What do we do?
The Archives and Museum at Bethlem Royal Hospital care for an important and well-respected collection of documents,
photographs, artefacts and works of art dating back to the 12th century.

The collections are accessed by over 4,000 visitors a year, and are of both national and international significance. Works of art from Bethlem are regularly requested for inclusion in exhibitions at other museums and galleries such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Britain. There is also considerable demand for our loan exhibitions, which include the works of Louis Wain and Richard Dadd.

Museum visits and loans to other institutions are all offered free of charge, as are our educational activities, which benefit hundreds of students and adult learners each year.

Why do we need to move?

The Archives and Museum are currently operating out of a dilapidated 1960s building (with attached portakabin) which is no longer fit for purpose:

• There is insufficient space to house the collections, some of which have had to move off-site with the result that they can no longer be seen by the public.
• The archive storage area has large cracks in the walls and an ageing environmental control system which no longer operates reliably.
• The cramped nature of our museum display space means that only a tiny proportion of our collections are ever on view.
• We have no dedicated education space.

Our new building

An existing building on the Bethlem Royal Hospital site has been identified, but it will need to be adapted for our needs.
The move will enable us to:

• Preserve the collections on one site in appropriate environmental conditions.
• Make a wider range of art and artefacts accessible to the public
• Expand our educational activities to reach a wider audience
• Develop our volunteering programme

Can you help?

Any donation to our relocation fund, however large or small, will help us.

SLAM Charitable Funds have agreed to match any donations or grants we receive (up to a limit of £750,000).

We can currently accept donations by cash or cheque (made payable to “Bethlem Art and History CollectionsTrust”). It would be helpful for our records if you could indicate that your donation is intended for the relocation fund.

Alternatively you can donate via your mobile phone: simply text BETH01 followed by the amount you would like to give (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to 70070. All mobile operators will be passing on 100% of the text donation via JustGiving. There are no extra fees and no deductions will be made from your text message free allowance or bundle. To find out more, visit www.justtextgiving.co.uk

Our supporters


The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust have generously offered us the use of a building and £1 million towards adapting it for our needs.

The Heritage Lottery Fund have granted us just over £50,000 to develop a bid for £500,000.