Mendip Hospital Cemetery

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Mendip Hospital Cemetery Here nearly 3000 former patients and staff were laid to rest between 1874 and 1963.

This cemetery was the burial ground for the Somerset and Bath Pauper Lunatic Asylum, later known as the Wells Mental Hospital, and later still, the Mendip Hospital. The cemetery is now both a nature reserve and a living memorial to the poor souls buried here. Most of the ground is now meadow, the grasses being mown just once a year in the autumn, encouraging insects, birds, and wild flowers to thrive. The pond is also full of life, from frogs in the spring to dragonflies in the summer, all living around the lily pads and rushes. Most of those buried here were poor and often forgotten by their families, so there are very few stone monuments. The vast majority had just a numbered metal marker on their grave, but these were later removed and stored in heaps around the site. Now, many have been arranged in groups around the pathways, some flanking remarkable wooden sculptures by the talented and sensitive artist, Peter Bolton. Though most of our ‘residents’ lie in unmarked graves, they are not forgotten. In the chapel we have a folder containing an alphabetical database of all those buried here: name, place of origin, and date of death. We have copies of the cemetery’s burial and grave registers which give us the approximate location of each individuals burial, a great help for people tracing their lost ancestors. Also in the chapel you will find original maps and architects plans, as well as an exhibition celebrating the history of the hospital and its cemetery in photographs and documents. We will be open every Sunday and Wednesday 11am - 3.45pm from April 3rd to the end of September, 2024

We are entirely reliant on your donations to maintain this special place. If you would like to help us you can do so via a PayPal link on our website.http://www.mendiphospitalcemetery.org.uk/ Many Thanks.

It wasn’t until 1885 that structured guidance for the training of staff working at asylums was started.In the early days...
08/10/2026

It wasn’t until 1885 that structured guidance for the training of staff working at asylums was started.
In the early days, the mid 1800s, “attendants” in the asylum learned on the job guided by colleagues, rule books and inspirational leaders such as Robert Boyd at the Somerset and Bath County Pauper Lunatic Asylum.
In 1891 the Medico Psychological Association, now the Royal College of Psychiatrists, set up the first formal training for attendants complete with lectures and exams.
In 1898 the Annual Report records that “Nine female attendants have passed their exam in mental nursing as set by the Medico Psychological Association” they gained a £2 a year increase in pay. In 1900 four male attendants and six female attendants also passed the exam and six other members of staff passed the St Johns Ambulance Certificate.
It wasn’t until 1919 that mental health nurses gained official recognition for their work. That was just over 100 years ago.
From Handbook for the Instruction of Attendants on the Insane. 1891
“Attendants shall be examples of propriety of conduct, order, personal neatness and perfect truthfulness. They are enjoined to do their utmost to occupy and amuse every patient no matter what the mental condition may be. They shall treat all with impartial consideration and are expected to exercise such tact as will comfort the depressed, soothe the excited and check the impulsive, irritable and destructive.
Any act of neglect, harshness or cruelty towards patients will be punished with the utmost rigour in accordance with the lunacy acts. An attendant must immediately report any ill treatment and attendants are warned against mimicry, deception or irritation of patients. A respectful demeanour towards them must be maintained.
They must always remember that their position is one of great trust and responsibility and that they have the care of those who, through affliction, cannot care for themselves and that upon them the recovery, comfort, happiness and safety of the patients, in great measure, depend.”

Phptographs: Wells & Mendip Museum

Thank you to everyone who visited this year and supported this special place. We will be working throughout the closed s...
04/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who visited this year and supported this special place. We will be working throughout the closed season to look after the grounds, clean the chapel and we have some good ideas to further the display and exhibtion for next year.
Please continue to visit our page as we will share patient stories and other knowledge gained during continuing research.
We have enjoyed meeting everybody and sharing our knowledge and perhaps enlightening some as to the care and treatment of the many patients who went through the doors of the asylum. We loved sharing some of the stories of the 3,000 buried in the cemetery. Just because they died in the asylum it shouldn't mean that their stories are wiped from history.
Poor and afflicted as they were they were still human beings and we can learn from their lives.

Photograph: The asylum from the 1848 Annual Report.

The cemetery is closed to visitors now until next spring, but the volunteers are hard at it throughout the year.The late...
01/10/2026

The cemetery is closed to visitors now until next spring, but the volunteers are hard at it throughout the year.
The late summer sun this morning brought us plenty of wildlife, including slow worms in the compost heap and a lively pair of small coppers dancing along the path. Pictured here is the male, who was a little less bashful than his flighty partner.

WEDNESDAY 3OTH SEPTEMBER 11.00 AM TO 3.45 PM is the last day of opening the cemetery this year.Thereafter the cemetery w...
27/09/2026

WEDNESDAY 3OTH SEPTEMBER 11.00 AM TO 3.45 PM is the last day of opening the cemetery this year.
Thereafter the cemetery will be closed to the public although the work to look after the site and more research will be done behind the scenes.

On Saturday October 10th at 3 pm we will be showing the film "Through the Open Door" which was made by OpenStpryTellers from Frome, a group which works with adults with learning disabilites and who visited the cemetery and heard about the hsitory of the Somerset and Bath County Pauper Lunatic Asylum, now South Horrington, and some of the individual patients particularly Mary Ann Norman whose history and experience of poverty led her to alternate her life between Wells Workhouse, Shepton Mallet Prison and the Asylum.
It is an amazing, touching and educational film which touches hearts and really makes those in the present think hard about experiences in the past and how we can learn from them.
It is being held in Wells and Horrington Cricket Clubhouse located in the old asylum grounds from 3.00 pm.
Please come and support this showing.
Thank you.

LAST 2 OPEN DAYS THIS YEAR: SUNDAY 27th and WEDNESDAY 30th SEPTEMBER 2026!Entry to the cemetery is via a five bar gate h...
25/09/2026

LAST 2 OPEN DAYS THIS YEAR: SUNDAY 27th and WEDNESDAY 30th SEPTEMBER 2026!

Entry to the cemetery is via a five bar gate halfway along Hooper Avenue, Wells. Open from 11am-3.45pm. Three peaceful acres to explore -autumn berries, butterflies, beehives and more. Stunning views across the wooded valley.

The story of the Mendip Hospital, opened in 1848 as the Somerset and Bath County Lunatic Asylum, is told in words and pictures in our lovely chapel - find out what life was really like in the Victorian Asylum through patient stories and photographs.

This old cemetery was saved from destruction by the efforts of the people of Wells in 2002: there were plans to build houses here. Please help us to protect this very special place for the future by leaving a donation when you visit.

Dogs on leads most welcome. More detailed information and map on our website: https://mendiphospitalcemetery.org.uk

Many thanks to Fran Begley for the photographs.

We are open on Wednesday 23rd September 11 am to 3.45 pm and then there is only one more Sunday, 27th September and afte...
20/09/2026

We are open on Wednesday 23rd September 11 am to 3.45 pm and then there is only one more Sunday, 27th September and after this week the final day is Wednesday 30th September. We will then close until April 2027.
Please come and support this special place. Dogs very welcome on a lead.
We rely entirely on visitor donations so would appreciate anything you feel you can give.
Thank you.
PERCY DURRANT 1889 TO 1918 from Horsington.
Reported in the Wells Journal June 1905
Percy appeared before the Somerset Summer Assize Court held at Wells in June 1905 and it was determined that he was unfit to plead.
He was accused of “Feloniously setting fire to a rick of straw” in April.
Durrant had told the owner of the rick that;” I was very cold and wanted to warm myself.” The farmer said that there was not a bit of malice in the lad and that he was not responsible for his actions.”
Dr Hyatt, Medical Officer at Shepton Mallet Prison said that he had had the prisoner under observation since April and he had determined that he was unfit to plead having been an imbecile from birth. He was not capable of understanding the nature of the charge and was not competent to follow the charge or evidence against him. His father confirmed to the court that Percy had been weak minded from birth.”
The court determined that he should go back to prison until his Majesty’s Pleasure is known.
On admission to the Asylum from the prison it is recorded that Percy was “plump and of a well-fed appearance.” He said he had set fire to haystacks because he “had to and said he enjoyed setting ricks on fire”
A letter was sent by the Asylum to the Secretary of State at the Home Office concerning his mental state asking that he be accepted as a patient in the pauper class and dismissed as a criminal class patient.
Percy was admitted to the asylum in 1906
October 1906: Does simple work in the tailor’s shop. Is childish and simple and can be mischievous and finds it hard to distinguish between right and wrong. He requires close supervision and is quite incapable of taking care of himself.
January 1908: He is amiable and works under supervision or he would get into mischief.
January 1909: Is too weak minded and quite unable to think or plan anything for himself. He would be quite helpless without supervision.
January 1911: Is now working under supervision in the upholstery shop.
November 1918: Has had a severe attack of influenza with a very high temperature. Is very weak and does not appear to be gaining strength or improving.
December 4 1918: He is lingering and is only kept alive by frequent stimulant draughts.
He died this afternoon aged 29 in the presence of Robert McCoy, Charge Nurse.
Cause of Death: Influenza.
Percy is buried in Section G 38 (behind the chapel.)
Rest in peace Percy.
We will remember you.

Photograph: South West Heritage Trust
Percy Durrant from Horsington near Wincanton.

A peaceful place. The Mendip Hospital Cemetery at Wells is the resting place of nearly 3000 patients and staff who died ...
18/09/2026

A peaceful place. The Mendip Hospital Cemetery at Wells is the resting place of nearly 3000 patients and staff who died at Somerset’s very first psychiatric hospital which opened as the Somerset and Bath Lunatic Asylum in 1848. We will be open to all this Sunday 20th September, Gates are open from 11am to 3.45.

Exhibition in our chapel with photos and patient stories. You can search our alphabetical burial register. More and more visitors are finding lost ancestors here.

Dogs are welcome on leads.

Admission is free to all but please leave us a donation if can. We are all volunteers here and rely upon your kind generosity to maintain this beautiful three acres garden cemetery.

Details of how to find us in Hooper Avenue, Wells can be found on our website. https://mendiphospitalcemetery.org.uk/about/

And today’s entomological excitement: a lovely Clouded Yellow. It’s been a really good year for them and we have had ple...
17/09/2026

And today’s entomological excitement: a lovely Clouded Yellow.
It’s been a really good year for them and we have had plenty up at the cemetery.

Who could have known that compost is such fun?We have burned, buried, shovelled and scattered it, but finally there was ...
17/09/2026

Who could have known that compost is such fun?
We have burned, buried, shovelled and scattered it, but finally there was nothing left to do but jump up and down on it.

We are open again on Wednesday 16th September at 11 am to 3.45 pm.Please come and spend some time at this special place....
13/09/2026

We are open again on Wednesday 16th September at 11 am to 3.45 pm.
Please come and spend some time at this special place.
Dogs welcome on a lead.
We rely upon public donations to continue the care of the site and research that goes on even when we are closed.
Thank you for your support.

Dr Robert Boyd, the first Medical Superintendent, of the asylum, recognised the value of water as therapy in helping and soothing the patients.
In one of his reports, he stated “For a pauper patient, having their first cleansing warm bath, can induce a sense of exhilaration”
The patients arrived at the asylum often in a poor and dejected condition, many flea and lice ridden.
Cleanliness was an important part of Dr Boyd’s “Moral Treatment” in the care of patients.
Boyd also used cold water shower baths and reports on a case of Chorea, a medical disorder that causes sudden unintended and jerky movements.
“The patient has improved decidedly in health under the daily use of a cold shower bath which, by his own desire, he continues even during the winter”

Turkish Bath
From the 17th Annual report 1864

"The kitchen beneath the female infirmary, which for some time had been little used except as a lumber room, has been converted into a Turkish bath, under the superintendence of Mr Evans, the proprietor of the Baths in Goldensquare, London, who very kindly came on purpose.
Within a week it was in use; the temperature has been easily raised to 183 degrees, and might be raised higher, but is usually about 155 degrees. Several patients have benefited by its use, especially cases of melancholia. Mr Evans instructed some of the male attendants in the method of using the bath, and two female attendants were sent to London and were instructed by Mrs Evans."
:
Sculptures by Peter Bolton in the cemetery. Photographs taken by a recent visitor.

Address

Hooper Avenue
Wells
BA53NA

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 3:45pm
Sunday 11am - 3:45pm

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