National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR)

This archive is not yet catalogued. The following is an interim description which may change before cataloguing is completed:

The collection covers the period late nineteenth century to 2010s, although the vast majority of the material is from the 20th century. The internal records mainly comprise central administrative records, and records from individual departments and divisions are not as well represented. There are record series from the offices of Sir Henry Dale, Sir Charles Harrington, and Sir Peter Medawar which include correspondence and other papers ranging across a number of significant topics, 1920s-1970s. In addition, there are papers of other scientists associated with the Institute. Moreover, due to its national role and the prominence of NIMR Directors on the wider scientific stage, the collection also includes material of national and international scientific significance.

The internal records mainly fall into eight categories: NIMR administrative records; NIMR Directors' records; NIMR/MRC committee records; Papers of individuals associated with the Institute; NIMR building and engineering plans; Records of the MRC Common Cold Unit; Photographs and audio-visual material; Pamphlet collection.

The collection of pamphlets comprises around 4,500 pamphlets, typescripts and manuscripts from the nineteenth to late twentieth century, although most are from the early twentieth century. They come from a very diverse range of countries, including but not limited to the UK, France, Germany, USA, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, India and South Africa. The set contains many individual items which are unique or rare in UK research libraries. The collection as a whole reflects the broad range of the NIMR's research interests and there are themed clusters of material, such as physiology, nutrition, infectious disease, gas poisoning in warfare, genetics, animal health, occupational health, insects and parasites, radiation and light therapy.

c.1850s-c.2015

701 boxes and 4 oversize items

In the main, the administrative records are clearly labelled as belonging to specific series. Identifiers or letter-codes have already been applied to some record groups. There are, however, also some less well-ordered sets of records.

The collection was transferred to Wellcome Collection in five accessions between 2016 and 2018.

The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) was the largest research institute funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC, established in 1913 as the Medical Research Committee, originally conceived of the NIMR as its "central" research institute. It was founded in 1914 at Mount Vernon Hospital in Hampstead, London, though outbreak of the First World War delayed occupation of the building until 1920.

The first director was Sir Henry Dale (1914-1942) who oversaw three divisions: Bacteriology; Biochemistry and Pharmacology; and Applied Physiology. The NIMR enjoyed considerable success in its early years, including the discovery of the human influenza virus in 1933.

In 1937 construction began on new premises for the NIMR at Mill Hill, north London. The main building was designed by Maxwell Ayrton, architect of the original Wembley Stadium. As before, occupation was delay by the outbreak of war and the building was used by the Women's Royal Naval Service. The building was returned to the MRC towards the end of 1949 and was officially opened on 5 May 1950 by King George VI. Sir Henry Dale had retired in 1942 and was succeeded by Sir Charles Harington (1942-1962).

Harington expanded the NIMR's research programmes, increasing the number of divisions to ten. Sir Peter Medawar took over the directorship in 1962 (until 1971) and established the NIMR as an important centre for immunological research. In 1980 the MRC Biomedical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Centre was established at the NIMR by the next director Sir Arnold Burgen (1971-1982). He was succeeded by Sir Dai Rees (1982-1987) and then Sir John Skehel (1987-2006).

In 2003 the MRC began considering a proposal to move the NIMR to a university or medical school site to better enable it to translate research into practical outcomes, with University College London ultimately being chosen as the preferred partner. There was internal opposition to the plans and accusations of coercion during the review. The House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology investigated the review process in its 2004-2005 session and criticised the MRC for its handling of the review leading to loss of confidence of NIMR staff. It also criticised unnamed senior NIMR staff members for undermining the MRC Chief Executive's position.

Sir Jim Skehel retired as director in 2006 and was followed by Sir Keith Peters as acting director before former staff member Jim Smith took up the post in 2009.

In 2015 the NIMR became part of the Francis Crick Institute. It vacated the premises at Mill Hill and joined the rest of the Institute partners at a new building next to St Pancras railway station. The Mill Hill site was closed in 2017 and demolition of the buildings began in 2018 to make way for new homes.

This collection is currently uncatalogued and cannot be ordered online. Requests to view uncatalogued material are considered on a case by case basis. Please contact collections@wellcomecollection.org for more details.

Prior to transfer to Wellcome Collection, the majority of the papers were held by the NIMR Library. In 2013 the Library carried out a survey to ascertain whether there were any further bodies of important archival material held elseqhere at NIMR and these were collated and also transferred.