Mary Seacole earned the sobriquet of  ‘Mother Seacole’ from the soldiers of the Crimea because of her kindness and bravery when nursing them. She often went to help the injured before the gunfire had stopped. Her ‘British Hotel’ provided a resting place, shop and food; a place of safety. She was a brilliant nurse with the ability to diagnose and create medicines. When she returned form the Crimea with little money soldiers held fund raising concerts for her.   #MarySeacole

Visiting characters

We offer two characters for this topic:

The Historian

The Historian tells the story of Mary Seacole from a wider perspective. Her adventures in the Crimea are just a small part of what she achieved: traveling across the World several times; using her skills to diagnose and treat patients; choosing to risk her livelihood to go the Crimea; ignoring obstacles and prejudices to do what she saw as right, and the support she had at the end of her life.

Cecilia Mansford

Cecilia tells Mary’s  story from the perspective of an observer of the events relating to the Crimea and those of soldiers she knows. Her tales can include:

• The prejudices of the times and their impact on Mary Seacole
• Why a fundraising concert was a good thing
• What the British Hotel was like and why Florence Nightingale disapproved of it
• Mary’s life and places she visited
• Mary’s bravery and resourcefulness in the Crimea

Mary Seacole Workshops

Workshop Options include: Food, Dance, Artefact Analysis, Clothes, Hygiene, Medicine, Shopping, Money and role-plays. Further information on how workshops operate is found here.

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