Glenside Hospital Museum, Bristol

This article supports ‘Lessons from the past’, published in RCN Bulletin, 18 May, page 7

The museum was founded by Dr Donal Felix Mary Early, a consultant psychiatrist who worked at Glenside Hospital from 1944 to 1979.
When the hospital closed in 1994, the use of the derelict chapel was given to the museum. The chapel was in a very poor state of disrepair. All the stained glass windows were boarded up, and the interior of the chapel had become home to pigeons and squirrels.
Dr Early was robbed of his power of speech due to a stroke but with the help of Dr Peter Carpenter, Dr Early's dream of publishing a book (The Lunatic Pauper Palace) depicting the history of Glenside Hospital was realised shortly before his death in 2004.
The museum has a wide range of artefacts and images from the life of Glenside and local learning disability hospitals.
The chancel is used for temporary exhibitions and for the sketches of Dennis Reed, an accomplished artist who painted life in Glenside from the inside, in the 1950s.

Glenside Hospital Museum is open to the public 10am to 12.30pm every Wednesday and Saturday. Read more on the museum’s website: www.glensidemuseum.org.uk

If you have a story to share about the hospital, contact the museum using the short online form on the Glenside Museum website.

The RCN History of Nursing Society

The RCN History of Nursing Society is open to all members who are interested in finding out more about nursing in the past. Read more in the History of Nursing Society community.

Look out for another story on the Glenside Hospital Museum in the RCN History of Nursing Society newsletter later this year. It will investigate how the museum uses history to destigmatise mental health illnesses as celebrations take place for the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Bristol Lunatic Asylum.

RCN Archives

The RCN archives also contain a wealth of information that RCN members with an interest in history may find useful. The archives contain some of the most important collections dedicated to the history of the nursing profession in the UK.

The majority of records relate to the work and history of the RCN and include images, recordings and objects. The RCN also holds collections from other nursing organisations and private individuals. These collections include badges, postcards, files and photographs. RCN Archives also holds the RCN library journal stock over 25 years old.