Lock hospital: Difference between revisions

A '''lock hospital''' was a hospital that specialized in treating [[venereal disease|sexually transmitted disease]]s. They operated in Britain and its colonies and territories from the 18th century to the 20th.<ref name=Loundes>Frederick W. Loundes, ''Lock Hospitals and Lock Wards in General Hospitals'' (London: J. & A. Churchill,1882), on Internet Archive website, at https://archive.org/stream/lockhospitalsloc00lown/lockhospitalsloc00lown_djvu.txt .</ref> The military had a close association with a number of the hospitals. By the mid 19th century most of the larger army bases in India were home to a lock hospital.<ref name=Dartnell>{{cite journal |author=Dartnell, George R |year=1860 |title=On the prevalence and severity of syphilis in the British army and its prevention |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=1 |issue=174 |pages=317–319.|pmc=2252720 }}</ref> There were more military than civil lock hospitals in India, due to the prevalence of venereal diseases amongst British troops.<ref name="Medical History of British India">{{cite web|last=Sehrawat|first=Samiksha|title=Institutions: Lock hospitals: Measures to halt venereal diseases|url=http://digital.nls.uk/indiapapers/institutions.html|work=Medical History of British India|publisher=National Library of Scotland|accessdate=24 October 2013}}</ref> In 1858 the [[Admiralty]] paid to have one opened in [[Portsmouth]] and in 1863 another in [[Plymouth]].<ref name=stark>{{cite book |title=Female Tars: Women aboard ship in the age of sail |last=Stark |first=Suzanne J. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1998 |publisher=Pimlico |isbn=0-7126-6660-5 |page=33 }}</ref>

 

 

The term ''lock hospital'' originates from their use as [[leprosarium]]s, in which the patients were kept in restraints.<ref name=Loundes/>{{rp|3}}