Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

GROUP 9 – BRISTOL SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
1.35 The charity known as the Bristol Asylum or School of Industry for the Blind was
formed in 1793 by Bristol philanthropists. The charity was incorporated in 1832
and was situated at the top of Park Street. New powers given to the charity in
1905 enabled it to sell its existing premises 47 and acquire new school premises in
the Henleaze district of Bristol which were opened by King George V in 1911.
The charity changed its name in 1960 to the Bristol Royal School and Workshops
for the Blind. 48
1.36 By 1930 the school had more than a hundred pupils and at its peak there were
126 pupils on the roll. By 1964, however, numbers decreased mainly through a
decline in babies being born blind, or becoming blind in early infancy. An
additional factor was changes in educational and vocational training policies for
blind students at the age of 16. The school’s land (some 11 acres) was sold in
1969 and the school itself was demolished that year. The site was re-developed
for residential use. The charity subsequently merged with the Bristol Royal
Society for the Blind and ceased to exist as a separate charity. The Bristol Royal
Society for the Blind in turn merged with the Royal National Institute of Blind
People in June 2000, 49 and continues as a subsidiary of that charity operating
under the name of the Bristol Blind Fund.
1.37 The discontinuance of the school as a separate charity has rendered
unnecessary two enactments relating to the school. The Bristol Asylum or School
of Industry for the Blind Act of 1832 50 incorporated the charity and empowered it
to buy land in Bristol. The Bristol Blind Asylum Act 1905 51 increased the charity’s
power to acquire land in the Bristol area and amended the charity’s constitution.
Neither Act now serves any useful purpose and both may be repealed.
GROUP 10 – MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL
1.38 Two obsolete Acts relating to the Middlesex Hospital in central London which
closed in 2005 are proposed for repeal. The Middlesex Hospital was opened (as
the Middlesex Infirmary) in Windmill Street in or around 1747, initially for the relief
of “sick and lame patients and lying-in 52 married women”. 53 The hospital was
concerned to help persons who could not afford to pay for medical treatment.
Funding came from private subscribers. The hospital re-opened in Mortimer
Street as “the Middlesex Hospital” in 1757. It was re-built on the same site in
1935.
47
The site of the charity’s former premises is today occupied by the University of Bristol (the
Wills Memorial Building).
48 Bristol Corporation Act 1960, s 38.
49
The Royal National Institute of Blind People was formerly known as the Royal National
Institute for the Blind.
50 2 & 3 Will.4 c.xxxix.
51 5 Edw.7 c.clxxi.
52 ‘Lying-in’ referred to expectant mothers.
53 Middlesex Hospital Act of 1836 (6 & 7 Will.4 c.vii), preamble.
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