Dublin’s Bedford Asylum and the material legacy of the ‘Industrious Child’

Summary

This paper will determine the extent to which the concept of ‘the child’ and ‘childhood’ was incorporated into the design of public institutions for the reception of children in the early-nineteenth century. The primary case study of this paper will be the Bedford Asylum for Industrious Children, a purpose built institution constructed adjacent to the North Dublin Union House of Industry in Ireland. Particular attention will be given to the frequent mention of the asylum in the records of the House of Industry during the years of the Napoleonic Wars, when young boys deemed old enough were released into the army for service in the conflict. Towards the end of the wars, this practice was suddenly and conspicuously halted. This paper will examine the Bedford Asylum within its wider institutional context, and compare the built environment of the building for the reception of children with the adjacent workhouse and asylum buildings constructed for adults, to determine what material features can be discerned in the architecture of the Bedford that make it specifically suitable for children.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• On the Move: Archaeological Approaches to Children and Childhood

Keywords

Spatial Coverage