County Asylums Act 1808

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County Asylums Act 1808
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1801-1816).svg
Long title An Act for the better Care and Maintenance of Lunaticks, being Paupers or Criminals in England.
Citation 48 Geo. 3. c. 96
Dates
Royal assent 23 June 1808

The County Asylums Act 1808 (48 Geo. 3. c. 96) formed mental health law in England and Wales from 1808 to 1845. Notably, the Asylums Act established public mental asylums in Britain that could be operated by the county government. [1] It permitted, but did not compel, justices of the peace to provide establishments for the care of pauper lunatics, so that they could be removed from workhouses and prisons. [2]

The act is also known as Mr. Wynn's Act, after Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn, a Welsh member of parliament for Montgomeryshire, who promoted the act. [3]

See also

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References

  1. Roberts, Andrew. "Mental Health History Timeline". studymore.org.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  2. Ayers, Gwendoline (1971). England's First State Hospitals. London: Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  3. Thorne, R. G. (1986). "WILLIAMS WYNN, Charles Watkin (1775-1850), of Langedwyn, Denb". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 5 June 2017.