This is most definately a hopper. I'm a nurse and have seen many of these in hospitals and nursing homes. It probably didn't have ice to hold organs, because it basically is a toilet. You can just see the handle at the top to flush it. You wouldn't sit on the hopper, it would be used to empty stool and stuff. The faucet would be used to rinse the container.

Thanks.

Motts, how big was this asylum. I can't get a feel for the size. Was there only one building, or a few? Also was Gravesend the real name of this facility? This name is too creepy to be real.

I had a uniform like this in nursing school. The colors where blue and white, but it is the exact same design. You had a choice of either a dress, or a shirt. The shirt looked exactly like the dress, only shorter.