Catalogue description THE LONDON HOSPITAL MEDICAL COLLEGE

Records of the London Hospital Medical College and Dental School, 1740-1996, comprising administrative records, 1752-1996, notably minutes of the Medical Council, 1846-1880; College Board, 1876-1947; minutes, reports and papers of College Board Ad hoc and Special Committees, 1880-1957; minutes of the Council of Governors, including minutes of some Ad Hoc Committees and agenda papers, 1948-1995; minutes of the Council of Governors Standing Committee, 1947-1994; Academic Board, 1947-1995; Academic Board Committees, 1961-1995, notably Advisory Committee on Students, 1961-1964, House Appointments Committee, 1963-1971; minutes of the Dental School Committee, later the Dental Council, 1911-1955; Dental Education Committee, 1945-1976; annual reports, 1882-1990; prospectuses, 1868-1996; Medical and Dental Directories, 1912-1965; miscellaneous papers, 1752-1947, notably correspondence of various members of staff, 1847-1944; Charter of Incorporation of the Hospital, 1758; register of bodies used for anatomical examination, 1884-1933;
papers of Wardens and Deans, 1876-1995, including proposed admission of women students, including a letter from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, 1876, annual files relating to applications for Board of Education grants, 1910-1949, joint academic units and chairs, 1943-1984, largely with St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College; letter from George Washington to Dr John Greenwood, 1795, in receipt of dentures made for him by Greenwood (a fragment of one denture is held at the Museum); papers of William Wright relating to his portrait, 1937 and concerning his analysis of bodies found in the Tower of London (thought to be the Princes in the Tower); papers and correspondence of Sir John Ellis, 1968-1981, notably relating to proposed merger of the medical schools of St Bartholomew's and The London hospitals and relocation to Mile End, the Flowers' report; published research records of London Hospital and Medical School staff, 1864-1985; published research records of staff, 1864-1985; copies of the London Hospital Gazette, 1894-1996, and biographical articles on Medical College staff by S D Clippingdale;

financial records of the Medical College and Dental School, 1846-1990, including annual accounts, 1873-1990; students' hostels, 1920-1960, including building of a new hostel; photographs, pictorial material and plans, 1795-1985, notably photographs of buildings, group photographs, photographs and printed portraits of medical and dental teaching staff, plans of the Medical College, 1897-1935; student records, 1740-1995, notably registers of pupils, 1740-1952, registers of Dental students, [1914]-1968, examination registers,1870-1957; records of the clubs and societies of the London Hospital, 1875-1986, notably Medical Clubs Union, 1893-1986, affiliated clubs and societies, 1875-1978; records of the London Hospital Medical College Students' Club, 1911-1960; records of the Blizard Club, comprising minutes of the Management and Wine Committees, 1991-1995;

records of London Hospital Pathological Institute, [1900]-1960, comprising lecture notes of Hubert Maitland Turnbull, [1900-1946], post mortem reports, [1922]-1932, pathological reports and correspondence with clinicians of Dorothy Stuart Russell, [1945]-1960;

records of the London Hospital Medical College Forensic Medicine Department, 1936-[1980], notably research papers, including post mortem reports by Professor Francis Camps, 1936-1964, glass negatives and glass lantern slides of Professor Camps, [1930-1965]; research papers, 1943-1956, papers relating to the Christie case, 1953, photograph albums of Sir William Bentley Purchase [and Professor Camps], containing scenes of violent and sudden deaths, [1930-1965]; 35mm slides of J Malcolm Cameron, [1965-1980]; forensic medicine microscope slides of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, [1900]-1930, some relating to the Crippen murder; photograph albums of Sir William Bentley Purchase [and Professor Camps], containing scenes of violent and sudden deaths, used for teaching purposes, [1930-1965]; glass negatives and glass lantern slides of Professor Camps of injuries and microscopic images, [1930-1965]; papers relating to the Whitechapel murders ['Jack the Ripper'], 1888-1889, namely papers relating to the Mitre Square murder [Catherine Eddowes], 1888; contemporary photographs of two 'Jack the Ripper' letters, the 'Lusk letter' and 'Openshaw letter' and envelope, 1888;

16mm films [1930-1985] from various sources, accumulated by the London Hospital Medical School for teaching, largely of surgical operations and medical conditions;
records of the Neonatal Research Unit, comprising films relating to neonatal research, [1955-1975].

London Hospital Medical College

The College placed its surviving archives in the care of the Royal London Hospital Archives and Museum shortly before its merger with Queen Mary and Westfield College.

The development of the College reflects the changes and improvements in the methods of medical education generally. In the mid-eighteenth century, the training of a physician or surgeon consisted of two elements: the practical, which meant "walking the wards" of a hospital, as the pupil of a member of the staff; and the theoretical, which consisted of lectures on a number of subjects, normally given by individual physicians or surgeons, either in their own premises or in various private medical schools. At the London, Geoffrey Webb, who was accepted as Mr. Harrison's pupil in May 1741, was the first of many such pupils, and there are several examples in the House Committe's minutes of permission being given to members of the staff to give lectures in the Hospital's premises, from the 1740's onwards.

In 1783, William Blizard and Dr. James Maddocks proposed to the House Committee that a proper medical school should be established in connection with the Hospital, so that students could receive practical and theoretical training at same place, organised along the lines of a University. The Committee did not feel that the Hospital could properly use the resources of the charity for the purposes of medical education, but they did allow Blizard and Maddocks a piece of land at the east end of the Hospital on which to build a lecture theatre and museum. It was made clear that that the Hospital would make no financial contribution, nor would it allow the lecturers' private pupils into the wards. The new building was duly opened in October 1785.

From then until 1831, the College appears to have been run by the physicians and surgeons in an informal manner, probably largely under the influence of Blizard. In the latter year, the medical practioners teaching in the College formed themselves into an association of "Lecturers and Teachers of Medicine, Surgery and Anatomy and other Sciences connected therewith at the Theatre attached to the London Hospital". Unfortunately, the records of their association do not survive before 1846, but a new notes from the minutes between 1831 and 1837 can be found in James Luke's notebook (LH/X/13/8). In 1847, the Associated Lecturers changed their title to the Medical Council of the London Hospital School (MC/A/1).

The old premises were now proving inadequate and in 1854 the Governors of the Hospital agreed to erect a new college building on the present site. In the resultant administrative changes, the Medical Council surrendered the management of the College to the Medical and Surgical Officers of the Hospital, who formed themselves into the London Hospital College Council. (In practice, the Medical College and the College Council consisted of the same poeople). The management of the College was in the hands of the College Council (called, by 1868, the Medical Council of the London Hospital School) from 1855 to 1876

After several years of negotiation, the House Committee finally, in 1876, took a hand in the administration and regular financial support of the College. Management was handed over to a College Board (MC/A/2-4), consisting of nine members of the House Committee and six of the Medical Council. Further negotiations, in 1879, at the end of a three year trial period, resulted in the formation of a new College Board, consisting of six members from the House Committee and six from the Medical Council. In 1900 the College became a School of the University of London, although this change made no real difference to its administrative arrangements.

With the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948, the College Board was abolished. The overall management passed to a Council of Governors (MC/A/5) and its standing Committee (MC/A/6) which was, in effect, the continuation of the Finance Committee of the College Board, while education matters were the concern of the Academic Board (MC/A/7,8). In 1989 the Pre-Clinical teaching of the College merged with that of St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School as the Central and East London Confederation (C.E.L.C.) and re-sited at the Basic Medical Sciences Building at Queen Mary & Westfield College, Mile End. Following the recommendations of the Tomlinson Report (1992) and the governmental response to it (Making London Better, 1993) a bill was placed before Parliament to unite the Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital and LHMC with Queen Mary & Westfield College. This was given Royal assent in 1995 and the College became part of St. Barthomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary & Westfield College, (University of London) in December 1995.