Cefn Coed Asylum - Swansea

Ide put Cefn Coed on my list of top 5 Asylums currently in the UK, partly due to its condition which has seen minimal serious decay over the years. As with others of its kind a small part of the Hospital is still active which tends to help keep the metal thieves away and stop the place falling into complete disrepair.

I had wanted to get to this place for a number of years but never managed to get down, a five hour drive didn’t help things either. We decided to head down one night and crash in a cheap travel lodge so we could hit it first thing in the morning.

History

“The first official recording of a 'mentally ill patient' being admitted into a hospital in Europe was way back in 1407 at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London. During this time the practitioners who ran these establishments commonly referred to as 'madhouses', were unlicensed and saw it more of a business than a place of care and rehabilitation with little to no regard to patients well being. In 1774 the 'Mad House Act' was introduced to address concerns about the treatment and care of mentally ill patients, It also introduced licensing requirements and yearly routine inspections. A few years later 'The County Asylum Act of 1845' was brought in which made it a requirement for all UK counties to have an Asylum,Over 100 asylums were built after this act was introduced and the work saw inmates transition from prisoners to patients. During the 1800's attitudes around mental illness began to change especially when king George III was diagnosed with a mental disorder. The conditions varied depending on the institution but most shared common traits with overcrowding (some had up to 50 patients per ward), a strict daily routine under careful watch and complete segregation from the sexes. This however was later relaxed in the early 20th century when sexes were permitted to mix socially but still sleep within same sex wards. Woman generally came in for shorter periods of time than men, sometimes to recover from their tiring daily lives or post natal depression, They could also be sent there as a result of'problematic' marriages or giving birth to illegitimate children (even as a result of rape). After WW1 a lot of men were admitted to asylums due to 'Shell Shock', there daily routines were similar to that of the woman's with a strict time schedule revolving around work in the kitchens and bake houses. The treatments used in these asylums varied and rapidly changed through out the years. Until 1950 a treatment of paralysis caused by syphilis using malaria infected mosquitoes was used to keep the patients as calm and occupied as much as possible. Later on Electoconvulsive therapy which passed an electric current through the brain to induce an epileptic fit and the lobotomy which would aim to reduce tension or agitation but often severely damaged the brain and left patients suicidal would be common practice. (not counting the ones who didn't survive the barbaric procedure) Along with these harsh conditions were the restraints. Padded cells, straight jackets and finger less gloves were a common way to prevent the patients from harming themselves or others but were often used for ease of the workers. Although not as common 'continuous baths' were used were patients would be left in a bath for excessively long periods of time in dangerously hot temperatures, After 1890 all of these restraints were limited and could only be used by approval of a medical officer. There are well documented reports of the unsanitary conditions and even torture that occurred in these places throughout there history. In 1983 'The mental heath act' would see the patients in these asylums given back their full rights and it would now require certain people to agree whether someone has a mental disorder and requires to stay in a hospital, now known as being 'sectioned'. Banstead hospital was the first to close its doors in 1986 and over the coming years most others would follow either being demolished or converted into flats. There are still some Aslyums left in the UK standing derelict as a stale reminder of a horrifying past”.