©
Edmund Blok
Guided by volunteers from local community partners, current NDPCHS staff and DPhil students, visitors explored the building’s past and present: from its origins serving patients at the Radcliffe Infirmary (from 1770 to 2007) to its current life as a centre for world-leading research and teaching in academic primary care.
Across the ground and first floors, poster displays told the story of the Radcliffe Infirmary, from Sir John Radcliffe’s legacy to the redevelopment of the site. Alongside the historical story, posters highlighted current research led by NDPCHS academics and students. An archival display in the Briscoe Library - generously loaned by the Oxfordshire Health Archives - showcased photographs, artefacts and documents that brought memories of the former hospital to life. Items included a medicine chest from 1930s, a ‘sigmoidoscope’ (for examining the colon) from 1912.
 © Edmund Blok1930's Medicine chest |
 © Edmund Blok1912 Sigmoidoscope |
The building also welcomed back one of the original benches from the former Outpatients’ Hall. The bench has been living in the corridor connecting the JR's West Wing and Main Hospital since the Radcliffe Infirmary closed in 2007.
Ruth Charity, Arts Lead for Oxford University Hospitals Charity, said:
'It was so good to see the bench in its original location. The talks on the tours were really interesting, and the ephemeral material was fascinating.'
 © Edmund BlokXante Cummings, former nurse at the RI chatting to Dr Derek Hockaday, former RI physician on the original bench |
 © Mario CoelhoTrail map of the Radcliffe Infirmary site |
Visitors also received ‘The RI Trail’ map to encourage them to discover nearby landmarks featured in the displays, including the penicillin plaque, the mother and child statue and the commemorative plaque honouring doctors and nurses who worked at the Radcliffe Infirmary between 1770 and 2007. The trail’s illustrations were created by Mario Coelho.
Joining the tours was Thelma Sanders, one of the nurses at the Radcliffe Infirmary who had the idea and raised money for the commemorative plaque. Thelma said:
'What a fascinating, moving, emotional couple of hours. It makes one feel proud to have been part of such a great history.'
Ed Macalister-Smith (alumnus, 1978) said:
'We had a really interesting visit. My interest is based on a career in the NHS including as a CEO for several whole systems in England. However, my career started at what used to be called a FPC Family Practitioner Committee in Wiltshire, so to experience such a hub of learning and practice in primary care was perfect for me. I had previously worked for an overseas development charity which also supported rural primary care work, so a great visit all round, thank you.'
Jeffrey Aronson, Consultant Physician and Clinical Pharmacologist and part of the NDPCHS Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine academic team, worked as a physician at the Radcliffe Infirmary in the 1970s and later at the John Radcliffe Hospital. As one of the tour guides for the event, he shared anecdotes from his time working there. Reflecting on the day, Jeffrey said:
'It was a great pleasure showing our visitors through the building and reminiscing about times spent there. It was particularly good to renew acquaintance with colleagues who had worked there at the same time and had come to relive old memories. We were all pleased also to hear how the work being done in the Infirmary today continues to contribute to health care in so many ways. I am delighted to be still a part of it.'
The event was organised by the NDPCHS Alumni Relations Manager and delivered in partnership with local groups and supporters, including Friends of the ROQ, Heritage England, My Jericho, Oxford Hospitals Charity, Oxford Preservation Trust, Oxfordshire Health Archives and the Radcliffe Guild of Nurses. We are grateful to everyone who contributed time, photographs and memories to make the tours possible.
Thank you to all our volunteers and visitors for helping us share the history, and the continuing health care work, taking place in this much-loved Oxford building.
You can see more images of the tours here and visit our NDPCHS alumni webpages.
You can also view an online exhibition curated by Oxfordshire NHS Health Archives of the Radcliffe Infirmary: Then and Now