County Asylums Act 1808
The County Asylums Act 1808, also known as the Lunatic Paupers or Criminals Act 1808 or Wynn's Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom formed mental health law in England and Wales from 1808 to 1828. The act was replaced by the County Asylums Act 1828, which formed mental health law in England and Wales until 1845. Notably, the act established public mental asylums in Britain that could be operated by the county government. It permitted, but did not compel, justices of the peace to provide establishments for the care of pauper lunatics, so that they could be removed from workhouses and prisons.
The act is also known as Mr. Wynn's Act, after Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn, a Welsh member of parliament for Montgomeryshire, who promoted the act.