Curiously, Dr Seward in Dracula is depicted as a doctor in a mental institution—just as a real Dr Seward once treated patients at Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, among the most well-known asylums of the Victorian age.
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| Richard E. Grant in his iconic portrayal of Dr Seward |
We know that Stoker based several of his characters in the north of London and Middlesex, the London Zoo, Highgate and Hampstead. The Westenra family home of Hillingham has been very well identified by author and Dracula expert Rosie Fiore as being near Hendon, she has also identified the tomb of Lucy Westenra, in the graveyard of St. Mary's also in Hendon.
Colney Hatch is quite close to the action, if Stoker was reading the newspapers of this area then the name Dr Seward would have cropped up, it was while researching an unrelated event in Hendon from the mid 1880's that the name leapt out at me. In Dracula the character Dr Seward would be placed in Purfleet, on the other side of London.
Mr William Joseph Seward became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons on the 18th May 1875, by 1878 he was an assistant medical officer for Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, Friern Barnet in Middlesex, in November 1881 he was promoted to medical superintendent.
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| Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch in 1888 |
A keen cricketer, Seward would play for Southgate and also side his own team called Dr Seward's Eleven, playing against other doctors teams at Colney Hatch. A contemporary of Seward who played in the same league was Montague John Druitt.
Druitt was a barrister and school teacher who committed suicide in December 1888, he would become one of three people suspected of being Jack The Ripper by Chief Inspector Swanson of the Metropolitan Police. Dr Seward also had an interest in amatuer dramatics and was a member of the Lewisham Amatuer Dramatic Company.
The Morning Post - Tuesday, 10th May 1881;
"Highgate.
Edward Morris, a first class attendant at the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch, was charged on a summons with unlawfully assaulting and ill treating Charles Sharpe, a lunatic confined in that asylum.
Defendant pleaded guilty.
William Francis Padwick, one of the head attendants at the Colney Hatch Asylum, deposed that on Sunday morning, at about quarter past ten, he was in B3 Ward, when he heard a patient holloaing. He went out into the airing court to find where the sound came from, and found it proceeded from 14 recess window. Witness went across to the window and saw a patient, Charles Sharpe, lying on the floor, with Morris and two other attendants round him.
While witness was at the window, and going to call out to the attendants, Morris lifted his leg and kicked the patient in the side. It was a violent blow, but witness did not see more than one given, and the patient at that time was not calling out for help. He did not see anyone else but Morris kick the patient.
Witness called out to Morris when he saw him lift his leg, but defendant did not catch his voice quick enough. Witness told defendant he should report the occurrence to the inspector. Witness found a bruise on the patient, and informed the inspector, who came with Dr Seward and examined the patient.
Sharpe had four bruises on him. Morris told witness that Sharpe kicked him. Witness did not see how it commenced.
Cross examined - The patient was not a violent man to witness's knowledge. Defendant had been an attendant there nearly two years, his wages rising annually.
Dr. William Joseph Seward, assistant medical officer at the asylum, deposed that he examined the patient Sharpe, and found recent marks upon his left side and on the back, such as might have been caused by a kick inflicted with considerable force when the patient was on the ground.
Defendant said there had been a tussle with the patient; that they carried the patient to the recess; that the patient struck him; and that he then lost his temper and kicked him. He said that the other warders had come to his assistance.
Mr Brooke said nothing could justify an assault be an attendant on a patient in a lunatic asylum. Self control should be a fundamental principle to guide such attendants. Nothing could be gained by an adjournment, defendant having pleaded guilty, and he would be fined £2 and costs (5s 10d), or one month with hard labour.
The fine was paid."
The Times - Monday, 10th April 1882;
"Inquests.
On Saturday afternoon Dr George Danford Thomas, the Coroner for Central Middlesex, held an inquest at the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch, into the circumstances attending the death of Henry Sands, alias Williams, aged 28, a patient of that institution, who was killed by another patient named John Sheldon Fereday striking him several times with a shovel on Tuesday afternoon last.
The deceased, who had been a soldier, had been an inmate of the asylum for several years, and the accused, John Sheldon Fereday, who was suffering from religious mania, was admitted to the asylum in August last, from Hackney, where he was in training to be an officer in the Salvation Army.
By order of the Coroner, the accused was brought into court to hear the evidence. William Whitney said that he was an outdoor attendant. The deceased and Fereday on Tuesday afternoon were out on the farm at work. About half past four he heard a loud cry, and upon turning round he saw Fereday running away from the deceased, who was lying upon the ground.
He ran after Fereday and caught him and then he dropped the shovel that he had in his hand, and, in answer to witness, said that he had done nothing to the deceased. Joseph Hill, outdoor attendant, stated that he heard a noise, and upon looking round saw the deceased lying on the ground, while Fereday was standing over him, and he saw Fereday strike the deceased three times with the shovel that he had in his hand.
He ran up to the deceased and Fereday ran away. Fereday, in a rambling manner, stated that the patients had been annoying him, and that the deceased chewed tobacco and placed it in his beer, while the attendant Whitney had said in the afternoon that they would have his head. The attendants denied that the other patients or they themselves had annoyed Fereday at any time.
Three patients who were working close to the deceased and Fereday were called and gave evidence to seeing Fereday strike the deceased several times with a shovel. The deceased who was known as 'Corporal,' was a man who was always using very abusive and threatening language to the other patients, but never struck any of them, and he was constantly chewing tobacco.
Dr William Joseph Seward, medical superintendent, found that the sternum was fractured and there was a small bruise on one of the ventricles of the heart. The cause of death was shock to the system following the injuries that the deceased had received.
Fereday was then sworn, and stated that the deceased and other patients annoyed him, and on Tuesday last he was told by some of the other patients that the deceased had put some tobacco juice into his beer which would kill him. When deceased was standing by a tree, he (witness) knocked him down with a shovel that he had in his hand, and when he was on the ground he struck him again.
He had no intention of killing the deceased and was now sorry that he had done so. During the afternoon he had severe pains in his head and should like to know from the doctors what it was. The Coroner stated that the jury would not have anything to do with the sanity of the man Fereday, but if they returned a criminal verdict against him his sanity would be taken notice of by another jury. The jury, after half an hour's consideration, returned a verdict of 'Wilful Murder' against Fereday, and the Coroner made out his warrant for the accused to take his trial at the next sessions of the Central Criminal Court."
John Sheldon Fereday was tried on the 1st May 1882 and was deemed unfit to plead due to insanity, he was detained "until Her Majesty's pleasure be known."
Barnet Press - Saturday 29th November 1884;
"Suicide Of A Lunatic.
Dr Danford Thomas held an inquest at the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch, on Thursday, on the body of Joshua Garrett, aged 58, formerly a carman, but latterly a patient in the asylum, who expired from injuries which resulted from his own act.
Annie Garrett, 266, Bethnal Green, the widow, identified the body, and stated that deceased was under the delusion that he would one day be hanged for having committed a crime. He in October last year threw himself or fell into the water at Victoria Park, and being rescued, was taken to Bethnal Green Workhouse, and afterwards transferred to this asylum as an insane patient.
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| Bethnal Green Workhouse |
She visited him weekly on Tuesday afternoon, she was told that he had met with an accident, and on her arrival was informed that he had fallen off a railway bridge while out at walking exercise with other patients.
Thomas Farey, male attendant No.45, stated that he had been in partial charge of the deceased about twelve months, and had taken him for walking exercise outside the asylum some two or three times. He was quiet and inoffensive. On Tuesday last, with another attendant, took him and twelve other patients out for a walk round Finchley.
Some of them went into the shops to buy. On reaching the Black Horse Bridge over the Great Northern Railway, the patients were counted and found all right in number. They crossed the bridge all right, and went on to Oakley Road Church, which is about a quarter of a mile further on, there being a bend in the road. They then missed the deceased. Witness went to look for him, while the other attendant went on with the patients the other way. It was a thick morning, and the patients being dressed alike, one was not easily missed.
Mrs Sarah Jones, the wife of a greengrocer, said on the morning in question she had been shopping in New Southgate, and on her way home she saw a man (deceased) walking on the coping stone of the bridge, which projects about four feet. He was holding on by one hand. She thought he was repairing the telegraph wires. The man walked to the centre of the coping or ledge and then fell off. She then saw a man coming along the road, and told him what had occurred. The man called out to the deceased 'You are in the six foot; remain quiet." A train was approaching.
William Brown, 1, Hawthorne Terrace, New Southgate, corroborated a portion of the last witness's evidence, and said he obtained the aid of a greengrocer's cart, and brought deceased to the asylum.
George Knight, driver of the up Grantham Express, stated that he arrived at the spot, viz, 40 yards north of the bridge, a little before eleven o'clock, and saw a man lying in the six foot. He therefore pulled up at New Southgate and informed the officials of the fact.
Dr W. J. Seward, the medical officer of the asylum, gave the history of deceased, viz, that he was admitted on the 27th October 1883, suffering from melancholia. He was childish, and was placed in a ward under day and night observation until the authorities were satisfied that he was not suicidal. He was then drafted with others.
There are about 300 patients admitted annually, of whom one third were of a suicidal disposition. It was over eleven years since a patient on the male side committed suicide, and the chief authorities of the asylum preferred running a slight risk rather than shut up so many thousands of patients within the walls of the institution for a lengthened period, perhaps years.
Something like 150 patients took exercise outside the asylum walls weekly, in batches of from ten to twenty, with very beneficial results. Shortly before twelve on Tuesday the deceased was brought back to the asylum suffering from injuries caused by an accident, namely, a fracture of the thigh, and also broken ribs; paralysis had set in. Witness suspected spinal injury.
Deceased did not answer questions, but was perfectly sensible and understood what was said to him. In about half an hour a sudden change came over him, and he died at half past one the same day.
The jury returned the following verdict, that the deceased expired from shock following injuries caused by a fall from a railway bridge, and that he committed suicide while in a state of unsound mind, and the jurors are of opinion there was no evidence of want of care on the part of the attendants."
Barnet Press - Saturday 13th June 1885;
"Sad Death In Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum.
On Wednesday, Dr Danford Thomas held an inquest at the asylum, Colney Hatch, on the body of Alfredo Benneditto, aged 34, son of a merchant carrying on business at Turin, and who expired in the institution under the following singular circumstances;
Cavre. G. Buzzegoli, vice consul for Italy, stated that the now deceased came to England to acquire the language. He fell in love with a female attendant at the Crown Hotel, who refused his advances. This excited him and he threatened violence and tried to strike her with a glass. For this offence he was placed before the magistrate and found guilty, but having promised to return to his home, was let off on payment of damages and costs.
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| Crown Hotel, Cricklewood |
On the 2nd March he took a through ticket to return to his father, and started from the Holborn Station. His luggage reached Paris, but he did not, and it is supposed that he got out of the train at Dover and returned to London, where his strange behaviour attracted the notice of the authorities, and he was placed before the magistrate charged with being found wandering, and the magistrate decided that he was a fit subject for an asylum, and on the 26th March he was admitted into Colney Hatch.
Dr Seward, the medical superintendent of the male department, stated that on admission the now deceased was quiet but strange in manner; but a few days before his death he gave way to obscene personal acts. On 5th June he was seized with a fit of passion, destroyed some of the furniture, and assaulted two or three inmates in his ward. Steps were taken to restrain him. Another fit of rage followed, which lasted two hours, and he was removed to another ward and placed in a room for single patients, where he expired soon afterwards.
The post mortem examination showed a bruise on the temple; also the fracture of one rib on the right side. The heart was very advanced in fatty degeneration, and the abdomen contained a large quantity of fluid blood. The hemorrhage was from a rupture of one of the blood vessels of the aorta. This no doubt was done in the struggle. There was no injury to the spine. The cause of death was syncope from hemorrhage into the abdomen from the rupture of the blood vessel.
James Matanle, the first class officer of No.9 ward, stated that on the day in question he was in charge, and heard a table go over; he saw the ink, books, ect, on the floor; also the now deceased take up a chair and hit another patient on the thigh, which he followed with another attack. Witness had a struggle with him, during which he struck himself against the wall.
He got quiet, but then had a second attack. With the assistance of other officers he was being removed to No.11 ward, and when on the staircase smashed a pain of glass, and on getting further down the steps he made a sudden plunge, and they fell together.
Two patients named Hopkins and Page corroborated the above evidence, adding that there was no apparent cause for the outbreak of temper, the officers treating the patients with the greatest kindness. Joseph Prons, superintendent No.11 ward, corroborate the evidence of the witness Matanle.
Upon this the jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes, expressing their opinion that the patient had been most kindly treated by the officials."
London Evening Standard - Saturday 8th January 1887.
"Dr D. Thomas held an inquest yesterday, at Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, on the body of Henry Hudson, 69, a patient. According to Dr Seward, medical superintendent of the male department, the deceased, who had no friends in this country, had been in the asylum since 1852.
He was in a demented state, and occasionally inclined to be mischievous. While he was seated at breakfast on the morning of the 28th ult. he was seen to attempt to steal his neighbour's food, when a patient named John Townsend struck him on the head with his pannikin, inflicting a small lacerated wound about an inch in length upon his cranium. Erysipelas to the head supervened, which, after the deceased became afflicted with it, spread to several other inmates of the same ward, who were not wounded in any way. The disease might have been produced by the cold weather lately. The deceased died on Monday last.
Joseph Moore, the ward attendant, said he saw Townsend stand up, reach across the breakfast table, and deliberately strike the deceased on the forehead with his tin pannikin. Dr Seward said the deceased and others who suffered from a similar type of lunacy were ravenous in their appetite, and were constantly stealing each others food.
Townsend, who was at present at the inquiry, was questioned, but his mind appeared to be a perfect blank with regard to the assault he committed upon the deceased. Dr Seward recalled, said in his opinion the probability was that the erysipelas was unconnected with the wound to the head, and hence the injury - a lacerated wound to the skin of the scalp - had not contributed to the death, which resulted from erysipelas, - The jury returned a verdict accordingly."
Evening News - Friday 25th February 1887;
"Mysterious Death At Colney Hatch Asylum.
Yesterday morning Dr D. Thomas, the coroner for Central Middlesex, held an inquiry at the Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, into the circumstances attending the death of Charles James Andrews, aged 36 years, an inmate of the institution, who died, it is alleged, from the effects of injuries received under the following circumstances:
Mrs Julia Elizabeth Andrews, the widow of the deceased, stated that the deceased, who was an engineer's labourer, formerly lived at Drummond Street, Euston Road. Two years ago the deceased met with an accident at his work, by which his hand was crushed, after which the deceased fell out of work, on which his mind seemed to give way.
Last August he got worse, and thought best to remove him to the asylum. She had visited him from time to time since he had been here, and she found him cheerful until after Christmas, when he wished to come home, but he assigned no special reason for this want.
Witness last saw him on Monday, the 14th inst., when he was in bed, and appeared to be ill, she having previously received a letter stating that he was ill, and that she could visit him whenever she wished. In conversation the deceased said that he did not want to stop there, for he wanted to get home to help her.
The deceased told her that a patient had torn a book to pieces, and another patient struck him, and he further said that he was struck on one occasion, but did not state who had struck him. The deceased never told her that any of the attendants ever struck him. She did not make any complaint to the medical officer of the deceased having been struck, because the deceased told her not to state anything about it.
The Coroner said that it was a great pity that the deceased's statement was not told to the proper officials, because then the statement might be inquired into.
The witness, continuing, said that the deceased told her that on several occasions the deceased, owing to weakness, and, being knocked against by other patients, had fallen down. On Friday evening she had information that the deceased had died, and afterwards she heard that it had been found that the ribs of the deceased were broken on both sides.
Joseph Moore, an attendant, stated that the deceased first came under his charge for a short time, and then went to another ward, returning to his ward on January 18th, and he then was helpless and feeble, and seemed paralysed, and they had to wash him and at times had to feed him and otherwise attend to him.
On no occasion had he struck or pushed the deceased, nor did he know any attendant that had. He had never seen the deceased fall about in the ward, and if any one of the other attendants saw him fall down then it would be their duty to report it to witness, but on no occasion had there been any report made to him. He did not know of the deceased receiving any violence by which three ribs would be fractured.
Amos Usher, an attendant, said that the deceased was very feeble, and would frequently fall down, and lately almost daily, but at no time had the deceased complained of being injured, or had witness ever noticed any marks of violence about him. On no occasion had he seen the deceased assaulted in any way by other patients in the ward.
Dr Seward, the medical superintendent of the male side of the asylum, said that he saw the deceased on his admission in September, when he was suffering from general paralysis. Witness saw the deceased daily, and he gradually grew weaker. It was reported to him that the deceased was in the habit of falling about, and on two occasions he fell out of the bed. The deceased died on Friday.
He had since made a post mortem examination, and found three ribs on each side of the body were fractured, but there was no puncture or injury to the lungs. The bones were very brittle and soft. The cause of death was exhaustion, following general paralysis, the fractured ribs having nothing to do with the death. The deceased's ribs might have been fractured by a fall, or his being handled when removed from the bed.
The jury returned a verdict that the deceased died from exhaustion following general paralysis from natural causes."
Evening News - Tuesday 30th August 1887;
"Singular Suicide At Colney Hatch Asylum.
At Colney Hatch Asylum, today, Dr W. Wynn Westcott held an inquest on the body of Solomon Gold, 23 years old, a single man, a rivetter, a patient of the asylum.
According to the father of the deceased, Samuel Gold, bootmaker, 54, Hanbury Street, Brick Lane, Spitalfields, his son had been in Colney Hatch Asylum ten months, prior to which he was four months in Banstead Asylum. His mind became affected through the disappointment he experienced in a love affair. Witness last saw him six weeks ago, and had no reason to believe that he had any suicidal tendency. He suffered from melancholia.
Dr Seward, stated that the deceased, being a Jew, was transferred from Banstead to Colney Hatch Asylum. He was described on his admission as 'distressed, not epileptic, not suicidal, and not dangerous to others.' He was occasionally melancholic, and at other times excited and violent. He was in the latter mood several days before his death, which occured on Sunday morning last.
Thomas Hawkins, night attendant, said he last saw the deceased alive in a room in which he was confined alone at four on Sunday morning. He was then in bed, and apparently 'all right.' Witness saw the patients in his charge at intervals five times during the night. The deceased was in a single room alone, because he was noisy and violent.
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| 54, Hanbury Street |
John Robert Davey, charge attendant of B3 Ward, deposed that the deceased had been under his care since 3rd July last. He had never heard him threaten to take his life. At six on Sunday morning he found the deceased in a sitting position on the floor, with a rolled up sheet tied tightly round his neck and to the head rail of the bed, about four feet from the floor. His legs were stretched out on the floor, and his hands were hanging down. There was a slip knot round his neck. The door of the deceased's room was locked, and no one could have entered. He was quite dead.
Dr Frederick Bryan, assistant medical officer, who was at once fetched to see the deceased, deposed that blood had flowed from the deceased's nose and there was a mark on his chin. The body was warm, artificial respiration and every means was adopted with a view of restoring life.
Dr Seward said 14 years ago a patient committed suicide within the walls of the asylum. It was not thought the deceased was suicidal, or he would have been supplied with bed rugs which he could not have twisted and tied around his neck. In the case of noisy patients, with suicidal tendencies, they were placed in a large dormitory, and constantly watched.
The jury returned a verdict of suicide while of unsound mind."
Echo - Tuesday 7th February 1888;
"Discovery Of Broken Ribs After Death;
This afternoon, Dr W. Wynn Westcott held an inquest at Colney Hatch Asylum on the body of Thomas Dunn Colton, aged 72, a patient in the asylum, formerly a greengrocer, of 7, Bircham Street, Poplar.
Dr Seward, said the deceased was on his admission suffering from 'senile dementia.' He was restless, incoherent, and laboured under delusions, one of which was that the Princess of Wales met him in the street and offered him a glass of beer. Being feeble, he was at first taken into the infirmary, thence he was removed in November to one of the ordinary wards, but afterwards again transferred to the infirmary.
From the 28th he was confined to his bed. On the 29th he was noticed to get up, approach the door of the infirmary, and fall down. He gradually sank and died on the 1st inst. He was too feeble to be violent. The injury which the deceased sustained was attributed to the fall.
Dr R. Jones, assistant medical officer, deposed to having made a post mortem examination, and finding an old fracture of the tenth and eleventh ribs on the right side. The fracture of the tenth rib was completely united; but in the case of the eleventh rib there was a 'false joint' - the union had not been complete. Witness believed the fractured occured six months ago.
On the left side the sixth and seventh ribs were fractured. The fracture was of a very recent date. It might have occured on the 29th, when the deceased fell. The man's ribs, it was added, were very brittle, and would snap as easily as the stem of a clay pipe.
Death was due to senile dementia. Witness did not think the fracture of the ribs accelerated death.
The Times - Saturday, 23rd June 1888;
"Extraordinary Death In Colney Hatch Asylum.
Yesterday afternoon the Coroner for Central Middlesex, Dr George Danford Thomas, held an inquiry, which lasted over four hours, at the Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch, into the circumstances attending the death of John Stickley, aged 68, an inmate of that asylum.
Albert Stickley, son of the deceased, living at 42, Denmark Road, Kilburn, stated that deceased had been mentally afflicted since the death of his wife 18 months ago, and of late he had become worse. On Saturday morning the deceased was taken before Mr Cooke at the Marylebone Police Court, who made an order for his removal to the asylum, and he was taken away in a cab, and at that time the deceased had no marks or injuries on him.
On Monday night witness received a letter from the asylum authorities informing him that the deceased was dangerously ill and could not be visited by his friends, and on Tuesday morning he found that the deceased was dead, and then he learned from the doctor that the deceased had a fractured jaw, and that it was discovered soon after his admission to the asylum, and that it must have been done before his admission.
Harry Stickley, a nephew, gave similar evidence.
John Clarke, relieving officer for Hendon, gave evidence as to obtaining deceased's admission to the asylum and accompanying him thither. The deceased on the way to the asylum had no fall or injury of any kind. If the deceased was found on his admission to have injuries, he thought that he ought to have been informed of it at the time the clothing was handed over to him.
George Quest, an ex-policeman, who accompanied the last witness and the deceased to the asylum, gave evidence to the effect that when the deceased was admitted into the asylum he had no injuries that he could see.
William Saunderson, a cab driver, gave similar evidence.
Dr William Joseph Seward, the medical superintendent of the male department of the asylum, stated that he admitted the deceased, who was in a weak condition, into the asylum, but did not then examine him. The deceased was taken to No.5 ward, which was a ward for feeble and weak patients, and there given a bath, and the same afternoon he was informed that the deceased's jaw on the left side had been found to be fractured, and that blood was coming from his mouth, while in one of the deceased's hands was found a tooth.
Dr Swanson, the assistant surgeon, was called, and attended to the deceased. On Sunday morning it was discovered that the deceased had inflammation of the lungs and extensive bruises on the shoulder. The deceased grew worse, and died early on Tuesday morning. It was recorded that the deceased received the fractured jaw before his admission, and a report to this effect was forwarded to the Lunacy Commissioners. The injuries the deceased had received might have been produced by either a fall or a blow.
Dr James Hutchinson Swanson, one of the assistant surgeons who was summoned to the deceased on Saturday afternoon, said that he had made a post mortem examination of the deceased, and found death was due to exhaustion while suffering from melancholia and inflammation of the lungs, and shock from the fractured jaw and bruises would accelerate death.
Samuel John Way, head attendant, stated that he received the deceased on his admission and gave him a warm bath, and according to orders he examined the deceased while he was in the bath for marks and injuries, and at that time he noticed no blood coming from the mouth of the deceased, nor did he see any bruises on his shoulder.
When the deceased was partly dressed he left for the purpose of making out his report. On returning to the ward about a quarter of an hour afterwards he was informed by one of the attendants that the deceased had been found to have blood on one of his hands, and that a loose tooth had been found in one of his hands. On examining the deceased he found that blood was coming from his mouth, on which he called Dr Swanson's attention to him.
Four attendants were examined at some length, and they gave evidence to the effect that the deceased when they first saw him did not show any marks of violence about him. In answer to the Coroner they stated that the deceased was not violent, and that they were sure that he had no fall, nor did anyone strike him.
The Coroner said that it was extremely unsatisfactory they were unable to trace out how the deceased came by his injuries.
The jury returned the following verdict;
That the deceased died from the effects of exhaustion following melancholia and inflammation of the lungs, accelerated by a severe fracture of the jaw and bruises to the shoulder caused by violence. They were of opinion that the said injuries occurred after the deceased was delivered into the charge of the asylum authorities, and they further added that they were of opinion that there was no evidence forthcoming to show how the injuries were caused, which they considered most unsatisfactory."
Echo - Friday 19th October 1888;
"Colney Hatch Patient Violence.
This morning, Dr Danford Thomas held an inquest, at Colney Hatch Asylum, on the body of John Batchelor, aged 49, a bricklayer, an inmate of the asylum, who was believed to have died from the effects of fractured ribs.
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| Holborn Workhouse, Gray's Inn Road. |
According to the widow of the deceased, her husband was admitted into the asylum on 17th December last, from Gray's Inn Road Workhouse. For six months previously his mind was affected. Witness saw the deceased in August last, when she noticed a great change for the worse. She learnt that he was suffering from paralysis of the brain. On Monday last she was summoned to the asylum, when she found him dying. She was then informed that several of his ribs were fractured, and she wondered how this had happened. While with her the deceased showed no signs of helplessness.
Dr Seward deposed that the deceased suffered from general paralysis and insanity, which gradually got worse. He was placed in a special ward. He was excitable, very restless, and occasionally threw himself on the floor. He slept upon a mattress on the floor.
On the 2nd September he had a bruise on his shoulder, which, however, was not serious. From the 8th inst. he kept to his bed. On the 14th his chest was examined, and an unevenness of some of the ribs on the left side was detected, which witness thought was due to recent fractures that had partially united. He was bandaged. He, however, died on Tuesday.
He attributed the injuries to the deceased's habit of throwing himself violently on the floor, and beating his chest forcibly with his fists. This violence was willed on his part, and arose from a superabundant energy of such patients. Two months ago he threw himself against the hot water pipes in his ward. After four ribs on the right side and three on the left were found fractured. Only one rib, on the right side, about two inches from the spine was displaced.
The fractures had probably occurred six weeks before death, and at different times. With general paralysis the ribs were invariably brittle. The injuries of paralysed patients were almost always broken ribs. Witness did not think the deceased's ribs were fractured by lifting him.
The Coroner: Some time ago a patient's injuries were ascribed to this cause.
Dr Seward: And since then extra attendants have been provided to move patients. He added that death was due to general paralysis and pneumonia.
Henry James Sim, attendant at No.5 Ward, said the deceased had been in his charge since February. Three weeks ago he became helpless. He used to throw himself about, and on the 2nd September, during the night, he sustained the bruise on the left shoulder.
He fell down on another occasion against hot water pipes. When he became feeble he fell as he tried to walk. He occasionally quarrelled with other patients, and attempted to get their food. Once he struck a patient, who retaliated. When outbreaks of violence occurred the patients were placed by themselves.
The Coroner: It is said that sometimes, in order to hold patients down, the attendants kneel upon them.
Witness: The deceased belonged to a class of patients who do not, as a rule, require that kind of treatment.
The Coroner: He needed no restraint of that kind?
Witness: No.
Jesse Foreman, another attendant, asserted that the deceased, when spoken to, 'always threw himself on the floor.'
The Jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence."
"Inquest.
Yesterday Dr D. Thomas held an inquest at Colney Hatch Asylum on the body of James Vandozer, aged 78, an inmate, who died on Saturday last.
Dr Seward said that, as the deceased had never been visited during the 11 years of his confinement at Colney Hatch, he concluded that he had no friends. Once Vandozer threw water over him because he would not give him tobacco, but he really was too feeble to be violent.
Every accident, however slight or apparently trivial which befel an inmate, had to be reported to him, and on the 20th ult. he learnt that, when about to sit down, Vandozer slipped from the couch. It was not thought necessary then to examine him to ascertain whether he had sustained any injury, but he was subsequently treated as a sick patient, and at night slept upon a mattress on the floor of a room by himself.
On the morning of the 25th ult. Francis Norman, an attendant, reported that at six, when he began duty, he noticed a superficial graze upon Vandozer's forehead; and he believed he had fallen when getting out of bed, as he had often fallen about before. Vandozer was then thoroughly examined by the assistant medical officer.
The result was the discovery of two fractured ribs on his left side. Besides the graze and the broken ribs, some slight abrasions were found on his back. He gradually sank and died on the morning of the 29th. Death was due to exhaustion whilst suffering from pleurisy, which was secondary to the injury.
The Coroner: You have no reason to think that death occurred otherwise than by some accident.
Witness: None whatever.
After some further evidence, William Jarman, inspector at the asylum, said he spent 20 minutes trying to elicit from Vandozer an account of his injury, but he merely pointed to the room in which he slept.
Dr Seward said he too, essayed this task, but the one word the deceased uttered was 'tobacco,' meaning that he wanted some.
The Jury returned a verdict of accidental death."
Barnet Press - Saturday 25th April 1891;
"Mysterious Death Of A Lunatic.
Dr D. Thomas, coroner for West Middlesex, held an inquest at the London County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch, on Thursday morning, respecting the death of Susan Mann, an inmate, suffering from senile mania, - William Joseph Seward, medical superintendent, stated that deceased was admitted to the asylum on the 19th March from Holborn Union.
Her age was supposed to be 56, but she appeared much older, and he would say that she was at least 70. Nothing was known as to her friends and relatives, and no one had visited her during the time she had been an inmate. She was described as a single woman, not at all violent, but restless and feeble, and sometimes she would remain in bed, as she could not walk without assistance.
She was seen daily by the medical staff, but his attention was specially called to her on the morning of April 1st, when he asked what patients were in bed, and she was mentioned as having a swollen leg. The senior medical officer, after examining the leg, informed him that the ankle of the right leg had been fractured, and that no direct injury had taken place within 24 hours, as there was no external evidence of injury or bruises of any kind except the swellings.
In answer to questions, the patient said she had fallen, and at another time, when her mind had wandered, she said she fell down at the station, but that was impossible. She could give no further information. He had made the strictest inquiry of all who had care of her, but he had been unable to obtain any account of a fall.
The nurse in charge said she observed that deceased's leg was slightly swollen, and she informed her supervisor, but they thought it was oedema. Deceased died on Tuesday morning of exhaustion, no doubt caused through the shock attending a fall.
Mr W. H. George, senior assistant medical officer in charge of the females' department, gave corroborative evidence, and Caroline Lewis, nurse in charge of the ward, said she did not notice any fall of any kind.
Deceased was very feeble, and could not walk without assistance. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that deceased died through some accidental cause."
According to The Illustrated London News, Dr Seward came into some money by way of an inheritance. On Saturday 21st October 1893 it was reported that in the will of Mr Robert Humphrey Cooke, Dr Seward was to receive the sum of £800, this would be approximately £115,000 today.
London Evening Standard - Tuesday 30th October 1894;
"Death In An Asylum.
At Colney Hatch Asylum yesterday Dr Thomas held an inquest on the body of John Joseph Doddy, aged 41, a labourer, formerly residing in Stanley Street, Plaistow, Essex, who had been an inmate of the asylum since 20th September.
The deceased, who was described by his widow as a violent, quarrelsome man, was subject to recurring mania, and he had been for various periods an inmate at the Brentwood Asylum.
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| Brentwood Asylum |
The Coroner: And meanwhile, before he is again placed under restraint, he might kill his wife, as the man Aichison in Kentish Town did. That man had been in and out of different asylums many times.
Dr Seward: Under the new Lunacy Act the reception orders only hold good for one year at most.
Evidence was given by attendants that on Tuesday evening a patient named Wilkin was discovered holding the deceased down on the ground in the airing court and kneeling upon him. They were immediately separated, and the deceased made no complaint of injury, but at a later hour he quarrelled with fellow patients in the ward and he was pushed down.
Next morning he complained of severe abdominal pain, and was attended by Dr C. F. Beadle, the assistant medical officer, who saw and prescribed for him again between six and seven in the evening. Within two hours afterwards he died suddenly and unexpectedly.
Dr Seward, who had made an autopay, said he could not find, either internally or externally, the slightest mark of violence. Death was, in his opinion, due to collapse, his death being possibly accelerated by the fights or struggles in which on Tuesday Doddy engaged with other patients.
Witness's belief was that if the struggling had anything to do with the death it had probably caused a twist in the bowel.
The jury found a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence."
Hendon & Finchley Times - Friday 26th May 1899;
"Ill Treating A Patient In The Asylum.
Walter Sawyer, described as an attendant at Colney Hatch Asylum, and residing at New Southgate, was summoned for ill treating Thomas Mahoney, a patient.
Mr Berry appeared for the prosecution, and Mr A. M. Forbes defended.
Mr Berry said he had been instructed by the clerk to the Visiting Committee of the asylum, and the facts of the case were that at about 6.30 on the morning of the 30th April Inspector Hope, in going his round, saw defendant strike a patient two blows with his fist. He would say, in fairness to defendant, that Sawyer bore a good character, and he would not press the case beyond what was reasonable.
Inspector W. Hope deposed that at the time in question he was in B3 Ward, and there saw defendant in the act of striking Mahoney two blows, either at the back or side of the head. Witness asked 'What are you doing, Sawyer?' and stopped him.
He spoke to attendant Rawlings, and asked Sawyer why he had struck the patient, to which he replied 'He's been very annoying.' Witness reported the matter to the medical superintendent. It was against the rules for an attendant to strike a patient.
Attendant Henry Rawlings stated that on the morning in question his attention was called to Sawyer and Mahoney by the previous witness, who said 'Rawlings, did you see that?' and he replied in the affirmative. Witness saw Sawyer pull Mahoney back with one hand and strike him with the other at the back of the ear or upon the side of the head. Witness was two yards away. The patient was sitting on a settee.
Cross examined, Sawyer was endeavouring to provide a seat for Mark Harris, who was a big man, and he spoke several times to Mahoney. Witness was under the impression that defendant hit Mahoney with the back of his hand, perhaps rather roughly, to induce him to move further away and make room for the other patient. He thought the previous witness said to the doctor, 'He would have struck him more if I hadn't shouted out,' or used words to that effect.
Dr W. J. Seward said that on the morning in question a report was made to him, and he subsequently saw the defendant and Hope together. Hope said he had seen the defendant strike a patient named Mahoney. Witness cautioned defendant as to any statement he might make, but the latter volunteered to give matter, and his report stated that Mahoney confirmed the statements as to assault.
Defendant said he had struck, not with his closed fist, but with his open hand. Defendant had been at the asylum since 1894, and his conduct had been satisfactory. He had been in the army, and when he took his discharge he received an exemplary character.
Mr Forbes contended that he was not asked to answer a charge of assault, but one of ill treating a patient, who was entitled to all the protection the law could give him. For ill treating a patient a person was liable to a severer penalty than for an ordinary assault. He was liable to a fine of £20, the minimum penalty being £2.
Mr Forbes was about to ask the bench to find his client not guilty of ill treating the patient. Defendant was prepared to state on oath that he hit the man with the back of his hand. The patients alluded to were suffering from general paralysis, and defendant, desiring to place a patient where another was sitting, asked the latter to move. This man was quite capable of understanding, or the doctor would have not asked him to corroborate the story.
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| A Patient Stuck Up A Tree. |
At last, rather irritated, he hit the man with the back of his hand. Even if two blows were struck they have left no mark, and an examination took place the same morning. He therefore asked the bench, with a great deal of confidence, not to convict for ill treatment, although there might have been a technical assault.
He entirely sympathised with the efforts of the County Council to protect patients, but defendant had already suffered a great deal and had been suspended. The action of Sawyer throughout had been that of a straightforward, honourable man, who had not attempted to minimise what he did.
The Chairman said the defendant had had two advantages. He bore an exemplary character, and he had a very ingenious advocate to state his case. Moreover, the prosecution had been conducted with all the consideration possible. The magistrate had taken the facts into consideration, and thought that the justice of the case would be met by imposing a fine of 40s and costs."
Barnet Press - Saturday 29th September 1900;
"Death At Colney Hatch Asylum: Strange Proceedings.
Particulars of some very remarkable incidents at Colney Hatch Asylum for lunatics transpired on Saturday. It seems that as far back as February 11th, 1871, Mrs McCann, who resides at 21, Sandycombe Road, Richmond, sent her father, Mr Gilbert Macaulay, to Colney Hatch Asylum.
Till the beginning of the present month he was well and comfortable. On 7th September Mrs McCann received the following telegram, which had been handed in at New Southgate - 'Your father is sinking fast. - Seward.'
Mrs McCann despatched a wire to the asylum authorities asking for further information, and on 10th September she received a second telegram in these words - 'Funeral Friday, 11 o'clock. Letter follows. Colney Hatch,'
The second telegram was handed in at New Southgate at 11.17 on the 10th September, and on receipt of the tidings, which seemed to confirm their worst fears, Mr and Mrs McCann prepared for the funeral, and the lady went out to order the mourning garments.
She had no sooner returned home than she found a further telegram awaiting her, also dated 10th September, and handed in at 12.12. This was as follows - 'Please ignore previous telegram, Macaulay in the usual health. - Superintendent, Colney Hatch.'
The letter which followed in due course was dated London County Asylum, Colney Hatch, N., September 10th, 1900, and was in these terms:-
'Madam, When your telegram was replied to it was concluded that your father, Gilbert Macaulay, was dead; but upon inquiry it was found not to be the case. In the event of his death, notice will at once be sent to you informing you of the day and time of his funeral. Yours faithfully, Robert Sterland, Acting Clerk of the Asylum.'
Mr McCann then wrote for an explanation. In reply the subjoined letter was forwarded from Colney Hatch to his wife, dated 15th September, this being over three days since he had written:- 'Madam, If you call at the asylum tomorrow (Sunday) to visit your father, you will be able to see the medical superintendent on the subject you mention. Yours faithfully, Cecil F. Beadle, Acting Medical Superintendent.'
On the same date a letter was despatched from Colney Hatch, signed by W. J. Seward, in which the writer regretted to inform Mrs McCann that her father died at 6.30 that evening. The letter also stated that when Mrs McCann's first telegram was received the clerk at the office supposed he was dead, and Mr Seward said he was very sorry the mistake should not have occurred.
A printed form enclosed showed that the cause of death was senile decay and exhaustion. Mrs McCann also received intimation that the funeral would take place at the Northern Cemetery, at New Southgate, on Friday at 11am precisely.
The form likewise stated that the mourners wishing to see the deceased must be at the asylum at 10 o'clock on the morning of the day named. Mr and Mrs McCann arrived at the asylum a few minutes after ten o'clock. The body was placed in a coffin, and in the hearse, and were consequently unable to see the deceased.
The deceased, it is stated, was an artist of no mean merit."
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| An outdoor event at Colney Hatch. |
Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper - Sunday 12th May 1901;
"Suicide At Colney Hatch.
Dr Thomas held an inquest at Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, yesterday, concerning the death of John James Davey, aged 30, a cashier, and an inmate of the asylum.
Dr Seward said that the deceased was admitted on 7th September 1897, suffering from melancholia and delusions. At times he had been violent, but at no time had he made any attempt on his life. Of late he had a mad delusion that chloroform had been given to him, and that an operation had been performed on him.
A brother of the deceased said the latter's mind gave way through over study.
Joseph Sims, an attendant, deposed that on Tuesday deceased was in the ward reading after dinner. Ten minutes later he missed him, and heard there was a man hanging in the lavatory, and there found deceased suspended by a roller towel.
Witness cut him down, endeavouring, without success to restore animation, and sent for the medical officer. Dr E. S. Wilkinson said he was called, and found the deceased on the floor. Death was due to suffocation by hanging. The jury returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind."
Daily Express - Saturday 31st January 1903;
"Fire At The Asylum.
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| The Graphic - Saturday 31 January 1903 |
The relatives of one of the dead women were represented by a solicitor, and Mr Herbert Davey appeared for the Islington Board of Guardians, who were responsible for the maintenance of another of the victims. Both of these gentlemen were permitted to cross question the witnesses, and the investigation was closely pursued by several members of the jury.
The attitude of the jurymen, while it could scarcely be described as hostile, was certainly critical, and showed a strong determination to probe the matter to the bottom. The interests of the County Council were in the safe hands of Mr Horace Avory KC, and Mr Elliott.
When the jury had been sworn to faithfully inquire and a true presentment made as to how 'Isabella Murrell and others' came by their death, they went out to view the site of the disaster and the tragically meagre human remains.
A Monument To The Dead.
Mr Hubbard, the chairman of the Asylum Committee, asked for permission to make a few opening remarks. He expressed the intense sympathy of the Council for the relatives of those who lost their lives, and, he said, the committee were making arrangements for all the bodies to be buried in one grave at the Great Northern Cemetery on Wednesday at half past twelve. There would be a separate coffin for each patient, and above the grave a monument would be erected, with an inscription setting forth how the poor women met their death.
The coroner briefly recited the terrible story of the fire. He said that at the time the annexe was built the asylums of the County Council were considerably overcrowded, and at the end of five years, when the licence expired, there was still a very great demand for accomodation, and so the licence was renewed.
It would then have been necessary in the ordinary course to identify the bodies of the fifty one women who perished in the fire, but this was perforce a matter of form, as the relatives for the most part had been mercifully spared a sight of the remains. There was no recognition, and there could be none.
The first witness was the husband of Isabella Murrell. He said his wife was in Ward X5 of the annexe.
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| Morning Leader - Thursday 29 January 1903 |
'Have you seen the remains?' asked the coroner. 'I have not,' said the witness, with quiet pathos, 'I was told that there was nothing to recognise.' 'There was practically nothing,' admitted the coroner. 'I suppose you are reasonably satisfied that your wife was one of the poor creatures burnt to death?' 'I have no reason to doubt it,' he replied.
Fathers, mothers, husbands, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters came in a long sad procession to say that they had someone of their kin in the asylum, that they believed was dead, and that they assented to the proposal for burying the remains.
'I should like to see the remains,' said the brother of one of the victims. 'I am afraid there is nothing you can recognise,' said the coroner. 'There is one consolation. She was probably suffocated by the smoke, and died without pain.' 'But I should feel more satisfied!' Persisted the witness. 'If you take my advice,' replied the coroner, 'you will not go to the mortuary. There is nothing but a few charred remains.'
The Superintendent's Evidence.
Dr William Joseph Seward was called, with the object of setting the whole story in outline before the jury. He described the structure of the annexe and said it was built to relieve the pressure on the asylums of the County Council. It was approved both by the Lunacy Commissioners and by the Home Secretary, and when the first term of five years expired the licence was renewed.
'The annexe was not intended to be permanent?' asked the coroner.
'Well, it's life was expected to be much shorter than that of an ordinary building. Up to the present it had answered its purpose admirably.'
'Most careful provision was made against fire. There was a hydrant in every ward, and there were buckets, hand fire engines, and electric fire alarms in every ward and dormitory. The asylum had its own fire brigade of nine trained attendants, with seven workmen to assist, and a trained fire superintendent was on duty night and day. Before this fire they had never lost a single life, or had one in danger, and the total damage by fire had not exceeded £4.'
'On arriving I found Ward X5 enveloped in smoke and flame, and it was impossible to approach it. The smoke was very dense and pungent - quite suffocating. All the staff were hurrying up as quickly as they could come. Seeing that it was impossible to reach Ward X5, I turned my attention to Ward X4. I was pleased to find the door open, and I went in. The ward was black with smoke and absolutely dark. I went in as far as I could, and shouted 'Anybody here?' Voices answered me on all sides.'
Helpless Women.
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| Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper - Sunday 01 February 1903 |
' I got out as many patients as I could, and then went to Ward X3. There the nurses were beginning to get the patients out, and I hurried them on. Then I hastened to Wards X1 and X2, for those were the infirmary wards, and I knew that a large number of women were in bed, helpless.'
'The smoke came up the corridor like a flue. All the nurses and attendants were working with the utmost determination to get the people out. About seventy or eighty nurses and about forty or fifty male attendants were at work. Some, of course, had to remain on duty with the inmates in the main building, but all who could come did so. We got every woman out of the infirmary wards.'
'Practically the whole loss of life ceased in Ward X2. In Ward X5 thirty four patients lost their lives, sixteen in Ward X4, and one in Ward X3 - a woman who ran back into the smoke after being rescued.'
His direct story completed, Dr Seward was assailed with questions from all sides. Solicitors and jurors became cross examining counsel. Every day room and dormitory, he said, had a door leading to the open air, and every nurse had a key. At night, on the women's side of the asylum, the doors were double locked with a Chubb's key, and that key was in the possession of the head nurse. But there was a duplicate key in a glass case beside each door which could be obtained by breaking the glass.
'How long was it before all the people were out?'
'I will not bind myself down because I could not tell how the time passed. I should say half an hour.'
'Only one fireman was on duty?'
'Only one awake. The others were roused by the fire alarm. We have a messenger to run round and wake them in case they miss hearing the alarm - but they never do miss it.'
'From time to time the alarm was sounded, how long were the men in getting to the fire?'
'About four or five minutes, I should say.'
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| Illustrated Police News - 7th February 1903 |
A juryman had heard that there had been only two fire drills in the last twelve months.
'Absolutely inaccurate,' said the doctor. 'We have a fire drill once a month, as well as occasional alarms. The nurses are instructed under my own supervision how to give the alarm, and, if necessary, to use the hose. So far as I can judge, there was certainly a good pressure of water.'
Mr Avory set some misconceptions right by a few pertinent questions.
'What is the reason why you take special precautions about those doors giving admission to the female wards?'
'In the asylums of this country it is not thought proper that any male persons, except those holding responsible positions, should be able to obtain access to the female patients.'
'You afterwards got out a number of patients.'
'Yes, I carried out several, and afterwards dragged out two. It was a matter of extreme difficulty. The flames seemed to have a fascination for the patients, and they attempted to rush back and to drag the nurses with them. That delayed matters very much.'
Jesse Wright, the stoker, said he heard screams at 5.30 in the morning, and on looking through the keyhole into the corridor, he saw patients leaving the dormitory and the reflexion of the fire. He tried to take the hose out of the box outside X5, but was driven back. The smoke was so thick that they could not stand it.
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| Illustrated London News - Saturday 31 January 1903 |
Nurse Woolford's Graphic Story.
An interesting witness was saved till the end - Nurse Woolford, who was on duty in the fatal ward at the time the fire broke out. Both her hands were swathed in cotton wool, and a warder had to hold the Bible to her lips while she took the oath.
Asked by the coroner how she burnt her fingers, she replied, 'I really cannot say. Getting the patients out, I suppose.'
Nurse Woolford said she had nearly seventy patients under her care on the night of the fire. There was no cooking during the night, except perhaps making of tea on the gas stove, and no matches were allowed on the ward. About 5.30 she had just finished visiting a few 'single rooms,' adjoining the dormitory, with the head nurse, and as she reached the dormitory on her return she heard a crackling of wood, and saw that the clothes cupboard was on fire.
'I at once rang the fire alarm. I knocked at the door of Ward X4, and told the nurse there. I called the day charge nurse, and I rang another alarm in the corridor. The charge nurse opened the door of the clothes cupboard a few inches, and at once closed it again. I got the hose out, and Nurse Lambert turned the water on. We turned the hose on the clothes cupboard.'
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| Illustrated Police News - 7th February 1903 |
'As far as we could, we got the patients out into the corridor, and as fast as we did it they forced their way back in. They were very difficult to manage, for many of them were bad cases of epileptics.'
Nurse Woolford could offer no suggestion as to the origin of the fire. It seems to come from the roof of the cupboard. The jury asked for further plans of the annexe, and Dr Seward promised them for the next sitting. The inquest was adjourned to next Thursday, at two o'clock."
The fire is believed to have been started by faulty heating equipment, the Norwegian pine wood frames quickly went up in flames, and were fanned by strong winds which caused the fire to spread very quickly. Many of those who died had been trapped behind locked doors and windows. This disaster led to the passing of the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913.
Islington Gazette - Tuesday 8th March 1904;
"Fractured Bones Discovered After Death.
Dr Danford Thomas held an inquest at Colney Hatch Asylum on Saturday, with reference to the death of John Gentry, aged 34 years.
Evidence was given showing that deceased, a labourer, who formerly lived at Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, was convicted at the Marylebone Police Court and sentenced to six months imprisonment for cruelty to his children in July, 1902. Soon after his admission into prison Dr Parker Wilson found that he was suffering from general paralysis of the brain, and was not responsible for his actions.
An order was obtained from the Home Secretary for his removal to the Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum in November of that year. After his admission he gradually grew worse, and died on Tuesday last. By order of the Lunacy Committee of the London County Council an autopay of all patients dying in the asylum is made by an independent expert, and on the autopay being made in this case it was found that there was a crack, or fracture, of the breast bone, while three ribs on the right side were also fractured.
The matter was reported to the coroner, who deemed it advisable to have an inquiry to ascertain, if possible, how these were caused.
The attendants gave evidence that on the 25th January last deceased, when attempting to open a door, had a heavy fall, but he did not complain of being injured. The fall was reported to Dr Jones, one of the assistant medical officers, who examined deceased and found a bruise over the right hip.
Dr Seward said that the fractures discovered after death were such that could not be discovered before death. The bones of persons of unsound mind were very brittle and easily cracked. There was no indication whatever that the fractures caused or accelerated death.
In a reply to a juror, Dr Seward said that x-rays were not used in the asylum, but had they been used in this case the cracks or fractures would not have been seen. Dr James gave confirmatory evidence.
The father and also the widow both expressed their opinion that everything possible was done for the deceased by the officials.
The jury, in returning a verdict in accordance with medical evidence, added that there was no blame to be attached to the asylum authorities."
Edmonton and Tottenham Weekly Guardian - Friday 27th January 1905;
"Singular Death At Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum.
On Monday Dr Danford Thomas held an inquest at Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum relative to the death of Thomas Parker, aged 37 years, whose death took place under the following circumstances:-
Dr W. J. Seward said that the deceased was admitted into the asylum on 6th October last, when he was suffering from general paralysis and insanity. He was very restless. He suffered from boils, probably due to the poorness of the blood.
On the 10th inst. it was found that he was wasting and had attacks of diarrhoea, in consequence of which he was sent to the infirmary. He grew worse and died on Wednesday. On a post mortem examination being made, it was found that there was a fracture of two ribs on the left side, which had evidently been caused by a fall or pressure.
Death was due to dysentry, and in his opinion the fractured ribs was not a contributory cause of death. On inquiries being made, it was ascertained that a fortnight before on a visiting day, another restless patient wanted to go to interfere with the visitors, and deceased, who was always anxious to assist the attendants went to fetch him back.
At a table they closed. They fell down by the side of the table, and afterwards the men were examined, but no marks were found on either of them.
Ada Parker, residing at 107, Rotherfield Street, Islington, stated she had visited deceased, who spoke very well of the kind attention he received from the attendants, although he did not like the other patients.
The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence, adding that the injuries did not accelerate the deceased death."
Dr Seward retired in September 1911, after 33 years service. He successor was first assistant medical officer Dr S. J. Gilfillan
Doctor William Joseph Seward died on 11th February 1918, his obituary in the British Medical Journal states;
"During his period of service was inaugurated the After Care Association for the rehabilitation into social life of those patients who had been discharged recovered, and he continued throughout his life to take the deepest interest in the society's welfare, as he also did in the Asylum Workers Association, of which he was a member of the executive committee.
In January 1903, a destructive fire occurred in the new wooden annexe, adjacent to the main buildings of Colney Hatch, which was demolished in about an hour. In this fire fifty one female patients lost their lives and the rest were saved with difficulty. This disaster cast a deep shadow upon Dr Seward's life, and he never recovered from the shock."
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