Women's History Gallery

Nurses hostel JLP01_08_074883

Restell Close, Greenwich,
Greater London. Two women sitting, reading and writing, in the bedroom of a Sectra block of residential nurses flats on Restell Close.
This residential block for nurses was one of three 10-storey, H-shaped blocks, built by Laing's Construction Company for the South-East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board, using the Sectra system. The flats were built on a high point just off Vanbrugh Hill with views over Greenwich, Deptford and the River Thames, providing self-contained flats of three and four rooms for nurses who worked at Greenwich Hospital. The blocks were named Jenner House, Lister House and Norfolk House. In 2007, two of the blocks were demolished and Norfolk House was reclad and subsequently renamed Leamington Court

© Historic England Archive

Delivering groceries JLP01_08_048781

BERKELEY POWER STATION, BERKELEY, HAM AND STONE, STROUD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. The local butcher's wife delivering supplies to Mrs Glover, living in a caravan on a temporary site at Berkeley Nuclear Power Station during its construction
Berkeley Nuclear Power Station was the first commercial nuclear power station in the United Kingdom and one of the first generation of nuclear reactors in Britain. Laing were the civil engineers for the project with work commencing on 7th January 1957. The 57 acre site included offices and temporary housing with facilities for the workers on site. Mrs Glover, shown in the photograph, was the wife of Jim Glover who was a Lima excavator river working on the diversion of the Conigre Pill

© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection

Jean MCF01_01_0147

A portrait or self portrait of a young woman believed to be Katherine Jean Macfee (1881-1952).
In the negative index for the collection, the photographer has recorded the name of the sitter as Jean'. It is believed that the photographer of this collection, Katherine Jean Macfee, may have referred to herself as Jean rather than Katherine. She lived at 21 Frognal Lane, Hampstead and some sources from the 1920s refer to a Miss J Macfee at this address during her work for the Nurses Missionary League

© Historic England Archive