Cork Street Fever Hospital Archive
A new project has
commenced in the Royal College of Physicians involving the cataloguing and
preservation of the Cork Street Fever Hospital archive. Funding has been
provided by the Wellcome Trust for the employment of an archivist for 12
months to carry out the processing work. The aim of the project is to make the
records accessible to researchers for the first time.
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| Drawing of Cork Street Fever Hospital, reprinted in numerous annual reports (CSFH/1/2/1) |
The Cork Street
Fever Hospital archive was donated to the College in 2013. Records range from
the first meeting in 1801 of 15 trustees who aimed to establish a fever hospital
in the Dublin Liberties, to the decades following the transfer of the
hospital’s functions to Cherry Orchard in 1953. The records contain a wealth of
information concerning efforts to treat those afflicted by various epidemics in
Dublin in the nineteeth and twentieth centuries, and show a growing awareness
within the medical professions of the need for preventative measures, chiefly
the elimination of the overcrowded and insanitary living conditions of the
poor.
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Framed page showing the number of available beds in various wards at Cork Street, and at Beneavin Convalescent Home
(CSFH/4/2/10) |
This post will be
the first in a series in which I intend to post updates on the progress of the
project, and highlight interesting items which emerge in the archive.
Fergus Brady
Project Archivist