The York Home for Nurses was an unusual Victorian institution - it ran both a private nursing service and provided free care for the poor in the city. Managed by 'a distinguished committee of gentlemen' - including most of the great names of Victorian and Edwardian York - it was administered by the Sisters of the Community of the Holy Cross and closely linked to the Minster. The Home's nurses were involved in local epidemics, floods, and even a national scandal involving a local doctor.
This talk traces the history of Home from 1870 until the 1980s, when it was known as the Purey Cust Nursing Home, and familiar to many older York residents.
Copies of my book "Petticoat Government" are available at a discount at talks.
Views: 1618 | Enquiries: 6I am a nurse by background and have considerable experience researching medical and nursing history: I have a PGDip in Applied Social Research, I have been a member of the committee of the Royal College of Nursing's History of Nursing Society, and a recipient of a Monica Baly research bursary.
My research into some interesting historical characters from these fields resulted in my first non-textbook publication 'The Nightingale Shore Murder' (the first and only book telling the true story of this unsolved crime from 1920, and the book behind Channel 5's 'Agatha and the Truth of Murder'). This was followed by 'Petticoat Government: the story of the York Home for Nurses', and 'The Crimes of Dr Gramshaw', published in 2019.
I live in York and I am happy to travel around North Yorkshire and Humberside to speak, during daytime or evenings. I also can also provide all my talks online. For more see www.rosemarycookauthor.co.uk
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