West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum Records, 1814-1991

The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum in Wakefield was one of the world’s most famous and active research institutions for the study of the ‘insane brain’. The research work and the resulting scientific developments were ground breaking and started global scientific changes in the treatment of the mentally ill.

The records also given an unparalleled insight into the medical, social and family history of the West Riding, the largest geographical county in England. The collection includes over 5,000 photographs of patients from the late 1860s onwards, literally putting a human face on a patient number.

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