The Royal Earlswood Hospital, formerly The Asylum for Idiots and The Royal Earlswood Institution for Mental Defectives, in Redhill, Surrey, was the first establishment to cater specifically for people with developmental disabilities. Previously they had been housed either in asylums for the mentally ill or in workhouses.

History

thumb|left|Royal Earlswood Hospital about 1854

In 1847, Ann Serena Plumbe took an interest in the plight of those with neurodevelopmental disabilities, or "idiots" as they were termed at the time, and began to discuss what could be done to assist them. In discussion with Dr John Conolly (of the Hanwell Asylum) and Rev Dr Andrew Reed (a philanthropist and founder of several orphanages) they determined to educate such people. The building quickly proved too small, so in 1850 an 155-acre site was purchased at Earlswood Common, near Redhill, and a public appeal launched to raise funds for the building of a model 'Asylum for Idiots' to house 400 residents. and built by John Jay. Two new wings were completed in 1873. Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, who were nieces of the Queen Mother and first cousins of Elizabeth II, were placed in the hospital in 1941. The hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948. and the gate lodges.

The Royal Earlswood Museum

The Royal Earlswood Museum was located at the Belfry Shopping Centre nearby in Redhill. It illustrated the history and development of the asylum and contained works by former inmate, James Henry Pullen. The museum is now closed and in 2012 its collections and artefacts were donated to the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability in Teddington, Richmond upon Thames. The museum's archives are located in the Surrey History Centre in Woking.

References

Further reading

  • Pictures and information about Pullen
  • James Henry Pullen - Genius of Earlswood Asylum