Bedlam on the Web

Posted on October 9, 1997

Bethlem Royal Hospital, known as "Bedlam", is the world's oldest hospital caring for people with mental disorders. Its fascinating 750 year old story, featured as the latest addition to the Museum of London's web site, is full of human interest and raises many questions about the way people with mental problems are seen by society.

The word "Bedlam", meaning a place of madness and disorder, is a derivation of Bethlem and reflects the hospital's long standing fame in its field. Today the hospital is situated at Beckenham Kent, and as part of the Bethlem and Maudsley NHS Trust and Institute of Psychiatry, is a world leader in care and research. Over its 750 years, it has made more progress in the last 50 years than the previous 700.

Both the web site and the exhibition illustrate the many varied sides of Bedlam over the centuries of its history. Photographs taken at Bethlem in the 1850s show patients with varying 'illnesses' both before treatment and whilst convalescent. This remarkable series of photographs adds an extra dimension to our knowledge of patient care, enabling us to encounter the patients as real people with a physical presence.

The web site http://www.museum-london.org.uk carries full details of the exhibition as well as directions to the Museum of London, admission prices and opening times.