Bethlem Hospital [ Health ]
… so much so that a major parliamentary inquiry in 1815 led to the dismissal of some of its principal officers. A form of sociability nevertheless was to be found there, not among the inmates but rather among those members of the public who paid for admission to witness the antics of the lunatics. But the most telling form of Bethlem sociability was in its popular image as ‘Bedlam’, a crazed … contribution (After 1770 a ticket system was introduced). 4 Here individuals and groups could wander and enjoy the antics of the inmates, goaded often by the warders in the hope of gratuities, and could tease or reward the most amusing. …
Confinement | Entertainement | Insanity | Punishment | Satire
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