"In England, the priory of the Order of St Mary of Bethlehem was founded in London in 1247 and used for lunatics from 1377. [...] It remained the only specialised institution for housing the mad until at least the 17th century. Bethlem, or 'Bedlam' as it became popularly known, was controlled by the Crown until 1546 when it was passed (along with St Thomas's and St Bartholomew's Hospitals) to the Corporation of the City of London. [...] By 1632, Bethlem housed 27 inmates which grew to 44 within 10 years. Following its destruction by fire, the hospital was moved, in 1676, from its old site (the present-day Liverpool Street Station) to a palatial building at Moorfields which could accommodate 130-150 inmates.
'Bedlam' became a byword for man's inhumanity to man despite insistence by the hospital authorities that inmates were not beaten, abused or forcibly restrained unless it was necessary to maintain order and control. The hospital also became a world-renowned ‘showcase' for the mad and attracted hundreds of visitors who turned up, paid the required fee, and either gawped at or taunted the inmates to near riot. The diarists, Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) and John Evelyn (1620-1706), were regular visitors."
Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London, United Kingdom....Originally the hospital was near Bishopsgate just outside the walls of the City of London. It moved outside of Moorfields in the 17th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bet…
Bedlam In Our Time Listen in pop-out player -- 43 minutes
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the early years of Bedlam, the name commonly used for the London hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, described in 1450 by the Lord Mayor of London as a place where may "be found many men that be fallen out of their wit. And full honestly they be kept in that place; and some be restored onto their wit and health again. And some be abiding therein for ever." As Bethlem, or Bedlam, it became a tourist attraction in the 17th Century at its new site in Moorfields and, for its relatively small size, made a significant impression on public attitudes to mental illness. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b…
For some reason Pepys never mentions the other great hospital in London at the time, Barts.
Barts hospital was founded 900 in 1123, and generated its income from the monasteries, so their closure by Henry VIII threatened the hospital with financial destitution. Following petitions by the City of London, it was refounded in December 1546, and given to the City to manage, to aleviate “the myserable people lyeng in the streete, offendyng every clene person passyng by the way with theyre fylthye and nastye savors.”
It was also renamed as the “House of the Poore in Farringdon in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII’s Foundation”. But people continued to calling it Barts Hospital, either because it’s easier or because the hospital wouldn’t have been in financial difficulty in the first place if Hdenry hadn’t cut off its monastic funding, so they weren’t entirely grateful for his decision to let the City save it.
Between 1700 and 1702 a new main entrance was built for the hospital, and this, the Henry VIII Gatehouse, is now the oldest surviving entrance into the hospital. It was designed and built in a Baroque style by Edward Strong Jr.
In 1703 a statue was added of Henry VIII, by Francis Bird, one of the leading English sculptors at the time, responsible most famously for his carved panel above the entrance to the new St. Paul’s Cathedral.
At Barts he carved a life-size statue of Henry VIII, which appears to have been based on Hans Holbein’s lost portrait of the King.
As part of the hospital’s 900th anniversary restoration, the gatehouse and statue have been given a deep clean and restoration. Now, Henry VIII is white instead of black, and his pronounced codpiece is more pronounced than it used to be.
His stoney face is still stoney.
Above the King's niche are 2 figures, representing lameness on the right and disease on the left.
Another unusual thing is the Royal Mail postbox: the slot for letters is on the inside of the arch, but the door for the mailbox opens on the outside of the arch. That’s because the gates used to be locked at night, and this layout allowed the post to be retrieved without unlocking the gates.
Today, Henry VIII looks out over the clean(er) streets of London, but for most of the statue’s life, it look out over an open air cattle market — that’s what Smithfield’s was. You can imagine all the smells and muck that entailed, and the King watched over it all.
Today, although there are other entrances into the hospital, this gatehouse is still considered the main entrance, with a clean Henry VIII checking out all who pass below.
5 Annotations
First Reading
dirk • Link
History
HOSPITALS, CLINICS AND ASYLUMS -
(c) Dr Carole Reeves
A very complete (and long) text!
Link to the 16th/17th c. part:
http://www.historyworld.net/artic…
dirk • Link
From the above: Pepys in "Bedlam"...
"In England, the priory of the Order of St Mary of Bethlehem was founded in London in 1247 and used for lunatics from 1377. [...] It remained the only specialised institution for housing the mad until at least the 17th century. Bethlem, or 'Bedlam' as it became popularly known, was controlled by the Crown until 1546 when it was passed (along with St Thomas's and St Bartholomew's Hospitals) to the Corporation of the City of London. [...] By 1632, Bethlem housed 27 inmates which grew to 44 within 10 years. Following its destruction by fire, the hospital was moved, in 1676, from its old site (the present-day Liverpool Street Station) to a palatial building at Moorfields which could accommodate 130-150 inmates.
'Bedlam' became a byword for man's inhumanity to man despite insistence by the hospital authorities that inmates were not beaten, abused or forcibly restrained unless it was necessary to maintain order and control. The hospital also became a world-renowned ‘showcase' for the mad and attracted hundreds of visitors who turned up, paid the required fee, and either gawped at or taunted the inmates to near riot. The diarists, Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) and John Evelyn (1620-1706), were regular visitors."
http://www.historyworld.net/artic…
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London, United Kingdom....Originally the hospital was near Bishopsgate just outside the walls of the City of London. It moved outside of Moorfields in the 17th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bet…
Terry Foreman • Link
Bedlam
In Our Time
Listen in pop-out player -- 43 minutes
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the early years of Bedlam, the name commonly used for the London hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, described in 1450 by the Lord Mayor of London as a place where may "be found many men that be fallen out of their wit. And full honestly they be kept in that place; and some be restored onto their wit and health again. And some be abiding therein for ever." As Bethlem, or Bedlam, it became a tourist attraction in the 17th Century at its new site in Moorfields and, for its relatively small size, made a significant impression on public attitudes to mental illness. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b…
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
For some reason Pepys never mentions the other great hospital in London at the time, Barts.
Barts hospital was founded 900 in 1123, and generated its income from the monasteries, so their closure by Henry VIII threatened the hospital with financial destitution. Following petitions by the City of London, it was refounded in December 1546, and given to the City to manage, to aleviate “the myserable people lyeng in the streete, offendyng every clene person passyng by the way with theyre fylthye and nastye savors.”
It was also renamed as the “House of the Poore in Farringdon in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII’s Foundation”.
But people continued to calling it Barts Hospital, either because it’s easier or because the hospital wouldn’t have been in financial difficulty in the first place if Hdenry hadn’t cut off its monastic funding, so they weren’t entirely grateful for his decision to let the City save it.
Between 1700 and 1702 a new main entrance was built for the hospital, and this, the Henry VIII Gatehouse, is now the oldest surviving entrance into the hospital. It was designed and built in a Baroque style by Edward Strong Jr.
In 1703 a statue was added of Henry VIII, by Francis Bird, one of the leading English sculptors at the time, responsible most famously for his carved panel above the entrance to the new St. Paul’s Cathedral.
At Barts he carved a life-size statue of Henry VIII, which appears to have been based on Hans Holbein’s lost portrait of the King.
As part of the hospital’s 900th anniversary restoration, the gatehouse and statue have been given a deep clean and restoration. Now, Henry VIII is white instead of black, and his pronounced codpiece is more pronounced than it used to be.
His stoney face is still stoney.
Above the King's niche are 2 figures, representing lameness on the right and disease on the left.
Another unusual thing is the Royal Mail postbox: the slot for letters is on the inside of the arch, but the door for the mailbox opens on the outside of the arch. That’s because the gates used to be locked at night, and this layout allowed the post to be retrieved without unlocking the gates.
Today, Henry VIII looks out over the clean(er) streets of London, but for most of the statue’s life, it look out over an open air cattle market — that’s what Smithfield’s was. You can imagine all the smells and muck that entailed, and the King watched over it all.
Today, although there are other entrances into the hospital, this gatehouse is still considered the main entrance, with a clean Henry VIII checking out all who pass below.
A picture of the only statue of Henry VIII in London at
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/artic…