Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Building the Retreat: the first 60 years (1794-1854) 

Dr Victoria Hopgood

The Retreat, the Quaker asylum situated on the outskirts of York, has from its opening in 1796 always attracted considerable attention, not least as a model of an institution practicing a more humane method of treatment. As such it is recognised as a pioneer of what was to become known as the ‘moral treatment’ of the insane thus establishing its position in medical history.

Until very recently the physical buildings which housed the patients, and sequence of development of the site, have gained little attention. And, as such it is tempting to accept that what is visible today is the product of a single vision of the founders and built in a single phase of construction to meet the needs of the founders.  However, this is not the case.

This talk will take us on a necessarily brief overview of the first sixty years of buildings development at the Retreat, from the original house as built in 1794-6, through to the extensive rebuilding of the east and west wings in the 1850’s as a response to increase in demand for space.

Please note that the history of mental health treatment will not be addressed in this talk and does not include a tour of the hospital.   Recreation Hall at the Retreat doors open at 2pm for 2.30pm – please do not arrive before this time.

This is a free talk, but ALL tickets must be pre-booked at:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/yorkshire-philosophical-society

Please note we recommend using public transport as the U2 university bus stops outside the venue and there is very little parking.  Please do not park in surrounding streets.

Image © Victoria Hopgood

Member’s report

This lecture was a whistle-stop account of the first 60 years of building at The Retreat. Begun by Friends who wished to provide a more humane form of treatment for the insane, William Tuke started a campaign of fund raising in 1792 which continued almost ceaselessly for over 200 years. Twenty acres were purchased in 1793, nine acres of which were immediately sold on to reduce the outlay to £1,357.  Tuke produced the original design for a simple, dignified edifice, a central block with east and west wings for male and female patients respectively, south facing on elevated ground outside the city.  Watson and Pritchett were appointed house architects, building began in 1794, and The Retreat accepted the first of its intended thirty patients in 1796.   The need for places was such however that the original building was soon inadequate, and buildings proliferated, were extended, had their roofs raised, their use changed, or were altered, over the years.  In 1845 The Lunatic Act and The County Asylum Act forced additional changes.  Unpicking what was done when is complicated by the fact that much the same plain style was used throughout, and both plans and minutes of relevant meetings over the years simply refer to “new buildings”.  In several cases Dr. Hopgood has had to rely on the size of the bricks to date structures.  Her painstaking examination of the buildings and of an archive comprised of some 650,000 digitised records has resulted in a comprehensive understanding of the early development of an institution integral to the history of York.

Felicity Hurst