County Asylums Act 1808

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County Asylums Act 1808
Act of Parliament
Citation48 Geo. 3. c. 96

The County Asylums Act 1808 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]

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References[edit]

  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.