Beckham's Asylum
| The Beckham House for the Lunatic and Infirm | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Description | Asylum in Westenford, Amasynia |
Brief History
The Beckham House for the Lunatic and Infirm, or more simply known in Westenford as Beckham's, finds its origins under the ownership of Oliver Garrison Beckham, the first Chief Magistrate of the Westenford Ruling Council, who ruled the town well into his old age despite the slow mental deterioration that accompanied his death in 14 AR. This three story asylum was once an extravagant mansion that housed Beckham, his servants, and his physician, but as Beckham died childless, the estate was willed to the Ruling Council, who redesigned its floorplan and rebuilt its interior to create a sizable mental hospital with room for up to fifteen patients. Along with Herford's Tavern, it is one of the two longest standing buildings in Westenford.
Current Facilities and Services
As of 216, Beckham's currently houses five patients, four of whom are elderly former Councilors facing varying degrees of senility. The fifth is the middle-aged brother of the Warden; this patient firmly believes himself to be a merman noble after a boating accident in 212. Some would say that Beckham's houses a sixth occupant: the ghost of former Warden and city Magistrate Aloisius Buchanan Treadwell, murdered on the site in 106 AR when he was pushed from a third-floor window by a strong and unstable patient.
The fifteen rooms available for patients--five per floor of the building--are roomy enough to be reasonably comfortable, with soft beds (with appropriate straps to be put to use if necessary). The nursing staff bring in food and drink at normal, regular intervals and escort patients to the privy or washroom as necessary with the aid of a security guard, although the five current patients are all quite harmless.
Otherwise, the patients are not permitted to leave the grounds except under guard and by order of immediate family (who must sign forms demonstrating their responsibility and accountability over the patients in their absence) or by legal summons by a member of the Ruling Council or a senior officer of the town guard.
The upkeep for the house and patients and the pay for the staff are all covered through generous (some might say exorbitant) public taxes.
Current Warden
Jebediah "Jeb" Rather, a moderately built man of forty, served briefly on the Westenford town guard as a medic before turning his attentions at the age of twenty to full-time medical training, study, and ultimately care. He has held the post as Warden at Beckham's since 200 AR, after his appointment to the post by the Westenford Ruling Council. It is his brother, Marcum, who thinks himself a haughty merfolk noble named Marm who is stuck on dry land and has been magically cursed with a human pair of legs and feet instead of his natural fins.
