> plus the cost of the bell (£34.0.5d) from Mears in Whitechapel, London.
The clock mechanism which came from Dents in The Strand in London
was £85.00. plus two copper dials at an extra cost of £16.00. By 1902 it
was thought the turret was an unsightly addition as it spoilt the look of the
asylum’s central block and ruined the look of the skyline. It was dismantled
and the bell weighing approximately 4cwt (approx 200kgs) was removed
from the clock tower and rehung in St Luke’s chapel.
Left: The oldest piece of
asylum crockery know, Officers
ornate water jug, this was found
in America last year and kindly
purchased and sent to us free
of charge.How did it get there?
No photo’s or descriptions survive of the decoration inside Three Counties
in the 1860’s but we do have general descriptions of other modern asylums
of the same time and as most decoration and facility’s were fairly standard,
we know our asylum would have been much the same, there would have
been distemper on the walls of the rooms and corridors. Stairways and
toilets would have been lime-washed. All floors would have been bare pine
boards with a few scattered rugs, all stairs were concrete. All lighting was
gas which omitted a constant hiss. The rooms could be stuffy with the gas
lamps and ventilation was sometimes a problem.
We do know many details of Three Counties facilities from the records
and minutes books. We know that the toilets and bathroom