Knowle Hospital, 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 ...

in the village of Knowle near the town of

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufact ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, southern

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 ...

, which opened in 1852 and closed in 1996.

History

A committee of nine JPs were appointed at the Easter Quarter Sessions in 1846 to superintend the erecting or providing of a lunatic asylum for Hampshire. They selected Knowle Farm as the most suitable available site, comprising 108 acres (0.43706 km2). The asylum was designed by James Harris and the new building, known as the Hampshire County Lunatic Asylum, opened in December 1852. For about a year, in 1857/58, one of the gardeners at Knowle, Henry Coe, corresponded with

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

on horticultural matters, especially the cultivation of

kidney beans The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans. Classification There are ...

. As a result of this correspondence, Darwin became involved in a minor dispute about the legality of a patient's detention at Knowle. Following his recovery and discharge, the patient wrote to Darwin, thanking him for taking a personal interest. A chapel was built on the site in 1875. The asylum was renamed Knowle Mental Hospital in 1923 and then became Knowle Hospital in 1948. In the late 1960s, Dr

Ronald A. Sandison Ronald Arthur Sandison (1 April 1916 – 18 June 2010) was a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist. Among his other work. he is particularly noted for his pioneering studies and use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) as a psychotheraputic d ...

, a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

and

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

who pioneered the clinical use of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

in psychiatry, worked at Knowle Hospital. During the 1970s, plans were drawn up to close the large county mental asylums and in 1979 mental health services for Southampton and south-west Hampshire were moved to a newly established Department of Psychiatry at

Royal South Hants Hospital The Royal South Hants Hospital, known locally as "The RSH", is a community hospital in Southampton. It is managed by NHS Property Services. History The hospital was founded as a voluntary hospital in 1835 and moved into its first premises in S ...

in Southampton. KnowleVillage

Part of the hospital site was home to the Hampshire Ambulance Service Knowle Training School in the 1980s. Knowle Hospital closed in 1996 and the site was subsequently redeveloped for residential use as Knowle Village.

Transport

Knowle Halt Knowle Halt was a railway station in the county of Hampshire in England. It was served by trains on the Eastleigh to Fareham and Meon Valley lines. The station opened in 1907 and closed in 1964. History Opening The station was opened on 1 ...

, a small

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Eastleigh–Fareham line The Eastleigh–Fareham line is the railway line from Eastleigh to Fareham in the United Kingdom. At Eastleigh, trains join the South West Main Line for onward travel to Basingstoke and London Waterloo. At Fareham trains join the West Coastwa ...

, served the asylum from 1907. The station (which also served the village of

Funtley Funtley – from the Anglo-Saxon, "Funtaleg", "spring field (clearing)", is a hamlet or exurb north of Fareham, Hampshire, England. It forms a projection towards the South Downs National Park and is generally included within Fareham's populat ...

) was closed in 1964. Trains from the

Meon Valley Railway The Meon Valley Railway was a cross-country railway in Hampshire, England, that ran for 22 miles (36 km) between Alton and Fareham, closely following the course of the River Meon. At its northern (Alton) end, it joined with the Alton Line from ...

, a cross-country railway in Hampshire, also served Knowle Halt.

References

External links

National Archives: Knowle Hospital Records

Fareham Borough Council - Knowle Village information

Above All a Patient Should Never be Terrified; An Examination of Mental Health Care and Treatment in Hampshire 1845-1914. PhD Thesis by Diane Teresa Carpenter; University of Portsmouth 2010
{{authority control Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospitals in Hampshire Defunct hospitals in England History of Hampshire Hospital buildings completed in 1852 Hospitals established in 1852 1852 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Hampshire Hospitals disestablished in 1996 1996 disestablishments in England

History

Transport

See also

References

Further reading

External links