Pioneers of Mental Health Care at Glenside Hospital Museum and the History of Psychiatry Conference

By Claire Royal, Marketing Administrative Officer at the Glenside Hospital Museum.

On World Mental Health Day (10 October), Glenside Hospital Museum in Bristol will host the Royal College of Psychiatrists' History of Psychiatry Conference—a fitting time and place for an event focused on the past, present, and future of mental health care.

Located in the former church of the Bristol Lunatic Asylum, Glenside Hospital Museum offers a powerful and engaging insight into the history of mental health care over the last 150 years. Through original medical equipment, artwork, photographs, and personal testimonies, the museum explores the changing ways society has treated mental illness — and the stories of those who lived and worked within the hospital walls.

Among the many remarkable people featured in the museum are:

Dr W. Grey Walter (1910-1977)

Dr Grey Walter was a pioneer in EEG (electroencephalogram) and ECT (electroconvulsive therapy), and he built the first ECT machine in Britain which is on display in the Museum. He is however best known for his ground-breaking work in robotics, cybernetics, and artificial intelligence. In 1939, Professor Golla and his team, including Grey Walter, moved from London to Bristol to work at the newly opened Burden Neurological Institute (BNI), funded by Rosa Burden from profits made in caring for people with learning disabilities. Here Grey Walter worked until 1970. He developed electrical methods to record the brain’s activity in the hope of better understanding and looked for physical treatments to help those who were mentally ill. The division in the 1930s between neurology and psychiatry was not as distinct as it is now.

At the Burden, Grey Walter perfected EEG (the electroencephalogram) which is still used today to help diagnose and monitor a number of conditions affecting the brain. It can help identify the cause of certain symptoms – such as seizures (fits) or memory problems.

Grey Walter developed two robot tortoises which helped to understand brain function called Elmer and Elsie in 1948/9. They were called tortoises after the teacher of the Mock Turtle in Lewis Carrol’s ‘Alice’, who was called Tortoise because he ‘taught us’ and also because they moved slowly. They had primitive neural pathways, which led to new insights into the function of the nervous system.

His pioneering role in neurological studies and the cybernetics movement contributed significantly to the transformation of those sciences in the early Cold War era. His book The Living Brain (1953) was a scientific bestseller.

Dr Donal Early (1917–2004)

Dr Early was a pioneering psychiatrist who introduced radical new approaches to the treatment and rehabilitation of people with mental illness. When he joined Bristol Mental Hospital in 1944, the institution was under-resourced and struggling after the war. He found patients neglected and the standard of care poor. With energy, charisma, and compassion, he set about rebuilding the hospital’s ethos—forming a dedicated team, supporting patients in their recovery, and creating real opportunities for rehabilitation.

Image courtesy of Glenside Hospital Museum.

In the 1950s, he established a Centre for Research at Glenside, often in collaboration with the Burden Neurological Institute. The hospital, from its inception in 1861, organised patients to have meaningful work in the hospital. Recognising the value of purposeful activity, Dr Early responded to the loss of occupational therapy services—cut back after the NHS was formed in 1948—by introducing a radical system of industrial rehabilitation. This began with bringing real work into the Occupational Therapy department, expanded to a purpose-built factory on the grounds, and taking supported groups into open industry. By 1960, this became the Industrial Therapy Organisation (ITO), a model so effective it was replicated across the UK and internationally. HRH Princess Royal came to open ITO and to visit Glenside Hospital Museum in 2025 to celebrate GHM’s 40^th Anniversary.

Dr Early also recognised the importance of supported living. Many long-stay patients had become dependent on the hospital, even after recovery. To address this, he founded a Housing Association, initially establishing flats within hospital grounds before expanding to homes across Bristol—enabling patients to relearn how to look after themselves with support.

After retiring from the NHS in 1979, he continued his work as a World Health Organisation advisor and a court medical expert. Passionate about preserving the history of mental health care, he and his wife, Dr Prudence Early, founded Glenside Hospital Museum in 1984, building it from his personal collection of artefacts.

The History of Psychiatry Conference

One of the highlights of the day will be a talk by Stella Man, Director of Glenside Hospital Museum, titled "ITO – Bristol and the Start of Work". She will explore the history of the Industrial Therapy Organisation (ITO) and its important role in reshaping how work and occupation were used to support recovery and rehabilitation at Glenside and beyond.

As part of the event, attendees will also have the opportunity to explore Glenside Hospital Museum and its remarkable collection and stories.

It promises to be a rich and thought-provoking day of talks and discussion—held in a setting that invites reflection and inspires meaningful conversations about mental health today.

Book to attend the conference: History of Psychiatry at Glenside Hospital Museum

Find out more about Glenside Hospital Museum via their website.