Ida Darwin Hospital
| Fulbourn Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust | |
 |
|
| Geography | |
| Location | Cambridge |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS |
| Hospital type | Specialist |
| Affiliated university | University of Cambridge |
| Services | |
| Speciality | Psychiatric Hospital |
| History | |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.cpft.nhs.uk/ |
Fulbourn Hospital is a mental health facility located between the Cambridgeshire village of Fulbourn and the Cambridge city boundary at Cherry Hinton, about 5 miles (8 km) south-east of the city centre.
Until recently the main Victorian building was used as a psychiatric hospital, while the 1960s Kent House to the west was built for acute mental health patients and the Ida Darwin Hospital to the east was developed for the mentally handicapped. The main buildings have now been transformed into a Business Park, with the hospital now occupying the neighbouring land. From 540 patients at the hospitals in 1981 the number has been considerably reduced, with many ex-patients being moved into the community.
The Ida Darwin Hospital site is situated behind Fulbourn Hospital. It is run and managed by the same trust, with both hospitals sharing the same facilities and staff pool.
The Lunacy Act 1845 and County Asylums Act 1845 mandated that all rate-levying authorities must provide a public asylum. In 1848 there was an agreement to set up a pauper lunatic asylum between Fulbourn and Cherry Hinton. The Justices met in Quarter Session of the County and Borough of Cambridge and the Liberty of the Isle of Ely (later known as The Three Bodies) who would have to raise the money to pay for the Asylum. They set up a committee with representatives from the three authorities to be known as The Committee of Visitors. On 30 September 1856 Admiral The Earl of Hardwicke, the Lord Lieutenant of the county and a member of the Visitors committee, laid the foundation stone and builder William Webster completed the construction. The asylum opened on 6 November 1858 as the County Pauper Lunatic Asylum for Cambridgeshire, the Isle of Ely and the Borough of Cambridge.
Dr Edward Langdon Bryan was the first Medical Superintendent, and his sister Miss Bryan was matron.
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