Bethlem Royal Hospital - Museum of the Mind

Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first institution in the UK to specialise in the care of the mentally ill. The hospital continues to provide in-patient care as part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and has been based since 1930 in the outer London suburbs.

The Archives and Museum offer an unparalleled resource for the history of mental healthcare and treatment. We care for the archives of Bethlem Royal Hospital, the Maudsley Hospital and Warlingham Park Hospital, and a collection of historic objects and art, including works by former Bethlem patients such as Jonathan Martin, Richard Dadd and Louis Wain.

Towards the end of 2014 we will be moving to a new building on the hospital site and re-launching as Bethlem Museum of the Mind.

The ‘Museum of the Mind’ project will provide new gallery and learning spaces, secure our unique collections for future generations and enable us to bring more works of art and objects out of the stores. This exciting project has attracted generous funding from Maudsley Charity, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation and the Foyle Foundation.

Schools

We hold the archive of the hospital including documents and photographs, artifacts and an extensive art collection which all relates to mental health. We offer school and community visits which can include archive handling sessions, workshops based on our paintings and short talks by current staff. We also make outreach visits.