A poetic lament for a squirrel referred to as Jack, which lived together with its would-be regicidal proprietor in probably the most well-known psychiatric hospitals on the planet, will go on show for the primary time this week on the Bethlem archives, alongside a number of different beforehand unseen works.
Bethlem Royal Hospital, based in 1247 and after a number of strikes now positioned on the outer fringe of south east London, was the unique Bedlam, and claims the title of the oldest psychiatric hospital on the planet. Nevertheless, it additionally has a outstanding artwork assortment created by former sufferers and by artists coping with the topic of psychological well being, with common public exhibitions in its personal devoted museum constructing: the Bethlem Museum of the Thoughts.
The most recent, opening on 14 August, is Between Sleeping and Waking: Hospital Goals and Visions, which incorporates many works by former sufferers and a serious set up, Evening Tides, by the up to date artist Kate McDonnell.
James Hadfield and Jack the squirrel had been each confined for all times to Bethlem within the early nineteenth century, Jack as a pet, and Hadfield after making an attempt to assassinate George III throughout a efficiency at Drury Lane theatre. Hadfield, who had been critically injured throughout his time as a soldier, was within the grip of spiritual mania and had turn into satisfied that he may solely save England by being executed by the authorities.
On 15 Might 1800, when the king stood up within the royal field for the nationwide anthem, Hadfield fired a pistol, however missed. Based on a up to date account of his trial, “nice consternation ensued and he was thrown over the rails into the orchestra and conveyed right into a room beneath the theatre”.
His subsequent profitable plea of madness, saving him from hanging for treason, helped to determine the case regulation for such pleas, and definitely saved the lives of many others experiencing psychological sickness and accused of capital crimes.
At Bethlem, the place he lived till his demise in 1841, Hadfield grew to become a minor celeb. He had many guests to his cell, the place he traded his poems and drawings about his pets for snuff and tobacco. The lament for Jack is a uncommon surviving instance, stored within the hospital archives.
In it, Hadfield blames himself for the destiny of “my little darling Jack” who “with a bit fall nearly broke his again, and I personally was the event of that, by letting him be frightened by a cat”. Mortally injured, the squirrel “alas by no means danced a hornpipe extra”.
Jack, nonetheless, had not completely left the constructing, as Hadfield recorded: “Now in remembrance of his fairly methods, I’ve had him stuffed that I won’t him overlook.”
