Bristol's first woman doctor honoured with blue plaque
A replica of Dr Eliza Walker Dunbar's brass name plate has also been installed
A blue plaque has been unveiled in Bristol to honour the city's first woman doctor.
The University of Bristol also installed a replica of her brass doctor's name plate this week at the site of her former hospital in Berkeley Square.
Dr Eliza Walker Dunbar (1845-1925) was one of the 'Zürich Seven', according to the university.
They were the first seven women in the world to complete a formal medical degree, at the University of Zürich in Switzerland.
The university says Zürich was the only university at the time that allowed women to take a medical degree.
Forced to resign after male doctors walked out
Dr Walker Dunbar returned to England in 1873.
She became the first woman in the UK to be made House Surgeon at a mixed hospital, Bristol's Children's Hospital, which was then on St Michael's Hill.
She was forced to resign when all the male doctors walked out in protest.
The university says the media furore that followed prompted a national debate over the recognition of women doctors.
It led to the passing of the Enabling Act of 1876.
The act allowed women who had undertaken medical degrees abroad to take licentiate exams in the UK from 1st January 1877.
Hospitals in Hotwells and Berkeley Square
After her resignation, Dr Walker Dunbar set up a private practice in Clifton.
In 1876, she established the Read Dispensary for Women and Children in Hotwells.
The outpatient clinic offered minor surgery as well as GP consultations.
It was initially open two days a week.
The university says it proved so popular that it expanded significantly within a few years, attracting women from all over the city.
By 1885 it was seeing around 1,800 patients a year.
In 1906, it moved to a larger, purpose-built site on St George's Road.
In December 1895, Dr Walker Dunbar opened the Bristol Private Hospital for Women and Children at 34 Berkeley Square.
The building is now the location for part of the University of Bristol's School of Education.
She held the post of Senior Surgeon there until her death in 1925.
The hospital originally had space for 12 patients and focused on the treatment of women by women.
By 1914 it had expanded to a second site, about 50 metres away, at 7 Charlotte Street.
Work for women's rights and education
Dr Walker Dunbar also contributed to the wider women's movement in Bristol in the late 19th century.
She became involved in the city's female suffrage movement soon after arriving in 1873.
She was a leading member of the Bristol Working Women's Union and one of the founders of the National Union of Working Women, which was established in Bristol.
In 1878, she was one of three delegates from the National Union of Working Women to the annual meeting of the Trades Union Congress.
The university says she also had numerous connections to University College Bristol, which would ultimately become the University of Bristol.
It says she became the first woman to provide medical-related teaching there.
She was also heavily involved in advancing educational and employment opportunities for women, in Bristol and across the country.
Why the name plate matters
Dr Evan Jones from the university's Department of History said the idea came from students.
"In 2025 a group of PGCE History students took Dr Walker Dunbar as a case study for developing place-based local history teaching. One of their suggestions was that she should be better known in the city where she carried out such pioneering work. In the course of looking into her history, we discovered that she used to unscrew her brass doctor's name plate from the hospital door each night in case it was stolen or defaced. The plate was clearly a contested object at the time that was important to Dr Walker Dunbar and to those who hated what it represented. So, the students wanted to give her plate back to her and we are very pleased to do so," Dr Jones said.
Professor Judith Squires, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, also paid tribute.
"It seems fitting that in our 150th year, the University pays tribute to such a pioneering woman who made an incredible difference to the people of Bristol and paved the way for millions of female doctors and clinicians after her. We are delighted to be unveiling a blue plaque in her honour today and re-installing the brass name plate which clearly meant so much to her," Professor Squires said.