Lancaster Health & Medical Museum Collection

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Lancaster Health & Medical Museum Collection

Lancaster's rich medical history includes, amongst others, Roman surgery, St.

Leonard’s leprosy hospital, two famous anatomists, epidemics, jail fever, one of the ‘Black Assizes’, and the second oldest surviving Medical Book Club in the UK

02/05/2026

Our May Object of the month is The Swinging Thermometer Case. Because of the hazards of mercury, which includes both brain and kidney damage, the mercury clinical thermometer has not been in use in the UK for over 25 years. After a reading the mercury was returned to the bottom of the thermometer by vigorous shaking with a risk that the thermometer might be dropped. A much easier and safer way to do this was to use the ‘Swinging Thermometer Case’ - https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=804

01/04/2026

Our object of the month for April, is a brass plaque commemorating the 1915 bequest to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary by William Richmond of Slynedales, Beaumont. The story of Slynesdales is a fascinating one, now well know for being the centres for both St John’s Hospice and CancerCare. Originally bequeathed to the RLI on William's death it later became the subject of a court case by the Richmond family https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=769

01/03/2026

Object of the Month for March is Joan Heywood's fascinating pocket dictionary for nurses from 1932, which had a small photo inserted in its pages. Also included in the article is an update, and thanks, to everyone - especially the members of LP&P - who helped us identify the date of Joan's Blood Donation for Soldiers photo to a time during the second world war https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=767

31/01/2026

Our Object of the Month for February is the poster showing a set of rules about blood transfusion practices for resident medical and nursing staff for hospitals in Lancaster and Kendal from 1954. Blood was a precious commodity for a range of clinical services and treatments, particularly new and invasive forms of surgery in the postwar decades, and the rules outline due process around its use https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=765

29/01/2026

Lancaster has one of the oldest Medical Book Clubs in the UK at just over 200 years old, and this article published in the Lancaster Guardian November 21st 1903, not only celebrates their 80th anniversary, but gives a fascinating and remarkable social history of those early years. We have transcribed it for ease of reading https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?p=1147

26/01/2026

We need your help? Can anyone provide more information about this photo which was donated to us by the late Joan Heywood (1917-1987) of her time with the NHS in Lancaster. We are trying to find out where in Lancaster this might be and whether it was taken during the first or second World War. Any help will be gratefully appreciated.

01/01/2026

A New Year and a New Object of the Month - Cupping set with 10-blade scarificator by Francis Cluley circa 1830. Cupping sets such as this were used for two different purposes in the nineteenth century: for bloodletting or for introducing a substance into the skin e.g. smallpox vaccine. https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=763

07/12/2025

Lancaster Health & Medical Museum Collection have just completed our first year of publishing objects monthly from our collection of over 3,000 items dating back 2,000 years. We have created an 'Advent Calendar' for you to browse through and you can 'click' and open any window you might be interested in or may have missed - just follow the link https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?p=1099

06/12/2025

For this month's object of the month Lancaster Health & Medical Museum Collection need your help. The object appears to be an early ‘Laennac-style solid wooden stethoscope’ - one of the very earliest stethoscopes. The design that most closely resembles Dr. Carne’s mystery object is the ‘Ferguson wooden stethoscope’, however, all designs of wooden stethoscope had a central canal for the transmission of sound and this mystery object doesn’t: it is solid. Can you help? https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=740

31/10/2025

November Object of the Month is the King's Own Lancaster Regt. Bed Plaque 1919. The KORL Regt. Prisoners of War Fund was established in November 1916 sending 70,000 food and clothing parcels to prisoners in Germany and Bulgaria by 1918. Read the full article - https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=738

09/10/2025

If you attended our first Heritage Day Exhibition at The Storey on 17th and 18th of September you will have been intrigued by 'Mr Rhodes's Mystery Object'. The answer to his question is now revealed as our October Object of The Month and which you can read by following this link https://lancasterhealthmedicalmuseum.org.uk/?page_id=736

17/09/2025

We are looking forward to seeing you today - everyone is welcome

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