| Administrative history | By an Act of Parliament of 1774 (14 George III cap. 49) the Justices in Quarter Sessions were required to licence private lunatic asylums and to appoint two Justices and a physician to inspect or 'visit' them. These asylums were further regulated by Acts of 1828 (9 George IV cap.41), 1832 (2 & 3 William IV cap.107) and 1845 (8 & 9 Victoria cap.100). Plans of buildings were to be submitted to the Justices; registers of admissions and visitors' report books were to be kept; and the Clerk to the Visitors notified of admissions, removals and discharges from the asylums.
The North Riding Justices do not seem to have concerned themselves with the licensing of private asylums before 1838, exercising their power under the 1832 Act (2 & 3 William IV cap. 107). Private asylums licensed in the North Riding included Gate Helmsley, Claxton Grange (in Bossall), Heworth (York), Clifton and Osbaldwick, all near York. |