Dr Jenny Stephenson

The History of Water- the Sheffield Reflection

Water, an essential ingredient for life, has a fascinating and rather turbulent history. It has certainly been a force for good as well as evil: too much, too little, clean or dirty, as illustrated in this talk.

In the early years, the industrial town of Sheffield expanded quickly and became victim to severe overcrowding, putting pressure on the supplies of drinking water and general cleanliness, with the terrible consequences of cholera, typhoid, smallpox, high infant mortality rates to name but a few. It took 22 years for Sheffield’s leaders to respond to the situation following a survey report of 1847, by digging sewers and building further reservoirs.

As well as this timeline, the talk will cover the history of the toilet and that of our local fifteen reservoirs. The talk will briefly cover the issues of sustainability and concerns for the environment, including the part we ourselves can play in this.

The talk is based on a book written by Dr Jenny Stephenson, which is an easily readable account and copies will be available at £10 with 100% of the proceeds going to WaterAid and Cavendish Cancer Care. The book can also be obtained  from https;//www.amazon.in/History-Water-Sheffield-Reflection-civilisation/dp/1905278918 or directly from Jenny at jenniferannstephenson@btinternet.com

About the Speaker

Jenny is a GP in Stannington, Sheffield and also works at the Health Authority (CCG) in the Diabetes department. She enjoys painting and photography and collecting interesting facts, and has written two previous local history books. One details local medical history through the timeline of her medical centre, Walkley House, and the other is on the History of Pharmacy.

About the Venue

An in-person and webcast (zoom) meeting.

As previously the meeting will start at 6:30 pm and tea and coffee will be available from 6:00 pm and we look forward to welcoming you to what we hope will be an interesting series of talks and discussions.

For those of you who are uncertain about attending in-person meetings at present, we are also pleased to announce that all this year’s programme of talks will also be available as a live webcast.

Kelham Island Museum has advised that although no social distancing restrictions will be in place for the meeting, we will need to keep a detailed register of attendees.  To assist with this and to gauge demand for the in-person talk it would be very helpful if you could let us know if you wish to join us using the Eventbrite link below.  Similarly, if you would like to join us online please book using the Eventbrite link below.  We are very happy if you wish to “hedge your bets” and book for both the in-person and online talks at this stage and make a final decision nearer the time.

A group of members and guests will be meeting for a pre-talk meal and if you wish to join us please let me know so that I can advise them of the probable numbers.

All Newcomen evening meetings are free and open to all and if you are aware of any non-members who may be interested in this talk please feel free to forward this email to them.

Please Note:-  The parking arrangements at the Museum have changed and the car park between the Museum and the river is now closed and is being used by the Museum Cafe and Bar as an outdoor seating area.  Details of the new parking arrangements can be found at http://www.simt.co.uk/kelham-island-museum/plan-your-visit