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The building is well situated on a gently sloping 'river gravel terrace' which is a common feature of the Thames river valley. This terrace was formed during the cold wet periglacial periods of the quaternary. more...

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The land immediately to the east was further cut down by the River Brent, which still flows alone its eastern perimeter. At its southern boundary is the Grand Union Canal and a flight of six locks. Both the southern wall of the old asylum and the flight of locks have been designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This meets the western boundary of Windmill Lane at the Three Bridges, (which is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument). Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1859, it consists of a cast-iron trough carrying the Grand Union Canal over the Great Western Railway and a cast-iron bridge carrying the public highway Windmill Lane over the other two. So, it is actually only two bridges.

Today the building also serves as the head offices of the West London Mental Health NHS Trust (WLMHT). Although the on-site facilities have been reduced and scaled down from what was once the world's largest asylum, it is still very much involved with the treatment and research into serious mental distress. A prior trust created the London West Mental Health R&D Consortium which also has its administrative base there. On the land released by scaling down the old mental hospital, there is now a complex of other buildings known as Ealing Hospital NHS Trust built on the old asylum's recreational grounds and cycle track to the east. At the back of the main building are some disused wards that still belong to the Regional Health Authority.

The WLMHT currently act as guardians of the Corsellis Collection, containing some nine thousand specimens of brains dating back to the 1950s. No larger depository of this speciality is known. WLMHT also run Broadmoor High Secure Hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire.

Medical terms in this article are in the context of what was legally correct usage for that period where they appear in the text. Therefore, terms as: feeble-minded, idiot, imbecile, lunatic etc., are not intended to cause offence.

Early History

The building of the asylum was made possible through several Acts of Parliament and statutes still drive the changes in mental health care into the present day. The more important ones and other notable dates are:

County Asylums Act (1808)

The context which made it possible to create an asylum in Middlesex might be best understood from drawing attention to the 1808 County Asylums Act. This recognised lunatics as being ill, being held in the wrong institutions and who would possibly 'recover' if given the right type of treatment. Non-recovery would mean the insane pauper would always need to be looked after and hence cost more in the long run. The war with France had cost much. Moreover, industrialisation was causing some parishes to grow in population and so have a greater number of people in need than the existing system of charitable institutions and workhouses could cope with. This 'acceptance' of insanity being an illness can almost be seen as an attempt to improve the health of local finances rather than that of the poor or for to meet any other high need of humanity.

Read more at Wikipedia.org