Mental Health Institutions in Scotland

What is included?

Over the past few centuries, many mental health institutions have operated in Scotland. It is relatively easy to find information regarding the large public asylums. Many smaller institutions also existed, some of which had only a few private patients. We aim to include as many of these as possible as we expand these pages. For the moment, the pages contain details of all licensed institutions operating when the 1857 report of the Royal Lunacy Commission was being prepared. The commission visited each licensed institution in Scotland, and the appendices of the report contain accounts of each of their visits, the text of which is to be found in these pages. We have also added pages for some other institutions which operated prior to 1857, and which opened later, but many still need to be added. We hope this serves as a starting point.

The institutions below are arranged by county.

Institutions by County

Aberdeenshire

Angus

Argyll & Bute

Ayrshire

Banffshire

Berwickshire

Dumfriesshire

Dunbartonshire/Dumbartonshire

East Lothian

Fife

Inverness-shire

Kincardineshire

Kinross-shire

Lanarkshire

Midlothian

Moray

Perthshire

Renfrewshire

Ross & Cromarty

Roxburghshire

Selkirkshire

Stirlingshire

West Lothian

Wigtownshire

Aberdeenshire

Aberdeen District Asylum (Kingseat)

Aberdeen Poorhouse

Aberdeen Royal Asylum (Cornhill)

Buchan Poorhouse (Maud)

Middlefield House, Aberdeen

Old Machar Poorhouse

Angus

Baldovan Orphanage and Asylum

Dundee District Asylum (Westgreen)

Dundee Poorhouse

Dundee Royal Asylum (Liff)

Liff & Benvie Poorhouse

Montrose Royal Asylum (Sunnyside)

Argyll & Bute

Argyll & Bute Asylum, Lochgilphead

Revd Neilson's House, Rothesay

Ayrshire

Ayr District Asylum

Caldwell House

Cunninghame Combination Poorhouse (Irvine)

Banffshire

Banff District Asylum (Ladysbridge)

Woodpark Asylum

Berwickshire

Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk Lunatic Asylum (Dingleton)

Dumfriesshire

Crichton Royal Asylum (Dumfries)

Dumfries Poorhouse

Southern Counties Asylum (Dumfries)

Upper Nithsdale Combination Poorhouse (Thornhill)

Dunbartonshire/Dumbartonshire

Dumbarton Poorhouse

Waverley Park Home (Kirkintilloch)

Westermains (Kirkintilloch)

Woodilee Asylum, Lenzie

East Lothian

Haddington District Asylum (Herdmanflat)

Tranent Asylum

Fife

Dunfermline Poorhouse

Fife & Kinross District Asylum (Stratheden)

Kirkcaldy Combination Poorhouse

Inverness-shire

Englishtown House

Inverness Infirmary

Long Island Poorhouse

Northern Counties District Asylum (Craig Dunain)

Kincardineshire

Kincardineshire Combination Poorhouse, Stonehaven (Woodcot)

Kinross-shire

Fife & Kinross District Asylum (Stratheden)

Lanarkshire

Barony Poorhouse, Barnhill

Blackfaulds Asylum, Rutherglen

City Poorhouse Asylum, Glasgow

Garngad House

Gartnavel Royal Asylum

Gartloch Asylum

Govan Poorhouse

Hamilton Poorhouse

Kirklands Asylum, Bothwell

Langdale House, Bothwell

Lanark District Asylum (Hartwood)

Old Monkland Poorhouse, Coatbridge

Springbank Retreat, Glasgow

Stoneyetts Institution

Midlothian

Alexander Chalmers' House, Musselburgh

Bellfield House, Musselburgh

Campie Lane House, Musselburgh

City Poorhouse, Edinburgh

Dalkeith Combination Poorhouse

Eastfield House, Joppa

Eastport House, Musselburgh

Edinburgh Idiot Asylum

Gilmore House, Liberton

Gogarburn Institution

Hallcross House, Musselburgh

Hawkfield House, Leith

Inveresk Poorhouse

Lilybank House, Musselburgh

Mavisbank House

Melville House, Musselburgh

Midlothian & Peebles District Asylum (Rosslynlee)

Millholme House, Musselburgh

Miss Campbell's House, Musselburgh

Mollendo House, Musselburgh

Mrs Brownlee's House, Musselburgh

Mrs Monro's House, Musselburgh

Newbigging House, Musselburgh

Pennywell House, Edinburgh

Royal Edinburgh Asylum

Saughtonhall Asylum

Seabank House, Musselburgh

Shepherd House, Inveresk

Smeaton Grove, Inveresk

Somerside House, Dalkeith

South Leith Poorhouse

St Cuthberts Poorhouse, Edinburgh

Whitehouse Asylum, Inveresk

Moray

Elgin Asylum (Bilbohall)

Perthshire

James Murray's Royal Asylum (Perth)

Perth District Asylum (Murthly)

Perth General Prison

Perth Poorhouse

Renfrewshire

Abbey Poorhouse Asylum, Paisley

Govan District Asylum (Hawkhead)

Greenock Poorhouse

Hillend House, Greenock

Paisley Burgh Parish Poorhouse

Renfrew District Asylum (Dykebar)

Riccartsbar Asylum

Smithston Poorhouse, Greenock (Ravenscraig)

Ross & Cromarty

Lewis Poorhouse (Stornoway)

Roxburghshire

Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk Lunatic Asylum (Dingleton)

Selkirkshire

Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk Lunatic Asylum (Dingleton)

Stirlingshire

Blinkbonny Home (Falkirk)

Falkirk Poorhouse

Lennox Castle Institution

Royal Scottish National Institution

Stirling District Asylum (Bellsdyke)

Stirling Poorhouse

West Lothian

Bangour Village Asylum

Linlithgow Poorhouse

Wigtownshire

Wigtownshire Combination Poorhouse (Stranraer)

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