Wiltshire Asylum Registers, 1789-1921

The detail in each record will vary according to institution and date. However, in general you can expect to find:

• Name
• Admission date
• Age
• Occupation
• Marital condition
• Place of residence
• Status – i.e. private, pauper, criminal
• Discharge date (or date of death, if death occurred at the institution)

The earlier records are from various private asylums in the county. In 1851, the Wiltshire County Asylum, known as Roundway Hospital, was opened in Devizes under the 1845 County Asylums Act and became the main facility treating and housing patients suffering from mental ill-health.

The original records are deposited at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre and have been indexed by the Wiltshire Family History Society. In some cases, there are surviving case notes as well as the admission registers transcribed as part of the Family History Society’s project; these can be accessed at the archive.