There are a few variations on these whistles as they were used by the hospital from the 1880s into the 1930s. The most notable change was in the name from 'Asylum' to 'Hospital' in the 1920s. The whistle below is one of the pre-1920's ones.
The whistle below dates from 1884. We can date it from the address stamped on its body: 84 Buckingham Street, Birmingham. J. Hudson only made whistles at this address for one year. Furthermore, we know it was made between March and early April 1884 because it is stamped 'Registered'. This mark was only used for approximately one month, after which all whistles stamped 'Patent'.
We know that this type of whistle during the year 1884 cost three and a half old pennies. Whistles made by other manufacturers where much cheaper, however the J. Hudson whistles were of higher quality - made of nickel silver to a patented design. The patent enabled the company to charge an extra one penny for each whistle.
The Three Counties Asylum archives (held at the Bedford records office) show that J. Hudson & Co. received a payment of five pounds and eight shillings for a batch of attendants whistles:
