This volume contains patient admission and discharge and death registers compiled by the Bethlem Royal Hospital during the period 1683-1919. 

Admission registers, 1683-1919 (References: ARA; ARB; ARC): Pre-1840s admission registers are straightforward ledgers including the patient’s name, admission date, discharge date (sometimes accompanied by a reason for discharge), and names of securities—i.e., those paying or liable for the patient’s stay in hospital. After the 1840s, the registers became more “sophisticated and structured”, recording details such as the patient’s marital status, occupation, age, education, and who left them in the charge of the hospital. The later registers encompass details about the patient’s status upon discharge.

Discharge and death registers, 1723-1906 (Reference: DDR): The earliest discharge and death registers simply list the patient’s name, sex, and the date they departed the hospital or died. Post-1802, they record further details, such as the patient’s status upon discharge (healthy, incurable, on a leave of absence, etc.). From the 1850s, the registers are standardised to document the date of discharge, date of admission, register number, name, sex, social class, and type of discharge. If the patient died, their cause of death, age, and other relevant observations are recorded.