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:
Bethlehem 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
John MacLean Carvell, MBE, MRCS, LSA
Assistant Commissioner in the St John Ambulance Brigade, No. 1 District Metropolitan Corps, 1897-1923. Honorary Associate in the Order of St John. John MacLean Carvell was born on 20 August 1856, ...
Person, Community / Clubs, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration
1 memorial
Broderip Ward
Ward in the former Middlesex Hospital, dedicated to the treatment of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. When the epidemic began in the early 1980s, there was much misunderstanding about the nature ...
1 memorial
Downham Health Leisure Centre
A community centre in the Borough of Lewisham, It contains a large swimming pool, gym, library and creche.
1 memorial
Hermann Michael Biggs
Born USA. Worked with cholera, tuberculosis and typhus, particularly in New York.
1 memorial
Institute of Ophthalmic Opticians
It really is spelt "ophth...", amazing. This institute doesn't seem to exist any more and we can't discover which organisation it disappeared into.
1 memorial
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