Merrifield Children's Unit (also known as Merryfield or colloquially as Merrifields) was a residential children's and adolescents' psychiatric institution in the grounds of Tone Vale Hospital (an adult mental hospital) approximately north west of Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton, Somerset, England, in what is now the village Cotford St Luke.
History The Merrifield Unit was established by psychiatrist Dr Martin Frank (known as 'Jim') Bethell (d. 1982) as a regional unit for the treatment of young people. By November 1961, it was catering for 36 'psychotic and maladjusted' children. In the mid-1970s, the Merrifield buildings were upgraded, and a substantial new extension was opened in March 1976 by Sir Desmond Pond.
The Unit served the whole of South West England, and for much of its existence its management was under the control of Dr Bethell and nursing officer Donald Mackey.Hinton, David, & Clarke, Fred. (Eds.). (1997). The Tone Vale story: a century of care. Bishop's Lydeard: Rocket Publishing. p. 43. Other child psychiatry specialists associated with Merrifield included Dr Adriaan Bakker and Dr Frank Bayley.Elsevier Heath Sciences. (1976). The medical directory, 1976: general alphabetical list A - Mac & Mad - Z, Part 1. Oxford, UK: Churchill Livingstone. p. 156. Of the Merrifield patients, one observer notes, "Some of the children, although highly disturbed, were extremely well read and educated."
Tone Vale Hospital, Merrifield Unit's parent institution, was closed in 1995, as was Merrifield itself. The entire site is now occupied by the newly built village of Cotford St Luke. Merrifield is succeeded by the Orchard Lodge Young People's Unit located in Cotford St Luke.Farr, Hannah, & O’Herlihy, Anne. (Compilers). (2004, November). Child & adolescent mental health in-patients units in England, Scotland, Wales and Belfast: unit directory (2nd ed.). London: College Research Unit of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. p. 32.
References and allusions in literature In her memoir, The Light in My Mind,Passmore, Joyce. (2010). The Light in My Mind. Yeovil, UK: Speak Up Somerset. Joyce Passmore writes of being admitted to Merrifield in 1957 at the age of 13 suffering with epilepsy, prior to being transferred to the main adult hospital. The novel Delivered Unto LionsAustin, David. (2010). Delivered Unto Lions. Dooagh, Ireland: CheckPoint Press. by David Austin is based on the experiences of a Merrifield patient in the 1970s.
See also Healthcare in Somerset List of hospitals in England
References
External links , which shows some of the former hospital buildings