Making the Rounds: History of Workforce Nursing

Long before the founding of the NHS, many people who were destitute turned to workhouses because of illness, old age, disability, mental illness, or as a safe place to give birth. By the middle of the 19th century, society was rocked by a number of workhouse scandals involving the care of the sick and many working-class people feared admission to the workhouse. The day-to-day care of sick and vulnerable inmates was dependent upon the quality of the nursing staff, and in most places, this improved steadily over time.

This roundtable with Stuart Wildman and Rachel Kidd explores the history of workhouse nursing, alongside the stories of nurses at Gressenhall, Norfolk, the subject of a new exhibition: Making the Rounds: Stories of Workhouse Nurses Told in Textiles.

Speakers

Stuart Wildman is an honorary research fellow at the University of Birmingham, an expert on Poor Law and workhouse nursing, and member of the RCN History of Nursing Forum.

Rachel Kidd is the curator of Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, and led on the 'Making the Rounds' exhibition, supporting the volunteer research into nursing stories that underpinned it.

This event was held in May 2024