1500-person 'dilapidated' mass grave 'falling to pieces' in southern Powys
Our investigation into the fate of Britain's mental asylum graveyards visits a former mental institution and hospital in Talgarth, which was once home to 496 patients in the 1950's
Our Lost Souls investigation has been looking at the fate of Britain's asylum graveyards, where a quarter of a million people were buried - often without headstones.
We uncovered that these "pauper lunatic" graves are now, in many cases, forgotten, abandoned, or neglected.
Thousands upon thousands of former mental health patients lying unmarked.
While limited information is found online, in Talgarth it is believed up to 1500 patients are buried behind the chapel in a now overgrown and unmarked mass graveyard.
Now, there are calls for a memorial to be built.
History of the Mid Wales Hospital:
The Brecon and Radnor Asylum at Talgarth was first founded in 1900.
Renamed the Mid Wales Counties Mental Hospital in 1921, it served civilians, soldiers, and even POWs during WWII before becoming part of the NHS in 1948.
By December of 1955 the Hospitals population had peaked at 496 patients – 25% more patients than the hospital had been designed to house
In 1997 the hospital closed, its buildings sold and were later left derelict.
Attempts at redevelopment, including a business park, largely failed, and the site remains only partially used today, with future plans still uncertain.
What happened to Britain's mental asylums?
The 1845 Lunacy Act saw asylums built right across Britain, and operated for another 100 years, although some were open for many centuries, in different guises.
The NHS took ownership of these asylums in the mid 1900s, and the development of medication and a shift towards in-the-community treatments saw the asylums close down, and patients were no longer buried in pauper graves.
Land was sold, or repurposed. In some places they now house modern NHS facilities, while in others the burial sites were deconsecrated and built on.
Later, burial sites themselves slowly became forgotten. Iron markers that showed the plot numbers were often lost, stolen, melted down or became overgrown.
Calls for a memorial:
James Evans, the Senedd Member for Brecon and Radnorshire is now calling for a memorial to be built, to honour those buried in Talgarth.
"These things used to go on years ago, didn't they? But we're in a modern time now. And I think it's about time that the people who were buried in these unmarked graves were given justice and some recognition for actually who they were.
"We don't know who's in these graves, who their families are. And I'm sure a lot of people out there don't know who their loved ones are.
"I think the government should do something to recognise the people who've been buried here.
"We see memorials be placed up. I mean, we don't know everyone's names, unfortunately, but I think it's just that sign of respect that a lot of people have appreciated".
The Welsh Government has been asked to comment.