The original location was in the parish of St Botolph, Bishopsgate's ward, just beyond London's wall and where the south-east corner of Liverpool Street Station now stands. It was established by the Bishop-elect of Bethlehem, the Italian Goffredo de Prefetti, following a donation of personal property by the London alderman and former sheriff, Simon FitzMary. The hospital was founded in 1247 as the Priory of the New Order of our Lady of Bethlehem in the city of London during the reign of Henry III. St Mary Spital is shown north of the city wall, outside Bishopgate.

Although the hospital became a modern psychiatric facility, historically it was representative of the worst excesses of asylums in the era of lunacy reform. The word ' bedlam', meaning uproar and confusion, is derived from the hospital's nickname. It moved a short distance to Moorfields in 1676, and then to St George's Fields in Southwark in 1815, before moving to its current location in Monks Orchard in 1930. Originally the hospital was near Bishopsgate just outside the walls of the City of London. It is part of the King's Health Partners academic health science centre and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health. The hospital is closely associated with King's College London and, in partnership with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, is a major centre for psychiatric research.

Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably Bedlam, a 1946 film with Boris Karloff. uk /our-services /hospital-care /bethlem-royal-hospitalīethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, London, England

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