Project Description
The Lancashire County Museum Service, part of Lancashire County Council, holds the Whittingham Hospital Collection within its wider Medical Collections relating to health care across Lancashire. Consisting of just over 300 items the collection was acquired in 1999 from the Guild Community Healthcare NHS Trust.
The Museum’s collection reflects some aspects of life at Whittingham including items relating to its farming history, community and patient treatment. Objects include keys, sporting and farming memorabilia, patient items (such as swallowed objects), as well as photographs of staff and patients, documents and paintings, including a set of watercolours from the late 1970s and 1980s depicting some of the most important buildings within the hospital grounds.
The collection is able to give a real understanding of how the hospital had a strong sense of community, as well as how mental ill health was treated. Over the years additional items have been added to this collection through donation by individuals associated with the site as workers, neighbours and family members of the patients.
The collection reflects the thoughts of Dr Clark who, throughout the early 20th century, had done much to foster social activities, which he believed to be of great therapeutic value. Many of the items in the collection show the pantomimes and concerts that were a popular feature of hospital life. Dr Clark’s successor, Dr Grant, a sport enthusiast, continued and extended these activities. The collection also highlights his ideas around encouraging sport activities which became part of day-to-day life of the hospital.
Whittingham Miscellaneous Swallowed Objects (LANMS. 1999.5.20). Note: swallowing objects is a potentially harmful practice. Please don’t try this at home.