Edward Jenner Heritage Trail - Location 1
Site of Jenner’s Birthplace – Adjacent to Yew Tree House, Marybrook Street
Edward Jenner was born in 1749 in a building in the grounds of what is now Yew Tree House (pictured right above). Sadly, all that remains is a low outline of the foundations of the cottage in the garden behind the close boarded fence. Here he was brought up by his parents, Reverend Stephen and Sarah Jenner. He was the eighth of nine children, with five surviving siblings: Stephen, Mary, Henry, Sarah and Anne and he was named after a brother who died in April 1749 aged five. Jenner's parents both died in 1754 and although his education was probably planned by his elder brother, Stephen, it is likely that the necessary home environment was provided by his aunt, Deborah Hooper of Clapton near Berkeley.
Yew tree House, image by The Jenner Project 2022 | 23
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Image available from The Jenner Project 2022 | 23
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In his early years he went to Katharine Lady Berkeley School near Wotton under Edge, was tutored at a grammar school in Cirencester and went on to be apprenticed at the age of 14 to a local apothecary, Daniel Ludlow, of Chipping Sodbury. At the end of his 7-year apprenticeship he had enough experience to train as a surgeon and in 1770 he moved to St. George's Hospital in London, where he studied anatomy and physiology and completed his medical education under the great surgeon and experimentalist John Hunter.
In 1772 at the age of 23 Edward Jenner returned to Berkeley and established himself as the local country doctor (a role similar to that of our current GP) and surgeon. Although in later years he also established medical practices in London and Cheltenham, Jenner remained essentially a resident of Berkeley for the rest of his life.
Next walk down Marybrook Street towards the Town Centre and you will come to the Town Hall on your right with its entrance in Salter Street and the Trail Marker on the front facing towards the Market Place. You can click the QR code on the Plaque or click here for information on Location 2.
In 1772 at the age of 23 Edward Jenner returned to Berkeley and established himself as the local country doctor (a role similar to that of our current GP) and surgeon. Although in later years he also established medical practices in London and Cheltenham, Jenner remained essentially a resident of Berkeley for the rest of his life.
Next walk down Marybrook Street towards the Town Centre and you will come to the Town Hall on your right with its entrance in Salter Street and the Trail Marker on the front facing towards the Market Place. You can click the QR code on the Plaque or click here for information on Location 2.
