A glimpse into the world of local health history…
Pat Mortlock was the speaker at the first talk I attended of the Swanley History Group. She gave a talk on epidemics and infectious diseases.
The session started on a sombre note as the inspiration for Pat’s research was a moving epitaph on the memorial of an infant who died in the 1860’s. This prompted her to research the history of the prevention and cure of diseases.
The local town had more than its fair share of hospitals due to its location in the countryside but near London. None of the hospitals remain however there are some clues with some buildings and street names. One example was a hospital at the site of the current town leisure centre. In 1903, WhiteOak Hospital opened as an eye hospital for infectious diseases and in consisted of 30 separate cottages. After the talk I found a great website showing a map and pictures of the site: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/MAB-WhiteOak/
The session also covered small pox and chicken pox epidemics. It reminded me of a bizarre holiday excursion a few years ago where my mum and dad dragged me around the Edward Jenner Museum of Immunology! Quite the holiday treat. The reason for this was a shared surname with the first ever immunised child in the world (James Phipps). I see the museum is still going strong at: https://jennermuseum.com/
In 1906, school dinners were introduced and epidemics in later years were subsequently reduced. This struck a chord with me after seeing a recent political debate on TV about school dinners, school milk provision and childhood health.
In 1893, the Parkwood Hospital opened for convalescence for patients from London. I found out more about this at the Lost Hospitals of London site http://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/parkwood.html
This interesting, if not unusual introduction for me and I look forward to future talks on diverse themes.
A report of the event can be found at: http://swanleyhistorygroup.weebly.com/july-2017-group-meeting.html
Andrew P.
Glad you liked the talk. See you next month.