure it'd be enjoyable for others, but not for me.

Many thanks to Ed Brandon, NetGalley, and Pen & Sword for this copy.

Many thanks to Pen & Sword, the author, and NetGalley for my copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who works in psychiatric services and who, back in the days when these monstrosities were occuring, would have undoubtedly been flung into Bedlam or the like due to their own mental illness, I felt that it was important for me to read this book. In order to always better lives of the patients who come under the care of my service, I think that understanding the foundations that we base modern mental health care on is vital.

This book is rich and dense in information, covering any questions that one could possibly have about the old mental hospitals and "lunatic asylums" from back in the day.

All I can really say is wow, and marvel in a kind of disgusted wonder at how utterly wrong doctors and the general public were about mental health. I for one am deeply thankful to have been born in a time where we've moved on from that kind of treatment of ill people!

From the Middle-Ages onwards, London’s notorious Bedlam lunatic hospital saw the city’s ‘mad’ locked away in dank cells, neglected and abused and without any real cure and little comfort. The unprecedented growth of the metropolis after the Industrial Revolution saw a perceived ‘epidemic’ of madness take hold, with ‘county asylums’ seen by those in power as the most humane or cost-effective way to offer the mass confinement and treatment believed necessary.

The county of Middlesex – to which London once belonged – would build and open three huge county asylums from 1831, and when London became its own county in 1889 it would adopt all three and go on to build or run another eight such immense institutions. Each operated much like a self-contained town; home to thousands and often incorporating its own railway, laundries, farms, gardens, kitchens, ballroom, sports pitches, surgeries, wards, cells, chapel, mortuary, and more, in order to ensure the patients never needed to leave the asylum’s grounds.

Between them, at their peak London’s eleven county asylums were home to around 25,000 patients and thousands more staff, and dominated the physical landscape as well as the public imagination from the 1830s right up to the 1990s. Several gained a legacy which lasted even beyond their closure, as their hulking, abandoned forms sat in overgrown sites around London, refusing to be forgotten and continuing to attract the attention of those with both curious and nefarious motives.

Hanwell (St Bernard’s), Colney Hatch (Friern), Banstead, Cane Hill, Claybury, Bexley, Manor, Horton, St Ebba’s, Long Grove, and West Park went from being known as ‘county lunatic asylums’ to ‘mental hospitals’ and beyond. Reflecting on both the positive and negative aspects of their long and storied histories from their planning and construction to the treatments and regimes adopted at each, the lives of patients and staff through to their use during wartime, and the modernisation and changes of the 20th century, this book documents their stories from their opening up to their eventual closure, abandonment, redevelopment, or destruction. Such an interesting and informative read!

Very interesting book about the history of the lunatic asylums and mental hospitals that existed and some still exist today in London county, even if most do not remain at the same place where they once stood.

Mental health is something almost taboo to discuss, and in this book we hear stories of how some people where treated in this kind of places and the treatment they went through… I will just say it here… prepare yourself… some stories will make your skin prickle… (in some chapters the verbe went from the third person to the first and I don’t really understood why, maybe some sort of error edition that will surely be fixed upon book release).

The story of places, who lived there, who did something to change things or how this places where is mentioned here, actually some of the description of the place of how it was built, or how the architecture is, you’ll fell like your entering those doors and seeing what the author is depicting… this is a good book to start a study about these places, how they treated patients and eventually when things stated to change and treating the patients more humanly, each chapter will be a different asylum or hospital, if you’re like me you’ll feel the sadness that accompanies these stories… but letting them die would be even worse… we need to remember what was done wrong for in the future do not make the same mistakes…

Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion…

An interesting insight into the history od London Counties asylums. I learned about the doctors ruling them and their views on insanity. Each asylum was also described in terms of architecture. I enjoyed the pictures illustrating the descriptions as well giving a clearer view of the buildings. A good read.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book and I am leaving voluntarily a review.

A History of London County Lunatic Asylums & Mental Hospitals is an interesting and information dense monograph on London County mental healthcare and hospitals by Ed Brandon. Published in the UK 28th July 2022 by Pen & Sword, it's 224 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. Due for release outside the UK in fourth quarter 2022.

This is an annotated and thorough look at mental hospitals and their residents; from their lives to what they ate is covered unflinchingly and meticulously. The book's 7 chapters are arranged geographically with individual institutions' statistics in relevant subchapters. Although it's clearly well researched and annotated, the text is accessible and easy to read. The language is not rigorously academic (or intentionally obfuscated). Most of the descriptions reflect the tragic circumstances of the patients of these institutions and I was especially affected by the descriptions of the abandoned and derelict facilities, often abandoned in haste and left to ruin.

The author has included a solid cross-referenced index, chapter endnotes, and a bibliography for further reading. The text is enhanced throughout with clear historical photos and facsimiles of documents, hospitals, and grounds. These include interior and exterior photos of abandoned and derelict buildings.

Altogether interesting and educational and in many places, quite sad.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

One name is synonymous in London with the thought of asylums & that is Bethlehem Hospital or as it became known "Bedlam". Although there is a chapter at the start which takes the reader through the history of how England attempted (& mostly failed) to look after those with mental heath issues, the vast majority of the book focuses on the hospitals built in the late nineteenth century. If you're looking to read specific stories about the patients' lives, this is not the book for you. It's very much about the buildings themselves; the planning, the architecture, & their history from the late nineteenth century to the closure of Hanwell, Colney Hatch, Banstead, Cane Hill, Claybury, Bexley, Manor, Horton, St Ebba’s, Long Grove, & West Park in the late twentieth century.

These large institutions are a divisive subject & there is evidence that there was many instances of mistreatment & outright torture when it came to some of treatments used. Patients were admitted that should never have been there in the first place,& they were often treated as numbers rather than individuals, however, some of the asylums were like mini towns with farms, churches, & some even had halls for holding dances. It was sad to read about the rush to implement the solution of 'Care in the Community' in the 1960s which failed to consider those whose needs should have been paramount - the patients. Things are little better now, in fact, England is struggling to cope with current mental health needs. There are nowhere near enough beds for people in crisis, & although institutions are not the solution, neither is abandoning people in situations without the proper care & support.

I thought it was an excellent read about a subject that I only know a little about. The author has obviously done large amounts of painstaking research & it shows in the level of detail. Some people may find it a little dry to read about the architecture of such places but I found it really interesting. As stated previously, it's not a book about individuals, it's about the system & the London institutions as a whole. Recommended if you are interested in London's social history.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

“Before the business of ‘mad-doctoring’ became a distinct profession in the eighteenth century, mental illness was almost invariably believed to be the result of failed morals, evil deeds, or possession by demonic forces.” -A History of London County Lunatic Asylums & Mental Hospitals

In 1889, London became its own county, resulting in adopting the already existent asylums and building and/or running eight more. Back then, each institution was built like a small town, relying only on themselves by building gardens, farms, railways, chapels, and mortuaries, just to name a few. The eleven asylums held upwards of 25,000 patients, not including the staff. This book goes into detail on how these asylums were built, how time changed what practices were being carried out, how the patients were treated, and how each one either closed or was redeveloped.

Ed Brandon did an explanatory job going into each detail surrounding the asylums. Reading about each architectural design, what went with it, and the meaning of each design was very informative. The beginning of the book was abundantly educational, learning about who was first sent to Bedlam, for what offenses, and how they would put the patients on display, like a human zoo, for tours to gain funds in order to operate. The pictures included helped in seeing what the asylums looked like, both inside and outside. It was fascinating reading about the patients, why they were taken to the asylums, and their lives within the walls of the asylums. The overall history of these institutions is very intriguing.

Overall, I rate this book 2 stars. I was disappointed in this book, which is a bummer because I love reading the history behind these institutions, but I had a hard time staying interested, and an even more difficult time finishing the book. The only parts that I enjoyed were reading about the patients and their lives. If you love reading educational books, this is definitely a book for you, as there is a ton of information crammed into the 216 pages.

Content/Trigger Warnings: abuse, mental health, cancer, death, and medical abuse

***I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily***