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.

william marston

Mentions of suicide

find out more about william marston

Mentions of suicide.

William Ross Marston

Admitted 1 July 1897, died 28 August 1907
Kidderminster Workhouse
Carpet Weaver, Married. 

MENTIONS OF SUICIDE

William Ross Marston was born in around 1847, to parents William (born c.1816) and Ann (born c.1816) Marston, in Kidderminster. In the 1851 census, William [Sr.] is listed as a worsted yarn dyer, and lived with his wife and children, George (born c. 1838), Harriet (born c.1839), Emma (born c.1843), Alice (born c.1845), William, John (born c.1849), and James (born c.1851). In 1861, William was the eldest child still living at home, at the age of 14, with brothers John and James, and now Frederick (born c.1853), and Clara (born c.1859).

William married Esther Parry (born c. 1850) on 25 March 1871 in Kidderminster. His occupation at this time is listed as ‘weaver.’ William and Esther live together in Kidderminster in 1871. Their first son, George William was born in around 1872, and their daughter Minnie was born two years later. In 1879, their second son Leonard was born. In 1881, William and Esther lived with their three children in Kidderminster.

William was first admitted to Powick Asylum on 23 November 1889, to be treated for Melancholia. The patient registers list his occupation as Carpet Weaver, and that his abode is Kidderminster Workhouse. The notes state that the cause of his melancholia is ‘loss of work and domestic unhappiness’ and that he ‘has attempted to cut his throat three times during the last seven months. In 1891, William is listed in the Powick Asylum census. William was despondent and low in mood during his time at the asylum, but steadily improved, and was discharged on 8 June 1891. The case notes state that he was allowed to leave the asylum, but ‘as he has no friends willing and able to receive him, he was ordered to go [to] the workhouse’.

Unfortunately, William was admitted to Powick asylum for a second time on 1 July 1897, this time for mania. At this point, he is still described as ‘married,’ suggesting that Esther was still alive, In the 1891 census, an Elizabeth Marston is listed as a lodger to the Thompson family in Kidderminster, along with Leonard Marston (11), Percy (8), and Minnie (17). Elizabeth’s occupation is ‘charwoman’. Whilst there are no baptism records to confirm that Esther and William were his parents, a Percy Marston was born in Kidderminster in 1882. The matching names and ages of the children suggest that ‘Elizabeth Marston’ is in fact Esther, as it has not been possible to find an Esther Marston in the census for 1891. In 1901, Minnie (now Bowne) lived in Ladywood, Birmingham, with three children, and her brother Leonard Marston, but Esther was not living with them. George William, Leonard, Percy, and Minnie all married and had children. It has not been possible to confirm the date of death of Esther.

William’s physical condition rapidly worsened whilst at the asylum, and he died at Powick Asylum on 28 August 1907, having suffered from extreme dyspnoea, or difficulty breathing. 

Research by Maddie Hale, 2026.

To view William’s patient records, click here.

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