EVENING LECTURE: 'The History of University Medicine in Devon and Cornwall' - Sir Denis Pereira Gray

Part of our 2026-27 Roots & Networks Lecture Series

Join us for a drinks reception from 6pm. The lecture will start at 6.30pm and afterwards there'll be time for questions.

The History of University Medicine in Devon and Cornwall

Sir Denis Pereira Gray

Today there are two medical schools in Devon, one in Exeter and one in Plymouth. Yet as late as 1963 there was not a single doctor in the two counties with a university post. At that time half the medical schools were in London as well as all 12 of the postgraduate medical institutes. Unusually, reform was achieved by locally led initiatives, by a few Exeter doctors. They were supported by the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust (now the Nuffield Trust), which funded a Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI) within the University of Exeter. Dr David Mattingly, a physician with a distinguished research record at the Hammersmith Hospital London, was appointed Director. A funding crisis led to a decision by Exeter University, which was unique in the UK.

In 1973 a postgraduate university Department of General Practice was established within the PGMI, the first in Europe and just ahead of one in Copenhagen. David Mattingly was promoted to be the first Professor of Postgraduate Medical Education in Britain and the Postgraduate Medical Institute became the Postgraduate Medical School of the University of Exeter. Several innovative professorships followed, including general practice, vascular medicine, and the world’s first Professor of Complementary Medicine. The University of Plymouth also developed a Postgraduate Medical School. These two schools combined in 2002, led by Professor John Tooke, to form a new undergraduate medical school across Devon and Cornwall. In 2013, this was divided into the current two separate medical schools.