RETREAT MAGAZINES

Issues of Harbour Lights, 1923-1941; Old Tuke's Almanak, 1952-1954; and Phoenix, 1956 -1959.

Different magazines have been produced at the Retreat, at different periods.

Harbour Lights began in January 1923 and lasted until January 1942. Miss S. H. Milner, a Quaker who originally came to the Retreat as a patient, but later lived there for many years as a private resident, was the founding editor. She edited the magazine up to her death in late 1934. The title was apparently the suggestion of the Medical Superintendent, Dr Bedford Pierce. The magazine was for both staff and patients (and any others who wished to subscribe: it cost 3/6 per year), and it contained news, articles, and ‘odds and ends’. It records many of the social activities which went on at the Retreat at this period, plus news of staff and others.

Phoenix (originally entitled Old Tuke’s Almanack) was produced intermittently in the 1950s. Smaller in scope and ambition, this typescript magazine contained small general articles and Social Club news

Much of the Retreat Archive has been digitised with funding from the Wellcome Collection. Copies of digitised records can be viewed online where available by following links provided within the catalogue.

Published