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

Mr Fegan's Homes

Mr Fegan's Homes

James Fegan set up his first children's home in Deptford, South London in 1870. Others were opened in Greenwich, Southwark, Goudhurst and one in Westminster, known as the Red Lamp, which maybe was ...

Group, Children, Philanthropy, Canada

1 memorial
E. H. Shepard

E. H. Shepard

Painter and illustrator, most famously of Winnie the Pooh.   Ernest Howard was born 55 Springfield Road, St John's Wood.  His art school nickname, Kipper, stayed with him for life.  Served in WW1 e...

Person, Art, Children

1 memorial
Islington Boat Club

Islington Boat Club

The club has provided safe boating for thousands of youngsters on City Road Basin.

Group, Children, Sport / Games

1 memorial
Josephine Trotman

Josephine Trotman

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

Previously viewed

Sir Michael Kerr

Sir Michael Kerr

Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn in December 1989.

Person, Law, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
RNH - Princess Louise

RNH - Princess Louise

N7, Manor Gardens, Royal Northern Gardens

In 1997, as a condition of developing the RNH site, Bellway Homes (the developer) was required to create one acre of public open space - ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company

E15, Silverton Way, Canning Town bus station

The monument, created by sculptor Richard Kindersley, comprises a number of concrete panels, bolted together with rivets to give the impr...

3 subjects commemorated
William Burdett-Coutts

William Burdett-Coutts

Born of British stock in America as William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett. On his father's death the family moved to England in 1852. In 'The Story of Holly Lodge' by Margaret Downing, March 2009, we le...

Person, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration, USA

1 memorial
Beau Brummell statue

Beau Brummell statue

SW1, Jermyn Street

This statue is placed at the entrance to Piccadilly Arcade.

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators