Dr Jenner's House, Museum and Garden

General information

Dr Jenner's House, Museum and Garden is the former home of Dr Edward Jenner and the birthplace of vaccination. Jenner was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, in 1749 and after training to be a surgeon with John Hunter in London he returned to his home town to practice as the local surgeon. He purchased The Chantry in 1785 and lived here until his death in 1823. Dr Jenner had a plethora of interests from geology, music, poetry and natural sciences all of which are presented in the museum. He was made a Fellow of The Royal Society for his work on the nesting habits of cuckoos, however he is most famous for his pioneering experiment proving that immunity to cowpox also provided immunity to smallpox. It created vaccination and changed medical science forever, paving the way for the eventual eradication of the deadly smallpox in 1980. It is still the only human disease ever to have been completely eradicated. His research founded the science of Immunology and his enthusiasm for scientific enquiry and boundless energy to advocate his discoveries makes him a true local, national and international hero.