Chiswick House, London
Maison Dieu, Faversham
Liverpool School for the Indigent Blind, Liverpool
Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability, Teddington
The Royal School for Deaf Children, Margate
Guild of the Brave Poor Things, Bristol
St Saviour’s Deaf Church, Acton
Grove Road Housing Scheme, Sutton-in-Ashfield
Our volunteers have been working hard and having great adventures along the way. Browse the stories below or click on an individual image to see more from an individual volunteer.
Maggie and Ken Davis were told it was impossible for them to live anywhere except in an institution. But 40 years ago today, they moved into the home they designed themselves. It marked the beginning of the Independent Living Movement.
An epidemic of ‘sleepy sickness’ swept through the US and Europe between 1916 – 27, immortalised by Oliver Sacks’ ‘Awakenings’. Some survivors attended the Guild in Bristol, with a variety of post-encephalitic symptoms. Grace Morgan-Tait investigates.
Oral history can be invaluable for capturing the stories of people and communities who might otherwise be left out of history. Dr Fiona Cosson gave us a masterclass in Liverpool.
During the 18th century common diseases like small-pox, measles and whooping cough were all causes of blindness, as well as ‘Egyptian ophthalmia’ which hospitalised whole regiments of English and French troops.
A new organisation, The National Paralympic Heritage Trust, is launching a survey on heritage.
We are seeking an experienced Sound Artist to produce a soundscape about the history of the Royal School for the Blind, Liverpool during September and October.
Images of the School for the Blind in Liverpool through time, from the archives of National Museums Liverpool.
Nina explores a young woman admitted to an asylum with insomnia and visions with religious overtones. She asks how we should interpret the diagnoses of other periods.
Other medieval hospitals near the pilgrimage site of Canterbury help us build a picture of care during the period.
Religious houses offered sanctuary to disabled people and those with illnesses. Ann Newman puts some names and occupations to those who stayed there.