The Role of the Poor Law in the Care of the Insane in the Nineteenth Century

Where writings in abnormal and clinical psychology refer to the ways in which the ‘insane’ were dealt with in the past, they almost universally assume that the two dominant features were the asylum and the asylum doctor. The large, nineteenth century public asylums were built for the ‘pauper insane’ and the vast majority of those regarded as insane were pauper insane. As a consequence of this the Poor Law played a crucial role in the care of the insane and it was the local Poor Law officials who, together with magistrates, determined who were to be regarded as the pauper insane and whether such individuals were to be sent to the asylum or dealt with in other ways. Even at the end of the nineteenth century about 20% of the pauper insane were resident in workhouses and not asylums. There was also considerable local variation in how officials handled the problem of insanity. Many of the pauper insane retained in workhouses remained there for long periods and their treatment was often unsatisfactory.