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b.1877-d.1910
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/invite-ui/accept?token=_lyKeUMWiVIvsbZERSMu7_F5WBAJjc9aR-Ul9ZnxJdg=
Finding Lucy Fox
There was no match for a Lucy Fox born in 1877 or 1878 in the BMD records, which was the birth date suggested by the Horton cemetery burial list. We were lucky enough, however, to have her case records, which showed she had been a patient at Cane Hill and Norfolk Asylum, before entering Manor.
From this information, I found her details in the Lambeth Settlement Papers of 1901.
Lucy’s mother and twin sister
They state she was born on the 19th November, 1874. There was a birth entry for December Quarter, 1874, in Lambeth, without a mother’s surname. This tied in with census entries for 1881 and 1891, for a Lucy Fox at a school for orphans: St Barnabas School, Bromley Road, Beckenham. A copy of the birth certificate confirmed the date of 19th November 1874, and the birthplace was 67 Park Street, Lambeth. The birth was illegitimate. Her mother was Caroline Fox, a servant, who couldn’t write her name. It appears Lucy was a twin and her sister was also called Caroline. Their mother “died when she was very young,” according to these records. I was not, however, able to find a death record to confirm this.
The House of Compassion
The Settlement Papers tell us the two girls were brought up at the House of Compassion, 110 Bromley Road, Beckenham. We can see Lucy Fox at this establishment in the 1881 Census, where she is listed as an orphan, as are all the female children. There is, however, no listing for her sister Caroline.
The Settlement Papers have a lot of detail, and tell us that when Lucy was 16, on 19 November 1890, she went into service. This was the normal course of events for a girl of her social class at the time. This was at Tupman (either the name of the family or the property) in Bletchley, Bucks for two years. This can’t be completely accurate, however, as she appears in the 1891 Census at the House of Compassion again, as a boarder.
First admission to the asylum
The notes say her return to Beckenham was only for a short time. She was then sent to the asylum at Barming Heath for three years. This was the Kent County Asylum, near Maidstone (From index of English and Welsh Lunatic Asylums). This means she was only 17 or 18 when she first went into the asylum. There is no information to state what caused this.
The next step in her life was Bromley Workhouse (there are no records for this on Ancestry). I did, however, find an entry from a Google search on Bromley Poor Law Union Workhouse Creed Registers, showing Lucy’s entry on 11 July 1893, and then her being discharged to the asylum, possibly Barming Heath again on 31 July 1893.
Her next of kin is Miss C Fox (we presume her sister) of c/o Dr Kirby’s Kelsie Road, Beckenham
A succession of jobs
She must have improved again, as in 1895 she went to a Mrs Jackson, a linen draper of Oakley Road, Bromley Common for two years and five months. We assume this didn’t work out for her, as she was back at Bromley Workhouse until 18 March 1898.
Then Lucy Fox went to a Creamery in Widmore Road, Bromley for one month.
Then to 6 St Faith’s Road, Tulse Hill, which from Google Streetview, appears to be a semi-detached Victorian villa. We presume she went as a servant, still in 1898. The notes tell us this was only for “a short time”, then she is off again to Daysbrook Road, Streatham for another “short time”. Then again to Hawke Road, Upper Norwood until 1900.
From 11 October 1900 to Feb 1901, the notes state she was at a school: “Misses Judd of 89 Belvedere, Upper Norwood”. A Google search showed there was a school for girls at this address, called Belvedere House School. Was she a boarder or a servant?
Finally she was at Lyndhurst, Maderia Road, Streatham, which is the house that appears in the address book for the Manor case records. The contact there was a Mrs E Ashdown, a former mistress, which we believe was a teaching role. She was there for three months before being admitted to the Wandsworth and Clapham Infirmary.
A return to the asylum
The next place was unfortunately the Cane Hill Asylum in Coulsdon. Her entry date was 11th April 1901. She would have been 26 years old then. We do not have any records for Lucy’s stay at Cane Hill. She was discharged on 5th December 1905 as “not improved”.
Next she was sent to Norfolk Asylum. It was known then as St Andrews Hospital in Thorpe St Andrew. I found an entry on a Norfolk record site, which confirmed she was a domestic servant, aged 28 (but she was actually 31), her religion was Church of England and she was single with no children. There was an admission photo but that wasn’t showing. Her diagnosis was melancholia, which is defined now as a lifetime condition with recurrent episodes. It is seen in patients with major depression and bipolar disorder. She was discharged, not improved to Manor Asylum on April 21 1908.
https://nrocatalogue.norfolk.gov.uk/index.php/case-record-of-lucy-fox-2
The Manor Hospital case notes
The Manor Hospital case notes do not have the box for melancholia ticked, but instead say her “mental state is evasive and uncertain”. The physical description tells us she had dark hair and grey eyes. We are also told she feels she is “more in Kent than in Surrey”.
The case records then start to paint a picture of her. The first entry in April tells us that she “endeavours to expose herself indecently, if she sees any men about”. Her insanity is alternating, sometimes she is quiet and well behaved, at other times she hears imaginary voices, and is noisy and threatens to attack other patients. The box “Dangerous to Others” is marked Yes.
The notes continue to tell us that she is sometimes quiet but other times “noisy excited and spiteful”. In May 1908, outbursts led to her smashing panels of glass in a dormitory door. This resulted in her removal to a padded cell. Staff mention ordering sulphonal, which I believe is a sedative, and later using it, but for her behaviour to remain “noisy and quarrelsome”. In January she ties her hair around her neck in an attempt to strangle herself.
By March 1910, her health is no longer mentioned as “fair” but as “poor”. In April there is little change in her condition, but on May 26th the entry tells us she just had a seizure and died within three minutes. On the statement of death, the primary cause was pachymeningitis. This is a rare condition which causes areas of tissue around the spinal cord and brain to become inflamed. It is now thought to be the result of an infection such as syphilis, tuberculosis or other bacterial infection. The secondary cause was vascular disease of the heart.
She was buried at Horton Cemetery on 31 May 1910 in plot 871b. She had been at Manor for two years and was only 35 years old when she died.
