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

Hilda Mary Martin

Hilda Mary Martin

Killed, aged 2, in the Downhills shelter WW2 tragedy, 19 September 1940.

Person, Children

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
George Tuck

George Tuck

Killed, aged 3, in the Downhills shelter WW2 tragedy, 19 September 1940.

Person, Children

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Harvey Hinds

Harvey Hinds

Harvey William Hinds, politician, clergyman and youth campaigner. Labour Southwark Councillor. Champion of Burgess Park and education, leisure and recreation. Elected to the Greater London Council ...

Person, Children, Gardens / Agriculture, Politics & Administration, Religion

1 memorial
Jacob Sebastian Holstein

Jacob Sebastian Holstein

From The Peerage: Jacob was the son of Alison Margaret Worsley (b.1963) and Christian Holstein. They married in 1992 and divorced 1996. Alison married again in 1997 and her married name became McIn...

Person, Children

1 memorial
Raine Foundation School

Raine Foundation School

This school was founded in what is now Raine Street by Henry Raine (1679 - 1738) in 1719, though the street was then known as Fawdon Lane, Charles Street. The school provided an education for local...

Group, Children, Education

2 memorials