Littlemore Lunatic Assylum

[Deb Paulson]

I'm looking for the reason my husband's GGGGrandmother was in the Littlemore Lunatic Assylum (2x). 
She shows up there in the 1861 census.  And she was admitted there again on 1 Oct 1870 (age 62).  She died there 29 Feb 1896.  Her no. was listed as 48797 and her name was Rebecca Ayres.  She's listed as a pauper, but was that the only reason she was there?

She was baptised on 8 May 1808 at Ambrosden Church & was listed as being from Blackthorn.  Her parents were Samuel & Ann Ayers.

Your help would be greatly appreciated!

[CarolA3]

Hello Deb, and welcome to RootsChat 

In 1994 some of the Littlemore Hospital records were transcribed, and I have an ancient copy of the CD issued by the Oxfordshire Family History Society.  Here's all that I found about Rebecca.

22 May 1854 Admitted to Littlemore, patient no. 1002. (n.b. this might not be her first admission as new numbers were issued on re-admission)

6 Jan 1864 Transferred (with many others) to Worcester County Asylum at Powick.  (This was common practice when hospitals were overcrowded)

4 Mar 1896 Buried at Littlemore Hospital, age 88, last abode Bicester.

Sadly that's all I could piece together from the CD.  Details of patient deaths were transcribed up to 1893 only, presumably because of the 100-year rule, although all of the burials were included.  Also none of the admission registers were transcribed at all, so we don't know when she returned from Powick.

Do you have her death certificate which would show her cause of death?  Did you know that her hospital records should be available from the Oxfordshire Health Archives?  I obtained a copy of my g-grandfather's Littlemore records years ago for a modest copying fee - well worth it.

Must stop now as it's stupidly late (early!) here.

Carol

[hanes teulu]

A warm welcome to Rootschat.
Have you checked the end column of each census 1861 - 1891?
Note - asylum inmates/patients often recorded by initials, not full name. Also, place of birth might vary - Blackthorne/Bicester.

[Galium]

 Also none of the admission registers were transcribed at all, so we don't know when she returned from Powick.

The asylum registers that Ancestry have show that the date Rebecca was discharged from the Worcestershire asylum - 1 October 1870 - is the same as the date she was readmitted to Littlemore.