‘There is no formal memorial to Mrs Manley’s near half-century of service to the people of Whitby. Yet her diary, a veritable gold mine for the genealogist and for the social historian, remains with us, enormously enriching our understanding of a vital aspect of a bygone age.’ (p. 34)

With acknowledgements to MIDIRS, we are pleased to provide online access to a paper about the Whitby midwife Mistress Katharine Manley, whose  diary can be found in the museum in Whitby. The diary documents her 44 years of experience from 1720 to 1764.   

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Sworn midwife: Mistress Katharine Manley of Whitby, her work and world

Written by Dr Jean Donnison and published in MIDIRS Midwifery Digest  in 2007 17(1):25-34.