Designed by William Stark (1770-1813), the Glasgow Lunatic Asylum in Parliamentary Road was completed in 1814. It was planned around an octagonal centre with four projecting wings housing patients and their amenities. In this way, patients of different social ranks could be kept separate.
Above the central structure and the servants quarters was an octagonal room which served as the chapel, lit by windows in the dome. In the foundation stone of the building were buried three bottles containing the current gold, silver and bronze coins and a copy of each of the seven Glasgow newspapers of the time. It is thought that the construction of the asylum cost upwards of £18,000.
Reference: Mitchell Library, GC 914.1435
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
chapels, domes, foundation stones, Glasgow Lunatic Asylum, hospitals, lunatic asylums, lunatics, madness, mental health