| Description | No formal provision was made for the care of the mentally ill until 1845, with the passing of County and Borough Lunatic Asylums Amendment Act. This was followed by the Lunatics Act of 1853, which required all boroughs, either separately or jointly, to provide asylums. Following these acts, Birmingham Council made provision for the founding of an asylum, buying land in Winson Green. The building was completed in 1850. With an increase in the need for asylum accommodation, a second institution was founded at Rubery Hill, in 1881. Along with these two institutions, some of the less chronic cases would be cared for within the workhouse itself.
The volumes contain the names of asylum inmates (in alphabetical order), the asylum in which they were maintained, the period of maintenance and the costs involved. As well as the payment out of the Parliamentary Grant, further monies towards the cost of maintenance received from other sources - i.e. the family of the inmate - are also listed. The volumes are not indexed. |