Nightingale museum to host interactive exhibition

Florence Nightingale spent much of her childhood at her family home in Derbyshire

An exhibition celebrating the life of Florence Nightingale is being brought to the county where she spent most of her childhood.

The interactive experience, narrated in the nurse's own words, will be brought to Cromford Mills, Derbyshire, from 27 July.

Florence Nightingale spent much of her childhood living at her family home in Lea Hurst and returned to the county after the Crimean War.

The exhibition, run by the Florence Nightingale Museum, will run until 3 November.

The museum said Florence began bringing medicine, food and bedding to poor villagers in Derbyshire when she was in her 20s.

Katie Edwards, the museum's general manager, said the exhibition will consider how the nurse is perceived in 2024, looking beyond the familiar "Lady with the Lamp" image.

“While Florence Nightingale is justly celebrated, she is also underestimated," she said.

"Most of what people know may well be true, but they probably don’t know the half of it.

"The exhibition was inspired by the fact that Florence Nightingale’s public image seems to change with the times, and we are keen to find out how people see her in 2024.”

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