Bethlem Museum of the Mind

Directions Website Contact the organisation

Bethlem Museum of the Mind Bethlem Museum of the Mind opened in Feb 2015, and displays the history of mental healthcare and trea Check out our website for upcoming events and exhibitions.

Bethlem Museum of the Mind is a free to enter museum that is open Wednesday to Saturday 10.00 - 17.00. OUR MISSION

Bethlem Museum of the Mind records the lives and experience, and celebrates the achievements, of people with mental health problems. We aim to become a leading information and learning resource for the history of mental health care and treatment.

⏲️ Don't forget the clocks went back overnight! You have gained an extra hour️ to browse the Bethlem Museum of the Mind ...
25/10/2026

⏲️ Don't forget the clocks went back overnight! You have gained an extra hour️ to browse the Bethlem Museum of the Mind website and plan your visit⏱️⏰⌚

To celebrate here's the view from the top of the Museum and Gallery building when the turret clock was restored last year 🕰️



(thanks to the Cumbria Clock Co. for the first two photos)

24/10/2026

Take a moment to listen to the rain outside. Against this backdrop, you’ll hear a snippet of an extract from a letter written in 1867 by Edward Oxford, a former patient, to George Henry Haydon, Bethlem Hospital Steward.
“For a man who has once been in the grip of the law to remain where he is known stands but a poor chance among those who have not. It makes no matter what his offence or whether he has paid the full pound of flesh ten times over…”

🧠 Help us reach 10,000 followers! We’re Bethlem Museum of the Mind - a charity and free Museum dedicated to exploring th...
15/10/2026

🧠 Help us reach 10,000 followers!
We’re Bethlem Museum of the Mind - a charity and free Museum dedicated to exploring the history of mental healthcare, sharing the stories and experiences of people who have used mental health services, and celebrating the extraordinary creativity of people with lived experience of mental health problems.

Through our historic archives, art collections and exhibitions, we explore how our understanding of mental health has changed and why this history still matters today.

💚 We’re on a mission to reach 10,000 followers, and we’d love you to be part of it. Follow us for thought-provoking and fascinating history, art, and real human stories. If you already follow us please help spread the word by sharing this post with someone who might love what we do!

🧠 Help us reach 10,000 followers! 🎨We’re Bethlem Museum of the Mind - a charity and free Museum dedicated to exploring t...
15/10/2026

🧠 Help us reach 10,000 followers! 🎨
We’re Bethlem Museum of the Mind - a charity and free Museum dedicated to exploring the history of mental healthcare, sharing the stories and experiences of people who have used mental health services, and celebrating the extraordinary creativity of people with lived experience of mental health problems.

Through our historic archives, art collections and exhibitions, we explore how our understanding of mental health has changed and why this history still matters today.

💚 We’re on a mission to reach 10,000 followers, and we’d love you to be part of it. Follow us for thought-provoking and fascinating history, art, and real human stories. If you already follow us please help spread the word by sharing this post with someone who might love what we do!

Coming soon: The 544Created by artist Sarah Ketelaars, The 544 is a powerful memorial to 544 psychiatric patients murder...
12/10/2026

Coming soon: The 544

Created by artist Sarah Ketelaars, The 544 is a powerful memorial to 544 psychiatric patients murdered by the N***s in Latvia in 1941. Each cyanotype represents one of those lives. Alongside confronting a difficult history, the exhibition will offer moments of reflection and celebration, honouring the lives of these people before they entered the hospital.

The 544 bit.ly/MOTM544

“Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change” is the theme of 2026 and it speaks directly to the heart of everyt...
10/10/2026

“Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change” is the theme of 2026 and it speaks directly to the heart of everything we do at Bethlem Museum of the Mind.

Our displays tell the real stories of people who have experienced mental health difficulties. They explore diagnosis and labelling, freedom and constraint, temperament, treatment and recovery. From Bethlem’s beginnings in 1247 to its place today within South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, we track the changing treatment and understanding of mental illness.

We challenge stigma, celebrate the achievements of people with mental health difficulties, and provide first-class learning experiences for visitors and school groups from around the world.

Open Wednesday-Saturday 9:30am-5pm

Free entry and easy to reach by car 🚙 (free parking!), bus 🚌 (we’re right on the SL5 route!) and train 🚂 (we’re a 15 minute walk from Eden Park station!)

This year’s Mental Wealth Festivalat the City Lit Gallery includes a portrait by the artist Lily Whitlock of the statue ...
09/10/2026

This year’s Mental Wealth Festivalat the City Lit Gallery includes a portrait by the artist Lily Whitlock of the statue by Caius Gabriel Cibber, commonly known as ‘Raving Madness’, which together with its twin ‘Melancholy Madness’ was a London landmark for 140 years, and is now on display at Bethlem Museum of the Mind.
The festival is on until 13 October 🔗https://www.citylit.ac.uk/city-lit-gallery

We're hiring!Are you a senior independent consultant with a track record of transforming arts and heritage organisations...
29/09/2026

We're hiring!

Are you a senior independent consultant with a track record of transforming arts and heritage organisations, and the fundraising relationships to prove it?
Bethlem Museum of the Mind is seeking an Arts & Heritage Change Consultant for an up to 12-month independent consultancy engagement, reporting directly to the Museum’s trustees.

https://lnkd.in/e7vb8EyZ

🎓 Off to university this weekend? 🎓If you’re studying psychology, counselling, art or a related subject, our free learni...
18/09/2026

🎓 Off to university this weekend? 🎓
If you’re studying psychology, counselling, art or a related subject, our free learning resource The Maze is for you! Dedicated to William Kurelek’s powerful 1953 painting, on permanent display here at Bethlem Museum of the Mind, our online resource explores how the painting expresses the artist's psychological distress, therapy and complex inner experience.

👀 bit.ly/MOTMMaze

Address

Bethlem Royal Hospital
Beckenham
BR33BX

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bethlem Museum of the Mind posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Bethlem Museum of the Mind:

Shortcuts

Sponsored

Share

Category