This year’s winner of the essay prize is Abigail Carr, who has recently completed the History of Medicine MA programme at Newcastle University, UK, for her entry: ‘”A park in which beauty and pure air could be united”: South Shields’ Marine Park and the Nineteenth-Century Conception of Health and Wellness.’
Within this essay she expertly explored the contested creation of the seaside Marine Park in South Shields and explained what a close micro-study of one site can offer to wider understanding of issues of tourism, health, pollution and class in this period. On winning the prize Abigail said: ‘I am very honoured to have won the prize and I hope that the essay contributes to our understanding of the rich history of the North-East’. She now plans to go on to doctoral study and has recently been employed as an intern in Special Collections at Newcastle University identifying important aspects of their medical humanities collections.
Find out more about the Mavis Batey Essay Prize and how to make a submission next year.
Image: Abigail Carr receiving the 2023 Mavis Batey Essay Prize, presented at Newcastle University by Dr Clare Hickman
