Whittingham Asylum records

[christanel]

My g grandfather, b1849 Bolton, is said to have been admitted to Whittingham asylum sometime in the early 1900's. The money to keep him there was from the sale of 4 houses he purchased on his return from Australia and Brazil! It was definitely after 1901 as he is in the census with his mother, in Bolton, then. Can anyone tell me whether there are records I can ask a UK rellie to physically access (I am in NZ) and where they might be?
Thanks, Christina

[Geoffers]

If any records have survived they would probably be in the County Record Office. I'd suggest your relative contact them to see what they have (it varies from place to place), but I wouldn't hold out too much hope.

Geoffers

[Peter Goodey]

Christina

National Archives website..."Search the Archives"..."Hospital Records Database" and take it from there.

[peter nicholl]

Hi Christina,

The records are held at the Lancashire Records Office (www.lancashire.gov.uk/education/record_office/ (http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/education/record_office/) ) under Reference HRW. For example HRW/7 is the Register of Patients; Register of Admissions. LRO staff will, for a fee, extract details of records of patients born over 100 years ago and post them to the searcher.

HTH

Peter

[christanel]

Thank you Peter, Peter and Geoffers for taking the time to give me some very helpful advice. I will act on it when I have a new computer monitor as at the moment anything on mine looks like one of the distorting mirrors at the fun fair.
Christina

[howwy_100]

on a recent visit to whittingham asylum near preston, we found in a room thousands of overturned boxes with records of patients scatterd everywhere. im not sure why they are still there? I would have thought that by law they would have to be destroyed or taken away as they contan information that is very disturbing.

Why has nothing been taken away? everything is still there including rooms with clothes, books, hospital equipment etc.

[christanel]

Howwy

I read your message and was appalled. A quick look on google for a relevant authority to which I could complain and/or appraise them of the situation gives me ministers names but no email address apart from the cabinet office. The Preston Health authority appears to have many sites but for individual services. Maybe I should just send an email directly to Tony Blair's office. It is difficult when not living in the uk. Any one with any ideas for me?
Christina

[howwy_100]

I would suggets you contact Lancashire County Council or mebe the Department of health (NHS) as they should have been the ones responsible for clearing everything up.

There must be someone that knows somewhere?

Even more suspect at Whittingham youre not allowed to take photographs even though the public footpath goes directly past the buildings and through the old gardens.

[christanel]

Hi Howwy
Taken me a while to get back to you - I haven't been at my peak for a few weeks. Mind you I don't think I'd recognise my peak if I fell over it. I will get on to both of the organisations you suggested and will let you know if anything eventuates. Thanks for your interest in this. Christina

[christanel]

Hi Howwy
whilst I was all fired up and in the mood yesterday I fired off emails to Lancashire County Council, the NHS in London and Tony Blair's office. Now to wait.
Christina

[christanel]

Hi Howwy
for the past 3 weeks I have been in touch with a number of organisations in England re your information.
Finally I have received a reply from the Director of Finance at Lancashire Care who responded within 24 hours of me contacting him. Now to summarise what he told me.
Part of the site was transferred to Secretary of State ownership 4/5 years ago and a "thorough exercise was conducted to make sure that no records of any sort were left in the abandoned part." Also "Lancashire Care still uses a number of buildings on the part of the site that we have retained and some records are held in secure storage in this part of the site."
He also goes on to say that all buildings used for storage are secure and properly safeguarded, under lock and key with appropriate protection. All health records held on site are properly boxed, ordered and cross referenced.
I was also told that there are some organisational records belonging to predecessor bodies, Guild Community Health Care Trust and North Sefton & West Lancashire Community Trust which are held on site and are also in secure storage, if not as efficiently as theirs (my words).
Your comments Howwy?
So frustrating being so far away.:confused:
Christina

[K D Ashton]

Just been sent your thread whilst trawling issues of Whittingham Hospital. We, being ex-staff, created our own web site to ensure that the hospital was not lost to all memory.
My colleague told me about your post and I had a look and simply has to respond.
There have been a great number of unauthrosied entries made to the old hospital site by "Urban Explorers" and they have taken many a photograph of what they found.
There are many forms of documentation left on the site which, contary to what you have been told by the now Management Team, appeared to have been abandoned. This has been brought to their attention with the effect that they have put a mobile team on site to go through all the rooms and recover what documents are found.
There are documents relating to staff pay and returned cheques to X-Ray pictures, all scattered about the rooms, obviously once in racks, but once the vandals got in they were obviously cast to the wind!
The information you have been given borders on that issued by Walt Disney and is pure fantasy!
I hope this information is of help and if you would care to view our site, please feel free. You may also like to look at the Urban Explorers site on which there are many threads similar to this site, but about Whittingham Hospital.
Best Wishes,
Ken Ashton.

[christanel]

Hello Ken
below is the email I received from Lancashire Care explaining exactly the situation at Whittingham Asylum recording records. I note that words are chosen carefully "abandoned Whittingham Asylum" and also wonder from what you have said exactly when the clean up started. Sometime in May this year perhaps?
I visited the 28dayslater website and besides being fascinated by the adventures I asked for input on what the explorers had seen regarding abandoned paperwork. So I will wait to see what they can tell me.
Then I went to the web site you and others have dedicated to Whittingham and spent ages learning about a fascinating building and era. You have done a great job bringing the purpose of this building, and those who lived and worked in it, alive.

I will keep you informed if there are any further developments.


"I am Dave Tomlinson, Director of Finance at Lancashire Care and I am responding on behalf of the Chief Executive.

Lancashire Care NHS Trust is the organisation responsible for the records you refer to and their security.
</SPAN>
I am not sure why you have not received a satisfactory response to your query thus far, and apologise if Lancashire Care has failed to do so. I am not aware that this is the case and would be very disappointed if it was. However, I do aplogise for your difficulties and your evident frustration.

It is clear that you have been provided with some misinformation in this matter and I will try and reassure you.

1. No records of any kind are stored in what you refer to as "the abandoned Whittingham asylum complex". When part of the site was transferred to secretary of State ownership 4/5 years ago, a thorough exercise was conducted to ensure that no records of any sort were left in the abandoned part. Lancashire Care still uses a number of buildings on the part of the site that we have retained and some records are held in secure storage in this part of the site.

2. All buildings which are used as storage facilities are secure and properly safeguarded, under lock and key, with appropriate protection.

[font=Arial][size=2][color=black]3. All health records held on site are properly boxed, ordered and cross referenced.

[K D Ashton]

Interesting and 'political' document! If all is as they claim, why would it be necessary to put a team in to search (again) for such documents? I am sure, having looked at the 28DL site you would have seen pictures posted.
I started training at Whittingham in 1975 and some of my colleagues prior to that. Management in those days would give you a direct answer and a reason for the answer and would fully investigate any issue raised, as opposed to Management at the end of the hospital's life when I would have doubted anything they said.
One point of reference currently being undertaken by our web site, is that the only Grade II Listed building on Whittingham site is St John's Church; Management assured all staff that the "Mains" and the Ballroom had been given Listed Building status; Preston City Council inform us otherwise!
Places such as Whittingham has a long history of family involvement, various generations of familes have worked there. This also, naturally, included Management when an individual proved themselves and was duly promoted or appointed to a senior post.
Under the Guild Community Healthcare NHS Trust, a management team were brought in and stated quite clearly that their aim was "to close the place"; it would, in my humble opinion, have been reasonable to assume that this included all aspects of security.
I am quite sure you will receive many responses from the 28DL crew, as they have given this site considerable attention.
Should you require any further information, please do no hesitate to contact us either through this forum or through the 28DL forum.
Best Wishes.

[K D Ashton]

PS.
Thanks for the compliment about the web site - much appreciated!

[christanel]

Hi Ken

I have just been back to 28dayslater where there are six messages in reply to my request for info. Four were very helpful, the other two? well read them for yourself.
It appears that there are financial records including wages and internal patients accounts, x-rays with patients' names on them and a few patients' cards. Of course there shouldn't be any of this lying around for explorer/adventurers to peruse, assuming they would be at all interested.
Have you been on www.englishpartnerships.co.uk (http://www.englishpartnerships.co.uk) and looked at programmes and initiatives in the LH menu then down to Whittingham. It gives a time frame for redevelopment of some of the site. The whole world is going to be covered in 'little boxes'.
Not all of the letter was printed in my last post but you get the idea anyway!
Many moons ago I used to nurse at Bolton Royal Infirmary which I believe has also been demolished. They also demolished the old church I was married in in New Zealand - is it me do you think? I don't think any buildings in Australia suffered the same fate after I used them.:D
Thanks again for giving me helpful leads to follow.
Christina

[K D Ashton]

Hello Christina,
Many thanks for your post. Firstly I must apologise for the offensive language used by some members of 28DL in commenting on your post; I had no idea they would have responded like this and had I known, I would not have suggested their site to you.
I will go and have a look at English Partnership web site, although, from what you describe, this sounds like the original plan put about in the lat 1990's. The proposal then was to build expensive homes, detached and semidetached on the site. They were supposed to be waiting for the new By-Pass to be built! Our view is that we cannot forsee any individual paying considerable sums of money for such property when there is a Forensic Psychiatric Unit, fully functional on the site. Additionally, the lastest "suggestion" is to move female patients from Ashworth Secure Hospital to the unit at WH!
I don't think I would like my children growing up in such an environment!
Another site my colleague suggests you try is "Bolton Revisted", being from Bolton you may find this of particular interest.
If you wish to send direct email, please feel free to do so via our web site - we only stumbled across this forum by accident.
Best Wishes,
Ken.

[christanel]

Hi Ken
thanks for all your help. No need for you to apologise for others language and I will certainly use your web site for future contact. Thanks again. Christina