One war, two women: the Florence Nightingale Museum & the Mary Seacole exhibition
Ada Mau
London is a city full of museums, historic houses, and heritage sites dedicated to prominent characters in history. Intriguingly, one can find far fewer places that are associated with eminent historic female figures in this capital, which no doubt has been the home or workplace for many remarkable women in the past. The Florence Nightingale Museum is one of the few places dedicated solely to one woman who has had a vast impact on society. The exhibit looks beyond the famous romantic image of “the lady with the lamp” to examine her enormous contributions to modern healthcare. The museum also houses a temporary exhibition on Mary Seacole, another important figure in nursing history.
Women in Victorian Britain by and large found limited opportunities in education and employment and only gradually acquired more equal political and civil rights later in the nineteenth century. A number of these women, such as Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Catherine Booth, and Octavia Hill challenged existing gender roles and social norms and made contributions to society in various areas. Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), who revolutionised modern nursing and healthcare, was a legend in her lifetime, and the legacy from her two years in the Crimean War is still celebrated today.
Visitors to the museum learn about Florence’s comfortable childhood by looking at pictures of the family homes where she grew up and various personal possessions such as books and sketches by her sister. She was taught by her Cambridge educated father, and she travelled extensively with family and friends; some of the travel souvenirs are on display.
Unlike other young ladies of her society who were concerned about making a good marriage, Florence believed that God had called her to his service. She developed an interest in social conditions during her early adulthood, but her intention to become a nurse faced strong opposition from her family because nursing was perceived as a disreputable occupation at the time. Her calling was finally answered when she visited the Kaiserswerth hospital school in Germany in 1850; she returned the following year, with the reluctant consent of her family, to undertake nursing training. An anonymous booklet on the work of Kaiserswerth, written by Florence, is shown in the collection. In 1853, she finally convinced her family to allow her to enter the nursing profession and she became superintendent of the Hospital for Gentlewomen During Illness, in London.
When the Crimean War began the following year, the appalling condition of the British medical facilities was exposed in the news, and Florence took on the task of managing the barrack hospital at Scutari, superintending the first female nurses to work in such an environment. Visitors get a glimpse of the reality faced by Florence and her nurses by looking at newspaper cuttings on Crimean hospitals, a tableau of a surgeon amputating a soldier’s leg, and objects from the barrack hospital.
Florence Nightingale’s success made her a national heroine. The romantic “lady with the lamp” image inspired an outpouring of songs, portraits, and statuettes in the nineteenth century; a sample of such fascinating memorabilia on display, such as Miss Nightingale mantelpiece figures, shows her fame and popularity during the nineteenth century. However, this construct of a nurturing angel tending to injured soldiers only represents a very small portion of the work she did in public health. While in the Crimea, Florence Nightingale was a driven and efficient manager who worked among hostile male colleagues and effectively improved the unsanitary conditions and survival rates of soldiers at the hospital. She also started collecting data on hospital statistics and later created a number of documents, some on display at the museum, to show how improvements in building hygiene could save many lives in military hospitals. Florence might not have been the first to use diagrams to present statistical data, but she may have been the first to use them to influence new policies. Her role as a skilled statistician, the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, is often overlooked, and visitors can refer to some of her complicated but persuasive diagrams.
One of her greatest reforms in public health was to turn nursing into a professional occupation for women. The Nightingale Training Schools for Nurses were founded; the museum exhibits a number of documents, photographs, and objects related to the foundation of the schools and some students. Florence also promoted community nursing to create healthier living environments and established a training school for midwives. She became bedridden during the later part of her life; however, she continued to work diligently by writing numerous pamphlets, books, and letters (samples are displayed), and offering advice for hospital institutions nationally and across the world. In 1907, she became the first woman to receive the Order of Merit in ”recognition of invaluable services to the country and to humanity.”
As well as Florence Nightingale’s story, there is a temporary exhibition currently features another woman who played an important role during the Crimean War. “The Wonderful Mrs. Seacole,” tells the story of the life, work, and legacy of Mary Seacole (1805-1881), a nurse, herbalist, traveller, and business woman, who also served in the Crimea. Born of African and Scottish heritage in Jamaica in 1805, Mary learned Creole medicine from her mother and had previously cared for many patients in Jamaica and Panama. At the age of fifty, she enlisted as a nurse after learning that many soldiers she knew personally were involved in the war; however, her effort was rejected repeatedly due to her race. Refusing to give up, she travelled independently to the Crimea and set up the British Hotel near Balaclava, closer to the frontline than Scutari, to provide soldiers with accommodation, food, basic supplies, and nursing care. Mary was celebrated during her lifetime after the war and was awarded medals from a few countries. Her legacy faded after her death in 1881, but renewed recognition gradually surfaced in the mid-twentieth century. A significant new interest is now being shown by the nursing profession and black history in the UK.
This exhibition opened in May 2005 to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Seacole’s birth, and, due to popular demand, it has been extended until March 2007. The exhibition is small in this already tiny museum, but its value is significant, highlighting Mary Seacole’s contribution to the nursing profession and her importance in British history. It includes a hands-on display of Mary’s herbal practice and historical images from her autobiography and Punch magazine. It concludes with an appraisal by local schoolchildren and nursing leaders of her relevance to today. The museum has been working closely with local schoolchildren, many of whom are of Afro-Caribbean origin, and visitors can view some of the artwork produced by the young pupils relating to Mary Seacole. There is also an appeal to establish the identities of three black nurses photographed in the 1950s and 1970s. This exhibition allows the public to examine Seacole’s impact in the nineteenth century and nursing history, and ultimately how her experience relates to issues, such as race, gender, and identities, both in Victorian and modern day society.
The Florence Nightingale Museum is quietly tucked away in St. Thomas Hospital, but its role in giving the public a better understanding of two exceptional women in history and raising the awareness of the nursing profession should not be underestimated. This hidden gem is well worth a visit.
For More Information:
The Florence Nightingale Museum
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