This is a sign to tell visitors that they are entering Bedlam.
No, it is not Bedlam as in a scene of uproar and mass confusion or madness.
And it is not Bedlam as in the world’s oldest hospital (Bethlem Royal Hospital in London) that specialises in the treatment of the mentally ill… although it is from the name of that hospital that the word ‘bedlam’ is derived.
And indeed it is not the small hamlet of Bedlam in Shropshire in England.
It is in fact as the entrance to the small village of Bedlam in the county of North Yorkshire in England.
Take the road out of Harrogate and travel north, deep into the countryside and you will find it.
The name probably comes from Old English or Norse and means ‘at the buildings’.
So no bedlam in Bedlam, but the ‘Please drive carefully’ beneath the name on the road sign always makes us smile when we pass through the village.
Bedlam As An Ecard
Follow this link and you will find this sign as an image for an ecard in Quillcards.