:''Medical terms in this article are in the context of what was legally correct usage for that period where they appear in the text. Therefore "feeble-minded", "idiot", "imbecile", "lunatic", etc., should not be taken at their modern significance.'' 'Kew Cottages', Kew Children's Cottages and finally as Kew Residential Services is a decommissioned special development school and residential service located in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, an eastern suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

History

The Children's Cottages at Kew were first opened in 1887 as the "Idiot Ward" of

Kew Asylum Kew Lunatic Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric hospital located between Princess Street and Yarra Boulevard in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Operational from 1871 to 1988, Kew was one of the largest asylums ever built in Australia. ...

. Located on the asylum's grounds, the children's cottages were established to provide separate accommodation for child inmates who had previously been housed with adult patients. Although the Cottages only admitted children as patients, many of those children remained in residence at the Cottages as adults. The function of the institution was to provide accommodation and educational instruction for intellectually disabled children. Some Wards of the State and other various "difficult" children were also admitted. Shortly after opening, the Idiot Ward began functioning separately from the Kew Lunatic Asylum, and became known as the Kew Idiot Asylum from 1887 until c.1929. From 1929 they have been known as the "Children's Cottages, Kew" or alternatively "Kew Cottages Training Centre". In April 1996, nine residents, all men and aged from 30 to 40, died in a fire. The two cottages, with a shared roof, had been housing 25 people at the time. The institution was finally closed in July 2008, after the grounds were redeveloped from 2001 to October 2006.

References

External links

Kew Cottages History website

Capturing Kew Cottages

Kew News (DHS)
(PDF)

{{coord, 37, 47, 50.67, S, 145, 1, 35.96, E, region:AU, display=title Hospital buildings completed in 1887 Psychiatric hospitals in Australia Defunct hospitals in Victoria (Australia) History of Victoria (Australia) Hospitals established in 1887 2008 disestablishments in Australia 1887 establishments in Australia

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links