Mary Stewart - The First Lady Almoner

This talk will explore the appointment and records of the first Lady Almoner, Miss Mary Stewart, who was appointed at the Royal Free Hospital in 1895.

The first almoners were appointed to free charitable hospitals at the end of the nineteenth century to means-test patients and determine if they should be made to contribute toward their treatment.

Over the course of the first half of the twentieth century, they became pioneers of medical social work by expanding their role to provide patients with charitable aftercare. See the original record book of Mary Stewart and documents regarding her appointment and findings at the Royal Free Hospital during the turn of the twentieth century.

Dr Lynsey Cullen is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University of Warwick. Her current project, 'Almoners, patients, and the formation of medicine social work in Britain, 1895-1948', explores the history of the almoner profession for the first time and provides a new insight into the history of early twentieth century social work by identifying the almoners and patients who shaped the profession.

Lynsey was previously a Daphne Jackson Research Fellow at the University of York, where she examined the history of medical records and patient data in Britain since the 1900s. Her research more broadly focuses on the history of medicine in Britain since the nineteenth century, primarily of hospitals, patients, and mental healthcare.