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bharchives.bsky.social
Barts Health Archives
@bharchives.bsky.social
14K followers 250 following 220 posts
Explore nearly 900 years of history through the archives and objects cared for by Barts Health NHS Trust Archives. Part of Barts Health NHS Trust. Find out more at www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/barts-health-archives
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bharchives.bsky.social
We have been working on something fun with
@profaliceroberts.bsky.social Our Hospital Through Time explores 900 years of history, showing how Barts evolved from medieval origins into a modern centre of medical excellence πŸ“œπŸ₯Ό

Ep 1 airs 8pm on 18 February on Channel 5! Tune in to see our collections!
Two women sit at a white desk looking at a book which is resting on a book cushion. The woman on the left has pink hair and wears glasses, she is running her finger along text in the book. The woman on the right wears a checkered top and gazes at the book whilst the other woman is reading.
February 9, 2026 at 3:55 PM
bharchives.bsky.social
New to our collections? Want guidance on where to start? Check out our suite of research guides!

Now with 3 *new* guides, developed with students from the @qmul.bsky.social QHeritage programme, on Activism; 'External Midwifery'; & Annexes and Convalescent Homes

www.calmview.co.uk/BartsHealth/...
Leaflet issued by Tower Hamlets Health Campaign, c1984 (RLHTH/X/1/3)
January 29, 2026 at 10:51 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
New on the blogπŸ‘€
"From Daffodils and Little Folks to Sunny: the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children" - read about the collections and history of a former East London landmark, and the work we're doing to improve access to its amazing archives
www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/archives-blo...
From Daffodils and Little Folks to Sunny | Blogs from the Archives
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children and the development of children's hospital services
www.bartshealth.nhs.uk
January 27, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Barts Health Archives
hannahpalmer.bsky.social
My new article was published earlier this week!! It focuses on the gynaecological health of Mrs Glover, the subject of several letters in Elizabeth Gaskell's correspondence between 1853–54, and reveals Glover's original patient record that I found at the wonderful @bharchives.bsky.social. ✨
Verification of a Date in the Gaskell Letters: Mrs Glover’s Original Patient Case Notes
β€˜Poor Mrs Glover’, wrote Elizabeth Gaskell, β€˜[…] the operation is to be today’.1 There are nine letters featuring Mrs Glover and her diagnosis and treatmen
doi.org
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
We're here πŸ‘‹πŸ‘‹

(we know we're archives, but we do have plenty of objects too!)
January 22, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Barts Health Archives
bharchives.bsky.social
We have been watching #Amadeus and the opening titles piqued our interest. The animations show the making of catgut, a material used for both musical instruments and for surgical suturing. We've paired some stills with images from our collection to show how catgut was made 🧡πŸͺ‘

CW: Gore, needles
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
We hold the records of the London Hospital Ligature Department, which produced catgut for sale all over the world, and you can read all about it in this blog -

www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/archives-blo...

#HistMed #Archives #History
A series of brown, black, and white brochures promoting the new see-through packaging for London Hospital Ligatures
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
Surgical catgut was then treated with heat in an autoclave and tested for tuberculosis. Once confirmed as safe and sterile, the catgut would be sealed in glass vials ready for use by surgeons 🧡πŸͺ‘
A black and white image of a worker in 1920s PPE using a blow torch or bunsen burner to seal glass vials of catgut. An open cardboard box, decorated with information about 'London Hospital Plan Catgut', and three glass vials containing catgut. RLHLG/SN/10
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
After drying, the intestine, now 'catgut', would be graded and smoothed.

This is where our surgical catgut diverges from musicians catgut. The musician's could then be fitting to a stringed instrument, whereas surgical catgut still needed a few final steps before it could be used.
A split image. The top image is a colour illustration of hands using a tool to smooth the pink intestine. The lower image shows a worker in 1920s PPE sitting at a work-top with catgut hanging from hooks above them, they are grading catgut and winding it around wooden sticks.
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
After immersion in antiseptic fluids the ribbons were then spun together to create different thicknesses of suturing material. They were hung across racks to dry and harden.
A split image. The top image is a colour illustration of pink intestine hanging between two tall posts. The lower image shows a worker in 1920s PPE hanging the catgut across tall posts inside a building.
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
After more scraping these fleshy ribbons were then wound to specified lengths.
A split image. The top image is a colour illustration of a worker stringing a pink ribbon of intestine between two tall posts. The lower image shows a worker in 1920s PPE winding intestine around a table-top set of posts.
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
The raw lamb intestines would then be stripped of mucous and fats using a special tool. This process left behind a durable and flexible ribbon of flesh.
A split image. The top image is a colour illustration of a hand running a blade down a pink ribbon of intestine. The lower image shows a worker in 1920s PPE standing at a work station, using a scraping tool. Example of a stripping tool. RLHLG/SN/22
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
Firstly, catgut is NOT made from cats. It is made from the intestines or ruminants, such as cows and sheep.

The London Hospital started catgut in 1919, using lamb intestines, which arrived in frozen blocks from New Zealand.
A split image. The top image is a colour illustration of two hands manoeuvring a clump of visceral intestines. The lower image shows a worker in 1920s PPE holding a block of frozen lamb intestines.
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
We have been watching #Amadeus and the opening titles piqued our interest. The animations show the making of catgut, a material used for both musical instruments and for surgical suturing. We've paired some stills with images from our collection to show how catgut was made 🧡πŸͺ‘

CW: Gore, needles
January 15, 2026 at 11:36 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
An illuminating interview with key individuals from the East London Health Project, on their role in campaigns against hospital closures in the 1970sπŸ‘‡

Keep an eye out for our new research guide on Patient and Staff Activism to find out more about campaign records in our collections, coming soonπŸ‘€
sciencemuseum.org.uk Science Museum @sciencemuseum.org.uk Β· Jan 9
The NHS is built on a simple and powerful principle: healthcare should be free at the point of use. But that principle has often had to be fought for.

Our latest blog series explores a unique collection of protest posters from the East London Health Project: https://bit.ly/4bnMj9h
January 9, 2026 at 12:49 PM
bharchives.bsky.social
Fascinating to see the @stmarkshospital.bsky.social for work analysing historical bowel cancer specimens.
The hospital archives (reference SBHK) document decades at the forefront of cancer research for many decades, including the world's first familial cancer registry
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dick Bussey, c1920s, who as an assistant in the Research Department and Pathology Departments at St Mark's Hospital, first set up a paper registry system that recorded the details of individuals with multiple polyps and a family history of bowel cancer, and became the first database for understanding familial cancers (SBHK/HP/9/2/2)
January 9, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Barts Health Archives
salvarmyarchive.bsky.social
Reminder to anyone who's interested that the deadline for our collaborative PhD with @qubhistory.bsky.social, on the Salvation Army Rescue Home in Belfast, is this coming Tuesday.
salvarmyarchive.bsky.social Salvation Army International Heritage Centre @salvarmyarchive.bsky.social Β· Nov 21
We're very excited to announce our collaborative PhD with @qubhistory.bsky.social on the residents of The Salvation Army's Bethel Rescue Home in Belfast in the C19th. Supervised by @elainefarrell.bsky.social (@badbridgetbook.bsky.social)
Applications by 13 Jan 2026.
www.qub.ac.uk/courses/post...
REF: CSHIS01 - HIS-PHD | Courses | Queen's University Belfast
www.qub.ac.uk
January 8, 2026 at 1:43 PM
bharchives.bsky.social
Duckies in the fountain πŸ¦†

#InternationalUnsolicitedDuckPicDay
SBHB/MP/4/4/2/63 - Black and white photo of two mallard ducks, a young male patient in a hospital bed looking into the Fountain is visible in the middle ground. There are cars parked between the trees behind the patient.
January 6, 2026 at 10:04 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
This year, we have retrieved over 1,500 records and objects for researchers, and welcomed over 550 people to the archives. Phew!
Read our last newsletter of 2025, now available in the 'Newsletters and Blogs' section of our website www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/barts-health...
Seasons greetings to you all!
Section from the first page of the Barts Health Archives December 2025 newsletter. The full newsletter can be accessed using the link in the skeet
December 23, 2025 at 12:19 PM
bharchives.bsky.social
Read about our recent Bringing the Collections Closer project in the newly updated case studies section on The National Archives Inclusion Hub! #archives
uknatarcsector.bsky.social UK Archive Sector Leadership @uknatarcsector.bsky.social Β· Dec 17
We’ve added 5 new case studies and 25 more short examples of good inclusive practice from archives across the country to our Inclusion Hub!

Have a read and get inspired: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...
Four young people wearing school uniform and an adult wearing a maroon jacket are gathered around a white table, most are sitting but a few are standing. Behind them stands adjustable mechanical shelving which holds cardboard boxes. On the table sits an open cardboard box. The adult holds a photograph and one of the pupils holds a document. Two of the school pupils wear protective latex gloves.
December 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM
bharchives.bsky.social
What are your #FestiveTraditions? Do you sing carols like the nurses in this picture from Whipps Cross? Do you bring in the Yule Log every year, like these nursing students?

#ArchiveAdventCalendar #HistMed #HistNursing #YuleLog #Carols
Black and white photo of three nurses wearing uniform dragging branches behind them through the snow, giggling as they do. Black and white photo of a group of nurses in caps and capes stand either side of a patient in bed, singing from chorus sheets.
December 22, 2025 at 10:55 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
The wards in St Bartholomew's were kept warm with fire places, as you can see in this 1920s ward photo. Here are entries in the Governors minutes contracting Joseph Newland to provide 'old and small cole' to the hospital in the 1690s

#ArchiveAdventCalendar #WarmFire #Archives #History
Black and white photo showing a male ward with parquet flooring, rugs, beds and chairs. The patient's beds are decorated with holly. Patients are sitting up in bed and two nurses are standing towards the back. On the right hand side of the photo is a fireplace, also decorated with holly. Warm Fire - Photo of the top of a book page written in 17th century handwriting. It reads 'Agreed with Joseph Newland to Serve this house with old Cole for two and twenty pence per sack".
December 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
In March 1468/9 the five bells of St Nicholas Shambles Church were hallowed and named - Thomas, Margaret, Trinity, Marie and Nicholas πŸ””πŸ””

Some of the parish's archives were acquired by Barts after the transfer of the endowments of the parish to the Hospital in 1547.

#ArchiveAdventCalendar #Bells
SBHSNC/1 - A photo of a piece of parchment with intricate handwriting on it. The starting letter, I, has been drawn intricately in red and blue with many swirls and drawings coming off it. The text reads - In the year of our Lord 1448 and in the year of the reign of King Edward the 4th after the conquest the 9th year in month of March the 15th Day Master John Pyththe Suffagan of London hallowed solemnly be note in the Church of Saint Nicholas of Fleshhammels. 5 Bells now hanging in the stepitt of the said church the which 5 bells be hallowed and named like as it appeareth here following be waiting. The left bell is hallowed and named Thomas in the worship of St Thomas of [scratched out, probably Beckett]. The 2nd bell is named Margaret in the worship of St Margaret. The 3rd bell is named trinity in the worship of the blessed Trinity. And the 4th bell that is to say the main bell is named Marie in the worship of our blessed Lady. And the 5th bell is named Nicholas in the worship of St Nicholas. And the little housling bell is named Thus. in the worship of the holy name of Thus. And at the time Thomas Eyre being person of the said church and John Wright and William Abett being church wardens.
December 16, 2025 at 10:28 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
Caps are an integral part of the nursing uniform, and these St Bartholomew's nurses have added party hats to accessorise their uniforms πŸŽ„πŸŽ„

#ArchiveAdventCalendar #HistNursing #FestiveClothes #Archives
SBHX8/2052 - Black and white photo showing a group of nurses standing round a piano whilst one of them plays. They are wearing their uniforms and little Xmas pudding hats on top of their caps.
December 13, 2025 at 11:34 AM
bharchives.bsky.social
In the 17th Century #DarkNights at Bart's Hospital were brightened with candles, and they were needed in large amounts! This entry from 1672 notes the hospital buying nearly 2000 candles for the year πŸ•―οΈ

#ArchiveAdventCalendar #Archives #LondonHistory #Candles
Corner of a page from a velum volume with handwriting. Below on a blue background is a transcription which reads "β€œThis day it was agreed that three Tallowchandlers should for this next year serve the Candles to this Hospital…and that very one should serve his proportionable shaire of 160 dozen which was now computed to be made in the next year.” This is taken from SBHB/HA/1/6 which is the Minutes of the Board of Governors of St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1666-1675
December 11, 2025 at 3:37 PM