''Bramwell'' is a British television series starring Jemma Redgrave as Dr. Eleanor Bramwell, a woman challenging the domination of men in the medical establishment, who runs a free hospital for the poor in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have univ ...

, during the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

. The series was produced by Whitby Davison Productions in association with

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Tele ...

, and was shown on ITV 22 May 1995 to 18 June 1998, in a total of four series.

Plot

Series 1

The series begins in 1895 with Dr. Eleanor Bramwell, working in a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

hospital. She is treated as an inferior by the male doctors, and her opinions are often ignored. After a disagreement with a senior doctor, Eleanor is dismissed. Her father, Dr. Robert Bramwell, recommends she join him in his private practice of rich, elderly clients. Fortunately, Eleanor receives a better offer. Lady Peters, a friend of the family, offers to fund a small hospital in a London

slum A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily ...

, where Eleanor will treat the impoverished locals. Together, Eleanor and Lady Peters establish The Thrift, a free hospital with six beds. The Thrift is named for its location on Thrift Street. The staff of the hospital rapidly expands. Stiff, serious Nurse Carr is hired to assist Eleanor, and Mr. Bentley, a former patient with an amputated foot, is hired to act as a porter. Eleanor quickly finds the hospital desperately requires an anaesthetist but has little money to pay for one. She begs a former colleague, Dr. Joe Marsham to work at The Thrift part-time and he agrees on the condition that he will be able to perform surgery as well (which he does free in order to enhance his skills). The first series focuses on the ups and downs of The Thrift. Each episode usually focuses on one patient or event occurring at The Thrift. Social issues of the time are often tackled such as racism, alcoholism or the conditions in the workhouse. Near the end of the season, it appears that Eleanor will be married to a family friend but breaks the engagement when she realises she will be forced to give up her work. As the season closes, Lady Peters becomes seriously ill. Her personal physician misdiagnoses her condition and by the time her true condition is realised, it is too late to save her. After her death, her fortune is left to The Thrift.

Series 2

In the Second Series, The Thrift attempts to survive without Lady Peters' guidance, management and financial assistance. A new character, Dr. Finn O'Neill is introduced when a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

epidemic occurs in the area and Finn assists in the hospital. Eleanor, Robert and Dr. Marsham intensely dislike Finn and blame him for the death of a patient. Mr. Bentley also falls ill and because of a miscalculation in medication dosages, dies of poisoning. To assist the impoverished Bentley family, Eleanor hires Mr. Bentley's teenage son, Sidney, to act as the porter. Eleanor, despite her original opinions of Dr. O'Neill, falls in love with him in the last episode of the season. They enjoy a brief romance but are soon separated. Finn is forced to take a two-year position in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

but promises to marry Eleanor on his return. Robert Bramwell disapproves of Eleanor's relationship with Finn and is shocked when Eleanor admits she consummated the relationship with Finn. The usually close and happy relationship between Eleanor and her father is severely strained.

Series 3

Series Three begins a year after Finn's leaving. He has returned to England for a conference and takes this opportunity to visit Eleanor. Eleanor confirms that she still wishes to be married to Finn in a year when he permanently returns to England. Mr. Marsham considers taking a better position in Edinburgh, but remains at The Thrift when his wife is diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. The cancer is too advanced to save her and she dies in Dr. Marsham's arms. Finn returns, but with shocking news. He has married a young daughter of an American colleague. Eleanor is crushed by the news and is forced to take a vacation from The Thrift. The Thrift struggles to manage without her for several months while she stays in the countryside with friends. It begins to appear that Eleanor, because of her fragile state, will never be able to work again, but she discovers a

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

epidemic occurring in the village. The outbreak causes Eleanor to rediscover her passion for medicine and her strong personality. She returns to London. Eleanor is once more forced to see Finn when his new bride becomes sick. As Eleanor cares for her, Finn admits his marriage was purely for money and status. He suggests that Eleanor become his mistress so that he can enjoy the benefits of marriage while still having Eleanor. She refuses and insists she does not love him. In the meantime, Robert has become engaged to a wealthy widow, Alice Costigan. Robert attempts to insist that Eleanor stay with him and Alice once they move, but Eleanor refuses. Robert withdraws all financial support, leading Eleanor to propose to Dr. Marsham. He instead proposes to her, and she accepts.

Series 4

The fourth and final series included only two episodes and was dramatically different from the previous three series. Robert Bramwell and Alice Costigan make no appearance in the series, and their whereabouts are not mentioned. Sidney Bentley no longer appears but is replaced by another teenage porter, Tom. Tom appears in only one episode, before enlisting in the army. In the two episodes, Eleanor allows The Thrift to perform medical check-ups on soldiers, which leads to her meeting Major Quarrie. She and Marsham disagree about her decision and decide to end the engagement. Eleanor has an affair with Major Quarrie, despite their clearly different personalities and interests, resulting in a pregnancy. Eleanor makes plans to give the child up for adoption as Major Quarrie is not interested in marriage and will be going to fight in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

in a fortnight. She becomes obsessed with locating the child of a patient at The Thrift and searches the slums. She ignores her responsibilities at The Thrift, alienates her friends and coworkers. Her behaviour forces the manager of The Thrift and Dr. Marsham to dismiss her. She is devastated. At the last minute, Major Quarrie leaves the military and proposes to Eleanor. She accepts his offer because she will be able to keep the child if she is married and because she loves him. Major Quarrie is also clearly besotted with Eleanor. The series ends at the church inside which the two will marry.

Cast

* Jemma Redgrave as Dr. Eleanor Bramwell *

Ruth Sheen Ruth Sheen is an English actress. From the late 1980s, she has appeared in British television shows, films and plays. A participant in the films of Mike Leigh, she won the European Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Shirley in Leigh ...

as Nurse Ethel Carr * Kevin McMonagle as Dr. Joe Marsham * Keeley Gainey as Kate (Series 1—3) * David Calder as Dr. Robert Bramwell (Series 1—3) *

Michele Dotrice Michele Dotrice (born 27 September 1948) is an English actress. She portrayed Betty Spencer, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer, portrayed by Michael Crawford, in the BBC sitcom ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', which ran from 1973 to 1978, ...

as Lady Cora Peters (Series 1) *

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

as Sir Herbert Hamilton (Series 1) *

Cliff Parisi Cliff Parisi (born Clifford R Manley; 24 May 1960) is an English actor, known for his roles as Minty Peterson in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Fred Buckle in the BBC period drama ''Call the Midwife''. In 2019, he participated in the ni ...

as Daniel Bentley (Series 1—2) * Ben Brazier as Sidney Bentley (Series 2—3) * Andrew Connolly as Dr. Finn O'Neill (Series 2—3) *

Maureen Beattie Maureen Jane Beattie (born 14 August 1953) is an Irish-born, Scottish actress of both stage and screen. Early life Beattie was born in Bundoran, County Donegal on 14 August 1953, as the daughter of Scottish actor and comedian Johnny Beattie, ...

as Alice Costigan (Series 3) *

David Bark-Jones David Bark-Jones is an English actor. He has appeared in numerous film, theatre and TV productions. He won Broadwayworld.com's Best Actor in a West End Play, 2010, for his portrayal of Richard Hannay in '' The 39 Steps''. He has two sons with wif ...

as Major Quarrie (Series 4)

Episodes

Series 1 (1995)

Series 2 (1996)

Series 3 (1997)

Series 4 (1998)

Broadcast

The series was also broadcast in other countries, airing in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

from 1996 to 2001.

Home media

The complete series was released on DVD on 30 August 2010.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0111899, title=Bramwell ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios 1990s British medical television series 1995 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series Carlton Television Television shows set in Hertfordshire English-language television shows Television shows set in London