The Commissioners in Lunacy or Lunacy Commission were a public body established by the

Lunacy Act 1845 The Lunacy/Lunatics Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict., c. 100) and the County Asylums Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict., c. 126) formed mental health law in England and Wales from 1845 to 1890. The Lunacy Act's most important provision was a change in the status of menta ...

to oversee asylums and the welfare of

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

people in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. It succeeded the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy.

Previous bodies

The predecessors of the Commissioners in Lunacy were the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy, dating back to the

Madhouses Act 1774 The Madhouses Act 1774 (14 Geo. 3 c.49) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which set out a legal framework for regulating "madhouses" (insane asylums). Background By the mid-eighteenth century, the common methods in the United King ...

, and established as such by the Madhouses Act 1828. By 1842 their remit had been extended from London to cover the whole country. The Lord Chancellor's jurisdiction over lunatics so found by writ of ''De Lunatico Inquirendo'' had been delegated to two Masters-in-Chancery. By the Lunacy Act 1842 (5&6 Vict. c.64), these were established as the ''Commissioners in Lunacy'' and after 1845 they were retitled ''Masters in Lunacy''.Jones (2003) p.222

Establishment

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury was the head of the Commission from its founding in 1845 until his death in 1885. The Lunacy Commission was made up of eleven Metropolitan Commissioners: three medical, three legal and five laymen. The Commission was monumental as it was not only a full-time commission, but it was also salaried for six of its members. The six members of the commission who were full-time and salaried were the three members of the legal system and the three members of the medical community. The other five lay members of the commission were all honorary members who simply had to attend board meetings. The duty of the Commission was to carry out the provisions of the Act, reporting to the Poor Law Commissioners (in the case of workhouses) and to the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

. The first Secretary to the Commissioners was

Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge Robert Wilfred Skeffington Lutwidge (17 January 1802 – 28 May 1873) was an English barrister, Commissioner in Lunacy and early photographer. He was the uncle of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. He joined the Photograph ...

, a barrister and uncle of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

. He had previously been one of the Metropolitan Commissioners, and later become an Inspector of the Commission. A Master in Lunacy ranked next after a

Master in Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

Asylums commissioned

The following asylums were commissioned under the auspices of the Commissioners in Lunacy (or their predecessors): ;English county asylums * First Bedford County Asylum (

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

), 1812 * Second Bedfordshire County Asylum ( Fairfield), 1860 * Berkshire County Asylum (

Moulsford Moulsford is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire. Before 1974 it was in the county of Berkshire, in Wallingford Rural District, but following the Berkshire boundary changes of that year it became a part of Oxfordshire. Moulsford i ...

), 1870 * Buckinghamshire County Asylum (

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

), 1853 * Cambridgeshire County Asylum ( Fulbourn), 1858 * First Cheshire County Asylum ( Chester), 1829 * Second Cheshire County Asylum ( Macclesfield), 1871 * Cornwall County Asylum ( Bodmin), 1818 * Cumberland and Westmorland County Asylum ( Carleton), 1862 * Derbyshire County Asylum (

Mickleover Mickleover is a large suburban village of Derby, in Derbyshire, England. It is west of Derby city centre, northeast of Burton-upon-Trent, west of Nottingham city centre, southeast of Ashbourne and northeast of Uttoxeter. History The earli ...

), 1851 * Devon County Asylum (

Exminster Exminster is a village situated on the southern edge of the City of Exeter on the western side of the Exeter ship canal and River Exe in the county of Devon, England. It is around south of the centre of Exeter, and has a population of 3,084 (c ...

), 1845 * Dorset County Asylum ( Charminster), 1863 * Durham County Asylum (

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

), 1858 * East Riding County Asylum (

Walkington Walkington is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately to the south-west of the town of Beverley on the B1230 road, and Beverley Grammar School. The civil parish is formed by the villa ...

), 1871 * East Sussex County Asylum (

Hellingly Hellingly (pronounced 'Helling-lye') is a village, and can also refer to a civil parish, and to a district ward, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Geography Hellingly contains the confluence of the River Cuckmere and one of it ...

), 1898 * First Essex County Asylum ( Brentwood), 1853 * Second Essex County Asylum (

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

), 1913 * First Gloucestershire County Asylum (

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

), 1823 * Second Gloucestershire County Asylum (

), 1883 * First Hampshire County Asylum ( Knowle), 1852 * Second Hampshire County Asylum ( Basingstoke), 1917 * Herefordshire County Asylum ( Burghill), 1868 * Hertfordshire County Asylum ( St Albans), 1899 * Isle of Wight County Asylum ( Gatcombe), 1896 * First Kent County Asylum (

Barming Heath Barming Heath is an area of north-western Maidstone in Kent, England. Its parish church is dedicated to St Andrew. See also *Barming *East Barming *Oakwood Hospital Oakwood Hospital in Barming Heath near Maidstone, England was a psychiatric ...

), 1833 * Second Kent County Asylum (

Chartham Chartham is a village and civil parish in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is situated on the Ashford side of the city, and is in the North Downs area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, south west of Canterbury, England. The Great St ...

), 1875 * Kesteven County Asylum ( Quarrington, 1897 * First Lancashire County Asylum ( Lancaster), 1816 * Second Lancashire County Asylum ( Prestwich), 1851 * Third Lancashire County Asylum (

Rainhill Rainhill is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 10,853. Historically part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a townsh ...

), 1851 * Fourth Lancashire County Asylum ( Whittingham), 1873 * Fifth Lancashire County Asylum ( Winwick), 1897 * Sixth Lancashire County Asylum ( Whalley), 1915 * Leicestershire County Asylum ( Leicester), 1837 * Lincolnshire County Asylum (

Bracebridge Heath Bracebridge Heath is a village and civil parish located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. It lies at the junction of two major roads the A15 to Sleaford and the A607 to Grantham, and was (until modern sy ...

), 1852 * First London County Asylum (

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

), 1831 * Second London County Asylum ( Colney Hatch), 1849 * Third London County Asylum ( Belmont), 1877 * Fourth London County Asylum (

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The loc ...

), 1882 * Fifth London County Asylum (

Woodford Bridge Woodford Bridge is part of the East London suburb of Woodford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located on an old road between Chigwell and Leytonstone. Notable features Its notable features include Claybury Asylum, a psychiatric ho ...

), 1893 * Sixth London County Asylum (

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

), 1899 * Seventh London County Asylum (

Dartford Heath Dartford Heath Common is an area of open heathland situated to the south-west of Dartford, Kent, England, covering around of open space. Dartford Heath is classified as lowland heath and is one of only two substantial heathland blocks remaining ...

), 1898 * Eighth London County Asylum (

), 1902 * Ninth London County Asylum (

), 1904 * Tenth London County Asylum (

), 1907 * Eleventh London County Asylum (

), 1921 * Norfolk County Asylum (

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

), 1814 * Northamptonshire County Asylum (

Duston Duston is a suburb of Northampton and a civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. History Archaeological remains found in the area suggest that Duston has roots in Prehistoric and Roman settlements. However, development in the area h ...

), 1876 * Northumberland County Asylum (

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

), 1859 * North Riding County Asylum ( Clifton), 1847 * First Nottinghamshire County Asylum (

Sneinton Sneinton (pronounced "Snenton") is a suburb of Nottingham, England. The area is bounded by Nottingham city centre to the west, Bakersfield to the north, Colwick to the east, and the River Trent to the south. Sneinton lies within the unitary au ...

), 1812 * Second Nottinghamshire County Asylum (

Radcliffe-on-Trent Radcliffe-on-Trent is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the Census 2011 was 8,205. Location Radcliffe has a population of about 8,000. It is to the ea ...

), 1902 * Oxfordshire County Asylum (

Littlemore Littlemore is a district and civil parish in Oxford, England. The civil parish includes part of Rose Hill. It is about southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, and Sandford-on-Thames. The 2011 Censu ...

), 1846 * Shropshire County Asylum (

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire * Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire * Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bed ...

), 1845 * First Somerset County Asylum (

Horrington Horrington is a collection of three small villages (South Horrington, East Horrington and West Horrington) in the parish of St Cuthbert Out or east of Wells, Somerset, England. South Horrington is a relatively new village created in the late ...

), 1848 * Second Somerset County Asylum (

Norton Fitzwarren Norton Fitzwarren is a village, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The village has a population of 3,046. History The village is on the southern slope ...

), 1897 * First Staffordshire County Asylum ( Stafford), 1818 * Second Staffordshire County Asylum ( Cheddleton), 1892 * Suffolk County Asylum ( Melton), 1827 * First Surrey County Asylum (

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

), 1840 * Second Surrey County Asylum ( Woking), 1867 * Third Surrey County Asylum ( Hooley), 1905 * Sussex County Asylum ( Haywards Heath), 1859 * Warwickshire County Asylum (

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places Canada * Hatton, Saskatchewan England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire * Hatton, Lincolnshire * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow * Hatton, Shropshire, a ...

), 1852 * First West Riding County Asylum (

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

), 1818 * Second West Riding County Asylum ( Middlewood), 1872 * Third West Riding County Asylum (

Menston Menston is a village and civil parish in the City of Bradford in the county of West Yorkshire, England. Along with Burley in Wharfedale, most of Menston is within Wharfedale Ward in the metropolitan borough of Bradford. The remainder of M ...

), 1885 * Fourth West Riding County Asylum ( Storthes Hall), 1904 * Fifth West Riding County Asylum (

Burley in Wharfedale Burley in Wharfedale is a village and (as just Burley) a civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Wharfedale valley. The village is situated on the A65 road, approximately north-west from Leeds, ...

), 1902 * West Sussex County Asylum (

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

), 1894 * Wiltshire County Asylum (

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

), 1849 * First Worcestershire County Asylum (

Powick Powick is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England, located two miles south of the city of Worcester, England, Worcester and four miles north of Great Malvern. The parish include ...

), 1847 * Second Worcestershire County Asylum ( Bromsgrove), 1907 ;"New" mental hospitals established later by Middlesex County Council ''Note:'' The First Surrey County Asylum at Tooting (see above) was transferred to Middlesex County Council in 1888 and became the First Middlesex County Mental Hospital in the early 20th century * Second Middlesex County Mental Hospital (

London Colney London Colney () is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, close to Junction 22 of the M25 motorway. It is near St Albans and part of the St Albans District. At the time of the 2001 census ...

), 1905 * Third Middlesex County Mental Hospital (

Shenley Shenley is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, between Barnet and St Albans. The village is located 14 miles from Central London. History The history of Shenley stretches back a thousand years or more – it is mentioned in ...

), 1934 ;English borough asylums * Croydon Borough Asylum, 1903 * First Birmingham City Asylum, 1850 * Second Birmingham City Asylum, 1882 * Third Birmingham City Asylum, 1905 * Bristol City Asylum, 1861 * Canterbury Borough Asylum, 1902 * Derby Borough Asylum, 1888 * East Ham Borough Asylum, 1937 * Exeter City Asylum, 1886 * Gateshead Borough Asylum, 1914 * Ipswich Borough Asylum, 1870 * Kingston upon Hull Borough Asylum, 1883 * Leicester Borough Asylum, 1869 * Lincoln Borough Asylum, 1817 * Middlesbrough Borough Asylum, 1898 * Newcastle upon Tyne Borough Asylum, 1869 * City of London Asylum, 1866 * Norwich Borough Asylum, 1828 * Nottingham Borough Asylum, 1880 * Plymouth Borough Asylum, 1891 * Portsmouth Borough Asylum, 1879 * Sunderland Borough Asylum, 1895 * West Ham Borough Asylum, 1901 * York Borough Asylum, 1906 ;Metropolitan Asylums Board asylums (established for chronic cases) * Caterham Asylum, 1870 * Darenth Asylum, 1878 * Leavesden Asylum, 1870 * Tooting Bec Asylum, 1903 ;Welsh county asylums * Brecon and Radnor County Asylum (

Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and ...

), 1903 * Carmarthenshire, Cardigan and Pembrokeshire County Asylum (

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

), 1865 * Denbighshire County Asylum ( Denbigh), 1844 * First Glamorgan County Asylum ( Pen-y-fai), 1864 * Second Glamorgan County Asylum (

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

), 1886 * Monmouthshire County Asylum ( Abergavenny), 1851 ;Welsh borough asylums: * Cardiff City Asylum, 1908 * Newport Borough Asylum, 1906 * Swansea Borough Mental Hospital, 1932

Successors

The

Mental Deficiency Act 1913 The Mental Deficiency Act 1913 was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom creating provisions for the institutional treatment of people deemed to be "feeble-minded" and "moral defectives". "It proposed an institutional separation so that menta ...

replaced the Commission with the

Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency The Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency was a body overseeing the treatment of the mentally ill in England and Wales. It was created by the Mental Deficiency Act 1913 to replace the Commissioners in Lunacy, under the Home Office how ...

Commissioners

Incomplete list: *Thomas Turner, Medical (1845–1854)Jones (2003) p.191 * Henry Herbert Southey, Medical (1845–1848) *

Bryan Procter Bryan Waller Procter (pseud. Barry Cornwall) (21 November 17875 October 1874) was an English poet who served as a Commissioner in Lunacy. Life and career Born at Leeds, Yorkshire, he was educated at Harrow School, where he had for contemporaries ...

, Legal (1845–1860) *

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (28 April 1801 – 1 October 1885), styled Lord Ashley from 1811 to 1851, was a British Tory politician, philanthropist, and social reformer. He was the eldest son of The 6th Earl of Shaftesbury ...

, Lay, chair (1845–1885) *

Robert Vernon, 1st Baron Lyveden Robert Vernon, 1st Baron Lyveden (23 February 1800 – 10 November 1873), known as Robert Vernon Smith until 1859, was a British Liberal Party politician. Background and education Vernon was the son of Robert Percy Smith, of 20 Savile Row, Lo ...

, Lay (1845–1860) *

Edward Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset Edward Adolphus Seymour (later St. Maur), 12th Duke of Somerset, etc., (20 December 180428 November 1885), styled Lord Seymour until 1855, was a British Whig aristocrat and politician, who served in various cabinet positions in the mid-19th ce ...

, Lay (1845–1852) *Robert Gordon, Lay (1845) *Francis Barlow, Lay (1845) *J. R. Southey, Medical (1845) *

James Cowles Prichard James Cowles Prichard, FRS (11 February 1786 – 23 December 1848) was a British physician and ethnologist with broad interests in physical anthropology and psychiatry. His influential ''Researches into the Physical History of Mankind'' touched ...

(1845–1848), Medical, in place of Southey who resigned *James Mylne, Legal (1845) *John Hancock Hall (1845) *

(appointed 1855) *

Harry Davenport Harry Davenport may refer to: * Harry Davenport (actor) (1866–1949), American film and stage actor * Harry Davenport (footballer) (1900–1984), Australian footballer * Harry J. Davenport (1902–1977), Democratic Party member of the U.S. House ...

(appointed 1889) *

Edward Nugent, Earl of Milltown Edward Nugent Leeson, 6th Earl of Milltown, Order of St Patrick, KP, Privy Council of Ireland, PC (I) (9 October 1835 – 30 May 1890), was an Anglo-Irish Peer of the realm, peer. He was the second son of Joseph Leeson, 4th Earl of Milltown a ...

(appointed 1889) * Henry Morgan-Clifford * Sir Marriott Cooke (1898–1914)

Footnotes

References

External links

*Web pages by Andrew Roberts at Middlesex University:
The Lunacy Commission

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commissioners In Lunacy Mental health legal history of the United Kingdom Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom