brazeneggo

Yes, I think the issue with supervision might be significant. I've seen some PhD dissertations from UCL that do align with my interests, which indicates that I could find a home there, but reading the the course syllabi does not make me particularly excited to study there. 
Long-term goal? Possibly starting a history PhD in ~5 years, though I don't think that the history of medicine will necessarily be at the crux of my career (I work in healthcare). Outcomes matter less since I'm not planning on continuing in academia immediately, but it would be nice to develop a project that I could eventually publish. I feel as if I might have more support at Manchester vs UCL. Overall, it seems that UCL is more recognizable internationally but that Manchester is very well respected in the history of medicine community. 
I think the questions I need to is whether I spend the year living in London, doing a course I'm ambivalent about, but with access to world-class archives, seminar series etc, and everything that is London (probably idealized, but I've loved all of my experiences there), or living in Manchester doing a course I find very interesting, in a city that is also nice, but does not have the same level of educational or experiential amenities that are offered in London. However, I was clearly prepared to not live in London and go to Oxford if I had that option, so maybe geography doesn't matter that much. I don't know!