Powick Hospital
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Formerly the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, Powick Hospital was founded in 1847 under the supervision of architects John R. Hamilton & James Medland of Gloucester and opened in the August of 1852.
Situated between Worcester and Malvern in an estate of approximately 46 acres just outside the village of Powick, Worcestershire, the asylum was originally erected for the accommodation of 200 inmates but was later extended.
The asylum also had a variety of workshops for various trades, a gas works, a farm, brewhouse, bakehouse and a chapel. The management of the asylum was carried on by a committee of visiting visitors. The treatment of the patients was carried out by a resident physician and qualified assistants.
The hospital became notorious for its use of LSD as a treatment for illnesses such as severe depression and schizophrenia.
It closed in 1989 and has now all but been torn down to make way for a housing estate. The main building, however, was converted into flats and the Superintendent's Residence was converted to company offices.
[edit] Trivia
- As a young man the composer Edward Elgar was appointed here as 'bandmaster' and composed a number of works for the attendants band.
- The use of LSD by psychiatrists in Britain was pioneered here, where some 700 people are thought to have received it. LSD was first used as a form of therapy by Powick Hospital's Dr Ronald Sandison in 1952, and a special LSD unit was set up in 1958. Sandison called the experiments Psycholytic (literally "mind loosening") Therapy.
