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b.c1832-d.1913
George Clarke was born c1832.
Admission to Hoxton House Asylum
On 2 July 1901, George was admitted to Hoxton House Asylum in Shoreditch. He was discharged the following year on 25 March 1902 (probably when the asylum was closed) and transferred to the Horton Asylum. On admittance his diagnosis is shown as ‘mania (senile)’.
A patient at Horton
The next record we have for George is the 1911 census, where as a patient at Horton, he’s described as a 79 year-old widower with the occupation ‘scaffolder’.
Who was George Clarke?
Without more information this is a difficult story to piece together. There are several potential records for George but there’s not enough information currently to positively identify him. Hopefully more records will come to light in future so we can add to George’s story.
The best fit candidate that I can find on the 1901 census is a George Clarke aged 69 (b1832), a pauper, single, born Lewes, Sussex and living at the St George Hanover Square Union Workhouse, his occupation is given as formerly general labourer.
The same man on the 1891 census is aged 58 and a widower living 3 Francis Place, St. George, Hanover Square and working as a general labourer. Going back to the 1881 census, this George is living 16 St. Margarets Terrace, St. George, Hanover Square with wife Ann (aged 58, born Devon), occupation labourer.
If this is the correct man, then he was probably baptised on 3.5.1829 at St. Thomas’, Lewes, Sussex to William & Harriet Clark. There is a death entry for Harriet in 1838, aged 48 (buried St. Thomas).
Case Notes
In June 1908 the Case Notes say George “has auditory hallucinations and says there is someone outside on the windowsill … His memory is impaired …. He is in fair health and condition. His pupils do not react to light.”
In September 1912, the Case Notes say he’s “still very irritable and excitable. He shows marked improvement of all his faculties. His memory is hopeless, and he has no idea of the year and still has hallucinations of hearing”.
George died on 31 March 1913, aged 81 and is buried in grave 537a. His cause of death is shown as: i) arteriosclerosis , ii) senility and iii) valvular disease of heart.
