Bedlam or Bethlem Royal Hospital opened in London in 1247. “Insane” patients started to be recorded there from 1403. Today the hospital is located in South London, as it moved 3 times in its history. There is a museum, just opened a few years ago, called Museum of the Mind. It is worth visiting because it is so well presented and fascinating.
The museum is free to visit and they also have a 360˚ Digital Museum Tour on their website.
Enjoy the pictures.
These statues were on the gate posts. It was what visitors and patients saw when they were entering Bedlam.
Bethlem Museum of the Mind is in the Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3BX. The entrance is free and there is a free car park. There are plenty of options when it comes to public transport too.
Wow! I didn’t realise you could visit the site!!
Wonderful photos! I somehow imagined it as a much bigger building, I don’t know why.
Nikki – Notes of Life recently posted…Liverpool’s River of Light
Oooo…. yet another museum I would love to visit! I have read so many references to Bedlam over the years. Even the word itself in common usage brings to mind a certain image.
Kelly recently posted…Purple politics
Bedlam is so well known, but they did a fantastic job of sharing the details without making it too sensationalistic while they didn’t shy away of the more inconvenient past.
I would love to visit here. The most interesting tour I had here at home was at the (now converted) insane asylum where my great grandfather was an inmate for the last 13 years of his life. They had a very holistic philosophy and I think things went downhill as more radical treatments became available. I’d love to see the contrast.
It must have been hard for you to visit that place. I think you would enjoy this museum, it’s has an art gallery made by people with mental health issues (including a painting made by the mother of a British PM, but I didn’t share it). There are places where one can stop and contemplate. It’s a wonderful place to visit.