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Thackray Museum of Medicine

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Thackray Museum of Medicine
Museum entrance
Map
EstablishedMarch 1997
LocationBeckett Street,Leeds,West Yorkshire, England
TypeMedical museum
CEOEdward Appleyard
Websitewww.thackraymuseum.co.uk

TheThackray Museum of MedicineinLeeds,West Yorkshire,England,is a museum of thehistory of medicineadjacent toSt James's University Hospital.It opened in March 1997 as theThackray Medical Museum.In 1998 it won "Museum of the Year" and has other awards including in 2004 both the "Excellence in England Small Tourist Attraction of the Year" and "Sandford Award for Heritage Education".[1]

The museum closed temporarily in 2019 for a £4 million refurbishment, while the museum conference centre and car park remained open,[2]and remained closed because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.The museum reopened its doors on 17 May 2021.[3]The redeveloped museum has since been shortlisted forArt Fund'sMuseum of the Yearaward 2021 and received a special commendation from the European Museum Forum in 2023.[4]

History

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The building is aGrade II listed building,the former Leeds UnionWorkhouse,which opened in 1861 (foundation stone laid 1858) to accommodate 784 paupers.[5][6]By the end of the 19th century, the buildings had become largely used for medical care of the poor, rather than workhouse and training. During theFirst World Warit was called the East Leeds War Hospital, caring for armed services personnel.[6]After becoming part of St James's Hospital, the building housed the first geriatric ward in the north of England.[7]The building was later known as the Ashley Wing, which was part of the hospital until the 1990s when the old Leeds Union Workhouse building was considered unfit for modern medicine. As a listed building, it could not be demolished and Parliament gave permission for it to house the Thackray Medical Museum, which opened in 1997.[8]

Museum galleries prior to the 2019 closure

The museum's origins can be traced to Great George Street, Leeds, whereCharles Thackrayopened a small family-run chemist shop in 1902. In less than a century the corner shop grew into one of Britain's principal medical companies, Chas F Thackray Limited, manufacturing drugs and medical instruments and pioneering the hip replacement operation alongsideSir John Charnley.[9][10]In the 1980s Charles Thackray's grandson Paul Thackray established a small collection as an archive of the Leeds-based medical supplies company. In 1990 a charitable trust was established to develop the collection.

Before the redevelopment, highlights includedLeeds 1842: Life inVictorianLeeds,Pain, Pus and Blood,describing the history of surgery and pain relief,Having a Babyfocusing on developments in safety forchildbirthandThe LifeZone!,an interactive children's gallery, looking at how the human body works, with a smaller room for the under-fives.[11]

COVID-19

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Novavax vaccine from trials conducted at the museum[12]

The museum's redevelopment project coincided with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, delaying plans to reopen to the public. In October 2020 it was announced that the museum was to receive £370,000 from theCulture Recovery Fundto help it to re-open safely.[13]While closed due to the pandemic, the Thackray became the first museum in the UK to act as a COVID-19 vaccination hub.[14]Following its reopening, the museum also hosted Phase 3 trials for theNovavax COVID-19 vaccine.[15]Examples of the vaccines used by the vaccine hub and Novavax trials are now part of the museum's permanent collection.[16]

While the museum was closed due to the pandemic, it hosted an online exhibition in collaboration with theUniversity of HuddersfieldonMothers in Lockdown.[17]

Museum displays

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The museum contains eleven permanent galleries and a temporary exhibition gallery.Disease Streetrecreates the sights, sounds and smells of a slum in Victorian Leeds, following the stories of the inhabitants and the health issues that they would face.The Victorian Operating Theatretells the story of surgery in the age before antiseptics and anaesthetics, featuring a film of "Hannah Dyson's Ordeal": recreating the amputation of a mill girl's leg.Making Us Well, Outside Inshowcases the Victorian public health movement, from tackling air pollution to sewers.Disease Detectivesexplores medical science in the wake of germ theory and our understanding of the world of microbes. InCutting Edgethe museum highlights medical innovation and ingenuity, whileResponse to Crisisexplores how medical advances leap forward in times of emergency such as war and pandemics. This area includes a 1970s-style sexual health clinic.Normal + Meis a co-curated gallery exploring different perspectives on what it means to be "normal".Who Cares?is a gallery about all the different people and professions who help care for us andThe Apothecaryshowcases the history of making and prescribing medicine from the 1600s to today.[18]

The museum also containsSparks!,a play space for children under five, involving medical-themed role play and soft play. This can be accessed as part of the museum ticket or booked on its own.[19]

Temporary exhibitions

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Plague Dress by Anna Dumitriu, part of the Fragile Microbiomes exhibition

The museum hosts two temporary exhibitions a year. Recent exhibitions have includedPrivate Parts(2023), a community co-curated exhibition on intimate healthcare, sexuality and identity. The exhibition was shortlisted for Temporary Exhibition of the Year at the Museum + Heritage Awards.[20]

On the Bench(2023) told stories of sporting injuries with contributions from formerLeeds RhinoscaptainStevie WardandLeeds Roller Derby.[21]

Fragile Microbiomes(2024) is a solo show for bioartistAnna Dumitriu,blendingcontemporary artandmicrobiologyto explore the history of infectious disease[22]and "delves into the intricacies of the microbial world."[23]

Collection

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Hearing aid belonging toQueen Victoria,part of the museum's nationally significant audiology collection.[24]

The Thackray Museum of Medicine houses a collection of over 47,000 objects from medical history which date from Roman times to the present day, along with 15,000 trade catalogues and 9,000 books on medicine and healthcare. Highlights includePrince Albert's personal medicine chest[25]and an expressionist sampler sewn by workhouse inmateLorina Bulwer.[26]The strengths of the collection include European surgical instruments from the 1600s to today; a "nationally significant collection" ofhearing aidsincluding theBritish Society of Audiologycollection; theJ F WilkinsonPharmaceutical Ceramics Collection; patent medicines, and domestic first aid kits.[27]These can be accessed via anonline collections database.

Education and learning

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Visited by 20,000 school students each year the museum delivers a series of in-classroom work and education resources, loans boxes and teacher events. The museum has been awarded theSandford Award for Heritage Education.[28]

The museum offers a medicine and history public lecture series on Saturday mornings which runs from October to March each year. Lectures focus on the changing nature of health and medicine.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Thackray Museum (2008) Thackray Museum Background Information
  2. ^"Upcoming developments".Thackray Museum. Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2019.Retrieved16 April2021.
  3. ^"Thackray Museum of Medicine".thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved16 April2021.
  4. ^"Emya".emya2023winners.europeanforum.museum.Retrieved28 May2024.
  5. ^Historic England."St James Hospital Northside Building (1256272)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved28 October2016.
  6. ^ab"St James's University Hospital".Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.Archived fromthe originalon 18 March 2006.Retrieved21 June2008.
  7. ^"Our Partnership with Jewish Medical Health Professionals Archive – Thackray Museum of Medicine".thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  8. ^"Thackray Medical Museum".Thackray Medical Museum. 1 November 2016.
  9. ^"Chas. F. Thackray Limited, suppliers to the surgeons".Socialist Health Association.Retrieved3 November2016.
  10. ^Gomez, P. F.; Morcuende, J. A. (2005)."A Historical and Economic Perspective on Sir John Charnley, Chas F. Thackray Limited, and the Early Arthroplasty Industry".Iowa Orthop J.25:30–7.PMC1888784.PMID16089068.
  11. ^"Exhibitions – Thackray Museum – Leeds Museum".Thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 26 October 2016.Retrieved2 November2016.
  12. ^"2022.0001 | Collections Online".collections.thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  13. ^Ryan, Emma (14 October 2020)."New re-opening plans for Thackray Medical Museum after £4m renovation was halted due to coronavirus".Yorkshire Evening Post.Retrieved16 April2021.
  14. ^Kendall Adams, Geraldine (9 December 2020)."Thackray Museum becomes Covid vaccination hub".Museums Journal.Retrieved16 April2021.
  15. ^"Novavax COVID vaccine has been approved! – Thackray Museum of Medicine".thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  16. ^"2021.0009 | Collections Online".collections.thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  17. ^"Mothers in Lockdown".Thackray Health Heroes.Retrieved28 May2024.
  18. ^"Museum galleries – Thackray Museum of Medicine".thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  19. ^"Sparks! play area – Thackray Museum of Medicine".thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  20. ^"2024 Shortlist".Museums + Heritage Awards.Retrieved28 May2024.
  21. ^Smith, Peter (21 July 2023)."Exhibition reveals 'remarkable insight' into ex-Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward's career-ending injury".Yorkshire Evening Post.
  22. ^"Thackray unveils groundbreaking exhibition: Fragile Microbiomes".Chapter 81.9 February 2024.Retrieved28 May2024.
  23. ^"Leeds museum unveils 'plague dress' in new exhibition".BBC News.25 February 2024.Retrieved28 May2024.
  24. ^"1333.004 | Collections Online".collections.thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved29 May2024.
  25. ^"392.001 | Collections Online".collections.thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  26. ^"598.001 | Collections Online".collections.thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved28 May2024.
  27. ^"Collection – Thackray Museum of Medicine".thackraymuseum.co.uk.Retrieved16 April2021.
  28. ^"Thackray Medical Museum".Thackray Medical Museum.Retrieved3 November2016.
  29. ^"Thackray Medical Museum".Thackray Medical Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 23 September 2016.Retrieved3 November2016.
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