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In England, the priory of the Order of St Mary of Bethlehem was founded in London in 1247 and used for lunatics from 1377. In 1403, it housed 6 lunatics and 3 sane patients. It remained the only specialised institution for housing the mad until at least the 17th century. Bethlem, or *'Bedlam' as it became popularly known, was controlled by the Crown until 1546 when it was passed (along with St Thomas's and St Bartholomew's Hospitals) to the Corporation of the City of London. From 1557, it was jointly managed with Bridewell, a house of correction which had been founded at Blackfriars 2 years previously. By 1632, Bethlem housed 27 inmates which grew to 44 within 10 years. Following its destruction by fire, the hospital was moved, in 1676, from its old site (the present-day Liverpool Street Station) to a palatial building at *Moorfields which could accommodate 130-150 inmates.
*'Bedlam' became a byword for man's inhumanity to man despite insistence by the hospital authorities that inmates were not beaten, abused or forcibly restrained unless it was necessary to maintain order and control. The hospital also became a world-renowned ‘showcase' for the mad and attracted hundreds of visitors who turned up, paid the required fee, and either gawped at or taunted the inmates to near riot. The diarists, Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) and John Evelyn (1620-1706), were regular visitors. The satirist, Thomas Brown (1663-1704), wrote that 'Bedlam is a pleasant place ... and abounds with amusements'. Some of these were undoubtedly the prostitutes 'of all ranks, qualities, colours, prices and sizes' who plied their trade in the vicinity. The emphasis at Bethlem was on discipline rather than care.
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