Identity area
Reference code
CAN
Title
Date(s)
- 1883 - 1992 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
101 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Cane Hill Asylum, later Cane Hill Mental Hospital, was opened in December 1883 by the Justices of the County of Surrey. Surrey already possessed two asylums, at Wandsworth and Brookwood, and Cane Hill was intended to alleviate the shortage of spaces which was particularly being felt in several of the inner London Boroughs and by Richmond Guardians. It was built on 148 acres of land purchased from the Portnalls Estate by the Justices of the County of Surrey in order to alleviate the overcrowding of the existing Surrey asylums. (The remaining Portnalls Estate land would be purchased for the hospital in 1914). At the time of opening, Cane Hill could accomodate around 1200 patients and another 800 places were added in the next decade. It stood on high ground and had commanding views of the surrounding countryside.
In 1889 the hospital was taken over by the newly created London County Council, along with Hanwell, Colney Hatch, Banstead and Claybury Asylums which had previously been administered by Middlesex. (Wandsworth passed from Surrey to Middlesex County Council; Surrey would get another asylum with the opening of Netherne in 1909.) Cane Hill by this time was expected to serve mainly South London and also, for the time being, Croydon. However as a County Borough, Croydon would be expected to provide its own asylum in due course.
The newly formed National Health Service took over its administration in 1948 and it served the area of South London stretching from London Bridge to Crystal Palace as well as Beckenham and Penge. At the time of its 70th anniversary in 1953 it was reported to be overcrowded, despite modernisation to the interiors.
The last patients left on 15th March 1992. The hospital buildings are currently unused although a purpose built medium secure unit for the assessment of persons awaiting trial was set up in the hospital grounds in the 1980s. This remains open.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Accession Number: A771
Chaplaincy records of Cane Hill Hospital
Service register for Cane Hill Hospital, 1969 - 1992. (Signed by officials at last service to mark closure of hospital 29 Feb 1992).(CAN/4/5/1)
Service register of District Chaplain Bromley Health Authority/Ravensbourne NHS Trust 1990-1995. (CAN/4/5/2)
Register of confirmations at Cane Hill, 1952-1960 (CAN/4/4/1)
Item date: 1952-1995
Accession date: 05/08/2004
Custodial history: Transferred when Chaplain (Rev. N.Bunker) leaving for another parish.
Many of the patients in Cane Hill at this time were subsequently transferred to the Portnalls Unit.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Some of the records in our collections contain sensitive and personal data that we have a legal responsibility to control access to. In these circumstances, staff may search the collection on your behalf, having received consent or proof of death of the individual concerned.
Please contact us at archives@croydon.gov.uk for further information regarding the particular collection you wish to access.
You can make a request for information which may be in a closed record under the Freedom of Information Act, 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations, 2004. For more information about making a request, see the Croydon Council website (www.croydon.gov.uk). Making a request does not guarantee access to the information you ask for, as there may be a valid exemption from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
GB-352-can
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
24/06/2015