Its original name was "Royal Albert Asylum for idiots and imbeciles of the seven northern counties".

In 1884 the hospital was renamed as the "Royal Albert Asylum for the Care, Education and Training of Idiots, Imbeciles and Weak-Minded children and Young Persons of the Northern Counties".

During the following year the hospital was renamed again, this time to "The Royal Albert Institution, Lancaster".

[4] Following the Mental Deficiency Act 1913, the nature of the hospital changed, as it was determined that no more than 10 per cent of its patients should be under the age of 16.

[3] In 1958 two new blocks were built, each containing 54 beds, to accommodate the increasing number of patients.

[4] The building was acquired by Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College for use as an educational establishment for Muslim girls.

[6] Hartwell and Pevsner in the Buildings of England series describe its appearance as that of a hôtel de ville (French town hall).

The front consists of a central block of six bays, with eleven-bay wings on each side.

In the ground floor of the central block is a porch with three arches carried on red sandstone columns.

In the middle stage is a clock face flanked by statues in Longridge stone of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, carved by Bridgeman of Lichfield.

[6] Inside the central block is a triple arch behind which is an imperial staircase with an ornate wrought iron balustrade.

[6] The windows contain small pieces of stained glass depicting badges of the benefactors of the hospital.

[7] Since 1996 the building has been used as the Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College, a boarding school that educates girls over the age of eleven.