ABSTRACT
Aspects of the spatial arrangement and visual articulation of the building were also marked by tension, though an attempt has been made here to distinguish between what the building itself shows us and what may have been projected onto the building, then and now, by viewers fascinated by this ‘coy and secluded dwelling’. This chapter outlines the beginnings of the idea of a purpose-built institution for the criminally insane in Britain in the debates around the insanity plea. The description evokes an idyllic and empathetic picture with a spiritual resonance, so that the identity of the building comes as a shock. The passage describes the notorious Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane opened in 1863. The public feared, however, that the logical conclusion of reform would be the ‘medicalization’ of all crime, and that criminal would escape justice by way of the insanity plea.
