Museum - Bethlem Museum of the Mind in Beckenham, Bromley, United Kingdom

In the online shop now! An individual Christmas card for that special someone: https://bit.ly/motmshop2 ...and... A pack of ten Christmas cards for those special ten people:... https://bit.ly/motmshop1 Postage and packaging is free!

On selected dates in December we will be opening our doors once more! Go to bit.ly/visitmotm for details of how to book your pre Christmas visit!

We're going live over on YouTube now! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2jg6sJCyUc&feature=youtu.be

IT'S TODAY!!! Walk into the history of Bethlem - we are lucky dipping into the Museum of the Mind Archives LIVE on YouTube at 1pm! https://youtu.be/c2jg6sJCyUc Will you be joining in? Let us know!... #ExploreYourArchives

W is for Wainfleet, a small village in Lincolnshire. A large estate in this parish was left to the Hospital by Mary and Edward Barkham in the late 1700s. There is a mystery around why they did this - we suspect a connection to a family mental health issue, but we do not know the specifics. Their gift, which made the Hospital financially secure, is commemorated with portraits in our Boardroom. #ArchiveZ

During our live Archive Lottery last Friday we discovered a box of these 1930s brass printing blocks, used for printing illustrations in the hospital magazine called "Orchard Leaves". This one depicts a scene of cows in a field with orchard leaves in the foreground. Want to discover more? We are still open for booked visits and spaces are available on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week! Visit https://bit.ly/visitmotm to book your slot.

#OnThisDay 9 October 1887 It is William Budd’s second admission to Bethlem and he has been there for almost seven months. The doctor’s write No Change. Says he is the greatest poet in the world. Read William's story https://bit.ly/2ZrE4n0 Part of our #ChangeMinds exhibition https://bit.ly/3jUm4JI

Join us today at 11am and 1pm for two free live & interactive events - part of Maudsley Charity 's virtual festival for #WMHD2020 There's still time to join in our Exhibition and Archive Lotteries - watch (and influence!) from the comfort of your sofa! Details here: bit.ly/WMHD2020MC

This Friday 9th October we'll be running two free virtual events for @maudsleycharity's #WMHD2020 festival: At 11:00 - a live Archive Lottery with our Archivist David Luck - book here: https://t.co/rFntE6aJA2 At 13:00 - a live Exhibition Tour with Museum Director Colin Gale! Book here: https://t.co/Gjf87Uhcp2... Both events are free and will be live and interactive!

V is for Visits for Money. Bethlem allowed visitors into its Moorfields site in return for a donation placed in the ‘poor box’- we have replicas (pictured) in our collection. The Governors of the Hospital hoped for people ‘of note and qualittie’ who would be inspired to donate and thus do good for the patients there. We know Samuel Pepys recommended Bethlem, but in this part of The Rakes Progress you can see Hogarth is portraying voyeurs rather than interested philanthropists. The practice ceased in 1770. #ArchiveZ

Teresa's poem mixes extracts from Thomas Herbet Stringer's own case notes with her interpretation of his experiences. Thomas was just in his late teens when he was admitted to Bethlem, Teresa captures the confusion & fear he must have felt. Read more here: https://bit.ly/33yI2LR

William Carnie Jnr was an engineer admitted to Bethlem at the age of 18. In this poem the author describes his reaction to reading William's case notes, and his responses to his research into William's wider life. You can read some of his other poems here https://bit.ly/35s8Y2k #WorldPoetryDay

In her poem about Anne Doble, Awa Ginet wanted to convey the voice of a single and working woman who was struggling to express her sadness. You can hear Awa's performance of her poem in our Change Minds Online exhibition here: https://bit.ly/3jUm4JI #WorldPoetryDay

Continuing with our #WorldPoetryDay posts: Frances Hales' story inspired Jessica to write 'Dear Ada', a poem exploring the pain of separation from her child, but also celebrating the human ability to heal & to find direction & meaning in life. Jessica's blog on Frances' life is here https://bit.ly/2ZnIP0X

It's #WorldPoetryDay so throughout the day we'll be sharing some of the moving poems written by participants in our Change Minds Online exhibition. These poems were inspired by the lives & stories of the people from Bethlem's casebooks over the last 150 years... In Elizabeth Vigar’s admission notes in 1887 the Doctors observe that she's feeling lost. For this poem, the author engages Elizabeth in a dialogue, asking about her feelings of being adrift & her lack of self-worth. Listen to a recording of the poem here https://bit.ly/3jUm4JI Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter today for more poems!

On Friday 9 October we will be taking part in the Maudsley Charity's virtual festival for World Mental Health Day! We'll be letting you in behind the scenes as our Archivist, David Luck, runs a LIVE archive lottery - letting YOU choose what you want to see! As it's live anything could happen! It's free to join in and you can register here: bit.ly/WMHD2020MC (Don't forget the check out the post below to find out more about all the activities happening on the day!)

U is for uniform. Bethlem had a uniform for its staff dating back to its move to Moorfields in 1676 - blue coats with silver badges depicting the Hospital arms on the sleeves (blue was the colour of the charity then). However it was only in 1891 that the Hospital standardised its nurses uniform, at the cost of 3 each, these probably looked like something in the ward picture below. We have a number of uniforms in our collection, including the one pictured, which dates from the early years of the NHS in the 1950s. #ArchiveZ