Borocourt hospital
Little was understood about mental illness before the 20th century and sufferers were either sent into an asylum or left to roam the streets. In the early 1900s significant advancements were made in the understanding and treatment of these mental patients and mental illness was split into various categories, including subnormality. Sub-normality was deemed a separate entity requiring a different approach combined with different investigations and ways of management. This identified a need for the provision of special long stay institutions for their care. Accordingly, in 1930 and under the auspices of the Mental Deficiency Act 1913, Wyfold Court mansion and its 264 acre estate was purchased for the sum of £18,000 (approx £5.5 million in today’s terms) by the then Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Reading and Oxford local authorities - the name ‘Borocourt’ being derived from the incorporation of the initial letters of these authorities.
Originally built between 1872 and 1878, Wyfold Court had been designed by the notable architect George Somers Clarke for Edward Hermon, a wealthy Lancastrian industrialist, MP for Preston and a lavish patron of the arts. Built in the extremely ornate Gothic Style, it attracted much acclaim being considered as one of the finest examples of its type - later described by Pevsner as: ‘A Nightmare Abbey in spirit, French Flamboyant Gothic with a touch of Scottish baronial in style’. At that time the property had no mains water or electricity services – water being obtained from a 200 foot deep well and lighting from lamps burning acetylene gas - generated in a separate building known as the Gas House. Despite his wealth and success, Edward Hermon had only a few years in which to enjoy the property, dropping dead in the House of Commons in 1881. What Mr Herman would have thought about the later redevelopment of Wyfold Court into a mental institution cannot be known although his wife Emily herself developed a serious mental condition that required her to be ‘committed for lunacy’ in 1869. Originally named as Borocourt Certified Institution for Mental Defectives (a small improvement to the ‘Institution for Lunatics’ terminology previously used) Wyfold Court had stood empty for some years. The repair, updating and conversion of the mansion and other buildings took a further 2-3 years to complete before the arrival of the first residents in May 1933. The hospital provided care for all patients from children to adults and for those suffering from other afflictions in addition to their sub-normality – primarily tuberculosis and epilepsy. Society at this time placed a great deal of emphasis on the qualities of respectability and morality. Unfortunately, occasions arose where the term ‘sub-normality’ was applied to some of those seen as ‘having brought shame upon the family’. It is recorded that at least one young lady, then aged 15 and with some degree of learning difficulty, was committed to Borocourt ‘to protect her chastity’ - she remained for over 30 years. Others, primarily young girls ‘from good backgrounds’ having a child born out of wedlock, were also institutionalised, their condition conveniently being seen as ‘evidence’ of mental sub-normality. At first the mansion and old stable block were used to house patients, supplemented in the late 30s by the building of four more wards. Binny Cox who worked as a nurse at the hospital at various times over a period of 40 years, recalls them as being used to accommodate the male patients whilst the females were accommodated in the mansion, the upper floors of which were initially used as dormitories – ‘one containing some 80 beds with hardly enough room to squeeze in-between’. Initially a Joint Board ran Borocourt Institution with the nursing staff being supervised by Matron Gill. Binny recalls Matron Gill as being a respected but somewhat formidable lady of Yorkshire extraction who ‘enjoyed an argument’. Binny also recalls that the patients were of childish minds even when of adult age, were normally very pleasant and rarely caused difficulties, although childish tricks such as climbing out of windows were not uncommon. From the outset the hospital employed a form of ‘occupational therapy’ with able-bodied patients being trained to do simple domestic work tasks or working with animals and crops on the farm which, until about 1958, formed part of the hospital estate. In many ways Borocourt was largely self-sufficient. It was taken over by the NHS in 1948 and in 1950 Dr Gerald O’Gorman became Physician Superintendent. Described as being ‘full of vigour and unashamedly paternalistic in his approach to the care of the mentally handicapped’, he brought about some of the most significant changes. Dr O’Gorman championed the patients and their need for occupation and self-respect. He pioneered many changes in the hospital – including developing a large occupational therapy department, a factory where the patients could work and earn money, and opening a range of out- lying hostels and a school. He organised sports teams and dances and relaxed hospital rules, giving patients the freedom to go to local shops and take jobs in the community. He also championed the nurses, admiring their discipline and devotion. Under the NHS various additional buildings, including staff houses, were added and in the 1960s Borocourt housed over 600 people. The institute included children's wards, but these were gradually phased out as it was no longer thought appropriate to house children and adults together. The emphasis was on training and rehabilitation to enable patients to move on to sheltered accommodation or independent living; day care patients also came to use the training and occupational therapy centres. Despite the advancements, the hospital did not escape criticism. In 1981, a TV documentary on the care of the mentally handicapped caused much concern amongst the public, press and the Department of Health. It included scenes from Borocourt showing patients suffering from self-harm and neglect, apparently due to nursing staff being overwhelmed by low staffing levels and overwork. Somewhat ahead of its time (and government thinking) the documentary emphasised the view that large hospitals were bad for patients and that the answer lay with the creation of small care units. Similarly in January 1983 an extract from Hansard reads as follows: ‘Conditions on a locked ward at Borocourt Hospital near Peppard have been described in a government report as “quite appalling”.’ Another ward was slammed as ‘one of the worst members of the visiting team had seen in a hospital for the mentally handicapped...The staff seemed to feel that they were at the end of the line,’ reported the inspectors. The concept of providing treatment by the creation of small care units began to be developed, finally resulting in the introduction of the Care In The Community programme. Following the resettlement of the last remaining patients and staff in 1993, the hospital finally closed. Thus ended Borocourt’s 60 year history in both the provision of care for those with severe learning disabilities and in the pioneering and introduction of numerous advancements in care treatment. Today Wyfold Court mansion has been completely restored to its original splendid appearance and now contains a number of prestigious apartments. It is thought that little, if any, evidence of its previous incarnation remains.
