- World leading Nobel Prize winners made huge breakthroughs here, including the discovery of the flu virus and vaccine in 1936[1]
- 19 commemorative plaques are being installed at the development to honour the scientists
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Stephen Hawking was inspired here as a boy whilst visiting his father, who worked at the NIMR for over 30 years[2]
London has been home to some extraordinary scientific breakthroughs over the years, none more so than at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) in Mill Hill NW7, where Stephen Hawking was inspired by his father’s work, and where the discovery of the flu vaccine was first made.
Queen Elizabeth and King George VI officially opened the Mill Hill building at the NIMR in 1950, but since being absorbed into the Francis Crick Institute in 2016, the 47-acre historic site is now home to a huge redevelopment project by housebuilder Barratt London. Ridgeway Views when complete will bring 528 new homes to the area, honouring the site’s remarkable heritage while also creating a new community within Mill Hill. Along with delivering high quality, energy efficient new homes, the development has created acres of new public parkland connecting it to the neighbouring countryside. A range of biodiversity features have been introduced, along with more than 700 newtrees, to encourage the local flora and fauna to flourish and ensure residents can enjoy a rural lifestyle, whilst still being able to reach central London in just 30 minutes.
The site is set across 47 acres and looks over the rolling green pastures of the Totteridge Valley. To ensure the history of the site is never forgotten, Barratt London has commissioned 19 commemorative plaques to honour some of the scientists who worked at the Institute and their discoveries.
Yolanda Jacob, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt East London, says: “At every heritage site of ours, we’re determined to celebrate the role the location played in London’s rich and varied history. Ridgeway Views is a very special example of that, as many of the great discoveries made at the NIMR have made a significant contribution to medical science around the world. These trail-blazing scientists are the women and men who pushed the frontiers of science to their limits. Ensuring this legacy is preserved and celebrated is incredibly important to us, and who knows – may inspire the scientists of tomorrow.
The NIMR’s significant cultural heritage, is recognised through sensitive architecture, new road names and commemorative plaques. Together this will work to create a sense of place and identity for our new residents.”
One such discovery at the Institute happened during the Spanish flu epidemic in the wake of the First World War, which killed more people than the Black Death. It was at the NIMR that scientists first isolated the virus responsible for the flu and helped develop the first flu vaccine, making medical history when one of the Institute’s own staff, Dennis Busby MBE, volunteered to test the jab. Experimental vaccines were produced in 1936 and the NIMR was designated as the World Influenza Centre of the World Health Organization.
Dr Frank Hawking, the father of the great astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, CBE, made huge leaps during his time at the NIMR in the field of parasitology, including vital work on malaria and tropical diseases. He met his wife Isobel at the Institute, and went on to have four children, of which Stephen was the eldest. Stephen spent many years in the grounds of the Institute, often caught gazing up at the sky contemplating what other life was out there.[3]Frank strongly encouraged Stephen's interest in science, taking him to his laboratory at Mill Hill to peer through microscopes.[4]
After an extensive public selection process[5], complying with council protocols and family consent, other world-renowned scientists being honoured with a plaque or road name include Sir John Cornforth, CBE; Sir Peter Brian Medawar; Sir Edward Mellanby; Sir William Stanley Peart; James Lightbown; John Herbert Humphrey; David Trentham; Alain Townsend; Alick Isaacs; Rosalind Pitt-Rivers; Guy Dodson; Heinz Wolff; Robert Kenneth Callow; Rosa Beddington; Rosemary de Rossi; and John Sawkins.
