The only Downs in this post are an extraordinary and enlightened couple, Dr. John Langdon Down and his wife Mary, who are also responsible for the Ups, who during their lifetimes made a difference to the lives of many with learning disabilities, and whose work continues to have positive repercussions today.
In May 1868 they founded and opened the White House on Kingston Road in Teddington as an institution for mentally handicapped children, calling it the Normansfield Training Institution for Imbeciles - the name, I suspect, a reflection of the times rather than a negative interpretation of the residents, or their prospects in the Downs' care. A year later in 1869 a south wing was built; a north wing was added in 1873; and a theatre opened six years later.

Main entrance
Together, the Langdon Downs established Normansfield as a family home, and a place where people with learning disabilities could be cared for and educated at a time when most of them would have been condemned to life in an asylum. The theatre / entertainment hall was intended to encourage patients to learn music and drama as part of their education. Work experience was provided in woodwork and farming in a way that was probably more advanced than some of the provision available today. Some of the students had the condition that now bears their surname, and the doctor is known internationally as the ‘Father of Down’s Syndrome’.
Before Normansfield, Down had been medical superintendent at The Royal Earlswood Hospital in Redhill, Surrey from 1855 to 1868, where patients slept in 15-bed dormitories with one member of staff for every seven patients. Formerly The Asylum for Idiots and The Royal Earlswood Institution for Mental Defectives, Earlswood was the first establishment to cater specifically for people with developmental disabilities, prior to which they had been housed in either workhouses or asylums for the mentally ill.
Coming back to the theatre for a moment, in 1877 Langdon Down commissioned his friend Rowland Plumbe - who later rebuilt the London Hospital but had no previous experience of designing theatres – to create an entertainment hall at Normansfield. The total cost was £3,678, which is the equivalent of several million today. The Earl of Devon presided at the opening in June 1879. It was an ambitious project with regular evening entertainment, including dancing which was acknowledged as being a healthy activity for residents of hospitals and asylums.

Inside the theatre
At about 60 ft x 35 ft the hall is surprisingly large, and in Langdon Down’s time it would have sat 300. Capacity today is half that, (health and safety I assume). The balcony, with an ornamental iron front, occupies the back of the hall, (although it isn’t in use today for audiences). The centrepiece of the hall is, however, the stage itself. The proscenium paintings have no stylistic parallel in any other London theatre. Over the doors are four life-size painted figures of Tragedy, Painting, Music and Comedy. The door panels at the front of the stage are home to paintings of wild flowers and grasses attributed to Marianne North, whose work is exhibited at the North Gallery in Kew Gardens.
In the theatre roof is a restored gas sunburner which was used to provide the auditorium with light and ventilation. On the walls around the theatre are paintings of six of the 21 original “Ruddigore” life size portrait panels, showing costumes designed by “Wilhelm” for the Savoy theatre premiere in 1887. They were framed with central swivels at the top and bottom, allowing actors to step out and bring the picture to life.
The theatre itself was used for performances for residents and staff of Normansfield, and also for the Sunday service with Langdon Down. The lectern he used still exists today.
When Langdon Down died in 1896, Mary continued with her management and daily running of the hospital, doing so until she died in 1901. Their two sons succeeded them, taking over as managers of the institution which was renamed Normansfield in 1925, and in 1951 joined the NHS.
Normansfield closed in 1997 (as did Earlswood). Two years later the site was sold to Laing Homes and redeveloped as a private housing estate called Langdon Park. As part of the deal, Laing spent £1.4 million to restore and reopen the theatre wing, thanks to a campaign led by the actor Brian Rix, who I wish had been a keen ice skater and compelled another property developer we met in Post 74, John Beckwith, to honour the deal with the council to replace Richmond's old rink. Anyway, the Theatre's Trust, with assistance from the Friends of Normansfield, commissioned the restoration of the theatre’s collection of rare Victorian scenery.
Normansfield Theatre is considered one of the most important private theatres in the country. Home to the largest collection of restored Victorian scenery. It is also one of only two theatres in the country with the original scene changing system in place. Held in care by the Langdon Down Centre Trust, the theatre hosts productions by many different groups, including the West London amateur Richmond Opera company. It is also a popular filming location, having been used in various episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot, the 2009 film Dorian Gray and the ITV series Downton Abbey.
In April 2010 the Langdon Down Centre Trust and the Down’s Syndrome Association merged, the remit being to promote, preserve and manage this Grade II listed building, and the historical archive material of Dr. Langdon Down.
These days the Down's Syndrome Association operates the Langdon Down Centre in the former hospital's theatre wing, which includes the national office of the Down's Syndrome Association, the Grade II listed Victorian Normansfield Theatre and the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability, (opened in 2012). The museum's exhibits include information on John Langdon Down and his family, the history of the care of people with learning disabilities, and the history of the Normansfield Hospital and its residents. The museum also features art, including many works by James Henry Pullen, and artefacts of the former Royal Earlswood Museum in Surrey about the former Royal Earlswood Hospital.

Outside the theatre


Looking towards the hospital

The garden

Inside Langdon Down Museum - A James Henry Pullen

... a few more by Pullen

... and another


Dr. John Langdon Down Mary Langdon Down

Red arrow marks the spot where Normansfield Hospital and Theatre are located
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