Asylum patient records
Overview
If you have an ancestor who was recorded at an asylum in one of the censuses, or whose death certificate showed that they died in an asylum or mental hospital you may wish to understand more about why they were admitted, their length of stay or treatment. We may hold records that can help for these institutions:
- Upton Asylum, Chester (opened 1829) later known as the Deva Hospital, then West Cheshire Hospital, now the Countess of Chester Hospital.
- Parkside Asylum, Macclesfield (opened 1871)
- Winwick Asylum, Warrington (opened 1897)
Please be aware that you may not be able to access records less than 100 years old because of the sensitive information they contain and medical confidentiality. It may be possible to use our research service to carry out the research on your behalf. We can advise on this on a case by case basis.
Step 1 - Admissions and discharges
If you know the date when the patient was admitted, start by using the admission registers, which should also give you the date of discharge. There are also reception orders that contain similar information and from 1907 medical registers.If you know the date when the patient died or was discharged, start by using the registers of discharges, removals and deaths, which should also give you the date of admission. Separate volumes were often used for 'pauper' patients (paid for by local authorities), and for private patients; for males and females; and for voluntary or informal, temporary and certified patients after 1930.
Step 2 - Indexes
If you don’t know when a patient arrived or left the asylum, start by using the patient indexes (if they exist), to find the date of admission and from there the date of discharge. Patient indexes are usually grouped under initial letters, recording all patients resident in the asylum on a particular date, followed by new admissions added in chronological order. The UK, lunacy patients admission registers 1846-1912 are also available to search on the subscription website Ancestry and can be useful for finding dates of admissions.
Step 3 - Case notes
Once you have the dates of admission and discharge, you can check whether any case notes have survived. These are usually organised either by admission date or date of departure or death. Case notes were usually contained on large double-sided sheets that were then bound into larger books in annual series. They consist of a detailed examination of the patient on admission and later reports of the progress of the patient at set intervals. Parkside case notes for 1870-1910 have been digitised and can be viewed on our online catalogue.
Step 4 - Other records
Some shorter runs of records have survived that include details of patients. These are worth checking if the covering dates match the period your ancestor was in the asylum. These include Friend’s Address Books (Parkside only), Patients Books, Registers of Mechanical Restraint and Burial Registers. There are also records that deal with the general day to day running of the asylum, including minutes, annual reports, accounts, staff records and correspondence.
Summary of holdings
The summary gives covering dates for each series of records. These are not always complete for all years or classes of patients. Our online catalogue will show the dates of individual registers within these categories. Other more recent records may be held by the local health authority for the areas concerned.
Table showing a summary of asylum records held at Cheshire Archives & Local Studies
| Summary of holdings (covering dates only; not complete for all years or classes of patients) | Upton Asylum, Chester (ref. ZHW) | Parkside Asylum, Macclesfield (ref. NHM 8) | Winwick Asylum, Warrington (ref. NHW 3) |
|---|
| Reception Orders |
1829-1945
(1829-1864 Indexed by patient name in catalogue)
|
None |
None |
| Admission Registers |
1845-1958 |
1871-1963 |
1897-1997 |
| Medical Registers |
None |
1907-1956 |
1907-1930 |
| Case Notes |
1899-1959 |
1871-1950 |
1922-1925 |
| Discharge/Removals/Deaths |
1845-1954 |
1871-1963 |
1918-1987 |
| Patient Indexes |
1864-1958 |
1871-1935 |
1902-1956 |
| Friends’ Address Books |
None |
c.1871-1928 |
None |
| Patient Books |
None |
None |
1934-1961 |
| Registers of Mechanical Restraint |
1947-1961 |
1871-1959 |
1912-1937 |
| Burial Registers |
None |
1919-1954 |
1939-1981 |