FIT OBJECTS of BENEFICENCE: CHARITY, INSANITY AND THE MIDDLE-CLASS CAUSE IN MID-VICTORIAN ENGLAND

Abstract

This article explores Victorian concerns about the middle-class insane after the 1845 Lunacy Acts which promoted rate-supported provision for pauper lunatics. Calls for appropriate and affordable care for those of middle-class status grew after 1845 and encompassed public, charitable and private initiatives. A key priority was to ensure that insanity did not pauperise those from the middle class but also that they could access support without losing their sense of independence and respectability. This usually meant there was an expectation that those from the middle class would contribute to the cost of care and not be totally reliant on the charity of others. The article finishes by looking at how one charitable hospital, the Northampton General Lunatic Asylum (later renamed St Andrew’s Hospital) developed and accommodated appropriate charitable support for the middle-class insane.