by Ian Wheeler
1918–20 Dr Edwin Lindsay Dunn. Born in Waterside, Ireland, Dunn became Assistant Medical Officer and Deputy Superintendent at the Berkshire Lunatic Asylum in 1894, succeeding Dr Murdoch at the start of 1918. He was highly intelligent, well informed and an active researcher in his field, with a keen sense of humour that endeared him to staff and patients alike. He sadly died in service in 1920 after a painful illness lasting several weeks. His gravestone can still be found in Cholsey churchyard.
1920–38 Dr Walter Woolfe Read. Born in 1880, Dr Read arrived from Littlemore as Assistant Medical Officer in January 1919, soon becoming Acting Medical Superintendent. Promotion was thrust upon him with the demise of Dr Dunn in 1920 and he was the first superintendent fortunate enough to hand over the title whilst still breathing – which feat he achieved in March 1938. Wry humour apart, the responsibilities of the position were clearly very stressful.
1938–44 Dr Hugh Astley Cooper. Formerly Deputy Medical Superintendent at Hampshire County Mental Hospital at Knowle, Cooper assumed his position on 1 April 1938 and was almost certainly a descendent of Sir Astley Paston Cooper, an eminent surgeon of the nineteenth century. Little has come to light to characterise his tenure and he was dismissed in 194410. He joined the army in a medical capacity, being promoted to lieutenant on 28 October 1944 and acquitting himself well.
1944–c.1965 Dr William Ogden was Assistant Medical Officer in 1942 and became Superintendent on the departure of Hugh Astley Cooper in September 1944. He was immediately under heavy pressure to remedy many deficiencies described in these pages. Dr Ogden was competent, popular and much respected by his staff. He was the last superintendent under that title. Although the National Archives quote 1949 as the end of his tenure, he was still in post in the 1960s, retiring in about 1965.
Heraldry over the asylum’s front door. Reading’s coat of arms, on the left, was changed in 1953 and Newbury’s in 1948. (Bill Nicholls)
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the Union’s initial strategy had been to pay for beds at Littlemore Asylum (in Oxfordshire) but time brought the need for Berkshire’s own hospital. This brings us back to Moulsford, where the Committee appointed agents, architects and builders, selected candidates for the senior staff positions and held the purse strings for all but the most routine expenditure. The Medical Superintendent was supported by various officers but the Clerk of Works11 may have been among the busiest of these.
The minute books kept by the Clerk to the Committee of Visitors are, alas, incomplete. The earliest survivor commences in 1908 and in December of that year the Committee was made up of Mr P. Wroughton, Chairman; Mr Harris; Mr Barningham; Major Turner; Mr Dockar Drysdale; Mr Isaac; Mr Petrocokino; Lord George Pratt; Dr Stewart Abram; Col Ricardo (Visitor for Berkshire); Mr Martin (Visitor for Reading); Mr Parfitt (ditto); Mr Long (Visitor for Newbury) and Alderman Edward Bampfylde (Visitor for Windsor).
A number of these gentlemen still served in 1912. A list of those present, taken at random, shows Mr J.W. Martin, Vice-Chairman, presiding; Lord George Pratt; Major C. Turner; Mr A.K. Loyd, KC; Col Ricardo; Mr J. Cobb; Mr E.A. Hanley; Mr H. Bate; Mr A. Petrocokino12; Mr H. Goddard (Visitor for Berkshire); Dr Stewart Abram (Visitor for Reading); Mr J. Elliott (ditto) and Sir William Shipley (Visitor for Windsor). The earliest credible date for the upper photograph here is 1912 and it is likely that at least several of those depicted appear in this list.
Dr James William Aitken Murdoch (in spats) surrounded by the Committee of Visitors between 1912 and 1917. Mr Moses Nicholls, Clerk and Steward, stands framed by the door. A young Revd Philip Raynor is in clerical collar. Seated next to Dr Murdoch may be Mr J.W. Martin, Chairman of the Committee. (Spackman collection)
Senior officers in about 1930. Standing, from left: unknown; J.R.F. Davis, Finance Officer; unknown; Avery Nicholls, Steward; Alan Barnard, Assistant Clerk; Mr Walton, Head Male Attendant; Jack Croxford, Deputy Head Male Attendant; Bill Southby, Clerk of Works. Seated, from left: Matron Mary Ratcliffe; unknown; Dr Sidney Holder; Dr Woolfe Read, Medical Superintendent; Revd Philip Raynor, Chaplain; Grace Kirk, Deputy Head Female Nurse. (Spackman collection)
The typical monthly agenda for the Committee of Visitors would be:
• Read the previous meetings’ minutes
• Examination of various accounts, bankers’ pass books
• Examination of medical superintendent’s report
• Read the chaplain’s journal
• Review recommendations for discharge of convalescent patients
• Consider any matters of moment, such as planned repairs, improvements, out-of-course expenditure
• Appointments, resignations, etc.
• Read the visitors’ book
• Sign cheques
• Tour the hospital to view as many patients as practicable
The Bodies in Union, namely Berkshire, Reading, Newbury and later Windsor, each had an allocation of beds and the costs associated with caring for their residents were charged back to them at a standard rate, calculated for and periodically reviewed by the Committee of Visitors. In May 1887, the ordinary rate for upkeep of patients was 14s per week. Rather surprisingly, the rate had dropped to 9s 01/2d by December 1909 and was held at this level for some time. Private patients, when accepted, were charged at a slightly higher rate. A full account would be dull but by 1947 the ordinary rate had risen to 37s 4d, while private patients were paying 44s 4d.
Mr Buffham (with pipe) and Assistant Clerk Jack Lambert in about 1925. (Vera Wheeler)
Mr Alfred Lockie, Head Male Attendant from 1874 to 1903. (Spackman collection)
In the day-to-day operation of the asylum, the medical superintendent was supported by medical and administrative officers, nursing staff – known as ‘attendants’ – and artisan staff. Office accommodation and a meeting room were situated in the front range of the asylum.
The nursing staff acted under the direction of the superintendent or his assistant medical officer(s), with head male and female attendants in charge of exclusively male attendants for the Male side and female attendants for the Female side. Mixed-sex nursing did not emerge until the 1960s.
Female attendants, possibly c.1910, in which case the lady in black may be either Miss Browne or Miss Jones, Housekeeper. The gentlemen are probably the assistant medical officers of the time. (Spackman collection)
Domestic staff in about 1895. The gentleman, centre, may be Clerk and Steward Moses Nicholls, and the lady to his right may be the Housekeeper, possibly Mrs Horton. Alice Wells is front, second from left. (Spackman collection)
A sizeable contingent of domestic staff, mostly female, was supervised by the housekeeper, with perhaps some influence from the Steward, which may explain the presence of a gentleman in the picture above. Some of the women acted as maids to the doctors but we can be reasonably sure that the majority had general household duties, or else worked in the kitchen, scullery, laundry and needlework room.
Just one example of the asylum’s staff establishment shows that ‘outsourcing’ was far from the Victorian mind. Whilst space prevents an account of everyone on the following list from 1896–97, a few names are offered from research:
• Medical Superintendent Dr James William Aitken Murdoch
• Second Assistant Medical Officer Dr Thomas Leonard Johnston
• Chaplain, Revd F.T. Stewart-Dyer
• Clerk to Visitors, Mr J.T. Morland
• Steward and Clerk of the asylum, Mr Moses Nicholls
• Housekeeper, Miss Browne
• Head Male Attendant, Mr Alfred Lockie
• Head Female Attendant, Miss Edith M. Bearpark
• Superintendent’s clerk and organist
• Stores Assistant
• Foreman of Works
• Engineer
• Farm Bailiff, Mr Christian Henry Ellis Carter
• Gatekeeper
• Gardener
• Baker
• Carpenter
• Two painters
• Gasman, possibly Mr Hill
• Two stokers, including Mr Ernest J. Brignall
• Shoemaker Attendant, possibly Mr Robert Townley
• Tailor Attendant
• 24 Male Attendants including Mr Frederick Pilgrim and Mr Jack Woolley
• 28 Female Attendants
• 10 indoor servants and laundrymaids, including Miss Alice Wells
• Hall Porter
• Eight farm and garden servants
Hardback books were prepared, containing summarised annual reports. These might cover several years per volume and do much to explain the monthly notes found in the Visitors’ books. (Reproduced by permission of the Berkshire Record Office)
By 1900, there were also trades such as carter, cowman, dining hall attendant, shepherd and cook, and the list grew for decades thereafter.
Annual inspections13 were carried out by the Commissioners in Lunacy (later Commissioners for the Board of Control). Care was taken not to send the same commissioners in consecutive years, although the names repeat over time. The first known female commissioner was Isabel G.H. Wilson, who visited jointly with a Mr H.C. Devas on 10 July 1935. Their reports were handwritten in heavy, bound volumes labelled ‘Visitors Book’, which were also used for the signed statements by members of the Committee of Visitors, declaring that they had carried out their monthly duties of touring the hospital and satisfying themselves that all was in order. These books inform us on the major affairs of the establishment, although the author craves the reader’s indulgence if any of the sometimes erratic script has resulted in misspelt names or misunderstandings. The tradition of mysterious handwriting seems to belong to those involved in healthcare.
Falling Below Par
The Commissioners’ inspection reports show that the asylum carried out its work diligently and, for the most part, effectively but there were usually troubles below the surface. Although always expressed in the most gentlemanly terms, there were clear concerns that the hospital was – at times persistently – rather backward in its facilities, fittings and equipment, creature comforts and even attitudes. Certainly, Superintendent Murdoch was not fond of change, stating in 1900 that he considered it disturbing for staff and patients alike.
Notwithstanding the repairs, redecoration and replacements that were usually in hand, reports after about 1920 show regular, tactful reminders that the Berkshire Mental Hospital was lagging in such diverse matters as open-air verandahs for TB patients, dedicated admissions wards, sanitary arrangements, writing materials for patients, the provision of a cinema projector and, more importantly, modern diagnostic, treatment and research facilities including X-rays and a pathology laboratory. As late as 1930, the post-mortem room was slated for its unsanitary condition, wooden floor, high autopsy table, lack of hot water and poorly equipped viewing room. By 1938, there was still no admissions hospital ‘to bring the hospital into line with modern requirements’, the infirmary wards being used instead. Further details will be found below and in the relevant chapters.
Although we must allow that these were hard times, it is difficult to avoid wondering whether Dr Walter Woolfe Read, superintendent of the day, was inclined to be reactionary or whether his Committee of Visitors was excessively careful of expenditure. In mitigation, a Commissioners’ comment of 1938, generally recommending ‘a stitch in time’, made it quite clear that costs were indeed an inhibitory factor.
The Commissioners deserve credit for recognising effort and improvement where this was warranted but one report clearly states that the hospital was well below the expected efficiency standard in 1921. This was reiterated in a 1926 report that applauded ‘new lighting, new heating, new fire appliances, new water supply, new laundry machinery, new disinfecting arrangements, new bake house fittings, external and internal redecoration and improvements in clerical accommodation – a brief list but one containing works of great magnitude and utility …’ but the list of required improvements never seemed to shorten and the kitchen (detailed in Chapter 3) was a target for heavy criticism for many years.
A staff group under Dr Ogden, c.1958. Rear, far left is Lou Kennedy. Ellen Abbott (German maiden name unknown) is 3rd from right. Standing, third row, from left: 6th May Lehaney (later Walsh); 7th Bill Keating; 9th Joe Hughes. Seated: 1st Martin Brennan; 2nd Lem White; 3rd Bill Brough; 5th Harry Lambert, Chief Male Nurse; 6th Superintendent William Ogden; 7th Matron Agnes Pilgrim; 8th Edie Meatyard; 9th Rumney; 10th Idwyll John. It is believed that Matron Pilgrim retired at about this time. (Bill Nicholls)
The National Health Service Act of 1946 – surely one of the world’s most enlightened pieces of legislation – brought changes in the hospital’s control and its final change of name, to Fair Mile. Berkshire Mental Hospitals Group Management Committee was created in 1948 as part of the NHS and sat within the Oxford Regional Health Board until 1974. The committee became known as the St Birinus Group Hospital Management Committee, probably in 1968 when local mental hospitals were regrouped. It managed two hospitals for the mentally ill, of which Fair Mile was the larger, and five institutions for those with learning disabilities. The Commissioners’ visits, which have contributed so many insights to this history, continued until at least 1968, the date of the most recent entry held at the Berkshire Records Office (BRO).
The final phase in Fair Mile’s administrative history is summed up succinctly by the following quotation from the National Archives:
Under NHS reorganisation in 1974 mental health and learning disability services across Berkshire were managed by the Oxford Regional Health Authority, and from 1994 they were managed under various local NHS trusts including the West Berkshire Priority Care Services NHS Trust, East Berkshire Community Health Trust, and East Berkshire Learning Disabilities Trust. In 2001 these were brought together in one body responsible for mental health and learning disability services called the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
Notes
7 Literally, ‘one holding a place’. We nowadays use only locum.
8 An early duplicating machine by Hungarian-born David Gestetner but nevertheless a British invention.
9 This was a system for monitoring staff vigilance, especially at night, when the attendant was expected to ‘punch a clock’ every half hour.
10 Some sources, including the National Archives, quote the date of his departure as 1946 but 1944 has been found in the archives, with indication that it was late in the year. He had certainly vacated by July 1945.
11 The Clerk of Works was initially needed to oversee the construction of the new asylum but Superintendent Gilland begged leave from Mansfield, Price & Co., the building contractors, to retain his services to attend to a steady stream of maintenance, repair and improvement demands.
12 Mr Petrocokino’s distinctive name has been noticed as late as 1924, suggesting yeoman service.
13 The Berkshire Record Office states that inspections took place twice a year but the available commissioners’ reports from 1923 are certainly annual.
3
INFRASTRUCTURE
Howell’s designs for the Moulsford Asylum were based on careful consideration and much experience; it followed the pattern of his previous asylums in being broadly self-sufficient and providing a good level of comfort and wellbeing for its occupants. This required some of the most advanced technology then available, covering heating, sanitary arrangements, catering facilities, water supply and lighting. It cannot be said that all these innovations were immediate successes and much had to be repaired or modified over the ensuing decades. Behind the purely structural arrangements followed a long list of on-site facilities that kept the hospital operating by producing clothing, bedding, bread and cakes, footwear and a host of other necessities, as well as tending to horses, farm animals, repairs and installations, stores of equipment, raw materials and provisions.
Most of the major functions of the asylum are described under the following headings.
Boiler
s
As the heart of the establishment, the boiler room had an involved history that we can only glimpse here.
Coal-fired boilers for hot water and steam-pumping engines were an early feature. The original boilers are believed to have been supplied by the Reading Ironwork Company, since this firm was charged with making repairs or improvements over the years, parts being ‘returned’ to Reading in some instances.
As the asylum was enlarged to meet demand, it was necessary in 1898 to plan for a new and much larger boiler house adjoining the original, to the north of the main frontage. In service in 1900, this was a substantial affair, accompanied by a tall brick chimney and flanked by its attendant coal yard, battery room, engine house, workshop and – supervision of the boilers being a twenty-four-hours-a-day affair – a bedroom for the stoker. Electric lighting was installed at this time, an innovation that caused much ado in the boiler house and warrants its own account later in this chapter. Electricity also powered machinery in the laundry and kitchen.
Plan showing the principal features of the hospital over time. (Author’s collection)
Pipes and cables for water, gas and electricity reached the asylum buildings through a network of underground service passageways. These were said to flood at times and most were filled in when Fair Mile became a housing development.
The boiler house was situated at the front of the asylum for logistical reasons, including delivery of coal and the proximity of the wells. It stood alongside the cricket field, where it was screened from the pleasure grounds by trees and shrubs. Over the years, the boiler house chimney was raised to lift its smoke to a suitable height, although it was also later reduced in stages.
