Bethlem Royal Hospital Archives & Museum
The Bethlem Royal Hospital
Monks Orchard Road
Beckenham
Kent
BR3 3BX
England
Website
Museum
victoria.northwood@slam.nhs.uk
Archives
Education and Outreach
General enquiries
Telephone
Head of Archives and Museum
020 3228 4307
Archivist
020 3228 4053
Education and Outreach
020 3228 4537
Secretary/General Enquiries
020 3228 4227
Fax
General
020 3228 4045
Founded in 1247, Bethlem Royal Hospital is now located in Beckenham, South London, as part of the wider South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The Archives and Museum service is dedicated to the history of mental health treatment, and includes historical and archival material as well as a large art collection. De-stigmatising mental illness is one of its major roles. The current museum is limited in space, but we are currently fundraising for a new museum.
Venue Type:
Archive, Museum
Additional info
Archives and reference library open to the public by appointment only. Museum opening hours cannot be guaranteed at all times. Please telephone to check before planning a visit.
Collections illustrate aspects of mental health and mental healthcare. They include archives of Bethlem Hospital (the original 'Bedlam') and the Maudsley Hospital (founded in the 20th century, influential in psychiatric teaching and research). Historical objects relate mainly to Bethlem. The unique art collection contains works by artists, past and present, who have suffered from mental health problems. It comes from many sources, not only from the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospitals.
Collection details
Archives, Fine Art, Medicine, Personalities, Social History
Key artists and exhibits
- Richard Dadd
- Louis Wain
- William Kurelek
- Jonathan Martin
- Vaslav Nijinsky
- Cynthia Pell
- Caius Gabriel Cibber's statues of 'Raving and Melancholy Madness' from 17th century Bedlam
Our Paintings
A display of some of the work included in the Public Catalogue Foundation's project to record all works of art in oil, acrylic and tempura in public ownership, now available on the BBC's 'Your Paintings' website: www.bbc.co.uk/yourpaintings. Artworks include those of Bryan Charnley, Marion Patrick, Olivia Gillow and Richard Dadd.
Where
Bethlem Museum
Website
Picturing Psychosis: the Guttmann-Maclay Art Collection
Doctors Eric Guttman and Walter Maclay were psychiatrists working at the Maudsley Hospital in the 1930s and ‘40s. During this time they collected an array of patient art, illustrating their professional interests, including pictures by Louis Wain and the artwork pictured, Basil Beaumont's 'Mescaline Drawing with Snake', part of a series of experiments on drug-induced hallucinations carried out in 1936. This talk will address why and how Guttman and Maclay collected these artworks, many of which are currently on display in the museum.
When
2-2:30pm
Bethlem Sunfayre: The annual site open day at the Bethlem Hospital
Every summer, the Bethlem Hospital site opens to the public for an afternoon, offering a host of entertainments. The Archives and Museum will hold historical talks and tours, the Bethlem Gallery will host art workshops and an exhibition, and there will also be live music, stalls, children’s rides, complementary therapies and refreshments.
When
12-5pm
Getting there
Nearest Station: Eden Park / East Croydon
London Transport Travel Zone 5
Full Details
By car:
From Central London, via Streatham or Crystal Palace to the A214. This passes the north end of Monks Orchard Road.
From further south, via the A232 Croydon to Orpington Road. This passes the south end of Monks Orchard Road just west (the Croydon side) of West Wickham.
By train:
From Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Waterloo East or London Bridge to Eden Park, via trains travelling to Hayes (Kent). Four trains per hour from London Bridge: journey time 30 minutes. Walking time from Eden Park Station, 15 minutes, or take the 356 bus from outside the station to Bethlem Royal Hospital.
From Victoria, frequent fast trains to East Croydon: journey time about 15 minutes. Buses from outside the station, travelling towards West Wickham, Nos. 119, 194 and 198, pass the south end of Monks Orchard Road. Walking time from the bus stop, 5 minutes.
By bus:
Bethlem Royal Hospital is at the Shirley end of the 356 route, which runs to Forest Hill.
The Bethlem site:
Bethlem Hospital occupies a large site and the buildings are widely scattered, but it is easy to find the Archives and Museum, which is close to the entrance. If you are on foot, turn right just inside the gate, and you will find our building a little way down the road on the right hand side. It is well signed. This is a service road, and the traffic barrier is opened only for Heavy Goods Vehicles: so if you are driving you will have to turn left and follow the signs, working your way round until you are nearly back where you started. You may find it easiest to park in the visitor's car park near the gate, or outside in Monks Orchard Road, and walk the short distance to our building.
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