The Patients' Story: Dr Radcliffe's Legacy in the Age of Hospitals - Excavations at the 18th-19th Century Radcliffe - Infirmary Burial Ground, Oxford

Excavations at the site of the old Radcliffe Infirmary,Oxford,have revealed the largest assemblage of individual burials from an 18th/19th-century hospital site in Britain. The skeletons, spanning 1770 to 1852, comprise patients from the labouring and middle classes, providing insight into the health of industrialising post-medieval populations and the role of the operating theatre and mortuary in medical education.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 220 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2022
Publisher: Oxford Archaeology

The extensive excavations conducted at the site of the former Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford have unearthed the most significant collection of individual burials ever discovered from an 18th/19th-century hospital complex in Britain. Established in 1770 with financial support from the estate of the Royal physician and Member of Parliament, John Radcliffe, the infirmary stood out as a rare instance of a hospital possessing its own dedicated burial ground. Spanning a relatively brief timeframe between 1770 and 1852, the skeletons found at the site represent patients who were not claimed for burial in their home parishes. While the identities of nearly all these individuals remain unknown, documentary evidence indicates that they comprised members of the working and middle classes, the majority of whom hailed from the local area and the surrounding counties. These skeletal remains offer a valuable insight into the health conditions of industrializing post-medieval populations, characterized by elevated rates of trauma and disease. They shed light on the previously unacknowledged role that the operating theater and mortuary played in the development of medical education in Oxford. Moreover, they provide a singular and captivating perspective on early modern hospital care, surgery, and burial during a period of significant transformation when hospitals transitioned from being primarily focused on care to becoming the medically-oriented institutions we recognize today.

Dimension: 297 x 210 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780904220889