Medical School Collection
The records of the University of Nottingham Medical School form part of the larger archive of the University of Nottingham.
The catalogue of the University of Nottingham Medical School (UAF1) is available online and is searchable through the Manuscripts Online Catalogue. The archive is of considerable value in tracing the planning and development of a purpose-built medical school and teaching hospital. (catalogue record)
Official Records of the School
The University of Nottingham Medical School was the first new medical school to be established in the UK in the twentieth century. Planning for the school began in 1964 with the first intake of students admitted in 1970. The Medical School and the related University Hospital were officially opened by the Queen on 28th July 1977 and named ‘Queen’s Medical Centre’.
The Medical School archive contains the official records of the School. The majority of the records relate to the planning and early years of the Medical School, from the announcement of its creation in 1964, through the planning and building of the school and hospital, and the first decade of its existence. There is little material from the 1990s onwards although it is anticipated that further records will be added to the archive on a regular basis.
Key series of records relate to the Administration and Governance of the School. The Administration section (UAF1/1) contains the working files of the individuals responsible for the running of the School. The section contains the papers of the foundation Dean, Professor Greenfield, (UAF1/1/1/1), and the Deputy Registrar, RJ Graham, (UAF1/1/1/2). The papers cover the whole range of business involved in the planning and running of the School, including building work, staff recruitment, the establishment of departments and the creation of a government structure. The Governance section (UAF1/2) contains the records of the committees responsible for overseeing the planning, and later the running, of the Medical School. There is a complete set of minutes for the Local Joint Committee and its successor bodies which oversaw the work of the Medical School planning team (UAF1/2/1). With the recruitment of the foundation professors of the Medical School a Board of Medical Studies was established in 1967 to organise the curriculum. There are two files of minutes for this committee, covering the entire period of its existence from May 1967 to October 1969. In 1969 the Board of Medical Studies was recognised by the University as a Faculty Board and was renamed the Board of the Faculty of Medicine later the Board of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Minutes for the Faculty Board (UAF1/2/4) cover the period from October 1969 until February 2004, with gaps for the years 1978-1980 and 1989-1993. Minutes are also held for numerous sub-committees of the Faculty Board (UAF1/2/6) including committees responsible for admissions, the curriculum, examinations and staff and student consultation.
Other records of interest include the papers of the architects and engineers responsible for designing and building the Queen’s Medical Centre. The collection contains over 300 plans of the QMC, allowing readers to trace the development of the design for the hospital and school (UAF1/3/3/1).
The archive contains the official records of the University of Nottingham Medical School. It does not contain the official records of the University Hospital attached to the Medical School. Because the Medical School and University Hospital were planned and built as one unit there are records within the collection that relate to both the school and hospital, notably the architect’s plans. There are no patient records or other hospital records within the Medical School collection.
Student Records
There is very little material relating to students within the collection. There are no records concerning student admissions or class attendance. Such records, if they survive, may still be retained by the department and enquirers should contact them in the first instance. Information on students' performance in examinations may be found amongst the minutes of several committees, including the Faculty Board, the Medical Sciences Curriculum and Examinations Committee and the Clinical Curriculum and Examinations Committee. Records containing information relating to the performance of individual students have been closed for 80 years under the provisions of the Data Protection Act.
Printed and Published Material
The Medical School collection contains a large amount of published and printed material which helps to enhance the official record of the School. There is a set of prospectuses from 1970 to 1986 (UAF1/6/1/1), files of newspaper cuttings which relate to the Medical School and to health care in general (UAF1/6/1/2), articles written by Medical School staff (UAF1/6/1/5) and collections of material relating to key events in the history of the Medical School, such as the official opening by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in July 1977 (UAF1/4/2). There are also two student yearbooks from the first and fourth years of the course (UAF1/6/1/7).
Photographs
Approximately 400 photographs are included in the Medical School collection. These photographs date from the 1970s to the1990s and show the construction of the Medical School and University Hospital, the official opening in 1977, and groups of staff and students.
Photograph of the Queen's Medical Centre under construction, 1970s.
UAF1/6/1/3/1
Related Collections
There are a number of collections of papers of former members of staff which can help to expand the official record of the University of Nottingham Medical School. These are classified as Personal papers rather than University archives. The list below offers a guide to readers who wish to look beyond the official papers of the School:
• PDG. Papers of Professor David Greenfield, foundation Dean of the Medical School; 1938-2005
• Sh. Papers of Professor Sam Shone (died 1986), Medical Administrator; 1962-1975
• HAC. Papers of John Coggins, former Medical Librarian at the University of Nottingham, including papers of the Hospital Archives Committee and the Museum of Medical Equipment; 1945 - 1995
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