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
Lady Alice Maud Bootle-Wilbraham, OBE
Lady District Superintendent in the St John Ambulance Brigade, No. 1 District Metropolitan Corps, 1899-1922. Honorary Serving Sister in the Order of St John. On its Facebook page this photo is cap...
Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration
1 memorial
Dr. Alfred Collett Bartley
Mitcham village doctor. In 1826 he modernised the White House which remained in his family until 1919. A Merton Historical Society Bulletin has "The White House was .... home from about 1820 to .....
1 memorial
W. Rea Edwards, OBE, ACA
William Rea Edwards was Superintendent Secretary in the St John Ambulance Brigade, Metropolitan Corps, 1892-1900. Knight Grace in the Order of St John. Inver Museum has a photo of a Rea-Edwards mo...
Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration
1 memorial
Elizabeth Blackwell
The first woman to be accepted by the register of the General Medical Council, and also the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. Born in Bristol, her family emigrated to th...
1 memorial
1 memorial
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