Fairfield Hospital in Fairfield,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

was a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

from 1860 to 1999. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Construction of ''The Fairfield Three Counties Asylum'' by William Webster on a site between

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

Arlesey Arlesey ( ) is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire. It is near the border with Hertfordshire, about three miles north-west of Letchworth Garden City, four miles north of Hitchin and six miles south of Biggleswade. Arlesey railway station pr ...

and

Stotfold Stotfold is a small town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. Stotfold is thought to have gained its name from the northern drovers breaking their journey south at this point on the A1 Great North Road and penning their horses (stots) ...

commenced in 1856. The new hospital replaced the

Bedford Lunatic Asylum The Bedford Lunatic Asylum was a mental health facility. It opened in 1812 and closed in 1860. History Samuel Whitbread headed the committee which commissioned the asylum. The Bedford Lunatic Asylum, designed by John Wing, was opened in April ...

in Ampthill Road in

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 ...

, which had been built in 1812. The Fairfield Hospital was designed by

George Fowler Jones George Fowler Jones (25 January 1818 – 1 March 1905) was an architect and early amateur photographer who was born in Scotland but based for most of his working life in York. Biography and work Jones was born in Inverness in 1818. He studied ...

with the longest corridor in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, at half a mile long. The clay for its bricks came from the nearby Arlesey Pits. The hospital, which catered for patients from Bedfordshire,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, opened with the transfer of 6 male and 6 female patients from Bedford Lunatic Asylum on 8 March 1860. By 1861 the number of patients had expanded to 460, with 248 female and 212 male patients. At this time the asylum employed about 256 local people from the surrounding villages, including 66 men in its garden and small farm, where produce for the asylum's kitchen was grown, and 33 women in the laundry and wash house. The

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

and cemetery were added in 1879, with the East

stained-glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

being added in 1920 in memory of the asylum's staff and former inmates who died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During and after that War the asylum treated male and female patients with

shell shock Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...

. Following the enactment of the

Mental Treatment Act 1930 The Mental Treatment Act 1930 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom permitting voluntary admission to, and outpatient treatment within, psychiatric hospitals. It also replaced the term "asylum" with "mental hospital". It was repealed ...

the Three Counties Asylum became known as the Three Counties Hospital. At its height in 1936 Fairfield Hospital catered for 1,100 patients, with the grounds of the hospital having increased to through the purchase of additional farm land. Of these 410 acres 385 were cultivated. In 1948 The Three Counties Hospital became part of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, and, in 1960, it was renamed ''Fairfield Hospital''. In that year Fairfield Hospital hit the national headlines when the hospital's

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

, the

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

John Arthur Monk, married a girl forty years younger than himself in the hospital's chapel. In 1981 the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Government published its '

Care in the Community Care in the Community (also called "Community Care" or "Domiciliary Care") is a British policy of deinstitutionalisation, treating and caring for physically and mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution. Institutional ca ...

' report. Its aim was a more liberal way of helping people with

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

problems, by removing them from impersonal, often Victorian institutions, such as Fairfield Hospital, and caring for them in their own homes. Also, better drugs became available so that patients could be treated at home. It was also meant to reduce the cost of institutionalizing so many mentally ill people. This Act led to the closure of many

psychiatric hospitals Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

including Fairfield Hospital, which finally closed in 1999. The main building with its water towers is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, the façade having been restored and its interior being converted into flats and a

health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health se ...

and renamed Fairfield Hall. The grounds have also been developed into housing. The whole redevelopment of the hospital site and grounds constitutes a village called Fairfield, which became a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in 2013.

In the media

My Turn to Make the Tea ''My Turn to Make the Tea'' is the third semi-autobiographical book by the British author Monica Dickens. First published in 1951 by Michael Joseph, the book relates Dickens' time working as a junior reporter on the ''Downingham Post'' in the fi ...

'', the 1951 semi-autobiographical novel by

Monica Dickens Monica Enid Dickens, MBE (10 May 1915 – 25 December 1992) was an English writer, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Biography Known as "Monty" to her family and friends, she was born into an upper-middle-class London family to Henry ...

, features Fairfield Hospital as the Northgate Asylum. The 2003 film ''Requiem'' starring

Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series ''Robin of Sherwood'' in 1986. He ...

was filmed at Fairfield Hospital.

Gallery

File:North-west front of the Asylum near Arsley, Bedfordshire. Wellcome L0004794.jpg, Fairfield Hospital in 1860 File:fairfieldhospital1860.jpg, Another view in 1860 File:fairfieldhospital1999.jpg, Fairfield Hospital at the time of its closure in 1999 File:Fairfield Hospital Chapel 2016.jpg, The hospital's chapel in 2016

References

External links

History of Fairfield Hospital formerly known as Three Counties Asylum

History and Pictures of the now closed Fairfield Hospital

Fairfield Hospital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfield Hospital (Arlesey) Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospital buildings completed in 1860 Hospitals in Bedfordshire History of Bedfordshire Defunct hospitals in England Buildings and structures in Bedfordshire Grade II listed buildings in Bedfordshire Hospitals established in 1860 Hospitals disestablished in 1999 1860 establishments in England 1999 disestablishments in England

History

In the media

See also

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links