Securing Edward Jenner’s Legacy
We preserve The Chantry for the world and as a base from which we celebrate the ongoing legacy of the pioneering scientist Dr Edward Jenner, encouraging others to follow in his footsteps
Dr Edward Jenner discovered and performed the world’s first ever vaccination on this site in 1796. As the home of vaccination, Dr Jenner’s House and Garden celebrates a masterpiece of human creative genius in the eradication of one of the world’s most feared diseases, smallpox.
“This towering public health achievement was only possible because of the world’s first vaccine Dr Jenner gave birth to one of the most powerful tools in the history of medicine”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesis
Director-General of the World Health Organisation
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that smallpox was globally eradicated on 8th May 1980.
To mark that momentous achievement a prestigious group of physicians secured the funding to purchase Dr Jenner’s House and Garden as a permanent memorial to Dr Jenner, his life and his work. The Jenner Trust was established as a charity and the site opened as a museum and education centre in May 1985.
Dr Jenner’s House is a peaceful and timeless place, inspiring its visitors to contemplate the enormous social advances that vaccination has enabled, understand vaccine hesitancy, and learn about future developments for vaccination.
The museum teaches us not to overlook the threat of infectious disease and highlights the need for global co-operation for disease eradication.
The 8th May 2030 will mark the 50-year anniversary of the WHO’s declaration of the eradication of smallpox.
We believe that Dr Jenner’s House is the perfect place for the international celebration.
The 50-year celebration (Smallpox Eradication Celebration “SEC50”) underpins our 5-year restoration and development plan.
The survival of Dr Jenner’s House is a remarkable example of passion and resilience shown by the local community, supporters, the trustees, volunteers, and a staff team working on incredibly limited resources. So many have worked hard to keep Dr Jenner’s House running for 40 years, through challenges experienced by many small museums, especially the Covid pandemic. It is now time to look to the future with this same passion.
We need to renovate and renew the site, in a capital sense, but also to update the interpretation of Dr Jenner’s life and works and extend our education programme. The house (built in 1707 and updated by Dr Jenner in 1785) is in desperate need of repair. Restoration works undertaken over 40 years ago, when conservation building techniques were little understood, used methods which have since caused serious issues.
We have made significant progress in laying the foundations of our ambitious and exciting 5-year plan which has 8 discrete strands - each with critical milestones. Please read our Forward Plan for full details. In summary, these strands are:
Restoration – To re-Jenner-ate Dr Jenner’s House, garden and all ancillary buildings making them accessible and fit for purpose for the next 50 years.
Sasakawa Conference Centre – To repurpose the cyder house to secure commercial viability as a science education and conference centre.
Fundraising and events – To secure the funds required to deliver this plan, whilst increasing visitor numbers and commercial opportunities.
UNESCO – To become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
SEC50 Celebration planning – To create partnerships and planning for the Smallpox Eradication 50 year celebration at Dr Jenner’s House.
Sustainability – To embrace new technology and aspire for “net zero”.
Sharing our Stories – To address current shortcomings, improve our collections care and access to our archives, to share the stories of Jenner, vaccination, and the legacy of smallpox eradication alongside SEC50 milestones.
Interpretation and Education – To enhance the visitor experience, reinterpret the story and significance of Dr Jenner’s discovery, engage new audiences.
In Conclusion
This is an ambitious 5-year plan to restore the museum site in time for the international celebration of 50 years since the eradication of smallpox and to secure our long-term future as a science education and conference centre.
We have already begun the movement to ensure its success and to do everything we can for Dr Jenner’s House and legacy, so that we can all feel proud when the world’s spotlight shines on the home of vaccination during the global celebration marking 50 years since the eradication of smallpox.
We will need lots of friends and supporters and hope that you will join us on this journey.
The Trustees would be delighted to have the opportunity to discuss these plans in greater detail with any interested parties.
Please contact:
Dr Jonathan Steel -– Chair of Trustees: chairman@edwardjenner.co.uk
James Rodliff – Museum Director: director@edwardjenner.co.uk
Museum Office: info@edwardjenner.co.uk (or on 01453 810631)
