Last Saturday, our cycling club decided to do something a bit different – combine cycling with another activity. We opted for a visit to the Bethlem Museum of the Mind in Beckenham.
We started our session with a 30 minute ride from our starting point in Elmer’s End and took a very picturesque route to Monks Orchard Road in Beckenham, where the museum is located.
Upon arrival we were welcomed by very friendly staff who gave us a quick overview of the museum, the current exhibitions (The human influencing machine and the Art of Louis Wain), upcoming events and their collection of work, and we then proceeded upstairs to visit the main collection.
During our visit we learnt that the museum was formally opened in 2015. It explores the history of mental healthcare and treatment, looks at the use of art as therapy and provides insight into the former patients at the Bethlem Royal Hospital.
The Bethlem Royal Hospital first opened its doors in 1247 and is the UK’s first psychiatric institution. The museum takes visitors on a journey that explores the hospital’s history and the history of mental health in general. The museum covers how mental health is labelled, diagnosis, patient narratives, physical restraints, medical treatment and more. There is also an interesting collection of artwork from patients which, during their stay in hospital, would have provided them with the opportunity to address their battle with mental ill-health and express how they feel. This collection of artwork gave us an informative and touching look at how mental health conditions affect patients.
One set of artwork that stood out for us were the two pieces created by William Kurelek . His first painting, ‘The Maze’, which he painted whilst in hospital, conveys how he felt in the lead-up to and during his battle with clinical depression and other emotional problems. Whilst his second painting reveals his state of mind after recovery (the paintings are shown below).
The Maze by William Kurelek
Out of The Maze by William Kurelek
We found the museum to be very engaging with good use of a range of media to powerfully take us through the world of mental health. There were audio recordings of patient stories, paintings, hospital record books, samples from a padded room and a short film that allowed us to reflect on where we should draw the line between freedom and restraint.
Another interesting feature was the Human Influencing Machine exhibit. This was based on the paranoid delusions of James Tilly Matthews, a former patient of Bethlem Royal Hospital who believed that influencing machines were being used by those in power and that one of these machines had been placed in or near the hospital with bad intentions against him.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Bethlem Museum which ended with a nice stop at their cafe for a warm drink to prepare us for our ride back to Croydon. We highly recommended visiting the museum and will definitely be returning as they do organise a number of interesting events.
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