Bethlem Royal Hospital
| Bethlem Royal Hospital | |
|---|---|
 Bedlam in 1896 | |
| Established | 1247 as a Priory |
| Opened | 1330 as a Hospital |
| Current Status | Active |
| Building Style | Pre-1854 Plans |
| Location | Monks Orchard Rd Beckenham, London BR3 3BX, United Kingdom |
| Architecture Style | Georgian/Victorian/Edwardian |
| Alternate Names |
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Bethlem Royal Hospital is an active hospital for the treatment of mental illness located in London, United Kingdom; and is currently owned and operated by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at the original location of its 1247 founding, it is recognized as Europe's first and oldest psychiatric institution. Bethlem has been accepting patients suffering from Insanity since the 14th century. The current hospital has been closely associated with King's College-London, and remains in partnership with the King's College-London Institute of Psychiatry. The hospital itself remains a major center for psychiatric, neurological and psychological research.
The word bedlam, meaning 'an uproar or confusion', is derived from the hospital's prior name. Although currently a modern psychiatric facility, historically it became representative of the worst excesses of asylum abuses and neglect.
Contents
History
Foundation as a Catholic Priory: 1247-1330
Bethlem Royal Hospital's origins are unlike any other psychiatric hospital in the western world. As a formal organization, it can be traced to its foundation in 1247, during the reign King Henry III, as a Roman Catholic Monastery for the Priory of the 'New Order of St Mary of Bethlem' in the city of London proper. It was established by the Italian Bishop of Bethlehem, Goffredo de Prefetti, following a donation of personal property by the London Alderman and former City-Sheriff, the Norman, Simon FitzMary. It bears its name after its primary patron and original overseer. The initial location of the priory was in the parish of Saint Botolph, in Bishopsgate's ward, just beyond London's wall and where the south-east corner of Liverpool Street station now stands. Bethlem was not initially intended as a hospital, much less as a specialist institution for the mentally ill. Rather, its purpose was tied to the function of the English Church; the ostensible purpose of the priory was to function as a centre for the collection of alms to support the Crusaders, and to link England to the Holy Land. Bishop De Prefetti's need to generate income for the Crusaders, and restore the financial fortunes of his apostolic see was occasioned by two misfortunes: his bishopric had suffered significant losses following the destructive conquest of the town of Bethlehem by the Khwarazmian Turks in 1244; and the immediate predecessor to his post had further impoverished his cathedral chapter through the alienation of a considerable amount of its property. The new London priory, obedient to the Church of Bethlehem, would also house the poor, disabled and abandoned; and, if visited, provide hospitality to the Bishop, canons and brothers of Bethlehem. The subordination of the priory's religious order to the bishops of Bethlehem was further underlined in the foundational charter which stipulated that Bethlems's prior, canons and male and female inmates were to wear a star upon their cloaks and capes to symbolize their obeisance to the church of Bethlehem.
Development as a Hospital: 1330-1557
During the 13th and 14th centuries, with its activities underwritten by episcopal and papal indulgences, Bethlem's role as a center for the collection of alms for the poor continued. However, over time, its link to the mendicant Order of Bethlehem increasingly devolved, putting its purpose and patronage in severe doubt. In 1346 the Prior of Bethlem, a position at that time granted to the most senior of London's monastic brethren, applied to the city authorities seeking protection; thereafter metropolitan office-holders claimed power to oversee the appointment of prios, and demanded in return an annual payment of 40 shillings from the coffers of the order. It is doubtful whether the City of London ever provided substantial protection, and much less that the priorship fell within their patronage, but dating from the 1346 petition, it played a role in the management of Bethlem's organization and finances.
By this time the crusader bishops of Bethlehem had relocated to Clamecy, France under the surety of the Avignon papacy. This was significant as, throughout the reign of King Edward III (1327–77), the English monarchy had extended its patronage over ecclesiastical positions through the seizure of alien priories, mainly French. These were religious institutions that were under the control of non-English religious houses. As a dependent house of the Order of Saint Bethlehem in Clamecy, Bethlem was vulnerable to seizure by the English crown, and this occurred in the 1370s when Edward III took control of all English hospitals. The purpose of this appropriation was to prevent funds raised by the hospital from enriching the French monarchy, via the papal court, and thus supporting the French war effort. After this event, the Head Masters of the hospital, semi-autonomous figures in charge of its day-to-day management, were crown appointees, and Bethlem became an increasingly secularized institution. The memory of Bethlem's foundation became muddled. In 1381 the royal candidate for the post of master claimed that from its beginnings the hospital had been superintended by an order of knights, and he confused the identity of its founder, Goffredo de Prefetti, with that of the Frankish crusader, Godfrey de Bouillon, the King of Jerusalem. The removal of the last symbolic link to the mendicant order was confirmed in 1403 when it was reported that master and inmates no longer wore the symbol of their order, the star of Bethlehem. This was exclusively a political move on the part of the hospital administrators, as the insane were perceived as unclean or possessed by daemons, and not permitted to resided on consecrated soil.
In 1546, the Lord-Mayor of London, Sir John Gresham, petitioned the crown to grant Bethlem to the city properly. This petition was partially successful, and King Henry VIII reluctantly ceded to the City of London "the custody, order and governance" of the hospital and of its "occupants and revenues". This charter came into effect in 1547. Under this formulation, the crown retained possession of the hospital, while its administration fell to the city authorities. Following a brief interval when Bethlem was placed under the management of the Governors of Christ's Hospital, from 1557 it was administered by the Governors of the city Bridewell, a prototype House of Correction at Blackfriars. Having been thus one of the few metropolitan hospitals to have survived the dissolution of the monasteries physically intact, this joint administration continued, not without interference by both the crown and city, until Bethlem's incorporation into the National Health Service (NHS) took place in 1948.
List of the Priors/Masters
- Thomas: 13th century
- John de Norton: ?-1350
- William Titte: around 1375
- William Welles: ?-1381
- John Gardyner: 1381-1388
- Robert Lincoln: 1388-1423
- Robert Dale: 1423-1437
- Edward Atherton: 1437-1457
- Thomas Arundel: 1457-1459
- Thomas Hervy: 1459
- Thomas Browne: 1459-1470
- John Smeathe: 1470-?
- John Davyson: ?-1479
- Walter Bate: 1479-?
- William Hobbs: 1479-?
- Thomas Maudesley: around 1485
- John Cavalary: 1512-1529
- George Boleyn: 1529-1536
- Peter Mewtys: 1536-?
- Dr. Crooke: 17th century
The seal of the priory of Saint Mary of Bethlem is said to have represented the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which was used by Bethlem Royal Hospital until 1948.
