Normansfield Hospital 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 ...

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

in the London Borough of

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

, England. It was built as a facility for patients with an

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

and included a theatre. It now houses the national office of the Down's Syndrome Association, and the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability.

History

The Normansfield Hospital was founded at the White House in

as an institution for mentally disabled children by

John Langdon Down John Langdon Haydon Down (18 November 1828 – 7 October 1896) was a British physician best known for his description of the genetic condition now known as Down syndrome, which he originally classified in 1862. He is also noted for his work in ...

, after whom

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

was named. It was opened as the Normansfield Training Institution for Imbeciles in May 1868. The south wing was built in 1869, the north wing was added in 1873 and the

Normansfield Theatre The Normansfield Theatre is a Victorian era building in Teddington, England. The theatre is on the site of Normansfield Hospital, which was a self-sufficient Victorian hospital complex run by Dr. John Langdon Down. The hospital was where he c ...

was opened by the

Earl of Devon Earl of Devon was created several times in the English peerage, and was possessed first (after the Norman Conquest of 1066) by the de Redvers (''alias'' de Reviers, Revieres, etc.) family, and later by the Courtenay family. It is not to be con ...

in 1879. When Down died in 1896, his sons, Reginald and Percival, succeeded him as managers of the institution. It was renamed Normansfield in 1925 and joined 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 " ...

in 1951. The hospital was the scene of a strike by the nursing staff in the

Trades Union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

COHSE in 1976. The nurses were angry that the regional health authority had ignored their grievances against the consultant psychiatrist Terence Lawlor and demanded that he be suspended. His suspension led to a public inquiry chaired by Michael Sherrard. It was one of many official inquiries into

mental hospitals during that period. Dr Lawlor's professional style emerged as intolerant, abusive and tyrannical. COHSE was roundly criticised for a strike over which its officials had broken union rules, misled their membership and then blamed the nurses. An NHS administrator was found to be fearful of Dr Lawlor. The only body to emerge with any credit was the local Community Health Council, which was abolished in 2003. The inquiry recommended that Lawlor should be sacked. The same judgement applied to several senior nurses and administrators. The hospital closed in 1997. The Down's Syndrome Association operates the Langdon Down Centre in the former hospital's theatre wing, which includes the national office of the Down's Syndrome Association, the Normansfield Theatre (a Grade II* listed Victorian theatre) and the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability. The museum's exhibits include information on John Langdon Down and his family, the history of the care of people with learning disabilities, and the history of the Normansfield Hospital and its residents. The museum also features art, including many works by James Henry Pullen, and artefacts of the former Royal Earlswood Museum in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

about the former Royal Earlswood Hospital. The museum opened in 2012, and is a member of

The London Museums of Health & Medicine The London Museums of Health & Medicine is a group that brings together some of the activities of several museums in London, England, related to health and medicine. The group was founded in 1991. The museums and medical organisations are: *Al ...

group.

References

External links

Bruinsma, Miriam: ''Back to Normansfield Hospital, a photo gallery of my work experience''

Langdon Down Museum
– official site
Normansfield Hospital Oral History Project

Normansfield Hospital History
{{Hospitals in Richmond upon Thames 1868 establishments in England Down syndrome organizations History of mental health in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed hospital buildings Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Hospitals established in 1868 Teddington Intellectual disability hospitals Defunct hospitals in London Hospitals in Richmond upon Thames

History

See also

References

External links