Stirling District Asylum

• Reference:GB 559 SD
• Dates of Creation:1869-1977
• Language of Material:English
• Physical Description:
  174 volumes

• Scope and Content

  The collection includes patient records and administrative records of the Stirling District Asylum from its first intake of patients in 1869 (approximately 4 years after the asylum was established in 1865) to c.1977. In addition to which, the collection also includes editions of the Asylum's newsletter The Passing Hour.

  The patient records cover 1869-1977 and include admissions registers (1869-1941); indeces (approx. 1894-1977); registers of death (1869-1977); case notes (Male and Female 1869-1918) and registers of discharges and removals (1869-1961).

  The administrative records cover 1864-1967 and include the annual reports of the asylum (1905-1914); reports of Scotch Districts and Royal Asylums (1890-1894, 1903-1904, 1907-1908) which includes the annual reports of the Stirling District Lunacy Board (1891, 1892, 1984, 1908); reports of the Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland and the General Board of Control for Scotland (1864-1914 the body served as Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland from 1864-1914 and as the General Board of Control for Scotland 1915-1933. Reports are held for 1864-1868, 1879-1883, 1889-1898, 1904-1933); circulars and memoranda (1865-1967); Minute Book of Visiting Committee (1890-1907).

  There are no dedicated staff records. Any information on staff is incidental to the annual reports of the asylum which can be found for the years 1891-1892, 1894 and 1905-1914.

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Stirling District Lunatic Asylum was established in 1865 by the Stirling District Lunacy Board and situated on a site adjacent to the recently opened Royal Scottish National Hospital. The first patients were admitted in June 1869, many being transferred from asylums in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. As the institution was located in Larbert it was also commonly referred to as 'Larbert Asylum' and it officially changed its name from Stirling District Asylum to Bellsdyke Hospital in 1960. The hospital was transferred to the National Health Service in 1948.

• Arrangement

  The collection is arranged chronologically.

• Access Information

  Open

  Closure periods apply to sensitive medical data. For more information please contact the archivist.

• Note

  Additional material is held at Falkirk Archives: building plans (1881-1947); copies of Passing Hour (1901-1903).

• Other Finding Aids

  Catalogue is available on the Archives and Special Collections webpage (http://libguides.stir.ac.uk/archives/SDA)

• Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

  Bound volumes

• Conditions Governing Use

  Contact the archivist.

• Custodial History

  The historical records of the asylum were transferred to the University of Stirling Archives in April 2012. Previously held by NHS Forth Valley.