Berkshire Registration Districts and Broadmoor

[Neil_A]

Hi all

I'm investigating the possibility that a relative of mine was a patient/inmate of Broadmoor in the late 1930s/early 1940s. Indeed I think he may have ended his days there, though I have yet to find his final resting place (or date of his demise). Sadly he has a very common name!

What registration district(s) would you expect someone's death to be registered for deaths at Broadmoor? In theory, it's Easthampstead but could it be a neighbouring district and if so what are they?

And if my relative was taken seriously ill at Broadmoor what major hospital at the time could he have been transferred to? Again looking for clues to a registration district.

And finally (!) really testing someone's expertise on Broadmoor. In the 1930s would it have been an asylum for patients nationwide rather than specifically the SE of England? Asking as my relative was from the North of England though otherwise would have entered the prison system, which I believe Broadmoor was infamous for.

Many thanks

Neil
 

[Watson]

I had a case of someone who died at Broadmoor about 1930, and that was Easthampstead reg. district.

The Royal Berkshire Hospital is in Reading.

[Comberton]

This covers the period you mentioned.

www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/windsor.html

[KGarrad]

Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of England's three high-security psychiatric hospitals.

The hospital's catchment area consists of four National Health Service regions: London, Eastern, South East and South West. It is managed by the West London NHS Trust.

Crowthorne was in Easthampstead Registration District from 1894 until 1937.
Then in Windsor Registration District until 1967.
Back in Easthampstead from 1967 until 1974.
Then in Bracknell RD until 1998.

[jc26red]

Reading Records Office should be able to help you regarding deaths at Broadmoor.

http://ww2.berkshirenclosure.org.uk/calmview/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=DH14&pos=10

Broadmoor was still technically a hospital back then and had their own doctors, inmates/patients might not have left the grounds and doctors/surgeons went to them.

More recently, just before it closed, I remember one infamous patient having an outpatient treatment inpatient Frimley Park Hospital a number of years ago, my husband was there on the same day and there was lots of security. Although this isn’t going to help you much as the hospital was only built in 1974. We live close enough to hear the siren tests every Monday morning at 10 am and several times we were called to collect our children from school because of a breakout. Of course, Broadmoor is no longer a high security unit and has been rebuilt. The sirens stopped many years ago now.

[Neil_A]

Many thanks, everyone.

The status of Easthampstead over its history as a registration district had confused me.
I am glad to report Windsor as the appropriate BMD area and how wonderful the archives team at Royal Berkshire are re. records they hold, what (if any) access I could possibly get, and how I would go about it.

Just in case anyone does what I do and search for keywords in the Rootschat search for guidance... The RBA catalogue lists the information Reading Archives hold and in some case the names of those prisoners/patients held there if they ended their days there. Coroners and police reports are interesting and subject to less time-restricted access.