Group    From /5/1868  To 1997

Normansfield Asylum

Categories: Children, Medicine

See Lost Hospitals of London for an excellent history of this hospital. Briefly: The White House, a mansion with 5 acres of grounds, was built in 1866.  Dr Langdon Down and his wife Mary bought it and named it Normansfield, after their solicitor (!).  It opened in May 1868 as a private asylum for children with mental health problems from upper class families.  The children were taught according to their abilities and the hospital expanded with new wings and out-buildings.  A splendid Entertainment Hall was built and opened in 1879 (still exists and is regularly open to the public).  By 1888 the hospital covered 40 acres.  The Langdon Down’s two sons both qualified in medicine, worked at Normansfield and took it over when their parents died in 1896-1900.

Normansfield transferred into the NHS in June 1951 but the family continued their involvement.  We have to mention that a grand-daughter married a neurologist, Dr Russell Brain (nominative determinism rules! - see Isambard Brunel for more examples).

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This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Normansfield Asylum

Creations i

Dr John Langdon Down

We could not get close enough to take easily legible photographs and initiall...

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Other Subjects

Jeanne Southwell

Jeanne Southwell

One of the 11 "children of England" present on 7th July 1933 when The Princess Royal laid a foundation stone for a nurses home for the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

Person, Children

1 memorial
Moses Jethro James

Moses Jethro James

Drowned in the 1898 HMS Albion disaster, aged 14. Buried in grave 2 at the memorial in East London Cemetery.

Person, Children, Tragedy

1 memorial
Brady Settlement

Brady Settlement

From the picture source website: The Brady Boys' Club was the first Jewish boys' club in Great Britain and it was founded in 1896 by Lady Charlotte Rothschild, Mrs Arthur Franklin and Mrs N S Josep...

Place, Children, Community / Clubs

3 memorials
Upper North Street school WW1 bomb

Upper North Street school WW1 bomb

This bomb was one of those dropped during the first daylight bombing attack on London by a fixed-wing aircraft. Prior to this the bombs had been dropped from Zeppelins. Just before noon the bomb br...

Event, Children, Tragedy

5 memorials
Wyndham-Ashley Mission

Wyndham-Ashley Mission

At 112 Regency Street, SW1, between Douglas Street and Rampayne Street. In 1921 the secretary was R. C. Hart-Dyke. (From Street Directory). Amalgamated with the One Tun Mission in 1930. From Westm...

Group, Children, Social Welfare

1 memorial