The Medical Pioneers of Nineteenth Century Lancaster

Modern medicine in England as we know it today is chiefly the product of the scientific developments of the nineteenth century. These advances included improved sanitation, the acceptance of the germ theory of disease as a result of the emergence of microbiology, and the advent of painless and routine surgical procedures. How then did medicine evolve in Lancaster during the nineteenth century? The focus here is the history of medicine in Lancaster and a community of practice amongst a few medical professionals who shaped Lancaster’s medical landscape. The reader will be introduced to these remarkable medical men and their names will gradually become familiar. Many of these individuals were second and even third generation surgeons and physicians. Background to these pioneers, as well as their successes and failures, is sketched within the context of Lancaster’s socio-economic environment and growth as an industrial town. This volume also marks the main medical events in Lancaster, including the establishment of a Dispensary, which evolved into the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, the Public Health movement and the rise of the Asylums.