Huddersfield Medical Library and Huddersfield Medical Society

The following source list was originally available only on paper in one of the West Yorkshire Archive Service offices. It may have been compiled many years ago and could be out of date. It was designed to act as a signpost to records of interest on a particular historical subject, but may relate only to one West Yorkshire district, or be an incomplete list of sources available. Please feel free to add or update with any additional information.

The Huddersfield Medical Library was set up in 1814, coinciding with the establishment of the Dispensary. The stock of the library was large, emphasis was being placed on ordering new publications and the circulation of current medical journals. Most Huddersfield practitioners were members and special provisions for 'country' members enabled many doctors residing in outlying districts and villages to enjoy the facilities of the library.

Huddersfield Medical Society was established 1825 by the town's surgeons to fix fees for medical treatment. Initially the establishment of a uniform scale of charges appears to have been their main concern. In 1828 the basis of the Society was broadened. It was resolved on 29th May that the 'physicians be respectfully invited to join the Society'. The name was to be changed to the Medico-Chirurgical Society. The meetings now centered around difficult or unusual cases which members had come across, which revealed a certain degree of co-operation between participants in the debates.

In March 1973, nearly all the books were sold at Sotherby's to help raise funds for a new building for the Huddersfield Infirmary.

These records are held at WYAS Kirklees, collection reference KC634. See also KC268