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
Nelson Hospital
Originally known as the South Wimbledon, Merton and District Cottage Hospital. It opened with six beds and two cots. It was renamed in 1905 to commemorate the centenary of Nelson's victory at the B...
1 memorial
Victims of the 1848-9 Lambeth cholera outbreak
Victims of the 1848-9 Lambeth cholera epidemic - at least 1,618 Lambeth waterfront residents perished and were buried in unmarked graves in the burial ground in Lambeth High Street, now Lambeth Rec...
1 memorial
Sir Peter Medawar
OM, FRS, Nobel Laureate. Â Â Born Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Â His pioneering wartime research on tissue grafting won him the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1960. Â Not a fan of psychoanalysis - ...
2 memorials
St John Ambulance
The St John Ambulance Association was set up in 1877 by the Order of St John to teach industrial workers first aid, so that they could provide on-the-spot treatment in emergencies. The St John Am...
5 memorials
Claire Rayner
Nurse, journalist, broadcaster, novelist and 'agony aunt'. Born Claire Berenice Chetwynd in London. Â Her early life was marred by the cruelty of her parents who put her in a psychiatric hospital wh...
Person, Journalism / Publishing, Literature, Medicine, TV & Radio, Canada
1 memorial
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