A journey ‘Inside Glenside’
Extracts 1 to10
A Heritage Lottery Funded Project
’One of the things I found strange, people that had past us in the grounds had toothbrushes sticking out of their pockets where people normally had pens. The toothbrush was precious. It said something about how life must be organised. That it was so important to carry your toothbrush at all times.’
(35 seconds)
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I plan to take you with me on this quest to discover through the voices of the people who knew the hospital; ‘why did people carry their toothbrushes around and what did it say about the hospital?’
‘How was life organised?’
There are many answers and we may all come to different conclusions. Oral History does not provide the definitive it provides an exploration.
Continue to Keys & Breaking Glass
There are many answers and we may all come to different conclusions. Oral History does not provide the definitive it provides an exploration.
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These two pieces are symbolic of life in a Mental Hospital.
Continue to Descriptions of Glenside Hospital Museum
Our thanks go to all those who contributed to this project, to the History of Glenside Hospital and our Museum.
In particular we would like to thank Mary Ingoldby, Judith Craddock and Stella Man who with the help a dedicated team of Museum volunteers have collected and recorded over 40 perspectives.
So what impression did Glenside have on those who lived and worked there? This next sound piece gives a flavour from people who had first-hand experience of the Hospital over the years.
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As the last voice concluded, our own perceptions of institutions are coloured by what we have heard, what we fear and what we have experienced.
When the word Asylum is mentioned, all sorts of images come to mind. They may come from fiction such as the film ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or tragic reports from the News.
As that piece illustrated, Glenside Hospital for some was familiar, a place of safety but for others it was an uncomfortable place.
Your perspective and emotional reaction to such an institution will be dependent on so many variables. It was the same for the people who lived and worked there.
This next piece contains a variety of views about the wards, from the people who had firsthand experience. They provide us with some further understanding about how life was organised in the hospital.
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The following two sound pieces really start to uncover why some patients may have carried toothbrushes in their pockets.
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