Pills and potions in the archives

How did our ancestors cope with ill-health, before the days of ready-prepared packets from the local shop? In working with the archives and early publications in the University’s collections, I’ve been taken by the number and variety of herbal remedies that sit alongside culinary recipes in early household books.  The ingredients are sometimes exotic and …

In The Bleak Midwinter

As the nation shivers in the snow and freezing temperatures, we look back at records from the University’s own weather station that suggest that we shouldn’t complain too much about this season’s sudden cold snap. In the winter of 1962-1963, Britain was subjected to incomparably harsh weather conditions. The newly established weather station at the University …

“Mothers and Midwives” goes live!

If you’re enjoying the current BBC drama series “Call the Midwife” you can now get a Nottingham perspective on the subject by visiting a new exhibition in the Weston Gallery, Lakeside Arts Centre. Mothers and Midwives: A History of Maternity in the East Midlands opened on Friday 13 January.  Its main object is to explore the …

Advent greetings from Manuscripts and Special Collections

Now that the e-advent calendar is live, we have been able to reflect on the project.  Has it achieved what we hoped for?  Our objective was to use the festive theme to illustrate the great variety of the collections. We wanted to show their potential to tell stories about people, events and past times in …