Bedlam. St. Mary of Bethlehem

Book excerpt: The lunatics were first called "patients" in 1700, and "curable" and "incurable" wards were opened in 1725-34. In the 18th century people used to go to Bedlam to stare at the lunatics. For a penny one could peer into their cells, view the freaks of the "show of Bethlehem" and laugh at their antics, generally of a sexual nature or violent fights. Entry was free on the first Tuesday of the month. Visitors were permitted to bring long sticks with which to poke and enrage the inmates. In 1814 alone, there were 96,000 such visits. 'It was so loathsomely and filthily kept that it was not fit for any man or woman to come into. Situated variously in Bishopsgate, Moorfields and Lambeth, one of the main attractions over the centuries for the London mob was the Bethlehem Royal Hospital or Bedlam'.