Medical London: Book launch and events

October 2008

To accompany the launch of the Medical London book there will be a day of events at Wellcome Collection plus a series of walks throughout October. For your interest we have also listed many other related events taking place elsewhere during October, with contact addresses and phone numbers for each.

Launch day at Wellcome Collection

Sat. 18 October, 12.00-17.00
A day of events to celebrate the history of medicine in London, bringing together artists, scientists, historians and broadcasters to explore the health and wellbeing of the capital.

Wellcome Collection walks

	Life and Death by Water Sat. 4 and Sat. 11 October, 11.00-13.00 A guided walk along the medieval Thames with Mark Pilkington, Strange Attractor Press. Starts at Mansion House, ends at Monument.
	Gallows, Ghosts and Golden Boys Sat. 4 and Sat. 18 October, 11.00-13.00 A day in the life of an 18th-century medical student with Richard Barnett, author of ‘Medical London’. Starts at Blackfriars, ends at the Museum of London.
	Pox and Pleasure Sun. 5 and Sun. 19 October, 18.30-20.30 A guided night walk through Soho with Mike Jay, editor of ‘Medical London’. Starts at Tottenham Court Road.
	From Homeopaths to Psychopaths Sun. 5 and Sun. 12 October, 11.00-13:00 Explore bohemian medicine in Chelsea with Max Decharne, author. Starts at Sloane Square, ends at South Kensington.
	In the Footsteps of Daniel Defoe Sat. 11 and Sat. 18 October, 11.00-13.00 A guided journey through the ‘Plague Year’ with Alice Ford-Smith, Principal Librarian, Dr Williams’s Library. Starts at Tower Hill, ends at Moorgate.
	Tall Ships and Tropical Diseases Sun. 12 and Sun. 19 October, 11.00-13.00 Medicine and the British Empire in Greenwich with Ross MacFarlane, archivist, Wellcome Library. Starts and ends at Cutty Sark.

Events elsewhere in London

William Hewson and the Craven Street Bones

Throughout October, 12.00-17.00 (except Tuesdays)
A grisly display of human and animal remains from William Hewson’s anatomy school, run at 36 Craven Street in the late 18th century.

Tickets: £7/£5 concessions (includes ‘Historical Experience’ show)
Bookings: 020 7839 2006 or info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Location: Benjamin Franklin House, Craven Street, WC2N

The Anatomist and The Bodysnatcher: Craven Street Bones

Mondays throughout October
Lectures take place on Monday evenings throughout October, and include talks on the Craven Street Bones, 18th-century medicine and surgery, and surgeons’ lives and work after the Anatomy Act.

Tickets: £5/£3 concessions (includes exhibition viewing)
Bookings: 020 7839 2006 or info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Location: Benjamin Franklin House, Craven Street, WC2N

Sick of London: Places, Patients, Practitioners and Prophylaxis

Sat. 4 October, 09.30-16.30
A one-day conference revealing fascinating stories of women dentists, child patients and civil war hospitals, and imparting advice about how medical archives can enrich your research experiences, ensuring you don’t miss the sources easily overlooked.

Tickets: £45
Bookings: conference@archivesforlondon.org
Location: London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London, EC1R 0HB

Victorian Surgery

Sat. 4, Sun. 5, Sat. 25 October, 14.00
“A patient preparing for an operation was like a condemned criminal preparing for execution.” A demonstration of an operation without anaesthetics or antiseptics, in Britain’s only remaining wooden 19th-century operating theatre.

Tickets: Free
Bookings: 020 7188 2679 or curator@thegarret.org.uk
Location: Old Operating Theatre, Museum & Herb Garret, 9a St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY

Blood, Bones and Bodysnatching: Family event

Sat. 18 October, 10.30-12.00
Free children’s activities in the Medical History Room and Student Science Centre include building your own skeleton, while adults can enjoy a fascinating tale of 18th-century medicine and surgery, from bloodletting to bodysnatching.

Tickets: free for children’s activities, £5, £3 concessions
Bookings: 020 7839 2006 or info@benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Location: Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street,London WC2N 5NF

Discovering Florence Nightingale

Sat. 18 October, 10.00-17.00
Drop-in children’s activities to learn all about Florence Nightingale plus museum guided tours and talks for all the family.

Tickets: adults £5.80, concessions £4.80, family £16.00,under-fives free.
Bookings: 020 7620 0374 or info@florence-nightingale.co.uk
Location: Florence Nightingale Museum, St Thomas’ Hospital, 2 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EW

Surgeons and the Royal Navy: One-day conference

Sat. 18 October, 10.30-16.30
A one-day conference exploring the close relationship between surgeons and the navy from the 17th century to the Falklands War.

Tickets: £35 RCS members, £25 fellows.
Bookings: 023 9286 3799 or ann@dockyards.org
Location: The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 5-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE

Murder in Mayfair

Mon. 20 October, 19.00-20.30
Sir Colin Berry shares gruesome tales of strange deaths in the capital, including the murder of Alexander Litvinenko with a radioactive teapot. Chaired by Richard Barnett, author of ‘Medical London’.

Tickets: £8. £6 concessions and £4 for RI members.
Bookings: 020 7670 2917
Location: The Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BS

Medical London: Book launch and events

October 2008

Launch day at Wellcome Collection

Wellcome Collection walks

Life and Death by Water

Gallows, Ghosts and Golden Boys

Pox and Pleasure

From Homeopaths to Psychopaths

In the Footsteps of Daniel Defoe

Tall Ships and Tropical Diseases