Nursing & Midwifery

Mrs Gamp

Display No. 119

Sarah Gamp, or Mrs Gamp, is a nurse in the novel ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’ by Charles Dickens.

Mrs. Gamp is untrained, incompetent and drunk and became the stereotype of Victorian nurses before reform campaigners like Nightingale.

Dickens is said to have based Mrs Gamp on a real nurse.

Sairey Gamp and Betsey Prig. Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0

Exhibits from ‘Nursing & Midwifery’.

Discover the 200 Exhibits

Nightingale is respected worldwide for her pioneering role in developing the nursing profession, her statistical work, and her evidence-based approach to healthcare. In honour of her bicentenary the World Health Organisation have named 2020 the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

In our special exhibition, you will find out about objects, people and places which tell interesting stories about Florence’s life and legacy. You’ll discover artefacts from her life, people she both inspired and challenged, and places she helped to shape. There’s many more insights too!

Please click on the different sections of her famous coxcomb diagram to explore various aspects of her life and legacy. We hope you enjoy exploring!