A priory for the Order of the Star of Bethlehem, built in 1247 on Bishopsgate at Liverpool Street, started admitting mental patients in 1357. This was probably the world's first institution to specialise in mental illness. It developed into a horrible place, known as Bedlam, dedicated to the commitment of the insane. In 1676 it moved to the London Wall site and it was this building that was adorned with the Cibber statues of Raving and Melancholy Madness. In 1815 Bedlam moved to the St George's Fields site (at that time owned by the City of London) in Southwark and, when in 1930 it moved out to a site near Beckenham, the Southwark buildings became the Imperial War Museum.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Bethleham Hospital 1&2
Commemorated ati
Bethlehem Hospital - first
Site of the first Bethlehem Hospital 1247 - 1676. The Corporation of the City...
Bethlehem Hospital - second
Site of the second Bethlehem Hospital, 1676 -1815. The Corporation of the Cit...
Gift from Lord Rothermere
This plaque was unveiled a second time, during the 75th anniversary celebrati...
Harmsworth - IWM
In 1926 Harold Harmsworth, the first Viscount Rothermere, bought the grounds ...
Other Subjects
1 memorial
St John's House
From the National Archives : "St John House was founded in 1848 as a 'Training Institution for Nurses for Hospitals, Families and the Poor'. It was a religious community run by a Master, who was a ...
1 memorial
Sir James MacKenzie
Physician and cardiologist. Our picture source gives a biography of this man. He was born on 12 April 1853, the third of the seven children of Robert MacKenzie (1816-1898) and Jean Campbell MacKen...
1 memorial
Dr Noel Bertram Farman
Physician and surgeon. He was a GP in Hampstead for 40 years and his obituary in the British Medical Journal, 7 February 1970 makes him sound a lovely doctor.
1 memorial