The Jenner Hut in the grounds of The Chantry, Berkeley, Gloucestershire
This hut belonged to Dr Edward Jenner (1749-1823), the man who did the first successful vaccination in England. It is where he did his first vaccination against smallpox in 1796. He was working as a doctor in Gloucestershire. He was able to see a link between cowpox, a relatively mild disease, and the deadly disease smallpox. It was widely known that getting cowpox would stop you from getting smallpox. He was the first to carry out controlled experiments to try and use cowpox to vaccinate people against smallpox. He ‘christened’ his hut the 'Temple of Vaccinia', and continued to use it to provide vaccinations to the poor of the district free of charge. As a pioneer of vaccination, Edward is acknowledged as having saved more lives than any other human!
