The topic of housing is central to urban history as well as to social policy. Historians have focussed either on local conditions or national developments, but until first publication of this book in 1980, there had been few systematic attempts to relate local amenities to general policy. The essays provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of housing, blending original local studies with a novel theoretical perspective on the development of social policy. Covering a wide geographical area, the book focusses on housing conditions within the locality surveyed and the intervention of both local and central government in the provision of working-class dwellings. The studies relate specific cases to general problems of economic and social development and changes in class relations.

The topic of housing is central to urban history as well as to social policy. Historians have focussed either on local conditions or national developments, but until first publication of this book in 1980, there had been few systematic attempts to relate local amenities to general policy. The essays provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of housing, blending original local studies with a novel theoretical perspective on the development of social policy. Covering a wide geographical area, the book focusses on housing conditions within the locality surveyed and the intervention of both local and central government in the provision of working-class dwellings. The studies relate specific cases to general problems of economic and social development and changes in class relations.

Taking forward the debate on the role and power of institutions for treating and incarcerating the insane, this volume challenges recent scholarship and focuses on a wide range of factors impacting on the care and confinement of the insane since 1850, including such things as the community, Poor Law authorities, local government and the voluntary sector.

Questioning the notion that institutions were generally ‘benign’ and responsive to the needs of households, this work also emphasizes the important role of the diversity of interests in shaping institutional facilities.

A fresh, stimulating step forward in the history of institutional care, Mental Illness and Learning Disability since 1850 is undoubtedly an important resource for student and scholar alike.

Taking forward the debate on the role and power of institutions for treating and incarcerating the insane, this volume challenges recent scholarship and focuses on a wide range of factors impacting on the care and confinement of the insane since 1850, including such things as the community, Poor Law authorities, local government and the voluntary sector.

Questioning the notion that institutions were generally ‘benign’ and responsive to the needs of households, this work also emphasizes the important role of the diversity of interests in shaping institutional facilities.

A fresh, stimulating step forward in the history of institutional care, Mental Illness and Learning Disability since 1850 is undoubtedly an important resource for student and scholar alike.

The discovery and treatment of insanity remains one of the most debated and discussed issues in social history.

Focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century, The Politics of Madness provides a new perspective on this important topic, based on research drawn from both local and national material. Within a social and cultural history of the English political and class order, it presents a fresh appraisal of the significance of the asylum in the decades following the creation of a national asylum system in 1845.

Arguing that the new asylums provided a meeting place for different social interests and aspirations, the text asserts that this then marked a transition in provincial power relations from the landed interests to the new coalition of professional, commercial and populist groups, which gained control of the public asylums at the end of the period surveyed.

The discovery and treatment of insanity remains one of the most debated and discussed issues in social history.

Focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century, The Politics of Madness provides a new perspective on this important topic, based on research drawn from both local and national material. Within a social and cultural history of the English political and class order, it presents a fresh appraisal of the significance of the asylum in the decades following the creation of a national asylum system in 1845.

Arguing that the new asylums provided a meeting place for different social interests and aspirations, the text asserts that this then marked a transition in provincial power relations from the landed interests to the new coalition of professional, commercial and populist groups, which gained control of the public asylums at the end of the period surveyed.

The topic of housing is central to urban history as well as to social policy. Historians have focussed either on local conditions or national developments, but until first publication of this book in 1980, there had been few systematic attempts to relate local amenities to general policy. The essays provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of housing, blending original local studies with a novel theoretical perspective on the development of social policy. Covering a wide geographical area, the book focusses on housing conditions within the locality surveyed and the intervention of both local and central government in the provision of working-class dwellings. The studies relate specific cases to general problems of economic and social development and changes in class relations.

The topic of housing is central to urban history as well as to social policy. Historians have focussed either on local conditions or national developments, but until first publication of this book in 1980, there had been few systematic attempts to relate local amenities to general policy. The essays provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of housing, blending original local studies with a novel theoretical perspective on the development of social policy. Covering a wide geographical area, the book focusses on housing conditions within the locality surveyed and the intervention of both local and central government in the provision of working-class dwellings. The studies relate specific cases to general problems of economic and social development and changes in class relations.

Taking forward the debate on the role and power of institutions for treating and incarcerating the insane, this volume challenges recent scholarship and focuses on a wide range of factors impacting on the care and confinement of the insane since 1850, including such things as the community, Poor Law authorities, local government and the voluntary sector.

Questioning the notion that institutions were generally ‘benign’ and responsive to the needs of households, this work also emphasizes the important role of the diversity of interests in shaping institutional facilities.

A fresh, stimulating step forward in the history of institutional care, Mental Illness and Learning Disability since 1850 is undoubtedly an important resource for student and scholar alike.

Taking forward the debate on the role and power of institutions for treating and incarcerating the insane, this volume challenges recent scholarship and focuses on a wide range of factors impacting on the care and confinement of the insane since 1850, including such things as the community, Poor Law authorities, local government and the voluntary sector.

Questioning the notion that institutions were generally ‘benign’ and responsive to the needs of households, this work also emphasizes the important role of the diversity of interests in shaping institutional facilities.

A fresh, stimulating step forward in the history of institutional care, Mental Illness and Learning Disability since 1850 is undoubtedly an important resource for student and scholar alike.

The discovery and treatment of insanity remains one of the most debated and discussed issues in social history.

Focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century, The Politics of Madness provides a new perspective on this important topic, based on research drawn from both local and national material. Within a social and cultural history of the English political and class order, it presents a fresh appraisal of the significance of the asylum in the decades following the creation of a national asylum system in 1845.

Arguing that the new asylums provided a meeting place for different social interests and aspirations, the text asserts that this then marked a transition in provincial power relations from the landed interests to the new coalition of professional, commercial and populist groups, which gained control of the public asylums at the end of the period surveyed.

The discovery and treatment of insanity remains one of the most debated and discussed issues in social history.

Focusing on the second half of the nineteenth century, The Politics of Madness provides a new perspective on this important topic, based on research drawn from both local and national material. Within a social and cultural history of the English political and class order, it presents a fresh appraisal of the significance of the asylum in the decades following the creation of a national asylum system in 1845.

Arguing that the new asylums provided a meeting place for different social interests and aspirations, the text asserts that this then marked a transition in provincial power relations from the landed interests to the new coalition of professional, commercial and populist groups, which gained control of the public asylums at the end of the period surveyed.