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The Windham Case

The Enquiry held in London in 1861 into the state of mind of William Frederick Windham, heir to the Felbrigg Estate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Kingsley Jones
Kingsley Jones*
Affiliation:
St. Andrew's Hospital, Norwich
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Extract

The Public Enquiry into William Frederick Windham's ‘alleged lunacy’ is well documented and the evidence of 140 witnesses provides a uniquely full history. The case is of interest as a diagnostic problem, a study in mid-nineteenth century psychiatric thinking and methodology, and in the then prevailing attitudes to mental illness. It was a significant event in psychiatric history, as the scale and expense of the trial brought the method of public enquiry into bad repute. Thus the case represented one of the steps away from legal management in psychiatric illness and towards medical management.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 119 , Issue 551 , October 1971 , pp. 425 - 433
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1971 

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References

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