Hanwell Asylum

The (1st Middlesex) County Asylum at Hanwell, also known as Hanwell Insane Asylum, and Hanwell Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, was built for the pauper insane. Hanwell was the first purpose-built asylum in England and Wales, and it opened in 1831. Some of the original buildings are now part of the headquarters for the West London Mental Health (NHS) Trust (WLMHT).

Its first superintendent, Dr William Charles Ellis, was known in his lifetime for his pioneering work and his adherence to his "great principle of therapeutic employment". Sceptical contemporaries were amazed that such therapy speeded recovery at Hanwell. This greatly pleased the visiting Justices of the Peace as it reduced the long term cost of keeping each patient. Under the third superintendent John Conolly the institution became famous as the first large asylum to dispense with all mechanical restraints.

The asylum is next to the village of Hanwell but parochially belongs to the suburb of Southall (and before a boundary change it was in Norwood). It is about 8 miles or 13 km west of Central London and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Uxbridge. (O/S map ed 1896)

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Hanwell

Coordinates: 51°31′08″N 0°20′15″W / 51.5189°N 0.3376°W / 51.5189; -0.3376

Hanwell is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, west London, England. Hanwell is about 2.5 km west of Ealing Broadway.

History

Etymology

The earliest surviving reference is AD 959 when it is recorded as Hanewelle in pledge, when Alfwyn (a Saxon) pawned his land for money to go on a pilgrimage. The origin of the name is uncertain; various suggestions have been put forward.

Near to the old Rectory and close to Hanwell spring is a large stone of about a ton in weight. In Anglo-Saxon the word Han denoted a boundary stone. This juxtaposition of these two natural features could have given rise to the name Han-well which dates back to before the Domesday Book.

The original borders of the parish stretched from the bend of the River Brent at Greenford and followed the river down to the River Thames. Its geography, before the draining of the marshes, formed a natural boundary between the different tribes of the south east of England. This gives some support to the suggestion that Han came from the Saxon han for cockerel. If so, the name is derived from Han-créd-welle. Han-créd or cock-crow meant the border between night and day, and is neither one nor the other. So Hanwell would mean well upon the boundary. For more see: River Brent: Hydronymy.