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The University of Manchester Library

Guide to the Medical Archive collections

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Manchester Medical Collection

Our core collection, unique in terms of its coverage, is the Manchester Medical Collection (MMC).

This was the creation of Ernest Bosdin Leech (1875-1950), a physician at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and a medical historian.

Leech intended that the Collection document all aspects of the medical history of the Manchester area including the lives and writings of local medical practitioners, local hospitals, medical education, local medical societies and charities, and major subjects such as nursing, public health and disease in Manchester.

Due to the size of the Collection, the catalogue has been divided into the following sections:

Institutional archives

We also have the independent archives of several local medical associations, including the Manchester Medical Society (MMS), which has enjoyed a close relationship with the University since 1874 (the Society's superb collection of medical books was added to the Library in 1929).

Collectively, these archives are an invaluable source of information for the development of the medical profession in Manchester from the mid-Victorian period onwards. 

We hold archives for the following bodies:

 

Personal papers

Personal papers of Manchester-associated doctors are also a significant component of our collections. These date from the late eighteenth century to the present day.