Bedlam: the asylum and beyond

Fascinating exhibition at the Wellcome Collection looking at the history of the Bedlam asylum and the treatment of mental health.

This show was a good mix of good historical displays and contemporary art installations to help illuminate some of the ideas. It looked at how in ancient times the asylum was a space, often a religious place where individuals could seek refuge. I was fascinated in the sections on the town of Geel in Flanders which became a place of pilgrimage, as it housed the shrine of St Dymphna, the patron saint of the ‘mentally distracted’ in medieval times. In modern times the town still offers a system of ‘family care’ where ‘Boarders’ live with families and are part of the town’s life.

The sections on Bedlam itself were really well presented and much helped by the slide show put together by Rev Edward Geoffrey O’Donoghue, chaplain from 1892 to 1930, compiled to illustrate the regular lectures he gave as part of a programme of entertainments for staff and patients. It traced all the buildings the hospital had occupied and different responses to the patients over the years.

The show also used examples of mental asylums from other parts of the country often quoting the Retreat in York, I had forgotten that the musical society I belonged to used to go and do concerts there back in the 1980s. I was very touched by a huge set of embroideries by Mary Frances Heaton, a music teacher admitted to Wakefield asylum in 1837 suffering from epilepsy and ‘delusions’ of an affair with Lord Seymour, whose children were her pupils. She protested her innocence via her work which she sent to various prominent people. I strongly suspected that she may have had a point!

The later section looked at 20th century techniques for treating mental illness as the idea of treatment in asylums became less acceptable. There was a wonderful 1950s film advocating the use of tranquilisers and good discussions about the role of care in the community.

Closes on 15 January 2017

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