Tales of the Unexpected!

One of the great things about doing a collaborative PhD are the opportunities to get involved with the events and schemes that my partner institution runs. Last week this included having the opportunity to write a blog for the Natural History Museum as part of #ExploreArchives - the blog being based upon some of the research I've recently been doing which revealed the interesting tale of the purchase and arrival of a sea elephant to the Tring Museum. 

So this is perhaps slightly cheating but as it ties into this months theme of Natural History here is the link!

https://blog.nhm.ac.uk/2016/11/25/the-day-the-sea-elephant-came-through-the-roof-explore-your-archive-week-library-and-archives/#more-6677

It's also worth having a poke around at some of the other recent blogs which showcase some of the really interesting things that can be uncovered within the archive - Enjoy!

The Bauer Brothers: Masters of Scientific Illustration

To continue with a favourite theme of this blog I turn again to the topic of natural history and in particular The Bauer Brothers exhibition that has been on display in the Images of Nature Gallery at the Natural History Museum since November 2015.

Erica massoni L.f., 1796-1803
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erica_massoni00.jpg

The exhibition features the botanical and zoological artworks of two exceptional natural history artists, Franz (1758-1840) and Ferdinand (1760-1826) Bauer; Austrian born brothers who were educated by some of the Continent’s most influential botanical artists of the time. You might be thinking, “oh here she goes again reviewing yet another exhibition” and yes that’s true. I can’t deny that that is what I’m going to do. But what I really like about this exhibition and why I wanted to blog about it is because I was so surprised by how taken I was with it, both in terms of content and concept.

Both brothers spent their entire lives studying and drawing nature and the results are some truly beautiful and, I’m reliably informed, scientifically accurate pieces of illustration. To quote the exhibition website, the brothers ‘excelled in learning the principles of botanical illustration according to the Linnaean system of classification. This technique typically depicts the entire plant in flower, but separately represents the bud and fruit, often dissected to show the internal structure’(1). They are really fascinating pieces of art to stand and look at, and even more so when you consider the degree of accuracy.

But behind the obvious skill both men had, I was also taken by the stories of them as individuals. They had similar artistic styles and yet their careers were very different from each other. Franz had been hired by Sir Joseph Banks as the first resident artist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London. While Ferdinand had been hired by Banks as the natural history artist on the HMS Investigator (1801-1805) on its expedition to Australia. There he worked alongside Robert Brown and made many sketches, which he bought back and based future water colours on.

They are really beautiful pieces artwork – the colours surprisingly bold and the level of detail just amazing. I rather naively wouldn’t have expected scientific illustration of this period to have been of such a high standard. It really was a pleasant surprise and when in the museum I always like to wander past and take a look, especially as the drawings and watercolours rotate every four months.

Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, what I also think is great about this exhibition is how it highlights the depth of the Natural History Museum’s collections, especially those of the Library and Archives. By having this designated gallery, which shows exhibitions on a rotating basis, Library staff are given the opportunity to delve into the archive and special collections to bring to light something a bit different; something that isn’t a piece of taxidermy or a slice of science. It can really remind us as visitors that the value of the collections for research goes beyond science and can reveal the history of the people involved in making the museum and its collections. I’ve made clear elsewhere that I’m a huge fan of this approach and I was really pleased to discover that there is at least one place within the museum, designated to informing the public about an aspect of the history of its collections.

You can find more info about the exhibition, which runs until February 2017 here - http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/whats-on/programs/nhm/bauer_brothers_art_exhibition.html

(1)  http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/library-and-archives/collections/bauer-brothers.html

Revisited: The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice

On Monday 3^rd October I just happened to catch an episode of the BBC’s Inside Out and as often happens, they began running a feature which I was quickly lured into by recognition of the location in which they were filming – Postman’s Park. Now immediately I had a feeling that what was about to be covered was The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice and sure enough that’s what it was and it reminded me of the blog I’d drafted a while ago and only recently posted, which in light of this programme I thought was worth revisiting.

The Watt's Memorial in Postman's Park

The segment introduced historian Dr John Price and his book ‘Heroes of Postman’s Park: Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Victorian London’ in which he reveals the full details of the lives and untimely deaths of all sixty-two people commemorated on the memorial. I hadn’t come across the book when I wrote the original blog so I decided to do a little bit more research and also came across the fact that there is also a free app which can be used at home, or at the site itself, which brings to life the people who feature of the wall; the camera recognising the tablet in question and presenting the user with an individual profile. This brings to life what ordinarily are abstract names on a memorial. For each individual the profile includes ‘a description of the incident in which they died and details of all the key people involved, allowing the user to gain different perspectives on the circumstances. Events, locations and places of interest can be viewed on interactive maps and the app is extensive illustrated, with pictures of people and places.’(1) This is a really great interactive way to engage people with what is fascinating memorial and to tell the important histories of the people which it commemorates.

Just some on the tablets that adorn the wall.

But what captured my interest most was the fact that this feature on Inside Out was essentially a publicity campaign for the Friends of the Watt’s memorial, established in 2015, who wish to complete Watt’s memorial and fill the remaining tablets as its creator, George Frederick Watts, originally intended. It was explained that Dr Price thinks it likely that Watt’s selected the remaining people and that the list remains in an archive somewhere as yet undiscovered. Dr Price also explained that the Friends hope to make the new tablets as similar as possible to the original, with the original kiln being shown and even discussion of whether it might be possible recommissioned it and produce the remaining tiles.

This struck me as an interesting concept on two levels. Firstly, I asked myself the question – should we finish something that someone in the past began and which was only left incomplete because of that person’s death, and which has now become a piece of history in its own right (albeit incomplete). Or, like the Friends have proposed, should we be looking to complete a memorial like this? The second question I then had was what if there is not a definitive list? And does a list by Watts even matter given that additions were made after his death, the memorial including individuals who were not considered by Watts but were selected by his wife who took over the management of the memorial after his death in 1904? As a result there are a number of individuals whose death’s date beyond that – most before 1927, but there is also one exception, Leigh Pitt a reprographic operator who saved a drowning boy from a canal in 2007 but lost his life in doing so. Clearly this extends beyond what Watts could ever have conceived for the memorial, so how does that factor in to what the Friends hope to do. Curiosity got the better of me and so I tweeted to ask but my question has been left unanswered.

I think this project asks some interesting questions about the way in which we manage and view memorials and whether that should be restricted to preservation or more interventionist activity. It’s certainly given me food for thought and I’ll be interested to see what occurs in the coming months or even years.  

(1)   http://www.postmanspark.org.uk/

Remembering ‘Everyday’ Heroes: The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice

When it comes to London I am known for avoiding the tube where possible and travelling by foot. It’s a habit I’ve acquired from my Dad who used to take us to London a lot when we were kids and for whom, travelling by foot was the favoured mode of transport. You can just imagine the whingeing and whining that often happened as he powered ahead with two kids who could barely match his stride, struggling to make two for every one of his. But now, some 15 years later, I can both understand and appreciate his way of thinking. Not only has it resulted in me having confidence in navigating around the city, but it has also revealed so much more of the city to me, including the subject of this blog.

Short cuts can reveal all sorts of unusual places and on a recent visit to the Museum of London I stumbled across Postman’s Park, where I was surprised to discover The Watts Memorial to the Heroic Self-Sacrifice. At first I saw it from a distance – this rather imposing and curious looking memorial – and there was just something about it that lured me forwards. It was quite different from any other I have seen and curiosity took over, particularly when I saw the inscription which ran across the top of the wooden structure and read ‘In Commemoration of Heroic Self Sacrifice’.

The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice
Picture © Eleanor Larsson

As I approached specific details began to stand out more - the number of individual plaques that each bore a name, dates and writing. To one side there was a sign that read as follows, offering some explanation behind the memorial:

G.F. Watt’s Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice.

Unveiled in 1900, The Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice was conceived and undertaken by the Victorian Artist George Frederic Watts OM RA (1817-1904).

It contains plaques to those who have heroically lost their lives trying to save another.

Watts believed that these ‘Everyday’ heroes provided models of exemplary behaviour and character.

‘The material prosperity of a nation is not an abiding possession: the deeds of its people are’ G.F. Watts

‘Greater Love Hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,’ John 15:13.

Watts Gallery, Compton, Surrey.

Picture © Eleanor Larsson

I found this memorial incredibly poignant and as I moved along the wall, reading more of the individual plaques and the ways in which each lost their life whilst saving that of another, I couldn’t help but respect and admire the bravery of those remembered there.

The people remembered span across some 150 years. The most recent dating from 2007, while the earliest case comes from 1863 and is that of Sarah Smith, a pantomime artist at the Prince’s Theatre, who had tried to extinguish the flames which had enveloped her companion, but she herself died of the injuries she sustained in trying to do so.  

Other cases document those who had been in the emergency services and acted while on duty, policemen and members of the fire brigade, while others were reacting to workplace incidents, air raids or freak accidents they just happened to witness. The cases documented are such human stories, featuring men and woman, child and adults, all ordinary people, who if it weren’t for the events that took their lives, would have been hidden from history. The memorial really made a strong impression on me.

Picture © Eleanor Larsson

It would seem that Watts had a particular motive in mind when creating this memorial - moral improvement, one of the key concerns of the Victorian age. But I think it also stands the test of time. By reminding us of ‘everyday’ heroes we are forced to confront quite an uncomfortable truth. I think we’d all like to think that in a crisis we’d respond and react in a similar way, but how many of us would actually do so when so often we walk along with headphones in our ears, buried in our phones and completely oblivious to the world going on around us.

Discovering this memorial caused me to have an interesting moment of reflection, one which was prompted by a fascinating piece of history.

You can find more information about the memorial here - http://www.postmanspark.org.uk/about.html

Back Very Soon...

To anyone wondering why there has been a delay in this month's blogs the answer is that I'm taking the month off, but the good news is that normal service will be resumed in October. So watch this space for plenty more Ispyhistory and Guest Blogs! 

Up at the Heighest Height: Barcelona’s Bunker del Carmel

Everyone has a ‘place’ in their city or local town. A place that they perhaps find fascinating, calming or once stumbled upon purely by accident, but a place nonetheless that they would make a point of showing a visitor for one reason or another. If it were me in Farnborough it would probably be the Wellington Statue, the old balloon hanger or the Abbey, not because I am particularly clued up on their history, but because they are a part of my town’s history.

Bunker del Carmel © Gillian Gryz

So when I was recently in Barcelona, the recommendation by some friends that we all go up to the bunkers because they offer a good view and have an interesting history, was an invitation hard to refuse. Our friends happened to be living in Barcelona at the time, and having come across this site, wanted to share it with us. So off we went up this pretty steep hill, knowing little other than that the site had been the location of anti-aircraft defences during the Spanish Civil War and had later become the site of what was described to us as a slum.

Bunker del Carmel © Gillian Gryz

As soon as we arrived at the top you could see why this site had been chosen for the anti-aircraft defences in 1937 – the views over Barcelona were breath-taking and I expect the feelings it evokes now somewhat contradict those felt back in the 1930s. My knowledge of the Spanish Civil War is pretty limited but I had remembered that it had seen the first use of aerial bombing purely targeted at civilian populations and sitting looking out over the city, that recollection prompted Goosebumps.

Bunker del Carmel © Gillian Gryz

There was more to be seen up there than I had anticipated – you can still see the circular concrete platforms where the guns would have been mounted, the bunkers themselves, as well as various lookout points. You can also see remnants of the domestic side of the site – the floor tiles and drainage systems of the former houses that had developed after the war owing to a housing shortage. 

Bunker del Carmel © Gillian Gryz

The site became the home of several families and remained in use until the 1990s, when development for the Barcelona Olympics saw them rehoused. It was a rather peculiar place to visit but a really fascinating one and I have to admit that it was one of the first things I looked up when I got back.

Bunker del Carmel © Gillian Gryz

Recent develop has seen the site taken over and publicised as a heritage site. New boards and information panels have been installed to reflect the history of the bunkers and as a site it now offers people a quiet-ish getaway from the bustling city below; a chance to take in some spectacular views and to contemplate a turbulent period in the city’s history.

This was definitely a case of Ispyhistory in action - Thanks Gill and Jimmy for taking us up there!

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

Weekends away can be great way to dip into the history of different areas, whether that be somewhere on the south coast of England or Southern Europe. In this case a trip to Barcelona allowed for an interesting trip to the Museu d’Història de Catalunya and I have to admit to being really impressed with the quality of the museum.

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

The museum itself is located in a former warehouse building near the Old Port (Port Vell) and offers a really fantastic museum space. The development actually strongly resembles the location of the Museum of London Docklands – a part of a former warehouse having been converted into a museum, while the rest offers a home to bustling restaurants and bars, overlooking ships swaying on the water. Anyway, I digress somewhat.  

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

We chose to view the permanent exhibition galleries which cover the period of Prehistory to 1980. This is divided into several different subsections which aim to address key developments in Catalan history. These are: The Roots: From Prehistory to the 8^th Century, The Birth of a Nation: The 8^th to the 12^th Centuries, Our Sea: The 12^th to the 16^th Centuries, On the Edge of the Empire: the 16^th to 18^th centuries, A Steam-powered Nation: the 18^th and 19^th centuries, The Electric Years: From 1900 to 1939, Defeat and Recovery: From 1940 to 1980.

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

It was certainly a mammoth exhibition in what it tried to cover but like I say, I was very impressed with the quality of what has been achieved. Intellectually what I really liked was how the museum didn’t just focus on Catalonia but tried to present Catalan history and culture within broader geographical, political, economic and cultural settings. This was something I remarked on at the time for it is not something I can say I’ve particularly noticed in other exhibitions I’ve been too. It made quite a refreshing change and I left feeling that I not only had a greater sense of Catalan history but also how it fits alongside the other existing knowledge I have of history. I was able to draw things together and make comparisons in ways that I have not necessarily recognised being able to do before. 

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

You can also really tell that it is a new development by the approach that’s been taken, and the development of the museum over the last 10 years has been documented through video which is shown to visitors at the end of the exhibition. It displays a very modern approach to gallery design. There is a mix of glass faced cabinets containing artefacts with information panels, but also more interactive elements – models and recreations. A number of these in fact, still stand out. In particular a net which has been filled with armour and placed on a pulley system, which visitors can then attempt to lift in an effort to demonstrate how heavy it would have been to wear armour. There was also a knight’s horse that could be sat on, milling stones for grinding wheat and my personal favourite, a reconstruction of an irrigation system. Children are encouraged to take the place of oxen and turn a wheel, which then lifted water from a well into channels which in turn irrigated farm crops. It was such an inspired way to both educate and occupy children, while allowing adults the time to read the information, which in other museums can sometimes be a bit of a battle. 

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

The museum’s mission statement is published on their website and is as follows:

The Museu d’Història de Catalunya (MHC) opened in 1996 to make Catalan history and culture better known at home and abroad. Publicly owned and inspired by the public interest, it is designed to be a museum of society insofar as it encourages interaction between history and the other social sciences and takes an interest in our own times. A cultural centre that is open and accessible to everyone with a programme that offers visitors opportunities for learning and training, for debate and analysis, for relaxation and enjoyment. (1)

It aims to be a space for ‘encounter and exchange’ and I definitely think that’s the case. The models show the practicalities of life at different periods in time, prompting questions that you pose not only to yourself but also to the other people you might be visiting with. And while it offers a huge historical range that some might find that overwhelming, I found it to be really intellectually stimulating. It offered something different, both in scope and design, and I’d definitely recommend it to those that visit Barcelona.

Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Barcelona.

(1) http://www.en.mhcat.cat/content/view/full/44

The Rothschild Room...

and some thoughts on Natural History Museum's.

Hands up, this blog is going to be a little self-indulgent but I wanted to share it with you because I think it’s a fantastic example of what natural history museums should be doing, and that’s explaining their history, the history of their collections and the history of those involved in acquiring those collections.

The Rothschild Room at the Natural History Museum at Tring was re-opened last year after a period of closure allowing for refurbishment and I have to admit to being a huge fan. What I love about the room is how it has taken the history of the museum and its founder, Walter Rothschild, and explained to the public that history, and the context in which its natural history collections were assembled throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries. 

Panorama of the Rothschild Room at Tring Museum © Elle Larsson

By showcasing key stories, specimens and individuals in a highly accessible way, you leave the museum feeling like you’ve learnt a lot more than you might have just by looking at specimens; because as a passive observer and at a very basic level, that is all you are really doing when you visit a natural history museum. They are odd testimonials to a bygone era whose original public purpose has largely been usurped by television documentaries, zoological parks and the internet.

Interactive Map showing Rothschild Collectors
 © Elle Larsson

The Rothschild room contains a display that tells you about the key people – Rothschild, his curators and family, as well as important collectors, who you can find out more information about on an interactive map. There are photo displays that show family photos and those of the animals Rothschild used to keep, as well as touchscreens which allow you to look at some of the books produced by those at Tring and that have since been digitised. It also includes taxidermy specimens to explain some of Rothschild’s favourite species, artefacts on loan from other collections and in the middle of the room there is a replica giant tortoise, similar to the one Rothschild is famously photographed sitting on. It’s been completed to a really high standard and implements many of the more successful modern exhibition techniques. It was really refreshing to see the first time and remains so, hence me choosing to blog about it.

Rothschild Room incorporates specimens and history
© Elle Larsson

I think what really stood out for me though is that this isn’t an approach that many museums have adopted, particularly the larger natural history museums. I understand that their purpose is to showcase biodiversity and that the important scientific work that natural history museums continue to do is going on behind the scenes, and, showcasing that, as the Natural History Museum at South Kensington have done in building the cocoon which allows the public to see into the scientific laboratories is a good thing and only adds to visitor experience and understanding. They are hugely important and the work being done by them is hugely significant. I just think there is scope in the public galleries to offer a stronger narrative, one that perhaps merges science with history, drawing on the extensive historic collections these museums possess and doesn’t just present a display case of zebras for someone to look at. As it stands we might learn the Latin name for the species or be able to view them in their taxonomic groups but what about the process of how and why they ended up there in the first place? It might be an uncomfortable truth to confront but I think it is an important one, especially in light of current concerns over conservation.

Digitised family photo albums © Elle Larsson

I readily admit to having a personal interest in this and the more I conduct my PhD research the more I realise the people who are working on natural history collections also have interest in where these specimens originally came from and how they ended up being in a museum collection – so why is this not translating into display? There are spectacular stories to be told and yet they’re not and I think that’s a real shame. It could dramatically change the way in which people engage with natural history museums and that is worth exploring in my opinion. There are some exceptions where this is beginning to be done to a degree. The Horniman Museum and Gardens for example has an introduction to their natural history gallery where they “set the scene” and answer some of the key questions or draw attention to key debates - the fur and feather trade for example and the history of its founder Frederick John Horniman and how he acquired his collection. So I suppose change is on the horizon. Perhaps I just need to exercise some patience and hope that in time, more museums choose to adopt a similar approach to that undertaken by the Tring Museum in their redesign of the Rothschild Room - it is fantastic and well worth a visit!

One of Rothschild's favourites - take a pic next time you're there!
© Elle Larsson

Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, London - Circa 1881

Richard Fallon, PhD Researcher at the University of Leicester and Centre for Arts and Humanities Research, Natural History Museum, London.

I spend a lot of my time trying to recapture the ways in which Britons around the turn of the century learnt about prehistoric animals, in particular dinosaurs, and so it’s very useful to know what visitors back then were actually looking at in their museums. Luckily, visitors to the Natural History Museum (NHM) in South Kensington, which opened in 1881, were able to purchase guidebooks that show us the exact layout of the old galleries.

As a Victorian, you would have seen nothing like this.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Natural_History_Museum_%2836%29.jpg 

Anyone who’s been to the NHM lately might reasonably expect that Victorians and Edwardians turned left at the entrance and entered the big west Dino Gallery, just as we do today. But if you had done that back then, you’d have actually entered one of the world’s largest collections of stuffed birds. In fact, the entire west side of the building was dedicated to modern skeletons and taxidermy.

How about the east gallery? Now it’s the gift-shop, but back then it was actually the Gallery of Fossil Mammalia, lined all the way down with austere cabinets and with a proud central row of the Museum’s most complete mounted fossils: the famous Mastodon, a mammoth skull, the Irish deer—just to name the most prominent items. The shady pavilion at the far end brought visitors to South America, whose iconic Megatherium loomed menacingly over them. Around the edges of the pavilion lurked the fossil birds, such as the various moas and the priceless Archæopteryx macrura.

The sensational femur of Atlantosaurus.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Atlantosaurus_femur.jpg 

You’ve probably deduced by now that dinosaurs were far from the main attraction of the Museum in 1881, or 1891 and 1901, for that matter. Their home was the eastern Gallery of Fossil Reptilia, a bit of a corridor and one of the few areas of the museum that has changed very little since 1881. The walls were still lined with those prize saurians, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, but the various fragments of dinosaur that were on display were hardly complete enough to articulate and mount. Instead, they languished in cabinets and waist-high table-cases. The impressively massive thigh-bone of the American Atlantosaurus, of which a cast arrived a few years after the Museum’s opening, constituted one of the very best relics on show.

As one commentator observed, visitors often ‘pass hastily by the cases of bones, teeth, and skeletons’, preferring instead ‘the more attractive collection of stuffed birds on the other side’. How times have changed.

Composite photo of the worldly remains of Cetiosaurus leedsi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cetiosauriscus.jpg

In the subsequent decades, the dusty cases of the Gallery of Fossil Reptilia were swept to the walls and the corridor was gradually filled with more striking mounted, suspended, and articulated fossils of the sort museumgoers expect today. It was still a slow process. You have to feel a little sorry for Cetiosaurus leedsi, the dilapidated but very British dinosaur that arrived in 1903, only to be outshone by the world-famous cast of Diplodocus carnegii that was placed in the Museum two years later. The Diplodocus was so big that it had to be placed in the west side, with the modern reptiles, and it was quickly joined by casts of Triceratops and a relocated Iguanodon. The age of the dinosaur museum was beginning.

The Natural History Museum’s original collections are so scattered that you can quite easily come across something unexpected when wandering around there today. The cautious and systematic Victorian arrangement has been thoroughly jumbled, but it’s still interesting to think about the ghost of the old plan as you look around. I’ll tell you one thing, though: there are a heck of a lot fewer stuffed birds on show there today.

Sharing Hidden Histories: KCL’s History Department Monuments Marathon and Parks & Palaces Plod

On our way to stop No.11  Camden Pan-Africanism
© Felicity McWilliams

For the past month or so you may have seen me posting links to the crowdfunding page for an event King’s History Department runs biennially – the Monuments Marathon and Parks & Palaces Plod. The ‘Marathon’ was set up in 2014 by former KCL Professor Ludmilla Jordanova in order to raise funds for the Undergraduate Hardship fund, although this years’ sponsorship was for the equivalent MA fund. The idea as pitched to us was to take to the ‘streets and parks of London to tour sites of historical interest, learning from each other’ along the way.

Hearing that, I should think it will come as no surprise to hear that when we received an email advertising the event back in April, I was immediately on board with the idea – fundraising while learning about history and walking around London – what was not to love! The plan was to walk to 26 historic sites over the distance of around 10 miles, the walk starting at King’s and featuring 4 minute ‘street talks’ from volunteers choosing to speak on sites of their choice along the route.

Stop No. 3 - Mammoths in the Square
© Elle Larsson

And that is exactly what we did last Sunday. We walked a grand total of around 13.8 miles, taking in 26 historic sites over the course of around 10 hours. I should say at this point however that 4 members of the department put in an extra tremendous effort, rising early and running an 11.5 mile route taking in the palaces of London – beginning with the Tower of London and ending with Kensington Palace, before heading back to KCL and joining the rest of us on the walk!  

It was a really fantastic day – we had good weather, great company and were able to share some of the lesser known stories of London we’ve each come across during the course of our own research. A huge range of topics were covered and what struck me in particular was that even though some of these places are signified by plaques and statues, the stories are much richer than can be conveyed by those markers alone, while others simply had no markers at all.

Stop No. 2 Benjamin Franklin House/Bodies in the basement
© Elle Larsson

A few things from the day have stuck out in particular. For example the origin of the legend of the ‘Black Dog’ of Newgate and how beneath Trafalgar Square there was/is a rich source of prehistoric archaeological material, including Mammoths; the fact that beneath Benjamin Franklin’s house a large number of human skeletons had been excavated, owing to the fact that another of its former residents had been a comparative anatomist, who himself died after contracting sepsis from one of his cadavers! But I think my favourite snippet has to be hearing about the mechanized waxwork of Mrs. Salmon which was booby-trapped to kick patrons as they left her establishment. Who new early nineteenth century waxworks could be mechanized?

Stop No. 10 - Fitzrovia Revolutionaries
© Felicity McWilliams

These stand out for me but each talk was incredibly interesting and below I’ve put the entire list of places we visited and topics covered by our talks to give you an idea of the history that is out there and sites that you may have previously walked passed having never realized their significance. It was truly a case of Ispyhistory at its best and it’s safe to say that in two years’ time, when this event comes round again, my feet better be ready for a repeat performance!

The Route

1. Lady Somerset and the Temperance Child, Victoria Embankment Gardens (Statue).

2. Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street, (Plaque). 

3. Mammoths in the Square, Trafalgar Square.

4. The Strand Menagerie, 372 Strand, (Building).

5. Mrs Salmon’s Waxworks, 17 Fleet Street, (Building). 

6. Picasso in London, 51 Floral Street (Plaque).

7. The Slayer of Soho: John Snow’s Pump, 39 Broadwick Street.

8. Banking Natural History, 32 Soho Square (Plaque). 

9. Penning the Vindication, Store Street.   

10. Fitzrovia Revolutionaries, Fitzroy Square (Statue). 

11. Camden Pan-Africanism, 22 Cranleigh Street (Plaque).

12. South African Freedom Fighters, 13 Lyme Street (Plaque). 

13. Gandhi’s London, Tavistock Square (Statue).

14. Emmeline Pankhurst’s House, 8 Russell Square, (Building). 

15. Literary Lights and Colonial Students, Mecklenburgh Square.

16. Anti-Suffragism and Settlement Houses, 42 Queen Square, (Building).

17. The Women’s Freedom League, 144 High Holborn, (Building).

18. Meating One’s Maker, Smithfield Market.

19. ‘The Black Dog of Newgate’, Warwick Lane.

20. Indigenous Transnationals at St Paul’s, (Building).

21. Rude Deeds on Rood Lane, Rood Lane, (Building).

22. Tower Hill Memorial, Trinity Square Gardens, (Memorial).

23. The Falklands Memorial, Trinity Square Gardens, (Memorial).

24. Altab Ali Park, Adler Street, (Memorial).

25. Responding to the Ripper, 14 Cannon Street Road, (Exhibition).

26. Execution Dock, 57 Wapping Wall.

It will come as a little surprise that after a grand total of 13.8 miles, well-earned celebratory drinks and a sit down were then had at the prospect of Whitby Pub!

Sunsets over London
© Elle Larsson

Medicine through Time: The Old Operating Theatre, London Bridge

The Old Operating Theatre, London Bridge

Heading up the 32 step, narrow, circular stone staircase, I was thinking to myself “are we in the right place?” It felt more reminiscent of exploring the tower of Oxford Castle or the spire of St. Peter’s Basicillia rather than heading up to a museum. But it was the right place, for hidden in the attic of St Thomas’s Church in Southwark, is the oldest surviving operating theatre in Europe, dating from 1822.

The operating theatre was originally part of St Thomas’s hospital but when in June 1862 the hospital moved from its original site in Southwark to make way for a railway line to Charing Cross, the theatre was sealed up; only to be rediscovered almost a hundred years later in 1956. After discovery it underwent a process of restoration and was finally opened to the public as a museum in 1962.

The Operating Theatre itself was exactly like all the images I remember seeing in my GCSE Medicine Through Time textbook. It was very simple and in a way, quite clinical, although only if we substitute modern metal for wood, a lot of wood (and we know that that is not the most practical material for constructing an operating theatre from!) But what struck me most while standing there, looking down on the replica operating table, was just how audience centred the experience seemed to be. 

There was more room for observers to watch the surgery than for the patients and surgeons operating. A sense of spectacle really came across. Now that might be a wrong deduction, perhaps the emphasis then was on education and that doctors learnt best by observing surgery first hand, but I can see why the term ‘theatre’ was perhaps adopted to describe the places in which surgery took place. It was a somewhat bizarre experience to then stand at the bottom and look up – this would have overlapped with the age before anaesthetics and antiseptics – I’d have been awake and when I looked up could have had a hundred pairs of eyes staring back at me. Needless to say, I think the whole thing would have been absolutely terrifying!

Alongside the Operating Theatre there is also a Herb Garret, which was used throughout the 18^th and 19^th centuries by the St. Thomas’ Hospital apothecaries to store herbs and make medicines. I’d been warned about the smell of this part and so was somewhat relieved that it wasn’t too overpowering on this occasion, for this section of the museum is like a treasure trove, brimming with every type of herb, spice or plant needed to produce medicines and herbal remedies to cure an array of ailments. There were also lots of original surgical instruments, apothecary’s equipment, medical books and papers. We even spied the remedies of Thomas Holloway – the man responsible for the creation of Royal Holloway!

The Herb Garret

This was my favourite bit it has to be said. It was like stepping back in time and it encouraged you to use more than one of your senses – always a bonus! You could touch (although not everything), see and smell so many different things. You could have a go at producing pills, weighing ingredients and put back together an anatomical model. It was a good balance – you should know by know how highly I rate interaction and a ‘sense of place’.

Making Pills

Herbs & Spices

So why visit somewhere that induces images of blood, guts and gore? I’m not a fan of hospitals and am pretty squeamish these days, so thinking about it, it’s a pretty odd subject around which to formulate a museum. But also there are the ethical implications of medical case histories and as such, the ability or inability to add a “voice” to the narrative that the museum can tell. And I think this was what was actually missing from the experience – a sense of people’s stories. I know it’s incredibly complicated to convey those sorts of histories but even the voices of doctors or of nurses, wardens or even students were what was really lacking for me and I think that’s what would have given it that little more punch. It was missing a hook for me, the type that comes through connecting to an individual.

All said and done I am really glad we visited – it’s one of those off the beaten track places in London which is definitely worth a visit. I also wish we’d gone as a school trip back in the day, as it would have no doubt brought the whole topic that much more to life! 

As an additional note, it was also interesting that we spied a Rothschild connection in the form of the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children which was originally opened in 1869 having been funded by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild of Austria in memory of his wife Evelina who had died, along with their son, in childbirth.