Bethlem Sunfayre this Saturday, 7 July: Full Details

We’re hoping the weather picks up soon for this weekend’s Bethlem site open day – the annual Sunfayre. Open to all, there will be activities on offer for every age group, running throughout the afternoon from 12 – 5pm. Bethlem is one of the oldest psychiatric hospitals in the world, founded in 1247. The current site, at Monks Orchard in Beckenham, opened in 1930: there will be an opportunity to find out more about its history in a repeat of our January exhibition, A Clearer, Bluer Sky, in the Community Centre. There will be a talk on this exhibition at 2pm. In addition, the Archives and Museum will be running regular historical talks and tours, which include a rare opportunity to visit the historic boardroom. Talks will take place in the Education Room, and tours will begin from this point after the final talk.

Exploring the Archives: A chance to read historical case records of 19th century patients, in a session led by Museum staff. Begins at 12.40, 13.40 and 14.40.

Bethlem Patients in the 1850s: A talk focused on the portrait photographs taken of Bethlem patients in the 1850s by society photographer Henry Hering. Begins at 13.00, 14.00 and 15.00.

Historical Tour: Starting at the Education Room, this guided tour will then take in the historic boardroom, before proceeding around the site to the walled garden. Nature walks led by Bromley Council will start at the walled garden shortly after the tour finishes. Tour starts at 13.20, 14.20 and 15.20.

The Museum will also be running a family trail, following clues around the hospital grounds. Pick up a copy at the main entrance: pencils – and prizes! – are available in the Museum, where you can also view our new exhibition on British Outsider Art. The Bethlem Gallery will be open for a chance to visit the fascinating current exhibition, in which artists responded to objects from the museum’s collection. They will also have a stall where art from the Gallery can be purchased. Next door to the Gallery, there will be free art and ceramics workshops, running on an hourly basis throughout the afternoon.

In addition, the day will include children’s rides and activities, including an interactive play – Salty Sue and the Stolen Treasure Map - at 2pm. Bands will play regularly on the main stage in front of the picnic area, and complementary therapies – including Reiki, Indian head massage and hot stone massage – will be on offer in the community centre. For further details of these activities, visit the Sunfayre website.

 

Bethlem Sunfayre 2011: Art, Health and History

Last weekend the Hospital welcomed a reported thousand people onsite for the annual Sunfayre, to enjoy the good weather and delicious cupcakes onsale, in addition to rides, massages, tennis and a talent contest! The Archives and Museum was as busy as in previous years, with about 120 people following talks and tours from the Education Room, and a further 175 managing to cram into the small exhibition space – almost constantly crowded after 2pm. Many visitors lived locally, and found the museum and talks “genuinely fascinating”. Some had previously worked at the Hospital, with one visitor telling staff of her time here as a student nurse in the 1970s, and the ways in which the site had subsequently changed. Others had connections with the Hospital’s other historical sites, such as one gentleman who had previously lived just around the corner from the Imperial War Museum and knew that area as “Bethlem Park”.

All were agreed that the displays housed “incredible art work”, a theme continued in the Gallery’s exhibition on Art From Ephemera, showcasing contemporary artworks in conjunction with casebooks, leaflets and other material from the Archive collection from the ninteenth and twentieth centuries. As well as art, there was the opportunity to hear and read the stories of some of Bethlem’s patients from 150 years ago, through exploration of the casebooks and historical portraits, shown below. The Archivist reminded visitors that such only provide a snapshot into the lives of these individuals, who cannot be defined by their periods of mental ill-health. These nineteenth-century patients were usually in Bethlem for less than a year, and we know little about them beyond their hospital stay. Nonetheless, stories such as that of Emma Riches, who stayed in Bethlem five times in the mid nineteenth century, each time following the birth of a child and discharged cured after 6-9 months, can help to de-mystify contemporary experiences of mental ill-health.

A talk on the 1850s Henry Hering photographs of Bethlem patients; potraits include three ‘before’/'after’ pairs

(Emma Riches is shown in the two images in the middle)

Bethlem Sunfayre 2011

The Annual Bethlem Sunfayre takes place this year on Saturday 2 July, from 12 – 5pm. As usual, there will be a host of activities, stalls and games, including Bethlem’s Got Talent: a talent show contest with some amazing surprises! The day will offer an opportunity to view the new collaborative exhibition between the Archives and Museum and the Bethlem Gallery, Art From Ephemera, as well as an exhibition on William Kurelek, including a rare opportunity to view the painting Out of the Maze, featured in this month’s In the Frame.

In addition, both the Archives and Museum and the Bethlem Gallery will be putting on a host of art and history related events. Throughout the day, there will be regular opportunities to enjoy a guided historical tour of the site (including an opportunity to view the board room), explore the nineteenth century hospital casebooks, and learn more about the striking portraits of patients taken by society photographer Henry Hering in the 1850s. The last session begins at 3pm.

In the art studio, artist-led taster sessions will run throughout the afternoon, on the hour, from 1-5pm, on a first-come, first-served basis. Refreshments and children’s games continue the fun on offer, while for those keen not to miss out on Wimbledon, the ladies final will be showing on a large screen in the Community Centre!

Date: Saturday 2 July, 12-5pm

Venue: Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3BX (nearest station Eden Park)

Admission: Free! All welcome

Barrington, Sunfayre (2010)

Visit the Bethlem Sunfayre 2010 on Saturday 10 July

It’s getting close to the 2010 Bethlem Sunfayre and, given the beautiful weather, it seemed the perfect time to let you know what’s going on on the day. If you’re interested in art, history, your local area or simply want a day out with a difference, put the date in your diary now!

The Archives and Museum staff will be out in force throughout the Sunfayre. There’ll be an exhibition on “the cats of Louis Wain” in the Museum (along with our art and historical displays) short talks on “Bethlem Patients in the 1850s” in the Education Room, visits to the Historic Board Room, and regular guided walks through the grounds. There’s also a chance to see the current Bethlem Gallery Exhibition – Consulting the Collection, an exhibition of work by contemporary Bethlem Artists alongside artworks and objects from the Bethlem Museum’s collection in the Bethlem Gallery; some of the artists involved will be running art workshops throughout the afternoon.

In addition to our activities, the Bethlem Hospital site will host art and craft stalls, refreshments, children’s entertainment (rides, slides and face painting), complementary therapies and live music – as well as chance to witness teams of staff and local residents battle it out on giant inflatables in It’s a Knockout!

The Bethlem Sunfayre takes place on Saturday 10 July, from 12 – 5pm, at the Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham. The nearest station is Eden Park. For directions to the site, and a map, see our website.