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Highcroft Hall Aston Union Workhouse Erdington House

  • Thread starter Thread starter elizabeth
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elizabeth

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Is this part of the Aston Workhouse setup ?

My grandfather died in there of TB in 1911.
Would like to know a bitmore about how it was used.
 
Elizabeth,it looks like it

try          users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/Aston

Modified  seem to be unable to post link  try cut and paste

Colin
 
I bought a book yesterday called "Highcroft; from workhouse to modern mental health service" wrote by Highcroft History Group, edited by Mike Hinson. It covers background to the history of Highcroft, Aston Union Workhouse 1836-1871, The New Workhouse at Gravelly Hill 1871-1912, Erdington House 1912-1942, Highcroft Hall 1942-1948. Looks to be a good read after just flicking through it. :) :)
 
Aston Union Infirmary, Erdington.

I have written this before but for any new members, I think that I could be right in believing that people of low or no income were sent to Aston Union
Infirmary, Erdington.
 
I Stand Corrected.

ColinB. Its nice to know that I am caught out sometimes and the true facts really emerge, it does no good if something is not correct and is believe by many. Thank you Colin for putting things in order.
 
elizabeth said:
Is this part of the Aston Workhouse setup ?

My grandfather died in there of TB in 1911.

Would like to know a bitmore about how it was used.
Click to expand...
yes it was part of the aston union workhouse, during ww2 it was used as an operating thatre for wounded soldiers
 
You have to remember that the workhouse was also treated as the old peoples home in its day the poor and elderly especially the sick elderly invariably died in the work house as there was no where else for them, although the extended family was was more apparrent in these times if you had no family or were so poor that there was not space for the elderly sick then it was the work houses that provided through the alms house and parish system of a sort of care to these elderly people.
 
Long time no post - I wonder if anyone can help me find the location of Erdington Hospital presumably in Erdington. My grandmother died here in 1920 but I cannot find where it was. I had presumed that it was the old name for Highcroft Hospital but really have no idea. Can anyone out there help? Jayceevee
 
Thank you Colin for your information. I have been wondering where the hospital was for over a year. I should have just put a message on this site! Many thanks. jayceevee
 
Thank you Colin for the information on Erdington House. The book I am writing covers the war years in that area, which is why I previously asked for information on the Plaza cinema, and I would have got this wrong because I never heard of Highcroft Hospital being called anything different. Was it a General Hospital then I wonder, I bet someone knows.
 
There is a very good book, Highcroft: from Workhouse to Modern Mental Health Service by Mike Hinson available from the Highcroft History group, it includes a small piece on the war period. I have IM'd you with contact telephone no. for the group.
There are a number of threads on the forum already regarding Highcroft, try the search facility top right hand side

Colin
 
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No, it was a mental hospital. Unfortunately, in the early years it also had a lot of patients who were not even mentally sick. My gt grandfather used to beat his children, especially around the head it appears. His one daughter (he had 13 children) suffered as a result with epilepsy. My gt grandmother died in 1911, when this girl was about 16. Her father obviously got fed up with a daughter who could not work, he wanted go to London to live, so he dumped her in Erdington House and went off to London - this was about 1913. She never saw him again. She used to visit my grandfather on occasions, she used to sit there silently, doing the most beautiful embroidery. This poor lady lost contact with most of the family except her one niece, and did not die until 1976/77. Very sad. if we all had known the truth, I feel her life in later years may have been much better, but none of us knew much if anything at all. She obviously became mentally ill later, being surrounded by ill people, but she was not at the time of her incarceration.

Shortie
 
My grandmother was a nurse at Highcroft in the 1960's. She came from Belgium to birmingham in 1918 and married an English chartered accountant and they lived in Four Oaks.
I am trying to find out where she came from and thought that there may be access to records of staff working for the NHS. Is this possible?
Also would she have had to register with the local police during the war years and if so can I get access to these records?

Geri8tric:)
 
There are some Highcroft records in the Central Library - I don't know if these include staff records. Most of them have a 100 year closure! I wanted to look up about my husband's grandmother but the patient records are closed.
 
hi ahd a great uncle george bakewell robinson pass away at the erdington infirmary in the 1920's i live in australia, any suggestions on how can view or get a copy of his records as to why he died, my aunt beleived rhuematic fever n this cause eplileptic fits ans ? died of a seizure but it was a touchy subject, my grandmother apparently wanted to bring him out but was refused by ? granddad or great grandad, they immigrated in 1924 arriving in jan 1925 in australia. any help appreciated
 
one of my relatives died in erdington workhouse infirmary in 1918
was but her mother was living in tennent street was it used as a hospital for the poor as well as a workhouse
josie048643b0-e1a8-490d-b41a-40e9426e21a8[1].jpg
 
Dear Shorty, so sorry to read your story.... I feel that I must tell you my family story as well. First, I have just researched and found that Highcroft was origanally founded in 1836 and was formally known as the Aston Union Infirmary, later it became known as Erdington House. My late grandfather was Leonard Horace Smith ( the Birmingham Boxer Len "Tiger" Smith in the late 1920's to in the 1940's) and he was married to Grandmother Lillian Harris in 1934 in Birmingham. They had a daughter (my mother Mary Elizabeth Smith born 12 April 1935. During the year 1937 Len was to leave for South Africa and took my Mother with him as well as a lady by the name of Mona Meddins Primrose Jones.

After some time, my Mother found out that Mona was not her biological mother, but not a word was said about her biological mother Lillian Smith. Mona and Len had a son Graham Jones Smith, born here in South Africa where they then lived in Cape Town area. In the early 1950's, my Mother insisted that she wanted to know who her Mother was and Mona, with Graham and my mother set off to the UK to look for Lillian (Len did not go with for some reason). Now Mona knew all Len's family - and she took Mom from the one to the other in search of information as to Lillian's whereabouts to no avail.
In 1972 both Mona and their son Graham died and as my Mother had herself married and had 6 children, Len decided to return to the UK and we never heard from him ever again, nor did we know or met any of the family in the UK - no contact whatsoever!
For many many years (before internet) my brother started searching for Len and found out that Len died in Erdington in 1977 - This was a great shock to my mother and I remember her saying that she suspected he may have died, but the confirmation of his death was a great shock.
So we had no contact person to find out about Lillian and the search continued for many years and with the internet's help, we made contact with many of Len's family (Len had 4 sisters) but not one of his family members "knew" what happened to Lillian - even some of Lillian's own family members was made contact with, but to no avail. I had the most wonderful people in the UK who tried to help me as my Mother will be 79 on ther next birthday in April, time became a factor and we (myself and my siblings also needed to know Lillian's story.
This week Len's daughter-in-law unravelled the whole thing that nobody could inform us of.... Lillian Smith (nee Harris) must have been taken to Erdington Highcroft hopital in 1937 when Len had to leave for SA. Nowhere could we find any Marriage Certificate for Len and Mona, nor can any Devorce Certificate for Len and Lillian be found.....
My Grandmother was robbed of her daughter and taken to Highcroft for fighting to retain her child.... they do call that "mad" and so will most of us get mad if someone took our babies from us.... so now Len and Mona could take my Mom with them and start a new life in SA without any problem. When Len went back to the UK after Mona and Graham's death in 1972, he lived opposite Highcroft Hospital (to see the wife he dumped in 1937?) and I hope he had lots of photos of my Mom and all us 6 children that made her the happiest Mommy and Grandmommy in the whole wide world - she must have been so proud of us!!! If only we had known, she would have had a wonderful life WITH us and she would have seen her first 3 Great-grandchildren before her death! This Monday it is going to be a very emotional day for me as, AT LAST my precious Mommy will find out about her precious Mommy and she will have the closure she needed since she was a small little girl! HOPE EVERYONE WHO READS THIS WILL BE THINKING OF ME ON MONDAY WHEN I GIVE MOM THE NEWS :) :) :)

Emmie Germishuys :)
 
Sorry, also just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to BIRMINGHAMHISTORY as it was right here where I found the WONDERFUL people who helped me locate may Grandmother's whereabouts - You are AWESOME PEOPLE! XXXX
 
From what date are the records closed. I want to look up someone born 1870 died in Highcroft 1935. Per his death certificate he was in Highcroft and at a guess it appears he was probably an inpatient from 1924. Would I be able to access his records. I do have the death certificate
 
The only details retained in the archives would be dates of admission and dates of discharge/death, all medical records for mental patients would have been destroyed after 20 years from date of last contact (in the case of discharge) or 10 years after patients death, other medical records would have been destroyed 8 years after patients death, with the exception of maternity/obstetric records which are retained for 25 years after the birth of the last child.
Details of staff don't usually include much more than dates of employment and sometimes qualifications, for some hospitals there are minutes of management meetings which will often include names of staff.

Colin
 
Thank you for the excellent info Colin. It is a sort of shame that we can never know why he was admitted in the first place. We are hoping that it was not merely because he went blind. On the other hand perhaps there are things we should not know. No one in the family ever spoke of it. I do know at least some family members never spoke to his wife for years but we do not know why. The death cert just said pneumonia.

I am really upset about the maternity records though. I have been waiting for 2016 so I can check my father in laws birth records at Queen Charlotte hospital, Holborn as I thought they became available after 100 years. Now I discover I will never know why I cannot find the birth certificate or why he was born in London. I did try emailing the LMA to ask for access to the records but I only got responses from national archives telling me to contact LMA. Sigh.
 
What a shame...., but at least I know that it will never be possible to find the records of my Grandmother Lillian (Harris) Smith - the 2nd wife of the Birmingham Boxer , Len Tiger Smith (Leonard Horace Smith).

At least, after searching for Lillian Smith all our lives, we have managed to find her having been admitted to Highcroft Hall for post-natal depression in 1937 when her daughter was only 2 and half year old and my Grandfather Len Smith removing my Mother from Lillian and starting a new life with his mistress Mona Medins Primrose Jones in South Africa.

Len and Mona had a son (Graham Jones Smith) born in 1939 and lived in South Africa till Mona's death in 1972 as well as their son Graham's death - also in 1972, never to inform my mother Mary Elizabeth Smith (Betty Volschenk) about Lillian's whereabouts. Len returned to the UK after their deaths and he died in Erdington in 1978 without making contact with his daughter Betty and his 6 grandchildren in South Africa ever again....

It was quite obvious that none of Len's family members, whom we made contact with since internet, refused to inform us - "nobody ever new nor heard anything!!!", but with the help of Wendy Horn and her family, we tracked her to Highcroft Hall Hopital where she was left to spend the rest of her life from 1937, after being moved to Kingfisher when Highcroft was sold - until she turned 81 years old where she died.

Lillian has 5 grandchildren in South Africa (my brother Jacobus died in 1987) and 14 Great Grandchildren as well as 14 Great-Great grandchildren - HAD WE KNOWN WHERE SHE WAS WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALIVE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SUCH AN HONOUR FOR US TO HAVE FETCHED HER AND GIVEN HER THE LIFE SHE DESERVED WITH US - PITY THE FAMILY IN THE UK FELT EMBARRASSED TO TELL US WHERE TO FIND HER, NOTWITHSTANDING OUR DESPARATE BEGGING FOR INFORMATION!!!

During 1951 my Mother (Mary Elizabeth Smith - Volschenk, travelled all the way from SA to the UK to try and find her Mother, with Mona Jones and Graham by her side, but the family still maintained that they had "NO CLUE" of her whereabouts - Mom returned to SA, SHATTERED, and spent all these years wondering what could have happened to her dear Mother....


Well, my Mom Mary Elizabeth Smith-Volschenk is now nearly 79 years old - and only now found out what the true story was - that Len's Lady was put away in order that Len could live with his mistress in South Africa without having any trouble of a wife giving him a hard time..... at least Mona Medins Primrose was a good mother to my Mom but she knew Len was a married man with a child.... what a way to start a new life - easy way to get the wife out of the way - just have her admitted.???.

Lillian, may your soul rest in peace - we may never have met you, but we lived our lives with you in our hearts and will love you ALWAYS xxxxxxxxx ,
 
My Father Frederick Albert Darby died in Highcroft in 1968, he spent the last years of his life there suffering from Huntingdons. Visited many times, very sad place.
There was one old boy in the same ward as my Dad, suffering from the effects of the Great War, he was always under his bed shouting to his mates.
 
Colin B said:
Highcroft Hospital was known as Erdington House between 1912 and 1948.
My website https://www.bhamb14.co.uk/index_files/HIGHCROFTHALLHOSPITAL.htm

Colin
Click to expand...


hi colin..wonder if you clear something up for me please..i have read up on highcroft hall hospital and the book says that after the introduction of the national health service in 1948 this is when it became known as highcroft hall hospital...thing is i have a family birth cert here saying date of birth 3.8.1947..where born 18 highcroft road at highcroft hall hospital so it was called that before 1948..the mother lived a stones throw from dudley road hospital so is it possable that at this time she was suffering from mental health problems...and i am right in thinking it used to be a workhouse...i have done a street walk and i think that highcroft hall hospital is still there??

thanks for any help

lyn
 
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Just noticed I did two washes instead of a was and a wash!
Highcroft Hospital was originally the local workhouse I believe and changed to a hospital for mental illnesses. I'm sure someone will confirm this. Older folks around there remembered it as a workhouse and didn't want to go in although things had much improved. It is now apartments but luckily they left it as a landmark.
 
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