This is a great piece Wendy. I’m so pleased that Rolanda has been recognised in some capacity and of all those serendipitous connections.
I feel I need to go and spend some time at the Wellcome Collection too. They hold so many stories.
One of my first jobs as a teenager was as a cleaner at the local Psychiatric hospital. A huge Victorian building plagued by rumours of barbaric treatment and hauntings. It’s also now flats.
I imagine it was a strange experience to volunteer there, but the world was ver different then?
Thanks, Margaret. I'm really pleased Rolanda and her art is remembered. So much went over my head at the time, so researching and writing this cast a whole new light on it. And the work the Adamson Collection is doing to conserve the art created there is amazing.
Those Edwardian asylums dotted all over the country were extraordinary buildings, weren't they? Which one did you work at as a teen? The curved echoing corridor at Netherne that linked the wards seemed to go on forever. The story of how they evolved into psychiatric hospitals and then became redundant as drug treatments became available in the community is in itself really interesting. So many are now flats, as you say.
It was very "in at the deep end" working there as a volunteer at 18, but we forged great friendships. Character forming!
This is wonderful Wendy - how fantastic to be able to reconnect your own memories with Rolanda's bigger story whilst unfurling it all for for the rest of us (and even for her own family!) Definitely worth hanging on to those old diaries!
Thanks for going back to the start to read it, Ollie! It was a revelation to come across that film of Rolanda and learn her history. I still wonder why she was admitted in the first place and why she remained for so long. I’m glad there’s been recognition for her art and that she is remembered.
Also, I managed a mental health advocacy scheme in Medway and Swale. Several of our advocacy partners had been released from long stay hospitals, mostly to small group homes.
My grandfather was in Netherne for a while. All I know is that he had 'trouble with his nerves'. My mum worked as a nursing auxiliary in West Park, Epsom, and I grew up in the town where there were five long-stay hospitals, psychiatric and what we then called 'mental handicap'. The wedding reception for my first marriage was held in the social club at the hospital.
I was a volunteer director for CSV, long into care in the community, late 80s. I worked on an Independent Living Scheme in Greenwich. Now going to some of the links... I love Clair Wills's work.
So sad that she was just left there for more than 30 years, I can’t even imagine that , with no review ? when clearly she didn’t need to be there. I find that so sad. There are plenty of safeguards in place today to make sure things like this don’t happen, but sadly we still do hear horror stories. Very interesting post , thank you for writing it 😀
Thanks for reading, Francis. I know, it seems extraordinary now.
At the time Rolanda was admitted in the late 1940s, it was probably viewed as a more “progressive” treatment option than if she’d been in an equivalent institution in Italy. But to remain there all those years… I can’t imagine what that was like for her.
My mum was a trainee nurse at Netherne in 79/80! She still has a diary from that time too, full of poems she wrote about working there.
Oh wow, what a coincidence! Does she remember Rolanda, I wonder? She was hard to miss! Good to meet you here, Sarah.
This is a great piece Wendy. I’m so pleased that Rolanda has been recognised in some capacity and of all those serendipitous connections.
I feel I need to go and spend some time at the Wellcome Collection too. They hold so many stories.
One of my first jobs as a teenager was as a cleaner at the local Psychiatric hospital. A huge Victorian building plagued by rumours of barbaric treatment and hauntings. It’s also now flats.
I imagine it was a strange experience to volunteer there, but the world was ver different then?
Thanks, Margaret. I'm really pleased Rolanda and her art is remembered. So much went over my head at the time, so researching and writing this cast a whole new light on it. And the work the Adamson Collection is doing to conserve the art created there is amazing.
Those Edwardian asylums dotted all over the country were extraordinary buildings, weren't they? Which one did you work at as a teen? The curved echoing corridor at Netherne that linked the wards seemed to go on forever. The story of how they evolved into psychiatric hospitals and then became redundant as drug treatments became available in the community is in itself really interesting. So many are now flats, as you say.
It was very "in at the deep end" working there as a volunteer at 18, but we forged great friendships. Character forming!
It was called Parkside in Macclesfield.
https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/parkside-macclesfield/
A huge place. Yes it’s often with hindsight and teenage diaries that the jigsaw comes together.
Ooh yes, that's imposing. I should have said Victorian/Edwardian. Netherne was opened 1905 but of course a lot of them were Victorian.
This is wonderful Wendy - how fantastic to be able to reconnect your own memories with Rolanda's bigger story whilst unfurling it all for for the rest of us (and even for her own family!) Definitely worth hanging on to those old diaries!
Thank you Vicki, and for sharing it! The ripple effect of that fragment of recorded memory has been magical.
Thank you for sharing this, Wendy. Such a fascinating read (and film!)
Thanks for going back to the start to read it, Ollie! It was a revelation to come across that film of Rolanda and learn her history. I still wonder why she was admitted in the first place and why she remained for so long. I’m glad there’s been recognition for her art and that she is remembered.
Also, I managed a mental health advocacy scheme in Medway and Swale. Several of our advocacy partners had been released from long stay hospitals, mostly to small group homes.
My grandfather was in Netherne for a while. All I know is that he had 'trouble with his nerves'. My mum worked as a nursing auxiliary in West Park, Epsom, and I grew up in the town where there were five long-stay hospitals, psychiatric and what we then called 'mental handicap'. The wedding reception for my first marriage was held in the social club at the hospital.
I was a volunteer director for CSV, long into care in the community, late 80s. I worked on an Independent Living Scheme in Greenwich. Now going to some of the links... I love Clair Wills's work.
Thanks, Maria. How interesting. What year would your grandfather have been at Netherne?
Yes, Clair Wills’ essays are great. I will read her new(ish) book.
I really don't know. I just heard it said, when I was a young child, that he had stayed in Netherne. So maybe in the sixties.
So sad that she was just left there for more than 30 years, I can’t even imagine that , with no review ? when clearly she didn’t need to be there. I find that so sad. There are plenty of safeguards in place today to make sure things like this don’t happen, but sadly we still do hear horror stories. Very interesting post , thank you for writing it 😀
Thanks for reading, Francis. I know, it seems extraordinary now.
At the time Rolanda was admitted in the late 1940s, it was probably viewed as a more “progressive” treatment option than if she’d been in an equivalent institution in Italy. But to remain there all those years… I can’t imagine what that was like for her.
This is fascinating for sure - a compassionate glimpse into a world most of us will never have known (or have to know). Beautifully written, too!
Thank you, Cath. Sorry I didn't spot your comment at the time you wrote it. Really kind of you.
Thank you, Maureen. Thanks for sharing it, too. Hope you had a good Christmas. Pleased to see you are able to write again and to comment.