The Story of the Warneford
Our Journey through Time
Explore the key milestones that have shaped the Warneford from the humble beginnings to our latest developments.
c.1725
Hook Norton
A privately-run ‘madhouse’ opens at Hook Norton.
1796
The Retreat is opened at York by the Quakers, pioneering ‘moral treatment’ which becomes a model for asylum care
1826
The Radcliffe Asylum
The Radcliffe Asylum opens as a charitable asylum with 40 beds, planned by governors of the Radcliffe Infirmary. It was re-named as the Warneford Asylum in 1843 in recognition of donations by the Revd. Samuel Warneford
1845
Two Acts of Parliament, the Lunacy Act and the County Asylums Act, create a national network of asylums in all English counties and boroughs, and set up a regulatory body for asylums
1846
Littlemore Hospital
Littlemore Hospital opens as the publicly-funded asylum for Oxfordshire ‘paupers’
1870s
The Warneford Hospital
The Warneford Hospital is extended to provide 100 beds
1914-1918
Existing ideas about mental illness are challenged by World War I and the concept of war neuroses or ‘shell shock’
1923
The Maudsley Hospital is opened as the first teaching and research psychiatric hospital in Britain
1926
New female matron
A female matron is put in charge of nursing male patients at the Warneford for the first time
1930
The Mental Treatment Act encouraged early treatment. New mental health professions are established, and new treatments are introduced
1933
Highfield Park House
Highfield Park House is purchased to become the Park Hospital, first as a convalescent mental hospital, and in 1958 as a child psychiatric hospital
1948
The Warneford and Park Hospitals
The Warneford and Park Hospitals, and Littlemore Hospital, enter the NHS, with free treatment for all
1956
Chlorpromazine (also known as Largactil), a tranquiliser, the first of many new psychiatric medicines, is introduced
1950s
Seymour Spencer & May Davidson
Research into undergraduate mental health problems is undertaken by Warneford psychiatrist Seymour Spencer and psychologist May Davidson
1959
The Mental Health Act is passed, abolishing stigmatising certification procedures
From 1960
A government policy of ‘community care’ is initiated, leading to the eventual closure of the large asylums, such as Littlemore
1969
Department of Psychiatry
The Oxford University Department of Psychiatry opens on the Warneford site
From 1990s
Littlemore Hospital
The old buildings of Littlemore Hospital close
1999
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is established, which issues a series of evidence-based practice guidelines on psychiatric conditions
2012
Highfield Adolescent Unit
The Highfield Adolescent Unit opens on the Warneford site, as a state-of-the-art NHS facility for young people with acute mental health needs
2017
Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
The Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is established at the Warneford by the NHS and the University of Oxford, to develop new treatments for mental disorders and dementia
2020-2023
The COVID epidemic has a major impact on the mental health of the community, in particular on young people
2026
Bicentenary
The bicentenary of the opening of the Warneford Hospital
