patient gown

This patient gown is labelled ‘M 8’, and was likely made for a patient in the 8th male ward.

The ninth annual report for the asylum, in the year 1862, stated that ‘when provided with proper dresses of their own they are permitted to wear them, and the clothing supplied by the Asylum is of various kinds’.

Clothes worn in Powick Lunatic Asylum was often made by the patients themselves. Occupation was an important part of recovery, and, whilst male patients worked in the gardens and on the grounds, female patients made and repaired clothing used in the asylum.

Entertainment was also a large part of treatment. Patients played games such as cards, bagatelle, draughts, and dominoes, and there were plenty of books for them to read. They were taken on excursions to places such as Worcester, the Malvern Hills, and to visit family and friends.