OUTSIDE THE ASYLUM

Can you help George Marshall Medical Museum with a spot of family history research to find out about some people who were admitted to the Worcester City and County Lunatic Asylum in the 19th century?

Our aim is to share more patients’ stories, and to find out about their lives before admission and (where possible) after discharge.

eliza davies

find out more about eliza davies

During the 137 years that Powick Hospital was operating from 1852 to 1989 it treated well over 25000 patients from the Worcestershire area. Many of these patients were diagnosed with dementia. Dementia is a syndrome of brain decline that affects memory, thinking, language, mood and behaviour. One patient treated at the hospital for dementia was Eliza Davies, a fifteen year old girl.

Not much is known about Eliza’s life before her admission to Powick Hospital though by using reliable databases and a census of 1871 we are able to know that she lived in the Police buildings of Priory Street in Dudley and that she was the niece to the Sergeant, George Davies. It is also written that her occupation was a scholar.

Eliza was admitted to the mental institute on the 19 April after a diagnosis of dementia. Eliza, being diagnosed with dementia at fifteen years of age, was an early example of a term later coined dementia praecox which is a case of dementia in the late teens or early adulthood. In her patient notes it is written that Eliza was neither epileptic, suicidal nor dangerous to others. It is stated that she had a vacant expression of countenance and that she refused to answer questions, destroys her clothing and uses very bad language. Eliza’s use of bad language is noteworthy because this language was never seen as bad if a male used it and was only seen this way if used by a female. Additionally it is written that she was ‘in dirty’ which meant that she needed help going to the bathroom. She also suffered from rheumatism along with heart, liver and kidney problems.  Her condition of rheumatism is notable as research has shown that because of the reduced blood flow to vital organs it can lead to the development of dementia.  To help treat Eliza she was prescribed ether, digitalis and oil. Sadly no more is known about Eliza apart from the fact that she was being transferred to another hospital to be treated for her physical problems.

During the 19th century individuals with dementia were starting to be recognised as patients deserving medical care from specialists known as alienists. Subsequently more and more people were admitted to mental institutes with the specific condition of dementia whereas before this dementia was just a term that simply referred to anyone that had lost the ability to reason. Also during the 1800s doctors came to believe that dementia, specifically elderly dementia, was the result of cerebral atherosclerosis which is a medical condition where plaque builds up in the blood vessels of the brain therefore reducing blood flow to the brain and reducing its abilities.

Research by Matt Davies, 2024

To view Eliza’s patient records, click here.

Go back to find out about more people who were patients at the asylum.