Not A BRHG Event
An illustrated talk about a notorious madhouse run as a private business for 120 years, with some startling revelations. Based on the BRHG publication No Cure, No Fee, Boarding excepted. Long before the NHS, those who did not fit ‘the norm’ were consigned to workhouses or to private lunatic asylums. The latter provided a profitable business opportunity, as the wealthy were only too keen to offload family members whose behaviour was inconvenient. It was a system open to abuses that Daniel Defoe […]
Not A BRHG Event
An illustrated talk about a notorious madhouse run as a private business for 120 years, with some startling revelations. Based on the BRHG publication No Cure, No Fee, Boarding excepted. Long before the NHS, those who did not fit ‘the norm’ were consigned to workhouses or to private lunatic asylums. The latter provided a profitable business opportunity, as the wealthy were only too keen to offload family members whose behaviour was inconvenient. It was a system open to abuses that Daniel Defoe […]
Not A BRHG Event
Inspired by Rosemary Caldicott's Life and Death of Hannah Wiltshire BRHG are pleased to announce that Bedminster based acta and Pick N Mix Theatre have researched, written and produced a play based on this fascinating story about their local workhouse. From their website: A retelling of the investigation into the events that took place at Bedminster Union Workhouse in 1855. Step into the haunting history of Bedminster’s Union Workhouse with an immersive play brought to life by two acta groups. […]
This meeting brings together local historians, and writer and director Ingrid Jones of the Bedminster based acta Community Theatre. We will discuss the process from the seed of an idea, to research, devising, scripting, rehearsal and performance. We will also consider the difficulties of doing 'history from below', researching periods beyond living memory, where to find the voices of people and how to create a script and theatre piece from this. This will be an open discussion with plenty of […]
The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act aimed to prevent the mentally afflicted from being incarcerated in workhouses for long periods. However, studies across the country have demonstrated that large numbers of people with mental health issues were being held in these institutions, sometimes in appalling conditions, throughout the Victorian period and even into the twentieth century. Data for Eastville workhouse (constructed in 1847) in east Bristol supports this trend, despite the fact that after 1845 […]
In 1855 rumours of murder and a cover up were circulating in the small north Somerset village of Walton-in-Gordano. An epileptic destitute country girl, Hannah Wiltshire, had died in the Bedminster Union Workhouse at Flax Bourton. The Board of Guardians were suspected of concealing the true magnitude of neglect at the workhouse, leading to accusations of medical negligence. Wiltshire’s death caused public outrage after letters were written to the local newspapers, sparking a campaign for […]
We are thrilled to be collaborating with the Bristol Reference Library for an opening the archives event on Saturday 13th April. There will be a choice selection of books and documents on display to view and peruse, complementing the themes of the forthcoming Bristol Radical History Festival. As the public library service built up its international affairs collection during the mid-1930s, interest in the Spanish Civil War was foremost. Historic items reflecting perspectives from both […]
Not A BRHG Event
'The Life and Death of Hannah Wiltshire' Accusations of murder and cover up in the Bedminster Union Workhouse were reported in the press during 1855 Thursday, 7th March 2024 at 19:30 This talk by Rosemary Caldicott is based on her popular booklet which delves into the treatment of the mentally ill and other vulnerable patients resident in the former Bedminster workhouse during the mid-19th century. Situated in Flax Burton, North Somerset, just outside Bristol, this workhouse played a pivotal […]
Not A BRHG Event
People's University of Fishponds - Sun 28 Jan 2024 - 7:00om - The Nissen Hut, Eastville Park, Bristol. Journalist, Fishponds Voice History columnist and Bristol Radical History Group author Mike Jempson will reveal some of the fascinating facts his research dug up about the old private madhouse which dominated Fishponds in its day. His talk includes some of the institution’s more startling treatments, the sensational public inquiry and the shameful end of the Mason dynasty - the family firm that […]
