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A HISTORY OF THE
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
RICHARD SMITH, JUN.
Frontispiece.
A History
of the
Bristol Royal Infirmary
BY
G. MUNRO SMITH, M.D.
L.R.C.P. Lond., M.R.C.S.
Hon. and Consulting Surgeon, Bristol Royal Infirmary ■
late Lt.-Col. R.A.M.C.(T.)
BRISTOL
J. W. ARROWSMITH LTD., QUAY STREET
LONDON
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO. LTD.
First published in 1917
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction ........ i
Chapter I. ....... 5
The Foundation — Date of Foundation — The First Meetings
— Claim of Priority — Regulations — The Treasurer and Secretary
— First Committee Meeting — Site of Buildings — The First
Election.
Chapter II 17
Members of the first Medical Staff — Bonython — Hardwicke
— Logan — Middleton — Etwall — Thornhill — Thomas Page —
Nathaniel Rumsey — Henry Rumsey — Mrs. Hughes — Sir Michael
Foster.
Chapter III. ....... 23
The Opening — The Annual Dinner and Sermon — House
Visitors — The First Patients — The Wards — The Staff and
Nurses — The Matron — The Patients' Diet.
Chapter IV. ....... 34
Spiritual Welfare of the Patients — The Chaplaincy — The
Burial-ground.
Chapter V. ........ 42
Finances — Death of John Elbridge — Election of John
Andrews as Treasurer — New Buildings — Election of Nicholas
Simpson as Apothecary — Apprentices.
Chapter VI. ....... 54
Work in the Wards — Old Prescriptions — Annual Expenses —
Cove's Ward — Charity Universal — Committee Room — John
Page — James Ford — Anecdotes — Dr. Drummond — Dr. Cadogan
— Richard Lathrop — Joseph Beech — Thornhill's Resignation —
Popularity of Infirmary.
Chapter VII. ....... 72
New Wards — Operation Room — Finances — Brewing and
Baking — Diet — Election of Three Surgeons — John Castelman —
Story of " My Zun's Head " — Jerome Norman — John Townsend
— Anecdotes of Townsend.
Chapter VIII. ....... Si
Dr. Woodward — Oliver Goldsmith — Dr. Lyne — Dr. Plomer
— Edward Garlick — Prevalent Diseases — Apprentices — Concerts.
iJ'-Jb 6 «j
CONTENTS
Page
Chapter IX 91
The Apothecaries — Samuel Stone — Joseph Shapland —
Anecdote of his Second Marriage — Edward Bridges — Thomas
Elmes — John Ellis — Hospital Fever — John Rowand and his
Fighting Cocks — William Babington — Duel between Dr. Rigge
and Richard Smith — John B. Borlase — Ludlow and Till Adams
— Baynton — The Champions — Richard Champion (the third) —
Hawkes worth.
Chapter X. 106
Rules — Quarrels about these — Resignation of Physicians —
Rules Rescinded — Admission of Patients by Physicians —
Disputes with Surgeons — Dr. Rigge's Anger — Number of Staff
— Crowded Wards — The Poulterers' Affidavit — Typhus — The
Old Building — Finances.
Chapter XI. ....... 115
Alterations on the Staff — Dr. Farr — Dr. England- — Thomas
Skone— Abraham Ludlow — Dr. Rigge — Story of the Negro —
Privateering — Dr. Wright — Dr. Paull — Richard Smith, Sen. — Dr.
Moncrieffe — Godfrey Lowe — John P. Noble — Story of the
Parrot — Dr. Collyns — James Norman — Dr. Broughton — Joseph
Harford — The Matrons — Mrs. Williams — Mrs. Preece — Mrs.
Simmons.
Chapter XII. 138
The New Building — Red Lodge Estate — The East Wing-
Howard- — William Turner and Hannah More — Operation Room
— Thomas Bawn — John J. Palmer — Edward Ash — Threats of
Invasion — The " Memorable Year " 1797 — The Water Ram — ■
" Over-times " — Musical Festival — -Richard Reynolds— John
Birtill and the Rotation Scheme — Innys Fund — Sources of
Income.
Chapter XIII 158
Complaints — Mary Fiddis — Freedom of the Press — The West
Wing — Collection in 1813 — Musical Festival — Samuel Birch —
The Affair of Edward Pelly — Exclusion of Faculty from
Committee — William Fripp.
Chapter XIV. 169
Changes in the Staff — Benjamin Mason— Charlton Yeatman
— Thomas Griffiths — Thomas Webb Dyer — James Bedingfield
— William Swayne — Edward Long Fox — Robert Lovell — John
New — Walter Kennedy Craufuird — Andrew Carrick — John
Edmonds Stock — J. C. Prichard and H. H. Fo>:.
Chapter XV. 183
Further Changes in the Staff — Morgan Yeatman — J. Metford
— R. J. Allard — Richard Smith, Jun. — F. C. Bowles — William
Hetling — Controversy about Apprentice— Richard Lowe — H.
Daniel — The Shutes — Premature Canvassing — Nathaniel Smith.
Chapter XVI. 196
History continued — ■ Financial position — Bleeding and
Leeching — The Physicians — Unruly Pupils — The Apothecary—
—Pigs — Condition of Roads — Purchase of Land — Residence of
Surgical Staff — Nurses — Lighting by Gas — College of Surgeons
— Dissection of Bodies — The Anatomy Act.
VI
CONTENTS
Page
Chapter XVII 205
Body-Snatching in Bristol — Abraham Ludlow and " Long
Jack " — F. C. Bowles and his Demonstrations — Story of the
Negro's Head — Wallis and Riley — Estlin, Harrison, and Waldo —
Lawrence Sterne — The case of John Horwood — The Old Newgate
Prison— Spurzheim.
Chapter XVIII 222
Social Life in Bristol in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Centuries— Cock- Fighting and Bull-Baiting — Dinners — Music —
The Bleecks — Tavern Life — The Dolphin Dinners — The Disputa-
tion Society — Gaisford — Medical Students' Societies — The
Bear's Cub Club— The Catch Club— The Half-Pint Club— The
Nagg's Head Clut) — Peter Wells — The White Lion Club — Duels —
Richard Vining Perry — His Marriage with Clementina Clarke
at Gretna Green — Trial for Abduction.
Chapter XIX 247
Medical Practice in Bristol in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Centuries — The Barber-Surgeons — Rosewell— Parsley — Samuel
Pye — Hellier — The Apothecaries — Shapland — Allard v. Sowerby
Broderip — -The Dispensing Druggist — Thomas Baynton —
W. H. Goldwyer — S. S. Salmon — William Barrett — Advertising
Quacks — John Taylor — Education of the Apothecaries — Cupping
— Extraordinary Remedies.
Chapter XX. 266
Attempted Murder of Dr. Logan — Murder of Captain Goodere
— Demonstrations on Bodies of Murderers in Board Room —
" The Redland Murder " — Mrs. Burdock and Mrs. Smith —
William Herapath — General Elections — Caricature — Bristol
Riots — Henry Daniel's Evidence.
Chapter XXI 276
Resignation of William Fripp — Election of Daniel Cave —
Physicians' Pupils — Female Visitors — Apothecary's Title —
Readmission of Faculty to Committee— Rise of the Bristol
General Hospital — New Out-patient Department — New Wards
— Memorial from Medical School — Dressers — Library and
Museum — Thomas Bawn — J. J. Palmer — -William Weir —
Samuel Johnson — Robert Johnson — Secretary and House
Steward — W. H. Bosworth — Fortescue-Brickdale.
Chapter XXII 290
New Rules — Chairman of Committee — Increased Power
of Committee — Proposed Assistant Officers — Dispenser —
President and Treasurer — Clinical Lectures — Age Limit
— Apothecary — Consumption of Beer — Teaching — Infirmary
Dinner — John Scandrett Harford — Duties of Matron and
Secretary — W. H. Bosworth — William Trenerry — The Chaplains
— John Swete — -John Mais— The Matrons.
Chapter XXIII 301
Dr. George Wallis — Dr. John Howell — Dr. Riley — Dr. Lyon
— Dr. J. F. Bernard — John Harrison — W. Hetling's last days—
W. F. Morgan — Death of Richard Smith — Henry Clark —
Thomas Green — Frederick Leman — C. R. Vachell — Charles
Greig — Richard Davis — H. A. Hore — Nathaniel Crisp — J. S.
Metford — Robert Powell.
CONTENTS
Page
Chapter XXIV. ....... 315
Want of Accommodation in Out-patient Department —
" Two in a Bed " — The Board Room and " Ping Pong " —
Domestic Arrangements — Nurses — Anaesthetics — Dr. Beddoes
and Humphry Davy — Suple Prize — Mr. Hore's Statistics —
Bristol " Royal " Infirmary — Ivyleaf Legacy — Finances — Diet
— John George Shaw — Collection of {'9,000 — The Chaplains.
Chapter XXV. 327
Erection of Chapel and Museum — Convalescent Room —
The Pharmacopoeia — Diet — The Faculty on " Chops " — The
Lift — Election of Residents — Hospital Sunday — Clearing off the
Debt — The Dispenser — Calls to Consultations — The Telegraph
— John Battersby Harford — The Lady with the Votes — Hill's
Wards — The Nurses, their Diet and Sleeping Accommodation —
W. G. Grace.
Chapter XXVI 340
Outward Appearance — " Hats on " — Dressers' Gowns —
The New Type — William Budd — Frederick Brittan — Alexander
Fairbrother — Edward Long Fox — John Beddoe — Augustin
Prichard — R. M. Bernard — H. A. Hore — Crosby Leonard —
T. E. Clark— R. W. Tibbits— Robert Phippen— Rules of 1870
— Assistant Medical Officers — E. Ludlow — E. C. Board —
Convalescent Homes — Resident Apprentices — R. Shingleton
Smith — H. M. Chute — Debt — Insanitary Condition — Temporary
Removal to Colston Street — Personal Reminiscences — Re-
opening of Infirmary.
Chapter XXVII 354
Antiseptics — Pasteur and Budd — Lister at the Infirmary —
Changes in the Staff — Finances in 1875 and 1876 — Out-patients
and Hospital Abuse — Appointment of House Physician — Deaths
of Crosby Leonard and Tibbits — John Hellicar — Rev. James
Hey worth — Sir Charles Cave, Bt. — Death of William Budd —
J. C. Wayet — Memorial Tablets in the Chapel.
Chapter XXVIII 366
Medical Teaching in Bristol in the Eighteenth and early part
of the Nineteenth Century — Lectures by Ford and Page —
Godfrey Lowe, Bowles, and Smith — Beddoes — His unpunctuality
— Thomas Pole — William Hetling's Lectures and the Faculty —
Prichard and Stock- — Rolfe — Walks — Thomas Shute's Theatre —
Dinners at the "Montague " — Francis Gold — His Adventures in
France — " School of Anatomy and Medicine " — " Bristol Medical
and Surgical School " — Foundation of the Bristol Medical School.
Chapter XXIX 382
Foundation of Bristol University College — Thomas Coomber
— Teaching at the Medical School — " Fitz " — Proposed
Infirmary School — Out-patients — David Edward Bernard-
Election of Greig Smith as Assistant House Surgeon — Edward
Long Fox — Infirmary Reports — Rise of the Special Departments
■ — Nurses' Home — Collection of 1881 — Legacies — Renovation of
House in 1887 — Harley Bushell — Entrance Scholarships —
Teaching of Morbid Anatomy—Dental Department — Dean of
Faculty — W. H.Spencer — C. H. Dowson — Appointment of
Additional Assistant Surgeon.
CONTENTS
Page
Chapter XXX 305
Qualifications of the Staff — Junior Posts — Entertainments —
Rules — Obstetric Department — Bacteriology and Pathology —
Nose and Throat Department — Skiagraphist — Anaesthetist —
Operation Theatre — Death of Greig Smith — Changes in
Committee and Staff — Resignation of Sir Charles Cave, Bt. —
Election of Sir George White, Bt. — Deaths of Infirmary
Students.
Chapter XXXI. ....... 410
Changes in Chaplaincy — Appointment of Casualty Officer
— Out-patient Abuse — Queen Victoria Convalescent Home —
Luncheons for Students — Princess Christian Hospital — Nurses'
Home — Legacies and Donations — Serious Financial Position —
Carnival of 1905 — Sir George White, Bt., and the Collection
of 1906 — Conclusion.
Appendix A 419
Detailed Account of Elections of the Honorary Medical
Officers.
Appendix B ....... . 460
Biographies — (i) The Richard Smiths.
(2) Sir Michael Foster.
(3) The Prichards.
(4) The Foxes.
Appendix C ....... . 481
List of Elections and Resignations of Infirmary Officers.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Richard Smith, jun.
Page
Frontispiece
Plan showing Plots of Land bought by Infirmary
Plan of Ground in Neighbourhood of Old Infirmary
Plan of Ground near Old Infirmary
Dr. Bonython .....
Dr. Bonython's Writing and Signature
Thomas Page ....
First Recorded Visitors' Notes
Bishop Newton's Letter .
John Elbridge ....
A Prescription of November, 1763
Another Prescription of Thomas Page's Father
Page from " Out-patient Book," 1759
West End of Old Infirmary, 1751 .
Plan of First Infirmary, 1742
John Page
James Ford
John Castelman
Jerome Norman
Dr. Lyne .
Facsimile of Dr. Lyne's Letter
Signatures of Staff, 1774
Dr. Ludlow
Letter of Edmund Burke
Joseph Harford
Southern Front of Infirmary, 1781
New Northern Front of Infirmary, 1791
Sketch of Quaker Burial-Ground .
of Resignation
13
14
15
17
18
21
27
38
44
56
56
60
62
63
66
66
75
75
84
85
94
117
134
134
140
140
147
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Programme of Performance given for Benefit of
Infirmary .....
Title-page of Pelly's Memorandum Book
Page from Pelly's Memorandum Book
Thomas Griffiths
William Swayne
W. K. Craufuird
F. C. Bowles
Grave of F. C. Bowles
William Hetling
Thomas Shute's House in Park Street
Nathaniel Smith ....
Surroundings of Infirmary, 1826
Notice of Reward for Apprehension of Body
Snatchers .......
John Horwood .......
Book bound in Skin of John Horwood .
Phrenological Chart of Horwood' s Head
Bush Tavern .......
White Lion Hotel, Broad Street .
Title-page of Glee Book belonging to Catch Club
Thigh Bone of Peter Wells ....
Bones of Foot of John Leach, Cook at the Bush
Tavern
Samuel Pye .......
A Bill of Thomas Hellier, Barber-Surgeon .
Silhouette of W. H. Goldwyer
House on St. Augustine's Back, the Residence of
William Barrett 1759 to 1786 .
Toe-Nails of Old Woman who passed as a Witch
" Irons " in which body was hung on Gibbet formerly
NEAR KlNGROAD ......
William Davis .......
Mary Ann Burdock . . . . . .
Cartoon of Political Contest, 1781
Caricature published at time of Bristol Riots
Page
149
164
167
170
173
178
188
188
191
194
194
20O
211
2l6
2l6
221
234
234
236
238
238
249
249
257
260
26l
26l
269
269
272
274
xn
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
ON
J. F. Bernard .....
John Harrison .....
Group of Infirmary Surgeons, 1857.
W. F. Morgan
Thomas Green .....
Letter conferring the Title " Royal
Infirmary .....
William Budd .....
Frederick Brittan ....
Five Members of Medical Reading Society, 1854
Crosby Leonard .....
T. E. Clark ......
R. W. Tibbits ......
Group of Infirmary Officials, 1879
Diagram drawn by F. C. Bowles
Group of Residents and Students, 1886 .
W. H. Spencer ......
Christopher H. Dowson ....
J. Greig Smith ......
Infirmary Group, 1903 ....
From the Box-Book of the Theatre Royal,
Street, August 23RD, 1773 .
House of Richard Smith, sen., Charlotte Street
Round to Memory of Richard Smith, jun
Sir Michael Foster . .
James Cowles Prichard' ....
Augustin Prichard .....
Edward Long Fox, sen. ....
Caricature, probably of Edward Long Fox, sen.
Edward Long Fox, jun. .....
THE
KlN(
Page
305
305
306
307
307
322
342
342
343
346
346
346
364
37°
389
393
393
403
414
430
462
465
467
468
468
474
474
478
INTRODUCTION
In the Board Room of the Bristol Royal Infirmary there has
stood for many years a row of bulky volumes, fourteen in
number, labelled " Biographical Memoirs." These contain
written accounts of Infirmary affairs— elections, lists of officers,
notices of meetings, letters, newspaper cuttings and historical
memoranda, together with biographical histories of many of
those who were connected with the Institution from the time
of its foundation to the year 1842.
As the Bristol Royal Infirmary is one of the oldest provincial
hospitals, and has been from its early days intimately associated
with the civic life of the city, there is a great deal of miscel-
laneous matter in these old books of interest to the antiquary.
Moreover, these records were collected by a remarkable man,
Richard Smith, who was Surgeon to the Infirmary from 1796
to 1843. Luckily for those who may read this book, Richard
Smith was an assiduous collector of anything connected with
the Institution he loved so well. He was a man of literary tastes,
a facile writer, and a born biographer. He not only put in his
notes facts and dates, but he described minute details of dress,
manner, and appearance in a way that has, perhaps, never been
excelled except by James Boswell. Consequently we can find
from these Memoirs not only when a physician or surgeon was
elected and when he resigned, but we can, thanks to our
biographer, know how he dressed, his manner of speech, and
other characteristics.
Neither did he confine himself strictly to the affairs of the
Infirmary ; we come across references to Chatterton, Burke,
Goldsmith, and others, and get glimpses of the social and
literary life of Bristol in the eighteenth and early part of the
nineteenth centuries.
The manner in which many of the old documents were
rescued from oblivion may be told in Richard Smith's own
words : —
" In the year 1791 I had the misfortune to lose my Father,
and my Indentures were turned over to Mr. Godfrey Lowe,
then senior surgeon to the Establishment. At this time I
observed in the hands of a nurse a parcel of Papers intended
for the common uses of the Ward, and I was rather surprised
A HISTORY OF THE
to find that they were official Letters addressed to the Governors
of the Charity. I questioned her as to the means by which she
obtained them, and was answered very coolly, ' Where we get
them all — from the Old Ward.' Curiosity led me upstairs,
and upon the floor of a deserted and ruinous garret in the old
South Wing were piles of papers. I examined them and found
them to be the Documents respecting the Institution from its
very commencement. The records of the General Boards and
committee were also thrown about and equally liable to the
depredations of the Servants and Patients."
Young Richard Smith carried many of these books and
papers to his home in College Street, and made copious extracts
from them. Unfortunately, nearly all the remaining documents
— letters, indentures, etc. — were utterly destroyed ; but a
great deal of interesting material remained in his hands for
several years. When Mr. Edward Ash was Treasurer to the
Infirmary, he pressed him to put these records into some more
definite shape, and furnished him with further information,
as did also Dr. Dyer, Mr. Richard Lowe, the widow of Mr. John
Page, and Mr. Wintour Harris.
From hearsay and from written and printed statements
Richard Smith gradually added to these records until they
assumed their present bulk. Unfortunately, nearly all the
minutes of the early committee meetings were destroyed.
Those from February 18th, 1736-7, to April 29th, 1737, are
preserved in a book entitled " The Minute Book for the
Committee appointed for the Infirmary February 18th 1736-7."
This book, moreover, contains a full record of the meetings
of Subscribers and the Quarterly Boards.
From this store of miscellaneous material antiquaries have
from time to time taken much interesting information, and
more than one pamphlet and address — to say nothing of
newspaper paragraphs — have been obtained from the same
source.
It appeared to me that if these memorials of bygone times
could be brought from their retreat into daylight, and be put
into some kind of sequence and order, they could not fail to be
of interest to many, not only as a history of a great Charity, but
as a means of looking with the eyes of a keen observer into the
vivid life of an eventful epoch.
Moreover, of the hundreds of biographical histories, although
some are very short, yet others are full of important details
concerning many Bristol families.
I mentioned this idea to the President and to the Secretary
and House Governor of the Infirmary, and the Committee gave
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
full consent to the undertaking, and have put every furtherance
in my way by giving me access to Minute Books and other
records.
Unfortunately, Richard Smith, although a most painstaking
recorder of details, is frequently inaccurate as to dates, and
I have had some difficulty in verifying many of these.
My sources of information, besides these Memoirs and the
Infirmary Minute Books, are too numerous to mention. But
I may say here that I have received help, ungrudgingly given,
from everyone to whom I have applied, and have, when
possible, acknowledged this help in footnotes.
The story of the Bristol Royal Infirmary is not merely
a question of how and when it was built, what endowments it
had, and how much suffering it has relieved. These are worthy
of permanent record, but they are only a small part of its history.
It was built up not only as a structure composed of stone
and mortar, but, in a much more important way, as a centre
round which, and for which, hundreds of talented and
devoted men have toiled and died. The history of the building
is a history of these men. It is they who have made it what
it is ; consequently there is much biography in these pages.
The writer has during the long period that he has been
working at the subject often felt like the Editor of Professor
Teufelsdrockh's Memoirs in Sartor Resartus. As he had to sort
out and attempt to reduce to order six large paper bags con-
taining " miscellaneous masses of sheets, and oftener shreds
and snips, treating of all imaginable things under the zodiac
and above it," so an attempt has been made to form a con-
tinuous narrative out of the contents of these fourteen large
volumes, in which one finds on the same page, for instance, the
receipt for payment for a wooden leg, a fragmentary biography
of Mrs. Anne Hughes, the Matron, a note on the Apothecary's
salary, and an invitation to dinner.
Care has been taken to make the biographical notes as
correct as possible, and a great deal of matter has been omitted
as " not fit for anybody but elderly gentlemen," and because
in dealing with the ancestors of many well-known families
questions of pedigree might give offence to their descendants ;
it being in the writer's experience usually considered a much
greater insult to a man to mention that his grandfather kept
a small shop than to accuse him of larceny or murder.
Many of the details in this history concerning the alteration
of rooms and so forth are only of interest to old students of the
Infirmary.
I have introduced here and there what my readers will
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
probably designate as " squabbles." They were, however,
of immense interest to the men who took part in them, and
are important now as an indication of the times in which the
actors lived. I have not scrupled to insert also a great deal of
what may be called " authentic gossip," and there are plenty of
anecdotes.
At the end of the book I have added some special biographies
of a few of the many eminent men who have been connected
with the Bristol Royal Infirmary, but the majority of my
biographical notes are incorporated in the substance of the
book. I have had occasion to give a few details about some
of the makers of the Infirmary who are still alive, but for
obvious reasons I have said less about the living than about
those whose work is over.
July, 1914.
CHAPTER I
THE FOUNDATION — DATE OF FOUNDATION — THE FIRST MEETINGS
— CLAIM OF PRIORITY — REGULATIONS — THE TREASURER
AND SECRETARY — FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING — SITE OF
BUILDINGS — THE FIRST ELECTION
At the end of the seventeenth century the condition of the sick
poor in England was truly deplorable ; most of the large towns
had, it is true, some public institution to which paupers were
taken when they were homeless and very ill, but for the most
part the indigent were dependent for medical care on the almost
gratuitous visits of apothecaries, who were often, like Dr.
Johnson's friend Levett, almost entirely uneducated. The
consequence was that a poor person in those days had little
chance of recovering from any serious illness, and died from
want of medical help and from unhealthy surroundings, and
the absence of proper nursing.
In the early years of the eighteenth century, however, this
state of affairs attracted the attention of philanthropists, and
in London hospitals supported by voluntary contributions began
to spring into existence. This charitable feeling slowly spread
over England and Scotland ; and it is to the credit of Bristol
that she was one of the first to establish a hospital for the sick
poor, supported by the benevolence of the citizens.
For many years it has been claimed that Bristol was actually
the first in the provinces to found such a hospital. This has
given rise to much discussion, and the point is now not easy to
settle. This difficulty is due partly to the ambiguous use of the
word " foundation," which may be taken to mean either the
actual establishment and opening of an institution, or the
inception of the plan in the minds of the founders.
Complications have also crept in from the alteration of the
calendar in 1751. In that year the Gregorian system was
introduced into England by Act of Parliament. Before this
the year began on the 25th day of March ; in 1752 and after-
wards it began on the 1st of January ; for example, the date
February 22nd, 1738, according to the " old style " became
February 22nd, 1739, according to the new. Great confusion
has arisen from ignorance on this point, and careless historians,
A HISTORY OF THE
finding from the Minute Books that John Elbridge, one of the
principal founders of the Bristol Infirmary, was publicly thanked
on December 12th, 1738, and then ascertaining that he died on
February 22nd in the same year, have condemned one or both
of these dates as inaccurate. According to the " old style,"
of course, February, 1738, would come after December, 1738,
and not before, as in the new style.
Richard Smith, to whom we are indebted for so much
information about the early days of the Infirmary, gives the
following account of its origin : —
" By an old Memorandum it appears that towards the close
of the year 1735 some well-disposed persons had a meeting at
which they resolved to endeavour at the establishment of a
public Charity, and a large vellum book being procured, the
following declaration was written : ' Whereas many sick persons
languish and die miserably for want of necessaries who are not
entitled to parochial relief, and whereas amongst them who do
receive parochial relief, many suffer extremely, and are some-
times lost partly for want of accomodation and proper medicines
in their own houses, and lodgings (the closeness or unwholesome-
ness of which is sometimes one great cause of their sickness),
partly by imprudent laying out what is allowed, and by the
ignorance or ill-management of those about them — we whose
names are underwritten (in obedience to the rules of our holy
Religion) desiring as far as in us lies to find some remedy for this
great misery of our poor neighbours — do subscribe the following
sums of money, to be by us continued yearly during pleasure, for
the procuring, furnishing, and defraying the necessary expence
of An Infirmary at Bristol for the benefit of the poor sick, who
shall be recommended by any of the Subscribers or Benefactors
in such manner as the majority of them shall direct.' " a
Richard Smith adds that this was signed by seventy-eight
persons, all promising sums from two to six guineas.
What became of this " vellum book " is not known, nor
have I been able to find any trace of it, or of the passage above
quoted.
The Rev. A. B. Beaven, whose accuracy in fixing dates is so
conspicuous in his Bristol Lists, suggested in August, 1912, 2
that probably Richard Smith fell into the trap of confusing the
old and new calendar, and finding references in January, 1736
(old style), to meetings in the preceding November and
December, concluded that these were held in 1735. Further
1 This preamble is taken almost verbatim from the records of the first
meeting of the promoters of the Westminster Hospital in 17 19.
2 Bristol Times and Mirror, August 8th, 19 12.
6
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
investigations show that this was probably the case. I find,
for instance, that the date of foundation printed on the front
of the Infirmary has been twice altered by order of the
Committee. In one of the Minute Books there is the following
entry under date August 6th, 1828 : " Mr. R. Smith having
intimated that he had no previous documents relating to the
Institution, Resolved : that the date of the Institution in front
of the building be 1736."
There is another entry on December 27th, 1841 : " Date on
building to be made to correspond with that on Annual Reports
(' 1735 ')•"
The first Physician to be appointed to the Infirmary was
Dr. John Bonython (or Bonny thon). He was one of the most
assiduous of the founders, and a letter from him has recently
been published which throws some light on the question. This
letter is dated " Bristoll, December nth, 1736," and is addressed
to " John Orlebar, Esq., Hinwick by Wellingborough, North-
amptonshire," and contains the following : " For this last half
year I have been working hard at a scheme which if I can
bring it to bear will make a very great alteration in my way
of living. It is to set up in this populous and rich city an
Infirmary for sick and wounded by an annual subscription as
is done at St. James', Westminster, and Hyde Park Corner and
lately at Winchester. ... I have printed my proposals and
opened our subscription book where we have some very good
names," etc. 1
This implies that the undertaking began in 1736, and that
Winchester had already founded a similar Charity. We will
refer to this again shortly.
In the Old Whig newspaper for Thursday, December 16th,
1736, under the heading " News from Bristol," we find : " They
also add that the subscription for the Infirmary for the sick and
wounded there meets with as great encouragement as could be
wish'd or expected ; and that there will be a meeting of the
contributors, probably on Friday next, for the further promoting
of so great and so good a Design."
In an old Minute Book there is an account of a meeting on
Thursday, December 23rd, 1736, called " the first meeting of
the subscribers," which is probably the one mentioned in this
extract from the Old Whig.
The first perfectly reliable statement we have is the following
entry in the first Minute Book : —
" On the 22nd of November 1736 a Subscription was open'd
for Erecting an Infirmary in the City of Bristol for the relief
1 Sent to the Times and Mirror of July 4th, 1912. by Mr. Lewis Way.
7
A HISTORY OF THE
of such Persons as should be judged proper objects of a Charity
of that kind and as soon as a number of Gentlemen sufficient
for forming a regular Society had engaged themselves in the
undertaking, printed Advertisements were dispers'd, inviting
them to a General Meeting of Subscribers to be held at the
Guildhall on the 23rd day of December."
There is therefore, I think, sufficient evidence to show that
the Bristol Royal Infirmary was founded in the autumn of 1736.
Then as to the claim of priority. Four rivals are in the
field, Cambridge, Rochester, Winchester and Edinburgh. It
must be understood clearly that it is a question of which was
the first provincial hospital in this country supported by
voluntary contributions or endowment.
Of these four claimants two may be easily dismissed.
ADDENBROKE'S HOSPITAL AT CAMBRIDGE.
John Addenbroke left the sum of £4,000 in 1719 for the
erection of a " Physical Hospital." Land was purchased in
1728, but the hospital was not built until 1740, and it was not
opened (for lack of funds) until 1766. 1
ROCHESTER INFIRMARY.
Gundulph, Bishop of Rochester, founded a hospital in 1078,
about the early history of which we know very little ; but from
the year 1627 to 1844 the revenues were enjoyed by the Deans
of Rochester " as Governors and Patrons of the Hospital and
Brethren of the same," and during this period it seems that
there was no attempt to devote this revenue to the relief of
the sick. 2
WINCHESTER.
The County Hospital, Winchester, was not ready for patients,
apparently, until 1759 ; but a house was opened as a hospital
on St. Luke's Day (October 18th), 1736. 3 This was eight
months before patients were received into the Bristol Infirmary,
and Dr. Bonython's letter above quoted appears to confirm
this.
EDINBURGH.
The idea of founding an Infirmary at Edinburgh appears to
have arisen in 1721, when proposals were issued for raising a
fund for the purpose. The plan met with little success, and was
abandoned. It was revived in 1725 by the Royal College of
1 See article by Dr. B. W. Richardson in Medical Times and Gazette,
vol. ii., July-December, 1864, p. 631.
2 Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. 76, 185 1, p. 35. Article
by Thomas Stratton, M.D.
3 Medical Times and Gazette, August 1st, 1868.
8
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Physicians of Edinburgh, and a subscription list was published.
The money obtained enabled the promoters to open a small
house for the reception of the sick poor on August 6th, 1729.
There was no definite medical staff, but the physicians and
surgeons of Edinburgh attended and provided medicine at their
own expense. Thirty-five patients were admitted during the
first year. A Charter was obtained on August 25th, 1736, and
the foundation stone of the present Infirmary was laid on
August 2nd, 1738, more than a year after the Bristol Infirmary
was opened.
It may be noted that the Earl of Hopetoun gave £400
annually to this Charity for the first twenty-five years of its-
existence, and in 1755 the Lords of the Treasury made a donation
to it of £5,000. *
Therefore, as regards Winchester County Hospital (the
Royal Hampshire County Hospital) and Edinburgh Royal
Infirmary, the Bristol Infirmary was ready for use before
either ; but if the hiring of a house for the use of poor patients
is equivalent to founding a hospital, both these institutions have
claims prior to those of Bristol.
It must, however, be remembered that in the case of
Edinburgh the founders were the members of the College of
Physicians and Lord Hopetoun, rather than the public ; and
at Winchester the Rev. Alured Clarke, D.D., was the organiser
and chief promoter. In neither case were the public so
immediately and spontaneously concerned as at Bristol.
This controversy is, after all, of minor importance, and I
have discussed it merely for the sake of accuracy.
We know that on November 22nd, 1736, a subscription was
opened in Bristol for the erection of an Infirmary, printed
advertisements were distributed, and the first general meeting
of the subscribers was held at the Guildhall on December 23rd,
1736, the Rev. Dr. Creswick, Dean of Bristol, 2 being " desired
to take the Chair." We have no authentic record of the names
of those who were present at this meeting, but there is indirect
evidence that, besides Dean Creswick, Dr. Bonython, Mr.
Thornhill, surgeon, Mr. Serjeant Foster, Mr. John Andrews,.
Richard Champion, and John Elbridge, took part in the pro-
ceedings, which were energetic and business-like. No less than
twenty-three resolutions were proposed ; many of them were
1 These particulars are furnished to me by Mr. W. S. Caw, Treasurer
to the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, from a work called Stark's Picture of
Edinburgh, published in 1829.
2 Dr. Samuel Creswick, or Creswicke, belonged to an old Bristol family-
He afterwards became Dean of Wells.
A HISTORY OF THE
postponed and carried at subsequent meetings ; but the
following were adopted : —
i. " That the whole undertaking shall be under the manage-
ment of a Board of Trustees, unless in cases to be otherwise
provided for."
2. " That all Persons Subscribing two Guineas per Annum
shall be Trustees so long as they continue Payment."
3. " That all Persons contributing Twenty Guineas at one
Paymt shall be Trustees during Life."
4. " That a Board of Trustees be holden on the First Friday
in every month, and all who come to have Votes, And that the
first Monthly Board be on the 7 day of J amy next."
Many of these early rules were drawn up by Serjeant Foster,
whose great ability as a lawyer was at this time becoming
conspicuous. It is interesting to note that the Constitution of
the Infirmary as settled at this first meeting has continued
with only superficial alterations to the present day.
The inhabitants of the city took up the scheme with great
enthusiasm. In a paper called Read's Weekly Journal or British
Gazeteer for Saturday, January 8th, 1736-7, we find the
following : " Bristol, December 31st. The undertaking for
erecting an Infirmary, meets with universal encouragement ;
the first meeting of the Subscribers was held on Thursday last, 1
when Persons of all Persuasions appeared, and not only sub-
scribed, but have promised to recommend this truly Charitable
Design (of relieving those who have the misfortune of labouring
under the most terrible of human Evils, Sickness and Pain) to
their Friends and Acquaintance ; and accordingly it is not
doubted but all those who are capable of so generous Sentiments,
as assisting their Fellow Creatures in their greatest Extremities,
will meet the other Gentlemen on Friday the 7th of January
next."
Richard Smith gives a list of persons who, he says, were
present at the meeting on January 7th, 1736, but the names do
not tally with those mentioned in the Minute Book, and it is
probable that he is referring to the meeting on December 23rd.
The list includes : The Mayor (John Black well), the two Sheriffs
(Morgan Smith and Abraham Elton), the Rev. Carew Reynall,
John Elbridge, Serjeant Foster, several of the Clergy and
Doctors, and " Madam Trenchard of Leigh Court," and Mrs.
Susannah Heylen.
It is interesting to note that " Persons of all Persuasions "
took part in the foundation of the Bristol Infirmary, justifying
1 December 23rd, 1736.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the motto it afterwards assumed of " Charity Universal." In
fact, from the very beginning a broad-minded, catholic spirit
pervaded the meetings, and at a time when religious differences
were very marked, Churchmen and Dissenters united in working
for the new Charity.
The first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the
Council House on January 7th, 1736-7, when " Mr. Dean
[Dean Creswick] was desired to take the Chair."
There were also present : Mr. Recorder (Serjeant Foster),
the Rev. the Chancellor (Carew Reynall), Richard Champion,
sen., Richard Champion, jun., Nehemiah Champion, Dr.
Etwall, Dr. Hardwicke, Dr. French, Dr. Logan, Dr. Keir,
Dr. Bonython, William Thornhill, the Rev. Dr. Harcourt,
Morgan Smith, Rev. Mr. Penrose, etc.
It will be noticed that three Champions were present, all
of these afterwards became Treasurers ; of the six physicians
at the meeting four came ultimately on the Staff, and William
Thornhill was one of the first surgeons appointed.
The first resolution passed was as follows : —
" That no Physician, Surgeon, Treasurer or Secretary to be
employed by this Society shall receive any Salary, Reward or
Gratuity from the Society or any Person whatsoever for his
Trouble or attendance."
Then follow several rules for the admission of patients ;
and it was further decided : " That there be a Committee of
Trustees to meet every Friday or oft'ner as they shall see occa-
sion at such Time and Place as they shall agree on 'till the
first Friday in Febry for preparing matters to be laid before
that Board."
All present at the meeting were to be on the Committee,
and " all other Subscribers that come to have votes."
This Weekly Committee consisted, therefore, of a definite
number who happened to be present at the first Board Meeting ;
but practically any Trustee could attend, and the Committee
was therefore an " open " one, and continued so for many years.
Having so far arranged the constitution of the Society, it
was necessary to appoint a Treasurer, and the choice fell upon
John Elbridge, Controller of His Majesty's Customs, a most
happy selection, for Elbridge was not only a rich and benevolent
man, but had great business capacity, and devoted himself to
the new Charity, as we shall see, with great zeal. All appoint-
ments at first were made by the Board, and John Elbridge
formally accepted the office at the second Board Meeting on
February 4th, 1736-7.
Oddly enough, there is no definite record of the election of a
XI
A HISTORY OF THE
Secretary ; there is merely the statement, written on the margin
of the page of the old Minute Book at the meeting of
Subscribers on January 7th, 1736-7 : " Mr. Morgan Smith
Secretary." A Morgan Smith was one of the Sheriffs of Bristol
in 1736, and at the early meetings is referred to sometimes as
" Sheriff Smith." Probably he undertook the Secretaryship for
a short time, without being definitely appointed, until he found
the work became too onerous, when Mr. Richard Lathrop was
appointed (in 1739), and received a yearly honorarium for his
services. 1
FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING.
There is some difficulty in chronicling the meetings of the
Committee and Board during the spring of the year 1736-7 ;
for not only has Richard Smith left two accounts which do not
exactly agree, but the official record in the Minute Book is
occasionally duplicated, and the order is not consecutive.
There is no doubt, however, that the first weekly Committee
took place on January 14th, 1736-7, and that Dr. Creswick
was again in the Chair. There were nine others present,
Wm. Barnes, Buckler Weeks, Thomas Curtis, Edward Heylyn,.
the Rev. Dr. Harcourt, John Andrews, William Stephens,
Richard Champion, and Dr. John Bonython.
The Committee met at this time at 5 o'clock in the afternoon
at " Forster's Coffee House," 2 or at the " Surgeons' Hall ; " some-
times at "Mrs. Barry's Coffee House." So far the Infirmary
only existed " on paper," but at this first Committee the
question of a suitable habitation was discussed. It was finally
agreed that members should think the matter over and come to
the next meeting prepared to make suggestions " in relation
to a House or Houses for carrying on the undertaking."
In order to freely advertise the scheme and obtain every
possible help, it was resolved to apply " to all the Incorporated
Societies in this City." There were at this time, in the
Mayoralty of John Blackwell, twenty-two of these Societies,,
including " Whitawers and Glovers," " Wire-drawers and Pin-
makers," " Inn-holders," and " Barber-Surgeons." The head
of the last - mentioned guild was William Camborn. The
Masters of all these Societies promised their support to the
undertaking.
1 The first Secretary is sometimes referred to as " Deputy Treasurer,"
sometimes as " Secretary and Recorder."
2 Forster's Coffee House was next door to the Council House in Corn
Street. It afterwards became the " City Printing Office." Surgeons' Hall
was a large room in the West Indian Coffee House in the Market Place. It was
here that two of the Infirmary surgeons, Page and Ford, gave lectures on
anatomy in 1746. (See p. 366.) It was used later as a billiard room.
12
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Fig. i.
Z^zuitf uos-f z I,
M.
PLAN SHOWING PLOTS OF LAND BOUGHT BY INFIRMARY.
*3
A HISTORY OF THE
At the next Committee Meeting on January 21st, 1736-7,.
when Dean Creswick was again in the Chair, the important
question of a site was discussed.
" The Society " (as it is always called in the early records)
hesitated between the " White Lodge," x a building at the
bottom of St. Michael's Hill, near the King David Tavern, the
grounds of which were used as a mason's yard, and two houses
in St. James's Churchyard near Maudlin Lane (now Lower
Maudlin Street) . A suggestion was also made that some rooms
in " the Mint " (as St. Peter's Hospital was then called) should
be utilised.
It was decided that Dr. Bonython and Mr. Thornhill (repre-
senting medicine and surgery) should examine the houses in
St. James's, and that Messrs. Morgan Smith, Andrews, Curtis
and Champion " be desired to inform themselves upon what
Terms the said Houses may be had," both reports to be
presented at the next meeting.
These Sub-Committees reported favourably of "a Loft,
Warehouse, Cellar and other Buildings and waste ground
situate in Maudlin Lane ; " and " at a General Meeting held at
the Surgeons' Hall, Mr. Recorder [Serjeant Foster] in the Chair,"
it was agreed that Serjeant Foster, John Elbridge, John
Andrews, and Mr. Richard Champion " be desired to accept of a
Lease ; " and that these gentlemen, together with Alderman
Rich, Thomas Curtis, Paul Fisher, William Thornhill and Dr.
Bonython should form a Committee to prepare the house to
receive patients.
According to John Townsend (who was elected Surgeon in
1754) these buildings had formerly been used as a brewery.
They were situated on the piece of land marked 64 on the
plan shown on page 13 (Fig. 1), which is copied by permission of
Mr. Noble Pope from old deeds in his office. It covers part of
the ground now occupied by the lower end of the south-west
wing of the present Infirmary and a portion of the Out-patient
Department. Below it, to the south-east, there formerly ran a
narrow road called Earl Street, and below this were Mr.
Scudamore's house and Whitson Court, both standing in gardens.
Farther down still was St. James's Church and Churchyard.
(See Fig. 2.)
It has been stated that the first Infirmary was built upon
ground which had at one time been used for religious purposes.
This is very probable, as St. James's Priory was situated near
1 This belonged to the Edgar Family, and was built by Sir Thomas Langton
in the time of Charles II. It was destroyed in 1829-30, and some small houses
were built on the site called " Mulberry Place," from a tree which stood in
the garden.
H
/'
444 4 444^4 4 £ 4 4 4 4 ±H\ fc
4 % 4 4 4 44 4 4 4 4444 "
i ) ...j. - i .I..: i .. i
r*i
"X
S I " — ■ —
JJ'ra
K-^.-zl
rp
m
7
K
r-ra
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'iJHJB
m
PLAN OF GROUND IN NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OLD INFIRMARY
Fig. 2.
"Ml-
■ 84 -
rnV —
**.'
*^— .
<*£*>,/
°^
y^£ J/f,dt£&>*J\
0M.J/& Pru
"V ' ' C — "■ <»
I -tV
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,^- ,«
PLAN OF GROUND NEAR OLD INFIRMARY
Fig. 3.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the spot, and according to Leland " ruins of it standithe hard
buttyne to the Est ende of the Parish Church of that name ; " 1
moreover, the Grey Friars owned land in the neighbourhood. z
(See Fig. 3.) That the parish was under strict, godly supervision
would appear from the fact that in 1679 " at a Vestry of Saint
James's Church, four persons were held guilty, being convicted
of a most heinous crime, and cited into the Spiritual Court for
purloining the Lord's day, in travelling to Bath on foot." 3
This house and land chosen for the future Infirmary belonged
to " Thomas Pococke, Lydia Pococke his wife and Andrew
their son." At their death Anthony Sharpe, of Dublin, was the
" inheritant expectant." By arrangement with these parties
the ground was taken by the founders of the Charity on a lease
of three years at twenty-one pounds per annum, then for
nine hundred and ninety-nine years. There was a ground rent
of £2 1 6s. per annum payable to Samuel Jones. 4 The lease is
dated July 26th, 1737, " in the Eleventh yeare of the Reigne of
our Sovereigne Lord George the Second."
The Committee appointed to prepare these tenements for
hospital use set to work with great energy, and had the
advantage not only of the sound judgment of John Elbridge,
but also of his purse. In fact, he became so identified with the
matter that a special vote of thanks was given him at a General
Meeting of the Trustees on April 1st, 1737, " for his extra-
ordinary care in carrying on the Building ; " and in a pamphlet
published in 1775 on Bristol Charities 5 occurs the following :
" Bristol Infirmary, Earl Street. The House was built and
furnished at the sole expense of John Elbridge, Deputy
Controller of the Customs at the Port of Bristol."
It is estimated that he spent at least £1,500 on the Institution
during the first two years of its existence ; he certainly built and
furnished a new ward with twelve beds, and appears indeed to
have gradually taken the place of the Building and Furnishing
Sub-Committee, as evidenced by such entries in the Minute Book
as this : " Mr. Elbridge be desired to continue to furnish the
Buildings for taking in In-patients and to give directions for
the making the Bedsteads," etc.
1 Leland's Itinerary, vol. vii. p. 85 (second edition).
2 See The Bristol Grey Friars Minors, by the late G. E. Weare.
3 See Evans's History of Bristol.
4 By the year 1817 Anthony Sharpe, who inherited this property, his son
and grandson were dead. A new settlement was made on the marriage of the
grandson in 1783 ; some of his executors died a few years after and were
replaced by others, so that the receipt given on March 25th, 18 17, was very
complicated.
5 An Account of the Hospitals, Alms Houses and Public Schools in Bristol.
Printed by H. Farley, for T. Mills, Bookseller, 1775. (Rare.)
15
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
As " the House " 1 was getting rapidly into readiness, the
question of appointing a Matron and Resident Apothecary came
to the front. There were several applicants, including Mrs.
Fancourt and Mrs. Hughes for the former post, and Mr. Owen
and Mr. Nathaniel Rumsey for the latter. These were all
recommended as eligible by the Committee, but it was decided
to appoint the Medical Staff first.
Accordingly, on May 20th, 1737, at the Surgeons' Hall,
" Mr. Recorder in the Chair," at a general meeting of the
Subscribers, it was agreed that four Physicians and two Surgeons
should be appointed " for the care of the Infirmary." A
summons was sent, a fortnight before, to all the Subscribers,
and apparently more than a hundred voted, with the result that
Dr. John Bonython, Dr. William Logan, Dr. Hardwicke, and
Dr. John Middleton were elected Physicians, and Messrs.
William Thornhill and Thomas Page were elected Surgeons.
(See p. 420.) At the same meeting an Apothecary, Mr. Nathaniel
Rumsey, " was chose by 27 Votes." Dr. Middleton declined
to serve, and at the next monthly meeting of Trustees, on
June 3rd, 1737, Dr. Etwall, " at the unanimous request of the
Society, undertook his part of the care of the said Infirmary."
1 It has been the custom to refer to the Bristol Infirmary as " the House "
irom the earliest times, reminding one of the French name " ' Bastille,' or
Building, as if there were no other building." — Carlyle's French Revolution,
book iv., chap. iii.
16
Fig.
DR. BONYTHON.
CHAPTER II
MEMBERS OF THE FIRST MEDICAL STAFF — BONYTHON — HARD-
WICKE — LOGAN — MIDDLETON — ETWALL — THORNHILL — THOMAS
PAGE — NATHANIEL RUMSEY — NICHOLAS SIMPSON — MRS. HUGHES
—SIR MICHAEL FOSTER
Thanks to Richard Smith and others, we are able to form some
idea of the medical men who were elected on May 20th, 1737.
DR. JOHN BONYTHON.
The first place must be given to Dr. John Bonython, 1 for
he not only took an active part in establishing the new Charity,
but he was one of the first to conceive the idea of founding an
Infirmary in Bristol.
From a letter written b}' Mr. J. Cobb, of Charlbury, Oxford-
shire, to his son George, then living in Park Street, Bristol, we
learn that John Bonython was descended from the Bonythons
of Bonython Hall in Cornwall. He was educated (probably as a
King's Scholar) at Eton, and then at King's College, Cambridge,
where he took his degree of M.D., and became a Fellow of his
College. (For portrait see Fig. 4.)
He had a sister who married Mr. Gilbert Cobb, Chapter
Clerk and Attorney at Bristol, and this may have induced him
to come to this city, where he practised in a house in Park Row,
exactly opposite Lodge Street.
He married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Lane, who was
twice Mayor of Bristol (in 1687 and 1691). He left no issue.
He was born in 1695, and died on November 13th, 1761, in
the sixty-seventh year of his age. 2 He was forty-two years old
at the time of his election as Physician to the Infirmary.
Dr. Bonython was in easy circumstances, cared little for
private practice, and devoted most of his time to the Infirmary,
where his services are recorded on a tablet erected in the
Board Room. Many eulogiums were published after his death
1 Also spelt Bonnython, Bonithon and Boneithon.
2 From Felix Farley's Bristol Journal for November 14th, 1761 :
'" Thursday, died at his House near the Red Lodge on St. Michael's Hill,
Dr. John Bonython, a judicious and successful Physician, who for many
Years attended the Infirmary." In an obituary notice in the same paper
for November 21st it says : " He resigned himself to God with chearfulness."
17
A HISTORY OF THE
which do not seem to be overdrawn. From all accounts he
appears to have been tender-hearted and kind, delighting in
helping the poor and sick ; exceptionally well educated and
refined ; " with all good grace to grace a Gentleman." (For
specimen of his writing see Fig. 5.)
He is referred to in the Annual Report of 1761 as " Our
good Friend Dr. Bonython."
He was buried near the Communion Table at St. Michael's
Church, Bristol. J
'&i?/9ifi+*i+np from ^
fa t^L II rfflicitrvti^
DR. BONYTHON'S WRITING AND SIGNATURE.
DR. HARDWICKE.
I can find very little about Dr. Hardwicke, except that he
resided at 8 Corn Street, in a house which was destroyed
in 1799 to make room for the Bank of Messrs. Harford,
1 In the Register of St. Michael's Church is the following entry : " July
26th, 1749. It was unanimously agreed at a Vestry held this day that Dr.
Bonithon and family shall enjoy their pews as long as they continue in the
Parish. ' '
Bonython and his wife were buried under the chancel of St. Michael's
Church. The inscription on their tombstone in the crypt is only partly
legible, but the date of his wife's death is decipherable as June 9th, 1744.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Davis & Co., who removed there from Small Street. He
died on September ist, 1747, " after a lingering decay of
body."
DR. LOGAN.
Dr. William Logan lived in Castle Green. According to the
statement of Alderman John Page, distiller, Logan was " a
strict observer of professional costume, and never stirred abroad,
or was visible at home, unless in full dress, i.e. his head covered
by the immense flowing wig of George the Second's time, a red
roquelaure 1 hanging from his shoulders to his heels, his wrist
graced with a gold-headed cane, and his side furnished with a
long French rapier."
He died at Bath on December 14th, 1757. He is stated
never to have recovered from a large dose of arsenic given him
by one of his servants ten years previously. (See p. 266.)
DR. JOHN MIDDLETON.
Dr. John Middleton, who was elected on May 20th, 1737,
but declined to serve, lived in a large house, 2 College
Green, near St. Augustine's Church. Sir Jarrett Smith after-
wards lived there, and the house became for a time famous as
the place where Sir Dinely Goodere spent his last day before
being dragged by his brother on board the Ruby and murdered.
(See p. 267.)
Richard Smith was told by " Clarke the Coach Maker " that
Dr. Middleton was the first physician in Bristol who kept his
carriage. Clarke's description of this vehicle is that " it was a
great lumbering thing without springs, with two small glasses
in the doors, and that the horses never went beyond a foot
pace ; that it was, in fact, a sort of genteel wagon."
He died on December 20th, 1760.
In the Bristol Chronicle or Universal Mercantile Register 2 for
Saturday, January 5th, 1760, is the following : " Died at his
house in College Green, greatly regretted, John Middleton, M.D.,
a gentleman of great natural and acquired abilities in his
profession, of an unaffected piety, diffusive benevolence and
untainted morals, 20th December, 1760."
Dr. Middleton wrote a short essay on the operation of
Lithotomy {i.e. the removal of urinary calculi), a surgical
procedure which Castelman, Thornhill, James Ford, and the
Pages became rather famous for in the early days of the
Infirmary.
1 A red cloak generally worn at that time by physicians.
2 Published by John Grabham and William Pine, price 2M.
19
A HISTORY OF THE
DR. ETWALL OR ATWELL.
I can find very little about this gentleman. He resigned
in 1743, and the vacancy caused by his resignation was not
filled until 1747, an omission which was much discussed in the
papers at the time.
WILLIAM THORNHILL.
William Thornhill's name frequently appears in the first
meetings of the Subscribers and Founders of the Infirmary.
He came of an ancient and very respectable Dorsetshire
family, and was a man of ability and skill both as an operating
surgeon and as an accoucheur. 1
In 1750 he married Miss Thompson, described in an old
newspaper cutting as "a very agreeable lady with a good
fortune."
According to Richard Smith he was " a handsome well-
grown man, and took care to show his person to advantage by
constantly wearing an entire suit of black velvet, and an elegant
steel-handled rapier."
He was well read, of polished manners, and lived in " better
style than any other surgeon in Bristol." He was, however,
careless and easy-going, and was on several occasions repri-
manded by the Visitors for the irregularity of his attendance
in the wards. (See p. 70.)
He lived in Com Street, and removed to Small Street in
1744 ; when he resigned his post at the Infirmary he retired to
an estate he owned in Yorkshire.
In Thornhill's time professional etiquette was not at all
strict about advertising, and in Richard Smith's MS. there are
various cuttings from old newspapers which show this. One, for
instance, dated 1742, is as follows : " Last week two boys were
cut for the stone in the Bristol Infirmary by Mr. Thornhill ;
both of them are in a fair way of recovery."
THOMAS PAGE.
Thomas Page was born in 1688. 2 He claimed that he was a
descendant of the first Mayor of Bristol, and although this
probably could not be proved, yet there is no doubt that he
belonged to a very old Bristol family. He lived in a large
house at the " top of Redcliff Street, with a noble front towards
the river, and crowned with a glass cupola." It was in this
1 He attended the mother of Richard Smith, senior.
2 In the Register of the Church of St. Philip and Jacob, under date
Oct. 15th, 1682, is the entry: "Thomas Page m. Ann Vaughan." This is
probably the father of Thomas Page the Surgeon.
20
: . V
THOMAS PAGE.
Fig. 6.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
house, then occupied by Robert Rogers, soapmaker, that court
martial was held upon Yeamans and Boucher in 1643 for a
" Bloudy Plott against the City of Bristoll." Yeamans and
Boucher were Royalists, and attempted to deliver the city into
the hands of Prince Rupert. They were hanged on a gallows
in Wine Street. In 1702 Queen Anne was entertained in this
same house. It was then occupied by Mr. Thomas Day. ■
Thomas Page was elected Surgeon to the Infirmary when he
was forty-nine years of age. He died on May 5th, 1741, aged
fifty-three. He was buried on May 8th in the Baptist Burial-
ground, Redcross Street.
I have in my notes on Mr. Crosby Leonard (p. 246) shown
the family connection between the Pages and Mr. Leonard the
Surgeon, and Mr. Edward A. Leonard who was Secretary to the
Infirmary. The portrait (Fig. 6) is from an oil-painting at the
Bristol Royal Infirmary by Rymsdyke. 2
NATHANIEL RUMSEY.
The first Apothecary received a salary of £30 a year. I can
find very little about him. Several of the Subscribers were
apothecaries practising in Bristol, and some of these were
appointed " Visiting Apothecaries," and were supposed to pay
occasional visits to the " Shop," as the Dispensary was then
called, to see that all was right. The first Visiting Apothecaries
were James Bush, Richard Charlton, Giles Baily and Francis
Freeman ; they took a month in rotation.
This Shop was at first furnished with utensils which cost
£20, and medicines which cost £30. The Honorary Medical Staff
formed a sub-committee for the purpose, and reported on the
4th November, 1737, " They do think that it will not exceed
these two sums."
On July 7th, 1738, Mr. Henry Rumsey was elected assistant
to the Apothecary, with a salary of £5 per annum.
Nathaniel Rumsey held the post until 1739.
NICHOLAS SIMPSON.
On October 19th, 1739, Nicholas Simpson was elected
in his place " by 26 votes." There were several candidates,
1 See Evans's History of Bristol.
2 Rymsdyke painted portraits of Thomas and John Page, Dr. Lyne.
Barrett and others, and was, according to Mr. William Edkins, " a tall raw-
boned German and excessively proud, although a sign painter." He was
brought into notice, according to Richard Smith, by a sign-board he painted
for a public house at the corner of Cart Lane, Temple Street. This was a
'' Bacchus astride on a tun," and was much admired. He was lazy and generally
m need of money, often wearing, according ^to Mr. Edkins, William Barrett's
cast-off clothing.
21
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and " it appearing that two of the candidates were married
men they were rejected as unqualified persons."
Simpson kept an apothecary's shop in the Market Place
when he retired from the Infirmary. He practised finally at
the Hotwells, where he died. He married a Miss Mary Jones,
" an agreeable lady with a very handsome fortune."
MRS. HUGHES.
On October 7th, 1737, Mrs. Ann Hughes was elected Matron
with a salary of £15 per annum. This was supplemented every
year with a gratuity of five guineas. There were two other
applicants for the post, Mrs. Axford and the " Widow of Lyon
Fancourt."
Mrs. Hughes died in the service of the Infirmary in June,
1770, " having discharged the duties of the situation for thirty-
three years with great ability and great integrity."
SIR MICHAEL FOSTER.
A name which frequently appears in the first records of the
Infirmary is that of the Recorder of Bristol, Sir Michael Foster.
He, John Elbridge and Dr. Bonython were the three most
energetic promoters of the Institution, and Dean Creswick and
R. Champion should perhaps be given the next places of honour.
At the time of the foundation of the Infirmary Michael
Foster was forty-seven years of age, and although a most able
lawyer, had been little known until he published a pamphlet
called A Letter of Advice to Protestant Dissenters ; and in 1735
a celebrated reply to Bishop Gibson's Codex Juris Ecclesiastici
Anglicani. He was made Recorder of Bristol in 1735.
Sir Michael gave up a great deal of his time to the Infirmary,
and was nearly always present at the early meetings, frequently
in the Chair. He gave his legal advice cheerfully and
gratuitously to the Institution on all occasions, and took the
chief part in drawing up the first series of Rules, which are
conspicuous for their clearness and comprehensive nature. A
short biography of him will be found at the end of this volume.
(See Appendix B.)
22
CHAPTER III
THE OPENING — THE ANNUAL DINNER AND SERMON — HOUSE
VISITORS — THE FIRST PATIENTS — THE WARDS — THE STAFF AND
NURSES — THE MATRON — THE PATIENTS' DIET
Under the personal supervision of John Elbridge, Richard
Champion, and the newly-elected Medical Staff, aided by an
energetic weekly Committee, the House was soon in a state of
readiness, and on June 20th, 1737, was quietly opened for Out-
patients. There was an outlay, as mentioned before, of £50
on the Dispensary ; but we learn from the Minute Book that all
the expenses for medicines and appliances from June 20th until
the formal opening in the following December were borne by
Richard Champion, and for this he received a vote of thanks
from the Committee on January 6th, 1737-8. 1
In the meanwhile rooms were being fitted up as wards,
sleeping apartments were prepared for the Matron and
Apothecary, and nurses were hired. On December 2nd, 1737,
is the following entry : " That the Infirmary be opened on the
13th of this month, and that a particular summons be sent to
every Subscriber to meet at the Infirmary at 10 of the Clock
in the Morning and to dine at the Nagg's Head."
This dinner became an annual ceremony, and one of the
principal yearly events in Bristol. It is important to give an
account of it, not only as a picture of the civic life of the time,
but because it shows the interest taken by all classes in the
new Charity.
The " Society " resolved " to return Thanks to Almighty
God who had been pleased to bless their humble endeavours to
establish a place of refuge in sickness and in Wounds for their
afflicted Fellow Creatures."
To carry out this pious wish, Mr. Elbridge, the Treasurer,
and Dr. Bonython waited upon Dean Creswick to beg him to
preach a sermon on the occasion, and he cheerfully complied
with their request.
At ten o'clock on the morning of December 13th, 1737, the
Mayor (Nathaniel Day) and the Aldermen met at the Infirmary
1 Readers are again reminded that according to the old calendar January
6th. 1737, would come after June 20th, 1737.
23
A HISTORY OF THE
and proceeded to St. James's Church in the following order :
first came the tall Dean, with the Mayor on his right hand,
followed by the members of the Corporation, fully robed ; then
the Faculty in their cloaks, the Trustees bringing up the rear.
After Divine Service, at which it is said Dean Creswick
" preached an excellent sermon," the company repaired to the
Nagg's Head Tavern 1 in Wine Street, where they dined together,
and (according to Richard Smith) " finished the day amidst the
smoke of tobacco, and in emptying and replenishing mugs of
fat Bristol ale." According to the custom of those days, the
dinner was served at three o'clock, and continued until late at
night, the chairman and the more dignified people leaving about
six or seven o'clock, when the company chose a lively
president, round whom they rallied, and had in bowls of punch
or bishop.
Four stewards were annually appointed to make arrange-
ments for the dinner, and the tickets were usually five shillings
each. Apparently the proceeds did not always cover the ex-
penses ; Dr. Plomer, for instance, who was one of the stewards
in 1755, has left a memorandum, " N.B.— Money out of Pockett."
For the first few years, when the cloth was removed the
Secretary read the audited accounts, subscriptions were
collected from those present who were in arrears, and a collection
was made for the Institution, which amounted at the first
dinner to £4. 15s.
The affairs of the Infirmary were discussed, sometimes with
great animation, leading even to " broken heads and bloody
noses." Dr. Rigge, whose acquaintance my readers will make,
I hope, before long, on one of these occasions, after most of the
guests had gone, got into a dispute on the subject of the Surgeons,
and used his cane freely, other arguments failing, and a regular
scrimmage took place. To avoid these amenities, it was after
a time decided that no " business " should be transacted at the
dinners, which were thrown open to anyone who cared to pay
his five shillings, whether he were a Subscriber or not.
In the Minute Books there is an annual statement of the
appointment of Dinner Stewards until the year 1780 ; after this
there is no mention of the subject.
Richard Smith asked J. P. Noble (who was Surgeon to the
Infirmary from 1777 to 1812) why these annual dinners ceased.
He answered, " Because, sir, people did not choose to have their
heads broke ! " — " Heads broke ? "— " Yes, sir, latterly after
dinner there was- such bickering and quarrelling that one was
afraid to go without a good cane, but the Person who knocked
1 Then kept by Matthew Mease, who died in 1772.
24
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
up the meeting was Dr. Rigge — he went there on purpose to
meet some People with whom he had a misunderstanding and a
Paper war. In the evening they began to abuse each other,
and from words they came to blows and there was such an
uproar that after that Anniversary no one would undertake the
office of Steward, and so it went to the Dogs ! "
The second Annual Sermon (first Anniversary) was preached
at St. James's Church on Tuesday, December 12th, 1738, by
the Rev. Carew Reynall, D.D., Chancellor of the Diocese and
Rector of St. John's, Bristol. x The sermons were printed at
the expense of the Trustees and distributed. Dr. Reynall's
sermon was dedicated " to John Elbridge, Treasurer," and was
an eloquent discourse on the true meaning of Charity. 2
It was considered a great honour to be asked to preach on
these occasions, and some heart-burning was caused amongst
some of those Divines who were not invited to do so. For
instance, in October, 1773, the Secretary wrote, on behalf of
the Board, to the Rev. Sir James Stonhouse, Bart., M.D.,
requesting him to give the Anniversary Address. This
gentleman was formerly Rector of Great and Little Cheverell,
Wiltshire, but was at this time living in Bristol. As he had
a " triple handle " to his name, being a baronet, a doctor
of medicine, and a clergyman, he thought rather highly
of his own importance. He consented to give the sermon,
but wrote in answer, " I must own that I have thought it
rather extraordinary that I should never have been apply'd
to on this occasion by the Governors during my ten years
residence here and could consider it in no other point of
view than as a personal Disrespect." This letter is dated :
" Park Street, 22 Oct. 1773." I can find no record of his
preaching for the Infirmary that year. 3
The preachers did not always confine themselves to religious
matters, but occasionally brought in local politics, especially
references to the Chaplaincy at the Infirmary, for many years a
source of quarrel amongst the Subscribers. (See Chapter iv.)
1 He was made Bishop of Down and Conner in 1739, and translated to
Derry in 1743. He was born in 1698, and died in 1745.
2 See Richard Smith's MS. at the Central Library, Bristol.
3 Sir James Stonhouse was evidently rather " touchy." There is a letter of
his, dated January 3rd, 1780, refusing a request to preach at the Mayor's
Chapel. He complains that he has not been asked " in his turn," and concludes,
" But as the present Mayor has thought proper to act differently from his
predecessors, the Doctor chooses to decline Preaching at the Chappell during
Mr. Miller's Mayoralty."
He wrote a book of Prayers for the use of Private Persons ; Friendly
Advice to a Patient; Spiritual Directions to the Uninstructed, etc.
He gave some books to the Infirmary, amongst others one on midwifery.
He wrote of this book, " ' Nee temere nee timide ' ought to be the motto for
a practitioner in midwifery."
25
A HISTORY OF THE
Reading some of these old sermons, one is struck by the
attitude taken towards the poor, who were often referred to as
" the lower orders," and as people who had no right to practise
vices which were more becoming in those of higher rank.
One of these sermons was preached on March 18th, 1745,
at St. James's Church, by the Rev. Josiah Tucker, Vicar of
All Saints', Bristol, afterwards Dean of Gloucester. It is
entitled, " Hospitals and Infirmaries considered as Schools of
Christian Education for the adult Poor ; and as Means con-
ducive towards a National Reformation in the common
People." J
Amongst other pleasant reflections on the " masses " he
says : " For the lower Class of People are at this Day so far
degenerated from what they were in former Times as to become
a Matter of Astonishment and a Proverb of Reproach." He
pronounces " the Common People of our populous Cities to be
the most abandoned and licentious wretches upon Earth." He
traces this depravity chiefly to the extension of the franchise,
and laments, for the people's sake, that the good old times of
bondage and vassalage had passed away !
Copies of this sermon were distributed as usual amongst the
patients, and one cannot be surprised that his remarks were
severely criticised by the Press, or that afterwards, when he
appeared in the streets, he was " hooted by the boys and
rabble."
The Bishop of Bristol 2 preached what is called in the reports
a " Spital Sermon " before the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs
and the Governors of the London Hospitals " at the Parish of
St. Bridget," on Monday in Easter week, 1740, and eloquently
extolled the Bristol Infirmary. He mentioned the proximity of
Bath, and said : " Some poor objects will be sent thither in
Hopes of Relief from the Bath Waters, whose case may after-
wards be found to require the assistance of Physick or Surgery "
at the Infirmary — a remark which shows great discrimination
on his Lordship's part.
At the formal opening of the Infirmary on December 13th,
I737» seventeen men and seventeen women were admitted as
In-patients ; and there were thirty-four Out-patients on the
books, the numbers in each case being limited.
On December 2nd, 1737, a Committee was appointed
consisting of nine Trustees, who were called " House Visitors."
Their duties were to " inspect all the affairs and management,
1 Printed for William Crossley, bookseller, in Bristol.
2 Bishop Butler of the Analogy.
26
F
\tim1feii7f-0*?
• v> • '*" t/;'"'
[ . '1-Vt ^"-"'■■/
M*r£7i
/^tfasWrz***
FIRST RECORDED VISITORS' NOTES.
Fig. 7.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
to examine into all the expenses and to give such directions as
they shall think most to the interests of the Charity." The
first House Visitors were Messrs. Joseph Beck, John Andrews,
Benjamin Glisson, Paul Fisher, Richard Champion, Samuel
Hunt, Daniel Goizin, John Bartlett and Thomas Curtis. They
were appointed from the 13th of December to the 6th of January.
On the latter date five of them retired, and eight new ones were
elected, making twelve in all. The following month (February
3rd, 1737-8) the Mayor of Bristol was elected a Visitor, and
many clergymen appeared in the lists. It was soon found that
their attendance was irregular, a thing not to be wondered at
when one finds that such busy men as the Mayor of Bristol, one
of the Sheriffs, and a Judge were amongst them. The number
was then increased to fifteen, and soon after they were chosen
every week, and visited on Mondays and Thursdays. They had
the important function of " examining all persons offering
themselves as patients," to " certify that they were qualified
according to the Rules of the Society," the first regulation made
for checking hospital abuse. They also had to see the meat
and provisions brought into the House, and " to examine
the malt liquor that it be wholesome and proper for the
Family."
The first recorded note made by these Visitors (preserved in
R. Smith's Memoirs) is under date December 17th, 1737, when
the entry " noe Complaint " is made ; but on December 19th
we find that Messrs. Hunt, Fisher, Goizin and R. Champion,
jun., make entry : " Examin'd the beer and find it not good
enough for the Price." (See Fig. 7.) Their third entry, on
December 20th, is also worth record : " Wanting for ye Surgeons
use, 2 Surgery Boxes wth Panakins for each, two Copper and
2 tin, 2 Tables for making ye dressings. The Matron informing
us that the Chimneys in the Apothecary and Surgery-Rooms
Smoak, ordered them to be mended." Amongst other things
ordered by the Visitors in the first two weeks we find, " Four
Pillows to be made three quarters wide and three quarters and
a half long, four Cradles, * and half a Sheave of Helm, 2 two
Fracture Boxes, a bell to the Committee room," " a kinderkin
of ale " and a " Powdering Tub."
The first mention by name of a patient is on December
24tn> 1-737 (eleven days after the Infirmary was opened), when
the Visitors considered a " Complaint against Robt. Clare for
giving abusive language to the nurse." The Visitors at this
time actually admitted patients and dismissed them, a function
which afterwards led to some disputes. The first record of
1 An apparatus used for broken legs. 2 Straw.
27
A HISTORY OF THE
admission is that of Thomas Hofman, and the first " discharged
cured " was Charles Arnold, on February nth, 1737-8. 1
The wards of the Bristol Infirmary at this time must have
presented a curious spectacle, difficult for us to picture.
Thanks, however, to the few preserved records of the Visitors,
and the many interesting notes, newspaper extracts and letters
collected by Richard Smith and others, we can give a tolerably
graphic and accurate account of them.
The wards were devoid of pictures or ornaments ; ventilation
was effected by occasionally opening a window ; the bedsteads
were closer together than now, and were at first made of wood.
Over the fireplace in each ward a board was fixed on which
was printed in large letters, " The Rules and Orders which
relate to the Conduct of the Officers, Patients and Servants."
These regulations were " publickly read over in each ward
every Tuesday morning by one appointed by the Matron for
that Purpose." The house was lit at night by " good candles
at 6/3 per dozen " — expensive things, which were used with
great economy, so that during the long nights of winter
the whole ward usually depended for its light on one
candle.
Patients were admitted by the House Visitors — or by the
Physicians and Surgeons in their absence — every Monday and
Thursday from twelve to one o'clock ; Out-patients were seen
on Tuesdays and Fridays ; the Medical and Surgical Staff
attended at the same time as the Visitors, and as often other-
wise as they thought necessary.
The nurses were rather of the " Mrs. Gamp " style, without
any special training for their work, but probably respectable
and well behaved. They were expected to clean their wards
by seven o'clock in the morning in summer, and before eight
o'clock in the winter ; and the patients were supposed to
help them. 2
Breakfasts were served round " within an hour after the
wards were cleaned." There is mention of one night nurse
in 1740, but the ordinary nurses were kept on duty very late,
apparently until eleven or twelve o'clock. Extra nurses were
paid only half a crown a week ; mothers of patients and near
1 Unfortunately the old records are so disfigured by time and rough
usage that it is often very difficult to read them. The first entry (without
name) of an In-patient that I can find is " Dec. 19, 1737. Tumours in the
hip and knee." December, 1737, in old style, coming, of course, before
February nth, 1737.
2 In the first set of Rules, No. V., for In-patients, reads : " That such
Patients as are able to work, do assist the Nurses and other Servants in nursing
the Patients, washing and ironing the Linnen, washing and cleaning the
Wards, and in doing such other Business as the Matron shall require."
28
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
relatives were allowed to help nurse their friends ; others were
only permitted to do so by leave of the Committee.
Above each bed was placed a card, written by the Apothecary,
with the name of the patient, the trustee who recommended
the case for admission, and the physician or surgeon in charge,
together with the diet. 1
The patients themselves were supposed to provide their own
linen, but if they could not do so the Matron supplied them
with clean night-dresses and night-caps ; and they were made
to "clean their clothes " before they were admitted.
Besides helping in the wards, the able-bodied amongst
them were given material which they made into " laced
stockings and other bandages." They were forbidden (Rule IV.)
" to play cards or Dice or any Other Game, within the Walls
of the Infirmary, or smoak anywhere within Doors." Neither
were they to " swear, curse, or give abusive Language." A large
notice was put up on the walls : " That no Patients do lie in a
Bed with their Cloathes on — nor on the Bed with their Shoes."
The preparations for meals were carried on largely in the
wards, with the restriction that " no Greens of any kind " were
allowed to be dressed in them.
In order that any complaint might be heard privately,
an old rule ordered : " That when the Visitors enter the Wards,
the Nurses shall immediately retire."
The Matron was really the governor of the Infirmary
during the absence of the Visitors and Staff. Every week she
received a hundred pounds or so from the Treasurer, and paid
with this the expenses for food, drink, and appliances. She
also paid the nurses, servants, the Apothecary, and his assistant.
She had charge of the keys, and had to see that the outer gates
were closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. in the winter, and from
9 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the summer. She could permit patients
to leave the House for short walks on week-days, and on Sunday
afternoon she could give them permission to go to church.
The Infirmary was surrounded with ill-lit, narrow streets
and slums, looked after at night by an occasional watchman,
and precautions had to be taken that the inmates returned to
their ward betimes, and in a sober condition. All this threw
a great responsibility on Mrs. Hughes, the Matron, who must
have been an exceptional woman. She occasionally reported
that goods were sent under weight. On one occasion the coal
1 As to the " Distempers " (complaints) from which the first batches of
patients suffered, I find " A large tumour of the neck," " Lepra Elephantiaca,"
" Loss of feet from cold, with carious bones," " Lost ye use of his limbs
by a dry cholick," " Constipatio alvi pertinacissima," etc. The last was in
from March 2nd to April 6th, and was discharged " cured."
29
A HISTORY OF THE
which should have been forty-two bushels was found " on
fair measurement only 28." The members of the Quarterly
Board were equal to the occasion. They passed a resolution
that in such cases " the smallest quantity in any waggon load
shall be agreed upon to be the quantity in each waggon to be
paid for."
If infectious cases were inadvertently admitted, or if small-
pox or any contagious disease broke out in the House, the Matron
had, amongst her many other duties, to find lodging for such
patients, at the expense of the Infirmary, in some neighbouring
house, where the Physicians were supposed to attend them.
On Saturdays at n o'clock the whole Staff, Physicians and
Surgeons, met, " to direct for all the In-patients." Thus was
initiated the excellent plan of consultations, which is still in
vogue at the Bristol Infirmary, where it has been carried out,
on the surgical side of the House, more consistently and
thoroughly than perhaps at any other hospital, conducing to
a friendly feeling amongst the Faculty and to the welfare of
the patients.
We have seen what kind of men the first Physicians and
Surgeons were. It will be noticed that, especially in the early
days, they were frequently of good family. They differed in
religion and politics, but the Staff had from the first a bias
towards Toryism. George the Second was on the throne, and
Bristol had, like the rest of England, acquiesced in the
Hanoverian Dynasty ; but many of the medical men at the
Infirmary had real sympathy with the Old Pretender, whose
son eight years later landed in Scotland and won the battles
of Preston Pans and Falkirk. These political opinions not only
tinctured the social life of the time, but became important
factors at the Infirmary.
In 1737 there was a great distinction between the doctor
and the patients who attended the Charity ; the latter were
treated kindly, but there was little of the friendly and even
familiar relationship of a later date. The patients in the
wards were expected to realise their position. The difference
was further emphasized by the ignorance of the one and
the erudition of the other, which latter was shown more
ostentatiously than now. The dignified entrance of good
Dr. Bonython in his laced ruffles, voluminous wig, and red
cloak or long frocked coat, with his gold-headed cane, or of
the handsome Mr. Thornhill, with his black velvet suit and
French rapier, was much more impressive than the "rush"
of the present-day members of the Staff. We are told that the
ordinary dress of a medical man in those days was " a light
30
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
drab coat, waistcoat and small cloaths, the latter just down to
the knee, and the former without a collar ; a large wig, a close
stock buckled round the neck, black silk stockings, and square
toes with small silver buckles." They frequently wore also the
red roquelaure. There were, as we have seen, many exceptions
to the above, a great deal of fancy being often displayed in
colour, material, and cut. Even the students went about with
red cloaks and swords, although this costume began to alter
towards the end of the century, and the younger members of
the profession discarded the roquelaure before this.
One of the last Infirmary pupils to wear it was George
Blandford, who was an apprentice of Mr. Morgan Yeatman in
1793. His appearance used to annoy Mr. Noble (Surgeon,
1777-1812), who said to him on one occasion : " Better not
go too near the curtains, sir, perhaps that flaming dress of yours
may set the bed on fire ! "
Swords were not merely for ornament in those days. A
surgeon visiting the Infirmary after dark might find the weapon
useful. For instance, in 1743 " a gentleman walking in Johnny
Ball's Lane " (adjoining the House) " was attacked by a Fellow
dress'd in blue, with a blue apron on, a little Hat uncock'd, of
a middling stature," who proceeded to rob him. 1 The visiting
Staff were expected to live in Bristol, not in the neighbouring
villages of Clifton or Redland, otherwise they would have run
the risk, on night visits, of being stopped by highwaymen.
Perhaps my readers would like to know what these gentry
really looked like. In 1748 a gentleman was relieved of his
watch about a mile from Bristol by a " knight of the road "
dressed in a " White Duffle Surtout over a Brown Drab Frocke,
with flat Brass Buttons, a dark Bob Wig, and a small Hat
without a Button ; " he was "mounted on an Handsome Grey
Gelding, with a Pelham Bit Bridle, and had a Patch over his
left Eye."
As to diet, three meals were given daily to the patients,
breakfast, dinner, and supper. Those were the days of
" depletory " or lowering treatment, and a large proportion
of the medical cases and many of the surgical were treated by
low diet, bleeding, cupping and purging. It was from the first
found necessary to have two recognised diets, " common," and
" low " or " fever." To these two others were soon added,
viz. " milk " and " dry."
The Common Diet was as follows : For breakfast a pint of
broth or " milk pottage." For dinner ten ounces of beef or
mutton were allowed on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and
1 Bristol Oracle and Weekly Miscellany for January 29th, 1742-3.
31
A HISTORY OF THE
Saturday ; on other days a pint of " Rice-milk or Pap." For
supper a pint of broth or two ounces of cheese alternately.
Twelve ounces of bread and three pints of small beer were given
daily to each patient, but from Michaelmas to Lady Day only
-one quart was allowed. On " meat days " " a basin of bread
and broth " was served before meat ; this was abolished in
1764.
Dry Diet consisted of bread and cheese for breakfast, six
ounces of beef or mutton, alternating with eight ounces of
boiled rice, for dinner, and bread and cheese for supper, with
rather more cheese than at breakfast. One pint of beer or
cider was allowed each day.
Milk Diet consisted of milk, pap, milk-pottage, gruel, and
milk pudding, with twelve ounces of bread and " Three Pints of
Drink per Day, 1 Pint whereof is Milk and 2 Water."
Low or Fever Diet was composed of one or more of the
following : " Water Gruel, Panado, * Sago, very thin Broth,
Rice Gruel, Barley Gruel, Barley Water, Toast and Water,
Pippin Water, Cyder Whey, and Baum or Sage Tea."
Tea and coffee were not at that time used except amongst
the rich and at coffee houses. 2 The citizens came down to a
breakfast of bacon and eggs and small beer, and there was no
recognised meal called " Tea."
From the old records we find that the consumption of beer
at the Infirmary was at this time nearly four times as great as
the consumption of milk ; as late as 1762, 16,634 gallons of ale
and beer were used annually and only 4,746 gallons of milk. The
Committee paid for " good fresh rnilk " fourpence a gallon for
nine months of the year, and fivepence for the remaining three
months. Some of the milk-woman's receipts are still in
existence ; she could not read or write, and " made her
mark " instead of signing her name.
" Good Ox-Beef " and mutton were supplied by contract at
2d. or i|d. a lb. Meat was then less expensive than rice, of
which large quantities were used in the patients' diet.
The Matron, as stated, had all this menage under her
supervision. The Resident Apothecary had the sole medical
charge of the patients during the absence of the Physicians and
Surgeons ; he had also to send out notices of accidents,
emergencies, etc., to the Staff, do a great deal of the " dressing "
1 Panado was made by boiling bread in water to the consistence of pulp
and sweetening. Sometimes broth was used instead of water, otherwise it
was the same as " pap."
2 Coffee could be obtained at these houses at " three halfpence a dish."
Tea cost from 7s. to 30s. a pound. Even as late as 1802 inferior kinds of tea
cost 4s. a pound.
32
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
of wounds, carry out the orders for cupping and bleeding, and
dispense many lengthy prescriptions.
The members of the Monthly Board of Trustees and the
Weekly Committee met regularly and did their work well. They
took a very practical interest in the affairs of the House, and
went freely into the wards. Although the Committee was open
to all Trustees who cared to attend, the management was really
in the hands of some dozen energetic men, including the
Physicians and Surgeons, two or three of the House Visitors,
and the Visiting Apothecary.
Patients who required wooden legs, etc., were supplied with
them at the expense of the Infirmary ; " it was agreed to provide
all kinds of Machines for Patients upon whom operations had
been performed."
33
CHAPTER IV
SPIRITUAL WELFARE OF THE PATIENTS — THE CHAPLAINCY
THE BURIAL-GROUND
Whilst the bodily comforts of the patients were thus cared
for, their spiritual needs were not forgotten.
Nothing can be more honourable to the citizens of Bristol
than the eager and disinterested manner in which everyone
strove to assist the new Charity.
The clergy were not behindhand, and many volunteered to
conduct services for the inmates. Dean Creswick organised
this band of gratuitous helpers, and it was soon arranged that
prayers should be read every day in the wards, this duty being
taken in rotation.
A large Bible was kept on a stand in each ward, and
Testaments were distributed amongst the patients. In 1744
the Bishop of Bristol sent fifty of these Testaments to the
Institution, and afterwards a dozen yearly " to make up loss
and damage." Some copies of the Bishop of Sodor and Man's
Knowledge and Practice of Christianity Made Easy to the Meanest
Capacities were also kept, and when patients left the House
Visitors frequently gave them the Bishop of London's Advice
to a Person Lately Recovered from Sickness. Many tracts were
also sent.
The patients who wished could go to service at a neigh-
bouring church on Sunday with the permission of the Matron ;
but this was soon stopped, for sometimes " on their return
they but too clearly exhibited marks of having been to the
alehouse instead of the Church."
Most of the first managers of the Infirmary were prominent
Churchmen or members of the Society of Friends ; and it was
probably owing to this mixture that a tolerant spirit was
prevalent, and patients were always allowed to have a clergy-
man or minister of their particular sect to see them.
This commendable spirit occasionally led to difficulties.
In 1798, for instance, the followers of John Wesley obtained
a great footing amongst the patients, and one evening the
Apothecary heard a hymn being loudly sung in one of the
wards when the inmates should have been " settling in " for
34
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the night. This, for obvious reasons, had to be stopped.
Sometimes private individuals have wished to address the
patients on religious matters. For example, in October, 1841,
Mr. Guinness, of Clifton, applied for leave " to expound the
Scriptures in the wards," and as late as 1896 a religious society
requested that they " might sing hymns in the wards." Such
applications have usually been referred to the Chaplain, or
declined with thanks.
As stated above, however, every furtherance has always been
given to those who wish for any special form of spiritual
consolation. Richard Smith tells the story of a poor Irishman
whose leg had to be cut off to give him his only chance of
recovery. He refused to undergo this " until Mr. Plowden, the
Catholic priest, was sent for to receive his confessions and give
him absolution." His request was granted, and the surgeons
waited until the solemn rites were over, " after which he quietly
submitted to amputation of the thigh, very high up, and died
in a few hours."
Another instance is given of a man who received the
extreme unction, and was trephined " at almost the same
instant."
It was the custom for the Matron to collect such of the
nurses who could be spared, and some of the convalescents,
and walk with them to St. James's Church on Sunday morning.
Mrs. Preece, who died in 1790, was the last matron to adopt this
plan.
Two practical difficulties soon became felt. One was that the
clergyman whose turn it was to read prayers in the ward was
occasionally prevented from coming, and could not always
find a substitute. This gradually led to irregularity in the daily
services.
The other difficulty was in connection with the burial of the
dead. Trustees who recommended In-patients were expected
to pay twelve shillings to defray funeral expenses if the patient
died in the House. If the friends could afford to take the body
away, this sum was refunded apparently to the recommender.
If they were too poor, the Infirmary either assisted them or
undertook the burial altogether, at first in some neighbouring
churchyard, and later, after 1757, in a piece of ground granted
to the Institution by the Corporation. (See p. 40.)
The difficulty, however, was to get a clergyman to officiate.
The Rev. William Davis, 1 then Curate of St. James's, was,
owing to the proximity of his church, frequently called upon
1 Mr. Davis was of Welsh extraction, and was at Jesus College, Oxford.
He died April 24th, 1772.
35
A HISTORY OF THE
to perform this office, and he was thus brought into close contact
with the Institution, and gradually came, in the course of two
or three years, to act as Chaplain. His name appears upon
the Weekly Committees, and as he was not a subscriber, this
must have been in virtue of his services. He compiled a
manual of prayers for use at the Infirmary, and was very
assiduous in his attendance on the patients. In the list of
officers for 1751 he is mentioned as " the Chaplain."
For some years this voluntary work received no payment
except by thanks ; but the clergy of Bristol, feeling that a
burden was being put on Mr. Davis's shoulders, collected
amongst themselves and friends the sum of £20 a year, which
was given him as an honorarium, and about the year 1755
this sum was doubled. In the Annual " State " l for 1762 we
find this £40 per annum referred to as his " salary ; "' also that
any surplus collected was " laid out in proper Books to be given
to the Patients when discharged."
An appeal to the public was made in the Annual State for
1768, with a list of subscriptions to the Chaplaincy Fund,
amounting for the year to only £34. On December 5th, 1769,
Mr. Davis wrote himself to the Quarterly Board enclosing a
list of subscriptions to the Chaplain, " setting forth a deficiency
and begging a Gratuity to be granted to him for burying the
Dead."
At the next Board Meeting on March 6th, 1770, " it was
the opinion of the Gentlemen present that no Gratuity cou'd
be made him out of the General Stock as it was thought it
wou'd prejudice the Charity."
This refusal was received with some disgust, and the
following year the collection made for the Chaplain was rather
larger.
A great deal of correspondence appeared in the local papers
on the inadequate stipend of the Chaplain ; but in the spring
of 1772 poor Mr. Davis fell ill, and died on April 24th.
For several months after his death no clergyman attended
at the Infirmary with any regularity, a fact often referred to
in the Press ; and at meetings when the matter came under
consideration a great deal of bitterness was shown. At one
of these a trustee declared that " the House was no more in
want of a Parson than it was of a fishpond ! " The quarrel was,
in fact, between the Church and the Nonconformists, including
the Society of Friends.
The subscribers to the Chaplaincy Fund had formulated
a short code of rules, the first of which was that in case of a
1 The published annual reports were always called the " States."
36
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
vacancy the nomination should be vested in the Bishop of the
Diocese.
In accordance with this regulation the Rev. Thomas Johnes
was chosen and appointed by the Bishop of Bristol on November
9th, 1772. He commenced duties, however, on May 27th, before
his formal appointment.
Mr. Johnes, who was of Welsh extraction, came to Bristol
quite poor, and began his career in this city as a clerk in a Fire
Office. He appears to have had a fair education, and soon got
employment as an usher at a school at Long Ashton, established
by Nathaniel Ainsworth, and then taught Latin at a
" Seminary " kept by " a pompous, ignorant old Pedagogue "
called William Williams. He was hard-working and ambitious,
and managed to go to Jesus College, Oxford, as what was called
a " term-trotter." He took his degree, came back to Bristol,
and was ordained Curate at St. John's at a salary of £60 a year.
He afterwards was Curate at St. James's. He was appointed
Rector of St. John's in 1779, domestic chaplain to the Earl of
St. Vincent in 1798, and Archdeacon of Barnstaple in 1807.
He was in addition Librarian to the Bristol Library Society,
and for some years Treasurer of the " Bear's Cub Ciub." (See
p. 231.)
He was of medium stature, rather thin, not good looking,
but with a pleasant smile. He spoke with some hesitation and
frequently repeated himself, but the substance of his remarks
was sensible and showed thoughtfulness.
On February 1st, 1773, fourteen of the leading clergy of
Bristol, together with Mr. Charles Lee, Master of the Grammar
School, wrote a letter to the Treasurer of the Infirmary (then
Mr. Richard Champion) complaining that the Chaplain had no
regular stipend, and making the following statement : " We do
therefore agree amongst ourselves from the 1st January, 1773,
to appropriate the subscriptions we have hitherto paid to the
General Charity to the salary of the Chaplain in particular . . .
and we shall in every respect notwithstanding consider ourselves
as Subscribers to the Infirmary and continue to recommend
patients as usual."
This disquieting letter was considered at a special Board
convened on March 16th, 1773, and according to R. Smith " a
long, angry, and tumultuous debate " followed. The Charity
was in danger of losing either the support of the Church or of
the Dissenters, who threatened to withdraw if this request was
complied with.
Mr. Henry Cruger (mentioned in Chatterton's scurrilous
satire, " The Exhibition ") spoke strongly in opposition to this
37
A HISTORY OF THE
demand of the clergy, and it was finally resolved " that no
person who does not pay his subscription to the Treasurer for
the usual purpose, can be considered as a Subscriber to this
Charity or be allowed to recommend patients." This quarrel
threatened to do great harm to the Infirmary, one evidence of
which is the fact that collections at places of worship fell from
£134 in 1772 to only £58 in 1774. Both parties held their
ground, and occasionally broke out into sarcastic and virulent
letters in the newspapers. Matters were brought to a crisis by
the Lord Bishop of Bristol, 1 who wrote a letter to the Treasurer,
which was described at the time as " the Bishop's bull," " the
ban of the Church," etc. It will be seen in this letter, which
is reproduced here in full, that he withdraws his subscription
from " such an unchristian Institution as an Infirmary without
chaplain." (See Fig. 8.)
This letter, according to R. Smith, " so widened the breach
that the existence of the Infirmary was in danger," but at this
critical stage the Corporation of Bristol and the Society of
Merchant Venturers came to the rescue with a timely offer of
an annual subscription of £20 each to the Chaplain's Fund. The
matter was for the time patched up ; and Mr. Johnes gradually
instituted regular services in the Board Room on Sunday
evenings for all who could attend, besides services in the wards.
Mr. Johnes's clerical and social duties steadily increased,
and, especially after his appointment to the Archdeaconry of
Barnstaple in 1807, he had so many engagements that his
attendance at the Infirmary became irregular, and finally was
chiefly by deputy. At length, at a Committee Meeting held on
December nth, 1816, it was reported that the Chaplain "had
not been in attendance for a long time past, but that he had
appointed the Rev. Mr. Parsons to officiate during his absence."
Upon this it was resolved " that the Office of Chaplain to the
Bristol Infirmary ought net to be performed by Deputy, except
in cases of emergency to be judged of by the Committee." Two
Trustees, Messrs. Burges and Tozer, were requested to
communicate this resolution to Mr. Johnes, " adding such other
Observations in reference to the Resolution as they may think
1 Dr. Thomas Newton, the author of Dissertations on the Prophecies. He
wrote some disparaging remarks about Dr. Johnson's Lives of the Poets in an
account of his own life, published after his death. When Johnson was staying
with Dr. Adams at Oxford in 1784, " the Bishop of Bristol having been
mentioned, Johnson, recollecting the manner in which he had been mentioned
by that Prelate, thus retaliated : ' Tom knew he should be dead before what
he has said of me would appear. He durstn't have printed it while he was
alive.' Dr. Adams : ' I believe his Dissertations on the Prophecies is his great
work.' Johnson : ' Why, sir, it is Tom's great work ; but how far it is great,
or how much of it is Tom's, are other questions.' " — Boswell's Life of Johnson,
Fitzgerald Edition, vol. hi. pp. 73, 74.
33
. , * s« S jf ^f ,, ,., ^.
BISHOP NEWTON'S LETTER.
Fig. 8.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
proper." What " observations " may have been made by these
two gentlemen does not appear, but the result was a letter from
Mr. Johnes, dated " St. John's Parsonage, January 8th, 1817,"
stating that he had that day signified to the Bishop of the
Diocese, from whose predecessor he had received the appoint-
ment, and to the Mayor and Master of the Society of Merchants,
from whom he had received " the annual Donations for per-
forming the Duties of the Office," his intention to resign on the
25th day of March next. 1
It was at once decided to send a letter to the Bishop
" requesting his concurrence in the nomination of a Chaplain
by the House Committee," and another letter to the Corporation
and Society of Merchants asking them to continue their annual
donations.
The Corporation and Society of Merchants consented to
continue their former subscriptions. No answer from the
Bishop is mentioned in the Minute Books. In the meanwhile
two candidates appeared, viz. the Rev. J. Carter (late Librarian
to the Bristol Library Society) and the Rev. J. Swete. The
former addressed his application to the Bishop, the latter
addressed his to the Mayor and Corporation.
There was $. great discussion in the papers as to the
nomination, and the Bishop was written to by Mr. Johnes and
strongly urged to interfere ; but on January 22nd, 1817, the
Committee appointed the Rev. John Swete, 2 " during the
pleasure of the House Committee for the time being."
It was thought by many that the Committee had no power
to appoint a Chaplain, and attempts were made to rescind the
resolution of January 22nd, but unsuccessfully.
Mr. Swete at once made application for " two Portable
Desks," to be used for the services in the wards, which he held
in the evenings. Forms were arranged opposite the Chaplain's
desk for the nurses and convalescents, and it was requested
that the sick should " put themselves in the best posture which
their state of health will permit in order that both may attend
with devout reverence on the Worship of Almighty God." 3
He also had printed and distributed " A Form of Prayer
which is used in the Wards of the Bristol Infirmary." The
extreme sinfulness of his congregation is the dominant note in
this, and in his published Chaplain 's Address to the Patients.
1 Mr. Johnes held the office for forty-four years, his predecessor, Mr.
Davis, for thirty-five years.
2 Mr. Swete was at this time Curate of St. James's and Chaplain to the
Colston Almshouses. He afterwards became Rector of Blagdon. He died
September 17th, 1869.
3 Committee Minute Book, April i6th, 18 17.
39
A HISTORY OF THE
BURIAL-GROUND.
It has been mentioned that a burial-ground was given to the
Infirmary by the Corporation in 1757. It will be convenient
here to say a few words about this.
It seems that in the Mayoralty of Henry Dampier, Michael
Foster being Recorder, the Committee made a representation to
the Corporation requesting the grant of " a piece of void ground
near John Ball's Lane for a burying Place for the Infirmary." *
On March 22nd, 1757, this ground, with an old tenement
on it, which was pulled down, was granted for " 999 years in
consideration of a Peppercorn as a quit-rent " to " John
Clements Esq. and others his then Co-feoffees and Trustees of
the Lands Tenements and Hereditaments belonging to the said
Infirmary." This piece of ground was at that time " in the
possession of Susannah Bennett," and lay between Lewin's
Mead and Maudlin Street. It was about 80 feet square.
On September 10th, 1757, the Mayor (Giles Bailey), the
Rev. John Culliford, Rector of St. Michael's Church, and eighteen
others, petitioned the Bishop to consecrate this ground, and
on September 14th this was done. The witnesses of the
Bishop's signature (in the Registry of the Episcopal Court of
Bristol) are : —
John Culliford, Rector of St. Michael's.
P. Fisher.
Christ. Willoughby.
J. Bonython.
Richard Parker, Notary and Deputy Registrar.
This little cemetery was surrounded with a wall, and a tool-
house was built upon it.
We have recorded some of the offices held by our friend Mr.
Johnes, and his increasing difficulty in attending to the
Infirmary. He was a somewhat parsimonious man, and only
gave his substitute, Mr. Parsons, five shillings a week for acting
as Deputy Chaplain. We cannot, perhaps, wonder that the
work was done by the latter in a perfunctory manner. On one
occasion the body of a deceased patient was kept so long waiting
to be buried that the grave-diggers sent for Mr. Parsons, who
answered that he was otherwise engaged and could not come.
When asked what they were to do with the body, he sent word :
" Put it in the tool-house, I '11 come to-morrow," but one of the
undertakers read the burial service and the body was interred.
" Some time after," says Richard Smith, " I fell in with the
Archdeacon [Johnes] and told him of it — he turned up his eyes
1 Extract from the Corporation books.
40
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and hands and gave one of his peculiar shrugs of the shoulders,
but said not a word."
This small plot of ground, not much more than a cricket
pitch in length or breadth, served as a burial-place for nearly
all the pauper patients who died in the House, and it naturally
became crowded with dead bodies. Some of the ground was
rocky, with only a thin layer of earth, and on March 6th, 1770,
it was decided at a Board Meeting to have part of it quarried
" to make more room."
On June 15th, 1815, Mr. Wintour Harris, then Chamberlain
of Bristol, wrote to the Committee on behalf of the City
Surveyors, complaining that the graves " for the interment of
Persons who die in the Hospital are frequently not filled up
after such interment, but sometimes only a little earth is thrown
over the Coffins, leaving the upper part for the reception of
one or more Corpses, so that in some instances the upper
Coffin is scarcely under the surface of the earth."
This letter was discussed, and some of the Committee
visited the ground, and were assured by Mr. Fry, the carpenter,
" that the graves had been regularly filled up," one only having
been left open owing to " the Grave-Digger not being able to
get it finished that Day." It was decided, however, that each
grave should be made nine feet six inches in depth, instead of nine
feet. At this time it was computed that "if each grave be nine
feet deep six bodies may be placed in it," and that by adopting
this plan 1,924 more bodies might still be buried there !
This state of affairs was by no means confined to the
Infirmary burial-ground ; l and such superficial interment
made " body-snatching " much easier. The grave-diggers were
a rough lot, often doing a surreptitious trade as assistants to
" resurrectionists." Many of the churchyards and burial-
grounds in Bristol were in such a scandalous condition, that
on April 7th, 1854, an order was made in Council by which the
Infirmary ground was closed, that in Redcross Street was
reserved for members of the congregation, and only one body
was to be placed in each grave in the Quaker burial-places.
After this the interments were made in neighbouring
churchyards, and ultimately at Arno's Vale ; but an undertaker
continued in the employment of the Infirmary until December
15th, 1857, when he was dismissed. He lived in a small hovel
on the place of his labours, but we find from an entry of this
date in the Minute Book " that John Hamblett who now
occupies a Shed in the Infirmary Burial Ground be ordered to
quit the place and give up possession."
1 See footnote, p. 66.
41
CHAPTER V
FINANCES — DEATH OF JOHN ELBRIDGE — ELECTION OF JOHN
ANDREWS AS TREASURER — NEW BUILDINGS — ELECTION OF
NICHOLAS SIMPSON AS APOTHECARY — APPRENTICES
Unfortunately there are no official balance sheets of the
Infirmary in existence before the financial year ending December
2ist, 1742. According to R. Smith, the original collection
made by the founders amounted to £822. This was nearly all
spent in altering the building and furnishing the rooms, etc.
There is, however, amongst the R. Smith MSS. at the Bristol
Central Library a printed statement of accounts which appears
to be copied from the early records for distribution amongst
the Trustees, and may be considered reliable. x This is as
follows : — r s. d.
" Paid the Matron for Victuals, Drink and all
Necessaries of the House ; some Medicines
for the Apothecary's Shop ; Salaries,
Wages and the whole Expense of the
House, from the day of Opening to the
Twenty first of December 1738
House Rent for the Year
Ground Rent ditto . .
410
0
0
21
0
0
2
16
0
433
16
0
670
9
0
Balance in Treasurer's Hands
£1104 5 o"
With regard to the rent, we have seen (p. 15) that as time went on the
payment of this £21 became complicated owing to the deaths of several of
the Sharpes of Dublin, who inherited the property. In 1806 the Institution
owed rent for three years " for want of a legal Discharge," and the Committee
calculated the three years' rental as amounting to ^59 17s. od., having sub-
tracted the Property Tax, which was then one shilling in the pound.
In the State for 18 16 is the following : —
" To Representatives of R. A. F. Sharpe Esqr, 14 Years Ground Rent at
£21 (per annum) less ^23 7 3 Property Tax — ^270 12 9."
Here again the deduction for the Property Tax has been wisely calculated
at compound interest.
On April 14th, 1824, Mr. W. E. Sharpe, a descendant of the above R. A. F.
Sharpe, offered to sell to the Governors of the Infirmary " the fee of the
Ground Rents 2 for ^500 Irish Currency." This was agreed to, the actual
sum paid for " an Annual Chief Rent of £21 " being ^461 10s. 9d.
1 Some of the figures are mentioned in a resume of the yearly income
published in the Annual Report for 1756, and tally with this.
2 The term " Ground Rent " is sometimes used in the old documents as
synonymous with " Rent " or " Chief Rent."
42
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
312 10
0
15 15
0
446 5
0
285 5
0
40 2
0
4 0
0
The Income in the first Balance Sheet was made up as
follows : —
£ s. d.
Yearly Subscriptions for 1737
Benefactions
Yearly Subscriptions for 1738
Benefactions
Poor Box
One Year's Rent for Cellars . .
£1104 5 o
Two minor sources of income should here be noticed, the
Poor Box, and what was called " Arbitration Money." A box
was fastened on the wall of the Infirmary, probably near the
entrance, and afterwards one was fixed in each ward. Patients,
occasional visitors, and others put small sums into these Poor
Boxes, which were opened at every Monthly Board Meeting.
The " Arbitration Money," which amounted sometimes to ten
or even twenty pounds a year, has the following curious history.
Personal disputes in those days were not brought into Law
Courts so frequently as now ; the ultimate settlement was not
infrequently by duel, but short of this a common method was
to appoint arbitrators, sometimes three in number, sometimes
only one. It became the custom about the year 1743 for the
disputants to deposit each a guinea or so in the hands of these
referees, who usually gave this money to the Infirmary. Thus
in the year 1744 £15 ns. was given in this way. Amongst the
arbitrators the names of Messrs. James Macartney, William
Jefferies, Isaac Hobhouse and William Reeve frequently appear.
Mrs. Eliza Cove, after whom a ward was subsequently
named, heads the fist of Benefactors with £100.
The balance of £670 in the Treasurer's hands could only
have existed by the liberality of John Elbridge, who, as we
have said, paid for many of the structural alterations and
furniture, etc., out of his own pocket.
During the first year 194 In-patients were treated and
232 Out-patients, making a total of 426. It is stated that
" 241 were cured." 1
On December 8th, 1738, there were in the House 35 In-
patients and 74 Out-patients were on the books, making a total
of iog under treatment.
Almost from the first the accommodation was far too small
1 Of the In-patients admitted from Dec. 15th, 1737, to Dec. 9th, 1738,
88 were cured, 16 died, 2 were discharged as incurable, and 9 left from
" Irregularity or their own request."
43
A HISTORY OF THE
for the demands made upon the Charity, and a new ward was
added by John Elbridge, who paid for every detail of the
furnishing, etc. At a General Meeting held at the Rummer
Tavern on December 12th, 1738, is the entry : " Mr. Elbridge
was pleased to declare that the new ward was ready furnished,
and might be made use of, for which his benefaction he received
the thanks of the Society."
John Elbridge did not live to see the full fruition of his
labours. He was elected Treasurer on January 7th, 1736-7, and
died on February 22nd, 1738-9, bequeathing £5,000 to the
Society. His death was felt as a great calamity, and on March
2nd, 1738-9, the Trustees decided " that a Separate board be
put up, reciting Mr. Elbridge's benefactions, and that Mr. Jere
Burroughs, Dr. Bonython, Mr. Serjeant Foster, and Mr. Henry
Woolnough be appointed to fix upon the form in which it shall
be done." This board is now on the wall of the Board Room.
John Elbridge carried out his charity in so quiet and un-
ostentatious a manner, that with the exception of this resolution
very little notice was taken of his benevolent deeds. Few men
who have spent so much on the poor and uneducated have
received so little acknowledgment after death.
A great-niece of John Elbridge, Elizabeth Woolnough,
married Sir John Hugh Smyth, Baronet, of Ashton Court.
She died as the Dowager Lady Smyth in 1825. Various papers
connected with the Elbridge Family are preserved at Ashton
Court. I am indebted to Mr. Lewis J. U. Way, F.S.A., who has
kindly looked through these old documents, for the following
particulars of the Elbridge Family.
John Elbridge's father, Thomas Elbridge, and his wife were
amongst the early settlers in New England. The date of their
departure from Bristol is not known, but they kept up unbroken
intercourse with their native city by means of ships plying
between the New World and the port of Bristol. They were
driven from their first home at a place called Pinequid by attacks
of Indians, and migrated with their young family to Marblehead,
in the County of Essex in Massachusetts, where they finally
settled. They had four sons and two daughters ; the eldest
son was named Aldworth, to perpetuate the name of a well-
known Bristol merchant, Robert Aldworth, who, leaving no issue,
bequeathed all his estate to Giles Elbridge, merchant, who had
married Aldworth's niece. Another son, Thomas, married Ann
Stayner, of Shirehampton, and became a well-to-do merchant.
John Elbridge, with whom we are more immediately
concerned, was sent to Bristol by his parents at the age of
twelve, with his eldest sister Elizabeth, to his cousin,
44
Fig. g.
JOHN ELBRIDGE.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Mr. Thomas Moore, Controller of the Customs. His ability and
industry enabled him to amass a great fortune, and he succeeded
his cousin Moore as Controller of the Customs.
He resided for many years at a large house on the site
of the Royal Fort, and he also had a seat at Cote, in the
parish of Westbury-on-Trym. On the grounds of his property
at the Fort he built and endowed a school for the education
and clothing of twenty-four girls ; the scholars were admitted
as In-patients to the Infirmary without any further recom-
mendation than the signed request of the schoolmistress. This
privilege was used as late as 1825. On June 27th of that
year Susannah Nash, who was then mistress, wrote to the
Visitors requesting that "Ann Russell who is a Pupil duly
elected in the Blue School founded in Fort Road, Bristol, by the
late John Elbridge, Esqr.," might be admitted to the Infirmary.
John Elbridge died, as before stated, on February 22nd,
I738~9. and was buried in Temple Church in the fine tomb of
his relatives the Aldworths, the only inscription referring to
him being the words, " Here also is buried John Elbridge Esq."
The portrait of him is a reproduction of a painting by Marcus
Henry Holmes, done in 1716, now in the Board Room of the
Bristol Royal Infirmary. (See Fig. 9.)
By his will, which is dated February 20th, 1738-9, and proved
March 27th, 1739, he left— besides the £5,000 to the Infirmary—
£3,000 to his School for Girls, £10,000 to his niece Rebecca
Woolnough, together with his house at the Fort, his house at
Westbury to his nephew Thomas, £10,000 to his niece Frances,
and many smaller legacies to his clerk, servants, etc. The
residue of his estate was divided equally between his nephew
and niece, Thomas Elbridge, jun., and Rebecca Woolnough.
Dr. Samuel Creswick, Dean of Bristol, was one of his executors.
Mr. Samuel Loscombe James, who was apprenticed to
Richard Smith, sen., Surgeon to the Infirmary, has recorded
" that on March 28th, 1778, the said Richard Smith amputated
the leg of George Elbridge Rook, a grandson of the founder of
the Infirmary."
This is obviously a mistake, as John Elbridge died without
issue. His brother Thomas's son (also called Thomas), who
had no direct descendants, left his property to Withington
Rooke, whose brother, Thomas Rooke, of Somerton, had a son
named Thomas Elbridge Rooke, who lived at Street, Somerset.
He was a wealthy man, and it is not likely that he ever became
an Infirmary patient. 1
1 It is stated in the Richard Smith Memoirs that Richard Smith, jun.,
performed his first amputation at the Infirmary upon " a lineal descendant
of the great Edward Colston in 1796."
45
A HISTORY OF THE
The relationships before mentioned will be made quite
clear by the table below, for which also I am indebted to
Mr. Lewis Way : —
w
w
w Cl,
.2 o
W 2 en tuO
c
t! •« ••=
-5 £ ^ 5
H ^ £ >
W
£ <f€
Oh
<
y5 ^
46
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
ELECTION OF JOHN ANDREWS AS TREASURER.
On March 2nd, 1738-9, at a General Meeting of the Sub-
scribers, held at the Infirmary, John Andrews was elected
Treasurer. He belonged to the Society of Friends, and was the
first of a series of no less than eight consecutive Treasurers of
the Infirmary who were prominent members of that body,
including four Champions, Abraham Hawkesworth, Joseph
Harford, and Edward Ash.
According to Richard Smith, he carried on a large " mer-
cantile concern " in Corn Street, lived in great style, and drove
a carriage and four.
It appears from the Quaker registers that he married
Susanna Love on January 16th, 1698-9, and had seven
children. It is recorded in the same registers that Love
Andrews, " daughter of John Andrews, merchant, married Mark
Harford on the 3rd day of the 12th month 1734-5." (In the
calendar of that date the 12th month was February.)
This must be Mark Harford, of Frenchay, second son of
Edward Harford and Elizabeth Jones, who was born in 1700,
and died in 1788. (His will was proved February 13th, 1789.)
According to the Annals of the Harford Family, he married, on
February 3rd, 1734-5, " Love, daughter of Colonel John
Andrews." It would appear, therefore, that John Andrews the
merchant, second Treasurer of the Infirmary, afterwards
became " Colonel John Andrews." 1 (See p. 235.)
John Andrews intimated at a "General Meeting of Sub-
scribers " held on December 7th, 1739, that he wished " to
be discharged from that office " (of Treasurer), and on Tuesday,
December 18th, 1739, Mr. Richard Champion, sen., was
elected Treasurer " at the Rummer Tavern." A vote of thanks
was given " to Mr. Andrews our late Treasurer for his good
services." Andrews was Treasurer for only nine months.
It is noticeable that at the early meetings the Treasurer did
not as a rule take the Chair, which was usually occupied by
Sir Michael Foster.
In the spring of the year 1739, " the Society having a con-
siderable balance in the Treasurer's hands, and being encouraged
by Mr. Elbridge's donation," decided to enlarge the buildings,
and on March 2nd (1738-9) a Committee, including " the
Physicians and Surgeons of ye House," was appointed to see
what could be done. The balance in hand was about £800.
The principal of Elbridge's and all other legacies of over £50
1 I am much indebted to Miss Harford, of Blaize Castle, and to Mr. F. L.
Rawlins, of Rhyl, North Wales, for valuable information concerning the
Harfords, Champions, John Andrews, etc.
47
A HISTORY OF THE
could not be touched by a rule recently made. The main idea
of the Committee was to provide " a wash-house laundry and
other accommodations of that kind for the family," and to
render " the charity to In-patients more extensive."
At this time the Infirmary was an oblong, substantial
building, separated from Marlborough Street on the north-west
by a long court used for coals and lumber, with Lower Maudlin
Street on the south-west, and " Lower Bull Lane " on the
north-east, separated from the House by some petty tenements,
mostly in a dirty and disreputable condition. The entrance was
on the south-east side, where formerly ran a narrow road,
barely wide enough to give passage to a carriage, called Earl
Street. The original building was extended on the north-east
side, and carried backwards in the shape of a " wing," and to
enable this to be done efficiently, it was found necessary to buy
a small garden and summer-house belonging to Mr. John
Andrews, and a coach-house and stable in the possession of the
•executors of Mr. Samuel Lloyd. 1 The internal arrangements
were considerably altered, the original committee room, for
instance, a part of which was partitioned off for the Apothecary's
lodging, was converted into a ward for men.
According to the plan made by Halfpenny of the Infirmary
in 1742 there were two large wings, extending backwards one
from either end ; but as a matter of fact the building did not
take this shape until 1750, when the south-west wing was
added.
The amount at the disposal of the Building Committee was
only £500, and of this £300 was spent in internal alterations
and furnishing the wards and Apothecary's shop. It was
announced at a General Meeting on June 6th, 1740, " that the
additional Buildings are all complete and paid for," and that
the Treasurer had left in his hands " no more than £69 n J."
With these additions the Infirmary consisted at the basement
of two large cellars, one used for " preserving raw meat in the
hot season of the year and for several other usefull occasions ; "
the other one was let to a tenant.
On the ground floor, besides wards and committee room,
there was a kitchen and a " cold Bath which by the Physicians
and Surgeons is thought as necessary to the cure of some
distempers as Physick ; " also a room for the Matron " well
situated in the sphere of her business and in a point of view
proper to inspect all parts of the Infirmary," a necessary
precaution considering her multifarious duties.
1 The piece of land bought was 120 ft. long and 18 ft. wide. It is marked
62 on the plan. (See Fig. 1, p. 14.)
48
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
On the first floor, which contained three wards, there was
a room for the Apothecary, another for his apprentices, and
" a Small room at the head of the Stair case 1 for the porter of
the Infirmary."
Above these were " two large Garrets for such Patients as
are to be Cut for the Stone," a room for drying linen, and
a bedroom for the maidservants.
A " Colonade " was also erected along the front of the house,
under shelter of which convalescent patients were allowed to
walk.
There was accommodation at this time for some fifty
In-patients ; but a greater number were occasionally received,
beds being arranged in the passages, and in case of need two
patients were sometimes put into one bed. The demands on
the Institution were very great from the first, and one of the
difficulties the Committee and Visitors had to contend with was
over-crowding.
Great vigilance was maintained to prevent " hospital
abuse," the Visitors questioning every patient who came to
the House, and refusing admission to those who could,
apparently, afford to pay for medical attendance.
Another practical difficulty was the condition of patients
on admission. Washing and baths were not very fashionable
in those days even amongst the middle classes. Some years
later the great Samuel Johnson told Bos well that " he had no
passion for clean linen ; " and the woollen shirts and thick
garments of the poor were often very foul. Patients were, by
rule, made to clean their clothes before admission, and if they
were too ill to do this, it was done for them by the Charity.
Chronic ulcers of the legs and similar unpleasant complaints
were very common, and regulations had to be made to limit
the admission of such cases unless a reasonably speedy cure
seemed probable. Besides the cold bath before mentioned,
which was used solely as a means of treatment, it was agreed
that a " Bathing Tubb be provided as the Physicians and
Surgeons shall think fitt for a warm Bath." One tub amongst
fifty or sixty dirty patients ! 2
It was further decided to have " new beds for the reception
of nauseous Patients." At the same Quarterly Meeting of
Subscribers it is stated, " The Order for keeping the windows
1 The stairs were in the centre of the building.
2 On a fragment of one of the early Committee Minute Books saved
amongst R. Smith's MSS. is the following : " Agreed to serve the Infirmary
with good hard soap to the 3 1 December next at Two Pounds twelve shillings
p. hundred wt. Richard Beverstone." The date on the back is 1766, and the
signature is witnessed by the then Secretary, Joseph Beech.
49
A HISTORY OF THE
shut confirmed." The Medical Staff appears to have been
remiss about ventilation, and probably the nurses did not
approve of it, for we find in another entry, a few years later,
" This Quarterly Board recommends to the consideration of the
Physicians and Surgeons how far a ventilator is necessary, and
also the opening of the Windows for the benefit of the House."
" Draughts," night air, and cold were looked upon then as the
causes of most of the common diseases.
ELECTION OF NICHOLAS SIMPSON AS APOTHECARY.
Nathaniel Rumsey, who was appointed Apothecary on May
20th, 1737, resigned in October, 1739, and on the 19th of that
month Nicholas Simpson was elected by ballot. Simpson
kept a shop in the Market Place, and when he resigned his
office at the Infirmary five years later he resumed his practice
at the Hotwells. He was a Freemason, and became Master of
the Exchange Lodge in December, 1752. 1
Nearly 700 patients were under treatment during the year
1739, and the work of dispensing the long and complicated
prescriptions and attending to all the cupping and bleeding,
which was then almost a routine treatment, threw a great deal
of work on the shoulders of the Apothecary. It was therefore
decided that a " servant in the nature of an apprentice " should
be appointed. On December 21st Joseph Shapland was taken
on trial. He proved satisfactory, and his indentures were signed
the 10th of March, 1740 (1739 old style). He replaced Henry
Rumsey, who had previously acted as assistant in the Shop
at the Infirmary.
Joseph Shapland was provided " by the Society with Meat,
Drink, Washing and Lodging," but was to be " provided with
apparel of all kinds by his friends." The apprenticeship was
to run for seven years, subject to dismissal in case of mis-
behaviour, and on the above terms he was to be taught " the
Art and Mistery of an Apothecary."
Shapland, who subsequently became Apothecary to the
Infirmary, and had a busy and honourable career in general
practice afterwards, was actually only twelve years of age when
he was bound apprentice to the Institution. He was the son of
Mr. Angell Shapland, of Marshfield, Gloucester, and is described
as gentlemanly and handsome. We know from many sources
that he was generally respected. (See p. 92.) He died on
April 2nd, 1801, aged seventy-four.
1 According to R. Smith, his daughter married "Latham the Newsman,"
and his granddaughter sold newspapers " upon the brass pillars in front of
the Exchange."
50
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
APPRENTICES.
As this is the first mention of an apprentice, it may be as
well here to say something about these young gentlemen, whose
doings, good and bad, will occasionally crop up in this history.
The indentures were for seven years, but during the last
year the boy was allowed to become a pupil to the Surgeons.
At first no premium was paid, but it was soon realised that the
valuable training made the posts much sought after, and a sum
of twenty guineas was given by the apprentice to the Infirmary.
This was raised to a hundred guineas in 1792, and in 1813 to
one hundred and fifty guineas on admission and an annual
payment of thirty guineas to the House and forty to the
Apothecary.
Although Shapland was apprenticed at the age of twelve, it
was usually stated in the advertisements that the pupil must be
between the ages of fifteen and sixteen.
The number of Apothecary's apprentices was soon increased
to three, and in 1815 to four, and the numerous applications
show how valuable the training was considered.
Besides their work at the Shop, where they learnt a
really practical knowledge of pharmacy, and in the wards and
out-patient room, these Apothecary's pupils were expected to
keep the surgeon's " Dressing Boxes " replenished with tow,
ointments, bandages, etc. It is expressly stated in one of the
old rules that " They shall be diligent in drying Herbs."
The apprentices had no sitting-room except their bed-
chamber, and often slept two or three in a room.
The Resident Apothecary and these apprentices of his
(afterwards called " House Pupils ") had little to do with the
surgical side of the house, but were kept very busy by the
Physicians.
The Apothecary's apprentices must not be confounded with
the Surgeons' apprentices or pupils. These latter, again, were
of two kinds ; there were the private pupils, who lived at the
Surgeon's house, assisting him in his work. These were a very
considerable source of income to their masters. Mr. James
Ford, for instance (Surgeon to the Infirmary 1743-58),
received in pupils' fees, from 1744 to 1757, £708 10s. 4d., and
this was below the average for popular, well-known surgeons
in the eighteenth century.
The other kind of Surgeons' pupils that we are now more
concerned with, viz. the Infirmary Surgical pupil, was
apprenticed to all the visiting Surgeons. The first on record is
Thomas Davies, who paid the five Surgeons two guineas each
every half year.
51
A HISTORY OF THE
As the fame of the Infirmary increased there were many
applicants for these posts, and it was arranged for each Surgeon
to have pupils of his own. In the code of rules for 1758 there
is the statement, " Surgeons are allowed to bring apprentices
to assist them and allowed two pupils and to take money for
teaching them."
In a list dated 1818 there were no less than sixteen serving
under the Surgeons, besides three Apothecary's apprentices.
They were supposed to be indentured for five years, but this
period was modified from time to time. In 1805, for instance,
the pupil paid forty guineas for one year, seventy-five for two,
one hundred and five for three, one hundred and thirty-five for
four, and one hundred and sixty-five guineas for five years, and
all these fees were divided " amongst the existing Surgeons in
equal shares."
The number of pupils allowed to each Surgeon also varied.
In 1820 it was limited to three, but this regulation was not
adhered to, and gave rise to an acrimonious discussion.
There is a common belief (fostered no doubt by the writings
of Dickens, Thackeray and other novelists) that the medical
student and apprentice of the eighteenth and early part of the
nineteenth century was a commonplace, illiterate, and often
ill-bred young man. This was by no means the case in Bristol,
probably not in other centres of medical education. The
Infirmary authorities, especially, were extremely particular as
to the class of youth taken, and if their general education was
not considered sufficiently good they were refused. Thus in
1766 the son of a Mrs. Ford was not admitted because his
schoolmaster, Mr. Foot, could not give a sufficiently good
report of his studies, and he was sent back to school for another
year. They were frequently the sons of gentlemen of good
position ; in fact, amongst the pupils and officials at the Bristol
Infirmary, especially during the first hundred years of its
existence, the standard as to social position was very high.
Originally the Infirmary was considered a school for
surgery only, and during the first eighty years or so there is no
mention of Physicians' pupils. The Physicians did not approve
of their surgical colleagues monopolising the fees, and occasion-
ally took pupils surreptitiously ; as there were no rules which
recognised this, there were complaints and bickerings, and in
1829 the question came under discussion, and arrangements
were made which will be referred to later on.
The Resident Apothecaries not only taught the apprentices
recognised by the Board, but as time went on they availed them-
selves of the advantages offered by the Infirmary for their other
52
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
private pupils, so that at length one of the Surgeons had to call
the attention of the Committee to " a number of young men
strutting about with their hats on," who were quite unknown
to the Staff. Several of the Apothecaries fought stoutly for the
right to introduce these pupils, but the practice was ultimately
stopped.
53
CHAPTER VI
WORK IN THE WARDS — OLD PRESCRIPTIONS — ANNUAL EXPENSES
— COVE'S WARD — CHARITY UNIVERSAL — COMMITTEE ROOM —
JOHN PAGE — JAMES FORD — ANECDOTES — DR. DRUMMOND — DR.
CADOGAN — RICHARD LATHROP — JOSEPH BEECH — THORNHILL'S
RESIGNATION — POPULARITY OF INFIRMARY
We are accustomed nowadays to such neat and regularly-
ordered wards in our hospitals, that it requires some effort of
the imagination to picture the interior of the Bristol Infirmary
in its early days, and the medical and surgical work that went
on there. Thanks to some of the old records, we can, however,
obtain a fairly good idea. Let the reader imagine a plain room,
with ordinary, small-paned windows, usually shut, a table in
the centre on which stand a basin and ewer, some tow, lint and
bandages, with a surgical box full of ointments spread on strips
of lint and other " dressings." Eight or more beds are arranged
round the ward. Most of the patients are in bed, but two or
three are helping to clean the floor or attend to the others.
Those that are up are dressed in dark-coloured, brown or grey
cloth suits, with long coats, knee-breeches and worsted stockings.
In charge of them is a middle-aged nurse in cap and apron, with
a handkerchief tied under her chin.
The Surgeon enters, with his triangular hat and wig, red
cloak and gold-headed cane or sword. If it should happen to
be the handsome Mr. Thornhill the cloak is probably hung up,
and he appears in his courtly suit of black velvet, with his
" steel-handled rapier." He is in no hurry, but impressive,
grave and deliberate, condescending to his patients and to the
nurse. He feels the patient's pulse, using a watch without a
" second " hand, timing the process for one full minute. If the
man is at all florid or feverish he orders him to be " blooded."
If it is a medical case the Physician listens perhaps to the
patient's chest, not with a stethoscope — for these instruments
were not known then — but by putting his ear to the skin.
Bleeding was a panacea for all diseases in those days, and
was ordered by some of the Medical Staff almost by routine ;
thus one of the Physicians, it is recorded, bled nineteen out of
twenty-six admissions. A few years later the average number of
54
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
people bled at the Infirmary was thirty-two per day, and in
seven months (according to definite record) one pupil bled
560 patients ; and during the same period one of the Surgeons
" took 47 gallons of blood." The usual amount taken at a
time was twelve ounces.
In the early part of the nineteenth century it was the custom
for the Out-patients who required " blooding " to sit in a row
on a bench, in a room floored with a red carpet. The Apothe-
cary, or more usually a student, tied the bandages round their
arms, and then began at one end of the row and with his lancet
opened a vein in each, one after the other. When the vein was
opened a basin was given to the patient, who caught his own
blood in it. By the time the student had reached the last on
the bench, No. 1 was ready to have his arm bandaged up.
The late Dr. J. G. Swayne records (in the Bristol Medico-
Chirurgical Journal for December, 1892) how he " once bled
and cupped under Dr. Riley's directions nearly fifty patients
in one day ! "
If an operation was necessary an ordinary wooden table was
used. It was not until 1786 that a special table was given to
the Institution by Richard Smith, sen.
What an operation meant in those days may be imagined.
Accustomed as we are now to anaesthetics and antiseptics (or
aseptic cleanliness) , whereby the pain of an operation is annulled
and the after treatment reduced to a few almost painless
dressings, one can with difficulty picture the surgeon with his
sleeves tucked up standing over the common table, his tools
taken straight from their case, or with, at most, a superficial
cleansing. The only narcotics for the unfortunate patient were
brandy or a dose of laudanum. It must be remembered that
the conditions required dexterity and rapidity, and the operator
had to realise this. Many of the old surgeons were, as a fact,
very expert with their hands, Chirurgeons in the true sense of
the word.
Some of the records of operations which sound terrible are
in reality far from it. For instance, fingers and toes were
occasionally cut off by the rough and ready method of putting
the hand or foot on a block of wood, holding a chisel to the
part to be removed, and effecting the amputation by one blow
with a mallet. Although this must have left a stump which
took weeks to heal over, yet the actual operation was quicker
and probably much less painful than a neater and more elaborate
one would have been. In the after treatment, however, which
was long and wearisome, the difference between now and then
is perhaps most apparent. In the larger amputations " flaps "
55
A HISTORY OF THE
of skin were made, as now, to cover the " stump," but instead
of being at once sewn up, they were often " stuffed with lint
or flour," and quick, " primary " union was almost unknown.
Ointments were much used, and special metal slabs were
employed on which the lint was spread and carefully plastered
with the ointment.
From the very first the Infirmary gained a reputation lor
the treatment of that painful affection, stone in the bladder,
and in the first three years sixteen persons were " cut " for this
complaint, usually with good results. A special garret was set
apart for these cases, and if the patient could afford it he was
allowed to bring his own nurse. Otherwise he came under the
care of a woman who by experience had learnt the management
of these cases. In the latter part of the eighteenth century
the nurse in charge of this department was known by the name
of " Old Ouiddle." Many of these operations were recorded in
the daily newspapers, and notice of them sometimes appeared
in advance.
Great ignorance existed as to the action of drugs, and the
quack was listened to with credulity not only by the public
but by the faculty. For example, at a General Meeting of the
Subscribers held on December 7th, 1739, we find the following
entry in the Minute Book : " Ordered that Mrs. Hughes pay
three Guineas on account of Mrs. Stephens' medicines and place
it to the general account." This Mrs. Stephens was a noted
quack, whose nostrum for the cure of the " stone " became so
famous that she actually received the sum of £5,000 from
Parliament for the secret.
Those who know for what rubbish the advertising medicine
vendor nowadays obtains enthusiastic testimonials from the
highest in the land, will not be very surprised to learn that this
wonderful recipe consisted of " snails burnt to blackness,
chamomile flowers, sweet fennel and the greater Burdock root."
The Apothecary and his assistants must have had hard
work to dispense some of the Physicians' prescriptions, which
were often long and complicated with directions written in
a curious mixture of dog-Latin and English. The two
reproduced (Figs. 10 and 11), although not written for Infirmary
patients, are good examples of the old type. The directions
would certainly be unintelligible to a modern druggist ; in the
prescription dated November, 1763 (Fig. 10), the patient is to
take a dose if there is any nausea, or vomiting or faintness ; but
the English word " stomach " appears amidst the Latin, and
the Physician has invented a word of his own for " vomiting."
In the other one (Fig. n) the patient is told to take " two
56
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A PRESCRIPTION OF NOV., 1763
Fig. 10
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ANOTHER PRESCIPTION OF
THOMAS PAGE'S FATHER
Fig. 11.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
tablespoonfuls at first, then one tablespoonful every hour until
the hiccoughs stop I" To lessen the Dispenser's work, it soon
became the custom to keep certain stock recipes ready for use,
and this led to the formation of an Infirmary " Pharmacopeia."
Many of the drugs then in vogue (such as musk) were too
expensive for use amongst the poor ; the patients at the
Infirmary were generally ordered purgatives, a bleeding or two,
leeches, blisters, setons, and some simple medicine " to be taken
three times a day." The treatment was of the " heroic " sort ;
patients nevertheless did very well. At first, however, the fame
of the Infirmary was chiefly for its surgery ; it was not until
later that its Physicians became widely known and popular.
The first Annual Report, still in existence (containing a
statement of the income and expenditure, number of patients
treated, etc.), is entitled " An Account of the Proceedings of the
Bristol Infirmary for Two Years ending December 21, 1741."
We find from this that during 1740 340 In-patients and 504
Out-patients were treated, including in each case those who
were on the books at the beginning of the year. The expenses
in this year were heavy, owing to the building and alterations
already described. The income, from 199 yearly subscribers,
various small legacies and donations, etc., was £835 15s. 3d.
This, together with £442 5s. 8|d. balance from the previous
year, made a total of £1,278 os. n|d.
There was a slight increase in the number of patients in
1741 ; the Annual Subscribers were 208 in number, and the
income from all sources (excluding any balance at commence-
ment of year) was £1,151 12s. y^d., but this included £350, being
one year and three quarters' interest on the £5,000 legacy of
John Elbridge. It was decided that this Elbridge legacy should
" be continued at interest as a Standing Fund," and that "in
future all benefactions of £50 and upwards be added to it."
This rule has not, however, always been strictly adhered to.
Most of the Infirmary money at this time was invested in the
then fashionable South Sea Annuities. Amongst the sources
of income during the early years one occasionally comes across
" Prize Money " from Bristol Privateers. For example, on
March 12th, 1745-6, we find the entry: "Captain Whitefield
and the Owners of the Prince Charles Privateer having sent to
this Society Ten Guineas, the Society accepts it with thanks."
The Annual Report was published yearly (after 1741), and
was after the year 1754 called " The State of the Bristol
Infirmary," or more shortly " The State." It usually contained
a preamble setting forth the advantages of the Institution to
the poor and the need of public support. In 1749 there is a
57
A HISTORY OF THE
copy of the Rules, and in 1750, for the first time, a list of
Subscribers, and details of the expenditure. It may interest
my readers to know what the chief disbursements for this year
1750 were : —
£ s. d.
Beer 190 10 6
Meat 148 13 9
Bread 114 1 9
Cheese 66 4 8§
1Milk . . 52 15 4
Coals 47 19 o
Butter 46 4 8|
Soap 19 14 o
Candles 14 10 9
Medicines and other materials for
the Apothecary and Surgeons . . 286 o 6\
Servants' wages 176 13 6
Beer was then, as before stated, the chief drink at all meals,
and was looked upon as a nourishing food.
The demands for admission of patients taxed the accommo-
dation to the utmost, and the Committee and General Board
had constantly to alter and enlarge the building. By a
readjustment of space the Committee Room and the
Apothecary's lodging, which were divided by a wooden partition,
were in the spring of 1740 made into a ward for men ; and by
the autumn of 1741 a new ward, capable of receiving sixteen
patients, was ready to be opened " as soon as the Society shall
be enabled to support the expense of Furnishing and maintaining
it without breaking in upon their Capital." This ward was
opened in June, 1743, and as the expenses of furnishing, etc.
(about £270) were defrayed by Mrs. Cove, of Clifton, it was called
" Cove's Ward," and a board was fixed over the door with the
name upon it. The chief men's ward at this time was called
"Elbridge's" and the chief women's ward " The Magdalen"
(when in 1749 two new wards were added they were named
" Job's " and " Dorcas ").
The increase in the work of the House owing to this
additional ward was the occasion for the appointment of
an extra Surgeon, Mr. James Ford, on June 13th, 1743. (See
Appendix A.)
In 1742 iron bedsteads were introduced instead of the old
1 In 1765 Ann Humphrys (who could not read or write, and " made
her mark " instead of signature) agreed to serve the Infirmary with good
fresh milk as it comes from the cow, without any adulteration, at 4d. a gallon
in the summer and 5d. a gallon in the winter.
58
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
wooden ones, and curtains were hung round them. A piece of
" strong rope with a cross handle of wood " was hung from the
ceiling over each bed for patients to lift themselves by. These
ropes continued until about the year 1780, and gave, it is said,
" a crowded appearance to the wards."
Every medical charity has to deal with the practical difficulty
of " chronic cases." Patients may linger on for months or
years, not quite fit for removal, but blocking the way to others
in more urgent need. To remedy this a plan of " over-times "
was introduced in 1742 ; this was, that if a patient should
receive no benefit in three months he, or she, should be dis-
charged, unless the Physician or Surgeon wished otherwise.
The Medical Officers were sometimes requested to attend
Committee Meetings to give evidence about these cases, and were
occasionally asked to " deliver a written report of such patients
as were over time." With superficial modifications this
arrangement has continued to the present day.
Many of the cases attended at the Infirmary in those days
were of a chronic nature, the more so as diagnosis was not
so accurate as now, and was sometimes very vague. I find,
for instance, in an old List of Patients, such complaints as
" Lowness of Spirits," " Hypocondria," " Pain of the Limbs,"
" Pain of the Stomach," " Mania," " Scorbutus," " Gravel,"
" Hsemoptoe " (i.e. hsemoptysis, hemorrhage from the lungs)
entered. The word " Impostumation " occurs, representing
any kind of abscess or inflammatory swelling. Bites by rabid
animals (dogs and cats) are not infrequent.
The reproduction of a page from the " Out-patient Book "
for August 1st, 1759, gives an idea of the prevalent complaints.
(See Fig. 12, p. 60.)
In June, 1746, a Sub Committee was appointed to " lay
out as much of the Society's money as can be spared " for
" further extending the Charity." This Sub-Committee
continued in existence for some years, but owing to the lack
of funds nothing definite was done until the winter of 1749,
when there is an entry in the Minute Book (under date December
5th) " that the Plan delivered in by Mr. George Tully for
Building the West Wing be complyed with, in uniformity to
the East Wing."
CHARITY UNIVERSAL.
This Quarterly Meeting of the Subscribers, held on December
5th, 1749, is memorable in the annals of the Bristol Infirmary
because it was then first decided to place over the entrance
" in gold letters " the inscription " Charity Universal," one
59
A HISTORY OF THE
of the luckiest mottoes ever thought of for such an institution.
In the many difficulties and differences that have from time
to time sprung up, these words have been quoted again and
Fig. 12.
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PAGE FROM "OUT-PATIENT BOOK," 1759
again as a standard round which all men could rally and sink
private quarrels.
At this time (1749) there were 76 beds available for patients,
47 for men and 29 for women, of which no less than 26 were
60
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
set apart for patients undergoing treatment by mercury
carried to the extent of salivation. In 1750 the west wing
was so far advanced that twenty new beds were ready, but it
could not be opened for want of sufficient capital. This does
not mean that the Infirmary was not well supported, for the
annual subscriptions had steadily risen from £312 in 1737
to £779 in 1750, and many useful legacies had fallen in ; but
the number of patients had greatly increased, and the
general expenses for the year now amounted to more than
£1.300.
It was, however, very important that these wards should
be opened : 180 patients, fit cases and properly recommended,
had been refused admission this year (1750) for want of room,
and many cases had to be lodged, at the Society's expense,
in neighbouring houses, where they were visited by the
Staff.
To obtain more money the following plans were suggested :
(1) To send circulars to gentlemen residing in the neighbouring
counties ; (2) Personal application to the citizens ; (3) Annual
collections at places of worship. Also, to limit expenses,
(1) that a number of the House Visitors should be chosen
every year by ballot " to inspect the whole Transactions
of the Charity daily," and (2) that brewing and baking
should be carried out at the Infirmary. It was estimated that
this might be done by an initial outlay of about £600.
These suggestions were all carried out sooner or later.
The collection at churches and chapels, which became a
very important addition to the yearly income, amounted in
1751 to £344 18s. io|d.
According to the newspapers nineteen churches and seven
Nonconformist chapels contributed. The " Fryers and Temple
Street Meeting House " headed the list with £43 17s. 6d.,
then came Lewin's Mead with £35 16s. 7d. St. Nicholas Church
collected £23, All Saints' £17 6s. 6d., and St. Augustine's
£iy 5s. 8d., etc.
The straightforward statement and call to the public
published in the Annual State and in the papers, which
should be noted as the first urgent appeal for help, produced a
considerable increase in the number of Subscribers (from 319
in 1750 to 378 in 1751), and a handsome donation of £1,000 from
a " Person who desired to be unknown," through the hands of
Mr. Paul Fisher 1 and Mr. Nehemiah Champion.
1 Mr. Paul Fisher was a prominent and energetic member of the Infirmary
Committee, frequently taking the Chair at General Meetings. He built, in
1747, the fine house on Clifton Hill afterwards famous as the residence of
the Symonds Family. ,
61
A HISTORY OF THE
There is no clue to the identity of this benevolent donor.
An old newspaper cutting pasted into the R. Smith MS. says :
" On Thursday last £1,000 was deposited in a Bank for the use
of the Poor of the Infirmary, for which generous benefaction
the Society would return more particular thanks if the person
who gave it had not, by a taste peculiar to such exalted souls,
desired to be unknown."
A legacy of £3,000 was also left by Mr. Richard Percivall,
formerly of Bristol. He was travelling, for his health, in Italy,
and was warned by his physician that it would be prudent to
set his affairs in order. He therefore made his will, but a short
time before his death he left word that he had omitted to leave
a sum of money to the Bristol Infirmary. This message was
brought to England, after his decease, by his servant, to his
father, Mr. Joseph Percivall, who immediately carried out the
wishes of his dead son and sent the Treasurer a cheque for
£3,000. From these and other sources the income for the year
1751 amounted to £5,829 12s. 5d. Of this, some £250 was
spent in furniture for the new wards and building, and £872 was
paid to Mr. Thomas Richards for a " House and Brew-House in
Maudlin Lane, adjoining the Infirmary." 1 These houses are
shown in the drawing by Mr. Henry Smith. (See Fig. 13.)
The new wards, which were situated in the west wing over
the Committee Room, contained twenty beds. They were
quickly furnished and opened ; two " drying rooms " were
added, and a little later an iron gate and railings were erected
on the south-east of the Infirmary (then the front), and the
piazza figured in the old prints was covered with lead in place
of the Cornish tiles which hitherto protected it. The building
now, for the first time, began to look like the plan published in
1742. (See Fig. 14.) This plan gives a moderately correct
representation of the house, as a two-winged building, with
three stories. The Matron's and Dispenser's bedrooms were
in the west 2 wing, as was the Committee Room. It must be
remembered that owing to the incline of Lower Maudlin Street
(or " Lane " as it was then called), the lowest floor was at the
sides and back of the house partly underground, and the
Infirmary is described in the old records as consisting of
Cellarage, Ground Floor and Chamber Floor. The Waiting
Room and Dispensary were on the cellar floor.
1 The piece of land on which these houses stood, and a strip of ground
behind them, are marked 62A on the plan shown on page 14. The brewhouse
was at the time used by " John Jones, Brewer."
2 For convenience the south-west portions will be referred to in future as
the west, the north-east as the east, the north-west as the north, and the
south-east as the south.
62
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Hitherto operations had been performed in the wards or in
some adjoining room ; there was no regular Operating Theatre.
The urgent need for one came before the Board in 1752, but it
was not until 1755 that a special room was set apart for
this purpose. In 1753 there is an entry in the Minute Book
that a skeleton was to be procured " for the use of the
Infirmary only " — no doubt the same that has done such
yeoman service in the Surgeons' Consulting Room for many
years.
The Committee Room was a spacious apartment on the
ground floor of the west wing. It had two windows only,
looking out on Lower Maudlin Lane ; and two doors, one of
which led down a flight of steps to " the Dead Hole," where
deceased patients were taken before burial. This dark and
miserable cellar, below the Committee Room, was lighted by a
small, half -hidden window (just visible in Henry Smith's
drawing, Fig. 13) ; and to use R. Smith's words, " a dead hole
it was in every sense of the word." We shall have more to say
of it afterwards. We have, luckily, amongst some old Infirmary
memoranda made by Mr. Richard Champion, sen. (Treasurer
1768-79) for Mr. William Fripp (Treasurer 181 1-29) and
preserved by Richard Smith, the following catalogue of the
furniture of this old Committee Room : " One Windsor Chair
and Cushion, one large Oak Table, three Benches, one Frame
for Benefactions." Here, with the Chairman on the cushioned
chair and the rest on benches, met the Weekly Committees and
Monthly and Quarterly Boards, listening to complaints, inter-
viewing the Matron and Apothecary, ordering food and coals,
etc., and testing the beer and victuals, samples of which were
regularly brought before them. No room in Bristol has had a
more varied history than this old Committee Room. It has
been used for Divine Service, for anatomical and surgical
lectures, for the occasional examination of dead bodies, and for
demonstrations on the carcases of murderers who had undergone
the extreme penalty of the Law.
The Committee kept a sharp look-out, especially on trades-
men and officials. At a meeting held on September 21st, 1764,
for example, we find the following entry : " The Committee
order'd the Baker for the future to weigh every Sack of Flour,
to measure all the Malt and likewise to tail1 all the Faggots
brought into the Infirmary."
We have seen before how carefully the coal was scrutinised.
The first coal, we notice, that was taken into the Infirmary was
brought by a woman, Bridget Stone, who " made her mark "
1 To " tale " or count.
63
A HISTORY OF THE
on her receipts, being unable to read or write, and received
" Sixteen Shillings for sixteen horse loads of coal ! " 1
The Committee had also to think of patients when they
left, for they often went out from the Infirmary quite destitute,
perhaps with their friends at a distance. Sometimes money
was given them to pay their journey home, sometimes clothing.
The authorities at St. Peter's Hospital did their best to help
with these poor creatures, and promised that if they had
due notice of discharged patients they would " do the
necessary for their immediate relief here and pass them to
where they belong," a proposal gratefully received by the
Committee.
When " resurrectionists " or " body-snatchers " were about,
the poor naturally became suspicious, and on one occasion,
at least, a man accused the Infirmary authorities of keeping
his wife's body for dissecting purposes, and burying something
else in the coffin, which had actually to be opened to satisfy
him. Complaints like this, and the control of a large and
(in the case of the apprentices) troublesome "family," kept
the Committee's hands full.
During the few years we have been considering some
important changes occurred in the personnel of the
Institution.
On the resignation of John Andrews, Richard Champion,
sen., was elected Treasurer on December 18th, 1739. A
short account of him, and of the other members of his family
who became Treasurers, will be found in Chapter ix.
Thomas Page, one of the first two Surgeons elected, died
on May 5th, 1741, and on June 5th, John Page, his son, was
appointed Surgeon. (See Appendix A.)
JOHN PAGE.
John Page was born at his father's house in Redcliff Street
in July, 1713. (See p. 20.) He received a liberal education,
and was indentured to his father in 1728, both as a private
apprentice and at the Infirmary. He used to boast that he
was the first person who ever dressed a patient there. He
afterwards studied at a London Hospital and at the Hotel
Dieu at Paris.
He left his father's house in Redcliff Street in October,
1743, and went to live at St. James's Barton, and on April
27th, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Fisher, of Chew Stoke,
who survived him for twenty-two years. He left no issue.
1 At this date the Infirmary paid for " prime ox-beef " one guinea per
cwt., about 2^d. per lb.
64
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
He was twenty-eight years of age when he came on the Infirmary
Staff, and he soon became well known as a man of sound
judgment and knowledge. He is described asa " good, steady
operator," and became famous for his operations on stone in
the bladder, an operation which in those days was considered
the greatest test of a man's skill as a surgeon, requiring a
steady hand, a keen eye, anatomical knowledge, coolness and
judgment. His results were very good. It was he who used
to remove fingers and toes with a chisel, and students were
in the habit of saying that " Johnny was going to play
at hammer, chisel and block ! " He was fond of long
prescriptions containing a farrago of drugs now considered
almost useless, and was a great advocate of balsams and
ointments.
He resigned his post at the Infirmary in the spring of 1777,
and on the 6th of May, at a General Meeting of Subscribers,
he was thanked for the services which he had " rendered this
House during a Series of near Forty Years," and was " desired
to attend as Surgeon extraordinary." This appointment,
made without previous notice to his surgical colleagues, gave
him a high-sounding title without any definitely fixed privileges.
He himself naturally thought that it should confer on him
a stronger position in surgical consultations ; this was resented
by the other Surgeons, and a coolness arose in consequence.
Surgery, in fact, was making rapid advances, and John Page's
advice could not be always followed by the younger members
of the Staff. Matters were brought to a head soon after the
election of Mr. Joseph Metford. A young woman came into
the Infirmary with disease of the bones of the foot. Metford
proposed a partial amputation, with which his colleagues
agreed, but not Page, who vehemently insisted that the
whole foot should be removed. The matter had to be
put to the vote, and Metford's plan was decided on. The
case did so well that with a " stuffed boot " no difference
between the two feet could be detected, and there was no
lameness.
Soon after John Page happened to go into the ward to
inquire after this patient. She was seated by the fire, and
rose and walked towards him. " For a few seconds he appeared
chagrined, but presently, turning to the Surgeons, he said,
' Gentlemen, this convinces me of what I have latterly suspected,
which is that you do not need my assistance, and that it is
also time for me to give up Surgery.' He dropped the profession
from that moment." He died on June 30th, 1792, aged 79
years. He was a Unitarian, and " attended at Lewin's Mead."
65
A HISTORY OF THE
He was buried in the " Baptist's Yard " or burial-ground,
Redcross Street. x
Thomas Skone (Surgeon 1767-70), who knew John Page
intimately, has recorded of him that he was " a good, friendly,
warm-hearted man, of a lively, pleasant disposition, with a
good deal to say for himself." Skone told Richard Smith,
" If, sir, you are going to write anything about him [John Page]
let it also be mentioned that his wife made him so comfort-
able by his own fire-side, that, except when professionally
engaged, he never left his home for a single day from the
hour of his marriage to the day of his death ; nor ever, during
forty years, gave himself but one week's holiday, and then
he took his wife with him." His devoted wife continued to
live in the same house during the long period that she survived
him, and it is pathetic to read that " his papers, books, and
other things remained in the places where he had left them
in his study, having never been touched." He apparently
never made much more than £300 a year by his practice ;
but he always considered this a good income. (For portrait
see Fig. 15.)
JAMES FORD.
When " Cove's Ward " was opened in 1743 it was decided
to add another Surgeon to the Staff, and on June 13th of that
year James Ford was duly elected ; he had previously been a
candidate when John Page was appointed.
James Ford was the son of Thomas Ford, of Wells,
Somersetshire. He was apprenticed to " Old Rosewell," a
famous barber-surgeon of the old school, and went afterwards
to London, where he became a pupil at St. Thomas's Hospital.
He completed his medical studies at the Hotel Dieu and Hopital
de la Charite at Paris. He married a Miss Horner, of High
Street, and resided in Trinity Street. He was a man of con-
siderable talent, a good anatomist and surgeon, and, like Page,
established a reputation for operations on stone in the bladder.
His ultimate success as a practitioner was, however, due chiefly
to his appearance and fascinating manners. In the year 1758
1 His father, Thomas Page, was a Baptist, and his son John was brought
up in the tenets of that sect. A writer in the Western Daily Press for September
nth, 1913, referring to the Baptists' burial-ground, estimated that at least
ten thousand persons were buried there between the years 1679 and 1836.
I am indebted to Mr. W. Pountney for the following curious entries from
the Baptist Burial Registers : "29 May, 1749. Sarah Carter (a Patten
Young Woman) was (from the Infirmary) Inter'd upon George Humphries."
"n Nov., 1 761. Mr. William Taylor was Inter'd with his head close to the
South East Quoin of Mr. Andrew Gifford's tomb about 14 yards 2 feet from
the South Wall a large child of Mr. Thomas Eyres's buried March 26, 1760
taken up and laid upon him (It was one about 11 years old)."
66
P VI X
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Lord Bute came to the Hotwells to take the Bristol waters,
which in those days had a great reputation ; he came across
Ford, and was so charmed with him that he induced him to
come to London, promising that he would use his influence to
obtain his appointment as Physician-Accoucheur to Queen
Charlotte. This was kept a profound secret for some time, and
made Ford so preoccupied and absent-minded that when sent
for on one occasion to see a lady who urgently required his
services, he came into the bedroom, and after a few words of
conversation said " good morning," and went away. He was
fetched back by the anxious husband, and explained that " he
was absorbed in thought at the moment and quite abstracted
from surrounding objects ! " He resigned his post at the
Infirmary on June 5th, 1759, and his appointment to the
Queen's household was soon afterwards announced. He
became famous in London, was made a Licentiate of the College
of Physicians and obtained a medical degree from Aberdeen.
He also became " Consulting Physician and Man-Midwife " to
the Westminster General Dispensary, which was established in
1774. When David Garrick offered for sale his share of Drury
Lane Theatre in 1777 James Ford and Richard Brinsley Sheridan
purchased it, it is stated, for £35,000. This was an unfortunate
transaction for Ford, who lost considerably by it. Soon after
this purchase the King (George III.) saw him and asked if it
were true. Ford replied, " Yes, may it please your Majesty."
"Oh! Aye, aye!" rejoined the King, "it pleases me well
enough ! Quite right, quite right, all very proper, for
Charlotte assures me you are quite at home behind the
Curtain ! " (For portrait see Fig. 16.)
Extracts copied from Ford's private memoranda show that
in twenty years he made £951 4s. by pupils and apprentices.
From the same source I find that his yearly professional receipts
steadily increased from £42 10s. 6d. in 1740 to £1,524 in 1759.
After this he probably continued to make a large annual
income, but we have no data.
Ford introduced from France the fungus called " Agaric "
as a styptic for stopping haemorrhage, and tried it largely
at the Infirmary, using it after amputations and so on.
He formed a high opinion of its efficacy, but other methods
soon superseded it. (See Medical Practice in the Eighteenth
Century, chap, xx.)
Two other changes on the Staff may be mentioned here.
Dr. Etwall resigned in 1743, but the remaining Physicians, Drs.
Bonython, Logan and Hardwicke, did not think it necessary to
appoint another. However, on Dr. Hardwicke's death in
67
A HISTORY OF THE
September, 1747, it was decided to fill both vacancies, and on
December 15th Drs. Drummond and Cadogan were duly
elected. (See Appendix A.)
DR. ARCHIBALD DRUMMOND.
Dr. Archibald Drummond was a descendant of the Dukes of
Perth ; his father was Provost of Edinburgh, where his son
appears to have been educated. He was born in 1720, came to
Bristol about the year 1743, and resided at first in Castle Green
and afterwards at 13 St. James's Square. For some time
he did very little in the way of practice, making only £20 during
his first year, but his learning, skill and good manners soon
enabled him to do very well. It is recorded that when he first
set up in Castle Green, an undertaker of the name of Harris,
living at the coiner of Marsh Street, sent round circulars to the
chief medical men of Bristol offering them a percentage on any
funeral he got through their recommendation. Dr. Drummond
did not receive one of these circulars, and when asked by a
friend why he had been omitted, he answered, " with a low bow,
and in a broad Scotch accent : ' Because I am not sufficiently
eeminent to make it worth the fellow's while ! ' " He married
in 1757 a Miss Parsons, of Rudgeway, who was said to have a
fortune of £30,000. His name stands fourth upon the first list
of the " Edinburgh Medical Society," to which many of the
Bristol Infirmary Physicians subsequently belonged. He
resigned his post on October 29th, 1771, in a remarkably short
letter to the Trustees. He died August 26th, 1801, aged
eighty-one, and was buried in St. Thomas's Church, Bristol.
DR. WILLIAM CADOGAN.
Dr. William Cadogan was a native of Cowbridge, in
Glamorganshire. He resigned his post at the Infirmary on
March 3rd, 1752, and went to London. He received by " Royal
Mandate " a degree from Cambridge University, was made a
Fellow of the College of Physicians in 1758, served in the Army,
wrote on gout, on the management of children's diseases, and
rapidly rose to the head of his profession. He was one of the
physicians called in to see David Garrick during his last illness
in January, 1779.
As an authority on gout Dr. Cadogan felt it to be his duty
to inculcate great temperance in eating and drinking. He
himself, however, appears to have tried both " full " and
" low " diet. The following story is told of him in The Quarterly
Journal of Science, Literature and Arts, Oct.-Dec, 1828 :—
68
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
" When dining one day at a College Dinner, after discoursing
most eloquently and forcibly on abstinence and temperance—
and particularly against pie-crust and pastry— he is reported
to have addressed a brother M.D. in the following terms : ' Pray,
Doctor, is that a pigeon-pie near you ? ' ' Yes, sir.' ' Then
I '11 thank you to send me the hind quarters of two pigeons,
some fat of the beef steak, a good portion of the pudding crust,
and as much gravy as you can spare ! ' "
RICHARD LATHROP.
Morgan Smith, who for a time acted as Secretary, was
replaced in 1739 by Richard Lathrop. This gentleman was
born in 1712, and was therefore twenty-seven years of age at
the time of his appointment. The exact date of his election
is not mentioned in the Board Book, or in the mutilated
remains of the first Committee Book ; but on December 7th,
1739, it was resolved at a General Meeting " that a reward
of ten guineas be allowed Mr. Lathrop for his trouble." The
following December he received twenty, and the next year
thirty guineas. He attended the Lewin's Mead Meeting
House, was a pious, kind-hearted man, and had eulogistic
verses written and printed about him after his death, which
took place on September 19th, 1751. He was for some time
" Cashier at the Custom House for the Port of Bristol."
JOSEPH BEECH.
His successor, Joseph Beech, was appointed under the
title of " Treasurer's Clerk." He is sometimes styled " Deputy
Treasurer," or " Secretary and Receiver." He was given
twenty guineas for his first year's services, but on December
4th, 1753, it was agreed that his salary should be £26 per
annum. He continued Secretary until his death on February
2nd, 1771.
Richard Champion, the third Treasurer, died on February
23rd, 1747-8, and was succeeded by his son Nehemiah, who
was elected on March 8th of that year. (See account of the
Champions in Chapter ix.)
In 1752 the officers of the Infirmary were as follows : —
Treasurer : Nehemiah Champion.
Physicians : Drs. Logan, Bonython, Cadogan and
Drummond.
Surgeons : Messrs. Thornhill, Page and Ford.
Chaplain : Rev. William Davis.
69
A HISTORY OF THE
Apothecary : Joseph Shapland.
Secretary and Receiver : Joseph Beech.
Matron : Mrs. Ann Hughes.
The Senior Surgeon, " the handsome William Thornhill,"
was a busy man, with many professional and social engagements.
It appears by various entries that he became irregular in his
attendance at the Infirmary, and was more than once
expostulated with by the Visitors, who requested him
" to appoint another Gentleman of the Establishment to act
for him " in his absences. He, however, in a light-hearted,
careless way, made vague promises of amendment, but went
on much as usual.
A few years later, in 1754, a lad was admitted under his
care who had been accidentally shot in the leg by his master.
This gentleman, anxious that the boy should be well looked
after, gave Thornhill a fee " to quicken his attentions." He
was foolish enough to accept this, and the storm raised by this
breach of Rules ended in his resignation in the autumn of 1754.
The Infirmary had by this time a great reputation, not
only in Bristol, but in the surrounding counties, and patients
were constantly sent in from a distance. On their discharge
they were frequently helped by small sums of money, etc.,
as before mentioned ; but a complaint was made by the
Governors of St. Peter's Hospital that " a great number of
paupers from other places either really or pretend to resort
hither to partake of that useful, beneficial and extensive
charity, the Bristol Infirmary' ; and after being cured or
discharged as incurable, remain in this city in continual acts
of vagrancy." No remedy was suggested. Mr. Paul Fisher,
who was in the chair when this communication was received,
wrote an answer, asking for particulars as to any definite
cases. The matter seems to have dropped.
Not only was the Institution popular as a place of healing
for the poor, but it was beloved by nearly everyone who
worked within its walls.
Many letters are still preserved, yellow with age, addressed
by old students to Richard Smith and others, full of enthusiasm
and love for their old hospital. I have, for example, come
across the Inaugural Thesis for the degree of M.D. of Leyden
University, written in the curious monk-Latin used for such
dissertations, by Dr. Samuel Cave, who was a pupil at the
Bristol Infirmary. This thesis is dated 1779, and is dedicated,
oddly enough, not to his former teachers at Bristol, but to
" the very learned and experienced William Barrett " (" viro
70
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
erudissimo expertissimo ") . He writes with gratitude of
his "six happy years" at the Infirmary, where he laid the
foundations of his medical knowledge.
On June 24th, 1766, James Ford wrote to the Committee
from Albemarle Street, London, requesting that one of his
sons might be received as an Infirmary apprentice " in a school
where I am sure he will learn nothing that I shall hereafter
wish him to forget." The whole letter is, in fact, full of praise
of his old hospital. We shall find similar expressions of affection
constantly used by Infirmary officials in the pages of this
history.
7i
CHAPTER VII
NEW WARDS — OPERATION ROOM — FINANCES — BREWING AND
BAKING — DIET — ELECTION OF THREE SURGEONS — JOHN CASTEL-
MAN — STORY OF " MY ZUN'S HEAD " — JEROME NORMAN —
JOHN TOWNSEND — ANECDOTES OF TOWNSEND
In the year 1755 the number of beds had been increased to
one hundred and thirty-two — seventy-four for men and fifty-
eight for women. The centre of the building was raised and a
room was furnished " proper for performing all operations in
Surgery." More than a thousand In-patients and two thousand
Out-patients were treated during this year. There was still
considerable over-crowding, beds being arranged down the centre
of the wards as well as at the sides, and generally in the passages.
In 1757 the income from all sources amounted to £3,197, and
the expenditure to £2,473. There was therefore a favourable
balance of £724 ; but in spite of this, the next year the Quarterly
Board found it necessary to make an appeal to the public to get
the Institution out of debt, so heavy had the yearly expenses
become. The citizens rose to the occasion, £1,371 was collected,
and matters were again on a satisfactory footing.
We have more than once referred to the consumption of
beer at the Infirmary. From time to time the question came
before the Board and Committee whether this heavy item of
expenditure could not be lessened by establishing a brewery on
the premises. Three houses close to the east wing were bought
from a Mrs. Jolliffe in the spring of 1755 ; one of these tenements
belonged to her, and the other two were " a Security to her for
the payment of an Annuity of ten Pounds per Annum." She
agreed to dispose of the three houses to the Infirmary for " an
annuity of £15 per annum for Life." These houses were
probably used at first as extra accommodation for patients, but
on September 7th, 1762, a Sub-Committee was appointed to
consider whether they could not be utilised as a " proper place
for brewing and baking," and a year later (September 6th, 1763)
it was announced that " the brew-house and bake-house were
nearly completed." It was decided to hire two persons, one
expert in brewing and one in baking, " in order to give a due
light how to contract with a person to carry on the two branches
72
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
united, and be an inhabitant of the House." Apparently it was
not until some years later that the business was sufficiently in
working order to be entrusted to one man ; but in 1772 the
Secretary advertised for a Brewer and Baker " at 7s. per week,
with board, washing and lodging." We find, however, from the
Annual Accounts that beer was purchased until 1775 ; after
this malt and hops were bought.
In 1764 it was decided to abolish " the pint of beer allowed
on rice-milk days, a custom which we imagine rather prejudicial
than necessary." On the days when meat was given (Sundays,
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) it had been the custom to
serve a basin of bread and broth before dinner ; at this date it
was resolved to keep this broth " for their suppers, agreeable to
the Rules of other Hospitals." J
One of the functions of the Visitors was to find out whether
the provisions supplied to the patients were good. It was the
custom from the earliest days of the Institution for the Matron
to place upon the table of the Board Room at the weekly
Committee Meetings a jug of beer and a loaf of bread and some
cheese for inspection and tasting. Dr. Plomer, who succeeded
Dr. Bonython in 1761, was a very regular attendant at these
Committees, which were not usually well attended. Upon
these samples " the doctor made a most formidable attack,
and continued to eat the whole of the sitting, or at least as long
as his appetite and the provisions held out ; if by design or
accident they were forgotten, he would ring the bell, and looking
at the Porter as if he were going to eat him, exclaim, ' Where 's
the bread and cheese, sir ?— and the beer ?— bring them
directly ! ' " His name frequently appears as the only one
present at these meetings, when his meal was therefore quite
undisturbed by business.
William Thornhill's resignation in the autumn of 1754 led
to one of the most celebrated of the Infirmary elections, resulting
in the appointment of three eminent surgeons, Jerome Norman,
John Castelman and John Townsend, on December 20th, 1754.
There were therefore for a time six Surgeons on the Staff and
only three Physicians.
This election is notable as the first occasion on which any
scheme of " Assistant Surgeons " arose. It was actually pro-
posed that out of the six candidates one should be elected
Surgeon and three others made " Assistants." The idea was,
however, strongly opposed, in one of the printed pamphlets
1 From entries in the old Minute Books we find that" good rice " was
16s. 6d. per cwt., " good vinegar " 8d. per gallon, "old and clean rectified
spirit " 4s. 8d. per gallon, and spirits of wine as 4d. per gallon. Beef and
mutton were about ijd. the lb.
73
A HISTORY OF THE
which were freely circulated, as a plan calculated to make an
" arrogant " distinction between Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon,
the latter of whom would be " but a slave and a drudge ! "
This election also gave rise to a number of bitter attacks on
the Infirmary, some of which are given elsewhere. * Operative
surgery was widening its scope, and the poor had a chance now
of being cured by its means. The Infirmary Surgeons, thanks
to the wise regulations as to consultations, were subject to the
advice and keen criticism of their colleagues, and anything like
carelessness or want of judgment was not tolerated. But many
of the public then (as nowadays) looked upon operations with
such horror that occasionally an outcry arose against the
imagined fondness for the knife of the Surgical Staff , who were
sometimes called " Elbridge's Butchers." Many jokes (now
become time-honoured) were also made about their fees.
JOHN CASTELMAN.
Of the three Surgeons elected in December, 1754, John
Castelman received the most votes. He was born near Tetbury
in the year 1728, and, like many of the early medical officers of
the Bristol Infirmary, he was a man of good family. His
ancestors lived at a large manor house about four miles from
Cheltenham, famous as the residence for a time of Charles the
First. The Castelmans lost heavily at the bursting of the
" South Sea Bubble " in 1720, and the surgeon's father, Paul,
had in consequence to sell his estate, for which he received
£40,000.
The young John Castelman used to visit Bristol to see his
uncle, the Rev. John Castelman, who was Prebendary of the
Cathedral, and on July 25th, 1744, he was indentured to James
Ford, for which he paid a fee of two hundred guineas. Like
many other well-educated medical men of that time, he spent
some two or three years at Paris, studying at the Hotel Dieu, etc.
He married in 1758 Miss Letitia Fisher of this city, 2 and resided
at first in Prince's Street. He resigned his post as Surgeon to
the Institution by a letter to the Treasurer dated July 28th,
1779, and died at 6 Dighton Street, King's Square, on
March 31st, 1801, aged seventy-three. He was buried in St.
Paul's Churchyard.
He is described as " plain in his dress, simple in his manners
and quiet in his deportment ; " he was not brilliant in any way,
and made no pretentions to literature. There are in existence
two reports by eye-witnesses of his abilities as an operator, and
1 See Appendix A. 2 She died May 7th, 1822, aged 84.
74
L .it, 1 L ..
1 s
/
JOHN CASTELMAN.
Fig. 17
JEROME NORMAN.
Fig. 18.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
these are somewhat contradictory. But it is probable that he
had little nerve, got easily flurried, and lacked the determination
and boldness necessary for a really good surgeon. He was,
however, painstaking and assiduous in his work, and was
generally esteemed. (For portrait see Fig. 17.)
Mr. Godfrey Lowe narrated the following anecdote. In the
year 1761 the son of a Kingswood collier died at the Infirmary
from fracture of the skull. Castelman, the surgeon of the case,
wanting the skull as a specimen, cut off the head and took it
home with him to his house, which was at that time in Duke
Street. The body was then placed in a coffin and delivered to
the friends for interment. They, however, suspicious of
" resurrectionists," opened the coffin and found the head
missing. The story must be told in Dick Smith's own words : —
" In the middle of the night there was a violent knocking
at the door (of the Infirmary), and the Apothecary, who was
known by no other name than ' Neddy Bridges,' thrusting his
head and night-cap out of window, half asleep yawned
out, ' What d'ye want ? ' ' Want ! ' said a hoarse, rough
voice, ' want ! d thee, why I da want my zun's head,
and I '11 ha' 'un too, or else I '11 ha' thine ! ' Bridges endeavoured
in vain to pacify him and make him come on the morrow,
but the fellow became outrageous, and continued to vociferate,
' Gee I my zun's head, or else I '11 zend a stone through thine
and pull the 'Firmary about thy ears.' Bridges, finding the
matter becoming serious, was obliged to tell him that he must
speak to Mr. Castelman, who lived hard by in Duke Street.
Away went the man and began to thunder away at that
gentleman's door, who speedily throwing up the window,
enquired ' Who 's there ? ' ' Who 's there ? Why I be here !
I be Jack's father, and thee 's got his head, and if thee doesn't
gee 'un to me I '11 ha' thine ! ' With that he hurls a great stick
up and knocks to pieces a pane of glass ! " Castelman, in great
alarm, tried in vain to persuade him that the head was at the
Infirmary, but as the unfortunate father was violent, and
seemed inclined to break all the windows and arouse the
neighbours, "Castelman went to his surgery and wrapping
the cranium in a towel, unbolted the street door and delivered
it into the hands of the collier, who had on the instant thrust
himself into the hall. The fellow, that he might not be
deceived, deliberately unfolded the cloth, and having exposed
the countenance, ' Aye, aye ! that 's Jack ! ' said he." After
further angry parleying and threats that he would give
Castelman " a dowse in the chops," the man " went off
grumbling," as he very well might, leaving Castelman " to
75
A HISTORY OF THE
receive the congratulations of his wife, who was trembling at
the head of the stairs."
JEROME NORMAN.
Of Jerome Norman little is known. The portrait here
reproduced (Fig. 18) is from a pencil sketch in Richard Smith's
Infirmary Memoirs. It bears no inscription, but from the
workmanship and style I conclude it was drawn by Mr. Goldwyer,
probably from an oil-painting. From old newspaper cuttings
we learn that he lived " at the corner house in Trenchard
Street," and afterwards on St. Michael's Hill, that his wife
survived him, and that he was considered an " ingenious
Surgeon." There is evidence that he was a man of ability,
in many respects in advance of his time. He published a book
in 1756, in which the local origin of certain surgical complaints,
etc., is considered. He had a long controversy with another
Infirmary Surgeon, Thomas Skone, on the best method of
operating in strangulated hernia, some of which appeared in
the daily papers ; and he was the first in England to propose
the operation of amputation at the hip-joint. The year after
his election on the Infirmary Staff a patient came under his
care with such advanced disease of the leg that death seemed
certain. Jerome Norman " called a consultation," and
explained to his colleagues that he had a proposal to make
which " had occupied his mind for some time," namely, that
in such a hopeless case it would be justifiable, and indeed
one's duty, to take off the limb at the hip-joint. The other
Surgeons, however, were " horror-struck," and all voted
against it.
This operation had been proposed some years before in
France, but never executed except upon the dead subject.
It was performed in England in 1776, and again in 1813, by
Dr. Henry Gresley Emery, of Banwell, who was educated
at the Bristol Infirmary.
JOHN TOWNSEND.
John Townsend, the third of the trio elected in 1754, was
born in 1730, the son of a " respectable clothier " of Bristol.
He was apprenticed to Thornhill, for whose pretty daughter
he formed an attachment, and when he had " served his time "
he proposed to her, but was rejected. He took this cross in
love so much to heart that he determined never to marry,
and always spoke of Miss Thornhill with the deepest affection.
Perhaps it was this mishap which made him one of the hardest
76
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
of workers at his profession. He saw every kind of patient
who applied to him, rich or poor, and did an enormous amount
of cheap midwifery, " fagging with unceasing industry from
morning to night and almost from night to morning."
He resided in Broad Street, " having a side door in Cider
House Passage." His surgery is described as " calculated
to strike terror into all beholders." It was fitted up with glass
cases in which were openly displayed " an iron screw ambe "
for the reduction of dislocated shoulders, actual cautery irons,
forceps, knives, and all the complicated " apparatus major "
used in those days in surgery, so that it was said to resemble
the torture room of a Spanish Inquisition. x
His devotion to business soon brought him a large practice,
and in 1778 he set up his carriage, being apparently the
third surgeon in Bristol to do so (his master, Thornhill, and
Peter Wells being the other two).
In this carriage he " went his rounds," economising time
by spreading ointments, as he was driven along, ona" spreading
board " which he had fastened on the front seat, with tin
cases for ointments, spatulas, and " white and brown
tow."
In personal appearance he is said to have strongly resembled
Samuel Johnson. He was taciturn and abrupt in his manners,
parsimonious on some points, but kind-hearted and sometimes
generous. " His costume never varied : he wore a large
unpowdered brown wig, with a cocked hat, an entire suit of
dark snuff-coloured cloth, worsted stockings, square-topped
shoes, and small silver knee and shoe buckles. His waistcoat
had two large flaps hanging half-way down his thighs, and
in his coat he had always four pockets generally filled with a
tow bag, salvatory 2 and instrument cases."
His death, at the age of seventy, was due to devotion to
his work. We have said that he attended a great many cheap
midwifery cases amongst the lower orders. A short time before
his death two of these cases required his attention at the same
time, one in the Market Place, the other at Bedminster. He
went to the first mentioned, and asked Mr. William Goldwyer of
Bridge Street to go to the other one, which he cheerfully did.
The night was a dreadful one, but as Townsend had finished his
1 This surgery is referred to in a satire by Chatterton, who used to visit
at Townsend's house to see his apprentice, Richard Smith. Chatterton writes
•of Townsend : —
" A thing of flatulence and noise
Whose surgery 's nothing but a heap of toys."
2 " A Box to hold Salve, Ointments, &c." — Bailey's Dictionary.
77
A HISTORY OF THE
first case by twelve o'clock, he set off in torrents of rain to
relieve his friend Goldwyer. He arrived at the woman's house
at Bedminster wet through, his body " steaming " from his
exertions, and his hands swollen with the gout. He was deaf
to all his colleague's entreaties to go home to bed, and sat up
all the rest of the night in his damp clothes. The next day he
showed Goldwyer his swollen hands with the prophetic remark,
" I 'm gone, she 's done for me." He died on November 12th,
1800.
He lived with an old housekeeper, called " Molly," who
was, like many others who knew the real worth of the man, much
attached to him. She " burst into tears " when Noble called
to ask when he was to be buried. The barber who used to
attend to him came as usual after his death and insisted on
shaving him in spite of expostulations, declaring that " his old
master should not go such a figure to his grave." He was
buried in Christ Church, where a marble tablet is erected to
his memory.
Although his household was a very modest one, he gave good
dinners to his friends, and always provided two bottles of wine
for each. He himself, being full of work, usually left the party
after " the second glass of port." x
On November 14th, 1781, he invited his surgical colleagues
to dinner, and when the cloth was removed told them that he
had that day sent in his resignation to the Committee and had
finished his career at the Infirmary. He then, according to
Mr. J. P. Noble, " put his hand into his pocket, and taking out a
parcel of small rolls of paper, ' here,' said he, ' are my patients —
scramble for them ! ' and tossed the papers upon the table.
Upon this we all laid hold of those that fell near us, and found
the name of a patient upon each." Thus his Infirmary patients
were divided amongst the other Surgeons.
It is interesting to know how a man verging upon seventy
years of age managed to work all day and attend so many
cases at night. Luckily we have records from those who knew
him which throw light on this point. It must be remembered
that Townsend did very little besides his professional work ;
he never read, and seldom indulged in any social function. He
was robust and with a sound nervous system, able at a short
notice to cast away his cares and sleep soundly. When he
attended a midwifery case, having ascertained that all was
1 According to Mr. Lunell, of Brunswick Square, who knew Townsend
well, he dined " almost invariably upon a leg of mutton," but " when he gave
a grand dinner the Lawrences always sent game or venison, and his brother
in London sent a handsome dish of fish."
78
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
going well, he took off his wig, put on his night-cap, and reclining
on a sofa or a couple of chairs, immediately fell into a sound
sleep, from which nothing but a shaking could arouse him.
He was too busy to be at all regular with his meals ; but
when visiting patients about two o'clock (his usual dinner hour)
he frequently invited himself to their meals, and if the meat
was not ready " he would request that a slice might be cut off
the spit for him." He had the reputation of " looking after his
fees " very carefully, and many anecdotes are told of his
methods of getting paid. For example, on one occasion a
gentleman who had been attended by him put down upon the
table a number of guineas and asked him to take his fee from
these. " Thank ye," said Townsend, " and swept the whole
into his hand ! "
A rather parsimonious old lady, at his last visit to her,
slipped three guineas into his hand. Townsend thought this
too little. He thereupon, as if by accident, dropped the money
on the floor, and when he had picked up the three guineas
continued to search with the candle, saying that he could
" only find three ! " The old lady understood the hint,
begged him to leave the search to her maid, and gave him two
more guineas !
On the other hand, he could be very generous ; and once
when attending a woman whose husband had just been
bankrupt he said, " How many times have I attended you ? "
She answered, " Seven." " And I charged you three guineas a
time ? " x " Yes," answered the woman. " Then," said
Townsend, " there are twenty-one guineas for you ; you want
them now more than I do ; but mind, I forbid you saying
anything about this to anyone but your husband."
One day, when a chimney-sweep named Brewer, a well-
known character at that time, was at work at his house and the
sweep's apprentice had just come down the flue, Brewer
remarked, " This is a shocking trade, Mr. Townsend." " Aye,"
said Townsend, " and yet Master Brewer, I had rather be a
chimney-sweep than a surgeon." This story, related by Mr.
Samuel Williams, a contemporary, would seem to show that he
was not very fond of his profession, and worked so hard at it
as a relief from his early disappointment in love, and from
habit.
Such an odd personality was certain to have many tales told
about him, and some got into the papers. One of these (from
an old cutting, without date, pasted into Richard Smith's
Memoirs) I will quote verbatim : —
1 That is, for her confinements.
79
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
" The late Mr. J. T nd, walking down Broad Street
•during an illumination, observed a boy breaking every window
which had not a light in it. — Mr. T. asked him how he dared to
destroy people's property in that wanton manner ?— ' 0/ said
the urchin ' its all for the good of trade— I 'M A GLAZIER ! '
— ' All for the good of trade is it ? ' said Mr. T., raising his cane
and breaking the boy's head, ' there then, you young rascal,
that is for the good of my trade— I 'M A SURGEON ! ' "
80
CHAPTER VIII
DR. WOODWARD — OLIVER GOLDSMITH — DR. LYNE — DR. PLOMER
— EDWARD GARLICK — PREVALENT DISEASES — APPRENTICES —
CONCERTS
Dr. Logan, one of the first batch of Physicians appointed, died
on December 14th, 1757 (see p. 19), and nine days after his
death, on December 23rd, two Physicians, Drs. Woodward and
Lyne, were elected at a General Meeting of Subscribers.
According to the custom at the early elections the candidates
waited in an adjoining room during the ballot to hear the
result, and two or three gentlemen (in this case Mr. Richard
Combe and Mr. Harford Lloyd) were " desired to acquaint
them with it." They were appointed without, apparently,
soliciting a single vote, a very unusual thing in the annals of
Infirmary elections.
DR. FRANCIS WOODWARD.
Dr. Francis Woodward was born in Bristol in 172 1, and was
educated at the Free Grammar School in Christmas Street, of
which Alexander Catcott (Richard Smith, senior's, father-in-
law) was then head master. He entered the school with his
brother Richard (who afterwards became Bishop of Cloyne, in
Ireland) about the year 1733. He appears to have been an
industrious and clever boy, and held a high position amongst
his fellow-scholars.
On April 7th, 1738, a " visitation " was made to the school
by the Mayor of Bristol and other important citizens. On this
occasion young Woodward recited an oration written in Latin,
and some verses in English composed by him as a " holiday
task," called " The Visitation." These were afterwards
published by Felix Farley.
He took his degree of Bachelor of Medicine at Oxford, and
settled in practice, at the lower end of Trinity Street, about
the year 1749.
He was Physician to the Infirmary from 1757 to 1769. On
November 29th, 1769, he resigned on the score of ill-health
necessitating his living at Bath.
I can find no record of his wife's name, but we know that
A HISTORY OF THE
she predeceased him, from some verses he wrote J on her death
from consumption at the Hotwells. These verses, above the
average in style, and full of affection for his departed wife, end
as follows : —
" But yet, rememb'ring that the parting sigh,
Appoints the Just to slumber, not to die,
The starting tear I checked — I kiss'd the rod,
And not to earth resigned her — but to God ! "
Dr. Woodward is described as a " squarely built man,
extremely well-bred, polished in his manners and conversation,
and of a very pleasing, gentlemanly address."
He was devoted to music and played well upon the violin,
to which, it is said, he gave more time " than was consistent with
his professional avocations." He was a retiring, studious man,
fond of reading and the belles-lettres. He knew most of the
litterati of the day, and numbered amongst his personal friends
Samuel Johnson, Baretti, Goldsmith, Garrick and Lord
Charlemont. 2
He was always a great advocate of the authenticity of the
so-called " Rowley Poems," refusing to the last to believe they
were written by Chatterton. This, amongst other reasons,
made a firm friendship between him and George Symes Catcott,
whom the doctor calls " Rowley's midwife," from the part he
took in bringing these poems before the public. There is a
letter of his dated October 5th, 1772, worth reproducing perhaps,
which probably refers to the Rowley controversy. It is
addressed " To Mr. George Catcott : To be delivered this
evening," and runs : —
" Dear George, Ld. Charlemont has desir'd me to present
his Compts. to you and to let you know that he is extremely
obliged to you, for the Pleasure you intend him. He goes into
the Cold Bath tomorrow morning, and therefore cannot be with
you exactly at ten — but will certainly before eleven, and unless
prevented by unforeseen Business, I will attend Him.
"Yr affectionate
"Sunday Eveng- "F. W.
Hotwells
October $th 1772."
Another letter of his, also addressed to Mr. George Catcott,
in St. Thomas Street, near the Bridge, Bristol, dated April 5th,
1 According to Richard Smith's statement ; but the lines are usually-
attributed to Henry, second Viscount Palmerston.
2 This was the Earl Charlemont who had the temerity to ask Dr. Johnson
if it was true that he was taking lessons in dancing of Vestris. See Boswell's
Life of Johnson.
82
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
1771, is of real interest as giving us a glimpse of Oliver
Goldsmith as a visitor to Bristol : —
" Dear Sir,
"The Gentleman who brings you this Letter is Dr. Goldsmith,
very justly famous for his Poetical Talents, and is really a man
of fine Taste. I have read him some of the Old Poems you
communicated to me — and he has a proper relish for these
excellent compositions— but is doubtfull of their Antiquity, at
least being as far Back as their date, which has induc'd me to
introduce him to you, as I know you can convince him on that
point. » He deserves too well of the Poetical World to be
debarr'd any Pleasure that can be deriv'd from works of that
sort, and I am sure you will find much satisfaction in his
Society.
" I hope to see you soon in Bath, mean time remain, with
great truth,
"Yr oblig'd & affectionate
"humble Ser1
" F. Woodward."
Dr. Woodward was one of the founders of the Dolphin
Society, and was present at the inaugural meeting at the
Cock Tavern in Corn Street on November 2nd, 1749.
He died on Wednesday, October 12th, 1785, aged sixty-four
years, and is buried in Bristol Cathedral.
He left his old friend, the mild, kind-hearted, credulous
George Catcott, an annuity of ten pounds for his life, which,
although a small sum, was enough, according to the recipient, to
" liberate him from a state of servitude to which he was reduced
by an unfortunate connection in trade." 2 He could never speak
of Woodward's kindness to him " without the most visible
emotion."
Dr. Woodward attended Hannah More when she was about
sixteen years of age. " On one of his visits, being led into
conversation with his patient on subjects of literature, he forgot
the purpose of his visit in the fascination of her talk ; till
suddenly recollecting himself, when he was half-way down
stairs, he cried out : ' Bless me ! I forgot to ask the girl how
she was ; ' and returned to the room exclaiming, ' How are you
1 Probably Goldsmith was not convinced. Johnson, whose opinions he
generally shared, laughed at Catcott 's zeal, and at once concluded the poems
were Chatterton's.
2 George Catcott received another small legacy from Dr. Glynn of
Cambridge ; the post of Assistant Librarian to the Bristol Library,
at 30 guineas a year, was given him, and on these slender sums he lived
comfortably on Temple Back, with his sister Martha, until his decease in 1802.
83
A HISTORY OF THE
to-day my poor child ? ' (Roberts's Memoirs of Hannah
More, vol. i.)
DR. EDWARD LYNE.
Dr. Edward Lyne was born in Bristol. His father made a
considerable fortune in the tobacco trade, and retired to a house
on St. Michael's Hill. Dr. Lyne practised at first at Tetbury or
Cirencester, but did not succeed in making an income, and came
to Bristol, where he lived in Castle Green. His father allowed
him £200 a year, and for some time he added very little to this
by professional fees. A piece of good luck befell him, however.
He happened to be called to see a citizen of some consequence
who was suffering from dropsy. The patient got better under
his care, talked freely to his friends of " the wonderful cure,"
and Dr. Lyne suddenly found that he was famous as a
" specialist in dropsy."
He accepted the situation with cheerfulness, for he was of
an easy-going temperament, and not fond of the hard work of
general practice. His plan of treatment remained a profound
secret for years, and patients could only obtain his medicine
from a special apothecary. At length, however, he became so
convinced of the potency of his specific that he published a short
treatise upon the subject. It turned out that the basis of his
nostrum was the kind of sherry wine known by the name of
" Bristol Milk ! " He not only recommended this agreeable
medicine to others, but set the example by taking it himself.
He was a man of regular habits, and never deviated from his
daily routine if he could help it. He dined at two o'clock, and
never wished to be troubled with patients after that hour. As
soon as his meal was ended, " in the winter he placed himself in
his easy chair by the fire-side — and in summer in an alcove in
the garden. He now commenced his operation for the evening
by lighting his pipe and drawing a cork from his favourite
medicine bottle." He invariably finished the bottle himself,
and allowed no one else to touch it ; but nothing gave him
greater pleasure than to have a friend with him, for whom he
provided another bottle of this " elixir vitae."
Mr. Alderman Page said of him : " Although he wore a great
pompous wig, yet he was a good-tempered, easy, gentlemanly
fellow, who never vexed himself about anything."
He married a widow lady named Willcocks (or Wilcox),
whose maiden name was Cecilia Ball. Her sister, Love Ball,
married Nehemiah Champion, son of the fourth Treasurer of the
Infirmary.
He was elected Physician to the Infirmary on December
84
Fig. 19.
DR. LYNE.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
23rd, 1757, and resigned in 1765 by the following laconic
letter :—
Fig. 20.
" -cfan
^
5£lj£~~/*J>jL~ ~ ^^^^/&^^s£y^
CqJ^^/J 2s^y^y>^ £~J£&£.
W,
FACSIMILE OF DR. LYNE'S LETTER OF RESIGNATION.
He died, after a tedious illness, at his house in Castle Green
on November 22nd, 1772.
The picture of Dr. Lyne is from an oil-painting by T. C.
Rymsdyke made in 1762, now in the possession of Mr. Arthur
McDonald, of Clifton, to whom I am indebted for permission to
reproduce it, and for some details as to Dr. Lyne's marriage, etc.
(See Fig. 19.)
It is necessary to explain that all important elections at the
Infirmary were effected by the general body of Subscribers.
Details of management, household arrangements, and payment
of nurses and officials, etc., came within the province of the
Weekly Committees. These Committees did not consist, as
now, of a definite number of Trustees, but were " open," that
is anyone could attend who was a Subscriber. As a matter of
fact there were only a few who came regularly to the meetings,
the Physicians and Surgeons and some half dozen others, who
gradually assumed considerable power and managed affairs in a
somewhat dictatorial manner, as will appear later on.
At the recommendation of this Committee the Quarterly
Board decided on September 4th, 1759, that in future " the
number of Physicians and Surgeons belonging to the House
shall not exceed four of each."
When the good Dr. Bonython died in 1761 a strenuous
canvass at once began for the coveted post of Physician to the
Infirmary amongst three strong candidates, Drs. Plomer,
Gordon and Mackenzie. 1 So fierce a struggle seemed imminent
that many of the Trustees made an attempt to rescind the rule
1 See Appendix A.
85
A HISTORY OF THE
as to number and appoint two of these candidates. A newspaper
war was waged for some days, but ultimately only one, Dr.
Plomer, was elected, on December 8th, 1761. He played
an important part in the affairs of the Infirmary for thirty-six
years, especially in various disputes, and it is therefore
interesting to ascertain what kind of man he was.
JAMES PLOMER.
James Plomer was bom at St. Michael's Hill, Bristol, on
November 18th, 1714. x He was educated at the Free Grammar
School, and was then apprenticed to an apothecary named
Browne, who lived in Wine Street. At the expiration of his
indentures he opened a shop on the Welsh Back, and soon after
moved to Redcliff Street. He does not appear to have done
very well in business, but he managed to have made enough
money by the age of forty to enter at Glasgow University as a
student of medicine. On May 15th, 1759, he published his
inaugural thesis, entitled " de Iliaca Passione," under which
heading he includes all kinds of acute intestinal obstruction. 2
His diploma is interesting as containing the signature of
the celebrated Adam Smith.
He returned to Bristol and began practice as a physician at
his father's house on St. Michael's Hill, on the door of which he
fixed a brass plate with the inscription, " Plomer, M.D."
He married twice, firstly a Miss Miller and secondly a Miss
Millet of Corn Street (in 1764). A child was born to him by
each wife, but neither survived.
Dr. Plomer, from the time of his election in 1761 to his
resignation thirty-six years afterwards, took a keen interest in
the Infirmary. We have seen how regularly he attended the
Committee meetings and tested the bread and cheese and beer
(p. 73). He was one of the four stewards appointed to arrange
the Annual Dinner in 1755, by which he was " out of Pockett."
He attended the House very regularly until his resignation
on April 4th, 1798. He had not much practice during the last
few years of his long term of office, which affected him little, as
he was by this time a man of property. He was Senior
Physician for sixteen years. He died at his house in Park
Street on October 8th, 1803, and was buried at St. Michael's.
1 I can find nothing about his parentage except that his maternal grand-
father was the Rev. James Taylor, Rector of St. John's, Bristol, and that his
father was a " Land Waiter in the Customs."
2 This dissertation is written in the plethoric dog Latin common to nearly-
all the theses for degrees at that time ; the style is so similar that one cannot
but conclude that they were usually composed not by the candidate, but by
an impecunious literary hack for a fee.
86
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
" His costume," says R. Smith, " never varied— he walked
at a slow and measured pace, holding in his hand a gold-headed
cane— he had a large bushy wig, surmounted by a three-
cornered hat, and from his shoulders hung down to his heels a
large blue roquelaure cloak."
There is no evidence that he was particularly skilled as a
physician ; he was a great stickler for professional etiquette ;
of a morose, sullen and overbearing disposition, and apt to take
offence A female relative of his who acted during his last
years as housekeeper to him said that his death released her
from an " Egyptian bondage," which she could not have borne
had she had any other means of subsistence.
He was scrupulously honest, upright and moral ; he appears
however, to have ridiculed all forms of public worship, and did
not attend church or chapel. According to R. Smith, "if he
had any religion at all he was a Deist— but even that is
doubtful."
When he resigned his post at the Infirmary the then
Treasurer, Mr. Edward Ash, wrote to him enclosing a copy of a
vote of thanks from the Committee, and adding very eulogistic
remarks on Dr. Plomer's benefits to poor patients.
On November 20th, 1763, a certain Edward Garlick, a
gentleman of means, and interested in philanthropic work (he
gave £200 towards the foundation of the Worcester Infirmary),
addressed a letter to the Subscribers in which he rather severely
criticised the general management of the Bristol Infirmary,
especially the amount spent on food and drugs.
He compared Bristol with St. George's, the London Hospital,
and the Exeter, Gloucester and Salop Infirmaries, covered pages
with figures and statistics, and came to the conclusion that
there was unnecessary outlay on each patient at Bristol. He
concluded by making three practical suggestions : (1) That a
"Diett Book" should be kept ; (2) that a House Steward should
be appointed " to keep accounts of Provision of all Sorts that
come into the House ; to deliver out everything himself and
account for the consumption of it in writing to the Friday
Committee ; " (3) that a Committee should be appointed to
inquire " into the present means of prescribing drugs."
Mr. Garlick was a Subscriber to the Infirmary and a regular
attendant at Boards and Committees, and his complaints and
recommendations were discussed at a Board Meeting specially
called for the purpose on November 20th, 1764.
The report of this meeting in the Minute Book is short and
uncompromising. Three questions were put, embodying Mr.
Garlick's suggestions. (1) Should there be a Steward appointed ?
87
A HISTORY OF THE
" Carried by universal consent that there should be no Steward.' '
(2) Should a " diett-book " be kept ? Negatived. (3) Should a
drug committee be appointed ? Also negatived.
That is the official account ; but we learn from the papers
that something like a personal conflict took place at this meeting
between Garlick and the Junior Physician, Dr. Plomer, who
"gave him rough and scurrilous language." As a matter of
fact, a great part of Garlick's attack was directed against
Plomer, who had, when he was an apothecary, sold a kind of
universal cure-all compounded by a fellow-practitioner ; and
for many years after his appointment on the Infirmary Staff he
was in the habit of ordering large quantities of this nostrum for
the patients. This glaring evil went on for fourteen years in
spite of many protests. At length Richard Smith, sen., and
Godfrey Lowe made a determined stand against the practice
and stopped it. Garlick, naturally annoyed at the reception
of his really well-meant efforts, wrote and printed two pamphlets,
containing in all seventy-five pages, in which he reiterated his
assertions. This occasioned a great deal of correspondence ;
and an answer was printed and circulated, full of acrimony and
accusations of a wish on Garlick's part to engender strife. He
at length wrote a long letter to the Infirmary Trustees complain-
ing of " rude and unkind " treatment.
Without entering into this old " squabble " too minutely,
one may at least assert that the calculations of Mr. Garlick were
more correct than those of the Infirmary authorities, who had
a hand in the composition of the answer above referred to.
They estimate the cost of each patient per annum thus : —
For the year 1762 there were 1,024 In-patients admitted.
At the end of the year there
remained in the House . . 133 patients.
The servants of the Institu-
tion were 26 in number.
Total . . . . 1,183
If 1,183 persons cost £1,214 12s. o|d., what will be the cost
of each ? Answer, £1 os. 6|d.
Whereas Edward Garlick calculates, more correctly, thus :—
Average number of patients in House . . 136
Household 26
Total 162
If 162 persons cost £1,214 12s. o|d., what is the cost of
each ? Answer, £y 9s. n^d.
88
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
That is, he bases his calculation upon the number of beds
and not upon the total number of patients who occupied them
in rotation.
This controversy is incidentally of interest to us, because it
gives an insight to the chief diseases of Infirmary patients a
hundred and fifty years ago. In the " Animadvertory Letter,"
as it was called, in answer to Garlick's assertions, we have the
following list :—
" Admitted In-patients from the 31st of December, 1761, to
the 31st of December, 1762,
Fevers of all kinds
Inflammations
Mortifications
Malignant sore throats
Pleurisies and peri-
pneumonics
Bilious cholics
Pictonic cholic
Asthma
Rheumatism . .
Dropsical disorders
162
12
9
42
2
20
7
54
46
The surgical complaints
taken from the register book :
Palsies 16
Haemorrhages . . . . 13
Jaundice . . . . 2
Gravel 5
Stone 8
Ischuria 2
Diarrhoea and
Dysentery . . . . 13
Scurvy 6
Leprosy 10
etc."
include tumours, abscesses,
contusions, fractures, wounds, diseases of bone, and a large
number of ulcers.
The reader will notice the prevalence of fevers, dropsy,
pleurisies, pneumonia, rheumatism and painter's colic, and the
occurrence of scurvy and leprosy.
At this date, although the preventive action of lemon juice
had been known for some years, scurvy was still so common in
the navy and on merchant vessels, that more than 1,000 cases
were admitted to Haslar Hospital in 1780 ; in 1806 only one
case was admitted.
The word " leprosy " is probably used to indicate certain
common skin diseases. True leprosy had practically dis-
appeared from England before the accession of Henry VIII.
The last indigenous leper in Britain was seen in the Shetland
Isles in 1798. 1
The Garlick controversy gradually died away, but the
Committee and Board had other disputes to deal with. For
instance, in 1766 there was open war between the Surgeons' and
Apothecary's apprentices. The latter were allowed, rather as a
favour, to attend operations, and the former claimed that as an
equivalent for this they, the surgical pupils, should be allowed
1 See Clifford Allbutt's System of Medicine, also Watson's Medicine.
89
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
to go to the Dispensary and study the Physicians' prescriptions.
The matter was brought before the Committee, who advised the
Staff " to settle the affair amicably and make an order
respecting it." This does not appear to have been done, for the
dispute frequently arose afterwards, leading sometimes to
scuffles in the passages and personal violence. One of these
young men, Dear by name, used in 1768 " to come to the
House in a gold-laced hat and wore a sword." The Surgeons,
however, objected to the latter, and it was discontinued.
The income of the Infirmary has been supplemented from
time to time by the proceeds of concerts, theatrical
performances, etc.
For instance, in August, 1756, The Conscious Lovers,
with the dancing of Miss Baker, and a farce called Florizel
and Perdita were given at the old Jacob's Wells Theatre for
the benefit of the Infirmary ; and in the receipts for that year
we find this referred to : "Of Isaak Elton Esq : being the neat
Produce of a Benefit Play £50 2s. iod."
In 1765 The Clandestine Marriage was acted " at the New
Theatre in King Street" for the "benefit of the Infirmary,"
and on December 6th, 1774, there is an entry in the Minute Book
of the Quarterly Board Meetings " that thanks be given, to the
promoters of a Concert and Oratorio, for £100 3s. id., from the
Musical Performance at the Cathedral on the 31st of March
last."
Many of the early Treasurers, including some belonging to
the Society of Friends, were staunch supporters of the Theatre,
such as Mr. Joseph Flarford. We shall refer later to this subject.
go
CHAPTER IX
THE APOTHECARIES— SAMUEL STONE— JOSEPH SHAPLAND—
ANECDOTE OF HIS SECOND MARRIAGE— EDWARD BRIDGES-
THOMAS ELMES— JOHN ELLIS— HOSPITAL FEVER— JOHN ROWAND
AND HIS FIGHTING COCKS — WILLIAM BABINGTON — DUEL
BETWEEN DR. RIGGE AND RICHARD SMITH— JOHN B. BORLASE—
LUDLOW AND TILL ADAMS— BAYNTON— THE CHAMPIONS—
HAWKESWORTH— RICHARD CHAMPION (THE THIRD)
The Resident Apothecary, who was at first chiefly concerned
in dispensing drugs, gradually became a House Surgeon, with
much of the medical and surgical work of the Institution upon
his shoulders. From the earliest days of the Charity he had a
great deal to do with the apprentices, a thorough training in
pharmacy being then considered the keystone of medical
practice. His duties, in fact, were always important, and he
was usually looked upon with great respect by the Committee
and Staff. He came closely into touch with both, constantly
attended committee meetings, reported the state of the patients
to the Visitors as well as to the Faculty, and, generally speaking,
knew more about the Infirmary than anyone else, with the
exception, perhaps, of the Matron.
His salary was raised on December ist, 1767, from £30 to
£40 per annum, and on March 17th, 1778, to £60.
No one was eligible for the post who had not served " five
years regular and careful apprenticeship, at least, to an
Apothecary, and his being two years longer in the said Business,"
so that his training extended over seven years.
SAMUEL STONE.
Nicholas Simpson, the second Resident Apothecary, resigned
in 1744, and on June 5th of that year Samuel Stone was "chosen
by a great majority." I can find very little about this gentle-
man, except that he gave offence by retiring before the
expiration of five years. He appears to have given an assurance
that he would serve for this period, and at his resignation on
March 3rd, 1746, it was resolved that in future " no Person shall
be chosen an Apothy to this House without giving a Bond of
91
A HISTORY OF THE
Fifty Pounds Penalty to the Treasurer for the time being that
he will Serve the Society for Five Years."
JOSEPH SHAPLAND.
On March nth, 1746, Joseph Shapland was " chosen without
opposition."
We have referred (p. 50) to Shapland's apprenticeship. He
was born in 1727, was apprenticed at the early age of twelve,
and was appointed to the responsible duties of Resident
Apothecary when he was only nineteen. He gave notice of his
resignation on March 3rd, 1752, but continued in office until
the following midsummer.
When he left the Infirmary he married a Miss Jones, and set
up in practice in Queen Square. He was a handsome,
gentlemanly man, of pleasant manners, and well grounded in
his profession. He soon became so busy that he took a
partner, Mr. William Broderip, and these two, together with
Mr. William Dyer of Bridge Street " almost divided the city
between them." He left Queen Square and lived for some
years in a house in Prince's Street, opposite the Merchants'
Hall.
His first wife died in November, 1782, and Shapland, who
was now fifty-five years of age, in comfortable circumstances,
and with plenty of society, did not apparently contemplate
changing his condition.
Amongst his patients, however, he had a certain Mrs.
Diaper, the widow of a well-known Dissenting Minister of
Bristol. 1 " One day, during a visit, she said to him, ' I wish,
sir, to consult you upon a matter unconnected with your
profession — may I do so ? ' ' Certainly," said Mr. Shapland. —
' Then, sir,' said Mrs. Diaper, ' suppose a woman of mature
years and judgment were to think that she knew a gentleman
with whom she thought that she could pass the remainder of
her life happily, and that their ages, fortunes and prospects for
the future threw no obstacle in the way of their union, would
there be any indelicacy in the Lady giving him a hint upon the
matter ? ' ' Certainly not,' said Mr. Shapland. ' Then,' said
she, ' if that is your opinion, when you go home look at the
2nd Book of Samuel — the 12th Chapter and the 7th Verse.' He
did so, and found it ran thus : ' And Nathan said to David,
Thou art the man ! ' " He took the hint, and they were soon
after married.
Shapland joined the Freemasons on November 16th, 1753,
1 He died in 1763.
92
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and became Warden at the Fountain Lodge in conjunction
with Nicholas Simpson.
About 1782 he procured a diploma from Aberdeen, became
Dr. Shapland, and purchased a good house in Park Street
(No. 4). Soon after this he began to withdraw from practice.
He died on April 2nd, 1801, aged seventy-four, leaving his
house and an annuity of £1,000 to his widow, who survived him
some years.
EDWARD BRIDGES.
Edward Bridges was elected in Shapland's place on April 7th,
1752. A " Mr. Davis " was also a candidate for the post.
Bridges served his apprenticeship to a Mr. Hardwicke of
Sodbury, and then became a Surgeons' pupil at the Infirmary.
He afterwards studied at the London hospitals and practised
for four years at Portbury, where, apparently, he had only a
few patients. He was much esteemed by those who knew him,
and served the Institution faithfully for twenty-two years.
He unfortunately contracted " Hospital Fever " (Typhus)
from a patient, and died at the Infirmary on Sunday morning,
November 27th, 1774.
The Committee, in advertising the vacancy, speak of the
" loss the Charity has sustained," and impress on the Trustees
the importance of care in the choice of his successor.
" No man," says Richard Smith, " was ever more beloved
and esteemed by every individual connected with the House
than this gentleman. I have heard my father, Mr. Lowe and
Mr. Noble frequently mention him in the highest terms of
commendation, and even Dr. Rigge, in his letter of resignation,
says that ' whilst Mr. Bridges was alive it was a pleasure to go
to the House, but now 'tis so no longer.' "
His popularity arose, so far as one can judge, from his
strict devotion to duty and his kindness to the poor. A news-
paper obituary notice says of him : " He has left this world
amidst the plaudits of the many who experienced his compassion
and beneficence." He was a Freemason, a member of the
Fountain Lodge.
The election of so important a man as the Apothecary to
the Infirmary was an interesting event in those days, especially
when there were several good candidates.
Poor Bridges had only been dead two days, when a letter
appeared in the papers from Samuel Barry in favour of his
son's application for the vacant post ; and this was quickly
followed by applications from Thomas Shellard, who was
formerly a pupil at the House, Thomas Elmes, who had also
93
A HISTORY OF THE
been apprenticed at the Infirmary, John Blunt, a practitioner
of some standing at Gloucester, and William Balme Farnell, of
St. Michael's Hill.
These candidates and their friends vigorously canvassed the
Subscribers, and the competition was so keen that some
acrimonious and bitter things were said and published.
Dr. Farr, who was appointed Physician in 1767, rather
warmly espoused the cause of John Blunt ; but the enemies
of this gentleman accused him of being imperfectly qualified as
an apothecary, not having served a long enough apprenticeship.
This attack on Blunt gave rise to such a newspaper war that
the Physicians and Surgeons thought it best to postpone the
Fig. 21.
*sfyrz*
*L~»S*<* '
°7*
J¥ J^^«-^-r Y-SCyj^-r, ^.^^A
Ay. Z 9^/L^J yC /C* <£^<g?~ .__
J/ «&L
BRISTOL^INFIRMAR Y.
No
>774-
littrethlnteitnecrffjry to inform the SuMcr!-
I "Mr. BRrTCES, the Apotbrqiry, died on
5 i and jmprelTrJ »;th a Scofe of the Loft the
, and thogrr.it Care that
thtCho
ncdi
By Or*
e Lie rty of requeuing thl1
nfagc thc.r Vote on the Oeta
-THOMAS B A WN," Secretary.
SIGNATURES OF STAFF, 1774.
94
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
election for a couple of months. They sent a letter to this
effect to the Quarterly Board which met on December 6th, and
their request was agreed to. I have reproduced Ithis letter as
an interesting record of the signatures of members of^the Staff
in 1774. (See Fig. 21.)
For two or three months an immense amount of wrangling
went on, in the Infirmary and amongst the Trustees, the chief
points of dispute being the question of qualifications and the
rival merits of education at Bristol or elsewhere. But although
the affair was no doubt of great interest at the time, it has now
lost its point and need not detain us. | ■ |i •
The election took place at the Guildhall on Monday, March
6th, 1775, at ten o'clock, when three candidates came to the poll,
Messrs. Blunt, Elmes and Farnell. The result of the ballot was
a large majority of votes for Elmes.
THOMAS ELMES.
Thomas Elmes, who appears to have been an able and
deserving man, had a short and rather troubled term of office.
The dispute at his election, which had extended itself to
members of the Staff (notably Drs. Farr and Plomer), did not
die out for many months, and other apothecaries in Bristol
looked with jealousy on the Infirmary Resident.
On May 3rd, 1777, an attack was made by an anonymous
writer in Felix Farley's Journal, reflecting on the condition of
the drug department at the Infirmary and on Elmes 's manage-
ment. He begged for a full investigation, and six of the leading
apothecaries of the city (Messrs. William Dyer, H. F. Yeatman,
John Morse, Thomas Blagden, Thomas Berjew and Robert
Priest), together with a number of the House Visitors, inspected
the Shop and its arrangements, and reported the accusations
to be quite groundless.
Thomas Elmes died on October 18th, 1777, from " Hospital
Fever " contracted from a patient in the House.
JOHN ELLIS.
His successor was John Ellis, who was unanimously elected
on November 12th of this year. He had good testimonials,
and was chosen, according to the papers, "by universal
approbation." But the fever which was so prevalent at that
time in jails, hospitals and other crowded places claimed
him as a victim, as it had his two predecessors, Bridges and
Elmes, and he died on January 7th, 1778, only fifty-six days
after he entered on his duties.
95
A HISTORY OF THE
The stringent rules as to the qualifications of the Resident
Apothecary gave rise, as stated, to great discussion, and on the
death of Ellis many of the Bristol practitioners protested
strongly against what they considered such exclusive regula-
tions, the leader of the malcontents being Robert Priest, then
living on St. Augustine's Back.
A certain J.N. Smith was the first to apply for the vacancy
by an application in the papers on January 14th, 1778 ; where-
upon the Committee, in advertising the post, laid special stress
on the fact that candidates " must have served five years'
apprenticeship and have been two more in business." The
notice concludes thus : " N.B. — No exception to a middle-aged
man, the nearer thirty or forty the better. The Income,
besides Meat, Drink, Washing and Lodging is Eighty Pounds
per Annum or Upwards."
There were many candidates for the post, in spite of the fact
that three successive Resident Apothecaries had died of typhus.
Amongst the applicants was a young man named John Rowand,
who had been acting as a stop-gap since Ellis's death. This
gentleman was, however, " detected in having received £5 from
the Duchess of Beaufort as her subscription. This money he
lost at a Cock Fight by betting, and being called upon for it,
was a defaulter and was discharged the House." 1
Dr. Rigge, who was never happy except when in active
opposition to other people, warmly espoused the cause of
J. N. Smith, who was ineligible as he had not received the
necessary seven years' training ; and is described in one of the
Bristol papers (which in those days were full of libellous
personalities) as " an illiterate boy ! "
The election had to be postponed, as any decision, except
by club-law, seemed impossible.
WILLIAM BABINGTON.
In the meanwhile a powerful candidate had appeared in the
person of William Babington, who came from London with
excellent testimonials from the medical staff of St. Thomas's
and Guy's. He soon obtained promises of support from all the
Physicians of the Infirmary, Dr. Rigge, the champion of
J. N. Smith, having resigned in disgust, partly because his
protege was not accepted and partly because of internal feuds
between the Physicians and Surgeons, which we shall refer to
later.
1 Rowand kept fighting cocks, probably in the Dispensary. He joined the
Monmouth Militia, went abroad, and died at sea near the African coast in
17S4.
96
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Babington was certain of election, but on May ist, 1778, he
withdrew his application, as " his friends had advised him to
settle as a Surgeon in a situation they had fortunately procured
him."
He afterwards became very celebrated in London, as Dr.
Babington. He was made Physician to Guy's Hospital in
1795, and was appointed Lecturer on Chemistry there. 1
Three candidates finally came to the poll at the Guildhall
on Monday, June 22nd, 1778 : Messrs. John Bingham Borlase,
Benjamin Mason and Samuel Higgs. Borlase was elected.
The battle which raged in the newspapers round this election
was carried on chiefly by two correspondents, who wrote under
the respective names of " Detector " and " Subscriber."
Letters full of recrimination and sarcasm appeared day after
day. " Detector," who sent more than forty communications
to the papers, some of four columns in length, assailed his
antagonist with taunts about " roaring catches," obviously
meaning that " Subscriber " was very fond of spending his
•evenings in singing at the " Catch Club." (See p. 234.)
Everyone soon knew that " Detector " was the quarrelsome
Dr. Rigge and " Subscriber " was Richard Smith, sen., who
was elected Surgeon in 1774. Argument being of no avail,
" Mr. Smith challenged the Doctor, who immediately accepted,
and appointed the next morning, behind Brandon Hill, for the
meeting. The parties in consequence met and were about to
fire when the seconds determined to make one more effort to
prevent an appeal which might be attended with such serious
consequences to two Gentlemen who had each a wife and
family. Dr. Rigge was by nature inflexible and courageous,
but being undoubtedly the aggressor in this business, he
consented at last to make an apology." * Such an apology,
made there and then, meant anything but a reconciliation.
This description of the two members of the Infirmary Staff,
the fierce, bumptious and rather illiterate doctor, and the
handsome, well-mannered surgeon, with their coats off, ready
to shoot each other in the early morning " behind Brandon
Hill," gives an interesting glimpse of old times.
We must now return to Mr. Borlase and the difficulties that
arose after his election.
1 He was born in 1756 and died in 1833. " History does not supply us,"
says Dr. Munk, " with a Physician more loved or more respected than was Dr.
Babington." His son Benjamin was elected Physician to Guy's in 1840. His
portrait may be seen in a group of the Medical Society hanging at the Bristol
Medical Library.
2 The quotation is from Richard Smith, junior's, MS. Readers of Smollett
will remember that Dr. Rigge is mentioned in Humphry Clinker.
97
A HISTORY OF THE
JOHN BINGHAM BORLASE.
John Bingham Borlase was the son of the Rev. William
Borlase, LL.D., F.R.S., Rector of Ludgvan in Cornwall, and
noted as an antiquary.
The son inherited his father's ability, and appears to have
been an able apothecary and a man of good address ; but he
was not fitted for the post he had chosen. He was very fond
of shooting, and was too frequently out at his favourite sport.
He actually kept pointers in the " Elaboratory," as the
Dispensary was then called, and was in the habit of inviting
the apprentices into his room to play cards. This led to
quarrelling, and on one occasion at least he had a stand-up
fight with the senior apprentice. These practices made him
unpopular with the Physicians, with whom he had as little
to do as possible.
Not long after his appointment he contracted typhus,
and instead of asking one of the Staff to attend him, he called
in Dr. Abraham Ludlow, a very successful practitioner, who
had been Surgeon to the Infirmary from 1767 to 1774. (See
his biography, p. 117.)
Dr. Ludlow had incurred the displeasure of his colleagues
at the Infirmary by obtaining a diploma at St. Andrew's
University, and thereafter practising both as a surgeon and
physician, as well as an apothecary (see Chapter xix., on
"Medical Practice in Bristol"), and when Borlase called him
in the Physicians were much offended.
Dr. Ludlow prescribed for his patient, and sent the
prescription to be "made up" at the Shop, or Dispensary.
This had been foreseen by the Physicians, who " forbad at
their peril all the Apprentices and Assistants from dispensing
it." Mr. Till Adams, a well-known Quaker apothecary, who
had called to see Borlase, took this prescription himself to the
Dispensary, where Dr. Plomer happened to be. The irascible
Plomer (who apparently had been waiting about for this)
tossed the prescription out of the room, " and Mr. Till Adams,"
we are told, " nearly shared the same fate."
Borlase' s friends in vain interfered ; the Physicians would
allow nothing to go from the Shop to the sick man's
room.
Mr. Noble declared that " it was a sight worthy a Hogarth
when either of the Physicians happened to pass Dr. Ludlow
in the House. They made to each other the most profound
and ceremonious bows, whilst their faces mutually wore the
most contemptuous smile."
98
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Dr. Ludlow was well able to hold his own in such encounters.
He had cultivated a stately and pompous walk, with a stiff,
" stand-off " manner, and his enormous wig, which was of
the kind called the " Royal George," 1 was in itself most
imposing.
Under these circumstances Till Adams undertook to make
up all the prescriptions Dr. Ludlow ordered, and when Borlase
had recovered, sent in a bill for £n ios. to the Infirmary
Committee. The Physicians (who do not appear in the most
amiable light in this affair) objected to this being paid, and
the matter was referred to a General Board, held on December
ist, 1778. A large number of Subscribers came to this meeting,
including many apothecaries brought by our friend Mr. Priest,
in the hope, apparently, of raising objections to the regulations
for electing apothecaries to the Infirmary.
After a turbulent discussion it was decided that the bill
should be paid.
Directly Till Adams had received the money he wrote a
letter to the Board, dated " Bristol, 6th Month, ist, 1779,"
and beginning, " Esteemed Friends," in which he presented
this £11 ios. to the Infirmary as a benefaction, and it appears
as such in the State for that year.
Before this bill was paid Borlase had resigned his
post.
It was the custom, as before stated, for the Matron to see
that the doors were locked every night. Borlase had gone
out one evening to visit a friend, was too late, and found he
was locked out. He then, says Richard Smith, " attempted
to get in at one of the windows, and for that purpose had
climbed over the outer rails and had reached the leads of the
Piazza, when he was observed by the Watchman, who
mistaking him for a common depredator, challenged him,
and receiving no answer, sprung his rattle. The ' family '
was alarmed, and the Apothecary was discovered in a corner
where he had flown for concealment." It was ascertained
that the " friend " he had visited was anything but respectable,
and the circumstance gave the Physicians the opportunity
they wanted for his dismissal. On March 2nd, 1779, it was
decided at a Board Meeting that the Physicians and Surgeons
should report on " the Abilities of the Apothecary." This,
of course, was a " gentle hint," which Borlase was wise enough
to act upon. His letter of resignation shows a great deal of
astuteness : —
1 These wigs had 108 or no distinct rows of curls. The Royal George, then
the pride of the Navy, had 108 guns, hence the name.
99
A HISTORY OF THE
" Bristol Infirmary.
" Gentlemen,
" Having been persecuted by two Physicians of this House
merely because I thought proper, during my late illness, to
employ a Physician out of the House and apprehensive the
defeat of their late infamous scheme will hurry them on to
other acts equally injurious to my place and their own
reputation, I beg leave now to resign the place of Apothecary
to the Charity.
" I am, with the greatest respect to the Society,
gratefully and sincerely their most obliged
humble servant,
"J. B. Borlase.
" Infirmary, March 24th, 1779."
On Thursday, May 6th, 1779, Benjamin Mason was elected
Apothecary at the Guildhall. Samuel Higgs was an unsuccessful
candidate.
Borlase afterwards practised in Cornwall.
THOMAS BAYNTON.
During these disputes about the Apothecary, it is noticeable
that many of the official notices of meetings are signed by the
senior apprentice, Thomas Baynton. He was indentured on
September 5th, 1775, and although he was only fourteen years
of age, he soon gained the confidence of the Staff and Committee,
and was allowed to take upon himself very responsible duties.
I have given some details about him in Chapter xix. (See p. 255.)
We must now retrace our steps and consider briefly the
changes in the office of Treasurer during the years 1739 to
1778.
John Andrews, the second Treasurer, resigned on December
7th, 1739. (See p. 47.)
RICHARD CHAMPION.
Richard Champion, who succeeded him, was elected on
December 18th, 1739, at the Rummer Tavern, where such
meetings were frequently held. (See Chapter xviii., on
" Social Life in Bristol.") He was the son of Nehemiah
Champion, of Stapleton, and was born in the Old Market
in 1680.
He married twice, firstly Miss S. Finny in 1702, and
secondly Miss Esther Palmer in 171 1. By his first wife he
100
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
had two sons, Nehemiah and Richard, both of whom subse-
quently became Treasurers to the Institution.
He was amongst the first who took a keen interest in the
foundation of the Infirmary. He paid the expenses of all
the drugs and necessary appliances for Out-patients during
the six months which preceded the formal opening of the
Charity (see p. 23), and his name is frequently mentioned in
the early meetings of the Board.
The first Committee Minute Book was destroyed, together
with many other valuable records (see Introduction), but
here and there in the papers and notes collected by Richard
Smith are quotations which he has copied from fragments
of this lost book. Amongst these is an entry made soon after
Richard Champion's death, as follows : " Ordered that there
be inserted in the large Book an enumeration of the Services
and Benefactions of the late Treasurer Richard Champion . . .
for this and for his early care, to which means only we think
this Great Affair could have been carried on."
He held office at the Infirmary until his death, after a
lingering illness, at his house in the Old Market, on February
23rd, 1747-8.
He is referred to in the Bristol Oracle for February 27th,
1747-8, as " that venerable patron of Religion and Social
Virtue."
He is reported to have been worth £50,000 at the time of
his death.
NEHEMIAH CHAMPION.
Nehemiah Champion, son of the above, was born in 1703,
and was elected Treasurer at the Merchant Tailors' Hall
on March 8th, 1747-8. In accordance with the rule he
entered into a " penal bond " with the Society for £5,000 a
week after his election (March 15th), " and at the same time
the Security given by Mr. Richd- Champion Deceased the
late Treasurer was delivered up to Mr. Nehe : Champion
one of his Executors." * He married twice, firstly Hannah
Love Ball, and secondly A. Whitehead. He died at his house
in the Old Market on December 12th, 1753, aged fifty. 2
He was the first Treasurer to have a complete list of the
Annual Subscribers published in the yearly reports.
RICHARD CHAMPION.
Richard Champion (the second), brother of the above
Nehemiah, was born in 1704, and was elected Treasurer on
1 Board Minute Book, March 15th, 1747-8.
2 Felix Farley's Journal, December 15th, 1753.
IOI
A HISTORY OF THE
Thursday, December 20th, 1753, a week after his brother's
death, " at the Merchant Taylors' Hall at three o'clock in
the afternoon," and continued in office until his death at
his house in the Old Market, on January 9th, 1766.
He was a good man, not only rich, but generous, and was
generally known by the name of " Gospel Champion." He
was one of the proprietors of the brass works established at
Baptist Mills, and was connected with the bank in Corn Street.
In Felix Farley's Journal for Saturday, January nth,
1766, occurs the following obituary notice of Richard Champion :
" He has been many years treasurer of the Bristol Infirmary,
an office well adapted to him, for his heart was ever disposed
for Universal Charity, and his hands always ready to relieve
the necessitous, nor was he less eminent for the practice of
every other virtue that constitutes the Good Man and the
real Christian."
ABRAHAM RICHARD HAWKESWORTH.
Abraham Richard Hawkesworth was elected Treasurer
at a General Board Meeting held at the Infirmary on Tuesday,
February nth, 1766. It is stated that twenty-six Subscribers
were present, and that he was " unanimously chosen." He
belonged to a well-to-do Quaker family, and was connected
with the Champions. 1 He married Miss Lydia Waring, of
Alton, in Hampshire (who survived him some eighteen years),
and lived in an old house in Castle Green, afterwards used as
Sarah Farley's printing office. 2 He died October 29th, 1768.
He was well educated, rich and benevolent, and seems to
have been generally mourned by all classes, especially by the
poor and needy, at his death.
Richard Champion, writing to Mr. James Dallaway, of
Bisley, on October 27th, 1768, two days before Hawkesworth's
death, refers to him as " the friend of mankind," and says,
" He has been confined for these few days past with a slight
feverish complaint, which grew better till last night. . . .
But in an hour after the Physicians left him there was so great
a Change as leaves little hope of his surviving." 3
He was known in his later years as a strict member of the
sect to which he belonged ; but in his youth he appears to have
been a lively young fellow, a boon companion and a frequenter
of the " Nagg's Head Club." (See p. 238.)
1 His father, Richard Hawkesworth, married a Miss Rogers, a sister of
Richard Champion (the third's) grandmother.
2 And after that as a school kept by the Rev. Joseph Porter.
3 I am indebted for this extract and for other information to the kindness
of Mr. F. L. Rawlins.
102
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
An astonishing number of eulogistic poems were published
at his death, some of which were collected in a small pamphlet.
Amongst them is one dated October 29th, 1768, which is
interesting as an example of the shameless plagiarism which
existed in those days. The first two lines, for instance —
" Let others hail the rising sun,
I bow to him whose race is run,"
are taken verbatim from an ode written by David Garrick on
the death of Pelham in 1754.
It may interest my readers to give Richard Smith's
account of a Quaker funeral in the year 1768. At Richard
Hawkesworth's decease " it was his order that his funeral
might be as private as possible ; but the great respect of his
friends and the curiosity of the public attracted an immense
multitude. As the procession, which was in itself plain and
simple in the extreme, moved from Castle Green to the Quakers'
burial-ground in Redcliff Pit the streets were filled and [the
procession] got on with difficulty. At length it arrived at the
grave, and the corpse being placed on a bier near it, his wife
advanced, and laying her hand upon the coffin, seemed wrapt
in profound meditation, as one waiting for inspiration. The
crowd was hushed into profound quietness and expectation. . . .
Mrs. Hawkesworth broke silence by these words ' we must be
trembling sinners before we can be glorified saints.' She then
continued to preach for a very considerable time in a very
animated and eloquent strain to the persons assembled, who
were as much delighted as astonished at the manner in which she
acquitted herself. This was the first and last time that she ever
spoke at any meeting of the Friends, or upon any other occasion."
Although Hawkesworth's term of office at the Infirmary
only lasted for two and a half years, it covered an eventful
period. Five members were elected on the Honorary Staff,
Drs. Farr, England and Rigge and Messrs. Ludlow and Skone ;
the number of Annual Subscribers was increased from 459 to
498 ; four disreputable houses adjoining the Infirmary in Bull
Lane were bought and demolished ; the salary of the Apothecary
was increased ; a " house to house " canvass was instituted to
obtain more Subscribers ; and the important question of having
a special ward " for the delivery of poor married women " was
discussed, but ultimately negatived.
RICHARD CHAMPION (THE THIRD).
Richard Champion was elected Treasurer in Hawkesworth's
place on December 6th, 1768.
This Richard Champion was the son of Joseph Champion,
who was son of the first Richard Champion by his second wife.
103
A HISTORY OF THE
He was therefore a nephew of Nehemiah and Richard Champion,
who had been his predecessors in the office of Treasurer. The
relationship is made clear by the following pedigree :— »
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I am indebted to Mr. F. L. Rawlins, of Rhyl, for this pedigree
Whose sister, Cecilia Ball, married (i) Joshua WiUcocks^d (!) Dr. Lyne.
104
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Richard Champion (the third) was born on November 6th,
1743, and was elected Treasurer on December 6th, 1768 ; he
was '" unanimously chosen " at a meeting of twenty-seven
Subscribers, but there is a note in the Minute Book under date
November 15th, 1768, that Mr. Thomas Whitehead was
nominated, but apparently refused to accept office. It is
worthy of note that at the time of his election Richard Champion
was only twenty-five years of age.
At this date there were five Physicians and six Surgeons on
the Staff, viz. Drs. Drummond, Woodward, Plomer, Farr
and Rigge, and Messrs. Page, Castelman, Townsend, Ford,
Ludlow and Skone ; the Rev. William Davies was Chaplain,
Edward Bridges Apothecary, Joseph Beech Secretary, and
Mrs. Ann Hughes Matron.
Although young, Richard Champion was already a busy
man, full of responsible duties. In a letter to Mr. James
Dallaway, of Bisley, dated Bristol, December, 1768, he writes :
" My affairs daily increase, and I have lately had an addition
to it, by an unanimous request of the Infermary [sic] to take
upon me the office of Treasurer, which is the principal office in
it, consequently must take up a great deal of my attention. I
could not resist the Application . . . a principal Inducement
was, that from its first Institution this Office has Allways been
in our family. The excellent Mr. Hawksworth succeeded my
late Uncle and held it too short a time." 1
He was a Whig in politics, and nominated Edmund Burke in
the election of 1774. He is mentioned, with praise, in
Thistlethwaite's Satire called The Consultation, published in
that year. Through Burke's influence he was made " Deputy
Paymaster of the Forces" from 1782 to 1784, during the
Rockingham Administration. 2
He became a partner with Mr. Cookworthy in the celebrated
china manufactory in Castle Green. In 1773 he purchased the
entire business, and the firm became " Champion & Co."
He and his wife gave a tea service to Mrs. Burke, which has
become famous. At the sale of the Trapnell Collection of
Bristol Porcelain in May, 1913, the teapot belonging to this
service, with the sugar basin and cream jug (with covers) and
two cups and saucers were bought for 1,450 guineas.
His resignation came before the Board on December 24th,
1778. He died on October 7th, 1791, at Camden, in South
Carolina, aged forty-eight.
1 I am indebted to Mr. F. L. Rawlins for permission to copy this letter.
I have, as in all other cases, kept the spelling, etc., unaltered.
2 He was an ardent admirer of Burke, and kept up a correspondence
with him after he had retired to South Carolina. He meant to publish burke s
letters, but his early death put an end to this, and the letters he collected
cannot be traced. (See also p. 134.)
105
CHAPTER X
RULES — QUARRELS ABOUT THESE — RESIGNATION OF PHYSICIANS
— RULES RESCINDED — ADMISSION OF PATIENTS BY PHYSICIANS
— DISPUTES WITH SURGEONS — DR. RIGGE'S ANGER — NUMBER
OF STAFF — CROWDED WARDS — THE POULTERERS' AFFIDAVIT —
TYPHUS — THE OLD BUILDING — FINANCES
At the first meeting of the Subscribers held on December 23rd,
1736, a list of twenty-three " Proposals " was offered to the
Society. These were drawn up in the form of Rules, principally
by Serjeant Foster (see p. 10), and discussed seriatim. Many
of them were at once adopted, others were postponed.
On May 6th, 1737, a large Committee, consisting of all the
Clergy, Physicians, Surgeons, and Apothecaries who were
Subscribers, was appointed to draw up " Rules and Orders ; "
Dr. Bonython was deputed to make a list of regulations as a
basis for discussion, and " Mr. Recorder " (Serjeant Foster)
supervised them. This code was modified during the next few
years, and was printed in the Annual State for 1743.
A second code was drawn up in 1758 and printed for distribu-
tion. There were no " Bye-laws," and the management of the
House was carried on to some extent by tradition. As the
Charity increased in its scope, certain details as to the com-
position of the Honorary Staff, the salaries of officials, number
of apprentices and so forth were frequently brought up for
discussion, and caused a great deal of talk and misunderstanding.
It was felt that the old Rules required revision and additions, and
on March 7th, 1769, " An Especial Committee " was appointed
to form a new code of laws, with directions to apply to the
Faculty " whenever their advice and assistance were necessary."
This Committee produced their Book of Rules without
apparently consulting anyone. Several of the new regulations
referred to the medical and surgical arrangements of the
Institution : general consultations of all the Physicians and
Surgeons were to be held in cases requiring amputations, 1 all
patients discharged as incurable were also to be consulted on
and reasons were to be given in writing for their dismissal, etc.
Others were still more likely to provoke opposition, such as
1 The Committee had no doubt taken notice of some taunts in the Bristol
papers as to the number of wooden legs which had been seen about since
the Infirmary was founded, etc.
106
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
this : " That two Trustees shall attend every Monday and
Thursday to direct all matters relative to the receiving, rejecting,
and discharging of all patients, and deliver in writing the names
of the Physicians and Surgeons who have attended their
respective week to the weekly Committees."
The whole Faculty felt that a slight had been put upon them
by this Committee in framing rules for their guidance without
consulting them in any way.
The Surgeons, however, decided not to interfere, being
actuated in such decision chiefly by a feeling of opposition to
the Physicians ; also by the knowledge that some of the latter,
who were noted " fire-eaters," would be certain to interfere.
They were correct in their surmise, for Drs. Plomer and Rigge
were at once up in arms ; and on May 15th, 1769, the following
letter was sent to the Committee : —
" May 15th, 1769.
" Gentlemen,
" The Physicians of the Infirmary having duly considered
the new regulations proposed at the last General Board to be
observed by them, are of opinion that their compliance with
such Rules would lay them under great difficulties without being
essentially conducive to the benefit of the Charity.
Archd. Drummond.
Frs. Woodward.
Jas. Plomer.
Saml. Farr.
Thos. Rigge.
" To the General Board of the
Bristol Infirmary."
A general meeting was convened for June 6th, " but the
Trustees took the matter so indifferently that nobody attended,"
and another Board was summoned for June 15th by the
Treasurer, Richard Champion, one of the Surgeons, John
Townsend, and a Subscriber, Peter Hatton, besides the
Physicians (with the exception of Dr. Rigge). At this second
meeting only two or three persons put in an appearance, so little
did the Trustees care for a dispute of this kind.
The Physicians were much offended at the want of interest
taken in their protest, and wrote to the Committee to the effect
that they would look after the cases then under their care, but
would see no fresh patients. To this the Committee (who were
practically identical with the Rules Committee) made no reply.
107
A HISTORY OF THE
This continued neglect so incensed the Physicians that they
wrote the following letter to the Committee : —
" Gentlemen,
" The Physicians of the Infirmary, sensible of the impossibility
of complying with the new Regulations, think themselves
obliged to discontinue their attendance until such Rules shall
be repealed.
" Bristol, June 20th, 1769."
In the meanwhile the Treasurer and Surgeons had convened
a meeting for June 21st, 1769, and the Trustees, realising the
serious state of affairs, attended in large numbers. When this
meeting was called the Physicians had not sent in their
ultimatum, but the news of their resignation had got abroad,
and it was known to many of those present. Directly Mr.
John Milton1 had taken the Chair and explained the object of
the meeting, a somewhat dramatic scene occurred. " A
gentleman stepped forward " 2 and said in a rhetorical manner,
" I have here the New Rules and the Resignation of your
Physicians ; choose which of the two I shall destroy ? " He
was answered by loud cries of " No New Rules ! No New
Rules ! " The Chairman put the question whether the obnoxious
clauses should be repealed, and the company answered at once,
and unanimously, in the affirmative.
The work of the House again went on, and on September
5th, 1769, at a Quarterly Meeting, the whole of the new Rules
were repealed with the single exception of one altering the
day of Committee Meetings from Wednesday to Tuesday.
This misunderstanding left behind it for many years a
feeling of antagonism between the Committee and the Medical
Staff, and between the latter and the Surgeons.
In those days the physicians were, without doubt, generally
considered to be superior men to the surgeons ; they held
degrees from Universities, were often well educated, and moved
in good literary society.
The surgeons, on the other hand, were emerging from a
somewhat lower status. The Bill for the separation of the
surgeons from the barbers, and therefore for the dissolution
of the barber-surgeons, was passed in June, 1745, but many
of the surgeons still retained much of the old order, and
occasionally shaved, sold leeches and drugs, and practisedjas
apothecaries. Surgery as a separate branch of the profession
1 John Milton's name occurs in the list of Annual Subscribers.
2 Name not given, probably the Treasurer, Mr. Richard Champion.
108
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
was only just beginning to assert itself. The founding of the
Bristol Infirmary was the most important factor in the West
of England for the science and craft of surgery, for it gave
a number of men the opportunity of a first-class training in
general and operative surgery ; and before the eighteenth
century closed the Surgeons of the Bristol Infirmary were in
an excellent position, both as to reputation and practice.
They were, socially, rather below the Physicians as a class ;
but owing to the fact that many of the early members of the
Surgical Staff were not only men of ability and education,
but were also of good birth, the difference rapidly diminished.
Nevertheless, at the time we are considering the Physicians
tried to carry things with a high hand. For instance, it had been
the custom since the opening of the Infirmary for the Physician
for the Week to sign all admission notes, whether surgical or
medical. This, of course, meant that when the Surgeons saw
Out-patients requiring admission to one of the wards they had
to request one of the Physicians — either personally or through
the Apothecary — to sign an " admission card."
This practice appears to have originated in the respect
paid by all the members of the original Staff, including the
Surgeons Thornhill and Page, to Dr. Bonython, who had,
as we have seen, a great deal to do with the foundation, and
is referred to more than once as " The Father of the Charity."
At the election of Richard Smith, sen., in 1774 the Surgeons
began to evade this custom, and when Godfrey Lowe joined
the Staff in the following year it was determined " to resist
the matter altogether."
Accordingly, on a certain day Richard Smith did not ask
Dr. Rigge, the Physician for the Week, to give his sanction,
but admitted patients himself, with a written order, " Admit
to ward. — R.S." Dr. Rigge at once demanded why he had not
been consulted, and was told that the Surgeons " did not think
it necessary." High words followed, and a feud began between
Richard Smith and Godfrey Lowe and the Physicians. The
two " surgical conspirators," as they were called, were much
strengthened in the contest by the accession of John Padmore
Noble in 1777 and James Norman in 1779, when open war was
declared, and the admission room every Monday and Thursday
wras a scene of contention. Dr. Rigge resigned, and the
Physicians complained to the Committee (who refused to
interfere), and then summoned a General Meeting of Subscribers
for October 7th, 1779.
Now, in a code of Rules confirmed on March 2nd, 1779,
patients were to be admitted " by the Direction of the Physician
iog
A HISTORY OF THE
or Surgeon of the Week ; " 1 and the Trustees decided at this
meeting on October 7th that this should be interpreted : " The
Physicians are empowered to do everything requisite for the
admission of Physical Patients, and the Surgeons to do the
like respecting Surgery Patients."
Whilst this matter was being discussed in the Board Room,
the Physicians apparently did not take any part in the meeting,
but waited for the result in the " Matron's Parlour " ; and a
messenger was sent to them with the decision of the Board.
This messenger returned to the meeting and informed the
Chairman, Mr. Joseph Harford, that " he was directed to hand
in the resignation of the whole of the Physicians, if the Society
did not amend their resolution."
This threat of resignation, which the Physicians used on
several occasions en dernier ressort when all other arguments
failed, was almost as strong a weapon as the terrors of excom-
munication which the heads of the Church formerly used to
bring their enemies to their right senses.
It meant, of course, a fresh discussion of the whole matter,
which was arranged for October 21st. However, before the
meeting was held the question had been talked over, and a
compromise was arranged, which was passed by the Trustees
in this form : " That no Surgeon shall be allowed to sign any
Admission Tickets when the Physician of the Week is present,
but in the Physician's Absence the Surgeon may sign the
Admission Tickets for Surgery Patients." This was accepted by
the Medical Staff as a satisfactory solution of the difficulty, but
anyone acquainted with the characters of Richard Smith, sen.,
Godfrey Lowe, and John Padmore Noble would guess that the
matter would not end so tamely.
The Surgeons carried out the letter of the law, but always
came so late to admit Out-patients that the Physicians had
gone, or were going round their wards ; in fact, according to
Mr. Noble " it used to be the standing joke to keep the Physician
in attendance as long as possible and to come into the room
just as he was leaving it."
This undignified " squabble " went on, and Dr. Rigge,
although he had left the Infirmary, could not forget his supposed
injuries. He even went so far as to bring up the delinquencies of
the Surgeons at a Board Meeting ; he was answered by Richard
Smith, and the skirmish between these two fighting cocks was
referred " to four gentlemen, who decided that they ought
mutually to apologise," which they did, under protest. Dr.
Rigge took his usual course and wrote to the papers, expressing
1 Rule VII.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
freely his opinion of the four referees, and declaring that
" whatever he wrote should have first in view the good of the
Charity and secondly his own vindication."
The controversy which followed was interrupted by the
serious illness of Dr. Rigge, who contracted a fever, and lay
at the point of death for many days. At length, when he had
recovered and the public had forgotten about the whole affair,
there appeared a notice in the papers: "With Dr. Rigge' s
Compts., and that now it had pleased God to restore him to
health he should again address the Subscribers and hoped to
show them how extremely ill he had been used."
The Trustees were tired of the dispute, and took little notice
of it ; but it had taken such a hold on Dr. Rigge that when
someone was defending the four referees at the Annual Infirmary
Dinner " the doctor flourished his cane at them, which they
resented ; a rencontre took place, and several people had broken
heads and bloody noses." (See p. 24.)
Personal violence appears to have been frequently resorted
to in those days by members of the Staff. On an old, yellow
piece of paper fastened into Richard Smith's Memoirs, under
the heading " Infirmary Memoranda " is this entry : " 1779,
Feb. 20. Mr. Smith and Mr. Castelman fought with fists and
sticks at the Infirmary on a very ludicrous subject. Mr. C.
got a scar on his nose."
In the autumn of 1778 it was decided to revise the Rules,
and an attempt was made to fix the number of Physicians and
Surgeons on the Honorary Staff.
There were at this time four Physicians and five Surgeons,
and the work of the house was apparently going on in a satis-
factory manner ; the wards were very crowded, 140 patients
often being in the Institution at once, when there was barely
room for 130 ; and over 300 were annually refused admission
for want of room. There was, however, no more work than
could be easily managed by the Staff.
Yet for some reason the Board decided to add another
Honorary Surgeon to the Faculty, and this step was taken
without consulting the medical officers.
The Surgeons at once wrote, stating that they considered
" their Management of the Business highly reflected on " by
such a resolution. This letter was read at a specially convened
meeting of Subscribers on January 21st, 1779.
A resolution was at once passed " that no Reflection on the
Surgeons of any kind whatever was intended ; " they were
thanked for their " constant attendance and great services ; " and
it was resolved the number of Surgeons should remain as before.
in
A HISTORY OF THE
Everything was done, in fact, to make the amende
honorable. This did not, however, satisfy John Townsend,
who took the proposal to increase the number of Surgeons as a
personal insult. He was present at the meeting, and in spite
of all that was said, got up and announced his intention to
resign. His touchy, morose nature was fully recognised by
those who knew him, and the fact that he was kind and
attentive to his poor patients was also realised. These con-
siderations, combined perhaps with some awe of his anger and
of his pompous Johnsonian appearance, induced those present
to beg him to remain on the Staff, and he was gradually coaxed
into a continuance of his office.
We have, from time to time, had occasion to mention the
crowded condition of the wards. Antiseptics were of course
unknown, and even ordinary cleanliness, as we now under-
stand it, was absent. Consequently, foul wounds remained
foul for a long time, and clean wounds, whether made
accidentally or by the surgeon's knife, tended to become
septic. This state of affairs was made worse by the custom
of using warm poultices, wet dressings, and ointments con-
taining lard and other animal matters — all of them excellent
nurseries for the growth of germs.
Poultices retained their popularity for many years, certain
nurses having a reputation for making them well. Some of the
dressings were destroyed by burning after use, but probably the
greater number were collected and taken away at intervals.
What became of them is not certain, but the public had their
suspicions that they were not always properly disposed of, as
the following ridiculous but perfectly true anecdote shows.
A poulterer who lived near the Infirmary, and supplied the
Institution with fowls, had a remarkably handsome daughter,
and one of the medical officers who admired her good looks
was in the habit of occasionally lounging there. One day
two gentlemen who knew him noticed this, and one said to
his friend, " I wonder that a man of 's respectability has
not more regard for his character than to be running after
a girl in the face of day ! " " Pooh ! " said the other, " don't
you know his business there ? WThy several poulterers buy
the used poultices from the Infirmary, and goes there
to settle the accounts." This tale flew over the city, and the
report became so widely spread that no one, according to
Pines Gazette, would buy fowls for fear they might have eaten
the linseed and bread from old poultices. This so affected the
poulterers that three of them, Christopher Kempster, William
Pri chard, and Martha Jones, made an affidavit before the
112
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Mayor, Nathaniel Foy, on the 12th January, 1773, that they
had never " purchased or received from the Infirmary, or
any other place whatever, any poultice or other unwholesome
thing ; nor ever made use of that or any other foul or unfit
food for the purpose of feeding or fattening our poultry."
The dressings were not the only things at fault. It may
surprise those who are accustomed to the routine of cleanliness
characteristic of modern hospitals to realise that as late as
1880 it was no uncommon thing for surgeons, when they
operated, to put on an old cloth coat which was kept for the
purpose, and which did duty for many months without being
washed !
These practices, combined with bad ventilation, crowded
wards, and general lack of sanitary conditions, encouraged
outbreaks of erysipelas, blood poisoning, and what was then
known as " Hospital " or " Putrid Fever." This disease,
which towards the close of the eighteenth century decimated
the poorer quarters of towns, jails and hospitals, 1 claimed a
heavy toll from the Infirmary.
During the short space of ten years, from 1774 to 1783
inclusive, no less than four Resident Apothecaries were killed
by this complaint : Edward Bridges in 1774, Thomas Elmes
in 1777, John Ellis in 1778, and Benjamin Mason in 1783.
Another Apothecary, John Borlase, was, as we have seen,
attacked by it in 1779, but recovered ; and Dr. England,
who was elected Physician in 1767, died of it less than three
months after his election.
These deaths naturally caused something like a panic in
the public mind, and many questions were asked as to the
condition of the Infirmary, although few besides the Staff
and the Committee ventured within its walls.
" The fact was," writes Richard Smith, " that the wards
were low and devoid of ventilation, so that the fcetor in most
of them was almost intolerable ; " and John Noble said that
" he had seen beds made up upon tables, and even placed
upon the floor down the centre of the ward." Many patients
were boarded out in neighbouring houses, where members
of the Staff attended them.
The building itself, as the reader may have gathered, was
a " piece of patchwork." It had been added to from time
to time without any definite plan of structure, and was still
surrounded by a number of old, ruinous houses.
Although the picture at the head of the Annual Reports
1 Also called " Jail Fever." It was first named " Typhus " in 1760 by
Boissier de Sauvages, and was differentiated from Typhoid by the late Sir
William Jenner.
113
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
or States shows a regular and neat-looking building, the
actual condition was very different. Not only are the dirty
tenements in close contact with the Infirmary not shown in
this engraving, but near the iron gate there existed, says
Richard Smith, " a pig-stye of a place called ' The Lodge.'
In this dwelt one Molly Gibbons, whose deformities and squalid
appearance formed a good frontispiece to the filth and wretched-
ness of the interior." This, for obvious reasons, was not
included in the picture on the Reports.
The entrance faced Whitson Court and Earl Street ; at
the back, towards Marlborough Street (where the front entrance
is now), was a space for lumber and coals, with a high, blank
wall behind it.
The garden was bought in December, 1781, of Mr. Rowles
Scudamore for £833, but was not at first used for the patients ;
it was let out at ten guineas per annum.
Of the houses adjoining the west wing, the upper one,
with its door in Marlborough Street, was inhabited by Mrs.
Preece, the Matron, who died there in 1790. In the other
house dwelt the Apothecary. (See Fig. 13.)
The condition of the House made some radical change
necessary, and it soon became apparent that a new Infirmary
must be built.
Financially the Society was well off, and could afford to
consider the question. The balance sheet for the year 1779
shows that the interest on invested capital (chiefly in Old South
Sea Annuities) amounted to over £550 ; annual subscriptions
came to £1,234 '> eight legacies of small sums brought in £720 ;
and a sum of £5,000 was given to the Institution by the executors
of Mrs. Mary Ann Peloquin, a rich and benevolent lady, who
left £19,000 to the Corporation for charitable purposes.
Other important legacies came in during the next three
years, so that in 1782 the capital amounted to nearly £23,000.
The flourishing condition of the finances and the urgent
need of erecting new and more sanitary buildings determined
the Committee and Staff to call a General Meeting of Sub-
scribers to consider the questions whether a new Infirmary
should be built, and if so, where.
114
CHAPTER XI
ALTERATIONS ON THE STAFF — DR. FARR — DR. ENGLAND
THOMAS SKONE — ABRAHAM LUDLOW — DR. RIGGE — STORY OF THE
NEGRO — PRIVATEERING — DR. WRIGHT — DR. PAULL — RICHARD
SMITH, SEN. — DR. MONCRIEFFE — GODFREY LOWE — JOHN PAD-
MORE NOBLE — STORY OF THE PARROT — DR. COLLYNS — JAMES
NORMAN — DR. BROUGHTON — JOSEPH HARFORD — THE MATRONS
— MRS. WILLIAMS — MRS. PREECE — MRS. SIMMONS
Before considering the new building, the erection of which
was to be discussed in the autumn of 1782 (see end of last
chapter), it is necessary to say something about important
changes in the Staff and amongst other officers of the Infirmary.
In the year 1767 three Physicians and two Surgeons were
appointed : Drs. Farr, England and Rigge, and Messrs. Ludlow
and Skone.
DR. SAMUEL FARR.
Dr. Samuel Farr was elected, on Dr. Lyne's resignation, on
January 13th, 1767.
He was the seventh son of Alderman Farr, a well-known
Bristol merchant, and was born in 1741. He was educated at
the Free Grammar School, and studied medicine at Edinburgh
and Leyden. He travelled a great deal, visiting most of the
European Universities, and returned to England in 1764. He
was a voluminous writer on medical and philosophical subjects,
and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1779, the first,
but by no means the last, of the Infirmary Staff to receive this
honour. 1
He resigned his post at the Infirmary by a letter to the
Trustees dated April 13th, 1780, and retired to Curry Rivel in
Somersetshire. Afterwards he removed to Taunton, where he
had many friends, and died on March 19th, 1795, aged fifty-four.
He was a good type of the learned and cultured physician, a
good classical scholar, and a great reader. He was, perhaps, too
studious and retiring to fill any public office with comfort to
himself, and he did not take much part in Infirmary affairs,
beyond doing his duty to his patients.
1 Amongst his works may be mentioned : Observations on the Character
and Conduct of a Physician; Elements of Medical Jurisprudence ; An Essay
upon the Medical Virtues of Acids, etc.
115
A HISTORY OF THE
For some years he was medical attendant on the Dowager
Countess of Chatham, and was a personal friend of her celebrated
son, William Pitt.
His brother, Mr. Paul Farr, who was Master of the Merchant
Venturers in 1775-6, has left behind testimony as to the
worth of Samuel Farr's character which is borne out by others
who knew him.
At the meeting on January 13th, 1767, when Dr. Farr was
elected, a resolution was passed fixing the number of Physicians
and Surgeons at five of each. This necessitated the election
of another Physician, and the meeting there and then
" unanimously chose " Dr. John England.
DR. JOHN ENGLAND.
I can find very few references to this gentleman ; he lived
in a large house in Prince's Street, and was apparently well-to-do.
His application is written in a particularly modest and un-
assuming manner, and shows a desire on his part not to enter
into the differences between some of the Infirmary officials that
were then disturbing the Society. (See Appendix A.)
He had scarcely entered upon his work at the Infirmary when
he contracted the then prevalent typhus fever, and died in
March, 1767.
The rule that had been so emphatically insisted upon on
January 13th (see above, also Appendix A) necessitated the
addition of another Surgeon to the Staff. The election was fixed
for January 20th, and on that date Abraham Ludlow and
Thomas Skone each polled 147 votes, and were both elected,
making the number of Surgeons six.
THOMAS SKONE.
Thomas Skone was born in Haverfordwest, but was
educated under Mr. Seyer at the Bristol Grammar School. His
father was a tyrannical man, and flogged his son Tom in a
merciless manner, so that the boy looked forward to his return
to school with as much delight as most children welcome their
holidays. His unhappy youth, and an unfortunate love affair
with a Miss Polly Bowen, better known as " the handsome
Quaker," made him absent-minded and melancholy, and
increased a tendency he had to gambling, which soon developed
into an absorbing passion and ruined his career as a surgeon.
After his election he practised in Charlotte Street, Queen
Square (see Fig. 80) ; but his losses at cards impoverished
him, and his desperate attempts to retrieve his fortunes by
playing for high stakes soon brought the creditors about his
116
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
The manuscript of this book was practically CDmpleted by the
author prior to the outbreak of the war, which has caused the
delay in its publication. The Introduction is dated July, 1914,
and it will be found that none of the facts set out in the body
of the book or in either Appendix are of a later date. The
author sought only to give the history of the Infirmary from
its foundation to the building of the magnificent new Surgical
Wing, which was opened by Their Majesties King George and
Queen Mary on June 28th, 1912. The growth of this great
Medical Charity since that time, and an account of the splendid
use to which the new wing has been put during the war as a
branch of the Second Southern General Hospital, is left for
some future historian to place on record.
It is a cause for deep regret that Dr. Munro Smith (who died
13th January, 1917), did not live to see the completion of his
labours in the publication of the work, but a large part of it
was in type and the proofs corrected by him before he passed
away.
Reference should here be made to the great loss the Infirmary
has sustained by the death of its late President and Treasurer,
Sir George White, Bt., who died 22nd November, 1916. The
modern developments of the Infirmary have been largely due
to his initiative and beneficence.
October, 1917.
Fig. 22.
DR. LUDLOW.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
house, and he had to escape to London. On the 4th of June,
1770, he wrote to John Page, then senior Surgeon, resigning
his post, " which," he says, " to have held was the Happiness
and ambition of my life."
He migrated to Jamaica, and wrote to Richard Smith in
1775 a cheerful letter — full of fond memories of his old friends L
and his Infirmary life — expressing the hope that in two years'
time he would be able to pay his creditors and return to his
native land. 2
But in this letter he quotes two lines of Horace : " Quid sit
futurum eras fuge quserere," 3 and " Caliginosa nocte premit
deus," 4 as if apprehensive of some hidden fate in store for him.
A short time afterwards he remitted a hundred pounds to
his creditors, with the words, " Bless God that he has given me
the means of fulfilling a duty nearest to my heart."
He began to make arrangements for his homeward journey,
but was thrown from his horse, and died in a few days' time
from injuries to his head.
Skone was a well-read man, a good classical scholar, and was
much beloved by nearly all who knew him. He is described as
a " man of a plain person, but of an insinuating and gentlemanly
address, of an exceedingly ready wit combined with great
talents for conversation."
ABRAHAM LUDLOW.
Abraham Ludlow, elected at the same time as Skone, on
January 20th, 1767, was the son of Abraham Ludlow, surgeon,
who competed with John Page for the surgeoncy in 1741. He
was born on August nth, 1737, at his father's house in Castle
Ditch. He received a good education at the Taunton Grammar
School, and was afterwards apprenticed to his father. He was a
good classical scholar, and kept up his taste for these studies all
his life. (For portrait see Fig. 22.)
He had a fondness for medicine and for writing prescriptions,
imbibed probably from his father, and after his election on the
Surgical Staff of the Infirmary he aroused the anger of Dr. Rigge
by daring to write prescriptions without adding " Chr." to his
signature, to denote that they were " written by a surgeon
only."
The antagonism between the two men was increased by the
following incident. A man was accused of the murder of his
1 He quotes the words " Veteres revocamus amores."
2 He sent a copy of some verses to George Symes Catcott, dated " Tobago,
West Indies, Aug : ioth, 1770." These lines appeared in Felix Farley's-
Journal many years after, on December 2nd, 1797.
3 Book i., Ode ix., line 13. 4 Book hi., Ode xxix., line 30.
117
A HISTORY OF THE
wife by poison, and Dr. Rigge gave very positive evidence to
this. Ludlow was present at the post-mortem examination,
and expressed to some of those present his belief that the woman
had died from natural causes. The counsel for the defence
heard of this, and he was called upon to give evidence, which he
did in so impressive and forcible a manner that the man was
acquitted. Rigge considered this a personal insult, and never
forgave Ludlow or the jury.
This bitterness on Rigge's part was further increased by
Ludlow taking a degree at St. Andrew's in November, 1771,
the former having after this no longer the argument — which he
constantly used before — that a man who was a Doctor of
Medicine was altogether on a superior footing to the man who
was not. After he became " Dr. Ludlow " his practice increased
greatly ; he gradually dropped surgery, and on December 6th,
1774, he wrote to the Trustees resigning his post at the Infirmary
on the grounds that " his engagements in Physick " had deter-
mined him to " decline the practical part of surgery."
This letter is dated from Brunswick Square.
We have spoken elsewhere (see Chapter ix.) of his
attendance on Borlase the Apothecary, and the disturbance this
occasioned, of his large income, his resemblance to Samuel
Johnson, and his enormous wig. 1
" He was distinguished from the common mass," says
Richard Smith, "by an imposing exterior. He moved with a
measured step and affected a meditating abstraction of
countenance, with a pomposity of diction and manners which
could not but keep the vulgar at a respectable distance."
Ludlow was a man of immense activity and power of work ;
he had not only the incessant calls of a practice which brought
him in (chiefly in small fees) £2,500 a year, but was also
Physician to the Bristol Dispensary, one of the founders of the
Bristol Library Society in 1772, and together with Dr. Rodbard
and Mr. John Ford inoculated patients and kept a small-pox
hospital at a house on Barton Hill.
During the busy time of his practice in Bristol he was noted
for his custon of putting down straw in front of houses where
he was attending serious cases of illness — the number of streets
with straw in them being an index of the extent of his business.
It is hardly necessary to add that this habit was attributed by
his enemies to a wish to advertise himself.
He married twice, his first wife being a Miss Figgins, of
Devizes, his second was a well-to-do widow, the relict of a
Mr. Gibbs, clothier, of Wiltshire.
1 The story of Ludlow and " Long Jack " is narrated on page 206.
118
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
After many years of strenuous work he retired from the
profession and spent much of his time at his estate at Heywood,
in Wiltshire, where he endeared himself to his tenants by many
acts of kindness. He frequently visited Bristol and saw his old
comrades at the Infirmary, for whom he entertained no un-
friendly feelings. Some months before his death he noticed a
swelling in his neck, which soon showed signs of malignancy.
In those days— even more than now — there was no hope for
such a condition, and this Ludlow knew only too well. He
bore his sufferings with great fortitude, and died on July 15th,
1807, at the house of his married daughter, Mrs. Walker, at
Redland. *
THOMAS RIGGE.
A Quarterly Board Meeting was held on March 3rd, 1767,
only a few days after Dr. England's death, and Thomas Rigge
was unanimously elected Physician, there being, apparently,
no other candidate.
We have already referred to Dr. Rigge more than once as
one of the most turbulent spirits ever connected with the
Infirmary — a man who lived and moved in an atmosphere of
rage and indignation.
Little is known about his early history. He had a brother
who, according to Richard Smith, kept a " large boiling house
in Lewin's Mead and drove for some years a thriving trade,"
and an uncle who lived at Leigh, from whom he had great
expectations, - and who helped to defray the expenses of his
nephew's education. He was sent to school in Yorkshire,
where he perhaps attended one of the cheap " colleges " like
that presided over by Mr. Squeers. He never learnt to spell
properly and his grammar was frequently incorrect, an un-
fortunate thing for one who was always writing to the papers.
He was intended for a sugar-baker, but disliked the work,
and with difficulty persuaded his rich uncle to allow him. money
enough to get a medical education. With a slenderly-stocked
purse he " therefore burthened himself with as little clothes as
possible, and slinging his bundle, at the end of a stick over his
shoulder, set out on foot for the University of Padua," where he
afterwards said " he learnt Physic, Arts and Sciences." On his
1 He was one of the donors of a picture by E. Bird presented to St. Paul's
Church, Portland Square, on September 29th, 1793. The picture is still on
the walls of the church.
2 It is recorded of this uncle, who was an " oddity," that he never engaged
a coachman without asking the man these three questions : (1) " Can'st thee
plant potatoes ? " (2) " Bee'st thee sure thee can'st harness the horses ? "
(3) " When thee hast done thy work, can'st thee sit down quiet in the kitchen
-without meddling with the maids ? "
Iig
A HISTORY OF THE
return from the Continent he settled at Preston, and then came
to Bristol, where he was elected Physician to St. Peter's
Hospital.
His fighting propensities soon began to show themselves.
A negro died at St. Peter's Hospital, and Richard Smith and
Rigge wished to make a dissection of the body and obtain a
specimen for the Infirmary Museum. The matron, who had
the key of the dead-house, refused to give it to them. The two
enthusiasts for science broke open the door, and obtained what
they wanted, greatly to the indignation of Alderman Dampier,
who was then in office as " Governor of the Incorporation of the
Poor." The Guardians passed a resolution that in future no
corpse should be examined without permission from the
Governors of the Hospital. Dr. Rigge, after his usual fashion,
at once " rushed into print," abusing the officials of St. Peter's
in his characteristically violent style. An anonymous writer,
however, answered him, without attacking him by name, but
by allusion to " running his Riggs," etc., leaving no doubt as to
whom he meant. The furious Rigge addressed a newspaper
reply " to Henry Dampier Esq," calling his opponent " a
cowardly assassin."
The alderman answered him, disavowing any knowledge of
the anonymous writer, but telling the doctor plainly that he
was " an ill-natured, ill-conditioned man." It leaked out,
however, that the unknown opponent was one Mr. Rowland
Williams, and Rigge immediately challenged him to a duel.
Williams was not, however, fond of fighting, and excused
himself " on account of his wife and family."
Rigge turned from him in disgust, and poured out columns
of abuse in the papers, produced letters from the Surgeons of
Guy's in favour of post-mortem examinations, and at length
succeeded in inducing all the Medical Staff of the Hospital to
resign.
There was a strong feeling at this time amongst medical
men as to the importance of obtaining anatomical and patho-
logical knowledge — in the only efficient way possible — by
examination of the body after death, and in consequence it was
impossible to fill up the vacant posts.
Dr. Rigge's virulent style of newspaper attack may be
gathered from the following extracts from one of his letters :
" Whereas the majority of the Overseers of the Bristol Poor-
house, under the influence and direction of the Turkish Bashaw
(sic), the Russian Bear, and their trusty Squire the guzzling
Dragoon, have treated their Physicians and Surgeons like
French prisoners and Hirelings . . . this is therefore to
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
caution you to examine strictly into the merits of the affair
lest you should accept of such proposals ... so mean,
despicable and infamous," etc., etc. He further calls St.
Peter's Hospital " a dirty, stinking, pestiferous house ! " For
some reason one cannot fathom he signs this letter " Terrae
filius."
The public naturally complained loudly of the ill-feeling of
Dr. Rigge, who thus kept anyone from accepting office as
Physician or Surgeon to the Charity for nearly a twelvemonth.
At length the papers refused to publish any more correspondence
on the subject ; a new sensation in the shape of the " Letters of
Junius " x attracted public attention, and the vacancies were
filled.
We have seen (in Chapter ix.) how he quarrelled with the
Surgeons, with Ludlow, and the Committee. On one occasion
he sent a written order to John Page (who had then been
Surgeon to the Institution for nearly thirty years) to bleed a
patient. Page refused to come, but sent his apprentice, which
so incensed Rigge that he charged the senior Surgeon with
neglect of duty, and threatened to report him to the Committee I
In the scanty records of the Committee Meetings still remaining
it appears that Dr. Plomer (who always strongly upheld the
dignity of the Physician) was frequently in the Chair, often the
only person present, and had Rigge carried out his threat Page
would no doubt have been reprimanded.
Bristolians were very much engaged in Privateering towards
the close of the eighteenth century, and Dr. Rigge entered very
keenly into this business. In the year 1781 he invested a large
sum of money in a ship called the Enterprise. This vessel was
insured for a month from June 23rd, and was captured off the
coast of Ireland on July the 23rd. 2 Dr. Rigge in vain tried to
obtain the insurance money ; he brought the case into court,
but failed. This dispute, which lasted for four years, so
engrossed the doctor's attention, that he had little time for
any quarrels with his colleagues at the Infirmary.
He practised at Paradise Row, Hotwells, but he had a
house of call " next door to Mr. Norton's the Booksellers,
opposite to St. Werburgh's Church," which at the time we
speak of was generally " crowded with Captains of Ships and
Brokers."
1 Richard Smith attributes these celebrated letters to Jack Wilkes.
Junius's statement, however, " I am the depository of my own secret, and
it shall perish with me, " has so far proved true.
2 England was at this time at war with the American Colonies, Spain, and
France.
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A HISTORY OF THE
At length, in March, 1785, the affair of the Enterprise came
before a special jury at the Guildhall.
The doctor's counsel maintained that an insurance policy
for one month, dating from June 23rd, did not terminate until
July 23rd, but the Judge, Lord Kenyon, almost at once gave
judgment that it expired on the 22nd.
Rigge, however, with a pertinacity one cannot but admire,
was so determined to gain his point, which he considered he
had lost by want of skill on the part of his advocates, that he
actually gave up his profession, which was then bringing him
in between two and three thousand a year, and entered as a
student in Lincoln's Inn. He went through the necessary
routine of work, and was in due course called to the Bar. He
only practised as a barrister in his own case of the Enterprise,
but he never succeeded in getting a jury to agree with him.
He retired to Kensington, but frequently visited Bristol, where
he had interests in the African slave trade. He married a
Miss Wilcox in May, 1777. *
He became in his last years a martyr to gout, and died in
May, 1794.
He had made a considerable fortune by his practice, and
as he also received £30,000 from his uncle at Leigh, he died a
wealthy man. He left two daughters, one of whom married
Mr. George Worrall, the other Major James Rooke.
We have said a great deal about his irritability and prone-
ness to quarrel. He evidently suffered, like Swift, from a
" saeva indignatio," and thought the world was against him.
But there is evidence that he could be kind to his friends and
to the poor, and his popularity as a clever practitioner was
apparently well merited. 2
The " strict rule " that there should be neither more nor
less than five Physicians and five Surgeons, passed on January
13th, 1767, was not only broken by the election of a sixth
Surgeon (p. 116), but when in November, 1769, Dr. Woodward
resigned, the vacancy was not filled.
It was not until Dr. Drummond sent in his resignation
in October, 1771, and there were then only three Physicians,
that steps were taken, and on November 4th of that year
1 From Felix Farley's Journal for May 29th, 1777 : " Tuesday last was
married at Clifton Dr. Rigge of the Hotwells to Miss Wilcox, only daughter
of John Wilcox Esq., of Thornton, in Yorkshire."
2 Rigge fell under the lash of Thistlethwaite in his poem called " The
Consultation " : —
" Next, deckt in all the dignity of wig,
Came the almighty, self-important Rigge,
Rigge whom dame Nature gravely bade dispense
Wonder to fools and mirth to common sense," etc.
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Dr. John Wright was elected, and on September 5th, 1772,
Dr. John Paull. (See Appendix A.)
JOHN WRIGHT.
John Wright was born in the year 1732, probably at
Congleton, in Cheshire. » He and his brother Thomas were
trained for the Presbyterian ministry, and came to Bristol
together.
Thomas, who died in 1777, was for forty-eight years Minister
at Lewin's Mead Chapel. John preached for some time in
Eucher Street (leading from Bristol Bridge to Temple Street),
in a small meeting-house long ago destroyed ; but when about
thirty-nine years of age he suffered from some throat affection,
which left his voice so weak that he was obliged to give up any
kind of public speaking. He turned his attention to medicine,
and became a pupil at the Infirmary. He probably went to
London after this and then to Leyden, where he is stated to have
taken his degree.
He was one of the founders of the Anchor Society in 1700.
and was elected President at " The Three Tuns " in Corn Street
in 1774, in which year the collection amounted to £120 10s.
He married a sister of Alderman Ames in 1774, and resided
in Lower Montague Street, leading into St. James's Barton, a
few doors from his brother. His wife, described as " a lady of
true piety," died in September, 1785.
In 1775 the Bristol Dispensary was founded, and Drs.
Wright and Ludlow were amongst the earliest to offer their
gratuitous services to this charity, the first, I believe, of its
kind in the provinces.
Wright was, in fact, a man of wide philanthropy, and took
a keen interest in the poor, amongst others in the wretched
creatures who were confined for small debts ; he was also an
enthusiastic " anti-slavery man " at a time when, in Bristol
especially, it was thought very eccentric to meddle with the
He was strongly infected with the principles of the French
Revolutionists, even condoning the massacres of September,
1792, asserting constantly, " Why, it is impossible but all this
darkness must end in something glorious." On the question
of the American Colonies or the French Republicans he was
never tired of talking, and according to Mr. Small (above quoted)
whatever hurry he was in, if anyone started one of these topics
" he would immediately put down his hat, draw a chair, and
1 Mr W P Small, who was living in Brunswick Square in the year 1820-
gave this and other items of information about Dr. Wright to R. Smitn.
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A HISTORY OF THE
neither business, meals, nor anything else were thought of — he
would talk as long as ever you would sit to hear him."
He was a man of strict morals, punctual and business-like,
somewhat phlegmatic and cold to those who did not know him,
but very generous. It is recorded of him that when visiting
people who he thought were not well enough off to procure the
comforts so welcome in sickness " he more frequently left a
guinea behind him than took a fee."
He had a large practice and did his rounds on horse-back.
Thanks to Richard Smith, we are enabled to catch a glimpse of
him on his daily visits. A gentleman who knew him well said,
" I was passing Stokes Croft one very wet day when Dr. Wright
turned the corner. He had on a large, white, dishevelled wig,
over which hung a huge, napped Quaker's hat ; with one hand
he held up an umbrella, x and with the other the bridle of a
little pony upon which he rode ; from his shoulders his red
roquelaure was spread over the hind quarters of the animal,
reaching almost to his heels, and forming altogether a caricature
so irresistibly droll that everybody turned round in the middle
of the rain to look at him."
Wright himself appears to have had no perception of humour,
and it is narrated of him that once when in court Burke
convulsed the whole audience with laughter, he never moved
a muscle.
He died on December 23rd, 1794, and was interred in the
Unitarian Burial-ground in Brunswick Square.
He viewed his approaching end with great composure, and
shortly before his death said to an attendant : "I am very glad
that I am upon the ground floor instead of an upper story, as it
will give the men who carry my coffin so much less trouble."
He was succeeded at the Infirmary by Dr. Robert Lovell.
DR. JOHN PAULL.
Dr. John Paull was elected Physician on September 5th,
1772, and resigned on July 10th, 1775.
He was born at Salisbury, to which place he retired when he
left Bristol, and in 1791 was elected Physician to the Infirmary
there. He married in February, 1775, Miss Snow, daughter of
Robert Snow, banker, of London.
According to Mr. Beaven's Bristol Lists he died on June
15th, 1815.
He was immoderately fond of the violin, and was sometimes
called" the Phy- and Mw-sician." 2 This led him into a
1 An umbrella was a great novelty in the streets of Bristol in those days.
2 The joke here is, of course, from the two Greek letters <p and /t.
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
great deal of musical society, and he never did very much
practice.
He was noted at the Infirmary as a great " blood-letter."
Mr. Metford said that he had in one day bled thirty patients of
his. His first question to a patient in the admission room was
almost invariably, " Are you a Bristol man ? " If the answer
was in the affirmative, Dr. Paull wrote down in his book " v.s.
ad Sxx" (that is "venesection to 20 ounces") as a beginning.
Mr. Metford once asked him why he bled Bristolians in this way
without making any diagnosis of their complaints. The doctor
answered, " Because, sir, if he is a Bristolian I know that he
sits of an evening smoking tobacco and drinking your
abominable fat ale ! The first thing to be done, therefore, is to
let some of that run out, and then we shall see what else is the
matter 1 "
RICHARD SMITH, SEN.
The vacancy in the Surgical Staff caused by the resignation
of Abraham Ludlow was filled by the election of Richard Smith,
sen., on December 15th, 1774. A short biography of him will
be found in Appendix B, and an account of his election in
Appendix A.
He was the first of a series of Surgeons (Lowe, Norman,
Noble, etc.) whose vigorous personalities and keen love for
surgery and anatomy immensely increased the reputation of
the Infirmary.
DR. WILLIAM MONCRIEFFE.
Dr. William Moncrieffe was elected on July 18th, 1775,
eight days after Dr. Paull' s resignation, and held the post for
forty-one years.
He was born in Perthshire in 1745, and graduated at
Edinburgh in 1766.
He first settled at Abergavenny, but hearing there was an
opening in Bristol, he came to this city in August, 1772, and was
introduced to several families by William Cave, then a well-
known druggist in Redcliff Street. He was elected one of the
Physicians to St. Peter's Hospital on October 8th of the same
year. *
He lived at first in Park Street, then in Great George
Street, in a house built by Mr. Deveral in 1769.
He married a daughter of Captain Bruce, of the 26th
Regiment, and soon became a busy practitioner, combining
1 Many of the Infirmary Physicians were on the Staff of St. Peter's Hospital.
Some did work there, others did not. Years after his election Moncrieffe was
asked if he was one of the Physicians there. His answer was, " D n me if
I know more than the man in the moon ! "
12;
A HISTORY OF THE
social life with a due regard to business. For instance, he made
an annual visit to the Golden Hart Tavern at Clutton,
where practitioners from the surrounding country used in those
days to hold a yearly dinner. During this jaunt many patients
consulted the doctor. " He had," says Richard Smith, " the
opportunity of taking a glass of wine with his acquaintance
and touching some fees, to neither of which he was particularly
averse."
Like many educated men of that period, he entered freely
into the life of clubs and societies. He was one of the promoters
of the " Half-pint Club," where he " every evening smoked one
pipe and took a half-pint of Madeira and water." (See p. 237.)
He was the father of the St. Andrew's Society, and never
failed to be present at their celebrations at the " Montague,"
including " cock-a-leaky brose, haggis and sheep's tails." He
was also President of the Dolphin Society in 1800, and being
of " high Tory " politics, he was frequently to be seen at the
" White Lion." Dr. Beddoes, indeed, refers to him as " the
Club-hunting Doctor."
In 1789 a serious outbreak of hydrophobia occurred in
Bristol, and there was naturally much discussion both amongst
medical men and in the papers as to the best treatment for this
terrible disease.
Dr. Moncrieffe, having heard of " a most efficacious method
for preventing the dreadful effects arising from the Bite of a
Mad Dog," sent this to the mayor, who at once gave directions
that it should be printed and distributed in the newspapers
and in hand-bills.
This preventive treatment consisted simply in the prolonged
washing of the bitten part, first in cold and then in warm water,
the latter to be applied from the spout of a kettle " held up at
a considerable Distance."
Soon after this an opportunity occurred for testing the
efficacy of this plan. A woman was bitten in the finger by a
dog thought to be mad ; she came to the Infirmary under
Richard Smith's care, and the Surgeons in consultation
decided to try the washing cure. Before long, however, the
poor creature developed signs of hydrophobia, and died.
During Moncrieffe' s tenure of office at the Infirmary a
dispute began about the " over-time lists," that is, the method
of dealing with patients who had remained in the wards
for several weeks without improvement. This, as we shall see,
reached a head in 1798. Moncrieffe, although he expressed his
determination to stand by his colleagues, strongly advised
them to have nothing to do with the Committee, whom he
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
denominated " an oligarchical set of hornets." He seldom,
however, committed himself to such strong expressions, and
was always very cautious about entrance to a quarrel.
He had a dislike to apothecaries, and frequently refused to
meet them at patients' houses. In those days the apothecary
was the "family doctor," and expected to attend with the
physician. Dr. Moncrieffe thus began a campaign which
ended in the complete independence of the physician, and
the relegation of the apothecary to the position of a
compounder of prescriptions. (See p. 253.) His haughty
conduct, compared with the considerate manner of Ludlow,
estranged him from the apothecaries, who never called him in,
and he thus lost many consultations.
He died at his house in Great George Street on Tuesday,
February 13th, 1816, aged seventy-one years. He is described
as a fair classic, well read in the belles-lettres, convivial but never
to the point of excess, kind-hearted and " exceedingly the
Gentleman in his Person and manner."
GODFREY LOWE.
On August 15th, 1775, Godfrey Lowe was elected Surgeon,
in the place of John Ford, at the Guildhall. He was born on
October nth, 1740, in Prince Street ; his father was a wine
cooper. He told one of his colleagues that he was taught to
read by his mother, and then went to " old Rosser to learn
writing and casting accounts, at a School room under Merchants'
Hall " 1 In 1750 he was placed under Mr. Catcott at the Free
Grammar School, where he continued until 1755- The following
year he was indentured (aged sixteen) to Jerome Norman, and
finished his medical education at the Borough Hospitals.
On his return to Bristol he began to give lectures on Anatomy
(see Chapter xxviii., on "Medical Teaching in Bristol," and
commenced practice about the year 1763. From an old
newspaper we find that on February nth, 1764, he removed
from St. Michael's Hill to " Mrs. Perry's near the Assembly
Room, Prince Street."
He married in April, 1775, at St. Michael's Church, Bridget,
only daughter of Jerome Norman (who was Surgeon to the
Infirmary 1754 to 1763), and lived in a house in Trenchard
Street (facing the top of Host Street). In 1786 he removed to
7 Charlotte Street, Queen Square, which had already been
the residence of Mr. Skone, and subsequently was inhabited by
Richard Smith. (See Fig. 80.)
1 This old-fashioned pedagogue, Joseph Rosser, used to boast that "he had
fitted for the counter some of the first men in the City." He died March 22nd,
1783.
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A HISTORY OF THE
For some years he did very little business ; he said that he
only made fifteen pounds his first year, and not much more for
several years after. He gradually, however, obtained the
confidence of the public, and in 1794 or 1795 started a carriage,
being then the only surgeon in Bristol but Townsend who kept
one. During the last twenty years or so of his life he was
generally looked upon as a consultant, and had a large practice
at the Hotwells and Clifton.
There can be no doubt of his great ability and skill as a
surgeon. He was cool-headed, self-possessed, and of sound
judgment, a good operator, and careful and kind to his
patients both at the Infirmary and in private.
In stature " he was short, but exceedingly well made, neat
and finely -proportioned, and of an animated countenance."
He was good-natured, jocular, fond of entertaining his friends.,
and an agreeable companion. When nettled, however, he had,
we are informed, " a sarcastic humour which would vent itself
in an apophem * which pinched to the bone."
He was a staunch Tory and Church of England man. In
1798 he was President of the Dolphin Society, when the
collection amounted to £156 9s.
He died on April 8th, 1806, aged sixty-five, having held
the office of Surgeon to the Institution for thirty-one years.
The rule that no patient whilst at the Infirmary should
have any major operation performed on him except by a
member of the Surgical Staff has, for obvious reasons, been
always strictly enforced. On September 15th, 1802, a man
named David James was admitted with a fractured skull under
John Noble, who was unable to be present from indisposition,
and Godfrey Lowe, who was doing his work, took charge of
the case.
He arranged to trephine the patient, and brought his son,
Richard Lowe, who had recently completed his studies in
London, with him. When all was ready Lowe turned to his
son and said, " Here, Richard, do you do it, for I am not very
well." Lowe, jun., then proceeded with the operation.
Robert Allard, who was present, beckoned to Yeatman and
Richard Smith, and said, " This is very wrong — we ought to
prevent it." Whilst they were debating what to do the
operation was finished, and although the three other surgeons
felt very strongly on the subject, they decided to take no definite
action in the matter.
Unfortunately, the patient died, not from the operation
but from the original injury to his brain, and the Committee,
1 Richard Smith's spelling of " apophthegm."
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
hearing of the affair, wrote a letter to Godfrey Lowe (dated
October 27th, 1802), very properly calling his attention to
this infringement of a fundamental rule, and asking him to
attend the next Committee Meeting. He did so, and instead
of owning his mistake, argued that he had a right under the
circumstances to ask his son to operate, as " he was capable of
operating on any of their heads." With this remark he left
the room. A vote of censure was proposed, but Richard Smith
pointed out Lowe's long services and age, » and blamed himself
and the others who were present at the operation for not
interfering, promising that such a thing should not happen
again. His earnest pleading for his old master prevailed, and
the matter ended.
JOHN PADMORE NOBLE.
When John Page resigned, after thirty-six years' service on
the Staff, John Padmore Noble was elected Surgeon on May 6th,
1777.
He was born at Taunton in 1755, and educated at Taunton
Grammar School. His father, Luke Noble, was a wine
merchant, and his cousin, Alderman Noble, lived in Bristol,
" in the large house in College Place." He was apprenticed to
Abraham Ludlow on March 27th, 1770, and at the expiration
of his " time " went to London, where he attended Dr. John
Fordyce's lectures on Physic and dissected under Cruikshank.
When John Ford resigned in 1775 Noble applied (through
his cousin the alderman) for the vacancy, which was filled, as
we have seen, by the election of Godfrey Lowe.
He then returned from London and set up his plate as a
" Surgeon and Man-Midwife " in the Old Market.
On John Page's resignation he again applied, and was
actively supported by his cousin, who was Sheriff in 1775-6,
and a man of influence. He was at this time only twenty-two
years of age, and is referred to in the papers as " this young
gentleman whom Mr. Sheriff Noble wishes to bring in over the
heads of persons twice his standing in the Profession ! " He
was, however, elected by a majority of sixty-three votes. (See
Appendix A.)
He married a Miss Beddome, daughter of Joseph Beddome, of
College Green, not without opposition from her father, an
eccentric individual, whose great enjoyment was to attend
funerals. * She was, it is said, peculiarly well suited to him,
1 He was then sixty-two.
* He used to walk about with his hands behind him in a state of reverie,
■" which was only interrupted by the passing bell. The instant he heard that
he hastened to the spot, that he might indulge his favourite propensity."
129
A HISTORY OF THE
and they lived together very happily until her death in
August, 1803, at College Green, to which place the Nobles had
removed from the Old Market. He was always irascible and
morose, without any polish of manners, warm-hearted under a
rough exterior ; but after his marriage he went a great deal into
" society," and gave large " routs " and balls, some of which
were so crowded that an invited guest has left it on record that
he on one occasion struggled in vain to get into any of the
rooms, and was obliged to remain upon the stairs.
In appearance Noble was tall, well-proportioned, with a
" penetrating eye and a good, honest-looking countenance."
Towards the close of his life, from confinement to his house
and frequent attacks of gout, he was much altered, and when he
died at the age of fifty-seven on June 22nd, 1812, he was,
apparently, prematurely old. His constitutional moroseness
was increased by the death of his wife (see above), a blow
he never recovered from.
His chief practice was in midwifery, and it is stated on good
authority that in one year he actually attended three hundred
of these cases. Many of them were in poor districts, and for
half-guinea fees.
He took a great interest in the building of the New
Infirmary, which we shall deal with in the next chapter ; and as
he had a fondness for figures, and especially for calculations
and compiling of lists and indices, etc., he was of great use in
checking the accounts, and constituted himself a kind of over-
seer. He also tabulated cases seen in the Out-patient Room,
and was, in fact, always willing to do clerical work of this kind.
He was a strict upholder of discipline, and treated his pupils
with a ferocity which would not now be tolerated ; he more
than once struck a student who was doing his work clumsily
across the knuckles with his cane ; and he kept what he called
his " black list," on which the names of offenders were placed.
He frequently threatened others besides students with his
cane, and sometimes used it on their shoulders. Once at a
Board Meeting a Mr. Bonville, of St. James's Square, contra-
dicted him, and Noble at once sprang up, exclaiming, " D'ye
give me the lie ? " and rushed at him with this cane of his
ready for action. Mr. Ash, the Treasurer, and others had to
intervene.
He was very thorough in his work at the Infirmary, looking
after his cases personally, frequently dressing them himself, and
making his own pledgets of lint, etc.
He was quite of " the old school," and made no attempt to
keep pace with advances in surgery. As an example of this his
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
treatment of the " stump " after an amputation may be
mentioned. Instead of bringing the " flaps " of skin neatly-
together, he adhered to the antiquated plan of stuffing the
gaping wound with lint or flour and allowing it to heal slowly
" by granulations."
He was old-fashioned, too, in his intense love for venison and
turtle, and had been heard to say that " if the devil were to
put a good bowl [of the latter] before him and threaten him
with a month's gout if he touched it, he would lay hold of it and
say, ' Never mind ! here goes ! ' "
The gout punished him severely, and he went to night
operations, etc., sometimes on crutches.
He was extremely fond of animals, especially cats and
parrots, and during the attacks of his complaint he amused
himself by watching his favourites, whom he taught all sorts of
tricks ; amongst others, he had trained two parrots to drive the
cats out of the room at the word of command.
During his last illness a parrot that he had kept for a number
of years found its way from the hall to his bedroom, got upon
his pillow, and fluttering its wings cried out, in its accustomed
way, " Master ! Master ! " Noble was much affected, tears
came into his eyes, and he said, " Ah, Poll ! what, have you
found your old master ? Ah ! I shall never scratch your poll
any more ! "
This parrot, who was for twenty years his companion,
survived him for five years, and then fell a victim to old age and
high living. Richard Smith presented its skeleton to the
Infirmary Museum, with an epitaph in which its character was
described and compared with its master's.
Noble's religious views were kept to himself ; he at first
attended Lewin's Mead Chapel, but during the latter part of his
life he was apparently a Deist.
He was buried in Brunswick Square burial-ground. Richard
Smith, jun., who could never, even on the most solemn occasions,
keep from the humorous side of things, says that when the
company were assembled on the morning of the funeral, an old
antagonist of Noble's, the Rev. John Rowe, was present, and a
gentleman whispered, " Poor Paddy, I wonder he does not jump
in his coffin to have Johnny Rowe in his drawing-room ! "
DR. BENJAMIN COLLYNS.
Dr. Benjamin Collyns (or Collins) was elected on March 17th,
1778, in Dr. Rigge's place. His short span of office, from which
he was driven by the bailiffs, who were after him for debt, is
described in Appendix A.
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A HISTORY OF THE
JAMES NORMAN.
James Norman, who had twice before unsuccessfully
competed for the post of Surgeon (in 1775 and 1777), was elected
on August gth, 1779, on the resignation of Castelman.
From old newspapers and scattered references I find that
he was born in 1752, the son of a Bristol brewer, and was one
of the many young men apprenticed to the Apothecary, Peter
Wells. He studied in London, was elected Surgeon to St.
Peter's Hospital on April 8th, 1773, and married on May
18th, 1774, a daughter of Mr. Valentine Watkins, cheesemonger,
who lived on the Quay.
He lived in Queen Square, and afterwards in St. Stephen's
Street.
He resigned his post at the Infirmary in 1783, and went
to Bath, where he established a Casualty Hospital, which
became a useful institution and did well. James Norman
was of rough exterior and blunt, unpolished manners, and
was not fitted to succeed in a place like Bath. He was, never-
theless, a sound practitioner and good operating surgeon.
I believe he was the first on the Infirmary Staff to amputate
at the shoulder-joint. He performed this operation (then
considered a very bold one) on a boy on January 1st, 1782.
The patient recovered perfectly.
He died at New King Street, Bath, on February 28th,
1827, aged seventy-five.
DR. ARTHUR BROUGHTON.
Dr. Arthur Broughton was elected Physician in Dr. Farr's
place on May 4th, 1780.
He was born in Bristol. His father, who was a man of great
learning, was Rector of St. Peter's, and held in addition the
living of Twerton, near Bath. His grandfather, Thomas
Broughton, was Vicar of Redcliff and St. Thomas's, which he
held in addition to the livings of Bedminster and Abbot's Leigh.
He was the erudite author of a book called An Historical
Account of all Religions, published in 1756.
Arthur Broughton was sent in January, 1766, to the Free
Grammar School, which had at that time removed to Orchard
Street ; and he was then apprenticed to William Dyer, who was
a good scholar as well as an able practitioner. In 1778 he went
to the University of Edinburgh, where he continued his classical
and medical studies. Soon after he joined " the Medical Society,"
and we hear of him, in his first year at the University, reading
a paper with the title, " Spirandi difficultas e angustiae in pectore
sensu per intervallos subiens," a phrase which suggests to the
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
medical mind that Broughton anticipated by many years a
description of rhythmical breathing made long afterwards by
Drs. Cheyne and Stokes. 1
He was still at Edinburgh when Dr. Farr's vacancy was
advertised, and Broughton's brother Thomas applied to the
Trustees for him. There was no other candidate, and as he was
well known as a promising man he was elected at once. He was
made a member of the " Bear's Cub Club " soon after he came
to Bristol, and was a frequenter of that lively Society.
Like his predecessor Farr, he was a good classical scholar and
a cultured man. He became well known as a botanist, and
published a manual of indigenous plants.
In June, 1783, he published a pamphlet on the Influenza
which was then prevalent in the city. His chief remedy was
" taking a few glasses of wine, more or less," and by this simple
and pleasant means he says " he avoided it."
Unfortunately, he was soon after this publication attacked
himself by the complaint, which so undermined his health that
he had to give up work and go abroad. He left his house in
Duke Street on December 4th, 1783, and arrived in Jamaica
on January 27th, 1784.
During his absence his colleagues undertook to do his work
at the Infirmary for twelve months, but at the expiration of that
time he was so comfortably settled, and so surrounded by
excellent material for his favourite study, that he gave up all
thoughts of returning to England, set up in practice at Kingston,
and wrote several important books on botany.
He died on May 29th, 1796.
Dr. Broughton appears to have been universally esteemed ;
he is described as " plain, but scrupulously attentive to his
apparel, a pleasant, cheerful, agreeable companion, accessible
and gentlemanly."
On Richard Champion's resignation of the office of
Treasurer in December, 1778, a meeting of Subscribers was
held in the Board Room on Monday, January 4th, 1779,
when Mr. Joseph Harford was " unanimously chosen " in his
place.
The appointment of a Treasurer, although of the greatest
importance, was a much quieter affair than the election of a
medical officer or of a matron, and on this occasion only thirty
Subscribers were present. According to the usual custom, two
of the Trustees, John Merlott and Dr. Samuel Farr, " were
desired to acquaint him therewith."
The new Treasurer took charge of the helm at a stormy
1 I have not been able to find a copy of this paper.
133
A HISTORY OF THE
period. The affair of Mr. Borlase (see Chapter ix.) was dying
away, but had left behind, as we have seen, a great deal of
strong feeling ; the Surgeons were dissatisfied with the recently-
proposed Rules, and the Medical and Surgical Staff were
quarrelling about the admission of patients. A new regulation
had been made that any Subscriber might visit the wards and
write in a book kept for the purpose any suggestion he
thought fit to make. This led, in a few months, to so much
prying curiosity and such a number of irrational complaints,
that the nuisance had to be stopped. The " Putrid Fever "
or typhus was rampant, and there was a general outcry for
a reform of the sanitary (or rather insanitary) conditions.
JOSEPH HARFORD.
Joseph Harford, the son of Charles Harford, was born in
St. James's Barton, Bristol, on August nth, 1741.
In 1763 he married his cousin, Hannah Kill, daughter of
Joseph Kill, of Stapleton. He was an energetic, public-minded
man, and took a keen interest in civic affairs. Besides being
Justice of the Peace for Gloucestershire, he was twice Sheriff
of Bristol (1779 and 1786), and Mayor in 1794.
From January 4th, 1779, to September 6th, 1791, he was
Treasurer of the Infirmary, and in 1777 was President of the
Anchor Society. He was a partner for some years with Richard
Champion (who was Treasurer to the Infirmary from 1739 to
1747-8) in his celebrated china manufactory.
He died on October nth, 1802.
The indefatigable Richard Smith, anxious to obtain an
autograph letter of Edmund Burke, and knowing that he
corresponded with " Mr. Watts, Hosier, in High Street," called
upon the latter, and obtained from him the letter, part of which
is reproduced here. (See Fig. 23.)
Of all the panegyrics written of Joseph Harford, perhaps this
testimony of Burke's is the most valuable and interesting.
He writes : " As to what you say of Mr. Harford, I perfectly
agree with you. A man of more honour, and of more ability in
every respect is not of my acquaintance. He it was, that, with
Mr. Champion first invited me to Bristol. x Without his
encouragement I should not think of Bristol now." 2 The
friends of the Bristol Royal Infirmary may well be proud of the
fact that two of the early Treasurers were instrumental in
bringing the great statesman to Bristol.
Harford's friendship for Burke was one of the prominent
1 See p. 105.
2 This letter is dated " Charles Street, August 10th, 1784."
J34
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LETTER OE EDMUND BURKE.
Fig 23
JOSEPH HARFORD.
Fig. 24
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
facts of his life, and no doubt the two men had considerable
influence on each other. Joseph Harford was a " Whig of the
old School." He was bred a Quaker, but became a member of
the Church of England in 1780. He was a man of literary
tastes, a great admirer of Shakspere's works, and an advocate
of the theatre as a means of education. He was, in fact, one
of the most active in establishing the theatre in King Street.
He was a man of an extraordinary memory ; an excellent
linguist, especially in the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and
French languages ; he was also a good Latin scholar. He
travelled a good deal in England, but only once went abroad,
when he visited Paris, and, with letters of introduction from
Burke, made the acquaintance of Franklin. His son, Charles
Joseph Harford, wrote an account of him for Richard Smith
(dated " Stapleton, May 25th, 1820 "), in which he states that
at the Gordon Riots of 1780 Joseph Harford, " by acting with
calmness and resolution (being then one of the Sheriffs of
Bristol), saved the Chapel of the Roman Catholics then in
St. James's Back, and probably the houses of several of those
of that persuasion from the fury of the mob."
Perhaps, however, his most remarkable characteristic was
his mathematical faculty and power of working out long and
difficult calculations in his head. His son says of this : " His
powers of calculation were so strong that when indisposed it was
his amusement to work the most difficult problems in arithmetic
by head, particularly those proposed to Buxton x by the Royal
Society, which he could perform in a much shorter time than
that celebrated calculator." (For portrait see Fig. 24.)
THE MATRONS.
It will be convenient at the close of this chapter of
biographies to say a word or two about the Matrons.
On the death of Mrs. Hughes (see p. 22) there were four
applicants for the vacancy : Mrs. Ann Williams, Mrs. Patience
Woodford, Mrs. Elizabeth Roach, and Mrs. Elizabeth James.
So important was the post considered, that a preliminary
meeting of Subscribers was called together at the Coopers' Hall
in King Street, on June 17th, 1771, at which building the actual
election took place on June 25th.
1 Jedediah Buxton, a farm labourer from Derbyshire (1707-72) was a
" calculating orodigy " who exhibited in London in 1754 and engaged the
attention of the mathematicians of his time. One of his mental feats was the
doubling of a farthing 139 times. He is said to have worked this gigantic sum
in his head ; the product contains no less that 39 figures. When in London
he went to see Garrick in Richard the III., but apparently took no notice
of the play, being engaged all the time in " counting the words used by the
actors ! " — See Diet, of National Biography.
135
A HISTORY OF THE
MRS. ANN WILLIAMS.
Mrs. Ann Williams was chosen " by a majority." * She died
in the service of the Infirmary in 1778, and on November 19th
of that year Mrs. Elizabeth Preece was elected at the Guildhall.
There were five other candidates, two of whom, Mrs. Moffat
and Mrs. Cooke, were considered ineligible, as they had
" dependant families." The other three were Mrs. Elizabeth
Ellat, Mrs. Ruston, and Mrs. Mary Jenkins.
MRS. PREECE.
Mrs. Preece was the daughter of a respectable grocer in
St. Thomas Street. The Matron in those days was not chosen
for any special proficiency in nursing, but for her general
capabilities as a discreet and managing woman.
Mrs. Preece died at the Infirmary on March 12th, 1790, and
from an old newspaper cutting we gather, that by her " great
attention to the duties of her office the domestic concerns of
that extensive Charity were conducted with exemplary
propriety and good order."
She left all her belongings to the Infirmary. The sale of her
goods was held in the Committee Room in the old west wing,
and the students had privately sprinkled the floor with powdered
hellebore and various other drugs, " so that when the company
began to assemble they were — auctioneer and all — set sneezing
in such a manner that they were obliged to leave the room ! "
We have quite a Boswellian description of the Matron of
those days from Richard Smith, jun., who was then an observant
youth in his teens. He writes : —
" Mrs. Preece was a friendly and motherly woman, but
considered it necessary to keep up a state and dignity in order
to over-awe the Nurses and Household.
" She never appeared but in the full costume of a Lady of
those days — her hair was always toupee'd and full dressed. She
wore a large pair of mock pearl ear-rings, and a necklace of what
was then called ' Mackerel's Eyes ' — a pair of white gloves and
ruffles decorated her arms, and a large-patterned, stiff brocade
gown was stuck out by a hoop.
" When she visited the wards she was always followed by her
servant, and the moment she began to move, ' Madam is coming !
Madame is coming ! ' was echoed through the House, and all
was speedily in order to receive her. She would not reply
to the term Mistress. ' Mistress,' she would repeat, ' don't
1 Her competitors were Mrs. Patience Woodford, Mrs. Elizabeth Roach r
and Mrs. Elizabeth James.
136
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Mistress me ! Every wench is Mistress now ! Please to
remember that I am Madam Preece ! ' "
MRS. JANE SIMMONS.
The election of Mrs. Preece's successor took place on
April 8th, 1790, at the Guildhall. There were four candidates,
Mrs. Simmons, Mrs. Herring, Mrs. Wilcox, and Mrs. Turner.
According to Rule XV. of the 1779 code, " that all Persons
concerned as Servants in the House be free from the Burthen
of Children," it was argued that the Matron should also have no
family ties of this kind, and a long discussion ensued, terminated
at length by a show of hands in favour of enforcing the rule.
Mrs. Jane Simmons was elected.
She continued in office until the spring of 1812, and appears
to have been an excellent manager. When she resigned, after
twenty-two years' service, Mr. Edward Ash proposed, at a
special Board, "That the thanks of this Meeting, with a
pecuniary Compliment of 25 Guineas be presented to Mrs. Jane
Simmons on her quitting the Office of Matron to the Institution
as a Testimony of the good Opinion entertained by the
Subscribers of her past services." This was carried
unanimously.
It may give some idea of the importance attached to the
post to mention that when her successor, Miss Mary Davy,
was elected at the Guildhall on February 27th, 1812, no less
than 378 Trustees voted.
137
CHAPTER XII
THE NEW BUILDING — RED LODGE ESTATE — THE EAST WING —
HOWARD — WILLIAM TURNER AND HANNAH MORE — OPERATION
ROOM — THOMAS BAWN — JOHN JORDON PALMER — EDWARD ASH —
THREATS OF INVASION — THE " MEMORABLE YEAR " I797 — THE
WATER RAM — " OVER-TIMES " — MUSICAL FESTIVAL — RICHARD
REYNOLDS — JOHN BIRTILL AND THE ROTATION SCHEME —
INNYS FUND— SOURCES OF INCOME
We are now — having described some of the men and women
who took an active part in Infirmary affairs during the last
decade of the eighteenth century — in a position to continue our
narrative from the end of Chapter x.
We have seen that there was an urgent need for new
buildings, and on Thursday, November 14th, 1782, a General
Board of Subscribers met at the Guildhall to consider the
matter.
This must be acknowledged to be one of the most important
meetings in the history of the Infirmary. The Rev. Dr. Camplin
was in the Chair, and many influential citizens were present.
The report in the Minute Book is brief and to the point.
Two motions were submitted : (1) " Whether a New House was
necessary or not, which was carried in the Affirmative ; "
(2) " Whether the House should be built on the present spot,
or elsewhere, and carried for the present situation." A
Committee was formed " to put the same into execution."
We know, however, from the newspapers and from Richard
Smith's notes that the discussion was long and tumultuous,
that there was much intriguing before the meeting and a great
deal of correspondence afterwards, and that the decisions
arrived at were not approved of by those who were, perhaps,
best able to judge.
The contention was, of course, about the locality.
Documents produced at the meeting showed " that the present
Building and ground, together with the contiguous premises
lately purchased is valued at £1,694."
On the other hand, it was reported that " Mr. Jacob the
Attorney of Mr. Godwin, the owner of the Red Lodge will dispose
of the same for £4,000, subject to a Chief Rent of a few shillings
per annum."
13S
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The argument of economy, which strongly appealed to the
Trustees, was therefore on the side of those who favoured the
old site.
The Red Lodge Estate is described in contemporary
advertisements as " situate on Stony Hill, part whereof being
in the Parish of St. Michael and the other Part in the Parish of
St. Augustine the Less."
" Stony Hill " ran up from Tren chard Lane to Park Row to
the west of the present Lodge Street, and the grounds belonging
to the Red Lodge sloped downwards towards Trenchard Lane
and the River Frome. Where now there is a mass of houses
was then gardens and lawns, and the view of the ancient city
and the open country beyond must in those days have been
very beautiful.
To the north of Park Row was the estate of Mr. Tyndall,
called "The Park," which then reached to the road, and was
therefore only a little way from the Red Lodge.
Mr. Tyndall naturally objected to the proximity of an
Infirmary, and strongly opposed the scheme.
John Townsend, who had resigned the Surgeoncy a few
months before, was a relative of the Tyndalls, and was the only
medical man connected * with the Institution who opposed the
new site ; all the members of the Staff were in favour of it.
One of the objections was the supposed absence of water at the
Red Lodge (which proved to be incorrect), but the objectors
carried their point by a small majority of five or six, and the
plan was negatived.
The Faculty made an attempt to alter this decision by a
letter in the daily papers addressed to the Subscribers, in which
they state that " they had called together all the medical men
who subscribed to the Infirmary," and " that it was the opinion
of all present except one that the Red Lodge was the most airy
situation and most conducive to the health of the patients ; "
that there was a good spring of water on the spot, besides other
springs near, and that rain water was best for brewing, etc., etc. 2
In spite of all protests, it was decided to build a New
Infirmary on the old ground, and a large " Building Committee "
was formed, consisting of the Physicians and Surgeons, the Rev.
John Camplin, James Ireland, William Battersby, John
Daubeny, Robert Priest, John Vaughan, and others.
1 He was a Trustee, but had resigned his post of Surgeon to the Institution
before this.
2 It was the opinion of many of the old doctors, nevertheless, that the
sloping ground from Kingsdown to the Horsefair and St. James's was well
drained, dry, and particularly healthy. I have heard my father, who was
educated at the Medical School in the Old Park, assert this.
*39
A HISTORY OF THE
As a preliminary it was agreed to purchase some of the
neighbouring hovels, and (in the strong language of Richard
Smith) "to exterminate the human vermin which infested
them ! " The ownership of some of these houses could not be
made out, and the wretched tenants were got rid of by offering
them small sums of money. l
It was at first suggested that the new building should be
on the plan of the Ratcliffe Infirmary at Oxford (which was
begun in 1759 and opened in 1770), but this was rejected in
favour of a scheme of Mr. Thomas Paty, a well-known architect
then living in College Place, Bristol.
The main idea was to have a central portion and two
" wings " at right angles to this, so that the whole would be
shaped like the letter H, the upper or northern arms projecting
only a short distance from the cross-bar, the lower (or southern)
arms being much longer. Although, as formerly explained, the
wings are referred to as " east " and " west," and the front and
back as facing "north" and "south," yet the actual position
was as indicated in this diagram : —
X
w-
An important item in the new plan was that the main
entrance, which was in the old building on the south, opening
into a narrow road called East Street, was in the new building
to be made facing Marlborough Street, on the north. It was
not until 1791 that the picture at the head of the Annual
State showed this alteration. (See Figs. 25 and 26.)
One of the initial difficulties was the slope of the ground.
A letter was addressed to the Building Committee on November
13th, 1783, signed " Subscriber," pointing out that " the ground
floor will be fifteen feet below Marlborough Street," and that
part of this floor in the wings would be "on a level with the
earth of the street." This difficulty was got over by using the
ground floor in front for kitchens and other offices, no ward
being built below the level of the front entrance. Contracts
were sent in, and the cost of the east wing was estimated at
£1,796. It came ultimately to a great deal more than this.
1 Part of this ground is marked 65 on the plan on p. 14.
140
1751.
The STATE of the BRISTOL INFIRMARY.
M» .. SI
iiit 1 s i j l
JOSE P II U A R I' 0 R n, .'.
T ;, :: .. [ER, M. D.
1
1
W IGHT, M.O.
1
tAM MoNCRIEFF, M. D.
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ifb'eyJ
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vr,
SOUTHERN FRONT OF INFIRMARY, 1781.
Fig. 25
1791.
TheSTATEofthcBRISTOLINFlRMARY
i I ftlllllB Ell
E 1-B| i *' f '■
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ictr
J O S.E PH H ARF O
,GHT, M.D.
Edward I
V riiOMAS JOHl
Mr. Thomas Webb D\
Secretary.
NEW NORTHERN FRONT OF INFIRMARY, 1791.
Fig. 26.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The old building had to be pulled down bit by bit. The
east wing was the first to be built, and consequently the old east
wing, which was the most surrounded with dirty houses, was
the first to be demolished, and clearing the space took a long
time. At length, on June 2nd, 1784, the first stone was laid
" in the presence of William Blake, Esq., Dr. James Plomer,
Rev. Thomas Johnes, Richard Smith, Godfrey Lowe, J. P.
Noble, and John Scandrett Harford." x
On January. 23rd, 1786, the building was so far advanced
that an official inspection was made by the Committee, and on
May 17th of this year orders were given for its occupation, and
estimates were " to be in readiness " for the central part of the
Infirmary.
One day, when this east wing was completed, a young
apprentice, Francis Cheyne Bowles, then a promising youth of
fifteen years of age (they began their medical studies early in
those days), was leaving the House, when " a gentleman
accosted him and desired to know if a stranger might see the
Infirmary ? Mr. B. replied in the affirmative and returned with
him. The stranger examined everything very minutely and
made notes of all, and having finished, he said ' Young
gentleman, I feel obliged to you for your kind attention to me,
and perhaps the time will come when you will not think it ill
bestowed. Be pleased to give to your managers this card, and
say to them, with my respects, that all is as it should be, but the
windows, which ought to have been flush up to the ceiling. For
this defect there is now no remedy but tunnels in the corners
of the wards ; but let me advise them to remedy this fault in
the centre and other wing — my name is Howard.' " 2
Young Bowles carried this message to the Building
Committee, and although the plans were in readiness and agreed
to, yet so great was the influence of the name of Howard,
physician and philanthropist, that the arrangements for
windows in the centre and west wing were altered. Howard
made other suggestions which were readily adopted. He was
one of the many people of judgment who condemned the action
taken by the Infirmary authorities in building on the old site.
In his Lazarettos (1789, p. 190) is the following note : " The
Bristol Infirmary, now building in the close and confined
situation of the old one will be a monument of the unskilfulness
of the Subscribers or of their inattention to what constitutes a
1 Afterwards Treasurer of the Infirmary. It will be noticed in many of
the old lists of names copied from the newspapers, Minute Books, etc., that
the epithets " Mr.," " Esq.," etc., are quite indiscriminately applied.
8 John Howard, 1726-90.
141
A HISTORY OF THE
healthy hospital, when a fine situation was proposed at no great
distance and was strongly recommended by the gentlemen of
the faculty."
The readiness of the Building Committee to discuss any
reasonable suggestion speaks well for their earnestness. Their
zeal may be gathered from such a resolution as this (from the
Minute Book) : " Resolved that in the several contracts for the
new Building particular care be taken that everything which
can be possibly thought of be included therein."
There can be no doubt that this Committee carried out the
work they had undertaken with remarkable care and foresight,
and made the building the best of its kind then existing in the
provinces. Neither the Weekly Committees nor the Trustees
generally were troubled with details ; the Building Committee
were given full powers and managed everything.
Owing to the large amount of capital in the hands of the
Society in 1782 (due, as we have seen, chiefly to munificent
donations and bequests), the public thought the Charity well
off, and slackened their efforts to support it. Church collections
and Annual Subscriptions lessened, partly no doubt owing to
the enormous expenses incurred by the American War, which
had for some years previous to its termination in 1782 raised
the prices of provisions all over the country. The cost of
patients had not materially decreased .during the building
operations, for there was such a demand for admission that cases
had to be crowded into the undemolished parts of the house
whilst the east wing was being erected ; they were also boarded
out in neighbouring temenents.
On April 16th, 1788, " contracts were delivered " for the
central block. These amounted to £6,508. The bulk of the
work was in the hands of Daniel Hague, 1 mason and architect,
who " gave a penal bond of £1,000 for the due performance of
his contract." " It is only justice to say," writes Richard
Smith, " that he did his duty thoroughly, and that in the opinion
of the Trade there never was put out of hand a more workman-
like job — in fact the massive arches and walls remain — and I
trust will remain for centuries — a monument of his integrity."
The first stone of the central building was laid on June 24th,
1788, in the presence of Messrs. Joseph Harford (Treasurer),
William Turner, William Battersby, Godfrey Lowe, Joseph
Metford, Thomas Paty, Richard Smith, Dr. Edward Long Fox
(who had two years previously been elected Physician), and
others.
1 Hague lived (according to Matthew's Directory for 1793-4) in Wilder
Street. £119 was given to Messrs. Paty and Joel Gardiner for drawings and
plans.
142
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Immediately after the ceremony Mr. William Turner, who
had taken a keen interest in the work, 1 " placed in the hands
of the Treasurer a benefaction of £1,000." This welcome gift
was duly acknowledged with gratitude in the State for the
year. As Miss Hester Turner, sister of the above, bequeathed
£2,000 to the Infirmary in 1790, it may interest the reader to
learn something of this family, and at the same time get an
authentic glimpse of bygone times and of Hannah More.
William Turner, the son of a Norway deal merchant who
lived in Trinity Street, was in his youth a great " buck " or
beau, and used to send to Paris for his waistcoats, in which
article of apparel he displayed great taste. 2 He is said to have
usually worn a plain silk waistcoat under his outer one. " Old
Hagley the tailor, who lived at the corner house in Orchard
Street opposite the Ball Court corner of the Grammar School,
borrowed money of the father and son and took it out in
clothes."
William Turner was a fine, well-built man, an excellent
swordsman and boxer, and a constant visitor to the Fencing
Rooms kept by Chebas " over the Market Gate in High Street,
where he was always willing to handle the foil against all
comers."
John Noble told the following story about him : —
There was a time when the walkers in the London streets
were divided into two classes, those who gave and those who took
the wall. Turner, from his prowess with his fists, and as
became a " blood," belonged to the latter. He one day came
upon a man who refused to give way to him, and they at once
began to jostle each other. The fellow, who had no sword,
challenged Turner to fight with fists. He immediately took off
his coat, wig, and sword and gave them to a bystander. His
antagonist hit very hard, but Turner was a " pretty man "
with his hands, and the battle promised to be hot. Presently
a gentleman stepped up and said to Turner, " Do you know
that the man you are fighting is ' Broughton the Bruiser ' ? "
" No ! " was the answer, " then I '11 fight no more ; here, give
me my coat, wig, and sword ! " He hunted in vain, however,
for the holder of these articles, who had decamped.
The whole family were violent Jacobites. William Turner
was one of a club which used to meet at the " Nagg's Head "
in Wine Street, where they drank the health of the Pretender
upon their knees, (See p. 238.)
1 He was a Trustee and joined the Building Committee in 1783.
* The long-flapped waistcoat was at this time rapidly going out of fashion,
and the short garment of some brilliant coloured material was in vogue.
143
A HISTORY OF THE
Amongst his peculiarities may be mentioned that he " gave
two guineas a year to each of his servants not to drink tea,"
he insisted on their wearing white gloves (this was not then
unusual), he never used a looking-glass, and he "invariably
gave work to all beggars."
Perhaps, however, the most interesting fact about him,
•especially to Bristolians, is his connection with Hannah More.
Turner lived at a beautiful house at Belmont, near Wraxall,
and he was in the habit of inviting his cousins, the two Miss
Turners, to pay visits to him.
He extended his invitations to any young lady friends whom
they might like to bring with them, and they chose their two
young governesses, Hannah and Patty More. William Turner,
who was at this time (1767) forty-six years of age, had " a most
respectable and worthy lady " who " managed and kept his
house for him," 1 and the visits became more and more frequent,
everything being conducted with the utmost propriety. Turner
was a man of taste and particularly fond of poetry ; Hannah
was a fascinating girl, well read, refined, interesting, and a good
talker. He, of course, fell in love with her, proposed, and was
accepted. According to Richard Smith, " she planned and
chose mottoes for his root-houses, alcoves and so forth, at
Belmont," gave up her interest in the school, and made
preparations for her marriage. Turner, however, could never
'" muster courage enough to go to the altar," and after a time
her friends interfered, and the affair was amicably settled by an
agreement to separate. Turner, who evidently felt that he had
been in the wrong, was anxious to make compensation by
settling an annuity upon her. Sir James Stonhouse was the chief
arbiter in this matter, and although Hannah More is stated to
have at first indignantly refused this, yet Sir James (who, my
readers may remember, was so annoyed about the Annual
Infirmary Sermon, see p. 25) thought that " part of the sum
proposed might be accepted without the sacrifice of delicacy ! " 2
and Miss More enjoyed an annuity of £200 from her old lover
until her death.
To return to the building. During the erection of the large
central block great difficulty was experienced not only in
accommodating the patients, but owing to the necessary
destruction of various offices, new arrangements, which cost a
great deal, had to be made. For instance, the brewing and
baking (see p. 72) had to stop, and in 1789 the amount paid for
1 See Roberts's Memoirs of Hannah More, vol. i.
2 It is doubtful if the Rev. Sir James Stonhouse, Bart., M.D., ever saw the
humour of this modified " sop."
144
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
beer was £504, the annual cost of malt and hops used in the
Infirmary being usually about £300. l
The central wing took four years to build, and was not ready
for patients until the summer of 1792. An important addition
to this block was the Operation Room, which was one of the
first rooms to be got ready for use. It was fitted up under the
direction of the Surgeons. Richard Smith, sen., presented
an " Operating Table " in the year 1786, a solid, steady, useful
piece of furniture, which served its purpose well for a hundred
years.
The Surgeons at first brought their own instruments with
them ; it soon, however, became necessary to have a proper
supply in readiness at the House, and at first these were kept
in any drawer or cupboard which happened to be available. On
September 4th, 1811, the Surgeons requested to have "a Cup-
board over the Mantelpiece in the Apothecaries' Shop " to keep
their tools in. Later on they were kept in a mahogany cupboard
with shelves, in the dining-room, and finally they were removed
to their proper place, the Operation Room.
THOMAS BAWN.
Thomas Bawn, who succeeded Joseph Beech as Secretary
in 1771, died on December 18th, 1790, having served the
Infirmary faithfully for nearly twenty years. He was the
first Secretary to give a " penal bond " on his appointment for
^500. It is made between him, Nathaniel Stephens, and
Richard Champion.
JOHN JORDON PALMER.
On January 8th, 1791, John Jordon Palmer was elected
Secretary. On his appointment " a book was opened for
subscriptions to the south (west) wing." Amongst the Sub-
scribers are the names of Mr. Joseph Beck, who gave £500, and
Miss Goldney, who gave £200.
This year an attempt was made to form a " Close Com-
mittee," composed of a definite number of Subscribers.
Hitherto the Committee had been an " open " one, made up of
the Physicians, Surgeons, and any Trustees who chose to attend ;
the constant change of personnel, and the frequently poor
attendance made such an alteration desirable. The attempt,
1 The quality of the beer was a frequent subject of discussion, requiring a
great deal of " tasting " by members of the Committee and Faculty. It is
difficult from the Annual Reports to understand why sometimes beer was
purchased, and sometimes malt and hops. When the " brew " turned out
very thin it was probably reinforced by the addition of some better stuff.
Thus in 1803 we find in the accounts, " Beer /391 4s. od.," in 1804, " Beer
^445 14s. iod.," and in 1805, " Malt, Hops and Strong Beer ^609 us. od."
HS
10
A HISTORY OF THE
however, failed. The Board Meetings at this time were badly
attended except on important occasions. For instance, on
June ist, 1790, according to the Minute Book, only one
person, Mr. William Barker, was present ; and at the next
Quarterly Board, on September 7th the entry is, " No one
attended ! "
In September, 1791, the Society sustained a great loss by
the resignation of Mr. Joseph Harford. He was succeeded by
Mr. Edward Ash, who was elected December 20th, 1791.
EDWARD ASH.
Edward Ash was the eighth Treasurer in succession who
belonged to the Society of Friends. He was born in 1736, and
died at his house in St. James's Parade on May 13th, 1818,
aged eighty-two years.
His father was a manufacturer of raisin wine and " British
Sweets." His " raspberry brandy " was famous in Bristol.
Edward Ash was a successful Treasurer, particularly clever at
organising collections for charitable purposes, and was a man
of sound judgment. He felt strongly the inconvenience of the
" Open " Committees, and in his letter of resignation on March
15th, 1808, he proposed a scheme for appointing twenty
Subscribers, who should attend in rotation.
He presided over many turbulent meetings with great
discretion and ability.
He was buried, like many of his predecessors, in the Quaker
Burial-ground at " Redcliff Pit," on May 20th, 1818. Richard
Smith was present at the funeral, and gives the following
description :
" A Hearse contained the Body. It was followed by five
' Number Coaches.' The Corpse having been brought through
St. John's Street to the spot, was placed upon tressels. The
assembly stood round in silence about a quarter of an hour,
when Mr. Frank [of the Pin Manufactory, Waring, Frank & Co.]
began to speak. He said very little of the deceased, and that
not in the strain of eulogy — it was rather upon points of doctrine
in the Society of Friends, than in favour of Christianity in
general, or morals. It lasted about half an hour, when he put
on his hat.
There was no plate-name or ornament of any kind upon
the Coffin, and the earth having been thrown in the ground was
levelled, so that no trace of the spot remains where Mr. Ash
lies."
Richard Smith got into conversation with an old man who
" remembered the funerals of Mr. Hawksworth, Mr. Champion
146
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and Mr. Harford," and from his description made the rough
plan of the ground reproduced here.
Fig. 27
/^M^**—
SKETCH OF QUAKER BURIAL-GROUND.
As mentioned before, the Annual State for 1791 is the
first which is ornamented with a picture of the new Infirmary.
This represents a complete building, whereas the west wing (to
the right) was not completed until 1809. (See Fig. 26.)
H7
A HISTORY OF THE
I was puzzled at this until I came across a note by Richard
Smith, who writes, " Soon after this Production a Friend, I
believe, if my recollection serves me, the late Mr. Matthew
Wright, stood up at a General Board and holding it x up, ' here,'
said he, ' is a Plate which bears a falsehood upon the very face
of it ! Here we have a fine complete building, but it is upon
paper only — where is the original ? Does that resemble it ?
No ! it is a mere pig with one ear ! ' "
It will be noticed that the engraving shows a three-storied
building, much lower, and therefore comparatively longer, than
the present house. This New Infirmary was from the first
divided into equal portions, one for men and one for women,
the men being located in the west end. Strong iron gates, which
were locked at night, were erected in the passages to separate
the male and female wards. These gates were removed in 1890.
The building of the east wing and centre made great inroads
into the capital, and the west wing was not finished for many
years for want of funds.
Various means were adopted to obtain money ; for instance,
at the " Riding-School, in Stoke's Croft," a mixed performance
was given on Tuesday, October 26th, 1790, at which, according
to the programme (see Fig. 28) " the Little Devil will run up
a platform 10 feet high," and " the Child of Promise will stand
on her Head on the Point of a Spear ! "
Then, on Monday, September 24th, 1792, at the Theatre
Royal, was produced " the Historical Play of Cymbeline, King
of Britain, written by Shakespeare," the Committee strongly
supporting " this humane effort," as it is described in the papers.
Performances were also given at " the Assembly Rooms,
Prince Street, a of Collin's Evening Brush for rubbing off the
Rust of Care, by the Author, for the Benefit of the Infirmary —
— Admittance, 3s."
On December 4th, 1792, at a Quarterly Board it appeared
that " to compleat the remaining Wing of the Infirmary and to
enable the Treasurer to discharge other Demands on the
Society for Buildings, Furniture and Current Expences to the
close of the present year would require the Sum of Seven
Thousand Pounds." In fact, by the expenditure of capital the
annual income had been reduced by some four hundred pounds.
It was, therefore, resolved that three or four gentlemen
should make a personal application in each parish of Bristol ;
these canvassers (in the words of the Minute Book) " to submit
to each Individual in a respectful, but by no means in an
Urgent Manner," the claims of the Institution.
1 i.e. the Annual State. * Demolished in 1912.
148
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
It was also decided to appeal to the public in the newspapers,
and that " Books shall be opened and left at all the Banks and
Coffee Houses, and at the Pump Room at the Hotwells to
receive the voluntary Benefactions of the Charitable and well
dispos'd."
Fig 28.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF
THE BRISTOL INFIRMARY:
An ODE to PHILA N-T H R O P V
Will be recited by A CENTLEMAN ofili Ciiy.
MelT. HANDY and FRANKLIN'S COMPANY will perform
This present TUESDAY, OMer 26, ;79o,
/t th.
RIDING -SCHOOL, in STOKEs CROFT,
AND EX1HBIT A GREAT VARIETY OF
Extraordinary Amufements,
Tjk PARTICULARS of .h.ch are by far loo mmrnau to info*.
. HorfeminOiSp. Tumbling, Dancing, Trampoline, &c. by all the Troop.
Mefs. HANDY & FRANKLIN & the CHILD of PROMISE
Will go through the Cur* VERY SURPRIZINC TEATS ai M thrir Benefki.
The LITTLE DEVIL will run up a Platform 10 Feet high,
FIRE r°"w"6 R K S !
AND THROW A SUMMERSET FROM THE TOP.
Mr. HANDY will Leap thro' a Hogfliead of FIRE-WORKS!
THE^CHILD OF PROMISE WILL
Stand on her Head on the POINT of a Spear!
The Whole lo CONCLUDE with Th a
TAYLORs JOURNEY to PARIS,
For NEW MODES and FASHIONS:
French Poft-Boy's Journey to London:
Alia die, HUMOURS of the FRENCH POST-BOY and CLOWN.
Mailer, ... Mr. FRANKLIN | _. „ Clown, _ Mr. HANDY ;
Frenchman, Mr. KERBY ; l_. „ ,„ Taylor, ... Mr. SMALLCOMB.
The Docn lo be opened ai SIX o'clock, and the Performance lo begin at a Quarter before SEVEN petit! , .
l.adiet and Gentlemen who with 10 lectin: FRONT SEATS for Thi> Evening, are rapidled to apply for
TICKETS to Mr. HANDY, at the FULL-MOON.
]. ROSE, Printer, No, II, Grotdoead, BRISTOL.
PROGRAMME OF PERFORMANCE GIVEN FOR
BENEFIT OF INFIRMARY.
The result of this appeal was so satisfactory that by
February 2nd, 1793, sums had been promised amounting to
£1,912. The number of Annual Subscribers was also increased
from 570 in 1792 to 648 in 1794, and there was a steady increase
149
A HISTORY OF THE
until the year 1797, when there were 918 Subscribers, bringing
in annually £2,202.
Provisions were still very dear. The unsettled state of the
Continent was partly the cause of this ; the French Revolution,
and after that the rise of Napoleon, influenced the Infirmary in
more ways than one. Many of the younger medical men
joined the army as surgeons, some with fighting commissions ;
and with the dawn of the nineteenth century came the fear of
invasion, which was felt to be so imminent that on December
6th, 1803, it was actually " unanimously agreed " to put apart
52 beds " for the reception of such of the Volunteers and
Military of the Garrison of Bristol who might be wounded."
This resolution was, however, rescinded at the March meeting
as almost impossible to carry out.
The threat of invasion caused a general enrolment of citizens
in volunteer corps. Amongst these was " The Royal Bristol
Light Horse Volunteers," which consisted in 1803 of two
troops of cavalry and one " Dismounted Troop." Several
medical men joined this gallant company. From an old
newspaper cutting I find the names of the Commissioned
Officers were : —
1st Troop.
R. Pearsall, Esq., Captain.
J. Vaughan, Esq., Lieut.
D. Baynton, Esq., Cornet.
Mr. W. Clarke, Qu. Master.
2nd Troop.
L. Ames, Esq., Captain.
J. Wedgewood, Esq., Lieut.
C. Harvey, Esq., Cornet.
Mr. W. Parsons, Qu. Master.
And Mr. Samuel Simmons Salmon, Surgeon.
S. S. Salmon applied for the surgical vacancy on Mr.
Metford's retirement in 1796, when R. Smith, jun., was elected.
In spite of every care, so large an establishment could not be
maintained on the annual income, and a public meeting was
called at the Guildhall on April 20th, 1797, when the financial
state of the Infirmary was laid before the public. General
statements were made at this meeting sufficient to show the
urgent need for help. James Harvey, the Mayor, was in the
Chair ; a Committee was appointed " to examine the affairs
of the Society," consisting of the Treasurer and some eminent
citizens, and a list of subscriptions was opened there and then.
The report of this Committee appeared on July 6th, 1797,
at a meeting at the Guildhall, again presided over by the Mayor,
and revealed an amount of arrears and deficiencies which
required some courage to publish. The case, however, was
stated accurately and without any attempt to hide the truth.
The report showed : (1) That the Society was in debt to
150
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the Treasurer for advances to the amount of £2,955 ; (2) that
£2,544 nad been borrowed from the sum expressly collected for
building the west wing ; (3) that £1,366 was owing in various
ways, independently of the current expenses for the year,
which amounted to £3,000, so that nearly £10,000 would be
required to put things straight. l
An urgent appeal was made in the local papers, in the
Annual State, and from the pulpits of nearly every church
and chapel in Bristol. Personal canvassing was also carried on.
The result may be told in the words of Richard Smith :
" The General Estimation in which this institution was held
now shone forth with great lustre, and, as soon as its
embarrassments were fairly known, they were swept away by
that benevolence and liberality which the Citizens of Bristol
have never failed to display upon all occasions where an appeal
has been made to them in a proper manner."
The amount collected by this appeal was £10,128 4s. 6d.,
more than £8,000 of which was subscribed within three months.
The total receipts for the year 1797 were £13,515. It was said
at the time that this was the largest sum ever collected for any
charity by private individuals in so short a time.
The Committee, in publicly thanking the donors for " the
effectual relief of the exigencies in the memorable year 1797,"
state that a balance of £300 remained in the hands of the
Treasurer, after paying off all debts.
How public-spirited the citizens were may be gathered by
this short and almost pathetic entry in the Annual Accounts
for 1796 : —
*' Of David Evans and John Wilcox Esqres.,
Sheriffs of this City, instead of appropriating
that Sum to Public Dinners . . . . . . £200 0 0."
This act of renunciation was specially noticed in the papers.
During the alterations which were made this year (1797) a
circumstance occurred which ought to be recorded.
A plumber was employed to fix a leaden pipe to carry water
from a cistern on the middle story of the building to the kitchen
below. He found that when the tap at the end of this pipe was
turned off, the sudden pressure of the long column of water
above nearly always burst the pipe. To remedy this he soldered
a smaller pipe immediately behind the tap and carried it to the
same height as the cistern. This plan succeeded, and prevented
the main pipe from bursting.
1 The report is printed in extenso in Bonner and Middleton's Bristol
Journal for Saturday, July 8th, 1797.
151
A HISTORY OF THE
Secondary
Pipe — :
Cistern
vk
'/lain Pipe
It was noticed that when the tap was turned off a jet of
water was ejected to a great height from the upper end of the
smaller pipe. This additional pipe was therefore continued to
the top of the building, and was utilised to fill a cistern from
the waste water forced up by
closing the tap. (See diagram.)
This workman therefore in-
vented the principle of the
Water Ram.
Montgolfier improved on this
and made it self-acting, but the
honour of first using this appar-
atus is due to the plumber at the
Bristol Infirmary. The incident
is mentioned in the Journal of
Sciences and Arts of the Royal
Institution, vol. ii., 3rd edition.
In spite of the generous re-
sponse for help, which relieved
the Committee from any im-
mediate anxiety, no further
remaining buildings could be thought of, and the idea of
commencing the (west) wing was postponed.
The needs of the Infirmary at this time excited great
sympathy. One little incident which I find narrated in Felix
Farley's Journal for August 26th, 1797, may be given as a good
instance of this : " On Sunday the Rev. — Cooper delivered an
open air Sermon in Lower College Green for the Benefit of the
Infirmary. Though the weather was unfavourable the
Collection amounted to £50 8s. nd."
During these years there had been a smouldering feud
between certain members of the Faculty and the Committee
as to " over-time " patients. The Committee were in favour
of a weekly investigation into all cases that had been three
months in the wards. Patients had been sent out without the
sanction of the Physician or Surgeon in charge, and some of
these had to be immediately re-admitted. The Faculty
thought the dismissal of patients should be left entirely to
them. A Sub-Committee was appointed to confer with the
Medical Officers, and an " over-time list " was made a rule of
the House, and has since been in force as a useful custom,
especially after it became a monthly, instead of a weekly,
scrutiny.
This controversy caused great effusion of ink ; long letters
were written to the papers about it, and there were many
*52
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
angry discussions, which a little quiet talk could easily have
settled.
In 1799 the expenditure exceeded the income by more than
£300. Napoleon's project of closing the ports of Europe to
British trade caused a panic, and the price of flour and other
articles of food rose by leaps and bounds. In 1798 the Infirmary
paid £326 for flour, in 1799 £421, and in 1800 £755.
The Peace of Amiens, signed in March, 1802, gave a
temporary respite to hostilities, and in this year the flour bill
fell to £237.
Another urgent appeal was made for increased subscriptions
in 1799. This again met with a generous response, and the
income for 1800 rose to £5,405.
In 1804 it was decided " to revise and digest the whole code "
of Rules, and a Committee consisting of the Treasurer, five
Trustees (one of whom was the Rev. John Rowe), together with
one Physician and one Surgeon, was appointed for this purpose.
The Faculty do not appear to have approved of this arrange-
ment ; they attended none of the meetings, and when the report
on the new Rules was brought forward at a General Board on
December 3rd, 1805, all the alterations and additions were
negatived, chiefly on a point of order that these amendments,
etc., had not been stated in the summons. Most of the
alterations, however, afterwards became law.
Efforts to obtain money continued. On Sunday, January
2nd, 1803, selections from the Messiah were performed at
Temple Church and a collection was made ; and in the Easter
week of this year a " Grand Musical Festival " was held for the
benefit of the Infirmary, under the patronage of the Mayor, the
Duke of Portland, the Marquis of Worcester, the Earl of
Berkeley, Lords Ducie and Sheffield, and other distinguished
persons. The performances were held in St. Paul's Church at
midday and at the Theatre in the evening, and brought to
the Infirmary the handsome sum of £202 13s. 6d.
On Monday, September 9th, 1805, the theatre was lent to
a company of amateurs, who offered "their Theatrical Suffrages
to a generous and discriminating Audience " in the play of
Douglas, for the benefit of the Infirmary, the part of young
Norval to be played by " Master Weeks." " A Rehearsal by the
Young Gentlemen at Mr. Pocock's Academy " brought in £y,
and on Sunday, October 20th, selections of vocal and instru-
mental music were given at morning and afternoon services at
St. Paul's Church for the Charity.
One of the wards in the new building, although furnished
and ready for use, had been locked up for want of sufficient funds
i53
A HISTORY OF THE
to support it. In February, 1805, " an unknown friend to the
Charity," afterwards identified as the philanthropic Richard
Reynolds, promised £500 provided the ward were opened. 1
The Subscribers were called together on February 19th, 1805,
to consider this proposal ; speeches were made and lists were
started, and by the following August enough money had been
collected to justify the Committee in opening the ward.
A special fund was gradually being formed for the com-
pletion of the House, and by the end of the year (1805) it was
announced in the Annual State that " the amount of
Benefactions and Subscriptions has warranted the Building
Committee to proceed in their measures for the erection of the
remaining Wing."
The foundation stone of this west wing was laid by Mr.
Edward Protheroe 2 on Monday, June 15th, 1806, and early in
the following year " the framing of the roof was fixed."
Many letters appeared in the papers containing suggestions
for the new building, amongst which we may select the
following : —
1. The advisability of good bathrooms with hot and cold
water. As this deficiency is pointed out in more than one
paper, and is not contradicted, we may infer there was no
proper bathing accommodation in the central block and east
wing, the patients still using " tubs."
2. Proposal for a common eating-room for patients well
enough to leave the wards. The chief argument used in favour
of this is that the scraps of food left could be more easily
collected, apparently for future use for soup, etc.
3. The need for a Chapel.
4. That the wards should be numbered.
Most of these suggestions were afterwards carried out.
One of the Subscribers at this time was a Mr. John Birtill,
currier, of Redcliff Street, who took a keen interest in Infirmary
affairs. Amongst other things, he drew up proposals for the
appointment of a House Surgeon, who was to be a paid official,
devoting all his time " to Casualties and In- and Out-patients ; "
to take his week in rotation with the Surgeons, with whom he
was to be on a footing " with respect to professional usages."
It was hinted that the large sum of £10,000 was forthcoming
if the plan were agreed to.
The author of this scheme called upon Richard Smith on
1 Richard Reynolds was a wealthy Bristol Quaker, said to have given away
on an average ^10,000 a year in " acts of benevolence." He died at
Cheltenham on September 10th, 18 16, aged 81.
2 Mr. Protheroe during his mayoralty of the previous year had taken a
great interest in the Infirmary.
!54
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
March 4th, 1807, and on March 31st his proposals came before
a meeting of the Surgeons, who " were unanimously of opinion
that the plan was fraught with such evil that they deemed it
impracticable." Their objections, although no doubt they
seemed weighty at the time they were made, read now as
chiefly rhetorical. They were written out for the advocates of
the scheme to see, and are of interest to us chiefly because a
clear account is given of the method of attending casualties at
that time. I quote verbatim :—
" As soon as the Patient arrives the Porter rings a Bell,
which is answer'd by one of the Apprentices of the Shop, who
enquires into the nature of the Accident, orders the Patient to
the Ward and immediately sends for the Pupil, 1 if a slight case,
and a sealed note to the Surgeon ; if the case is of more import-
ance an open summons is sent to the Surgeon requiring his
immediate attendance and mentioning the accident ; if of still
greater magnitude the Apprentices themselves are bearers of
the account not only to the Surgeon of the Week but to all the
others, and if the Surgeon is prevented attending, one of those
present do the needful, etc."
Those who are acquainted with the present system at the
Bristol Royal Infirmary will recognise the essential likeness
between the new routine and the old.
The above-mentioned Mr. Birtill was the chief advocate of
what was called the " Rotation Scheme," a proposal that each
Physician and Surgeon to the Charity should be elected for ten
years, at the expiration of which time he should be eligible for
any subsequent vacancy except for that post which he had just
resigned.
This was brought before a largely-attended Board Meeting
on June 16th, 1807, at which Mr. Benjamin Baugh * was in the
Chair, and after a long discussion was passed.
At this time the senior Physician, Dr. Moncrieffe, had been
on the Staff for thirty-two years, and the senior Surgeon, Mr.
Noble, for thirty years ; and probably many practitioners in
the city thought that some term ought to be fixed to the tenure
of offices which so many coveted. The arguments that " new
blood " was essential to the progress of such an Institution, and
that after a certain age men have less capacity for such work,
were also used. 3
This was a revival, in a modified form, of a scheme proposed
1 i.e. the Surgeon's pupil or apprentice.
2 Treasurer of Incorporation of Poor at this time.
3 The latter reason, however, had in those days little weight. Both with
the surgeon and physician age was generally looked upon as an advantage.
155
A HISTORY OF THE
by a writer in the Bristol papers in November, 1781, which then
met with no support. Dr. Beddoes also, in 1789, wrote a
pamphlet recommending a partial change of the Staff every
year, instancing the Glasgow Infirmary, where two Physicians
and four Surgeons were elected annually.
The Staff opposed the " Rotation Scheme," and Richard
Smith wrote an ingenious letter to the Bristol Mirror, founding
his main argument on the assumption that " out of four persons
one will die every fifth year." He drew up elaborate tables to
prove that if this rule came into operation there would be
certain years during which the House would be in charge of
" recruits " only.
Owing to the death of one of the Surgeons, Francis Cheyne
Bowles, in May of this year (1807), there was an active canvass
being carried on for the vacancy, no less than thirteen candidates
applying. So keenly did Bristolians feel about this " Rotation
Rule," that William Hetling, the successful competitor, declared
that the regular question asked him in his canvass was, " If
we vote for you, will you support the ten years' rule ? "
The whole question was rediscussed at a Board Meeting held
a fortnight after (on June 29th), when 148 Trustees voted, and
the proposal was negatived by a majority of fourteen.
During this discussion two interesting points may be
noticed. One of the Physicians " spoke against the measure
and in justification of his own conduct." This referred to
certain accusations of laxness in attendance which had been
made, and which were probably justified ; and Mr. Metford
proposed as an amendment to the rule " that at the age of fifty
all Officers should resign the functions in ordinary and become
honorary Consulting Physicians and Surgeons." This " met the
approbation of the majority," but Sir Henry Protheroe
considered the amendment out of order, and the subject dropped.
This was the first suggestion of a " retiring age," which with
slight modifications was afterwards adopted.
Amongst the expenses of such institutions as the Bristol
Infirmary an important item is the provision of wooden legs
and other surgical appliances for patients. For many years
these were supplied from the general funds ; but in 1771 Mrs.
Mary Innys left two legacies of £500 each, one without any
stipulation, the other " to be invested in the Public Funds and
the interest thereof to be applied to the use of Incurables."
The whole £1,000 was, however (from an oversight), carried
to the General Account, until Richard Smith pointed out the
error, and in May, 1807, the Secretary wrote to the Faculty
asking for suggestions as to the distribution of the interest of
156
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
this money. It was decided that from this fund monetary relief
or appliances should be given in suitable cases to Out-patients
and cases leaving the House.
The " Bristol Samaritan Society," which was founded in
1807, began its useful career by helping in many ways cases
which could not well be dealt with by other Charities. It
assisted " The Stranger's Friend Society," " The Society for the
Discharge of Prisoners confined for debt ; " and amongst other
good actions sent notices to the Infirmary that it would supply
trusses to patients in need of them on the recommendation of
one of the Surgeons.
Amongst the sources of income for this year 1807 may be
noticed : —
£ s. d.
" A New Years Gift from the Children of a
family in moderate circumstances . . 200
Mr. Polito, from an Exhibition of Wild Beasts
at the Fair . . . . . . . . . . 10 0 o
Mr. Ingleby, the Proceeds of an Exhibition of
Slight of Hand 10 18 0 "
Also a fine imposed by Alderman Evans on
" A.B." and another fine " for an Assault
on the Chief and Petty Constables ot
Trinity Ward " . . . . . . . . 440
*57
CHAPTER XIII
COMPLAINTS — MARY FIDDIS — FREEDOM OF THE PRESS — THE
WEST WING — COLLECTION IN 1813 — MUSICAL FESTIVAL —
SAMUEL BIRCH — THE AFFAIR OF EDWARD PELLY — EXCLUSION
OF FACULTY FROM COMMITTEE — WILLIAM FRIPP
The reader will already have gathered that the Treasurer
and Committee had not always an easy time ; finances were
an ever-present anxiety, misunderstandings were common
enough ; and another trouble which often came to the front,
namely complaints from patients and their friends, may now
be briefly considered.
A case which occurred in 1805 is typical of many other
somewhat similar attacks on the Institution.
A certain Mary Fiddis was admitted, under Mr. Yeatman's
care, from the Bridewell, where she was undergoing imprison-
ment for some trivial offence. She was suffering from a
complaint which the Surgeons thought required an operation,
and several consultations were held. She, however, refused
operation, and wished to go home. She was told that she
could not do this without an order from Mr. Miller, the keeper
of the jail. This was obtained, and she left the Infirmary.
A practitioner called Thomas Lee, who had previously
attended the woman in private, paid her visits whilst she was
in the Infirmary, and requested that he might be present at the
consultations, and at the operation upon her, if such took place.
He was very properly told that the rules of the House did
not permit this.
He then published a pamphlet, twenty-four pages in length,
in which he stated (1) that Mary Fiddis begged that he might
attend at the Surgeons' deliberations, and promised to allow
herself " to undergo any treatment thought necessary if he were
present ; " (2) that the unfortunate woman was " threatened
with Bridewell " if she would not submit to an operation ; and
(3) that when she left the Infirmary and again came under his
care she was much worse, and that " her life hath been in most
imminent danger, her sufferings have been protracted, and her
future existence probably embittered," etc.
The Surgeons wrote to the Committee on September 4th,
1805, requesting a full inquiry, which was at once arranged,
158
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and by a special Committee of forty referees they were
" honourably acquitted," with only four dissentients.
During this inquiry eight of the appointed Visitors
(Messrs. J. Bishop Estlin, Henry Lawrence, Henry Daniel,
William Horler, Oliver Thomas, George Whitchurch, George
Wallis, and Richard Hanson) , made the following declaration :
" We whose names are hereunto affixed do solemnly declare,
and are willing to make oath, that we are in the constant habit
of accompanying the Surgeons of this House to visit their
Patients ; that we saw Mary Fiddis several times daily, and
that we never heard her express the least wish to see Mr. Lee,
or ever ask permission for him to be present at the operation."
This statement shows the interest the Visitors then took in
the wards, and proves that they actually accompanied the
Surgeons on their rounds.
The Apothecary, nurses, and patients were all carefully
interrogated. Mary Fiddis herself informed the Committee
of Inquiry that " she had quitted the Infirmary with a lie in
her mouth, for which she hoped God would forgive her."
Amongst the numerous letters which appeared in the papers
on this incident the question of freely admitting the profession
in general to operations was discussed.
A writer under the name of " Old Subscriber " expresses
himself on this point as follows (his letter is dated " Bristol,
6th Sept., 1805 ") : '* Reflect, I beseech you, if the present
prudent limitation be done away, where or how will you establish
a boundary to prevent the whole body of the Profession ' with
all its imperfections on its head ' from rushing, like a muddy
torrent, into your hospital, and converting your operation room
into a theatre of endless disputation and dangerous contention ?
What security have you, in such a case, that your wards shall
not be turned into cow houses and your apothecary's shop into a
manufactory of Gases ? "
The references to " cow houses " and " manufactory of
Gases " are hits at Dr. Thomas Beddoes, who had opened the
famous " Pneumatic Institute," and was treating hundreds of
cases with inhalations of nitrous oxide gas. He also strongly
advocated the breathing in of cow's breath as a remedial agent.
Richard Smith, who was at this time one of the proprietors
of the Bristol Mirror, busied himself in the controversy by
writing to the papers. He corresponded under a nom de plume,
but his style was recognisable, and Thomas Lee wrote a letter,
dated October 25th, which is an excellent example of the
license permitted in the Press in those days. It is addressed
" To Mr. Smith," and begins by referring to him as " an object
i59
A HISTORY OF THE
of dread, detestation and contempt," with power " to blast
innocence and to depress industry ; " the writer then speaks of
his " pusillanimous writhings," and accuses him of being
" callous to a woman's agonizing entreaties," and " dark and
baleful ! " The whole effusion reminds one strongly of Mr.
Pott's invective in the Eatanswill Gazette in Pickwick.
The Surgeons were also accused of being " too fond of
operating." The operator who has the courage of his con-
victions has always been subject to this kind of ignorant abuse,
and the Faculty of the Infirmary did not escape.
There was, however, on the Staff at this time a gentleman
who was so timid and loath to inflict the pain of an operation,
that his patients sometimes suffered from his over-sensitiveness.
A boy named Samuel Clarke came under his care, suffering from
stone in the bladder. The operation for this, before anaesthetics
were known, was a terrible ordeal to the patient and to the
surgeon. Feelings of pity had to be sternly suppressed, and
this, in the case of a frightened boy, required a great deal of
determination and a strong sense of duty on the part of the
operator. In Samuel Clarke's case the cutting was deferred
and deferred, until, as the least objectionable way out of the
difficulty, the poor lad (who was deaf and dumb) was taken
from the Infirmary, and Richard Smith, assisted by two other
members of the Surgical Staff, performed the operation on him
at his father's house.
Here the modern surgeon may pause and wonder that such
an operation as lateral lithotomy could be carried out, as it
frequently was, on a struggling patient, in a mean, dirty room,
on an ordinary bed, without antiseptics or anaesthetics, and yet
with a fairly low mortality.
That there were complaints that Out-patients were kept
waiting goes without saying, this being a perpetual point of
attack upon any hospital system that has yet been evolved.
On one occasion, a few years later, a woman named Sarah
Bayce complained to the Committee that she was not only kept
waiting a long time to be bled, but that one of the students told
the operator to " prick her deep," and remarked that she was
" fond of bleeding ; " also that the Surgeon in charge said
"D e" (damme?).
Full investigations showed the groundlessness of these
charges.
Patients were occasionally troublesome in other ways. For
instance, the Matron once stated that John Board, when he
went out cured, had a clean shirt given him to wear, which he
returned in a few days in a parcel " torn into strips." For
1 60
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
this offence the Secretary was directed to write to the
Magistrates.
Complaints more difficult to deal with were those made by
the friends of patients on whom post-mortem examinations
had been made. These examinations were carried on in the
dead-house (described as " a mere coal hole with a foot square
grating opening in Lower Magdalen Lane "), and had to be done
surreptitiously, the Committee condemning but condoning the
practice. (See p. 209.)
A complaint was made on July 8th, 1812, when potatoes
were very dear, from some female patients who refused to
'" take rice as a substitute." There is a note in the Committee
Minute Book that " the Matron was desired to provide Cabbage
for the Nurses during the present scarcity of Potatoes." What
the patients were given instead we are not told.
Of the escapades of students we shall hear later.
From 1806 to 1810 the west wing was being erected, and in
the State for the latter year (issued June 5th, 1811) the Com-
mittee (now for the first time called " the House Committee ")
announced that " the New Wing was ready for the reception of
Furniture, previous to the admission of patients."
It had cost more than £10,000, and in spite of the fact that
the finances were in a moderately satisfactory condition, the
■estimated up-keep of so large a block debarred the Committee
from opening it.
In the Annual State for the year 1812 the report of the
Building Committee is published. This shows that the sum
of £19,849 had been received specifically for the new wing ;
that £10,370 of this had been spent, and that the balance of
£9,479 had been invested in " 4 per cent. Stock." Also, that
the wing would lodge fifty patients besides nurses and officials,
and that " the Committee under the direction of Dr. Kentish
have provided Cold, Warm and Vapor Baths and placed them
in the most commodious situation."
On June 3rd, 1813, a General Meeting of the Subscribers was
held at the Guildhall under the presidency of the Mayor, Mr.
Michael Castle, at which the members of the Building Com-
mittee, who had worked so many years under their able
Chairman, the Rev. John Rowe, were heartily thanked. In
order to raise funds for the support of the new wards, etc., a
large and representative Committee of fifty-three well-known
citizens was chosen, the members of which were to " separate
themselves into different districts " and canvass the city.
By means of this canvass, together with a donation of £500
made by Mr. Thomas Bonville on the opening of the wing on
161
11
A HISTORY OF THE
February 23rd, 1814, and the proceeds from a Musical Festival
(£865), the total yearly income reached £8,162. This Musical
Festival was the second of its kind given in aid of the Infirmary,
the first having been held in 1803. (See p. 153.)
At a meeting held on February 9th, 1814, it was resolved :
" That it is the opinion of the House Committee that Musical
Performances may be held in Bristol similar to those in
Birmingham and Liverpool with great benefit to this
Institution."
A Sub-Committee was appointed, with Mr. Thomas Weld as
Chairman, who submitted their report on February 16th.
The Festival was held in the Theatre Royal, King Street,
on June 13th, 14th and 16th, 1814. The principal vocalists
were Madame Catalani and Braham ; the conductor was Sir
George Smart. The affair was a great success, and a densely-
packed audience listened with enthusiasm to Madame Catalani,
who sang " Rule Britannia " at the end of the performance, by
" General Desire." Napoleon had abdicated on April 5th, and
had been sent to Elba ; peace was restored, and everyone was
in a good humour. The two allied Sovereigns (the Emperor of
Russia and the King of Prussia) were on a visit to England,
and were at the time of the concert at Oxford. It was thought
that this might detract from the proceeds, as many people
flocked to that " neighbouring seat of learning," but the
receipts show that this was not the case. In addition to the
performances at the Theatre, selections of sacred music were
given at St. Paul's Church on the mornings of June 14th, 16th
and 17th. A number of ladies volunteered to hold collection
plates at the church doors, and " by their earnest solicitations
very much increased the Contributions." x The Committee
gave them a hearty vote of thanks in the following gallant
language : " When it is recollected that a considerable part of
this sum was collected by the Ladies at the Church Doors, to
whom they feel themselves indebted for zeal and fervour in the
cause of humanity that gave fresh lustre to beauty, and
rendered even the Voice of Charity more irresistible," * etc.
The actual receipts from the Festival were £2,592 15s., and
the expenses £1,767 10s. 6d. 2
1 Committee Minute Book, July 6th, 1814.
2 It may here be mentioned that another Musical Festival was held on
behalf of the Infirmary in October, 1821. It was given at St. Paul's Church
and the Assembly Rooms, Prince Street, and Madame Catalani was again the
great attraction. The net proceeds were ^585 9s. 8d.
Concerning this concert there is a curious criticism in the Bristol Mirror.
The Benedic'us of Mozart was sung in English at the church, and the critic
writes : " The word Benedictus is translated ' blessed is he,' which, when sung
or heard at a distance, sounds like ' Blessy dissy.' "
162
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The House, with the fifty additional beds contained in the
west wing, could now accommodate some hundred and eighty
patients. The length of each wing was 105 feet, and the whole
frontage was 214 feet long. Each ward contained twelve or
thirteen beds, and was, on an average, 44 feet long, 22 feet
wide, and 15 feet high. 1
It was suggested that two wards should be set apart for
convalescent patients, but it was thought by the Faculty that
the " air in the wards was sufficiently pure and salubrious."
The male and female parts of the House were separated, as
before, by iron gates ; and at first the ground floor was allotted
to " Physical " cases, the second floor to Surgical.
The building of this New Infirmary extended over
thirty-two years, from 1782 to 1814, and was carried on under
the management of four successive Treasurers.
On the resignation of Mr. Edward Ash, Mr. Samuel Birch
was elected Treasurer on Tuesday, December 20th, il
SAMUEL BIRCH.
Samuel Birch was born in 1765, and became a very prominent
citizen of Bristol. He was Sheriff 1800-1 and Mayor 1807-8. *
He held the post of Treasurer to the Infirmary for
three years, from 1808 to 181 1. His tenure of office was a
troubled one, chiefly on account of an important change in the
constitution of the Committee, which gave rise to a great deal
of bad feeling ; and his resignation was connected with an affair
concerning a remarkable medical student named Edward Pelly,
whose history deserves record.
Mr. Birch died on August 5th, 1851.
THE AFFAIR OF EDWARD PELLY.
In the year 1805 there came to Bristol, from his father's
Vicarage at Weston-sub-Edge, on the north border of the
Cotswolds, a delicate lad named Edward Pelly. He attended
" the Academy of the Rev. Mr. James Porter in Castle Green,"
and two years later was indentured to Richard Smith at the
Infirmary. He was a particularly gifted boy, devoting much of
his time to study ; he read English literature with avidity,
wrote sonnets and plays, and was fond of the classics. He
worked hard at his profession, and was " rapidly improving
himself in Surgery and the Science of Anatomy and Physiology,"
1 At a Committee Meeting on November 10th, 1813, two tenders for
bedsteads were handed in, one from Messrs. Griffiths at 32s. each, the other
from Messrs. Poole and Son at 4d. per lb., " which at 96 lbs. each amounts to
32s." The order was " split."
2 Beaven's Bristol Lists.
163
A HISTORY OF THE
when a circumstance occurred that altered his career, and is
supposed to have hastened his death, which took place at the
early age of seventeen.
Amongst the Out-patients in the autumn of 1810 was a
woman named Charity Filer, who suffered from an ulcerated
leg, under the nominal care of Mr. Allard. (See p. 185.) Pelly
dressed the sore on several occasions, but in October she
stopped coming, and brought an accusation against him that
he had discouraged her further attendance on the grounds that
nothing more could be done for her.
She also complained that during thirteen weeks' attendance
she did not once see her Surgeon, Mr. Allard, who was away
from home, nor Mr. Lowe, 1 who was doing his work at the
Institution during his absence.
On November 14th, 1810, the Committee resolved : " That
it was to be regretted that the patient did not see the Surgeon
who was supposed to be attending her during so long a period
as thirteen weeks, as it is the indispensable duty of the Surgeon
himself to inspect the cases of all the Individuals committed to
his care." It was further resolved : " That the Committee also
feels itself called upon to censure the conduct of the said Mr.
Edward Pelly, who by using to the said Charity Filer discourag-
ing expressions as to the probability of her cure caused her to
withdraw herself from this Hospital," etc., and " that Mr.
Edward Pelly be directed to attend the Committee on the
28th Instt. to receive a communication from the Chairman."
At the weekly Committee on November 21st Mr. Fripp
announced that Mr. Birch proposed " to resign the situation of
Treasurer " at the next Quarterly Board. Great regret was
expressed, and a deputation was formed to wait upon Mr. Birch
to ask him to reconsider his decision.
At the next Committee Meeting, on November 28th, Mr.
Birch was himself in the Chair, and the deputation appointed
at the last meeting " to wait upon the Treasurer " said that
they " were not prepared to communicate the answer they had
received."
Mr. Wintour Harris then moved " that the resolution of a
former Committee respecting Mr. Pelly be carried into effect,
and that he be now called in to receive the communication from
the Chairman."
After a long and angry discussion, during which (according
to the newspaper accounts) " Mr. Lowe expressed contempt for
the Committee," and " Mr. Daniel2 hissed one of the Trustees
1 Richard Lowe, son of Godfrey Lowe. He was elected Surgeon in 1807.
2 Henry Daniel was elected Surgeon on September 27th, 18 10.
164
. . • .. ^ . t / A,
TITLE-PAGE OF PELLY'S MEMORANDUM BOOK
Fig 29.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
whilst declaring his sentiments," it was decided by twenty-five
votes to twenty-two that Pelly should not be called in "to
receive the communication of the Chairman," and that " no
blame attached to Mr. Lowe in the Case of Charity Filer."
This result was due chiefly to the advocacy of Richard
Smith. He made a great impression on the meeting by reading
an affidavit made by Edward Pelly before Alderman David
Evans. In this document it was stated that Charity Filer's
condition was steadily improving during her attendance as an
Out-patient ; and the deponent solemnly declared "as he
hopeth for salvation hereafter that he never said or declared
to the said Charity Filer . . . that he could do no more for
her, nor ever used any discouraging language to her during her
attendance at the said Infirmary."
Mr. Birch was much annoyed by this decision, and in a
letter to Mr. Ash, dated December 4th, 1810, said that he Lad
been placed in such a position that he was determined to
relinquish his office.
A General Board was called for Friday, December 14th, 1810,
at the Guildhall, to consider this letter. At this meeting,
presided over by the Mayor, Mr. Philip Protheroe, the Treasurer,
Mr. Birch, read an account of the proceedings which had taken
place with reference to Charity Filer, and gave his reasons for
resigning.
Mr. Bright then proposed a series of resolutions, seconded
by Mr. Sheriff Fowler, which were carried without opposition
(apparently none of the Staff were present) : —
1. That the vote of censure on Edward Pelly decreed on
November 14th be carried into effect.
2. That the conduct of the Officers of the House who voted
against this resolution at a subsequent Committee Meeting
(on November 28th) " is highly indecorous and reprehensible."
3. That the behaviour of Mr. Lowe and Mr. Daniel was
" particularly unbecoming."
4. That to prevent the recurrence of interruptions at future
meetings of the Committee it would be expedient " to rescind
the Rule by which the Physicians and Surgeons now form a
constituent part thereof."
Mr. Daniel and Mr. Lowe sent letters to the Chairman
regretting their behaviour in " expressing contempt " and
" hissing," and a vote of thanks to Mr. Birch for his " manly
conduct " concluded the proceedings.
Pelly was summoned to attend a Committee Meeting on
December 19th, but declined to do so, concluding his letter :
" Allow me to assure you I am rather willing to submit to the
165
A HISTORY OF THE
severest Penalty which a disobedience to your Commands may
incur than receive the Communication of your Censure."
Poor Pelly, who was under seventeen years of age, and had
been made a scapegoat in this affair, had no one to fight his
battle for him on this occasion, and the Committee resolved
" that for his contumacy in refusing to attend this Committee,
he, the said Edward Pelly, be excluded from re-entering the
Infirmary until the next General Board, and it is the opinion of
this Committee that it should be recommended to such General
Board to resolve on the total expulsion of the said Edward Pelly
from this House."
A few days afterwards the unfortunate boy, who was of a
proud and sensitive nature, obtained permission to cancel his
indentures with Richard Smith, to whom he was articled, and
left the Infirmary for ever.
He returned home, and devoted himself to study ; it is said
that he " scarcely allowed himself time for taking rest or food ;
a book was constantly either in his hand, on the table at his
elbow, or on his pillow." His health began to fail ; he showed
signs of consumption, and died from haemorrhage from the lungs
on October 12th, 181 1, aged seventeen years and nine
months.
At the death of his mother a note-book of Pelly's came into
the hands of Richard Smith, containing a short diary of the last
few months of his life. It shows that he read a great deal of
poetry, history, and classics ; that he wrote a comedy in five
acts, called " Every One in His Turn," and many short poems.
One of these, called " Horace in Bristol," is preserved in the
Infirmary Memoirs, and is a well-written and amusing adapta-
tion of the seventh Ode of the First Book.
A few months before his death he fell in love with a Miss
S. Ward, who returned his affection, but her father refused his
consent to an engagement.
In his diary, written in Greek letters, a page of which is here
reproduced (together with a small almanac found in his pocket
after death), there is an entry under June 6th, 181 1 : "I spit
blood this morning — I walked three miles with my dear S. W.,
and saw her for the last time." (See Figs. 29 and 30.)
I have given this incident at some length, not only because
it appeared to me that the history of such a life should be
rescued from oblivion, but because it was bound up with such
important changes at the Infirmary.
There is little doubt that Pelly was misunderstood, and that
an injustice was done him ; but we are told that his manners
were " austere " and against him, and the advocacy of his
166
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PAGE FROM FELLY'S MEMORANDUM BOOK.
Fig. 30.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
friends the Surgeons was indiscreet and calculated to injure
rather than help his cause.
As a matter of fact, the Surgeons had, since the year 1807,
been a disunited body ; differences of character and politics,
disputes about apprentices and " over-time " patients, etc.,
had brought them into ill-repute with the Committee and with
many of the other Trustees. This had reached such a pitch,
that on September 18th, 1810, a " Committee of Inquiry " was
appointed " to inquire into the causes of the existing dissentions
amongst the Surgeons of the House, and to report to the General
Meeting those measures which it will, in their opinion, be
expedient to adopt."
The report of this Committee, which contained several
important recommendations as to " over-times," consultations,
pupils, and so forth, was read at the very meeting at which
Pelly's affair and the question of excluding the Faculty from
the Committee were discussed ; and the utter want of union
amongst the Surgeons possibly accounts for the absence of
opposition on their part to any of the proposals.
The Physicians looked with great calmness upon the
proposed exclusion of the Surgical Staff from the Committee,
but were horrified to find that they themselves were included in
the general ban.
They wrote an eloquent letter to the General Board, which
was answered by reference to the " solid and uncontrovertible
Principle that the controlling power ought to be kept distinct
from the executive, and that those individuals who are appointed
to superintend and enforce the faithful performance of duties
in others should not be liable to the Influence or restrained by
the presence of those who are to execute such duties." l
The Rule by which, since the foundation of the Infirmary,
the Physicians and Surgeons had formed, ex-officio, part of the
Committee, was rescinded at a General Board on December 18th,
1810, and this was confirmed, in spite of strenuous opposition,
on February 28th, 1811.
The Committee was now made to consist of the Treasurer
and thirty Trustees, ten of whom should retire annually ; ten
new members to be elected, in the vacancies so caused, every
December. It was, in fact, a " close " instead of an " open "
Committee.
The ill-feeling caused by this complete exclusion of the
Faculty lasted for many years. The question was revived with
1 It does not appear who was the draftsman of this and similar reports
issued by the Committee of Inquiry, but one cannot but be struck by the
admirable clearness of style and force of expression.
167
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
unabated vigour in 1824, and we shall return to it in a future
chapter.
Mr. Birch resigned on December 17th, 1811, finding his
duties " incompatible with private arrangements," and on
Monday, December 30th, 1811, Mr. William Fripp was proposed
as Treasurer by Mr. William Ash, seconded by Mr. Arthur
Tozer, and unanimously elected.
WILLIAM FRIPP.
William Fripp, the second son of Samuel Fripp of this city,
was born in 1761. He married Miss Martha Catley in 1784, by
whom he had five children. He lived for the most part at
Kingsdown. He was a member of the firm of William and
James Fripp, soap manufacturers ; was a member of the
Corporation from 1798 to 1829, Alderman from 1812 to 1829,
and Sheriff in 1798.
He resigned the Treasurership on March 31st, 1829, ' and
died at Stoke Abbey on June 10th of that year, in the sixty-
ninth year of his age.
He was buried at St. Werburgh's, Corn Street, and when the
church was removed to Mina Road, his remains were
transferred to the cemetery at Arno's Vale.
The completion of the new building in 1814 opens a new era
in the career of the Bristol Infirmary ; but before continuing its
history we must, in the next two chapters, give an outline of
some changes which occurred in the Honorary and Resident
Staff.
1 He sent in his resignation on September 16th, 1828, but consented to
hold office until his successor was appointed on March 31st, 1829.
168
CHAPTER XIV
CHANGES IN THE STAFF — BENJAMIN MASON — CHARLTON YEATMAN
— THOMAS GRIFFITHS — THOMAS WEBB DYER — JAMES BEDING-
FIELD — WILLIAM SWAYNE — EDWARD LONG FOX — ROBERT LOVELL
— JOHN NEW — WALTER KENNEDY CRAUFUIRD — ANDREW CARRICK
— JOHN EDMONDS STOCK — J. C. PRICHARD AND H. H. FOX.
In speaking of the ravages of the typhus fever, which killed
four Resident Apothecaries at the Infirmary in ten years
(see p. 113), we have referred to Benjamin Mason as one of the
victims.
BENJAMIN MASON.
He was elected after a contest with Samuel Higgs, at the
Guildhall, on May 6th, 1779. He is described as " a very
pleasant, gentlemanly fellow ; " in his application he states
that he had practised at Hereford for sixteen years before he
came to Bristol. He died on March 16th (?), 1783, at the
Infirmary. Little is known about him, but there is reason to
think that he was a kind-hearted man, with a high sense of
duty. A short notice in a Bristol newspaper x says, " The
grateful tears of those people whom misfortune ever placed
within the compass of his attention will be lasting eulogies on
his name."
CHARLTON YEATMAN.
Charlton Yeatman, who was elected in his place on April 1st,.
1783, was the brother of Morgan Yeatman, who was appointed
Surgeon in 1781. (See p. 183.)
He was born in January, 1756, and " served his time " to
his father, who was an apothecary living in Thomas Street ; he
then became a pupil to Mr. John Page.
He resigned his post at the Infirmary a few months after
his election, and in 1795 he went to Philadelphia, where he was
in practice for some seven years. After his return to Bristol he
was chosen Apothecary to the Dispensary in North Street on
November 6th, 1804. He afterwards went to Milverton, in
Somerset, where he died on November 28th, 1828.
He has left a record that when he went to America English
1 Probably The Bristol Journal. As in so many cases in Richard Smith's
Memoirs, we have only the cutting pasted in, and it is impossible to name
the paper from which it is taken.
169
A HISTORY OF THE
doctors were in great repute there, and " he picked up at the
rate of £1,000 a year." But he got into partnership with a man
whose dissipated habits ruined the practice.
The vacancy at the Infirmary was advertised in the daily
papers on October 29th, 1783. The notice states that an
Apothecary is wanted, " a sober, staid man, not under thirty
years of Age ; he must be free from the Burthen of Children," etc.
There were two candidates, William Palmer, who styled
himself " Apothecary and Man-Midwife, No. 3 Queen's Square,
near the Back," formerly an apprentice of Mr. Shapland's,
and Thomas Griffiths, who had held a similar appointment at
the Hereford Infirmary.
THOMAS GRIFFITHS.
Thomas Griffiths was duly elected at the Guildhall on
December 2nd, 1783.
He retired on April 22nd, 1789, and practised in the city
for many years afterwards. He became well known and did
well in his profession. For some years he was in partnership
with Mr. Robert Baker, and according to William Swayne
(afterwards Apothecary at the Infirmary) the firm booked
between two and three thousand a year.
He was President of the Dolphin Society in 1808, and about
that year he took the diploma of M.D. at Aberdeen, but did not
as a rule style himself " Doctor." (For portrait see Fig. 31.)
He was born at Leominster in 1761, and married Martha,
daughter of the Rev. Joseph Carless, of Canon Pyon, in
Herefordshire. (See p. 175.)
His daughter Martha married John Champeny Swayne,
M.R.C.S., the grandfather of the present Obstetric Physician
to the Infirmary, Dr. Walter C. Swayne. J
He lived at first in a house which is still standing in
St. James's Barton ; afterwards he retired to Westbury, where
he died on May 22nd, 1838. (See also William Swayne, p. 173.)
I have before me a paper written on " Anasarca " (dropsy)
by Thomas Griffiths in January, 1788. It is in manuscript, and
begins, " Mr. President and Gentlemen," from which I conclude
it was read before some Medical Society. It may interest my
professional brethren to know that he gives as directions for the
patient's diet : " He should drink sparingly of Diluents, and in
their stead should make use of generous Liquids, as good Wine
and fermented Liquors, but in poor people whose Circumstances
will not admit of this indulgence, Strong Beer impregnated with
Aromatic Bitters may be substituted."
1 To whom I am indebted for some of the above information.
170
Fig. 31
THOMAS GRIFFITHS.
A HISTORY OF THE
Of his personal appearance I can find little recorded ; but in
a comic poem signed " Alicia " are the lines : —
" T— m-y was born to captivate the fair,
By nature modell'd with peculiar care."
On the other hand, an old slip of paper fastened into Richard
Smith's Memoirs states, on the authority of a Mr. Charles
Murray, that Dyer had a curious walk, and an expression as
if he smelt something disagreeable !
He resigned his post at the Infirmary in August, 1810, after
more than twenty years' service, and was not only thanked
by a special resolution, but a piece of plate and fifty guineas
were voted him in recognition of his work at the Institution.
So important was it to secure the most reliable and competent
men as Resident Apothecaries, that a long notice of an
approaching vacancy was usually given in the local newspapers.
On this occasion a preliminary advertisement was published,
dated " Committee Room, September 5th, 1810," stating that a
vacancy would occur in November next, and setting forth the
necessary qualifications for the post, and the salary, which was
£80 a year, with a gratuity "if he conducts himself to the
satisfaction of the Society." Although Dyer resigned in August,
his resignation did not take effect until December 21st, and his
successor was appointed before this date, on December 6th.
There were three applicants for the vacancy, Alfred Collett
Bartley, of Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, James Bedingfield, and
Henry Gresley Emery.
Emery was returning from the army in Portugal, where he
had been serving as surgeon with the forces ; his brother
applied on his behalf, but afterwards withdrew the application.
JAMES BEDINGFIELD.
James Bedingfield was elected by a majority of ninety-nine
votes. He was a clever, shrewd practitioner, with an un-
usually sound and practical knowledge of his profession, gained
chiefly during the five years he was resident at the Infirmary.
In November, 1816, he published a book entitled A Compendium
of Medical Practice, illustrated by a number of interesting cases
observed at the House ; this work was well received, and the
Medical Journals of the time criticised it very favourably.
In February, 1815, he complained to the Committee of the
great amount of work in the Shop, and suggested that a
fourth apprentice should be taken to cope with it.
Of the three Apothecary's apprentices, the senior one
attended on the Surgeons during the busy time of the day,
172
WILLIAM S WAYNE.
Fig. 32
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
acting much as a Dresser for the Week does now ; he had
therefore to leave the dispensing of the Out-patients' prescrip-
tions to the other two junior apprentices.
The Committee considered his application, and were willing
to appoint another apprentice, but in the meanwhile suggested
that the difficulty might be lessened by Bedingfield's personal
attendance at midday in the Shop.
A great deal of correspondence went on, and as usual in
those days letters appeared in the papers. In November
Bedingfield wrote a somewhat angry letter to the Committee
containing a hint of resignation, which was taken seriously, and
a dispute followed, which ended in his giving up his post on
March 25th, 1816, the vacancy being advertised, as was usual,
three months before this, on December 20th, 1815, at which
date he formally resigned.
Bedingfield went to live in Stokes Croft, and soon had a large
practice and many pupils. He appears to have been an excellent
teacher, and when he left Bristol and went to Stowmarket, in
Suffolk, he devoted a great deal of his time to the formation of
a " Medical Academy " for the professional education of
young men.
He died on April 22nd, i860, aged seventy-two years.
The only candidate who appeared for the vacancy was
William Swayne.
He was proposed by the Rev. John Eden, seconded by Mr.
Thomas Griffiths, and unanimously elected on February 22nd,
1816.
WILLIAM SWAYNE.
William Swayne was born in 1790, and was the seventh son
of the Rev. George Swayne, Vicar of Pucklechurch, the learned
author of the Gramina Pascua.
He was educated at the Grammar School at Ilminster, and
afterwards at the Rev. T. Eden's, at Whitehall, near Bristol.
At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to his uncle, Thomas
Griffiths, at St. James's Barton (p. 170), was then a pupil of
Mr. Hetling, and finished his medical curriculum, according to
the usual custom of those days, at the Borough Hospitals
in London. He became M.R.C.S. in January, 1823, after he
had been at the Infirmary seven years.
In 1824 ne showed signs of consumption, and took a voyage
to the West Indies, Mr. W. F. Morgan undertaking his work
•during his absence. His trip abroad unfortunately did
him no good, and he died on June 25th, 1825, at the house
!73
A HISTORY OF THE
of his brother, J. Champeny Swayne, x at St. James's
Barton.
William Swayne had an honourable and useful career
during the seven years he was at the Infirmary. He belonged
to the old " evacuant " school, making free use of bleeding,
cupping, purgatives, etc.
He was the first, I believe, to send out notices to the Surgeons
informing them when their admission week began ; and
there are several letters, in his remarkably neat writing, of
invitations to the quarterly meetings of the Faculty, which
were held then at the Montague Tavern, and were preceded by a
dinner at five o'clock.
The duties of the Resident Apothecary in his time must
have been extensive and laborious, but he found leisure to do
some useful pathological work.
An interesting picture of him is given by Mr. Henry Alford, 2
who writes : " He was a very quiet, silent man, very clever, and
very well up in his profession. He had little intercourse with
his pupils, except in the way of their work ; and we saw very
little of him, except at meals and in going round the wards with
him in the morning, which privilege I did not enjoy during my
first year. All the Medical and Surgical Staff had a high opinion
of Mr. Swayne's abilities, and often took him to see their
private patients with them. He was a very sedate, self-reliant,
gentlemanly man, and, I should think, of superior general
knowledge and culture. But he had some sense of dry humour,
which showed itself occasionally at our meals. He was very
regular and moderate in his eating ; for his breakfast he always
had coffee, one boiled egg, and two slices of bread and butter,
which one of his pupils cut for him. He scarcely ever spoke at
meals, except to ask or answer a question. But he smiled
occasionally at any amusing remark or matter that struck his
fancy." He is reported to have kept a tame bear at the
Infirmary.
His relationship to the former Apothecary, Thomas Griffiths,
to the present Obstetric Physician, and to other members of the
1 John Champeny Swayne was Lecturer on Midwifery at the Bristol
Medical School from 1833 to 1850.
He was an absent-minded man, and it is narrated that some students once
dressed up a lay figure with old clothes, a mask, etc., and seated it on a front
bench at one of his lectures. He did not notice it for ten minutes or so ;
when he did he said to the porter, " I '11 trouble you to remove that strange
gentleman ; but permit me to remark that I wish all the others attending this
lecture were as quiet and orderly ! " — See The Early History of the Bristol
Medical School, by the late Augustin Prichard.
2 See Bristol Medico -Chirurgical Journal for September, 1890. Mr. Alford
came into residence as a House pupil at the Infirmary on March 19th, 1822.
174
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
family well known in medical circles, is shown in the following
table, for which I am indebted to Dr. Walter Swayne :—
.b
o
a
o
e
(J
>_
H— O
X
w
fe
£
w
2;
(A
o
1 — 1
li
Q
g
Q
gov-.
rt >,£
t/J O >->
-gro
*- O .2
5 «
I C
faO-2
fa <-"
55 ffi
Anne, the youngest daughter of Mr. Joseph Swayne, of
Hereford, married Thomas Baynton. (See p. 255.)
The portrait of William Swayne is from a painting now in
the possession of Miss Swayne of Clifton. (See Fig. 32.)
175
A HISTORY OF THE
The following changes occurred about this time amongst
the Physicians.
EDWARD LONG FOX.
Dr. Edward Long Fox was elected on April 3rd, 1786, in
Dr. Broughton's place. (See Appendix A.)
I have collected some data about the three Foxes who were
connected with the Bristol Infirmary, and for convenience of
reference have placed them at the end of the volume. (See
Appendix B.)
ROBERT LOVELL.
Dr. Robert Lovell, who was elected on January 7th, 1795,
to the vacancy caused by Dr. Wright's death, was born at
Barbadoes about the year 1753.
He practised first at Ipswich, and came to Bristol in 1792.
Whilst at Barbadoes he married a Miss Osborne, who (according
to Richard Smith) was a native of Bristol, and this may have
induced him to come to this city.
He lived in St. James's Square, and we may conclude that
lie was a social man, as there are several records of his attending
and opening discussions at the " Bear's Cub Club."
He resigned his post at the Infirmary on August 29th, 1810,
and not long after gave up his profession and retired to a
beautiful estate at Frenchay, called Begbrook House. He died
on April nth, 1823.
JOHN NEW.
Dr. James Plomer, whom my readers may remember as a
constant sampler of the Infirmary bread and cheese and beer, 1
resigned on April 4th, 1798, and two weeks afterwards (on
April 18th) Dr. John New was elected in his place.
Dr. New had served as Apothecary's apprentice at the
Infirmary under Thomas Griffiths, and took his degree at
Edinburgh.
He was chosen Physician to the Dispensary in 1799, and
resigned his post at the Infirmary in October, 1802.
WALTER KENNEDY CRAUFUIRD.
He was succeeded on November 18th, 1802, by Dr. Walter
Kennedy Craufuird, a native of Ayrshire, but with relations in
Bristol, to which city he came about the year 1790.
His medical studies were interrupted by ill-health, for which
he took a voyage to Spain, after which he returned to Glasgow,
where he graduated. His thesis for the degree of M.D. was
1 Page 73.
176
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
entitled " De submersis suscitandis," and he chose for this the
motto, " Facilis descensus Averni . . . sed revocare gradum
. . . hoc opus, hie labor est."
He first practised at Tewkesbury, but did so badly there
that he scarcely made his bread and cheese, and in distress
wrote to his uncle, Thomas Farr Ellison, of the Customs, who
advised him to come to Bristol. He followed this advice, and
" put up his plate " at a house in Albemarle Row, Hotwells.
Patients at first came very slowly, and he had some difficulty
in maintaining himself, so that he was often thankful for the
hospitality of his uncle, at whose house " a knife and fork were
laid for him daily."
He canvassed for the post which was supposed to be vacant
at the Infirmary in 1794, when there was a rumour that Dr.
Wright had resigned, and again on Dr. Plomer's resignation
in 1798. Although unsuccessful on these occasions, he became
better known as a promising man, but his income continued to
be very small. About the year 1798, however, a piece of good
fortune befell him. A certain Mr. Garth, a gentleman of good
means, but of weak health, was told by his doctors that a voyage
to Madeira would be beneficial. He wanted a medical man to
accompany him, and offered Dr. Craufuird one thousand pounds
if he would take charge of him, and two thousand more if he
brought him safely back. This trip was a success, and on his
return to England Craufuird had £3,000, which was the nucleus
of a considerable fortune which he ultimately made. l
He married a Miss Emily O'Connor, daughter of Sir Patrick
O'Connor, of Cork, " by special licence in the Ball Room of
Gloucester House." She is described as "a little, sort of
Corsican fairy looking girl." She died of consumption on
November 13th, 1801. Apparently she was in feeble health
at the time of her marriage, as we read that " she was carried
from her lodgings in a Palanquin to be married." 2
After his election on the Staff of the Infirmary in November,
1802, he began to do an immense amount of private work, a
great deal of it in consultations, his income reaching over £3,000
a. year at the busiest period of his life.
He had a high opinion of the importance of Physicians, and
was extremely annoyed, when the Committee requested the
•opinion of the Faculty as to setting apart a ward for fever cases,
that the Surgeons considered themselves included in the
consultation. " In fact," says Richard Smith, " he wrote
1 Mr. Garth died of phthisis about two years after his return.
2 The marriage of consumptives was in those days considered romantic
and interesting, and there was not usually any protest made against it.
177
12
A HISTORY OF THE
concerning the Surgeons so disrespectfully that there was at
first an intention of resenting it, but on mature reflection it was
considered to be an ebullition of waspishness, which might as
well be allowed a peaceful consignment to the oblivion of the
Secretary's iron closet."
He wrote a strong letter to the Committee about the
construction of the wards, maintaining that the patients lay
" immersed over head and ears in a noxious, heavy atmosphere
floating three or four feet high on the floor." He likened this
stratum of air to a " pond of water," and advised cutting down
the windows as low as possible to let it out.
Little attention was paid to his letter, and this neglect
seems to have annoyed the doctor. He one day met a member
of the Committee, and rudely asked him " what the Committee
knew about the matter," reiterating his statement about the
" pond " of foul air. " Gently, friend Craufuird," replied the
other (who was a Quaker), " we did not presume to deny thy
pond of foul air, but it appeared to us that a trifling circumstance
had slipped thy memory, that there was a door which was
almost constantly open, and, according to the law thou hast
set forth of the gravitation of fluids, we conceived that the foul
air might contrive to creep out that way, and tumbling over the
staircase, get through the passage into Marlborough Street,
without the expense of tearing the House to pieces ! "
He resigned his post of Physician on March 13th, 181 1.
On July 20th, 1817, he began to complain of internal pain,
and died on July 24th, after much suffering, of what was then
called " enteritis." x
He left in his will one hundred pounds to " the Chancellor
of the Exchequer in trust for the nation," and expresses the
hope " that every man will contribute in proportion to his
property." The newspapers correctly style this " a very vain
hope."
The portrait here reproduced is from a pencil sketch by a
Mr. Thomas, executed from memory, and said to be a very
accurate likeness. (See Fig. 33.)
He is described as tall, ungainly, and " raw-boned ; "
holding himself erect ; cold, distant and ceremonious ; his
countenance " meagre, strongly marked, lowering and ill-
favoured," with an " authoritative eye," and usually with
knitted brows. He was one of the last of the profession in
Bristol to powder his hair ; he dressed in black, and wore
" half boots."
1 One gathers from the symptoms described in Richard Smith's Memoirs
that this word " enteritis " included appendicitis and various forms of
intestinal obstruction.
178
W. K. CRAUFUIKD.
Fig. 33.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
In spite of his somewhat forbidding exterior, he was
apparently a favourite with the ladies, and no less than four
applied to his executor for his ring as a keepsake, each being
under the impression that he had intended to marry her. To
one of these he left £2,000.
He affected a superiority of manner and an " aloofness "
which probably impressed the public, and helped him in his
profession. He was very unpunctual, seldom answered even
an urgent summons to a case without delay, and maintained
his dignity upon all occasions. He would not stop his carriage
for any appeal, neither would he see in consultation any patient
if he thought he was called in because some other physician was
away or ill.
Amongst his peculiarities may be mentioned his love for
giving cobwebs by the mouth, for various complaints, to such
an extent that " the cellars of Bristol were ransacked for a
supply," and his habit of examining patients' tongues with a
strong magnifying glass, making this quite an imposing ritual.
He was idolised by many of his patients, and was sometimes
extremely generous. He expressed himself on one or two
occasions as having little faith in any revealed religion, but
afterwards " regretted that he had ever doubted the truth of
the sacred writings." He was a great reader, and kept his
books littered about the floor of his bedroom, and anywhere else
that he could stow them.
He was one of the first Physicians appointed to the Bristol
Penitentiary.
ANDREW CARRICK.
Dr. Andrew Carrick, who was elected Physician on
September 20th, 1810, after a severe contest which turned
chiefly on political bias, was descended from a good family in
Sterling. He was born in 1767, and educated at Glasgow and
Edinburgh, taking his degree at the latter University. He
then studied in London, and in Paris at the Hotel Dieu, and
afterwards at Rome.
He returned to England in 1789, came to Bristol, and set
up his plate in Park Street.
In 1797 he wrote a book on the Hot Wells Water, which
brought him some fame, and his unsuccessful canvasses for Dr.
Wright's and Dr. Plomer's vacancies made him well known.
He married Miss Caroline Tudway, of Wells, and entered
actively into the social and philanthropic life of the city,
especially in the " Bear's Cub Club," the Library Society, the
Bristol College, and the Clergy Society. He was very regular,
179
A HISTORY OF THE
too, in his attendance at the St. Andrew's Festival ; he is
Teferred to in 1836 as " the father of the Society."
Like many physicians of his time, he was a great " bleeder,"
and carried out a depletory line of treatment on his patients.
He spent usually one or two hours in his out-patient room,
where he was always deliberate and sedate.
" He always," says Mr. Alford, " came to the Infirmary in
his carriage, and many a weary hour his old horses and coachman
must have had to wait for him in the street." He resigned in
August, 1834, at the age of sixty-seven, having been on the
Staff for twenty-four years. He died on June 14th, 1837.
Carrick was a good speaker, and took his part in the Medical
Societies which were coming into existence towards the close of
his life. One of the best of his speeches was made at the large
meeting at the Guildhall on February 28th, 181 1, when the
vexed question of the exclusion of the Faculty from the
Committee was discussed. 1
He published an ably- written pamphlet on the same subject
in 1825. At his death he was a wealthy man, and owned a large
estate of over eleven thousand acres at Nettleton, in Wiltshire.
We have an interesting record, copied from his books, of his
yearly professional income from 1789 to 1834. He booked
£5 5s. the first year, £107 15s. the second, £2,264 15s. the
twenty-third, and continued to make between one and two
thousand annually until 1829.
JOHN EDMONDS STOCK.
Dr. John Edmonds Stock was elected Physician on March
28th, 1811, in Dr. Craufuird's place.
He was the son of John Stock, who was apprenticed when a
youth to an apothecary, but afterwards kept a paper warehouse
" opposite to the Bridgewater-Slip on the Back." 2
He was born in 1775, and studied medicine at the University
of Edinburgh.
He came to Bristol with a curious reputation. When he
was a student in Scotland in 1793 he was infected, like many
young men at that time, with the principles of the French
Revolutionists, and associated himself with the Edinburgh
Republicans, Watt and Downie. He became so deeply
implicated with them, that he was indicted for high treason, and
only escaped the gallows by flight to America. His companion
1 Well reported in the Bristol Gazette and Advertiser for March 7th, 181 1.
2 From Farley's Bristol Advertiser, March 22nd, 1745-6: " John Stocks'
Paper Warehouse. N.B. — Most Money for all Sorts of Rags, for the finest
Linnen Rags Two Pence Halfpenny a Pound."
180
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Downie was executed. On Stock's return to England a few-
years later the prosecution was abandoned in consideration of
his youth. He graduated at Philadelphia.
In July, 1803, he married Miss Charlotte Shapland, of
Marshfield, Gloucestershire, and set up in practice in Park.
Street, Bristol ; afterwards he moved to Royal York Crescent.
During the seventeen years he was Physician to the
Infirmary (from March 28th, 1811, to January 30th, 1828) he
not only did a great deal of work in the wards and amongst
Out-patients, but became noted as a lecturer. He gave, in
conjunction with Dr. Cowles Prichard, a course of lectures on
" Physiology, Pathology, and the Practice of Physic," in 1816,
which brought him a great deal of well-deserved fame.
Unlike Dr. Carrick, he was a great believer in tonics and
food, and used himself to munch biscuits whilst visiting his
patients. Some of his prescriptions are still in existence, and
show that he was more merciful than many of his colleagues in
his doses of aloes, mercury, gamboge, etc.
He also took part in the social and political life of the city ;
he joined the " Bear's Cub Club," where he initiated several
discussions (one, on January 13th, 1809, on the Rowley Poems),
and in 1816 was President of the Anchor Society.
He died on October 4th, 1835, at " The Lodge," near
Tewkesbury, the residence of his brother-in-law, the Rev. J.
Shapland. He was buried at the Lewin's Mead Burial-ground,
Brunswick Square, on October 10th. Richard Smith and
Dr. Carrick were amongst the pall-bearers.
The event in Dr. Stock's life which brought him most
prominently before the public was, however, not his scientific
work, but his change of religious opinions. He left Lewin's
Mead in 1816, and on November 16th of that year wrote a letter
to the Rev. John Rowe, expressing his belief in the Divinity of
Christ, and renouncing Unitarianism as untenable.
Such a change of belief in a prominent man naturally
excited some comment ; but his correspondence with Dr. Lant
Carpenter on the subject was freely discussed in the papers,
numberless letters were published and many pamphlets were
written ; in fact, " Dr. Stock's Conversion," as it was called, was
the talk of the place. The pamphlets were generally written
under some nom de plume, such as " Philo Christi," " Eluzai,"
etc., and were advertised by leaflets and hand-bills, printed in
large type and distributed everywhere ; indeed, the public
greeted the controversy as a great asset to the conversation at
evening parties, and looked upon it in a very different light from
the doctor himself, whose mind (he says) was like a troubled
1S1
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
sea, and whose days and nights were given up to the study of
Chambers, Wardlaw, Lawrence, Hull, Belsham, and many other
religious writers.
Nowadays this correspondence is not of great interest, but
some of the letters by Dr. Lant Carpenter — notably one in the
Bristol Mirror, dated September 18th, 1817— may still be read
with admiration for their masterly style and the force of their
arguments.
J. C. PRICHARD AND H. H. FOX.
On February 29th, 1816, two notable men, James Cowles
Prichard and Henry Hawes Fox, were elected Physicians.
Biographical notes on them will be found at the end of this
volume. (See Appendix B.)
182
CHAPTER XV
FURTHER CHANGES IN THE STAFF — MORGAN YEATMAN —
J. METFORD — R. J. ALLARD — RICHARD SMITH, JUN. — F. C. BOWLES
— WILLIAM HETLING — CONTROVERSY ABOUT APPRENTICE —
RICHARD LOWE — HENRY DANIEL — THE SHUTES — PREMATURE
CANVASSING — NATHANIEL SMITH
We must now chronicle some changes on the Surgical side of
the House.
MORGAN YEATMAN.
Morgan Yeatman, the brother of Charlton Yeatman, the
Apothecary (see p. 169), was born in Guinea Street, Bristol,
in April, 1751. He was educated at the Free Grammar School,
and indentured to John Ford, who was related to the family,
and received him as a pupil without the payment of any fees.
He afterwards studied in the Borough, under John Hunter and
William Cruikshank, in Great Windmill Street, and " walked "
the London hospitals.
In 1779 he offered his services to the newly-established
Bristol Dispensary, was appointed on the Staff, and did a great
deal of useful work there.
He was made Surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital in 1780, and
on November 27th, 1781, was elected Surgeon to the Infirmary.
He was a Tory in politics, and was President of the Dolphin
Society in 1804. He was also a member of the Society of
St. Stephen's Ringers.
He appears to have changed his residence frequently, for
his letters are dated at different times from Lower College
Green, Charlotte Street, Cumberland Street, Gloucester Street,
and St. James's Square. He resigned his appointment at the
Infirmary in June, 1807, and died of phthisis on December 6th,
1817.
JOSEPH METFORD.
Joseph Metford, who succeeded James Norman as Surgeon
on April 1st, 1783, was born at Taunton on February 17th, 1755.
He was, therefore, twenty-eight years of age when he became
Surgeon to the Infirmary, and it is worth noting that in those
days Surgeons were appointed on the Staff at a very young age,
183
A HISTORY OF THE
John Padmore Noble being only twenty-two. To be elected to so
important a post at such an age would now be considered very
unusual, and even at that time there were sarcastic remarks
made in the Press about " raw young gentlemen " being put in
charge of important cases. " Age " was an important asset in
those days to medical men ; experience was considered of much
more value than book knowledge, and if a man looked young he
often endeavoured by his dress and demeanour to make himself
look older.
Joseph Metford was educated at the Bristol Grammar
School, and at the age of seventeen was indentured to Mr.
Castelman. At the time of his pupilage there was a custom at
the Infirmary to allow every apprentice to perform one capital
operation. " Some dissatisfaction having in consequence
prevailed amongst the Patients," it was determined to stop this,
but when Metford had served his time and " made application
for the usual indulgence," he was allowed to amputate a leg.
This was in 1777, and was the last major operation performed
at the Infirmary by a student.
In 1778 he became a member of the " Corporation of
Surgeons " (the College of Surgeons was not founded until 1800),
and set up in practice at Castle Ditch, from which place he
afterwards removed to Bridge Street, and then to Berkeley
Square. 1
He married twice, firstly a " Miss Matravers of Westbury-
under-the-Plain," and secondly Mrs. Hannah Hann, of
Wiltshire, whose sister married Dr. Ludlow.
It will be seen from the account in Appendix A that
Metford canvassed unsuccessfully for vacancies in 1777, 1779,
and 1781. He failed chiefly because he was a Quaker2 and
a Whig. It was thought that he owed his success at his
fourth canvass in a great measure to the fact that the
Rockingham Administration of 1782, and the coalition of Mr.
Fox with Lord North, had for a time shown the public " the
folly of voting for, or against a man, merely on account of his
religious or political opinions."
He resigned his post at the Infirmary in June, 1796, but kept
up his interest in the Institution for many years.
Amongst Richard Smith's notes is the following record :
" His children and a few chirurgical friends were summoned to
1 He made ^115 his first year and /180 the second, a good record at a
time when fees were small and surgeons bled patients for one shilling !
2 At the Parliamentary Election in 1812 Joseph Metford refused, when
voting, to take the oath required, and substituted an affirmation, which was
objected to because he omitted any promise to " defend the person of the
King." It was, however, ultimately allowed.
184
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
dine with him (Metford) on the 19th of February, 1818. The
following Gentlemen met and passed the evening in the pleasant
recollection of past times — Dr. Thomas Griffiths, Dr. Thomas
Webb Dyer, Richard Smith, Wm. Hetling, Richard Lowe,
Henry Daniel, Nathaniel Smith, Robert Lax, Richard Edgell,
Wm. Swayne."
Towards the end of his life Metford spent much of his time
at a fine estate he possessed near Axminster. When he was
seventy-two years of age he told a friend that he was " well and
hearty," and that his sight was as good as ever, in proof of
which he had in one morning shot two snipe and a woodcock.
He concluded, " I think that is pretty well for an old fellow like
me ! "
He died on March 25th, 1833, in his seventy-ninth year.
ROBERT JONES ALLARD.
Robert Jones Allard was elected Surgeon, on the death of
Richard Smith, sen., on July 7th, 1791.
He was born on Christmas Eve, 1765, and was educated at
the Free Grammar School at Gloucester, under the Rev.
Thomas Rudge, B.D. 1
He was indentured as an " In-door apprentice " to Joseph
Metford, and was one of the numerous applicants who began a
premature canvass in December, 1790, when there was a rumour
that Metford was going to resign.
I can find little about his career as a Surgeon to the Infirmary,
but he appears to have been a good operator, and on August 1st,
1791, performed an amputation at the shoulder-joint. He
acquired a large practice, which brought him in during its most
profitable period some £1,800 per annum. He lived for some
time in Unity Street, and afterwards at 37 College Green. He
took an active part in social and political life, and became very
well known.
We have had occasion to refer more than once to the fear
of invasion which hung like a cloud over England during the
years of Napoleon Bonaparte's ascendancy.
At the Meeting of Citizens held at the Guildhall on July 27th,
1803, for the purpose " of increasing the Military Forces already
raised " to resist " the meditated Attack of our ambitious,
unrelenting and implacable Enemy," - Allard was appointed
1 This learned divine, who prided himself on " the moral and classical
Improvement of his Pupils," was born in 175 1 ; he married Sarah King ; was
Archdeacon of Gloucester, Chancellor of Hereford, Rector of the Parish of
St. Michael's, Gloucester, Vicar of Haresfield, and J. P. for Gloucester. He was
appointed to the Free Grammar School of St. Mary de Crypt in 1788. His
great-grandson, Mr. C. King Rudge, is now in practice in Clifton.
2 From a newspaper cutting.
185
A HISTORY OF THE
Surgeon to the new Second Regiment of Bristol Volunteers. He
was also connected with a Hospital for Sick Soldiers in Guinea
Street, and was Commissary for the French prisoners in Bristol.
He resigned the Infirmary in September, 1810, and soon after
came into a considerable property in Glamorganshire. He took
the name of Kemys, was knighted by the Prince Regent on
March 6th, 1817, for presenting a patriotic address, and lived
the life of a busy country squire, taking great interest not only
in all sorts of public affairs, but also in horses, dogs, shooting,
and theatrical matters.
He died on January 10th, 1832. '
RICHARD SMITH, JUN.
Richard Smith, jun., was elected Surgeon on June 23rd,
1796. Particulars of his life will be found at the end of this
volume. (See Appendix B.)
FRANCIS CHEYNE BOWLES.
Francis Cheyne Bowles was elected Surgeon 1n Joseph
Metford's vacancy on April 24th, 1806.
He was born in the year 1771, at Bradford, in Wiltshire, and
was the youngest son of Edward Bowles, barrister, a gentleman
of independent means, who lived in The Fort, St. Michael's,
Bristol. 2
He was educated at first by his father, who was a good
scholar, and afterwards at the Free Grammar School.
He was indentured to Richard Smith, sen., in 1784, and
went, according to the usual practice of those days, to complete
his medical education in the Borough, at Guy's and St.
Thomas's. 3
On his return from London in 1790, he lodged at first
at Mrs. Richard Smith's, 17 College Street ; but after his
1 Some further particulars about Allard will be found in Chapter xix.,
p. 251.
2 His ancestors came from Scampton, in Lincolnshire, where thev held for
many generations an estate called Bolle Hall. F. C. Bowles had a brother
called Edward, whose daughter married Mr. Charles Hare, of Bristol. An
ancestor of Bowles, John Bolle of Thorpe Hall, distinguished himself in the
expedition to Cadiz in 1596, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth. There is
a legend in the family that when he was abroad a Spanish lady of high birth
fell desperately in love with him. When she found that he was already married
she entered a nunnery, where she died. It is alleged that her ghost frequently
appeared as his guest in the dining-room of Thorpe Hall, where a chair and plate
were always placed ready for her. It is claimed that this is the original story
from which the poem in Percy's Reliques, called " The Spanish Lady's Love,"
is derived.
3 F. C. Bowles took careful notes of the lectures he attended. There is
at the Bristol Royal Infirmary a note-book of his in which he has written an
excellent resume of a course of lectures on midwifery given by Dr. Lowder
" in St. Saviour's Churchyard, Borough."
186
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
marriage to the eldest daughter of John Slade, of Warminster,
he removed to No. 12 in the same street. He afterwards lived
in Queen Square.
He was a very strong advocate of proper anatomical
teaching. His surreptitious demonstrations on dead bodies,
and also his lectures to students, are referred to in Chapters
xvii. and xxviii. He was always a hard worker, but in
the early part of his life he combined work with a great
deal of gaiety and social pleasure ; afterwards he became
serious-minded, and gave up many amusements, such as the
theatre, of which he was very fond. With this change in his
mode of life was associated a marked alteration in his personal
attire.
The " Frank Bowles " of 1787, we are told, was a very
different person from the " Mr. Bowles " of ten years later.
Before this change, which was no doubt partly owing to failing
health, he was a bon vivant, fond of a beef-steak supper and a
glass of punch, always ready for any midnight frolic, and
welcome at many festive gatherings, where he sang the senti-
mental and drinking songs of those days with great applause.
He was, in fact, one of the " beaux " of the city, and was
exceedingly vain of his person, which was small, but neat
and well made.
It may interest my readers to hear from a contemporary
(Richard Smith) what kind of toilet an English " buck " of the
time of the French Revolution performed daily : —
" His hair was fully pomatomed, powdered and frizzed, and
tied behind in a tail. His chin was buried in a large cravat, with
what was then called a ' flowing jib ' or ' Muslin Cascade,' in the
middle of which was fixed a brooch an inch and a half long, with
the figure of Charlotte at the Tomb of Werther,' in ivory,
executed by himself in Indian ink ; a fancy, figured, short
waistcoat, a pair of high, leather, yellow breeches, reaching half
way down the calf of his leg ; blue silk stockings ; a shoe which
just covered his toes, surmounted with a large brass buckle,
and false straps.
" It was always a difficult job to get fairly into his long
-clothes (as they were jokingly termed), and as soon as that was
accomplished they were plaistered over with wet yellow ochre
and allowed to dry to make them sit close.
" After this operation there was half an hour's clapping and
rubbing, so that before Frank Bowles was breeched at least an
hour was expended. If a pair of boots were to be drawn on,
the assistance of a second person to soap the instep and help
to pull was indispensably necessary, since he would not have
187
A HISTORY OF THE
worn an article which would have yielded to his single
exertions."
In spite of his foibles, there is no doubt that Bowles was an
exceptionally gifted man. He was not only an excellent
surgeon and anatomist, but a good linguist, a Hebrew scholar,
and a great reader of all sorts of classical literature. He had,
too, the faculty of continuous, steady work, and great strength
of will.
He soon acquired a good practice ; but we are told that as
he " got on " and made money he became parsimonious,
making his own candles, and even compelling his servants to
use " dripping in tin lamps " for lighting purposes.
When he married he was very short of ready money, and
actually had to borrow five guineas from his bride to pay the
clergyman, Mr. Masey, Rector of Warminster, for officiating.
He was, however, a subscriber to many charities, and was
more " close-fisted " than miserly.
The wear and tear of his rather dissipated youth and
constant attention to work undermined his naturally fragile
health. He developed a cough and fever, for which he took a
voyage to Lisbon in 1803. He was improved by this, but a few
months after his election at the Infirmary he broke down, and
died on May 18th, 1807.
From the history of his illness, and from his portrait, I think
we may conclude that he died of phthisis. After some search
(in which I was aided by Mr. E. J. Hodnett, to whom I am
indebted for much valuable help), his tomb was found in a
corner of the south part of the old churchyard of St. Michael's,-
Bristol. It is in a very dilapidated condition, and the
inscription on it is almost obliterated. (See Fig. 35.)
The portrait is from a copy of one at the Bristol Royal
Infirmary, given to Richard Smith, jun., by Mr. C. Bowles
Fripp, January 1st, 1830. (See Fig. 34.)
WILLIAM HETLING.
William Hetling was elected Surgeon on June 2nd, 1807, in
the vacancy caused by the death of F. C. Bowles. One of the
disadvantages of the old method of canvassing for Infirmary
posts was this, that the mere suspicion of a resignation at once
brought candidates into the field, and votes were so often given
to the first person who asked for them, that priority was
everything. Consequently, when a Physician or Surgeon on the
Staff became seriously ill, the temptation to begin a secret
canvass sometimes induced applicants to start before the breath
was out of his body. This happened when Godfrey Lowe was
188
Fig. 34.
F. C. BOWLES.
GRAVE OF F C. BOWLES
Fig. 35.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
in his last illness, and several days before Bowles's death the
Trustees were being asked to " reserve their votes ! "
William Hetling was born in 1773. His father, whose name
also was William, lived at Bath, where (according to Mr. H. E.
Hetling1), " he pursued his adventurous and ruinous career of
Surgeon, Distiller of Spirits, absconder to Gretna Green with an
heiress for his wife, finishing up with a seizure of the Distillery
■by the Excise and a Company of Light Infantry, a bankruptcy,
a flight to Paris, and most probably a bloody end during the
orgies of the Revolution, for when that was over Mr. William
Hetling appeared to be over too, for nothing more was heard of
him."
The heiress above referred to was a Miss Rishton, * whose
guardian naturally intended her " for his son Tom." " She fell
in love," says Richard Smith," with Mr. H., who was a dashing,
handsome man. They agreed that he should wait at a famous
pye-shopin Broad Street ; and here, having joined him, he popped
her into a post-chaise and rattled off to Gretna Green ! "
The Hetlings are of German extraction, and came to England
in the train of the Georges from Hanover. The following table
will make the relationship of William, the Infirmary Surgeon, to
the present representative of the family in England, clear :—
Dr. Ernest Von Hetling.
\Yilliam=Miss Rishton.
Miss Wickham--=Thomas. WHIiam=ANNE Brown. Anne=Rev. R. C. Ray.
(Of Tetbury.) |
W. E. Hetling=Ann Hewlett.
Henry Ernest Hetling.
William Hetling, the subject of this biography, was
indentured to Joseph Metford as an indoor apprentice, for
which his father paid three hundred guineas. He went to
Guy's and St. Thomas's, and settled first at Chipping Sodbury.
In December, 1794, he married Miss Anne Brown, daughter of
Mr. Brown, ironmonger, of Bridge Street, Bristol. He came to
this city about the year 1806, and resided at Colston Parade.
He unsuccessfully applied for the vacancy on the death of the
senior Surgeon, Mr. Godfrey Lowe, but was, as we have seen,
elected the following year.
A few months after Hetling's appointment there occurred
one of the numerous difficulties about apprentices.
1 I am indebted to Mr. H. E. Hetling for many interesting particulars
-which I have made use of in the above account.
2 Miss Rishton was descended from the Hungerfords of Farleigh Castle.
189
A HISTORY OF THE
A young man named Adams had been admitted under the
Surgeons as a pupil for one year, stating that he had already
served four years' apprenticeship in Wales. It was found that
this was incorrect, and that he had served for two years only.
The rule was that every apprentice must serve for five years at
least, and could only be entered at the Infirmary for the whole
of that period or for its completion. He was therefore requested
to pay the additional premium required. This he failed to do,
and the Surgeons decided that his money should be refunded,
and that he should not be admitted to the House.
The premiums paid by pupils were divided equally amongst
the Surgeons, and all but Hetling refunded their shares to
Adams.
A few days after this Richard Smith was about to operate
on a stone case, when Hetling entered the room and said,
" As a matter of right I introduce Mr. Adams as my apprentice."
This was considered such an affront that " an altercation
ensued," and Richard Smith, although a man of great nerve,
and by no means easily upset, " judged it desirable to postpone
the operation," feeling that it was not wise to undertake so
delicate a manipulation in an agitated condition.
This controversy was finally referred to Mr. Edmund Griffiths
for a legal opinion. He decided that according to the rules of
the Infirmary Adams should not have been introduced to the
Operation Room.
This dispute, although it appears trifling to us, was of
importance, because it was one of the many which caused
division amongst the Surgeons, and helped to bring about the
exclusion of the Faculty from the Committee.
Hetling's activities at the Infirmary as a lecturer are
mentioned in other parts of this volume.
He resigned on November 8th, 1837, after more than thirty
years' service, and died on November nth of that year
at his house in Royal York Crescent, Clifton, aged sixty-four
years.
An account of his last days, and his pathetic farewell to the
Institution he was so attached to, will be found on p. 306.
It will be gathered from various references to William
Hetling in this history that he was a man of great determination
and rather prone to quarrel. Mr. H. E. Hetling used, as a child,
to spend much of his time at his grandfather's estate at Shiplake,
and writes to me : " Everybody in the house sooner or later
had to engage in battle with the old gentleman. . . . He was
a man of strong and determined character, of great mental
capacity, and of considerable reputation. He was established
190
WILLIAM HETLING.
•Fig. 36.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
in practice before the College of Surgeons was chartered, and
received from them a request to accept their diploma."
Mr. Henry Alford * writes : —
" Mr. Hetling was a slight, thin man, not very free or
communicative with his pupils ; regular in his visits to the
Infirmary, and he took a great deal of pains with his patients
there. . . . He drove a close carriage and pair in his
professional visits, but he sometimes walked to the Infirmary."
(For portrait see Fig. 36.)
RICHARD LOWE.
Richard Lowe was elected Surgeon on July 9th, 1807, in
Morgan Yeatman's place. He was the son of Godfrey Lowe,
who was on the Staff for thirty-one years.
He was educated under Mr. Charles Lee at the Free Grammar
School, and was indentured to his father. He married a
daughter of Mr. John Thomas, wine merchant, of the Barton,
and lived in Queen Square. His abilities and skill as a
surgeon soon procured him a good practice, and during the long
tenure of his office on the Staff (nearly forty-three years) he
became widely known as one of the leading medical men of
the city.
In spite of his partiality for strong green tea, which he used
to drink very freely, he was a remarkably good operator,
deliberate, steady, and free from nervousness.
He was a tall, spare, muscular man, clean-shaven, with a
determined expression. " He often wore breeches and top-
boots, the latter beautifully made and well polished, with very
light-coloured and well-made tops. In this dress he walked to
see his patients and visited the Infirmary. He had very
well-formed and tapering hands and feet, and was supposed to
be rather proud of them." 2
He liked a good joke, was rather cynical in his remarks, and
fond of talking gossip with his friend Richard Smith.
In November, 1826, Richard Lowe presented a fine
collection of books to the Infirmary, which, together with those
given at the same time by Richard Smith, formed a valuable
Medical and Surgical Library. He died on February 9th, 1850.
HENRY DANIEL.
Henry Daniel was elected Surgeon on Allard's resignation
on September 27th, 1810 ; he was the first aspirant to the
1 Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, September, 1890.
2 Henry Alford, supra cit.
191
A HISTORY OF THE
coveted post of Surgeon to the Bristol Infirmary who could add
to his name " M.R.C.S. of London."
He was born on October 7th, 1783, in the Old Park, Bristol,
and was educated under Mr. Simpson, of Keynsham, and then
under the Revs. Thomas and John Eden, at Upper Easton,
with whom " he read Horace, Vergil, and Martial, together with
Xenophon and Homer."
In January, 1800, he was made an " In-door Apprentice "
to Mr. Humphrey Langley, at Wellington, in Somersetshire.
The indentures were for four years, and he paid one hundred and
eighty guineas. He became a pupil of Richard Smith in January,
1804 ; afterwards he studied under Abernethy and Thynne in
London, and passed the Apothecaries' Hall in March, 1806.
When he was elected on the Staff of the Infirmary in 1810,
the senior Physician, Dr. Moncrieffe, had held office for thirty-
four years, the senior Surgeon, Mr. Noble, for thirty-three,
Mr. Johnes had been Chaplain for thirty-eight, Mr. Dyer
Apothecary for twenty-one, Mrs. Simmons had been Matron
for twenty, and Mr. Palmer Secretary for nineteen years.
Henry Daniel married on October 8th, 1810, Cecilia, third
•daughter of Mr. John James, of Lansoar, in Monmouthshire,
and lived at 16 Queen Square.
For some years he was in partnership with a surgeon named
Frederick Granger ; their profits were not great, and the
partnership was ultimately dissolved.
He gradually obtained a very lucrative private practice, and
lived in some style, keeping a good carriage and fine pair of
horses. He is described by Mr. Alford as " a stout, good-
looking, well dressed man ; rather loud and positive in express-
ing his opinions and laying down the law." He belonged to the
" depletory " school, bleeding freely, and prescribing lowering
•drugs.
He resigned his post at the Infirmary on July 6th, 1836,
after nearly twenty-six years' service, and died on April 19th,
1859, aged seventy-five.
He entered keenly into the social life of Bristol ; was
President of the Dolphin Society in 1808, and was a notable Free-
mason ; he was member of the Society of St. Stephen's Ringers,
and devoted much of his leisure to botany and the cultivation
of flowers and fruit, obtaining several prizes for exhibits at the
" Bristol Royal Horticultural and Botanical Society."
THOMAS SHUTE.
Thomas Shute, who succeeded John Padmore Noble as
Surgeon on July 9th, 1812, was the son of Thomas Shute, a
192
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
-well-known fox-hunting practitioner, who lived in Trinity Street
and afterwards in a house at the lower end of Park Street, which
was pulled down in 1824-5 to make room for four shops .. 1
have reproduced a photograph of a water-colour sketch of this
house ' that my readers may see what a fashionable residence
in Park Street early in the nineteenth century was like.
Thomas Shute, jun., was born at Winterbourne, in
Gloucestershire. .
He was indentured to his father, and had a free admission
to the lectures given by Messrs. Bowles and Smith in College
Green in 1798. (See Chapter xxviii.) He then went to London,
where he became an in-door pupil to Mr. Headington, of the
London Hospital ; he also attended the lectures of Abernethy,
Brooks, and Currie. .4.1.
He began practice in 1805 at 5 Park Street ; he then
lived at 61 Park Street, and in 1814 removed to 1 Unity Street,
where Allard formerly resided.
One of the great ambitions of his life was to be on tne
Surgical Staff at the Bristol Infirmary, and he applied for the
post on four different occasions. (See Appendix A.)
He did not, however, enjoy this coveted distinction for long.
It was noticed by his colleagues in the summer of 1816 that he
was hardly equal to the strain of performing major operations ;
and one day towards the end of August, after operating on a
severe case, " he was, " writes Richard Smith, " in a dreadful
state of exhaustion, the drops of sweat stood on his forehead,
and his whole countenance looked ghastly."
Other matters weighed heavily upon him. He had formed
an attachment to a young lady who was formally engaged to
someone else. She, however, persisted in a preference lor
Shute, and they agreed to be married on September 7th, 1810
The gentleman to whom she had been previously betrothed
thereupon sent a friend to " arrange a meeting," but bhute
refused on the grounds that he considered duelling unlawful
in the eyes of God and man." A few days after receiving this
challenge he suffered from a pain in his side ; he sent for a
neighbouring apothecary, who bled him freely. The next day
he was again bled until he fainted. - His friends insisted on his
seeing a physician, and Dr. Nott was sent for. He found him
very exhausted, and prescribed rest and the horizontal position.
The next day, September 2nd, he felt better, disobeyed his
doctor's instructions, sat up in bed, and died. There is little
x No name is attached to this sketch, which was probably drawn by
Richard Smith's brother Henry. (See Fig. 37-) .
2 Patients were sometimes ordered to be bled until ^ they J amte d. The
prescription ran : Vena.sectio (or V.S.) ad deliqmum (or defectionem) animi.
*93
13
A HISTORY OF THE
doubt that the immediate cause of his death was syncope from
excessive blood-letting.
Richard Smith received on the morning of September 2nd
a request from Shute that he would look after his work at
the Infirmary. " I went therefore," he says, " to the House,
and was seated at the Table with the admission notes, by the
side of Dr. Prichard the Physician for the week, opposite to
Mr. Swayne the Apothecary. — When we had about half done
the business of the day Mr. Alfred Bleeck 1 came in and
whispered to Mr. Swayne, who seemed a good deal shocked.
After a short pause, I said to him : ' I am afraid you have
received some unpleasant intelligence ' he replied — ' Shute is
dead ! ' "
This graphic picture of the Infirmary Admission Room in the
year 1816 is supplemented in Richard Smith's Memoirs by the
statement that, in spite of their keen sorrow at the loss of a
loved and respected colleague, the thought occurred to each
of the three (Prichard, Smith, and Swayne), " There is a
vacancy," and as Swayne had a brother, Prichard a brother-
in-law, and R. Smith a friend who were anxious to apply,
" each dispatched a messenger and returned to his occupation.
. . . Within an hour the city was filled with the bustle of a
canvass." In those days it was truly said, " Men neglected their
calling to make their election sure."
Thomas Shute was a tall, loosely-made man, " with a
ceremonious carriage. . . . His usual costume was a long,
loose surtout, lined with silk, and a pair of over-alls, buttoned
from his waist to his ankles. The moment he came into the
Infirmary he hung up his hat, affixed a long towel to the upper
button of his surtout, and in this fashion he went round the
House." His hair was highly powdered, and he usually wore
a pair of white gloves.
He should always be remembered as the pioneer of
systematic lectures to students, and the real founder of what was
known as the Anatomical Theatre. (See Chapter xxviii.)
NATHANIEL SMITH.
Nathaniel Smith, who was elected as Shute's successor on
September 19th, 1816, was born at Islington on March 31st,
1 Alfred Bleeck was a practitioner in Redcliff Parade and afterwards in
Unity Street. He was a prominent man in his day, making a large income and
leading a social, energetic life. Many of his letters are extant, several asking
Richard Smith to " a glass of Punch " or to dinner. One, a regular " Tom and
Jerry " letter, refers to glees and oysters, and ends, " The first libation should
be to our next merry meeting ... I hope this may be continued for some
years yet, for though, as ' prime of life boys ' we may be a little passe, I trust
we shall still be found up to a thing or two." (See also p. 224.)
194
(til
iiil
IFT? FPT 77? TF? Trt
Irrr rrr use
THOMAS SIIUTE'S HOUSE IN PARK STREET.
Fig. 3;
NATHANIEL SMITH
Fig. 38.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
1782. He received his schooling under the Rev. Mr. Croles at
Islington, and the Rev. Mr. Eyres at Hackney. His family
came to Bristol in 1796, and Nathaniel then " read Homer,
Vergil, and Horace with Mr. Griffiths, as a private pupil."
He was indentured in 1799 to F. C. Bowles, and when that
gentleman left England for his health, to Richard Smith, in
1803.
He practised at Horfield Road and afterwards in Queen
Square, and became well known and busy, doing a large amount
of midwifery. l
In November, 1809, he married a daughter of Joseph Hall,
of Mary-le-Port Street.
Vaccination for small-pox, discovered by Edward Jenner in
1780, had become general at the time of Nathaniel Smith's
election to the Infirmary. There was then no public Vaccina-
tion Institute (one was founded in Bristol in 1838), and the need
of this protective measure was urgently felt. Nathaniel Smith
realised this, and had printed on his Out-patient cards,
" Vaccination every Tuesday at half-past Twelve." 2
After a long career at the Infirmary he resigned in August,
1844, and some years afterwards went to live at Weston-super-
Mare, where he continued to practise as an operating surgeon.
He was a remarkably good, steady, and neat operator, and
retained his skill to a great age. He died December 20th, 1869,
aged eighty-seven years.
He was a short, active, bright little man, with polite,
polished manners and pleasant conversation. His neatness of
dress and person were very noticeable ; he was " natty " both
by name and nature. (For portrait see Fig. 38.)
Although he had a fairly lucrative practice, he was
unbusiness-like and careless in money matters, and in
consequence was occasionally in such need of ready cash that
he was unable to pay his coachman, who sued him, cheerfully
drove him down to the police court in his stylish carriage, and
took him back again when the affair was amicably settled !
I am informed by an old patient of his that he seldom sent in
his accounts for professional attendance ; appeals were un-
availing, and " you had to send him a cheque from time to
time, guessing what you owed."
1 His name is in the notices of the " Bristol Medical and Surgical School,"
at 5 King Square, as Lecturer on Midwifery in 1829.
2 Inoculation with small-pox, which preceded vaccination, was carried on
in Bristol by the surgeons and apothecaries, usually for a fee of half a guinea.
A Mr. John Lancaster advertised in 1775 that he inoculated at Stoke's Croft
for this charge.
195
CHAPTER XVI
HISTORY CONTINUED — FINANCIAL POSITION — BLEEDING AND
LEECHING — THE PHYSICIANS — UNRULY PUPILS — THE APOTHE-
CARY— PIGS — CONDITION OF ROADS — PURCHASE OF LAND —
RESIDENCE OF SURGICAL STAFF — NURSES — LIGHTING BY
GAS — COLLEGE OF SURGEONS — DISSECTION OF BODIES — THE
ANATOMY ACT
It was realised that when the new wings were open the ordinary
annual income would be inadequate to support the increased
number of beds, and a large Committee was appointed on
June 3rd, 1813, to make " personal application " to non-
subscribers. The result of this appeal, and of the Musical
Festival, etc. (see pp. 161, 162), was so encouraging, that in
the spring of 1815 the House Committee were able to publish
a satisfactory balance sheet, the income from all sources being
£8,000, and the expenses £6,000.
During the next few years, however, the subscriptions fell
below the average, and the decrease unfortunately went on,
and by the end of 1826 the Institution was in the following
condition : The number of In-patients had increased from 1,380
in 1816 to 1,662 in 1826, the Out-patients had increased by
1,334 I provisions cost £343 more per annum than in 1816, and
other expenses had increased pari passu ; in 1816 there were
1,301 subscribers, in 1826 only 972, a decrease representing a
loss of £841 is.
Here, as in other instances, the condition of England was
reflected in the Infirmary balance sheet.
The disbanding of a large army after Waterloo, the outcry
of employes against machinery, and the general labour unrest,
produced the Cato Street Conspiracy and the riots at Man-
chester ; and in 1825-6, owing to the breaking of " bubble "
companies, hundreds of banks stopped payment.
The Committee realised that their Institution was bound
to suffer from the depression of trade ; in spite of the
melancholy tone of the Annual Reports, they kept up a good
heart, and the internal life of the House went on vigorously.
Three notable men, James Cowles Prichard, Henry Hawes
Fox, and Nathaniel Smith, were elected on the Staff in 1816,
the same year that William Swayne was made Apothecary ;
196
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and no change occurred in the Faculty, honorary or resident,
for eleven years after this. The reputation of the Infirmary
grew rapidly, and this period, although financially gloomy, was
fruitful in medical and surgical work.
Mr. Henry Alford, who was a student at the House from
1822 to 1828, has left some interesting reminiscences of those
days. 1 He was one of the resident apprentices or " House
pupils," and describes the different treatment prescribed for
patients by the " anti-phlogistic " Drs. Carrick and Prichard,
the very dissimilar " feeding " plan of Drs. Stock and H. H. Fox ;
the peculiarities of the jovial Dick Smith and of his friend, the
brilliant operator, Richard Lowe ; the painstaking William
Hetling, the assertive Henry Daniel, and the neat-handed
" Nat " Smith.
What the patients thought of the Physicians may be seen
by the doggerel verses in Appendix B, "The Prichards."
Of the bleeding practised in those days the following
memorandum bears witness : —
" Patients bled by Mr. Seagram 2 on Monday, July nth,
1831 :—
10 In-patients.
36 Out-patients.
1 Cupping note."
Although there was only one Resident Medical Officer (the
Apothecary) , his three apprentices and the pupils serving under
the Surgeons (of whom there were sixteen in the year 1818)
carried out a great deal of the routine work of the House,
and when not quarrelling or getting into mischief were very
useful. (See p. 51.) The Physicians, too, were beginning to
surreptitiously introduce pupils, and in the code of Rules for
1824 it was proposed that each should be allowed to have three
under his care. This was negatived ; but the matter came up
for discussion in 1829, and on December 10th of that year
Richard Smith, jun., wrote a long letter to the Treasurer,
J. S. Harford, and to the members of the " Conciliation Com-
mittee," stating his arguments for and against (chiefly against)
the Physicians having pupils. He lays stress on the " excite-
ment of numbers," and thinks disturbances and battles would
take place when the Physicians' and Surgeons' pupils " crossed
each other's line of march " in the passages ! He was partly
1 " The Bristol Infirmary in my Student Days," by Henry Alford, F.R.C.S..
in the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, September, 1890.
2 William Lye Seagram was born at Warminster (where his father and
grandfather practised surgery) in 1814. He was therefore only seventeen
years of age when he bled in one day forty-six patients !
197
A HISTORY OF THE
justified in his opinion of these " young dogs," for we read in
the Committee Book of a " general disposition to turbulence and
noise " in 1817 ; in 182 1 an Infirmary pupil was " committed
to Bridewell ; " and on May 5th, 1824, there is an entry in the
Minute Book that certain of the Surgeons' apprentices denied
" that they threw lighted tow from the Shop into Earl Street."
Again, on December 2nd, as the Secretary (Mr. Samuel
Johnson) was entering the Infirmary by the Porter's Lodge,
Richard Godfrey Lowe, son of Richard Lowe, and one of the
Surgeons' apprentices, was standing at the door. He held a
gun in his hand, " which he presented within two yards of the
Secretary's face and snapped the lock. The Secretary thought
the gun was unloaded, but in a few seconds it was fired in the
air." Johnson complained to the Committee, and " an order
was made to prevent a repetition of it."
Apparently the apprentice did not approve of the Secretary's
complaint, and two days afterwards, when he met him outside
the buildings, " addressed him in the following words more than
once : ' You are a little nasty sneaking blackguard liar ; and
if you tell any more lies about me, I will give you a good
thrashing.' "
R. G. Lowe excused himself on the grounds that as these
supposed offences occurred outside the House, the Committee
had no jurisdiction in the matter ; but as other trifling
peccadillos were laid to his charge, such as breaking windows,
tearing down wire-guards, smoking and drinking beer on the
roof, etc., for these offences he was admonished and finally
excluded from the Infirmary for one month.
The Apothecary's work must have been very heavy, for
besides his other business, he frequently, according to Richard
Smith, saw all the Medical Out-patients for the Physicians.
He, however, makes an honourable exception in the case of
Dr. Prichard and Dr. Carrick, who, he says, were very regular
in their attendance in the Out-patient Room.
The Apothecary's duties were chiefly with the Physicians.
He went round the medical wards every morning, accompanied
by his two senior pupils and by some of the Surgeons' pupils.
It was also his duty to attend the Physicians, both in their
visits to the wards and when they saw Out-patients, and he
wrote down their prescriptions for them. If he were called
away to see an emergency, one of his pupils took his place.
Bleeding and other forms of "anti-phlogistic" treatment
were vigorously carried out, and formed a large item in the
day's routine. Mr. Henry Alford, whose account of those days
has been quoted more than once, fell ill when he was a resident
198
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
pupil (about the year 1822-3) with some kind of " continued
fever " (possibly typhoid). He was seen by Dr. J. C. Pri chard,
who ordered him to be bled to twenty ounces (one pint) in the
afternoon ; the same evening to have twenty leeches on his
temples, and the following morning to have ten grains of
calomel in one dose !
Leeches were in constant use. As late as 1833, when the
Out-patient Department was built, and there was a re-arrange-
ment of the interior of the House, two rooms were set apart
for " leeching ; " and in the Minute Book of the House
Committee we find the entry (September nth, 1833) :
" Zaccheus Hunter for Leeches £yg 6s. 6d."
We have spoken before of the over-crowding, and the habit
of putting two patients into one bed. The Committee wisely
made many attempts to stop this. In January, 1841, there is a
protest entered in the Minute Book against this practice, but
this did not stop it.
The general surroundings still left much to be desired. It
will probably surprise even those who know something about
the condition of hospitals early in the nineteenth century to
learn that up to the year 1833 pigs were kept on the Infirmary
premises ! The Committee not only brewed the patients' beer
and baked their bread, but they also cured their bacon.
The following curious entry is taken from the Minute Book
of the House Committee for September nth, 1833 : —
" Resolved, that it being considered that the maintenance
and propagation of Swine is not advantageous to the interests
of the Institution, the grains and wash shall in future be sold
and a supply of Pigs thereby rendered unnecessary."
The rough cobbles on the adjoining roads must have made
traffic very noisy, and somewhat distressing to sick patients.
In 1824 this was apparently recognised, for we find the following
Minute in the House Committee Book (under date March 10th,
1824) :—
" Ordered, that the Secretary endeavour to obtain the
majority of the inhabitants of Marlbro' Street and Lower
Maudlin Lane to join in a request to the Paving Commissioners
to have the Street in front and on the West Side of the Infirmary
steined instead of pitched." * This was ultimately done.
Many poor and disreputable houses still surrounded the
Infirmary, especially on the north-west side, where " Bull Lane "
ran. There was a courtyard at the back where convalescent
patients occasionally took a little exercise and air. Further
1 " Stein (Provincial), to mend with stones as a road." — Lloyd's Encyclo-
pedic Dictionary. " Pitch, to pave roughly." — Ibid.
199
A HISTORY OF THE
back was the narrow Earl Street, and beyond that were gardens
and respectable houses.
The two pictures here reproduced, taken by permission
from the Braikenridge Collection at the Bristol Museum,
give a good idea of some of the surrounding houses in the
year 1826. (See Figs. 39 and 40.)
It was recognised that it would be a great advantage to the
health of the patients to have some of this ground at the rear
of the building ; and on January 29th, 1824, William Fripp,
the Treasurer, reported to the Trustees that he had engaged to
pay Messrs. Dighton and Richards £3,700 for some freehold
premises situated behind the Infirmary, " comprising two Sugar
houses, a dwelling house and other Buildings, with the Gardens
attached thereto." Mr. Fripp was " respectfully requested to
complete his contract," and part of this land became the
property of the Infirmary in December, 1826.
The year before this Earl Street was closed, and a new road
was made through Whitson Court premises. During these
alterations " two parcels of land " were bought of Mr. Millard
and Mr. Green, and when the houses were cleared away an open
space was made at the back of the Infirmary, which was after-
wards converted into a pleasant garden, useful for many
purposes.
In 1818 a gallery was made round the Operation Room for
the use of students and other spectators. The steps of various
operations were sometimes explained to the pupils, but there
was very little real clinical teaching except in the form of
lectures.
Bristol was in those days not only a place of business
houses and shops, but also a place of residence for most of
the well-to-do merchants and professional men, who had not
migrated yet in large numbers to Clifton and the neighbouring
village of Redland, which were separated from the city by green
fields and lanes.
The Physicians and Surgeons were within easy call in case
of emergency ; and when William Hetling left Orchard Street
and went to live at Clifton, it was thought by many of the
Staff that difficulties might arise, and the question was hotly
discussed.
It will be gathered from what I have said of Mr. Hetling
that he was not easily moved by any criticism on his actions, and
he refused to consider any representations from his colleagues
on this question of his residence. The matter was referred to
the Committee, and by that body to the General Board. The
Trustees decided (May 1st, 1823) that " the interests of the
200
Fig 39.
Fig. 40.
SURROUNDINGS OF INFIRMARY, 1826
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Charity were not likely to suffer by the removal of Mr. Hetling
to Clifton."
It is still the rule that Infirmary Surgeons shall not reside
more than two miles from the Institution, a regulation which
was of real importance before the days of telephones and
motors, when a messenger had to go round to several houses in
case of consultations, and there was always a certain amount
of delay.
It may be here stated that from the foundation of the
Bristol Infirmary it has been a point of honour with the Surgical
Staff to leave any business or patient, however important, to
obey an urgent summons to the " House." This, and
punctuality at operations, have always been two wholesome
traditions which have been scrupulously kept so far, to the
great saving of suffering and preservation of life.
It need hardly be said that no questions have ever been
asked as to a patient's moral character before admission, and
it has sometimes happened that troublesome individuals have
given offence and behaved badly in the wards.
This point seems to have much exercised the mind of
Mr. J. Hall, of Mary-le-Port Street, an annual subscriber,
who was rather famous in the early part of the nineteenth
century for the number of people whom he recommended
as patients, amounting in one year to one hundred and
seventy-five.
This gentleman actually made a proposal " that all women
of dubious character should wear a yellow cap " in the wards !
The historian who records this quotes Lady Mary Wortley
Montague's remark to Pope, " Most women have no character
at all," and wonders how many yellow caps would be required
if the suggestion came into force !
At this time, before Dickens ridiculed in the person of
" Mrs Gamp " the failings of the old-fashioned nurse, medical
men were beginning to ask the question whether the stamp of
the hospital nurse could be improved. The Infirmary Staff
were evidently not satisfied on this point, and on November
28th, 1827, Dr. Carrick, the senior Physician, wrote on behalf
of the Faculty a long letter to the Committee, making sugges-
tions as to the improvement of the quality of women employed
as nurses. Alterations in their sleeping rooms, relegation of
rough house work to servant maids, greater attention to
cleanliness, etc., were recommended.
The hygienic condition of the wards and methods of
ventilation were also discussed, and the Committee, acting
upon this letter, did what they could in the matter.
A HISTORY OF THE
The wards at this time, and for many years after, had no
light at night but candles.
Gas lighting, which came into use in one or two large
manufactories, etc., at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
was established in Bristol in 1817, but was not employed at the
Infirmary for some years after this. I find, under date May
14th, 1828, that a letter was read " from Mr. R. Smith on behalf
of himself and the other surgeons stating that the Gas light had
gone out twice lately during operations."
At the next Committee Meeting Mr. Luscombe attended
" on behalf of the Oil Gas Company," and proposed certain
alterations.
This Oil Gas Company was started in 1824 in opposition
to the Bristol Coal Gas Company. They amalgamated in
i853.
It was not until 1841 that gas was introduced into the
Dispensary, etc., at the Infirmary.
Water was pumped up to a large cistern at the top of the
House. From a statement in the Committee Book in October,
1828, we find that 25,124 imperial gallons were pumped up
weekly.
The Innys Fund was frequently used at this time to relieve
patients leaving the Infirmary, especially incurables, and those
who had a long distance to travel, coach journeys being
expensive things. For example, on June 18th, 1828, two such
patients were given sums of money when they left, one, who had
been a nurse, £4, and the other, a male patient, £2.
Two important points in medical education were now
agitating the minds of medical men and medical students.
The old " Corporation of Surgeons," which was established in
1745, had been dissolved, and the Royal College of Surgeons
was founded by George III. in 1800. It examined, granted
diplomas, and instituted lectures. It had, moreover, a
magnificent museum, made chiefly by John Hunter, and a large
library. In the early years of the nineteenth century the
annual expenses for this museum amounted to nearly £2,000.
The Council, however, who managed the affairs of the
College were not fairly representative of the profession, and
its laws were exclusive and narrow. Everything, in fact, was
in favour of the London student, and the provinces were
ignored. The museum, for instance, was only open for four
hours on two days in each week, and this only for four months
in the year ; the library was closed to members altogether ; and
large provincial hospitals were not recognised as places of
instruction.
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
A meeting of members of the College was held at Reeves's
Hotel, Bristol, on February 8th, 1827, and a petition drawn up
expressing the feelings of the profession about these grievances.
The Infirmary Surgeons, especially Henry Daniel, took an active
part in organising this petition, which was entrusted to the
members for Bristol, Richard Hart-Davis and Henry Bright,
and brought before Parliament. Owing to this and other
petitions from the provinces, the Charter of the College was
altered, and the Bristol Infirmary was recognised as a place
where students could learn their surgery ; but according to a
by-law it was necessary for them to attend twice as long at
provincial institutions as at London, Dublin, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, or Aberdeen, so great was the glamour which then
surrounded the Metropolitan schools, as indeed it does now.
Another important point was the question of dissection, and
the procuring of legitimate means for carrying this out.
Hitherto the science of anatomy had been learnt by the student
from books alone, or by surreptitious dissection on the bodies
of those who had died in hospitals, whenever the authorities
could be hood-winked, for any interference with the dead was
sternly condemned.
In March, 1795, Sir John Frederick brought a Bill into the
House of Commons for making the removal of bodies from
graves for anatomical purposes a felony.
F. C. Bowles, in the same year, wrote an able pamphlet
entitled, " Thoughts on the Practice of Carrying off Bodies from
Church Yards, etc., for Dissection," 1 in which he vindicated
" body-snatching " as a necessary evil. He says : " The safety
of the public health should not be sacrificed to the weakness
of our feelings ; " and he draws a comparison between the laws
which regulated the teaching of anatomy on the Continent and
in England.
He and a friend actually stood at the doors of the House of
Commons when this Bill was to be discussed, and distributed
a copy of his pamphlet to each member as he went in.
Dr. J. C. Letsom also had a man at the doors distributing a
pamphlet to the same effect. The Bill was rejected. Bowles
was at this time a poor man, and the expense he went to in the
matter bears strong testimony to his scientific ardour.
Occasionally an executed criminal could be obtained for
anatomical purposes ; or " body-snatchers " could be employed
— men of the type of that " honest tradesman," Jeremiah
Cruncher, who took such an interest in funerals, " and made a
short call upon his medical adviser — a distinguished surgeon —
1 Printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Churchyard.
203
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
on his way back." 1 The trading in bodies reached a dreadful
climax in the murders by Burke, who was executed at Edinburgh
in January, 1829.
The difficulty of teaching anatomy under these circumstances
led more than two hundred medical men and students of
medicine in Bristol and its neighbourhood to petition Parlia-
ment to remove this evil by legislation. They pointed out that
a knowledge of the structure of the human body — which could
only be obtained by dissection — was the basis of medicine and
surgery ; that such a knowledge was required by all the
examining boards ; and that medical students were punished
for the want of that information which they could not acquire
without a violation of the law.
This petition, which was signed by nearly all the Infirmary
Staff, was presented in 1828 to the House of Lords by the Duke
of Beaufort, and to the House of Commons by the members for
Bristol, Messrs. Hart-Davis and Henry Bright, and had, no
doubt, great influence in bringing about the Anatomy Act
of 1832. 2
By this Act the body of a deceased person might be dissected,
subject to the assent of its lawful custodians (or in the absence
of any objection on their part), and the anomaly of expecting
medical men to know anatomy and at the same time preventing
them from learning it was done away with. 3
So many Infirmary Physicians, Surgeons, and students took
part in " body-snatching," that the next chapter will be devoted
to the subject.
1 See The Tale of Two Cities. Dickens's description of the methods of
the body-snatchers is true to life.
2 2 & 3 William IV., c. 75, August, 1832.
3 The first " subject " given to the students under the Act was on March
24th, 1833.
204
CHAPTER XVII
BODY-SNATCHING IN BRISTOL — ABRAHAM LUDLOW AND " LONG
JACK " — F. C. BOWLES AND HIS DEMONSTRATIONS — STORY OF
THE NEGRO'S HEAD — WALLIS AND RILEY — ESTLIN, HARRISON,
AND WALDO — LAURENCE STERNE — THE CASE OF JOHN HORWOOD
— THE OLD NEWGATE PRISON — SPURZHEIM
In this chapter an account of " body-snatching " in Bristol in
the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries will
be given. The information is obtained from old newspapers,
notes left by Richard Smith, etc.
Many of the details are gruesome, but there are two aspects
of the picture, and it must be remembered that many of those
implicated were actuated by a sincere desire to further the
interests of their profession, and faced obloquy and danger with
a great deal of pluck and fortitude.
One of the earliest newspaper references to the practice is
in The Bristol Oracle for July 2nd, 1743. It is as follows :
" On Monday last an odd affair happened in the Parish of St.
James's. A Coachman's wife, who died in the Infirmary, was
buried from thence in the usual manner at the Prayer Hours,
but the husband, who either could not or did not attend timely,
according to his intentions to do her the last offices, coming
to the Infirmary after the Ceremony was over, took it into his
head that 'twas a sham funeral and that his wife was not
actually buried, upon which he demanded the coffin to be
uncovered and taken up for further satisfaction, which being
done he was soon convinced that his suspicions were groundless."
This episode shows the alarm which naturally existed in the
minds of the poorer people that their deceased relatives might
be dissected. The Infirmary Surgeons were at this time
occasionally doing a little practical anatomy in the " dead-
hole ; " and three years later, in 1746, John Page and James
Ford gave a course of lectures at the Surgeons' Hall. (See
Chapter xxviii., on " Medical Teaching in Bristol.")
About the year 1760 Godfrey Lowe (elected Surgeon in 1775)
commenced a series of Anatomical Lectures and Demonstrations,
illustrated by dissections. " His subjects were sent to him from
London by the Waggon — and one package being by accident
left at a tradesman's, and being mistaken for Goods, was opened
205
A HISTORY OF THE
by him, and made a great clamour at the time " — which one
can very well believe !
A few years before this (1750) a notorious vagabond,
generally known by the name of " Long Jack," destroyed
himself by cutting his throat. There was an inquest, and a
verdict of felo-de-se was brought in. In those days (and until
the year 1823) suicides were buried at cross roads, and usually
a stake was driven through their chests.
In accordance with this custom " Long Jack " was buried
" at the Cross Roads leading to Kingswood."
Abraham Ludlow, a Bristol surgeon, together with his son, l
and John Page, an apothecary (a relative of the surgeon of that
name), decided to remove the body, and set out one night,
accompanied by a serving man, " leading a horse with the
resurrection implements." They succeeded in digging up the
body, placed it in a sack, and fastened this on the horse's back.
When they got back to Castle Gate, a however, it was so
late that the main entrance was closed for the night, and nothing
could go through without leave of the porter. They therefore
attempted to get the horse and his burden through the side door,
which was only intended for foot passengers, and in making the
attempt " the body fell to the ground, and the porter, hearing
a noise, came with his lantern and was not a little alarmed to
see the legs of a man at the mouth of the sack. He was,
however, persuaded to hold his tongue, and the cavalcade
reached Mr. Ludlow's house in safety. The body was placed
upon a table in the back parlour, and the parties retired to rest
themselves after their labours."
Unfortunately they forgot to lock the door, and when the
servant maid came into the room in the morning, she was
horrified to see the body of " Long Jack," whom she knew very
well by sight, lying on the table with his throat cut. She ran,
screaming, into the road. Some passers-by were alarmed by
her cries before she could be pacified, and the news soon spread
that there was a " body " in the house which had been
" resurrected." The Ludlows thought it prudent to carry the
body back again the next night, and bury it at the cross roads ;
and it was fortunate for them that they did so, for the day after
a number of men went to see if Jack's corpse was in its grave,
vowing vengeance if they did not find it. A few strokes of the
pick-axe relieved their doubts, and the Ludlows heard nothing
more of the matter.
The Infirmary authorities must have had a difficult task in
1 Abraham Ludlow, jun., elected Surgeon to the Infirmary in 1767.
2 The old Castle Gate was removed in 1766.
206
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
managing these affairs, siding with the natural outcry of the
public, and at the same time protecting the Surgeons and pupils.
We find, for example, that " on the 29th of March, 1769, a
complaint was made against the whole body of students for
removing a corpse from the coffin and substituting for burial
a quantity of sand and wool." It is stated that when this was
investigated, the young men " proved refractory," and were
allowed " a week to consider of their conduct." There is no
mention of this subsequently, so we may surmise that the
culprits were repentant. There is, however, an order entered
in the books " that the key of the dead-house be always in the
custody of the Apothecary."
The same difficulty frequently occurred at St. Peter's
Hospital, that is, the medical men attached to the Hospital
examined the bodies of those who died in the House, and
probably used them sometimes for anatomical purposes. In
1770 we read of complaints being made against the Surgeons for
opening the bodies of paupers, and this led to the passing of a
rule " that no dead body should be opened in the Hospital
without leave of the Governor or Deputy Governor." This was
keenly resented by the Physicians and Surgeons connected with
St. Peter's, who one and all refused attendance until this rule
was rescinded, so much importance did they attach to post-
mortem examinations.
The rule was then altered to read : " No Surgeon of this
Hospital shall open the body of any patient dying in this House
without his first acquainting the Master with his design," the
Master (or " Governor ") in such cases to consult the patient's
friends, etc.
Mr. Henry Cruger (afterwards Member of Parliament for
Bristol) endeavoured to get this rule abolished, but failed.
Finally, however, the regulation was made that the body of any
patient who had died in the House might be opened by one of
the Surgeons in the presence of a Physician or of another
Surgeon.
On January 27th, 1806, a complaint was made by letter to
Mr. Edward Ash, the Treasurer of the Infirmary, that the
bodies of those who died at the Institution were frequently
mutilated, " the nurses through bribery leaving the coffins
unclosed." Also of the removal of a corpse from the burial-
ground " to Mr. Smith's Coach House in Park Row."
Mr. Lawrence, apprentice to Mr. Richard Smith, and Mr.
Hawkins, apprentice to the Apothecary, also the " Apothecary's
shopman, alias Laboratory man," were implicated in this affair.
Mr. Ash wrote to the Surgeons asking their opinion as to the
207
A HISTORY OF THE
best way of preventing the occurrence of such causes for
complaints. Richard Smith, on behalf of the Surgical Staff,
sent a reply, deprecating any definite rule on the subject. He
writes that " the Surgeons were fully satisfied with the propriety
of restraint in that particular," etc. ; his letter was, in fact,
admirably suited to such an occasion, when a man has to
imitate Bunyan's " Mr. Facing-both-ways."
Attempts, successful and otherwise, on the Infirmary burial-
ground were not uncommon, and continued until the Anatomy
Act came into force. Thus we find in the House Committee
Book under date March 31st, 1824, that a Sub-Committee was
appointed to draw up suggestions for making " the Burial
Ground more secure against depradations." The Sub-
Committee suggested " raising the South Wall," and extending
the cheval de frise, etc., precautions which only whetted the
ardour of the night robbers by adding a few not insuperable
•difficulties.
Mr. Henry Alford states x that on one occasion some students
decided to take up the body of a patient from this ground.
"' They met at night at the Burying-Ground, but could not agree
to act together. Some altercation arose, which gave an alarm
and put an end to the attempt to get the body ; but not to the
hostile feelings of the two parties, which had to be appeased by
some sort of pugilistic encounter some days after."
On an old, stained, and much disfigured piece of paper,
entitled " Infirmary Memoranda " (possibly written by Mr.
Borlase), is the following entry, under date June 1st, 1780 :
" Assisted by an Infirmary patient, dug up a child with a
remarkably large Hydrocephalus from St. James's Churchyard."
Francis Cheyne Bowles, whose insatiable thirst for knowledge
of all kinds I have before mentioned, worked with the greatest
zeal at anatomy. The following account by Richard
Smith, jun., will be read with mixed feelings of admiration for
the keen pursuit of knowledge under difficult circumstances, and
condemnation for what appears like irreverence for the dead :
" During all this time Mr. Bowles continued to give to the
students at the Infirmary anatomical instruction gratuitously.
We [for the writer was one] played the part of Resurrection Men
and procured Subjects in succession. In doing this we more
than once got ourselves into awkward scrapes, and one night
Mr. Robert Lax 2 and the writer narrowly escaped being shot by
1 Bristol Medico-Chirnvgical Journal, September, 1890, p. 191.
* A much-esteemed practitioner, who lived in Queen Square, and after-
wards in Park Street, Bristol. He applied for the Surgeoncy at the Infirmary
•on the death of F. C. Bowles. He died April 4th, 1832.
20S
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
some soldiers occupying a Hospital which commanded the
Infirmary burial-ground in Johnny Ball Lane.
" More than once, too, we substituted old sacks filled with
Tubbish, and — horresco referens ! — these were buried in due
form. ' Use makes mastery,' and we had reduced this to so
regular a system that we practised it two years without
suspicion. We procured a key of the dead-house, and provided
ourselves with turn-screws, hammers, wrenching iron, nails,
and everything likely to be wanted. The nurses and undertaker
were allowed to take the ordinary course of laying out the
subjects and securing the coffins. Funerals were generally
ordered for five o'clock and whilst the family were at dinner we
stole into the dead-house, removed anything we wanted, and
then made all fast in the same order as before."
As Bowles was at this time unconnected with the Infirmary,
and was looked upon by the Surgeons with some jealousy, he
had to be privately smuggled into the dead-house. In this
miserable place, a mere underground " coal hole lighted by a
foot square iron grating," these ardent anatomists spent hours
of their days and nights learning the structure of the human
"body.
It is the fashion in some quarters to speak of the " old
surgeons " of a hundred years ago as if their knowledge was
empirical, and altogether unscientific. This is a great mistake.
They not only had a practical knowledge of anatomy (as their
dissections and drawings show) that many a modern surgeon
might envy, but as rapidity and nerve were more essential in
those days than now, they were generally remarkably clever
with their hands. And they were enthusiasts ; anything like a
good dissection or specimen was a source of keen pleasure to
them.
The following curious story is related by Richard Smith : —
John Danvers, then a pupil at the Infirmary (about 1790)
had, with Richard Smith's help, " removed the head of a negro
from the dead-house, for a demonstration of the brain which
Mr. F. C. Bowles had promised us. As we walked together
towards his lodgings, turning the right corner at the end of
High Street, his (Danvers') elbow struck the rails, and the head
fell from under his arm, and escaped from a pocket-handkerchief
in which it had been negligently wrapped.
" It being very dark, we were unable to find it, and we were
fearful of using a light, lest we should be joined in the search,
and thus the matter be known. We therefore determined to
leave the place under the presumption that it would not be
possible for anyone to ascertain whence the head came. Under
209
14
A HISTORY OF THE
repression we went to his rooms to quiet our alarms with a
g ss ; : brandy and water, his usual catholicon.
" It then, however, occurred to us that enquiry would be
made at the Infirmary, and thus ' the murder would out.'
We therefore returned to the spot, but the Watch being set. we
i that we should be observed. At length we hit upon a
plan, which was to walk slowly arm in arm in a straight line,
as 7 i ssibk backwards and forwards until we should have
rsed the whole space thereabout, pretending that we were
merely walking and conversing for amusement.
After more than an hour's trial, Danvers struck his foot
against some impediment, and stooping down fortunately
discovered the object of our search, which had rolled down a
great part of the slope, and was a considerable distance from
the spot where the accident happened."
Some of the stories of this practice are very miserable,
re and there with a curious leaven of intentional or
unintentional humour. For example, on November 18th, 1S12,
a child's body was stolen from Bedminster Churchyard. On
June 4th, 18 13, the child's aunt was irtt I in the same grave,
and the theft discovered. In a printed leaflet, sold at the time,
is the foHowm rdinary statement : " The sexton opened
s roundabout to see if peradventure the child had
gone into any other ! "
In October, 1S10, a body was " snatched " from St.
Augustine's Churchyard. " On the same evening two men,
::. : whom had a sack on his back, were observed entering
the door of a dissecting-room in Lower College Street, which
is s ted ver the shop of a Green-grocer." The entrance to
the shop and to the room above was by a common door. The
woman who kept the shop told this piece of news to her
neighbours, and a crowd soon collected, amongst which
happened to be a man who had lately buried his wife in St.
Augustine's Churchyard. He at once went to the burial-
ground, and found the grave had been opened. He hastened
back, got a ladder, and mounted to the dissecting-room window.
He got in, and saw under one of the benches a sack containing
the body of his wife. Several of the man's friends followed
him, and effected an entrance, " and a sharp contest ensued,
but ultimately the corpse was carried off by the right owner.
The Physician was pursued from the scene of action by the
mob, and narrowly escaped with his life." This " Physician "
was supposed by some to be Mr. Thomas Earl, of 5 Lower
College Street, but he wrote to the papers indignantly denying
the charge.
210
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
A reward of fifty guineas was offered for the apprehension,
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A HISTORY OF THE
" that the body of every surgeon should from the moment of his
entering the Profession become public property," and after his
decease should be handed over for dissection ; that as this
would only provide male bodies, his wife and children should
come under the same law ! "
The matter is also referred to in some doggerel verses in
The Bristol Mirror Newsman's Address for 1819.
On February 2nd, 1828, two grave robbers were caught in
Brislington Churchyard by Mr. R. Gough and others. T hey do
not seem to have made much resistance, seeing probably that it
was useless. Their tools, according to the newspaper account,
consisted of " a shovel, a sack and a powerful turn-screw upon
a novel construction, a packing needle and a coil of rope."
These two men were no other than Dr. Wallis, founder of a
noted Anatomical School in Bristol, and Dr. Riley, also a great
anatomist. Both subsequently became Physicians to the
Infirmary. They were brought before Mr. Councillor Thomas
Hassell, who fined them six pounds, which was immediately
paid. " The parties then bowed very respectfully to the
worthy magistrate, and wishing his worship a good day, left
the house."
There is reason to believe that Mr. Hassell did not consider
their offence a very heinous one, for he proposed Dr. Wallis at
his election to the post of Physician to the Infirmary on
February 21st, 1828, less than three weeks after he had fined
him.
These two doctors were unfortunate in being caught ; but
frequently the resurrection men had to beat a hasty retreat,
leaving their apparatus, etc., behind them. On one occasion
(October 21st, 1821) a body was stolen from Westbury Church-
yard, and the culprits left a " green painted Gig " behind them.
Whether this led to their apprehension does not appear.
A somewhat more serious affair took place at Bedminster
Churchyard on " Friday night about 12 o'clock," November 1st,
1822, when six persons were discovered by some constables
attempting to remove a dead body. Five of these were
captured after a severe tussle, in which " there were pistols
snapped and rapiers drawn, bloody noses and broken heads."
These unfortunate medicos were committed by Mr. Lewis,
of Ashton, to the Somerset Quarter Sessions, held at Wells.
Much legal argument was used, but in this, as in other similar
cases, it was evidently felt that severe measures were out of the
question. The Court took time to consider the punishment,
" the defendants being bound over in sureties of £100 each to
come up for judgment," and this apparently ended the matter.
212
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The newspaper accounts of these affairs were frequently
jocular. On this occasion the body-snatchers are referred to
as " death-dealing rogues ; " and when Yates, one of the
constables, hit one of the robbers in the face with the butt-end
of a pistol, it is remarked that he did this " to dissect his nose ! "
The grave-diggers made money out of both parties, they
received bribes, helped sometimes in removing the body, and
occasionally sided with the authorities.
In the Committee Minute Book we find an entry under date
November 27th, 1822: "The Grave Diggers attended and
lodged a complaint against Mr. Mais, a pupil of Mr. Hetling's
for trespass in the Burial Ground ; " and on December nth,
1822, " Mr. Mais was called in and reprimanded for his mis-
conduct in offering money to a Grave Digger for filling up a
grave in the Burial Ground " {i.e. filling it up after the coffin
had been opened and the body taken).
Imagination can fill in the details of this picture : the
Committee sitting on benches in a room lit by only one burner
of " oil gas " (they met in the evening then), interviewing the
clay-soiled grave-diggers, and young Mais receiving a stately
reprimand.
The indignation caused by these robberies of the dead may
easily be conceived. A certain John McDonald, for instance,
writing to the Bristol Mirror (February 16th, 1832), states that
his sister, who had been buried in St. Philip's Churchyard, was
found " packed in a frail or basket," the attempted removal
having been interrupted, and that his father's body had been
stolen from its grave.
Amongst the more noted of the Bristol medical resurrec-
tionists of the early part of the nineteenth century, besides Drs.
Wallis and Riley, may be mentioned Edward Richmond Estlin, x
John Harrison, afterwards Surgeon to the Infirmary, and
Edward Waldo. s
A note in the old Infirmary Memoirs gives the record of
these three gentlemen as follows : —
Mr. Estlin took up 30 " subjects."
Mr. Harrison ,, ,,20
Mr. Waldo8 ,, „ 18
Mr. Augustin Pri chard says : " I have seen in the possession
1 Son of the Rev. J. B. Estlin, of Lewin's Mead. He was an extremely
promising youth, who died of consumption at the early age of twenty-four.
* Uncle of the present Dr. Waldo, of Clifton. He was a pupil of Nat.
Smith, and afterwards Man-Midwife to the Bristol Dispensary.
a In the Surgeons' Miscellaneous Book, April 3rd, 1852, Mr. Waldo is
thanked " for the handsome present of a skeleton for the use of the Consulta-
tion Room."
213
A HISTORY OF THE
of one of these former teachers of anatomy a huge labelled
bunch of large keys by which he could have access to any
Churchyard in Bristol or its immediate neighbourhood." *
It occasionally happened that well-known men were dug up
and dissected. The lovers of Tristram Shandy will be
shocked to learn that the body of Laurence Sterne met with
this fate. The story is thus related by Professor Macalister : — 2
" Near the end of the Lent Term of Lectures in 1768, the
Professor (Charles Collignon) invited two friends to see an
interesting dissection which he had prepared to illustrate his
lecture for March 26th. The body was one which had been
procured by a resurrectionist, who had brought it from London
on the previous day.
" The friends accompanied him to the room, and during
the dissection one of them uncovered the face of the dead man,
and recognised it as that of Laurence Sterne, whom he had
known in his lifetime."
Sterne had been buried at St. George's Burial-place at
Tyburn. The story appears to be authentic.
A case of extraordinary callousness in the handling of a
dead body is told by the late Sir George Paget, of Cambridge.
A farmer in Essex shot a burglar who was trying to enter
his house. Not knowing what to do with the corpse, and
thinking it might be of use for dissection, he packed it in a box
and forwarded it to Sir George Paget, with a note to the effect
that " he was sending him a man he had shot !
I am indebted to Dr. VV. A. Smith, who knew the farmer
referred to, for this story.
The only way of obtaining " subjects " for dissection which
was permitted by law was that of applying for the bodies of
executed criminals.
It throws a lurid light on the criminal law of that time to
read the Calendar of those who were in Bristol Gaol " for
Felony or other Criminal matters " on April 7th, 1821. From
this list I copy the names of those marked with the sentence
of death, as follows : —
Henry Stephens Setting fire to a dwelling
house Death.
Mary Bowden, for counterfeiting a Promissory
note for £10 Death.
1 Early History of the Bristol Medical School, by Augustin Prichard
F.R.C.S.
2 The History of the Study of Anatomy at Cambridge, a lecture delivered
January 29th, 1891, by A. Macalister, M.D., F.R.S., etc. Cambridge
University Press.
214
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
John Williams, for stealing one bay Gelding . . Death.
Walter Heness (aged 15) and Sarah Thorn
(widow, aged 38) for burglary (value of
stolen goods 20 shillings)
14 years penal servitude and death respectively.
Elizabeth Bissex (set. 16) and Susannah Robins
(set. 28) for stealing Death.
Death.
Death.
Death.
Death.
Death.
Henry Hawker (set. 18) for burglary
John Flemen for stealing a black mare . .
Mary Williams for stealing a cloak, &c.
John Horwood (set. 18) for murder
James Wade for stealing a mare
It will be seen ihat of the eleven capital sentences eight
were for stealing. * Several were reprieved.
A few months before Sir Michael Foster commenced his
philanthropic work in connection with the Bristol Infirmary,
he threatened a man called Vernham with " death by pressure,"
because he refused to plead to an indictment for burglary.
Under the fear of this torture he consented to plead, and he and
a thief named Harding were hung in the Gallows Field
on St. Michael's Hill. They were both alive when cut down.
Harding recovered and was put in an almshouse. a
Murders had increased in the middle years of the eighteenth
•century to such a degree that it was decreed by Parliament to
add " some further terror and peculiar mark of infamy " to the
punishment of death by hanging ; and a law was passed that
after Easter, 1752, the bodies of criminals executed for murder
should be handed over to surgeons for dissection, " and a
receipt given." 3
Such a " receipt," for the body of an unfortunate lad who
was convicted of the murder of a girl named Eliza Balsum in
1821, is preserved in the Infirmary Museum ; this and the
accompanying order are as follows : —
" John Horwood, convicted of the wilful murder of Eliza
Balsum. Let him be hanged by the neck until he shall be
dead on Friday the 13th April instant, and let his body be
delivered to Mr. Richard Smith, of the City of Bristol, Surgeon,
to be dissected and anatomized."
" Received this 13th day of April, 182 1, from Thomas
Hassell and Robert Jenkins Esquires, Sheriffs of the said City
1 In 1 810 the Archbishop of Canterbury and six Bishops voted against a
Bill for abolishing capital punishment in cases of stealing, without violence,
goods of less value than five shillings. — See Tyburn Tree, its History and
Annals, by Alfred Marks, p. 257.
2 Nicholl's History of Bristol. 3 25 George II., 1752.
2I5
A HISTORY OF THE
of Bristol and County of the same City, the body of the above
named John Horwood, deceased, for the purposes mentioned in
the above fiat or sentence. Richard Smith, Surgeon."
The case of this man Horwood is so typical of the customs
of the time that it is worth giving in some detail. It is
peculiarly associated with the Bristol Royal Infirmary from the
interest taken in it by Richard Smith, who attended the
murdered woman at the House, gave evidence at Horwood's
trial, obtained his body, dissected it, and finally had his skin
tanned and bound a book with it. This book contains all the
documents connected with the affair, including the " briefs "
for and against, drawings of the culprit during his trial, and
many other details.
John Horwood, a country lad aged eighteen, had courted a
girl in his own station in life named Eliza Balsum. She rejected
his addresses, and in a fit of anger he flung a stone at her from
a distance of forty yards and struck her on the head. l This
occurred on January 26th, 1821.
She fell, but apparently was not stunned, and managed to
walk to her home, where her friends applied some ointment and
a bread poultice to the wound. She went about the house and
even did some work after this, but the injury did not get well,
and on the last day of January she walked from Kingswood to
the Infirmary, where she was admitted. She did well at first,
but inflammatory symptoms supervened ; the Surgeons held a
consultation, and she was trephined by Richard Smith, who
found an abscess under the bones of the skull. She died on
February 21st, 1821.
Whilst she was at the Infirmary Horwood was brought
before her in the presence of a magistrate, Alderman Haythorne,
and Mr. Henry Day, the Magistrate's Clerk, in order that she
might identify him. The prisoner was put into the Consultation
Room to wait the magistrate's arrival. He appeared to be
indifferent, and possibly to arouse him to a sense of shame,
" someone present," according to Richard Smith, " unlocked
the case then kept in that room and shewed to him the skeletons
of Davis and Bobbett executed the 2nd of April, 1802, for
murder." One could wish that the record of such a cruel deed
were untrue, but one cannot think so.
Horwood * was tried before the Recorder, Sir Robert Gifford,
and condemned to death ; the point of strongest defence,
1 It was stated at the trial that he could " throw stones with unerring
certainty at great distances."
2 See Fig. 42 for a drawing of Horwood made during his trial.
216
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
namely that the abscess on the brain might very well have been
caused by the unclean dressings at first put on the wound, and
not directly by the blow, was made very little use of.
He was visited by many people in jail, and was resigned and
hopeful It was the custom in those days for condemned
prisoners to write some farewell verses, generally with the help
of a friend. Horwood wrote some doggerel rhymes, in which he
says that his companions had climbed the tall trees near the
prison and called out to him to be of courage, and that this had
cheered him.
The culprit was allowed to make his own death signal by
dropping a handkerchief. Poor Horwood remained for twenty
minutes with the rope adjusted, apparently in prayer. He
then asked an official if he thought he would have much pam
in dying, then prayed for a few minutes more, and dropped the
fatal handkerchief.
In the account of the execution given in the Bristol Mirror
for April 14th, 1821, is the following curious passage: A
number of foolish women with their children ascended to the
top of the lodge, after the culprit was turned off, for the purpose
of having their disorders cured by touching the dead hands."
The friends of Horwood, especially his parents, tried hard to
obtain remission of that part of the sentence condemning him
to be dissected, and letters were written to Richard Smith and
the Surgeons by the solicitor for the prisoner, but this request
was refused.
Perhaps the reader would, for once, look at the scene
preceding the execution with the eyes of a good witness.
Richard Smith writes :—
" On the morning of the execution I was invited to breakfast
with one of the Sheriffs, Robert Jenkins, Esq., who resided at
the end house of Redcliff Parade.
" Upon the arrival of Mr. William Ody Hare, the Under
Sheriff, we went to the jail and were shewn into the parlour of
Mr. Humphries.1 There were about fifteen persons there,
chiefly well dressed females.
" Shortly after Horwood came in, attended by half a dozen
constables— he bowed awkwardly, seemed to be suffering great
mental agony— looked round and said ' pray for me, do pray for
me 1 ' This produced a sort of stifled shriek of horror amongst
the assemblage. They knelt down one after another and
presently one female began to pray aloud, and by her manner
1 " I found Governor Humphries a very obliging gentleman, albeit some-
what blunt in his manner."-The Bristolian for Saturday, November 29th,
1828. Account of a stay in the jail by a Debtor.
217
A HISTORY OF THE
and easy flow of words I had no doubt that she had been
accustomed to address an audience extemporaneously.
Horwood remained standing, but listening with great attention,
and evidently accompanying the speaker mentally, but he was
perfectly silent. This lasted about ten minutes, when the
female, who seemed to be rather above the ordinary class —
but not a gentlewoman — ended and rose. Horwood then
walked round the room and shook hands with all who presented
themselves. I was not amongst the number, for obvious
reasons, — in fact, I stood behind a person lest he might recognise
me, and that my having given evidence against him, and even
my errand might flash across his mind. He now wrung his
hands bitterly, seemed in great distress, and exclaimed, ' O
Lord ! O Lord ! ' The officers then stepped forward and bound
him and he speedily left the room.
" The Rev. Mr. Day then walked before him reading the
burial service. Almost everyone was greatly affected ; many
shed tears, and I believe that I did not escape the contagion.
The funeral service of the Church of England is at all [times]
affecting, and under these circumstances its effect is irresistible
to those who have any feeling. I certainly felt at the moment
an indescribable sensation of depression and lowness of
spirits.
" I now went up to the opposite leads which look down close
upon the scaffold where the culprit- was just arrived, but there
was a great bustle and the impression was that there had been
some resistance or attempt at escape. But we soon learned the
cause. The fact was that the head of the executioner
failed him and he slipped away and hid himself as soon as he
observed the near approach of the criminal. After some search
he was found behind a door and brought upon the scaffold.
" Horwood behaved very well. He appeared to be absorbed
in prayer ; the rope was now adjusted and the people began to
leave the platform ; and my courage — if courage it is to be
called — failed me. I perceived that the fatal moment was
approaching and I was unable to look any longer at the criminal.
I drew back almost involuntarily — turned my face from the
scaffold. In a few seconds I walked towards the stairs and
bent my steps down them, and then towards the Humphries's
parlour, where I found a few of the females whom I had left there
as also Mr. Sheriff Jenkins.
" In about ten minutes Mr. Ody Hare came in, bowed to the
Sheriff and notified to him officially that the criminal had
suffered the sentence of the law.
" Soon after this Mr. Humphries came in and advised me to
218
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
quit the jail at once, intimating that it would be impossible to
do anything in regard to the body that evening, or perhaps even
the following day — at all events not before it.
" We had good reason afterwards to know that this was
prudent advice, for it turned out that Horwood's friends, aided
by a large body of colliers and stone-quarryers, had laid a plan
for rescuing the body by rushing suddenly upon the escort ;
whilst some were fighting, others would have carried it to a
boat ready for the conveyance, and it would have been rowed
up to Hanham, and recovery out of all possibility. The men
lay in wait all the evening and night, and being not aware of
the removal came for the same purpose the next night.
" On the Saturday, being the day after the execution, I
asked a coachman whom I knew ' if he had any objection to go
with me to the jail to fetch a parcel ? ' He answered, ' Oh no
Sir ! I know what you mean ! ' I stepped into the nd.
[numbered ?] coach and we drove to the jail. We were let
into the court. The body was in a room under the ' Drop,'
and perfectly naked. I gathered up the ropes and cap. Mr.
Humphries then sent for some men and ordered' them to put
the body into the coach, but they one and all most peremptorily
refused to go near it. Finding that his authority went for
nothing, I betook myself to an argument that was irresistible —
I showed two of the fellows a half-crown and assured them it
should be theirs when Horwood was in the coach. One of them
said to the other, ' Come, Tom, what dost say ? Come lay hold
of him ! ' This was done. I wrapped around the upper part of
the body an old Irish cloak that it might not be seen through
the windows, and it was pushed into a corner.
" I was upon the point of closing the door when David
Morgan, one of the Sheriff's Yeomen, said ' Sir, would you like
me to accompany you ? ' This opened my eyes to the awkward
predicament in which I should find myself, if by any chance the
contents of the coach should be discovered during the transit.
I therefore gladly accepted his offer.
" All being ready, and no one allowed to leave the prison
but ourselves, the doors were opened and we drove off with as
much speed as our cattle would allow. We passed the New
Bridge, through Prince's Street, went up Marsh Street, crossed
St. Stephen's Street, went into Christmas Street, and through
Lewin's Mead to Earl Street where there was situated the lower
door of the Infirmary. We met with not the slightest interrup-
tion. Upon our arrival I jumped out and calling to some
persons belonging to the Infirmary, the body was borne out of
the vehicle. At this instant passed a soldier and a woman, both
219
A HISTORY OF THE
of whom appeared astonished, but passed on. I discharged the
coach, and the whole affair was fortunately accomplished.
The body was placed upon a trestle in the dead-house."
It will be noticed that Richard Smith was put to all this
trouble by giving a receipt for the body before he had received
it. Otherwise the prison authorities would have had, according
to the death sentence, to deliver it to be " anatomised."
On the next day, Sunday, Mr. Swayne, the Apothecary, took
a plaster model of the head.
" On the Monday the body was taken to the Operation Room
and placed upon the table. About eighty persons were present,
none being refused who made application. I then delivered a
lecture, adapted to a mixed audience, upon the general structure
of the human body and its physiology, pointing out the great
and infinite wisdom and power which they exemplified," &c.
He lectured to large audiences on the Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday. The body was then taken to the dissecting
room adjoining the dead-house.
" At the same time the skin was undergoing the process of
tanning in an adjoining tub — I received the materials and
instructions for the process from the Sheriffs, both Tanners.
The skin was also dressed at Bedminster, previously to being
sent to Essex for the purpose of forming the covering of this
book." (See Fig. 43.)
It will be noticed that the body was actually lectured on in
the Operation Room six days after death, a fact the mere
narration of which is enough to make a modern surgeon's
" blood run cold."
Before the Operation Room was built the bodies of executed
criminals were brought into the Committee Room and there
lectured on.
Poor Horwood was the first to be hanged at the " New
Jail," on the bank of the " New River." The crush of
spectators was so great that notices were put up warning people
of this, to prevent them from being crowded into the water
and drowned.
The old Newgate Prison was evacuated on August 25th, 1820.
The condition of this old prison, with its " well," or court,
surrounded on all sides by noisome, unventilated cells, and the
horrible chamber rightly called " the Pit," can hardly be
realised by the modern reader. It is to the credit of the
Infirmary Physicians, Moncrieffe, Long Fox, sen., Garrick and
Stock, that they did their best to point out to the Sheriff of
Bristol the disgraceful condition of this Hell-on-earth. They
wrote a letter on March 31st, 1813, after inspecting the prison,
220
PHRENOLOGICAL CHART OF HORWOOD S HEAD.
Fig. 44
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and described the complete absence of ventilation, the damp,
foul air, the dreadful prevalence of contagious diseases, and the
overcrowding. At the time of their visit there were seventeen
felons confined in a vaulted room (" the Pit ") eight feet high
and fourteen feet in length and breadth, underground, and with
hardly a ray of light in it. In case of illness there was no
hospital accommodation for them, and the Physicians express
their wonder that in this and other cells death did not occur
from actual suffocation.
It was seven years, however, after the receipt of this letter
that the place was emptied and closed.
In the early years of the nineteenth century Spurzheim's
" phrenological " theories and diagnosis of character by the
shape of the head were much talked about.
Mrs. Mary Ann Schimmelpenninck drew up what was called
a "phrenological wheel" from examination of Horwood's
skull (see Fig. 44), and Spurzheim himself, who was then living
at 22 College Green, reported on it^ Neither of them found the
" bump of murder " developed ; the chief mental characteristics,
according to their interpretations, were " combativeness,"
" self-esteem," and " hope."
Some years after the murder, on February 19th, 1827, Dr.
Spurzheim and others dined at Richard Smith's. When the
ladies had left the table, Dick Smith produced the skull and
asked Spurzheim's opinion of it, without giving any clue to its
identity. Directly he saw it he exclaimed, "'Oh ! brutal,
brutal, manifestly brutal ; he had all the animal propensities."
It is now, of course, known that this system of phrenology
is quite unreliable. The cast of Horwood's head taken after
death is suggestive of anything but brutality, and there is,
indeed, no reason to think that he was below the average in
moral qualities.
221
CHAPTER XVIII
SOCIAL LIFE IN BRISTOL IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH
CENTURIES — COCK - FIGHTING AND BULL-BAITING — DINNERS —
MUSIC — THE BLEECKS — TAVERN LIFE — THE DOLPHIN DINNERS —
THE DISPUTATION SOCIETY — GAISFORD — MEDICAL STUDENTS'
SOCIETIES — THE BEAR'S CUB CLUB — THE CATCH CLUB — THE
HALF-PINT CLUB — THE NAGG'S HEAD CLUB — PETER WELLS —
THE WHITE LION CLUB — DUELS — RICHARD VINING PERRY — HIS
MARRIAGE WITH CLEMENTINA CLARKE AT GRETNA GREEN —
TRIAL FOR ABDUCTION
Many of the Physicians and Surgeons connected with the
Bristol Royal Infirmary, both in its early days and later, have
been men of good family and of considerable social attainments.
Scattered through the Richard Smith MSS. are many references
to clubs, dinners, balls, etc., together with invitations to
shooting parties, beefsteak suppers, theatricals, musical
entertainments, and other indications of a time when the lighter
pleasures of existence were fully enjoyed ; of a time when
Bristol City possessed, like her neighbour Bath, a " Master of
the Ceremonies."
In this chapter I have put together these scattered notes,
not only because they illustrate the lives of Infirmary worthies,
but also because they throw an interesting light upon the
manners and customs of the eighteenth and early part of the
nineteenth centuries.
Of the older kinds of sport, such as cock-fighting and bull-
baiting, I can find very little. We have seen (p. 96) that
Rowand, one of the Apothecaries, lost his place at the Infirmary
through a little monetary transaction in connection with a
cock-fight, and there is evidence that he kept some fighting
birds in the Dispensary. Dean Creswick, who preached the
sermon at the formal opening of the Infirmary, was fond of this
recreation. After he had taken up his residence at Wells, of
which he was appointed Dean, he is said to have " ordered a
cock-pit to be constructed so that he and his friends could
witness the sport from his dining room, the window of which
was enlarged for the purpose."
This picture of the tall and stately Dean sitting with
his guests at the " enlarged window," whilst the cocks
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
did battle for their amusement, brings the old days vividly
before us.
We do not, in the Infirmary records, come across any actual
bull-baiting, but we get a glimpse of the practice through
another divine, the Rev. Thomas Johnes, who was appointed
Chaplain to the Institution in 1772. (See p. 37.) This gentleman
was a member of the " Bear's Cub Club " (to be referred to
presently), and on the night that Richard Smith, jun., joined
this Club Mr. Johnes opened the usual discussion by main-
taining the thesis " that the practice of bull-baiting was not
only legal, but exceedingly correct and useful to Society." He
argued that to stop this sport would be " injurious to the
courage of the common people and an infringement of their
rights." On May 24th, 1802, a Bill to abolish bull-baiting was
thrown out in the House of Commons, chiefly owing to a speech
of Mr. Windham's. It was not made illegal until 1835.
Dinners, private and public, must have taken up a large
portion of professional men's time in the eighteenth and early
part of the nineteenth centuries. Private dinners were of a less
formal type than now. The invitations were generally sent out
a day or two before the event, sometimes on the same day, and
usually took the form of a short letter, written in the first
person, stating briefly the nature of the affair, such as the name
of someone who was expected, whom the guest might like to
meet, or the fact that there would be music or glees afterwards.
Sometimes the food is mentioned, such as a present of game the
host had received, or even a barrel of oysters. 1
The good custom, still happily prevalent, of a social dinner
as a means of bringing men together for transacting business,
was followed in those days. Thus, in the early years of the
nineteenth century, the Faculty held quarterly meetings at the
Montague Tavern, Kingsdown. They dined together at five
o'clock, and settled their Infirmary affairs over the wine and
punch afterwards.
The time of dining in the eighteenth century in Bristol
appears to have been usually three o'clock. In the nineteenth
century it became later, five o'clock or five-thirty. Tea
followed in the drawing-room. 2
1 " One evening when I was sitting with him Frank delivered this message :
' Sir, Dr. Taylor sends his compliments to you, and begs you will dine with him
to-morrow, he has got a hare.' ' My compliments,' said Johnson, ' and I '11
dine with him, hare or rabbit.' " — Boswell's Life of Johnson.
2 " I dine at the reasonable hour of four, enjoy as I used to do the whole-
some indulgence of a nap after dinner, drink tea at six, sup at half-past nine,
spend an hour over a sober folio and a glass of black currant rum with warm
water and sugar, and then to bed."— From a letter from Robert Southey to
G. C. Bedford, dated February 23rd, 1824.
223
A HISTORY OF THE
The process of dining was a leisurely affair ; a friendly
dinner before a medical meeting or lecture would now be called
for, perhaps, an hour and a half or two hours before the event.
But in 1832 we find one of the Infirmary Surgeons, William
Hetling, inviting Richard Smith to dine at five o'clock with a
Mr. Costello, who had to read a paper on Lithotrity at eight
o'clock. In his letter of invitation great stress is laid on
punctuality, as the time was so limited.
There is amongst Richard Smith's Infirmary Memoirs an
invitation to dine at five o'clock with a couple married that
morning.
After dinner it was common to have some music, or
curiosities were shown. Occasionally some interesting or
celebrated individual was the attraction. William Mortimer,
who applied four times unsuccessfully for the post of Surgeon
to the Infirmary, invited Richard Smith on one occasion to dine
with Madame Catalani at five-thirty.
Our friend Dick Smith was great at all such functions. He
had a good voice, and was always ready to take part in a song
or glee.
One of his musical companions was Alfred Bleeck, who
practised in Redcliff Parade and Unity Street, and applied for
surgical vacancies at the Infirmary in 1825 and 1836. In a
letter about a proposed " musical evening " in March, 1833,
he writes to him : "I give you a list of the Glees you are
down for on Thursday, in case you would like to look them
over :■ — ■
' In Peace Love tunes.'
' Beauties have you seen.'
' Hast thou left thy blue course.'
' The Curfew.'
' Where the bee sucks.'
' Fill high the Grape's exulting.'
' Cold is Cadwallo's tongue.' "
In another letter (undated, but probably about 1826) he invites
Richard Smith " to a glass of punch," to meet Jefferies and
Goldwyer.
Through the kindness of Miss Margaret Bleeck, grand-
daughter of the above Alfred Bleeck, I am enabled to
give the following fragment of genealogy, which may be of
interest to some Bristolians : —
224
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225
A HISTORY OF THE
" Punch " was sometimes drunk after dinner, but more
usually after suppers, which were often partaken of very late
at night. Speaking of the period between 1780 and 1800,
Richard Smith says : "A beef -steak supper at a Tavern, a bowl
of punch and a song, were then all the rage. The favourite
songs were ' Poor Jack,' ' Bonny Bet,' and the songs of Incledon,
then at his zenith, attached to the Bristol Stage, and a frequent
visitor at my father's house."
Much of the social life of Bristol in the eighteenth century
was carried on in taverns, many of which were famous either
for turtle soup, well cooked and well served dinners, punch
or beer.
Besides those already mentioned in this history (" The
Bush," " Nagg's Head," " Rummer," " Montague," etc.), the
" Cock " in Corn Street (kept in 1749 by Roger Watts), the
"Albion" in Prince's Street, the "Artichoke," the " Ship," in
the Cathay, and the " Talbot," were noted places of resort.
The " Ship" was frequented by musicians, artists and interesting
Bohemians, who led a jovial, rollicking life. Amongst these
characters were Rymsdyke, the painter, who dressed " in
large flap waistcoat, immense cuffs to his coat sleeves, with
breeches just to the knee, and slit before, with knee buttons,"
Michael Edkins, player and scene painter at the theatre, Jem
Sewell, afterwards landlord of the Talbot Tavern in Redcliff
Street, Joe Gillard the rope-maker, " Thumb " Allen, and
others. These good fellows used to meet at the " Ship," then
under the care of " Landlord Wyat," and drink the beer for
which that inn was famous.
Shortly before the Victorian Era public breakfasts appear to
have been fashionable. From an account of such an one held
at the " New Horticultural Rooms," the date of which we
identify as 1833 (from the fact that " Messrs. Lean and Maye
the two Sheriffs " are mentioned as being present), we read
that the company arrived at one o'clock. "The dejeune being
ended, champagne and other wines were liberally circulated,"
and the ladies then retired, " their healths having been drunk
with three times three." The gentlemen soon joined them
and dancing began. " The Mayor1 led off Lady Stuart in a
quadrille, which, with gallopedes, seemed to be the reigning
favourites. Both ladies and gentlemen were in the highest
spirits. . . . The music was excellent, and the ' brisk
awakening viol ' kept the ' light fantastic toe ' in continual
action until nearly six o'clock in the evening." Members of
the Infirmary Staff were present.
1 The Mayor in 1833 was Mr. Charles Ludlow Walker.
226
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Presidents of the Infirmary, Resident Apothecaries and
members of the Honorary Medical Staff have frequently been
in the Chair at Colston Dinners, especially at the Dolphin.
In fact, Francis Woodward (Physician, 1757-69) was one of the
principal founders of the Dolphin Society, and presided at the
first meeting at the Cock Tavern in Corn Street (Roger Watts
was then landlord) on November 2nd, 1749. He was President
also the following year.
Dr. Moncrieffe (Physician, 1775-1816) was President in 1800,
and this honourable office has been filled by no less than seven
Infirmary Surgeons, viz. Richard Smith, sen., in 1786, Godfrey
Lowe in 1798, Morgan Yeatman in 1804, Richard Lowe in 1820,
Richard Smith, jun., in 1822, Thomas Green in 1853, and
F. Richardson Cross in 1912.
Let us look in at the Dolphin Dinner in 1822, when the
younger Dick Smith was President. * It was held at the
" White Lion," and " served by Mr. Niblett."
" About ten o'clock the sober citizens had pretty well
retired, when the ' choice spirits ' rallied round their President,
who spiritedly kept up the life of the evening, and it was only
by-
" ' The gayly circling glass
They could see how minutes pass ;
And by the hollow flask were told
How the waning night grew old.'
The votaries of Apollo were in fine voice, as they generally are
after a little sacrifice to Bacchus, and set the ' table in a roar '
with a continuous fire of excellent songs, and amongst these sons
of ' merry Momus ' the President, dethroned, having laid aside
his honours, and ' mingled with Society,' shone in the galaxy
of good humour as a star of no minor magnitude." a
Richard Smith was an excellent host, and made everything
" go " merrily, especially towards the end of the evening. We
find him in his glory at a dinner held in connection with the
Bristol Branch of the Provincial Medical Association in June,
1840. The newspaper report says : " At half past five the
Society found its way to the Royal Western Hotel, where
Mr. Leigh had provided a splendid as well as substantial dinner.
. . At half past nine his Worship (the Mayor, Mr. Phippen)
and many gentlemen retired and Mr. Prichard [Dr. James
Cowles Prichard, Physician 1816-43] left the Chair, when the
vacant honour of the evening fell upon Mr. Richard Smith.
This gentleman speedily ' gathered his chicken under his wings,'
1 Three successive generations of Richard Smiths were Presidents of the
Dolphin, in 1766, 1786, and 1S22.
2 From the Bristol Mirror of November 16th, 1822.
227
A HISTORY OF THE
and we understand that they ' chirp' d ' it merrily until the clock
struck twelve, when the company broke up, having spent a
most delightful day."
We frequently hear complaints of the length of the toast
list, but at the Dolphin Dinner of 1839, there were seventeen
formal toasts, after which nine others were briefly proposed by
the Chairman. Most of the speeches were followed by glees,
some of which were ludicrously inappropriate, others were quite
to the point. For instance, after " The Church and Queen "
was given came the glee entitled " With a jolly full bottle,"
after the toast of " The Mayor of Bristol " was sung " Great
Bacchus," after " The President " " While fools their time
in strife employ," after the health of " The High Sheriff "
(Mr. Vaughan) " Would you know my Celia's charms ? " was
given, after " The Bishop and Clergy " " Winds gently whisper,"
after the " Protestant Ascendancy " " Winds whistle cold," etc.
One of the most curiously-worded toasts I have come across
was proposed at the Anchor Dinner in 1816. It was as follows :
" The Princess Charlotte, and may she know how to prize the
sweets of liberty by an early confinement."
In November, 1835, Dr. Lyon (Physician, 1843-57) was
President of the St. Andrew's Festival. " St. Andrew's day
was celebrated on Tuesday last at the Montague, where, in
addition to the cock-a-leaky brose, haggis, and sheeps' tails
a I'Ecosse, Marshall had provided, in good English fashion,
an excellent dinner."
The custom of divine service and a sermon preceding a
public charity dinner is still common, but in old days there
was sometimes a very short interval between the two.
At the old Infirmary dinners (see Chapter iii.) there was
usually enough time between the service at St. James's and the
convivial meeting at the "Nagg's Head" to allow those who
took part in the proceedings to go home and get ready for the
banquet ; but when the " Gentlemen Natives " of the ancient
Gloucestershire Society held their annual festival in the
eighteenth century they went to church at one o'clock and
dined at three.
At balls and dances a substantial supper, with plenty of
wine, was partaken of. At Mr. and Miss Goldney's ball at the
Mansion House in 1827, according to the newspapers, " the
champagne corks fled briskly until between two and three
o'clock," and " the tables all groaned with the weight of the
feast."
Henry Daniel (Surgeon, 1810-36) was one of the stewards
at the Annual Clifton Fancy Dress Ball in January, 1836. We
228
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
are told that after supper on this occasion " dancing was
resumed with increased zest, and kept up with great gaiety
until four o'clock ; after which some choice spirits whose
energies ' never tire,' began to ' chase the bottle in its round,
and had not given up the pursuit ere
" * Rosy finger 'd morn had strewn the earth
With orient pearl and dew.' " l
Henry Daniel was fond of such social functions ; he was in
1817 Master of the Ancient Society of St. Stephen's Ringers, *
and was a member of " The Social Villagers," who met annually
for convivial purposes at some London tavern. This curious
Society was founded by Sheridan Knowles.
Many of the Infirmary Staff frequented clubs for discussion
in the old days. One of the first of these of which I can find
record is mentioned in a cutting from an old Bristol newspaper
for November 16th, 1786. Richard Smith calls the paper
Pine's Thursday Paper. 3 The extract runs as follows : " As
it is the wish of many Gentlemen that a Society of the above
nature should be established in this City, it is requested that
those Gentlemen who are fond of a reciprocal communication
of Sentiments do meet at Mr. Smith's at ' The Feathers ' in
Wine Street on Wednesday the 22nd of November in order to
consider certain rules and regulations upon an extensive and
liberal plan for the well governing and regulating of the said
intended Society. The company of Mr. X. who humourously
wrote some time since in one of the public papers is particularly
requested."
This Society held its third meeting at Coopers' Hall on
December 1st, 1786. The question discussed was : " Whether
a knave or a fool is likely to make the best husband ? "
On the fourth night the subject was : " Whether the male
or female be most susceptible to love ? " and on the fifth :
" Whether the accomplishments of the mind or the person are
the greatest recommendation to the ladies in husbands ? "
The members also held what they called " a weekly
elucidation " at the " Great George " in Narrow Wine Street ;
this " began by a moral discourse and ended in giving out a
question." About a month after its formation all notices in
the papers apparently cease.
1 The flowery language and the " mixed " quotation are characteristic of
the journalism of the period.
2 An excellent epitome of the early history of this Society may be found in
the Bristol Mirror for December 7th, 1822.
3 I have not been able to verify the source of this quotation. At the date
referred to there were in Bristol Pine's Bristol Gazette, and Grabham and Pine's
Bristol Chronicle and Universal Mercantile Register.
229
A HISTORY OF THE
When Messrs. Bowles and Smith hired the Red Lodge for
their anatomical lectures in 1797 (p. 367), some gentlemen in
Bristol, especially a Mr. Gaisford (who was at this time a pupil
of Mr. Noble at the Infirmary), were anxious to form a
Debating Society, and the room in which the Surgeons lectured
was offered them free of charge. Some forty people (students
at the Infirmary, attorneys, junior medical practitioners and
others) met here and founded " The Disputation Society."
Richard Smith says that " ' Coleridge and Southey, Lamb
and Lloyd & Co.,' as they were termed in the Anti- Jacobin,
have all spoken at these assemblies."
Many of the members were strongly imbued with the
principles of the French Revolutionists, and were notorious
Jacobins. They were, in fact, considered so dangerous that
the Bristol magistrates were reported to have sent spies to the
meetings, and this rumour gave a temporary popularity to
the Club.
The meetings were afterwards held in a room in College
Green and in " Barry's Reading Room " in High Street.
Richard Smith, jun., became a member, and gives the
following further particulars of the Club. One night someone
who wished to bring ridicule on the debates hired a porter to
stand at the door and hand to the members leaflets on which
was printed, " By particular desire the question of this evening
will be : ' Which is most proper to oil a wig with honey
or mustard ? ' " This gave rise to great indignation, but
answered its purpose of making the affairs ridiculous ; the Club
was fated to die, in fact, of ridicule. Gaisford, although stated
to be " in ordinary matters a dolt and a laughing stock of his
fellow students," was not only a " born orator," but had a great
fund of historical knowledge always ready for use. " One
evening, after speaking for an hour, he sat down and a general
murmur of applause went through the Society, and a clapping
of hands ensued. A stranger who was present rose and said,
' That gentleman ought to be made a Member of Parliament for
the City, and shall have my vote if he will offer himself.' ' He
deserves to be chaired already for that speech ! ' said another.
' Why not carry him home in triumph at once ? ' said a third,
and this idea spread so immediately that the meeting broke up,
and the majority, joining in the joke, placed him, nolens volens
in the President's chair, a very superb one, and hoisting him on
their shoulders, actually carried him home in it ! " This
riotous proceeding was not tolerated by the authorities, who
were already prejudiced against the Club, and means were
taken to prevent further meetings.
230
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
In 1839 a " Bristol Medical Students' Literary Society " was
founded. Its members met Tuesday evenings at seven o'clock
at the Medical School in the Old Park. Papers on topics of
professional or general interest were read. Mr. E. T. Wait
was the Hon. Secretary.
In a letter written by Dr. William Bird Herapath to my
father, dated " Bristol, August 22, 1838," there are references
to a Social and Scientific Club which met at " Wills's." Mr. G.
McDonald was Secretary. It is mentioned in this letter that
Parsons (the late Dr. Parsons who practised for many years in
Bristol) was on the list for " three lectures on Botany."
Possibly this Club was the forerunner of the one referred to
above.
It was, however, more in the social life of the time than in
literary or scientific debates that Dick Smith took the keenest
interest. He belonged to any Society where he could meet his
fellows, hear a good story or song, or partake of a friendly
dinner or supper, and he luckily left a great many scattered
notes, which I have found invaluable in writing the following
account of some of the Bristol clubs which played such a large
part in the social life of the city.
THE BEAR'S CUB CLUB,
The records of this Club previous to the year 1794 were in
possession of the Rev. Thomas Johnes, who was for many years
Chaplain to the Infirmary ; he apparently either kept or lost
the Minute Book, the entries in which went back at least as
far as 1780.
Otherwise Mr. Johnes made an excellent Treasurer, being
especially clever at extracting subscriptions from members.
According to Richard Smith, " he entirely relaxed " when at
the Club, and was " jocose, free and good humoured. He took
his glass of punch, and never, as Lady Macbeth has it, ' marr'd
all with his starting.' In fact, he was always amongst the last
to leave the room."
At each meeting a member introduced some subject for
discussion. Dr. Wallis (Physician to the Infirmary 1828 to
1855), who was elected by the Club January 8th, 1819, intro-
duced the question : " Which are the most grateful to the
human mind, the pleasures of hope or the pleasures of memory ?"
This may be taken as a fairly typical specimen of the subjects
discussed.
The following list of members, with Richard Smith's
comments, may interest some of my readers : —
231
A HISTORY OF THE
Dr. Broughton, Physician to the Infirmary 1780-86.
Rev. W. Milton, " a good scholar and excellent mechanician.
He invented a ' safety carriage.' "
John Garnet, " who invented ' the anti-friction or
multiplying wheels.' "
Rev. Samuel Seyer, " the Bristol Historian."
Richard Bright, " merchant, of Queen's Square."
Charles Harford (probably Charles Gray Harford of
Frenchay, son of John Scandrett Harford, born 1788, died
1856), " a contented bachelor, cheerful and argumentative."
Joseph Smith, " about 1800 Master of the Ceremonies for
Bristol. Father of Mr. Brooke Smith."
John Payne Berfew, " Apothecary in High Street. Elegant
Classical Scholar."
John Maddox.
Lawbridge Bright, " merchant, Great George Street."
Alderman Merlott. Elected about 1783. Mr. Seyer told
Richard Smith that he was " one of the best bears in the
Society." He was remarkably eloquent and well informed.
" As soon as he rose to speak he placed himself behind his chair,
and this was always the signal for the most minute attention."
He was famous too for an aldermanic appetite.
Mr. Seyer told this anecdote of him : " One night he made
so brilliant an oration and ate after it such a famous supper,
that a member said to him, ' I wish I could speak as well and
had as good an appetite as you, Mr. Alderman ! ' 'So you may
do one and have the other if you will follow my example.'
' How, Mr. Alderman ? ' ' How ? Why, instead of dining take
a long walk into the country, and meditate upon the question.'
This," said Mr. Seyer, " I knew to be his constant practice."
(This would indicate that the members of the Club had
supper at their meetings, probably after the discussion.)
William Broderip, " Apothecary. Partner to Mr. Joseph
Shapland. ' Billy,' said Mr. Seyer, ' was but a poorish stick.' "
John Hill, " father of the Hills."
Rev. Thomas Broughton, " brother of the Physician."
Onesiphorus Power, " a relation of the Tyndalls at the Fort.
Commonly called ' Don Power.' "
Mark Davis. " Davis and Protheroe, merchants. He is
now, 1831, residing at his fine estate and princely mansion near
Sherborne in Dorsetshire."
Jere Osborne. " Osborne and Seager, attornies. Father of
the present partner (1831) of Richard Brickdale Ward, attornies."
Dr. Shipton. " Elected in 1787, now (1831) the Rector of
Portishead."
232
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Thomas Partridge, " Surgeon. Came by marriage into
possession of Cotham House."
Dr. Robert Lovell (Physician to the Infirmary 1795-1810).
Dr. F. Randolph, Prebendary of the Cathedral and Rector
of Banwell.
Dr. Andrew Carrick (Physician to the Infirmary 1810-34).
Francis Cheyne Bowles (Surgeon to the Infirmary 1806-07) •
Rev. Robert Forster, " Prebendary to Cathedral."
Rev. Sir Abraham Elton, Bart., of Clevedon.
The following gives an idea of the subjects of debate at the
Bear's Cub Club : —
January 24th, 1796. " Is the state of literature in this
country on the decline ? "
February 7th, 1797. " Does the Government form the
manners or the manners the Government ? "
December 7th, 1798. " Hath any good ever arisen from
what is called Auricular confession ? "
March 3rd, 1802. " Is the active or speculative life the most
useful to mankind ? "
December 27th, 1805. " Have the poor who are incapable
of supporting themselves, from whatever cause, a claim founded
in justice to the support of the community to which they
belong ? "
April 7th, 1820. " Is life the result of organisation or is it
a principle superadded to it ? " Mr. Goodere opened this
debate.
January 26th, 1822. " Was it good policy in Aristides to
reject the proposal of Themistocles to destroy the Spartan
fleet then in their power, and thus at one blow establish the
superiority of his country over their Lacedemonian rivals ? "
Dr. Henry Goldwyer, a pupil of Richard Smith, and after-
wards Surgeon to the Eye Dispensary, was " Chief Wrangler " on
this occasion. (He was elected to the Club in 182 1.) His thesis
(the title of which I have copied above as it is written in Richard
Smith's MSS.) indicates the learned discussions the members
sometimes took part in. It is recorded that " Mr. Goldwyer's
opening was such as gave great pleasure to the company and
ensured an animated debate."
The Club appears to have languished toward the year 1823,
but was revived as the " New Bears' Club " or " Bears' Debating
Club." Under this title it had the following members in
February, 1824 : Hetling, Seyer, Roolsey, Gold, Shadwell,
Gapper, Ward, Elwyn, Bright, Eden and J. C. Prichard. It
gradually assumed a more scientific and literary and rather less
social character, and in 1833 it was called " The Park Street
233
A HISTORY OF THE
Club." There is an old memorandum of the members in
January of this year, which I copy verbatim : —
" The Park Street Club
— formerly Bears Debating Club —
Dr. J. C. Prichard.
Samuel Roolsey, Chemist. 1
John King, Surgeon, The Mall.
W. P. King, Merchant, Redcliff Parade.
Aaron Hartnell, Hony. Secretary, Schoolmaster.
Louis E. De Ridder, 5 Victoria Place, Teacher French.
Edward De Ridder.
Thomas Exley, Mathematician.
Frederick Norton, Schoolmaster.
Samuel Worsley — blind —
Rev. John Eden.
William Coates, Surgeon, Mall.
John Naish Sanders.
Edgar, z Sword Bearer.
And one more, name unknown."
THE CATCH CLUB.
This Club was founded about the year 1774. The members
assembled Friday evenings at the Bush Tavern (see Fig. 45),
then kept by John Weeks ; 3 afterwards at St. Alban's Tavern,
and then at the Thatch'd House Tavern, St. James's. When
Richard Smith, sen. (Surgeon to the Infirmary 1774-91), joined
it in 1785 the principal members were : —
" The Rev. J. Wilkins, Rector of St. Michael's.
The Rev. Richard Haynes, of Siston, Gloucestershire.
1 I have copied the comments after the names as they stand.
8 John Fry Edgar ; he declined the Mayoralty in 1805, died 1850.
3 Jack Weeks, who was formerly a post-boy, was a notorious character in
•those days, an excellent type of an old-fashioned tavern landlord. He was
celebrated for the good fare he provided, especially for his punch and turtle
soup. In July, 1776, he advertised " Turtle ordinaries every Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday during the turtle season" at 5s. a head. In 1800
(according to the Pall Mall Magazine for December, 191 1) his Christmas bill
of fare included 149 snipe, and a cold baron of beef weighing some 350 lbs. was
ready for customers. It is stated that on one Christmas Day he sold 3,000
glasses of punch before dinner. He organised " the original Bristol Diligence
and Flying Post Chaise," which was advertised to reach London in sixteen
hours ; and when competition sprang up he actually gave his passengers a
dinner, with wine, into the bargain. It has been asserted that this Jack Weeks
was the landlord of " The Bush " when the immortal Pickwick stayed at that
tavern. My readers will remember the " jolly looking old personage " who was
drinking a bowl of bishop with the " one-eyed bagman." This, however, was
.after 1827, when Weeks probably was no longer there.
234
BUSH TAVERN.
Fig. 45.
WHITE LION HOTEL, BROAD STREET.
Fig. 47
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
— Andrewes, Esq., at Hill House, near Mangotsfield. 1
Colonel Andrewes his son, of the Somerset Militia.
Rice Wasbrough, the elder, who died in April, 1802. He
was Organist to the Cathedral.
Robert Broderip, music master, who collected a book of
Glees for the Society.
The Rev. Dr. Barry, of the Hotwells.
The Rev. Charles Lee of the Grammar School.
William Rucster, Attorney, died December, 1830.
Francis Gold, Apothecary, who died in 1830, aged 86.
John Prideaux, silk mercer, who died in 1839, aged 86,
with whom I sung the duet of ' Could a man be secure '
in 1838 at his house in Shirehampton. 8
Thomas Hellicar, Merchant in Queen Square (p. 361).
Edward Chiun, Attorney, from the Moat, near Newent,
Glo."
Richard Smith, jun., joined the Club in 1796, and has left
a memorandum that of all those who were members at that
date (about 1828) " Rice Wasbrough, Brazier, Narrow Wine
Street, brother to John Wasbrough, was the only one yet alive,"
except himself. After his name in one of the lists of members
there is added in his own handwriting, " Whom God long
preserve, July, 1828."
A piano was in the room, " to which the members sang
glees before supper, and afterwards spent the night merrily
together . . . harmony reigned in every sense of the word."
One of the earliest members, Robert Broderip, the organist,
compiled a " Collection of Duets, Motas, Canons, Catches and
Glees " for the use of the Club. Other collections were printed
by Thomas Warren, the title-page of one of which I have
reproduced. 3 (See Fig. 46.)
Another of the first members, John Prideaux, was in the
habit of inviting some of his old friends to dinner every year,
to recall early memories. The last of these gatherings was at
his house at Shirehampton on July nth, 1838. All the guests
were elderly, amongst them being Miss Palmer of Park Row,
aged eighty-three, Dr. Thomas Griffiths, 4 and Mr. Peter
1 Probably John Andrewes (or Andrews), second Treasurer of the Infirmary.
(See p. 47.) The above list is copied from the fly-leaf of a book of songs
published for the Catch Club, now in the possession of Miss Bleeck. The list is
written by Richard Smith, jun.
* See p. 236. The reader will understand that it is Richard Smith who is
speaking.
3 I am indebted to the kindness of Miss Bleeck for permission to copy this.
4 Dr. Thomas Griffiths, formerly Apothecary to the Infirmary, died in
May, 1838. R. Smith must, therefore, be incorrect in stating that he was
present at this dinner, or has given the wrong date.
235
A HISTORY OF THE
Dowding, aged eighty-one. After dinner Mr. Prideaux, aged
eighty-six, said to Richard Smith (who was the " young 'un "
of the party, being only sixty-five) , " Come young Master Dickey,
let you and me try what hand we can make at a duet ! We
used once to touch off ' Could a man be secure ' some forty
years ago ! " " And," says Richard Smith, " we actually
sent upstairs for poor Bob Broderip's book, and sang it ! "
Fig. 46.
ATCHES, (j^N^NS and GLEE'S
^ ~~t>?> twee,, Jousis, Yiw and <Jia.
^{oiit famwvu Jmonoeo
To the ^NoBLEMEIsT and GEtfTZEMEJSPtfthe
at theThatcKdHoufe Tavern, S!jamess
6u. welt' mtecA, wit// 2j£
"f'
yuai
Tho? Warren-.
LONDON Printed by Welch eb. in Gerrsrd Street S* Anns Soho
W^reuiaybehad the teu proceeding Book* of CatJies Canons and Gleea . a Focket Volsoe of Caccrie* »nd afiagle Canooio 48 Facts
Juft FublUXed
IS New Duet» by Cocthi - 10-S | 6 Qnarteto by Sach - - .10-6 \ A 2d Sett of Lcflboa by Garth. 10-G \ 6 Lcflbn* by N»~el . 10-6
TITLE-PAGE OF GLEE BOOK BELONGING TO CATCH CLUB.
This is a pretty and pathetic picture of " the boys of the
old brigade," with rapidly thinning ranks, joining in the songs
of their happy youth. Prideaux died the following year.
Dr. Joseph Mason Cox, who was born in 1757, and was for
some years Physician to the Lunatic Asylum at Fishponds, was,
we are told, passionately fond of music, and belonged to a
quartet party of which Joseph Sturge was the leader. J. Ames,
Richard Brickdale Ward, and — Stock (Dr. J. E. Stock,
Physician to the Infirmary 1811 ?) were amongst the members.
There was also a Phcenix Glee Society in 1838. The
members met at each others houses. Alfred Bleeck and
Richard Smith, jun., belonged to this.
As mentioned before, music frequently followed a dinner.
236
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
There are many letters in the Infirmary Memoirs which prove
this. Francis Gold belonged to the " musical set," and used
to meet his friends at many a friendly dinner, some of the old
invitations to which are still extant. x
THE HALF-PINT CLUB.
This was instituted by some jovial spirits about the date of
the foundation of the Infirmary, and was patronised by several
members of the Medical Staff.
The meetings were usually held at the Rummer Tavern
until 1776, in which year Dr. Moncrieffe (Physician, 1775-1816)
joined it. Through his influence the rendezvous was changed to
the " White Lion " in Broad Street. (See Fig. 47.) It was at
first a beer club ; each member was supposed to drink half a
pint of Burton at each meeting, and " tasters " were appointed
to find out where the best was to be found.
After some time the rules were modified and wine was
permitted, but the restriction to half a pint was maintained.
The Club met every evening at seven o'clock, and an annual
dinner was held, at which the nature of the toasts clearly shows
the high Tory principles of the members. After Rodney's
victory over De Grasse in 1782, the first three were : (1) " The
Church and King," (2) " True Blues," and (3) " The glorious
memory of Admiral Rodney and the battle of the 12th of
April, 1782." After the Battle of the Nile in 1798 Nelson took
Rodney's place as the naval hero.
Dr. Moncrieffe was considered the father of the Club during
his membership, and for many years was Chairman. " Here,"
says Richard Smith, " he every evening of his life smoked one
pipe and took a half pint of Madeira and water. . . . The
doctor's carriage 2 was punctually at his own door by eight
•o'clock to take him there." (See p. 126.)
At Moncrieffe's death in 1816 the Club had only the following
members : Mr. Farley of Worcester, Mr. Cockburn of Trinity
Street, Mr. John Hall of Brunswick Square (of the firm of
Parsons and Hurle), the Rev. Mr. Bedford, Precentor at the
Cathedral, and the Rev. Henry Green, Minor Canon.
1 I find the following note by R. Smith in one of his MS. books : " Mr.
Richard Lowe told me that during the last forty years Mr. Francis Gold was
invariably seated at the Clergy Feast, at the end of the third table, to carve
the haunch of venison."
2 Drs. Drummond, Ludlow, Moncrieffe, and John Townsend were for
many years the only medical men in Bristol who kept carriages. The three
physicians arranged with our friend Jack Weeks of the " Bush " to provide
them each with a carriage and horses for ^ioo a year. Weeks built a stable
and coach-house for them in Broadmead, which he called " The Doctors'
Stand." Townsend made a similar arrangement with a man named Thomas
Jones.
237
A HISTORY OF THE
At the decease of John Hall, who was, says Richard Smith,
" absolutely frightened to death by the rioters," the Club came
to an end.
THE NAGG'S HEAD CLUB.
This was a celebrated Club in the early part of the eighteenth
century, famous for its Jacobite principles, and frequented by
" beaux esprits and esprits forts " of the city. x It was in such
repute that a high price (for those days) was paid for admission.
In an old account book there is an entry that on December ist,
1738, Charles Wyndham Ash, Esq., paid William Reeve,
the Treasurer, £20 on election as a member.
Peter Wells, an associate of the Club, was generally con-
sidered its surgeon, and said " that it was worth £300 a year to
him." He lived in a house opposite the east end of St.
Augustine's Church, was of short stature, carried a gold-
headed cane, and wore a red roquelaure. He died in 1785-6.
Richard Smith tells the following story of him, which I
believe is authentic : " When Peter Wells' sister was buried, a
gentleman who was at the funeral saw Peter's thigh bone "
(which was lying loose in the earth, like Yorick's skull in
Hamlet), " and requested to have it handed up. Watching his
opportunity he slipped it under his coat and brought it away."
It finally came into Dick Smith's possession, and found a lodging
in the Infirmary Museum. " I showed the bone," he continues,
" to Mr. Shute, the Surgeon. ' Ah,' said he, ' the femur of my
old master, Peter ! Aye, I remember it ; he fractured it in
kicking an apprentice down stairs ! ' "
I have reproduced a photograph of this specimen. Even to
the unprofessional eye it appears badly " set," no doubt owing
to the fact that Peter Wells, as stated in the Museum Catalogue,
treated the broken bone himself. 2 (See Fig. 48.)
Most of the members of this Club were staunch Jacobites,
not only during the rebellion of 1745, but they continued their
loyalty to Charles Edward long after his expulsion from the
kingdom.
Abraham Richard Hawkesworth, who was Treasurer of the
Infirmary from 1766 to 1768, was in his younger days a
prominent member of the Nagg's Head Club. (See p. 102.)
1 The Nagg's Head Tavern in Wine Street, where the Club met, was
afterwards the .bank of Messrs. Peach, Fowler & Co., it then became Stephen's
Linen Warehouse, and then again was used as a bank by Messrs. Savery,
Towgood & Co.
2 In those days it was usual for the Bristol newspapers to give a circum-
stantial account of such accidents, but the only reference I can find (in Felix
Farley's Journal for Saturday, December 12th, 1761) is the following :
" Monday last Mr. Peter Wells, Surgeon, in this City, fell down and broke
his Thigh."
238
Fig 48.
THIGH BONE OF PETER WELLS.
BONES OF FOOT OF JOHN LEACH, COOK AT THE
BUSH TAVERN.
Fig. 49.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
His principles, political and religious, altered very con-
siderably as he grew older, and his attendance at the meetings
gradually ceased. He was, however, pressed to come, and
after a long absence he at length complied. According to
Mr. Lunell, when Hawkesworth was called upon for a toast,
" which, agreeably to the usage, every member was obliged to
drink, Mr. Hawkesworth excused himself under the plea that
his sentiments would be unpalatable to them, inasmuch as his
political opinions had undergone a great change ; but as the
Club insisted upon his giving the toast, he gave as follows : —
" ' May the devil turn him inside out
Who would not keep the Pretender out !
May the devil turn him outside in
Who dares to bring the Pretender in !
May the devil turn him inside out
Who will not push this toast about ! ' "
He was " at once liberated from the Society."
Of the further fortunes of the Club I can find no trace.
THE WHITE LION CLUB.
The White Lion Club, which took an active part in many
Infirmary elections, held its meetings at the " White Lion " in
Broad Street. Its principles were " High Tory," and one of its
functions is stated to have been " to hunt down Dissenters."
It issued manifestos at political contests and General
Elections. The notices of meetings were usually addressed
" To the friends of the Blue Interest."
The question is often discussed what effect this club life,
with its nightly potations, had upon the health of these social
spirits. The members of the Infirmary Staff, who were the
most frequent in their attendance at such clubs, lived for the
most part to be old men ; some suffered from gout, others died
of apoplexy or kidney disease, but on the whole one cannot say
that drink seriously affected their mental or bodily health.
It may interest my readers to see a reproduction of a drawing
by Mr. Robert Dyer (see Fig. 49) of the bones of the foot of
John Leach, who was cook at the Bush Tavern during the
management of Jack Wreeks. The distortion, from gout, is
very remarkable.
Many of the Infirmary Staff have been clever amateur
painters, and have occasionally exhibited their pictures at the
Society of British Artists, etc. I have found notices of a
Drawing Society which existed in Bristol in the early 3<-ears of
the eighteenth century. John King, surgeon, who lived in the
Mall, Francis Gold, the Rev. Samuel Sever, Francis Cheyne
239
A HISTORY OF THE
Bowles (Surgeon to the Infirmary 1806-7), and the Rev.
J. Eden were members.
No one can have read this history without realising that
disputes at the Infirmary have not always been settled by
.argument. We have seen how the annual dinners terminated
" because men did not choose to have their heads broke "
(p. 24), and threats of violence and challenges to mortal combat
were not uncommon amongst members of the Staff in old times.
The first record I can find of an actual duel in connection
with the Institution is brief and vague. It is merely to the effect
that Richard Vining Perry, who entered as a pupil under
Godfrey Lowe in 1782, " fought a duel with a professional
gentleman of this City with whom he had a dispute concerning
the grammatical construction of a sentence." We shall hear
of this Mr. Perry shortly in another escapade.
I have referred (p. 97) to the duel arranged between
Richard Smith, sen. (Surgeon, 1774-91) and Thomas Rigge
(Physician, 1767-78) in 1778. The parties, who had met behind
Brandon Hill, were about to fire, when the seconds made a
determined appeal to them, and Dr. Rigge was prevailed on to
apologise, an act requiring more courage on his part probably
than continuing the fight.
Both, in fact, had plenty of pluck. Richard Smith, who
was active, quick and strong, distinguished himself in the
Parliamentary contest of 1780 by attacking and capturing a
bully named Baxter, who was at the head of a mob of
roughs on that occasion.
Henry Smith, son of the above Richard, fought a duel some
years later, in which he pinked and killed his opponent ; this,
however, was not in any way connected with Infirmary affairs.
In 1837 Mr. Woodward, a surgeon living at Kingsdown, was
accused by a Mr. Price of carrying a case of duelling pistols,
loaded with ball, about with him, with a view to the destruction,
of some person unknown. The case came before the magistrates,
and it was ascertained that Woodward, who frequented the
Montague Tavern, and was not always sober, had no warlike
intentions. The episode is only interesting as affording a
glimpse of old times.
The arrangement of duels was always, of course, undertaken
by the seconds. I have in my possession a bundle of old
letters written to my father by William Bird Herapath. x One
1 Mr. B. Herapath (whose father, Mr. Herapath, was at the time referred
to lecturing at the Medical School) afterwards became famous as a chemist,
and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. His son, C. K. C. Herapath,
is now (1914) in practice in Bristol, and his grandson, Dr. C. E. K. Herapath,
is Medical Registrar to the Infirmary. (See also p. 271.)
240
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
of these (which is unfortunately undated, but must have been
written about 1838 or 1839, when the two were medical students
at Bristol), refers to an " affair of honour " in which my father
was one of the principals, and W. B. Herapath acted as his
second. The challenge was taken to the Infirmary, to the other
second, also a student, named Rawlinson. The meeting could
not be brought about, in spite of Herapath's efforts, as the other
man declined to fight, on the excuse of some supposed error in
the preliminary arrangements. Herapath's letter, dated
" Thursday 12.30," concludes : " My advice to you is to
horse-whip him soundly, either before the students or at the
most fitting opportunity. ... I hope I have conducted this
affair to your satisfaction, with the exception of my first
mistake. However, we must console ourselves with the
reflection ' experientia docet.' . . . With regard to the
other affair you will please to defer further notice until after
seeing me as I do not feel perfectly convinced of the identity
of the party." What the " other affair " was I do not know.
The career of Richard Vining Perry, whose duel on a point
of grammar has been alluded to (p. 241) , throws some interesting
side-lights on the customs of his time.
As a student at the Infirmary he is said to have " conducted
himself with great propriety, and in every respect to the perfect
satisfaction of the Surgeons." He finished his medical educa-
tion in London, returned to Bristol, and " set up " at " No. 19
at the corner of the Barton, leading into North Street."
He was good-looking, fond of dress and company, had
little professional work, and spent most of his time at the
"White Hart," "White Lion," and Jack's Coffee-Houses.
In order to raise a little money he advertised that he would
give a lecture on " The Philosophy of the Human Passions," at
the Assembly Rooms, Prince Street, on the 28th of July.
Tickets for admission could be obtained, at five shillings each,
at Pine's Printing Office and at other places. He appears to
have had a fairly large audience, attracted no doubt by the
curious title of his lecture. One who was present describes his
oration as " a torrent of words — a rhapsody, without beginning
or end." " His address," says Richard Smith, " was extremely
plausible and insinuating, his countenance very handsome, and
his figure altogether finely proportioned and elegant. x No man
had better requisites for a fortune-hunter, and accident threw
in his way the very prize for which he was upon the look-out."
1 In an advertisement offering a reward for his apprehension soon after
this he is described as " a young man of genteel appearance, fair complexion,
light hair tied behind, about five feet seven inches high."
241
16
A HISTORY OF THE
In the year 1791 a ladies' school was kept in Park Street by
the Misses Mills, and before this by Hannah More and her
sisters, for whom the house was built. Miss Selina Mills was a
favourite pupil of Hannah More, and took over the manage-
ment of the concern in 1790. *
Park Street was at that time in an unfinished condition ;
only three or four houses had been built on the right-hand side
(as you ascend the hill), and the top one of these was the school.
Behind these houses was a field, with a private path leading to
Culver Street. A watch-box was stationed near Miss Mills's
establishment, and a long wall separated the school from the
field.
Amongst the boarders in the year 1791 was a certain Miss
Clementina Clarke, aged fourteen years and eleven months at
the time of the incident I am about to relate. This girl had
been entrusted to the care of Mr. William Gordon, then residing
in St. James's Barton. Her uncle, Mr. Ogilvie, had made a
large fortune in Jamaica, and had left it all to his niece
Clementina. Gordon had related all this in the Exchange
Coffee Room in the presence of Perry, who greedily drank in
the particulars, and began at once to lay his plans ior the
capture of an heiress reported to be worth £6,000 a year.
His first move was to make the acquaintance of Betty Baker,
a servant maid at the school, who became his confidante, and
assisted him in the project. It is said that he used to walk up
and down in view of his future prey, to whom Betty pointed him
out, and practised upon the romantic feelings of Clementina by
representing to her " how happy any Lady must be with so
handsome a man."
On March 18th, 1791, this perfidious Betty disappeared,
leaving all her belongings behind her ; and the next day, about
four o'clock in the afternoon, a servant in livery brought a
chaise to the school with the following note : " William
Gordon's compliments to Miss Mills requests she will send Miss
Clarke in his chaise to his house, as a relative of his has just
arrived there and wishes to see her."
The servant wore Mr. Gordon's uniform, and Miss Mills,
who had no suspicion of any trickery, allowed her to go. Miss
Clarke herself appeared indifferent about the matter, and even
asked Miss Mills to accompany her, an offer which she probably
knew would be declined. The " man in livery " drove the
chaise, not to Mr. Gordon's house, but to a spot near the
1 In Hannah More's time the celebrated " Perdita " (p. 375) was a pupil
there. Selina Mills married Zachary Macaulay on August 26th, 1799, and
became the mother of Lord Macaulay.
242
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Infirmary. Here Miss Clarke 1 alighted, dismissed the carriage,
and walked to Mr. Perry's house in the Barton, within a short
distance of her guardian's.
She stayed at his house until eleven o'clock at night, when a
post-chaise and four, which had been waiting near the Stokes
Croft turnpike, drew up at the door, and Perry, Clementina
Clarke and Betty Baker jumped in. Mr. Baynton, attorney,
and Mr. Samuels, an apprentice of Perry, accompanied them,
and the party dashed off, and travelled rapidly through
Gloucester and Newport northwards — meeting with the
orthodox adventures of upsets in the dark, etc. — until they
reached Scotland, where Perry and Clementina Clarke were
made man and wife by the noted blacksmith, John Paisley, 2
at Gretna Green.
In the meanwhile Miss Selina Mills waited for Miss Clarke's
return, and when the evening came naturally concluded that
she had been detained at her guardian's, and sent her night
things round to Mr. Gordon's house. His suspicions were
aroused, and he hastened to Park Street, where a few inquiries
led him and the schoolmistress to the conclusion that Perry had
run away with the heiress to Scotland.
With as little delay as possible a sister of Selina Mills,
accompanied by one of her brothers and by Jack Weeks of the
Bush Tavern, a most useful man in such an adventure, dashed
off in hot pursuit.
In spite of an accident to the chaise, which might have been
serious, the runaways got so good a start, that they met their
pursuers on their return journey on Cumberland Common.
Perry and his wife were on one side of the chaise, Baynton and
Samuels were on the other. " When the carriages came near,"
says Richard Smith (who follows pretty closely the accounts
given in the papers), "Miss Mills exclaimed, ' For God's sake
let me speak to Miss Clarke.' Mr. Perry immediately jumped
up and presenting a pistol at Miss Mills's face replied, ' There
is no Miss Clarke here, but Mrs. Perry is.' Miss Mills desired to
speak with her, and Mr. WTeeks said, ' Perry, let Miss Mills speak
one word to her.' ' No ! ' replied Mr. Perry, not a word by
G ! Drive on ! ' "
This determined action, the pistol, and Perry's reputation
as a man who would not be thwarted, appear to have cowed the
1 In the advertisement afterwards put in the papers by Miss Mills, offering
a reward for the capture of the runaway couple, Miss Clarke is described as
" of fair complexion, light hair, and dark blue eyes ; had on when she was
taken away bombazeen mourning, with a black beaver hat, and is of small
or low stature."
2 Paisley, although usually called a " blacksmith," was a tobacconist by
trade. He died in 1814.
243
A HISTORY OF THE
others, including the redoubtable Jack Weeks, and the fugitives
were allowed to escape without any immediate attempt at
further pursuit.
Rewards were offered for the capture of the couple, and a
free pardon was promised to all concerned except Richard Perry
if they surrendered and gave information.
The following notice appeared in the Morning Chronicle : —
" To the Public.
As it has been maliciously reported that I was taken away from
Miss Mills's School by my Husband by force, and without my
consent, this is to inform my Friends and the Public that it is
utterly false and without the smallest foundation in Truth ;
and whatever advertisements have or may appear, stating any
such thing are destitute of truth ; and I beg my Friends and
the Public not to credit any such injurious Report to the
Honour of my Husband and the Happiness of myself.
" Clementina Perry."
The " Public " here appealed to were undecided, but on
the whole began to think lightly of the matter, and to be jocose
at the expense of Miss Mills. Caricatures appeared, one
representing the scene on Cumberland Common, the school-
mistress with a rod in her hand, Clementina clinging to Perry
for protection, and Samuels the apprentice galloping off with a
pestle in his hand and a mortar on his head.
The Bow Street Runners x were everywhere on the look-out,
but in spite of their vigilance, Clementina was smuggled on to
a ship for Ostend, in the disguise of a boy, and got safely out
of England.
Miss Mills, undeterred by ridicule and difficulties, traced the
fugitives to Ostend, and started in pursuit. She suspected that
Perry and his wife were at Brussels, but when she reached Ghent
the landlord of her hotel found out that the couple were actually
in that city, and ascertained the very house in which they were
living. Miss Mills and her friends made application to the
Mayor of Ghent, who helped them in many ways, but refused
to search the house without the authority of the young lady's
mother and guardian. Perry soon after shifted his quarters,
and Miss Mills returned to England.
But she never relaxed in her endeavours to bring Perry to
justice, and hearing of his arrival in this country in 1793, she
1 " Detectives who scoured the country to find criminals before the
introduction of the Police Force." — Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.
They were established 1749, and were sometimes called " Robin Red-
breasts," from their scarlet waistcoats.
244
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
at once procured a warrant, and he was at length captured and
taken to " the New Prison for the County of Surrey in Horse-
Monger Lane in the Borough." Here he and his wife " lived in
great splendour — had an elegant apartment, his own service of
plate, and entertained his friends." They had managed to get
married by banns in London before Perry's capture, Mrs. Perry
being " given away " on this occasion by her mother,
who does not appear to have ever strongly condemned the
union.
Daniel Baynton, Perry's accomplice, surrendered himself at
Bristol, and was allowed to go free on bail. He resumed his
professional work as an attorney. Samuels and Betty Baker
kept out of the way.
When Perry returned to London from the Continent he
consulted Messrs. Vicary Gibbs and Erskine, and ultimately
retained them as counsel. On January 23rd, 1794, they moved
in the Court of King's Bench for a writ of " proceedings to send
the parties to Bristol for the next Gaol Delivery." This was
granted, and Perry was brought to trial on April 14th, 1794.
One of those curious complications which sometimes upset
" the best laid schemes of mice and men " occurred between the
date of Perry's capture and his trial.
Richard Burke, Recorder of Bristol, died in February, 1794,
and Vicary Gibbs was appointed his successor in the following
March. It thus happened that one of the lawyers retained by
Perry as his counsel became his judge !
The trial made a great sensation at the time ; it not only
had the element of a romantic drama, but a great deal was
done for effect and with a view to work upon the feelings of the
jury. Mrs. Perry and her child were in court, sitting by the
side of Erskine and Fielding. Perry pleaded " not guilty,"
and when asked how he would be tried, he answered, " By God
and his Country." It must be remembered that the punishment
at that time for such a case of abduction — if against the wishes
of the girl — would have been death.
The post-boy proved that the parties got into the chaise
" very happy and cheerful," and " John Paisley, the Gretna
Green priest, who was so extremely drunk that he could scarcely
stand, deposed that he had married the parties, but he could
not tell when."
The most noticeable feature of the trial, perhaps, was
Erskine 's successful manoeuvres to have Mrs. Perry put into the
witness-box ; he saw the immense importance of this move,
and showed great persistence in bringing it about. The
Recorder told him several times to sit down, but he replied,
245
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
" No, your Worship, I will stand here till Doomsday, but I will
establish her right to be heard."
Messrs. Bond and Leas, counsel for the prosecution, main-
tained that as his wife de jure she could not give evidence
for or against Perry. Erskine replied, " If she is only his wife
de facto she must be heard, since it is against her the crime
is committed — but if she is his wife de jure if she went willingly,
and was legally married, the indictment falls to the ground."
He finished a rhetorical and impassioned speech with the words,
" Good God ! we are not before a Revolutionary Tribunal ! "
amidst loud applause, and cries of " Erskine for ever ! "
A competent witness of the scene declared that the Recorder
was " browbeaten by Erskine." Be that as it may, the wife's
evidence was taken ; she declared she acted from first to last
with perfect willingness and knowledge of what she was doing,
and Perry was acquitted.
After the trial the worthy couple went to live at Highgate.
Richard Smith met Perry accidentally on August ist, 1794, in
the Strand, and was invited to dine at the Archery House,
Highgate, together with Robert Lax, then a medical student,
and Thomas Brickenden.
They were splendidly entertained, the dinner party including
the now celebrated Betty Baker. Mrs. Perry had recently been
confined with twins.
The after history of the Perrys is uncertain. Reports got
about that the union was not a happy one, and there is' evidence
that in 1812 Mrs. Perry was living in a mean lodging near the
Old Bridge at Bath, and that she died about a year after.
Perry himself took the name of Ogilvie, and is reported to
have lived in Jamaica in some style.
Besides Richard Smith's and the newspaper accounts of
the trial two pamphlets were published. One, dedicated " to all
Mr. Perry's prosecutors," was probably written by himself.
The other was entitled " The Genuine Trial of Mr. Perry,
published for the Author, and sold by Mr. Latham, general
distributer of the London and Bristol Papers, Price 4d. Be
sure you ask for the Genuine Trial."
246
CHAPTER XIX
MEDICAL PRACTICE IN BRISTOL IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND
NINETEENTH CENTURIES — THE BARBER-SURGEONS — ROSEWELL
— PARSLEY — SAMUEL PYE — HELLIER — THE APOTHECARIES —
SHAPLAND — ALLARD V. SOWERBY — BRODERIP — THE DISPENSING
DRUGGIST — THOMAS BAYNTON — W. H. GOLDWYER — S. S. SALMON
— WILLIAM BARRETT — ADVERTISING QUACKS — JOHN TAYLOR —
EDUCATION OF THE APOTHECARIES — CUPPING — EXTRAORDINARY
REMEDIES
It is proposed in this chapter to give some particulars of
medical practice in Bristol during the first hundred years or
so of the existence of the Infirmary. In the early days of the
Institution the separation of the surgeons and barbers had not
yet taken place, * although individual members of the Company
were already following very different avocations, and there was
a tendency for some of the better educated barber-surgeons to
restrict themselves to the work of general practitioners, and
leave the tooth-drawing and shaving to their more old-
fashioned brethren.
William Thornhill, the first Surgeon to be elected on the
staff of the Infirmary, was apprenticed to a barber-surgeon
named Rosewell, who had a shop in All Saints' Lane, at the door
of which was displayed " a staff, a porringer and a red garter,"
the insignia of his trade. Here his numerous apprentices learnt
to shave, bleed, and draw teeth. " Old Rosewell," as he was
generally called, who carried on the business until his death
in April, 1752, was a well-known character in the city, and we
are told that outside his shop on Sunday mornings " there were
swarms of persons to be bled, for which each paid from sixpence
to one shilling." 2
Another famous barber-surgeon, named James Parsley,
who was alive as late as 1807, lived next door to the Guildhall
in Broad Street. " This man," says Richard Smith, " dressed
more wigs, drew more teeth, and spilled more blood than any
1 The surgeons petitioned Parliament for separation in January, 1745,
and the Union was dissolved on June 25th, 1745.
2 From Felix Farley's Journal, November iSth, 1758 : " Whereas at the
swearing in of the Master of the Company of Barber Surgeons the
Rt Worshipful The Mayor was pleased to take Notice to them of the
Scandalous Practice of Shaving on the Lord's Day, desiring the same might
be suppress'd."
247
A HISTORY OF THE
man in Bristol. At his window and by the side of his door hung
immense double strings of teeth drawn by one terrible jerk,
having never used a gum lancet in his life. . . . He regularly
brought his patients to the door, either for the sake of a good
light or for notoriety." His name appears in Matthew's
Bristol Directory for 1793-4 as " James Parsley, Peruke Maker,
Broad Street."
One of the first practitioners to emerge from the state of a
barber-surgeon to that of an operating surgeon was Samuel
Pye. He was elected Surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital in 1713,
and held that office until 1736, when he canvassed unsuccessfully
for a post at the Infirmary. He was one of the many Bristolians
who was mentioned by name and sneered at by Chatter ton.
In the Bristol Oracle and Weekly Miscellany for May 15th,
1742, is an account of a transaction which throws some light on
the relationship then existing between the Infirmary Surgeons
and practitioners of the type of Samuel Pye. John Page
(Surgeon, 1741-77) was called in to see a gentleman named
Slade, who was staying at the White Lion Tavern. He found
that the patient was suffering from an inflamed hand, and
considered that amputation at the wrist was the only safe
treatment. He asked his colleague at the Infirmary, William
Thornhill, to meet him in consultation, and Thornhill concurred
in Page's opinion that the hand should be taken off. Now
Mr. Slade had been under the care of Samuel Pye, whom Page
refers to in the account he wrote to the Bristol Oracle as an
" ignorant Pretender." Neither Page nor Thornhill expressed
any wish to meet Pye or to talk over the case with him ; but
after much ado the three surgeons met at the patient's room and
had an angry discussion, Pye hotly maintaining that the thumb
and one finger might be saved. The patient decided on this line
of treatment, and Pye performed the partial amputation.
Unfortunately, severe inflammation followed, the arm had to be
removed above the elbow, and the man died. All these details
John Page set forth, without any extenuation, in the public
papers.
No less than five other Samuel Pyes were in practice in the
city between 1740 and 1808.
The second Samuel Pye was elected Surgeon to St. Peter's
Hospital in 1743, the third in 1747, and the fourth in 1755, at
the same time that William Barrett, the historian, was elected.
This fourth Samuel Pye was a good and successful operator.
His skill in stone cases, especially, made him a powerful rival to
the Infirmary Surgeons. x There is in the Museum at the
1 In one year he operated on ten cases in private, a large number for one
man in those days.
248
'■ l : -.) -..-■ t
•/A..
SAMUEL PYE.
Fig. 50.
>■>
lojfil'* " j It,
« j£.V* ■ - - »:°it\
T7~
<r
// <^ /■*>"< f^' '
MfUJ* ■*
( o
A BILL OF THOMAS HFLLIER, BARBER-SURGEON.
Fig. si.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Infirmary an enormous urinary calculus which was successfully
removed by him. He died on September 20th, 1759, aged
seventy-four, and is buried in Christ Church, where a tablet
with a pompous Latin inscription is erected to his memory.
He lived in Corn Street. 1 (For portrait see Fig. 50.)
The fifth Samuel Pye 2 was elected Surgeon to St. Peter's
Hospital in 1759 ; and his son, the sixth of the name, died in
1808, leaving a son, James Pye, who practised at Lawrence Hill.
It will be seen, therefore, that there. were seven successive
generations of this family in practice in Bristol.
Another barber-surgeon who was on the staff of St. Peter's
Hospital was Thomas Hellier ; he was elected in 1743 and died
in 1753. There are several of his bills in existence, and from
these we gather that he shaved families regularly, and sent in
his accounts usually every two or three years. I have re-
produced a photograph of one of these, in which one item is
the " shaving of Madm's Head " for two and a half years at
ten shillings a year. (See Fig. 51.)
He had a son, also called Thomas, who " served his time at
the Mint" (St. Peter's), and practised in St. Thomas Street
and afterwards in the Cathay. He died in 1776.
The apothecaries, who sold drugs and groceries, etc., and
were at first completely under the supervision of the College of
Physicians, became a powerful body in the eighteenth century,
and did most of the ordinary practice.
In spite of the satire levelled at their heads by Pope, Garth,
Arbuthnot and others, they throve and multiplied. The
greater part of the population employed the apothecary because
he was considered cheaper than the physician, and because he
not only gave advice but supplied the drugs and blisters, etc.,
for which he felt justified in charging a good price.
In Bristol the apothecaries were in a very flourishing
condition in the eighteenth century, and could afford to dis-
regard the contempt of the physicians, many of whom, however,
were gradually learning that it was the best policy to be polite
to them.
Joseph Shapland, who was elected Apothecary to the
1 In the seventeenth century there were, according to Dr. George Parker,
some seventy or eighty barber-surgeons in Bristol. In a list of voters prepared
for the Parliamentary contest in Bristol in 1754- there are twenty-nine
apothecaries, nineteen surgeons and eleven barber-surgeons, besides one
apothecary in Bedminster and one in Clifton. William Goldwyer (see p. 257)
states that in 1750 there were thirty-seven practitioners of medicine in Bristol,
including barber-surgeons.
2 From Felix Farley's Journal, June 10th, 1758 : " Tuesday was married
at St. James's Church Mr. Samuel Pye, Surgeon of this City and nephew of
Mr. Pye Surgeon of St. Michael's Hill to Miss Piguenet, a lady with a fortune
of ^3,000."
249
A HISTORY OF THE
Infirmary in 1746, set up in practice in Queen Square on his
resignation in 1752. He soon became very busy, and in 1775
took William Broderip into partnership. Their business was
so good that Broderip's coachman told Richard Smith that his
master had sometimes " stopped at sixty houses in the course
of a day." His book-keeper declared that in the early part of
the nineteenth century Broderip was making £4,500 a year.
Before this time Shapland and William Dyer were most in vogue.
" Physicians," writes Richard Smith, " were then only
called in when the sick person was in extremis ; in fact, as
they then complained, ' they came only to administer musk
and close the eyes of the patient.' ' The bottle was charged for
thus : " The draught 1/6. The musk therein 10/6." The
profit on the draught was about ten shillings. " I can myself
remember," continues Richard Smith, " when it (musk) might
"be smelled in the street as you passed the house of a dying
patient, as very few were allowed to depart without taking it,
who could afford to pay for it."
Shapland was so busy in the influenza epidemic of 1783,
that when he had found out the kind of mixture which seemed
most efficacious, he used to make up a firkin at a time (about
7^ gallons). In fact, the amount of medicines consumed in
those days is almost incredible. Patients with ordinary
maladies not unfrequently paid the apothecary a guinea a day
for their drugs, and scores of packets containing " the draught,"
" the julep," and " the powders as before," were " never untied,
and cupboards were loaded with hundreds of bottles, empty
and full."
Mr. Charles Bleeck (see Chapter xviii.) used in his practice
two hundredweight of Epsom salts a year, which would
provide some twenty-eight thousand doses as it is now
employed.
In many cases the barber-surgeon and the apothecary
differed very little in their kind of work, but the latter made
so much from the sale of drugs that he could afford to leave the
shaving and hair-cutting alone. In the last half of the
eighteenth century, when drug-taking was at its height, there
were many apothecaries in large towns who made four or five
thousand a year.
In the year 1793 there were in Bristol thirty-five apothecaries
and twenty surgeons. Nearly all the surgeons were general
practitioners who dispensed their own medicines ; some styled
themselves on their door-plates " Surgeon," some " Surgeon and
Apothecary."
Amongst the Staff of the Infirmary at this date Mr. Godfrey
250
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Lowe and Mr. Noble confined themselves pretty strictly to
surgery; Mr. Yeatman practised as an apothecary; and
Mr. Allard, who was always anxious to be known as a surgeon
only nevertheless dispensed his own medicines, the bills being
made out in the name of his "young man" or apprentice,
who, however, got none of the money.
Richard Smith, jun., commenced practice at 17 College
Street and had on the front door only " Smith, Surgeon," but
on the back door in Lamb Street, "Smith, Surgeon and
Apothecary."
When he removed to College Green m 1803 he dropped the
word "Apothecary," but continued to act as a "General
Practitioner." He inherited a patient from Mr. Allard, who
took six or seven bottles of physic » a day (including a draught
during the night if he happened to be awake) . He remained on
Richard Smith's books for three years, during which time he
was worth £250 to his medical attendant.
There was a heavy duty on glass at this time, and the great
thing was to get back the bottle. This was sometimes arranged
by speaking to the patient, but this plan was evidently con-
sidered rather infra dig., and it was more usual for the boy
or young man who left the bottles of medicine to make a
private arrangement with the servants of the house, who
obtained the bottles as a perquisite. Another plan was to
bargain with the women who then got their living by selling
and buying bottles. They went round crying, " Toticanes
bottles to sell," and were usually on a good understanding with
the apothecaries, and charged only a small percentage for the
recovery of their bottles and gallipots.
Robert Jones Allard, who was on the Surgical Staff of the
Infirmary from 1791 to 1810 (see p. 185), brought an action for
recovery of fees against a Mr. Sowerby, at the Bristol Assizes,
on September 5th, 1810. Mr. Jekyll, speaking for the defendant
said: " I had the curiosity . . . to ascertain the quantity of
medicine sent in by this diligent apothecary. . . . Gentlemen,
you would hardly credit it, if I did not declare it to you upon my
honour, as a fact, that in the course of these three or four months
there were sent to the defendant's house to be token by this boy,
no less than 469 draughts, besides mixtures," etc.
The great bulk of these potions would now be considered
mere " placebos," decoctions of elm-bark, almond emulsion
and such-like figuring largely in the books. The powders were
chiefly rhubarb and prepared chalk, with a little antimony.
Four shillings was the usual charge for a packet of twelve of
1 These bottles seldom contained more than three or four doses.
251
A HISTORY OF THE
these. If any essential oil, such as oil of cinnamon, was included
several shillings were added to the bill.
For a three years' supply of medicines a Mr. Archer, who was
living in the family of Richard Smith, sen., paid £350.
Many people in those days were regularly " let blood " every
spring and fall, and this was an important item in the income
of apothecaries and barber-surgeons.
The apothecary Broderip usually made no charge for
attendance in the city, but was in the habit of writing at the
bottom of his bill for medicines " attendance what you please."
Some gave nothing extra, but in one instance when the account
was for thirty pounds the patient paid eighty.
He charged five shillings for visits to Stapleton, Brislington,
or Redland. There is a record of one of his patients in Portland
Square consuming twelve draughts daily, for which he paid
eighteen shillings.
The apothecaries' assistants were hard worked, especially
during the winter months, and were often unable to go off duty
before midnight.
Broderip's " takings " at such busy times averaged some
twelve pounds a day. The Greenlys, of Herefordshire, thought
so much of his medicines, that they took to Weymouth every
year from his " shop " two hundred " tonic draughts " and one
thousand pills of different kinds. There were no pill-making
machines in those days ; the mass was rolled out into a long,
worm-like piece and divided into the requisite number of
fragments, each of which was made into a pill. No wonder that
one of Broderip's assistants declared " he was sick to death with
rolling them."
When an operating surgeon or physician was called in the
apothecary continued to attend. Mr. Greenly, above mentioned,
had the misfortune to have his hand shattered by the bursting
of a gun. Godfrey Lowe, Infirmary Surgeon, was summoned
to the case, and had to amputate the hand. He complained
to Richard Smith that " although he, of course, had in reality
all the responsibility, Mr. Broderip's bill was more than
double his fee ! "
Richard Smith, jun., was at this time (1793) one of Broderip's
apprentices, and narrates that one day during Mr. Greenly's
convalescence, " Mr. Lowe said, ' Well, I suppose we must go
on with the Bark!' 'Yes,' answered Mr. B., 'it won't
hurt him.' ' Hurt him,' rejoined Mr. Lowe, winking his eye,
' No, nor you either, will it, Billy ? ' "
This busy apothecary also did a great deal of inoculation for
small-pox, for which he charged from three to five guineas. In
252
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
fact, the complaint was that " Broderip took off the cream and
left the surgeon the skimmed milk ! "
He took all cases without inquiry, and in consequence had
a considerable number of bad debts. For instance, in 1796 he
booked £5,993, of which £1,959 was never recovered. There is
no doubt, both from the evidence of his assistants and from
extracts from his books made during his lifetime, that at his
most prosperous period he cleared four or five thousand a year.
It is not to be wondered at that he soon began to show the
usual signs of wealth. He kept a good carriage, had the best
of furniture, and maintained a private museum. He also
purchased a country house, where his family lived a great
part of the year. This house was situated on "the brow of
the hill leading down to Westbury, on the left-hand side after
you have passed Durdham Down and Cote House." It was,
it is true, popularly known as " Gallipot Hall," but as Richard
Smith says, " it was not the less splendid and elegant on that
account." Fortune, indeed, seemed to smile upon him, but
there were evil days in store. He began to prolong his sitting
after dinner, and this meant an increasing application to the
bottle. He was a " two bottle man," not an uncommon thing
in those days, but alcohol appears to have made him moody,
touchy, and averse to business. Dr. Beddoes sneered at him
in his pamphlet on Phthisis as " a fashionable Achilles of an
apothecary." Moncrieffe snubbed him. The physicians did
not consider the apothecary a person to consult with. One day
when Moncrieffe had been called in, one of the patient's friends
asked if he " would like to see Mr. Broderip, who had been in
attendance." He answered, " Hey ? What, the apothecary ?
No ! show me the patient ! What the devil have I to do with
the apothecary ? " Drs. Craufuird and Fox also refused to
meet him. In fact, the reign of Broderip was coming to an end,
and with it the entire kingdom of apothecaries.
About the year 1805 the physicians began to tell their
patients that the apothecary was quite unnecessary, that they
could get prescriptions compounded elsewhere at half the
price, and that it was time to make a stand against this
enormous system of drugging. Those who tried the experiment
found the physicians much cheaper and better, and the day of
the apothecary was over. He had displaced the barber-
surgeon, and was now, in his turn, to be supplanted by the
physician and the dispensing druggist.
The dispensing druggist, who was now coming to the front,
had existed in Bristol for some years, but in a suppressed and
languishing condition. At first these men were half druggists
.253
A HISTORY OF THE
and half apothecaries ; frequently they " prescribed across the
counter," as so many chemists do nowadays, to the detriment
of the patient, who does not generally consider a correct
diagnosis so important as a bottle of medicine.
As long ago as 1760 a certain James Grace advertised in the
Bristol papers that he had fitted up his shop " opposite the
Pump, in Peter Street," with drugs and medicines, and " that
Country People and others afflicted with any Sort of Disease,
by sending the State of their several Complaints will be supplied
with such Medicines as may speedily cure them." This man
actually applied for the Surgeoncy at the Infirmary in 1754.
Many of the druggists sold oils and paints in addition to
drugs, and advertised extensively, some of them claiming that
they could cure anything. A certain Dr. Perrin, who lived at
17 Denmark Street, advertised on January 12th, 1765, that he
" certainly cures Cancerous Complaints, Scurvy, Rheumatisms,
Dropsy, Gravel, etc. . . . He recovers the Blind to their
Sight," etc.
In 1784 one Edward Tucker had a " Medicinal Dispensary "
in Union Street, and according to Dr. E. Long Fox, sen.,
Tucker's brother had a large establishment of the same kind
at 11 Clare Street.
The Till Adams, husband and wife, did a great deal of
ordinary dispensing. John Till Adams, who figured in the
Borlase and Ludlow incident (p. 98), lived in Broad Street ;
according to the Bristol Gazette of September 6th, 1780, he
obtained the degree of M.D. at Aberdeen.
When he died he left his drugs and " valuable recipes " to
his wife, who carried on the business with great success, and
obtained a reputation for the cure of certain diseases.
In 1795 the most notable dispenser in the city was a Mr.
Jackson, who lived at 23 Wine Street. He was one of the first
in Bristol to open a fine shop, with large glass jars in the window.
He made his fortune, and left his business in the hands of
Joseph Talbot, who also did very well.
At some of these shops a kind of general dispensary was
instituted ; some medical man attended for an hour or two
daily, and was supposed to see people gratis. There was, no
doubt, an arrangement between him and the druggist, so that
he got a share of the money taken for the sale of the drugs he
ordered.
The public thought then (as many of them do now) that a
little knowledge of drugs qualified a man to give medical advice,
and began more and more to consult these dispensing druggists ;
the physicians encouraged them, and advised their patients to
254
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
get rid of the family apothecary, and as a consequence the latter
class of practitioners did less and less every year.
Poor Broderip's career may be taken as typical of that of
many other apothecaries at this date. In 1815 he gave up his
carriage, disposed of his fine collection of pictures, and curtailed
his establishment generally. Soon after he left his country
house and went to live at 41 Richmond Terrace, where he
and his family kept much within doors, and seldom visited the
friends they had known in better days. Broderip still kept up
a small practice amongst some of his old patients, but never
"held up his head" again. " If you chanced to pass him in
the street," says Richard Smith, " he hurried by you under a
confused salute, and it was pitiful in the extreme to all those
who had known him and partaken of his hospitality when
fortune smiled upon him." He died about the year 1824.
Thomas Baynton, who was an applicant for the Surgeoncy
at the Infirmary on the resignation of James Norman in 1783,.
was for many years a successful practitioner in Bristol ; he
made a considerable fortune, and, unlike Broderip, succeeded in
keeping it. His father, who was usually styled " Dr. Baynton,"
practised in Gloucester Lane, and had many patients, especially
amongst the poor. Thomas was born on October 5th, 1761,
and after a rather insufficient general education he was
apprenticed at the age of fourteen to Thomas Elmes, who was
Apothecary at the Infirmary from 1775 to 1777. According to
Thomas Godwyn, his fellow-apprentice, Baynton was such a
" tyrant that there was no enduring him," and fought with
Godwyn so savagely that the friends of the latter had to take
him away. He began practice about the year 1782 in Bridge
Street, where he hired a bedroom and sitting-room for seventeen
shillings a week. On May 27th, 1784, he married Miss Anne
Swayne, youngest daughter of Mr. Joseph Swayne, of Hereford..
(See p. 175.) He lived after this in Brunswick Square and in
Berkeley Square, and then at Duncan House, Clifton, the
residence of Sir William Draper, famous for the part he took in
the capture of Manilla.
In his early days Baynton was very poor, and his fees were
small. One of his apprentices, James Dew, told Richard Smith
" that the pump-handle was troubled more at meals than the
beer-cock "—a sign in those times of great penury or stinginess.
He persevered, however, and fortune favoured him. A
well-known butcher in Bull Paunch Lane was wounded in the
shoulder by a cleaver during a brawl. Baynton was called in,
and the grateful butcher so talked about the way he had been
cured, that the young apothecary (he was only twenty-one)
255
A HISTORY OF THE
began rapidly to " get on." At this time " he constantly
appeared in dirty leather breeches and boots, with his clothes
and hat in keeping, so that he seemed to have just quitted his
horse after a hard ride into the country." According to
Richard Smith it was a trick of junior practitioners in those
days to " put on the look of having no time for anything but
business." How little men have altered since then !
Baynton was an able accoucheur, and his practice in this way
no doubt greatly increased his clientele, so that during his
prosperous days he booked between two and three thousand
per annum. He owed his success, however, to other causes,
especially to his manner, his personal appearance, his
conversational powers, and his real skill and ability. He wrote
a book in 1797 on Ulcer of the Legs, 1 a complaint which was
then even more common than it is now. He advocated the
plan, which was recommended long before by Wiseman and
others, of carefully strapping the leg with adhesive plaster, and
thus supporting and protecting the inflamed and ulcerated
surface. This is probably still the most effectual treatment
for these cases, and has helped to make the reputation of more
than one surgeon since Baynton's time. He used to assert that
generally " he could command them to get well — in most he
could persuade them by degrees, and in some very obstinate ones
he was obliged to use coaxing — but none dared to disobey
ultimately ! " His success made him think rather too highly of
himself, and he talked at the " Medical Book Society " of little
but his wonderful cures.
He appears to have been a rather slow and indecisive
operator, talking all the time to the patient and the assistants.
He had, says Richard Smith, " in the greatest possible perfection
the art of ' talking over ' patients — he usually began by alarming
them — ' he did not know what to say exactly — he feared there
was great reason to apprehend the worst — it was almost too late
to undertake the case — but it was one of those cases to which
he had turned his particular attention — he had seen a great
many — had several now under his care — and if anyone could
cure it, he was happy to say he was the man.' He knew also
the value of ' my good friend,' and ' my dear madam,' even
with the lowest classes, and turned all to advantage."
In appearance he was a handsome, well-made man, of a
ruddy and fair complexion, and had a pleasing and gentlemanly
address, perhaps erring on the side of " bowing a little too
1 Descriptive Account of a New Method of Treating Old Ulcers of the
Legs. By Thomas Baynton, Surgeon, Bristol. Printed by N. Biggs, Bristol.
He also published in 1813 a work on the Treatment of Diseases of the Spine by
Rest.
256
r //rl>&./,/»
Dl'KE of GLOC ESTER.
c„,r,< /,//u 3u*tituti on / / //»■ ,„,<
<</ " Diseases < >/ '//// Jd 'E,s .
SILHOUETTE OF W. H. GOLDWYER.
Fig. 52.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
much," and " acting the agreeable." He was, however,,
generally considered " captivating."
Partly by his practice and partly by a lucky find of coal
upon some land he had bought, he died worth over twenty-three
thousand pounds, a great part of which was dissipated by legal
difficulties connected with his will, which he made himself.
It was very complicated, and extended to the enormous length
of one hundred and thirty-two folios !
On the evening of August 29th, 1820, Richard Smith was
fetched from the theatre to see Baynton, who was very ill ;
he died (apparently of uraemic poisoning) the next day. His
friends had sent messages to nearly every medical man in
Clifton, and Richard Smith says " the room was quite full
of us." 1
Another Bristol practitioner very eminent in his day
deserves notice here, namely William Henry Goldwyer. He
was born on February 10th, 1763, in Broad Street, in the house
adjoining the church. His family is a good illustration of the
fact, common in the eighteenth century, and still sometimes
noticeable, of many members in successive generations
following the profession of medicine. This has been exemplified
in Bristol in the case of the Pyes, the Foxes, and the Prichards,
amongst others.
In the following table (S.) indicates surgeon and (P.)
Physician : —
William Goldwyer (S.)
!
I I I
William (S.) George (S.) Edward (S.)
William (S.)
William (S.
William (S.) George (P.) Henry (S.) John (S.),
George (S.) William Henry (S.)
1
1 r~~ 1
Henry (S.) John (P.) William (S.)
It will be seen that in five generations there were fifteen medical
men. William Henry Goldwyer was educated at the Bristol
Grammar School, and was apprenticed in 1779, when sixteen
years of age, to Williams, an apothecary in Bridge Street. In
1782 he became a pupil of James Norman at the Infirmary,
and a few years later " walked the hospitals " in London and
1 I have given the above account of Baynton not only because he is an
excellent type of the practitioner of the period, but because the details, all of
which are obtained from Richard Smith's notes, show what a born " Boswell "
the latter was.
257
A HISTORY OF THE
Paris. He married Miss Harriet Grimstead in 1793, and had
twelve children. He was a fair classical scholar, knew French,
and was well read in literature. He was also a great collector
of curiosities, amongst which was a painting of McGregor, the
hero of Sir Walter Scott's Rob Roy. When this novel appeared
Scott was still " the great unknown writer," but many people
were pretty certain that he was the author of the famous books
which had excited so much attention. Goldwyer, in this belief,
sent the picture to Sir Walter, who wrote back a polite letter of
acknowledgment, and said " that he accepted the present, but
that he had no claim to such a compliment as the author of
Rob Roy."
Goldwyer's chief claim upon Bristolians is the part he took
in founding the Bristol Eye Hospital.
With great energy he enlisted the sympathies of many
eminent citizens in the scheme, and on the 9th of June, 1810,
an address was issued, with the signature of Mr. Charles Ridout
(who then had a flourishing linen establishment in Mary-le-Port
Street), concerning the new venture. On the 18th a meeting
was held at the Guildhall ; the Duke of Gloucester was nomi-
nated Patron, Samuel Cave the Treasurer, and Goldwyer the
Surgeon-Oculist. Mr. J. M. Tandy was Secretary. The
Hospital was an immediate success, and was supported by
nearly all the well-known citizens. By the end of its third year
more than two thousand patients had been seen. Goldwyer's
services were so generally appreciated that the Freedom of
the City was presented to him in 1816.
In personal appearance he was short and thick-set, with
prominent, globular eyes ; he was round-shouldered, and
walked with a decided stoop. (See Fig. 52.)
" He was fond," says Richard Smith, " of a social party
round the fire. I think that I see him now (' in my mind's eye,
Horatio ') in the little back parlour at his house in Bridge
Street — filling his pipe out of the old leaden tobacco box with
the negro-headed cover, and then
" ' Puffing sorrow away
With a drop of good stingo
A-moistening his clay ; '
and many a time in passing his door after Lodge 1 he would
catch two or three of us with, ' Well, what do you say to a
whiff ? Come, turn in ! ' "
This " little back parlour " must have been an interesting
place ; on the chimney-piece were vases from Herculaneum, on
1 He was a noted Freemason, and served as Provincial Grand Master
from 1808 to 1820.
258
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the walls were scarce and curious engravings, and the tables and
shelves were littered with black-letter editions, peculiar skulls,
etc., and antique weapons. In this cosy retreat these good
fellows spent many an evening, smoking, talking, and drinking
" stingo," with an occasional bowl of punch.
Goldwyer was a good all-round surgeon, and a skilful
operator on cataracts. He had " Surgeon and Oculist " on
his door-plate, but towards the end of his life removed the word
" Oculist," under the impression that the public thought him
too exclusively an eye specialist.
He was very much beloved, and his death, which occurred
on March 7th, 1820, was considered such a calamity by his
friends, that Richard Smith was awakened by the ringing of his
night bell to be told of the sad event by Francis Grigg,
haberdasher, who was moved to " a flood of tears."
He was a good example of the higher class surgeon in general
practice of his day, an excellent accoucheur, and " well up " in
all branches of his profession ; always ready to help his younger
brethren and to give others the benefit of his wide knowledge.
Samuel Simmons Salmon, the son of a currier, was born on
February 8th, 1768, in the Old Market, near West Street, in a
house on which the motto " detur digniori " was printed. He
was educated at the Bristol Grammar School, and at the age of
fifteen was indentured " to Richard Smith and Augusta his
wife " (who were then, in 1783, living in Charlotte Street, Queen
Square), as " a good and faithful apprentice," at a premium of
two hundred and fifty guineas, for seven years.
He kept a " Physick Garden " 1 at Lawford's Gate, and
initiated an elaborate plan for a sea-bathing establishment,
which he intended should be connected with the Infirmary.
Although he was an able man, none of his schemes succeeded,
and ill-luck followed him. At the age of fifty-five he became a
pensioner of Sion College (in 1823), which brought him in
eight pounds a year.
William Barrett, famous as an historian of Bristol, was born
in Wiltshire in 1733. He came as a boy to this city to learn his
profession of apothecary, and was one of the numerous pupils
of "Old Rosewell." (See p. 247.) He was one of the unsuccessful
candidates who competed for the post of Surgeon to the
Infirmary on the resignation of James Ford in 1759-
He practised, chiefly asa" man-midwife " (as it was then
called), in a house on St. Augustine's Back, from about 1759 to
1786. In this house (a drawing of which, made by Henry Smith,
1 A Dr. Baylis also kept a Physick Garden just above Jacob's Wells.
259
A HISTORY OF THE
Attorney, 1 is here reproduced, see Fig. 53) " Tom Skone,"
who had the keenly-fought contest for the Surgeoncy with
Abraham Ludlow in 1767, served his time as apprentice to
Barrett. It was afterwards occupied by a Mr. Glascodine, and
the parlour was used as a surgery by S. S. Salmon from
1794 to 1806.
According to Richard Smith, Barrett usually wore " a
waistcoat with large flap pockets ; his coat had large open
sleeves; his breeches just reached the knee, and were slit in
front and small buttoned."
He sported two lamps at his door, not an uncommon thing
in those days ; kept a good table ; and was always fond of
antiquarian pursuits, occasionally forgetting his patients when
" church hunting."
It is well known that Chatterton applied to Barrett for a
certificate of his fitness to go to Africa as a surgeon, and when
this was refused, he wrote a scurrilous poem, called " The
Exhibition, a Personal Satire," quite unfit for reproduction, in
which Barrett is ridiculed. The idea of the piece is that a
culprit is being tried for an absurd but indecent offence, and
various Bristol medical men are described as sitting in judgment
upon him. Barrett makes a speech, at the close of which
" A murmur of applause
Dropt from each carcase-butcher's rotten jaws."
These two lines are a good example of the whole production.
" Chatterton's pen," says Richard Smith, " was always dipped
in gall when he wrote anything relating to his native place."
Many of the surgeons and apothecaries of the eighteenth
century got through an enormous amount of work, especially
those who had large midwifery practices. Danvers Ward, *
who contested several Infirmary elections, told Dr. J. E. Stock
and Richard Smith that in one year he " put to bed two hundred
and forty-six women, of which number twenty were confined in
the space of one week ! "
There have always been many irregular practitioners who
have never " truckled to the pedantry of a diploma,"
skirmishing on the outskirts of the profession, and making
money by the gullibility of the public. Bristol has had its
full share of these, as we learn from advertisements in old
newspapers, etc.
My readers may remember Mrs. Stephens's nostrum,
1 Brother of Richard Smith, jun.
2 Ward was made a member of the Corporation of Surgeons in 1782, he
and Joseph Metford being the only two in Bristol who then possessed that
qualification.
260
V
Iff
if
w
X o
. d
•s in
U M
<
g
H
p
O
TOE-NAILS OF OLD WOMAN WHO PASSED AS A WITCH.
Fig 54.
"IKONS" IN WHICH BODY WAS HUNG ON GIBBET
FORMERLY NEAR KTNGROAD.
Fig. 35.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
consisting of burnt snails and chamomile flowers, for the secret
of which the Government actually paid £5>000- (See P- 56.) The
" wise woman," who was supposed to " know a thing or two,"
was in considerable request in the early part of the eighteenth
century, and was sometimes " called in " when more orthodox
practitioners failed. Thus in 1702 the Guardians of St.
Peter's Hospital agreed with a Mrs. Sarah Cave " for the cure
of eleven boys with scurfy heads at 5s. each."
These women were often accredited with supernatural
powers. An old crone who went about the streets of Bristol
telling fortunes, and generally supposed to be a witch, came into
the Infirmary as an in-patient. She had allowed her toe-nails
to grow to an enormous length, and Richard Smith, under whose
care she was, had a drawing made of these deformities, which is
here reproduced. The sketch was probably made by Robert
Dyer. 1 (See Fig. 54.)
A Mr. Farland, who dubbed himself " Surgeon," advertised
in the Bristol papers in August, 1793, that he might " be
consulted every Day in the Week from Ten in the Morning till
Two in the Afternoon, at Mr. Nicholson's, No. 8, next Door to
the Royal Oak, King Street, Bristol. His advice is only One
Shilling." He modestly claims that " by the Blessing of God "
he could cure " Broken Bodies " (ruptures), Cancer, Hardness
of Hearing, " all sorts of Fits," the King's Evil, and many other
diseases " turned out of the Hospitals as incurable."
It was not the fashion then to " hide your light under a
bushel," and some practitioners were not content with a modest
brass plate. Dr. Knowlton, for example, who lived " at
Wallis's the pastry-cook's in Clare Street," had " an immense
board all across the house with letters a foot long ' J. D.
Knowlton, Physician and Man-midwife.' "
In Sam. Farley's Bristol Newspaper for November 20th, 1731,
is the following : —
" Upon the demise of Mr. John Webb, late Surgeon in Corn
Street the Medicine prepared and sold by him call'd The Liquor
of Life, or The True Purging Cordial, so well noted for the
service it has done the Publick, is now to be had of Mr. John
Dolman, Surgeon, at his House on St. Michael's Hill, near the
Griffin, at the usual Price."
Thomas Godwyn, who was a surgical pupil at the Infirmary
1 Robert Dyer, a much esteemed pupil of Richard Smith, was born in
King Square, Bristol, in 1790. His father, Dr. Robert Dyer, practised in
Unity Street, and his grandfather, William Dyer, kept an apothecary's shop
on the old Bristol Bridge. Robert Dyer, jun., became a member of the
Corporation of Surgeons in September, 181 4. He went abroad. Many of his
drawings of pathological subjects are still in existence.
261
A HISTORY OF THE
in 1783, and afterwards practised at Bristol and Trowbridge,
married the daughter of " Dr. Ryan, patentee of the Essence
of Coltsfoot." Godwyn furnished this drug to the vendors
after Ryan's decease. The sale of the nostrum is said to have
brought him in three hundred a year. He went to live at Hallen,
near Henbury, where he died on June 28th, 1832. After his
death his widow sold the preparation to Newberry, in St. Paul's
Churchyard, who paid her fifty pounds a year for it.
Eye specialists of a bold and pushing type were not wanting
in the eighteenth century. Let the present unobtrusive
ophthalmic surgeon take note of the following, dated July,
1762 : —
" The Chevalier John Taylor, Opthalmiater, (Oculist, by
Patent) Pontifical, Imperial and Royal etc. Author of
45 Works written by himself in different Languages .
will be at the White-Lion in Broad Street, Bristol, the 28th
Inst. July in the Order of his present Circuit."
This John Taylor, who also calls himself " Doctor of Physick
and Oculist to the King," visited Bristol in August, 1742,
and gave a lecture at the " White Lion " on " the make and
beauty of the Eye." In the Bristol Oracle for September 14th,
1742, it is stated that he cured many people, and that " Mr.
Crosby of St. Michael's Hill is recovered the sight of both eyes
by the assistance of Dr. Taylor."
Some of these advertising quacks received good fees, but as a
rule they made little except from the sale of nostrums. An
idea of the barber-surgeons' charges may be gathered from the
bill referred to on page 249, and the apothecaries, as stated,
made their money almost entirely by the sale of their drugs.
The physicians at the period I am referring to commonly charged
half a guinea or a guinea a visit, and the better-known surgeons
five shillings, sometimes less, sometimes more.
The Medical and Chirurgical Association (which was founded
at a quarterly meeting of the Faculty of the Infirmary, held at
the Montague Tavern, on December 8th, 1818) decided that the
senior members of the profession, both physicians and surgeons,
" should consider themselves on a par with regard to charges,"
whether on the Staff or not. The original members of this
Society also decided that a guinea should be charged for visits
to Bedminster and Redland, two guineas to Shirehampton and
Henbury, etc., and that " less than a guinea ought not to be
charged for a visit in the night."
Although the average apothecary was not a highly-educated
man, yet he generally had a good smattering of general know-
ledge, and knew enough Latin to decipher prescriptions and
262
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
even to impress his patients by an occasional quotation from
Virgil or Ovid. The surgeons' apprentices were nearly all
tolerably well educated. In the early part of the nineteenth
century there were few such illiterate medical students as
Dickens's "Bob Sawyer" or Thackeray's "Sam Huckster."
Richard Smith kept a record of the schooling of many of the
Infirmary students of his time, and we gather from his notes
that the average apprentice who was indentured at the House
probably knew at least as much of the Classics as the medical
student of to-day. To take one example, typical of hundreds
of others : A. H. Ashley, indentured to Mr. Daniel 1831.
Passed Apothecaries' Hall 1837. Educated at Mr. Knight's at
Wraxall, where he " read Virgil, Horace, and Livy ; also
Xenophon, Homer and Euripides." Sallust and Cicero are
frequently mentioned ; the average student's " reading " in
classical literature was, therefore, extensive if not accurate.
Bleeding has often been mentioned in these pages ; it was
usually carried out by opening a vein in the arm, but blood was
taken from patients in other ways, especially by leeches and
by " cupping." As we have seen, a special room was set apart
at the Infirmary for " leeching."
" Cupping " was of two kinds, " dry " and " wet." Dry
cupping was merely the application to the skin of a glass " cup,"
the air in which was exhausted by heat or suction. By this
means the fluid parts of the blood were slowly drawn into the
tissues, and a swelling was formed under the instrument.
The apparatus for wet cupping was a metal box with
numerous slits on the surface applied to the skin ; on touching
a spring a series of sharp lancets suddenly projected through
these slits. The flow of blood was encouraged by the
application of the Dry Cup.
The barber-surgeons and apothecaries, who believed in
" depletion," did a great deal of cupping ; the patients at the
Infirmary received this treatment at the hands of the Resident
Apothecary or apprentices.
In May, 1828, a certain Robert Stock wrote to Richard
Smith that he was about to " form an establishment " in Bristol
as a " Professional Cupper." He made his headquarters at
22 Orchard Street, and advertised himself as " Cupper to
his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, and His Grace the
Duke of Wellington." He also undertook the cure of corns
" by an entire eradication." This advertisement, which is
dated April, 1829, is the last I can find of the now lost art of
cupping.
Many of the prescriptions in use at the Infirmary and
263
A HISTORY OF THE
elsewhere in the eighteenth century were very extraordinary
concoctions.
Goat's blood, dried in the sun or by a slow fire, bees shut
up in a clean vessel and dried at a slow heat, and powdered
toads were used. The latter were prepared (according to the
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia of 1744) as follows : " Take live
toads, dip them in oil of soot — then let them be burned in a
pot at a moderate heat and pulverize them."
Dr. E. Long Fox, sen., told Richard Smith that when he
came to Bristol, about the year 1786, " it was the practice with
Farr and most of the regular physicians to wrap up the legs of
patients in hot bullock's lights (lungs) and apply a pigeon split
and hot to the soles of their feet." 1
The eyes of crabs were also extensively used ; they were
supposed to " take away all acidities, break the stone, dissolve
the tartareous coagulations and congealed blood." *
Ointments were in great demand in those times ; the
Infirmary apprentices were supposed to have pieces of lint,
ready spread with various unguents ; some of these were kept
in the wards, others were sometimes carried about by the
surgeon's pupils. There is an entry in the Committee Book for
November 12th, 1828, " 1 cwt. of Bees wax of Mr. Peter Maze,"
for making ointments. Most of these greasy applications were
abolished by the advent of antiseptic surgery.
In 1753 the French surgeon Brossart advocated the use of
" Agaric " (so called, according to Mr. Edward Knight, because
the fungus was first brought from Agaria in Sarmatia 3) as a
means of checking haemorrhage. James Ford (Surgeon to the
Infirmary 1743-59) wrote a letter to the Royal Society, which
was read at a meeting on April 10th, 1755, in which he says :
" In 1753 I had brought to me from Paris some pieces of the
Agaric of the Oak, which I have frequently used with success
in haemorrhage." His colleague, William Thornhill, used it as a
styptic in amputations of an arm and a leg, and considered it
effectual. Ford came to the conclusion that it owed its
properties to its texture, and experimented with a somewhat
similar fungus, then called the fungus vinosus, because it grew
in wine vaults. He says : " I used a piece of the same in the
following experiment. After having amputated the leg above
the ankle I applied my finger to the great artery and then
1 See Pepys's Diary for October 19th, 1663 : " It seems she (the Queen)
was so ill as to be shaved and pidgeons put to her feet, and to have the extreme
unction given her by the priests who were so long about it that the doctors
were angry."
2 London Pharmacopoeia, 1656. See Fernie's Animal Simples, p. no.
3 British Medical Journal for March 1st, 1913, p. 437.
264
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
unscrewed the tourniquet to discover the small arteries which
assistants covered in like manner." He then tightened the
tourniquet, sponged the parts very dry, and applied Agaric to
the bleeding points which he and his assistants had located. He
then slowly unscrewed the tourniquet, and after an hour's
oozing bleeding entirely ceased.
Castelman, Norman and Townsend did not think much of
this substance, and various pamphlets by Henry Parker,
George Neale and others were written on the subject, the
correspondence giving rise to some little acrimony in Bristol.
In 1756 Richard Smith and Godfrey Lowe made some careful
trials, and came to the conclusion that Agaric possessed no
special styptic properties.
There are some leaves from an old book, much stained with
age, marked " e libris Thorn. Page, c-bre ye 7, 1708," pasted
into Richard Smith's Infirmary Memoirs. These leaves contain
notes and prescriptions collected by Thomas Page, one of the
first Infirmary Surgeons, when he was a young man. From
them I extract the following quaint recipes :—
" For cure of ye Ricketts.
" First blood them in ye Ears. Then Rub ye place with a
handsome lock of black wool and lay ye Wooll on ye Ears till
night, then take ye Wooll and open it and lay to ye Child's
Sides for 4 or 5 Dayes."
Another entry is as follows : —
" To Give Eass in ye Gout.
"Take a Good fat Gooss and stuff ye Belly full of fatt
Eals and Rost him Dry. Save all ye Dripping."
There are no further directions, but it is presumed that the
patient is to eat the goose thus prepared.
265
CHAPTER XX
ATTEMPTED MURDER OF DR. LOGAN — MURDER OF CAPTAIN
GOODERE — DEMONSTRATIONS ON BODIES OF MURDERERS IN
BOARD ROOM — " THE REDLAND MURDER " — MRS. BURDOCK AND
MRS. SMITH — WILLIAM HERAPATH — GENERAL ELECTIONS —
CARICATURE — BRISTOL RIOTS — HENRY DANIEL'S EVIDENCE
Several important murders have become connected with the
annals of the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
Dr. Logan, one of the first batch of Physicians elected on
May 20th, 1737, died from the effects of poison given him by one
of his servants some years previously.
He had in his employ a lad named William Nicholas, who
was, it appears, dissatisfied with his wages. He confessed that
" as he sat opposite to Mrs. Logan at Meeting " one Sunday,
it entered his head that he would poison the family. He
obtained a quantity of arsenic, and " watching his opportunity,
in the absence of his fellow servant, threw it into the chocolate
and served it up for their breakfast."
Dr. and Mrs. Logan became violently ill, the culprit was
apprehended, and committed to Newgate by Alderman Elton.
Mrs. Logan lingered a few months and then died, Dr. Logan
survived, with shattered health, for ten years.
Nicholas was tried at the Guildhall, " at the Assizes of Oyer
and Terminer, on Wednesday, April 6th, 1748, was found
guilty of murder and was executed at St. Michael's Hill Gallows
on April 22nd."
The Oracle County Advertiser for Saturday, April 23rd, 1748,
gives the following account of his execution : —
" Yesterday the Under Sheriff, attended by the Constables
of the City, went to Newgate, demanding the body of William
Nicholas, under Sentence of Death, the same was delivered to
them in order for Execution, which was performed about One
o'clock at St. Michael's Hill. He was attended by the Rev.
Mr. Gulliford, and at the Place behaved very Penitent, desiring
all young Persons to take Warning by him, declaring at the same
Time, that what he did was not with Intent to commit murder.
He ty'd his Handkerchief over his face and ask'd the Hangman
for his Cap, which he had just before put in his Waistcoat
266
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Pocket. After he was cut down, his Body was delivered to his
Friends in order for Interment."
Three other persons received sentence of death at the same
assizes : John Betterley, a dragoon, for murder of a tobacco-
cutter • James Tool, for " stealing 35 Ells and a half of Linnen
Check 'out of the Shop of Mr. William Hill in High Street ; " and
Eleanor Connor, for picking a farmer's pocket of nine pounds
eleven shillings. All three were reprieved, Eleanor Connor only
a few hours before the time fixed for the execution.
At the same assizes Sir Michael Foster ordered a woman
to be "burnt in the hand," and a man to be " whipp'd
publickly."
The Horwood murder, in which Richard Smith took so active
an interest, has been narrated in Chapter xvii.
Another case which he has recorded at some length is the
murder of Sir Dinely Goodere by his brother, Captain Samuel
Goodere, commander of the Ruby man-of-war, in January, 1740
(old style). .
The two brothers were passionate and eccentric, and had
apparently always quarrelled with each other.
Captain Goodere's ship, the Ruby, was lying at the time in
the Kingroad, at the mouth of the Avon. He was angry with
his brother about some family affair, and on January 18th, 1740,.
persuaded one of his own men and three seamen from a privateer,
then anchored near the Ruby, to wait for Sir Dinely and seize
him as he came from the house of Mr. Jarritt Smith in College
Green (" the second house from St. Augustine's Churchyard").
This was carried out in broad daylight. The prisoner's cries were
drowned by the shouts of the men, who told the onlookers they
were taking away a madman, and the unfortunate Sir Dinely
was forced into a boat and taken on board the Ruby. Early
the next morning he was strangled by two men named Matthew
Mahony and Charles White, both made half tipsy by Captain
Goodere, who himself kept watch at the door of the cabin whilst
the deed was perpetrated.
Sir Michael Foster, then Recorder of Bristol, had a contro-
versy with the Admiralty as to whether the crime was committed
in his jurisdiction, He proved that this was so, and the three
murderers, Goodere, Mahony, and White, were sentenced to
death.
They were hanged on the St. Michael's Hill gallows on
April 15th, 1841. The captain, although by far the most guilty
of the three, was driven to the place of execution in a mourning
coach, attended by "Parson Penrose." The other two,
together with a wretched woman convicted of killing her
267
A HISTORY OF THE
bastard child, went in an open cart, with halters round their
necks.
" After the execution the body of the fratricide was brought
by the Under-Sheriff, followed by an immense crowd, to the
Infirmary, where a receipt was given for it by Messrs. Thornhill
and Page, who were in waiting for it. The subject was then
placed on a Tressle, x and Mr. Thornhill, taking a scalpel, made
a crucial incision. In this state it was exposed to the populace
until evening, when it was delivered to the friends." *
Mahony's body was taken to the " Swatch," or " Swash,"
at the mouth of the River Avon, and " hung in chains." The
order for this was sent by the Mayor to the Chamberlain (Mr.
Christopher Willoughby) , and ran as follows : —
" Mr. Chamberlain,
" You are to give orders to the City workmen to erect a
Gibbet to hang in chains the body of one of the murderers of
Sir Dinely Goodere, Bart., on the highest part of the Swatch,
on the Eastward side of the River, leading to Kings Road.
" Henry Coombe, Mayor," etc.
The " irons " in which the body was hung are now in the
Infirmary Museum. (See Fig. 55.)
The " confessions " of murderers in the eighteenth century
were nearly always written for them, and are not to be trusted
as evidence of contrition. If old records can be trusted, the
repentance was often a very superficial affair. Captain Goodere
and his two associates spent a great part of their last days in
drinking. White is reported to have said, after the minister
had been talking to him, " Come, prayers are dry, bring us a
quart of ale." The last night the captain drank wine and went
to bed as usual, and the morning of the execution breakfasted
" as hearty as ever." 3
In the Infirmary Museum there are the skeletons of two
women who were hanged on Monday, April 12th, 1802, on the
gallows on St. Michael's Hill.
Maria Davis, aged twenty, had left her infant to perish on
Brandon Hill, and was aided in this crime by Charlotte Bobbett,
aged twenty-three. After a brief stay in jail, they were taken
in a cart to the scaffold, being " nearly overcome with fainting
fits." The brief newspaper account is more touching than any
1 Apparently in the Board Room.
2 Seyer's History of Bristol ; the account is confirmed by Mr. Godfrey
Lowe.
3 Seyer's History of Bristol. See also The Bristol Memorialist, No. i,
January, 1816, and Richard Smith's MSS. at the Bristol Central Library.
268
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
lengthy description could be : " After a considerable time spent
in devotion they clasped each other by the hands and were
turned off from the cart, and in that attitude remained until
they were dead." *
Their bodies were taken (apparently in the same cart) to the
Infirmary, followed by a great concourse of people ; they were
carried into the Board Room and placed on a table, as many of
the crowd as possible squeezing themselves into the room.
One of the Surgeons then made a crucial incision into the
chest of each, * and gave an anatomical demonstration.
Five others were sentenced to death at the same time as
these unfortunate women — a highwayman, a forger, a pick-
pocket, a burglar and an escaped convict. All but the
highwayman were respited.
On February 9th, 1839, a country lad named William Davis,
twenty-two years of age, killed an acquaintance of his, John
Butt, aged nineteen, by dealing him repeated blows on the back
of his head with a heavy stick. The affair took place near
Coldharbour Lane, Redland. The only apparent reason for the
murder was to obtain a watch belonging to Butt ; there was
also some vague evidence of a squabble between the two.
The injured man was brought to the Infirmary, and admitted
under Richard Smith in No. 8 Ward. He was quite conscious
at the time, but rapidly grew worse, was trephined, and died
on February 13th.
The murderer was brought to the inquest at the Infirmary,
and was sketched by one of the pupils " as he was standing in
an Ante-room, with his back to the window, awaiting the result
of the inquest." (See Fig. 56.) He was dressed, says the
newspaper report, in a " fustian jacket over a smock frock,
fustian trousers, with a red woollen cloth round his neck," and
appeared (as the sketch seems to show) callous and indifferent.
After his attack on Butt, Davis went to Bristol and pledged
the watch in Castle Street for twenty shillings ; he then walked
to St. James's Back, and with some of his money he " bought
some pig's face and a quart of Burton." A little later he again
went to St. James's, and had some baked faggots and potatoes.
He was tried at the Gloucestershire Assizes, sentenced to
death, and executed April 20th, 1839.
The medical witnesses in the case were Richard Smith, then
senior Surgeon to the Infirmary, and Charles Redwood Vachell,
House Surgeon and Apothecary. As in the case of Horwood
1 Bonner and Middleton's Bristol Journal, April 17th, 1802.
2 When a murderer's body was taken to the Infirmary, this incision, in
the shape of a cross, was always made.
269
A HISTORY OF THE
(see Chapter xvii.), the evidence showed that an injury to the
head resulted in death after trephining ; but the blows given by
Davis were so severe that the result would almost certainly
have been fatal without the added risk of the operation, and the
latter was of course necessary in both instances.
MRS. BURDOCK.
The case of Mrs. Burdock is of interest chiefly because it was
the means of bringing William Herapath into well-deserved
notoriety as an analytical chemist.
Mrs. Clara Ann Smith, a widow, aged about sixty, was
lodging in 1833 at 17 Trinity Street, at a house kept by Mary
Ann Burdock. She was waited on by her landlady, and by a
young woman, who came by the day, named Mary Ann Allen.
Old Mrs. Smith, who was reputed to be wealthy, was of penurious
riabits, and kept her money in her room, as she disliked the idea
of investing it. She became ill, with severe abdominal pains,
vomiting, etc., and died on October 26th, 1833. She was
buried in St. Augustine's Churchyard, and nothing more was
thought of her death until the autumn of 1834, when suspicions
were aroused by statements made by Mary Ann Allen and by
another girl named Charlotte Thomas, who had been hired by
Mrs. Smith to attend on her.
It was then remembered that Mrs. Burdock had appeared
considerably wealthier since the old lady's death, and the
coroner gave orders for the exhumation and examination of the
body. This was carried out on December 22nd, 1834, fourteen
months after death, in the presence of Dr. Riley x (who a few
months before had been elected Physician to the Infirmary),
Dr. J. A. Symonds (Physician to the General Hospital), Dr.
Dick, Mr. Kelson, Nathaniel Smith (Surgeon to the Infirmary),
William Herapath and others.
The internal organs were taken to the Medical School, where
William Herapath conclusively demonstrated the presence in
the stomach of large quantities of yellow arsenic or orpiment.
His experiments and the manner in which he gave evidence
much increased his reputation as a man of science, and led to
the conviction of Mrs. Burdock by Sir Charles Wetherell, the
Recorder. She was hanged at the jail on the New Cut on
April 15th, 1835.
According to the testimony of an eye-witness (Mrs. Cook,
the mother of Dr. E. H. Cook, of the Clifton Laboratory), Mrs.
Burdock wore a very expensive black silk dress when she was
1 Dr. Riley and Mr. Joseph James Kelson made the post-mortem
examination as the body lay in the coffin.
270
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
•executed ; it was raining, and during the short time that she
was exposed to the weather before the fatal " drop " she asked
for an umbrella, which was given her. (See Fig. 57.)
This case is of great interest from the medico-legal point of
view, as poisoning by yellow arsenic is very rare. A suggestion
was made at the time that white arsenic might have been given,
and converted by gases of decomposition into the yellow
sulphide. Dr. Cook tells me he considers this improbable.
William Herapath at the date of the trial shared with J. A.
Symonds the Chair of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at the
Bristol Medical School, a post which he held for thirty-six years.
He died in 1868. His son, William Bird Herapath, became a
still more distinguished chemist, and was made a Fellow of the
Royal Society for his researches, especially those on the
polarising properties of quinine salts. (See also p. 240.)
Before continuing the actual history of the Infirmary, it
may be of interest to say a word or two about the part taken
by certain members of the Staff in politics.
Although many of the Treasurers and other officers con-
nected with the Infirmary have been Whigs and Liberals, yet
the general trend of political opinion, especially amongst the
Medical Staff, has been Conservative.
Dr. Bonython, the first Physician to the Institution, is in
the list of voters at the General Election in 1754 as one of the
supporters of the Whig candidate, Robert Nugent. Richard
Smith makes a curious mistake about this. He says that
Bonython voted " in the contested Election between Nugent
and Lord Clare, from whom our Street took its name." Robert
Nugent was created Viscount Clare in 1766. His opponents at
this election were Richard Beckford and Sir John Phillips, Bt.
Many of those connected with the Infirmary have taken an
active part in General Elections in Bristol* and amongst these,
as one would expect, the Richard Smiths, father and son,
were conspicuous.
Richard Champion (Treasurer, 1768-78) nominated Edmund
Burke, who was returned, with Henry Cruger, as member for
Bristol in 1774.
A few years later, in 1781, owing to the death of Sir Henry
Lippincott, Bt., a writ was issued and a fierce contest took
place between George Daubeny (Tory) and Henry Cruger
(Whig).
Richard Smith, sen., who was then in his thirty-fourth year,
and at the height of his professional and social popularity,
plunged into the fight with his usual impetuosity, helping
" the Blue Cause " in every way he could.
271
A HISTORY OF THE
An old caricature of this date, a photograph of which is
reproduced (see Fig. 58), gives a curious view of this political
struggle as seen through Whig spectacles, and the explanation
is worth giving as an interesting scrap of Bristol history.
To the extreme left of the picture is the mouth of Hades,
into which a devil is thrusting James Jones, the " Commissary "
who contracted for the feeding of the French prisoners in Bristol
during the American War. He is telling the fiend that if let off
this once he will give the prisoners better bread in future.
Then comes the Rev. John Camplin, M.A., Vicar of St.
Nicholas, nicknamed " Caiaphas." He is bringing a cart-load
of Tories, and is gleefully hailed as a powerful ally by the devil
with a pitchfork on the upper of " Hell's ponderous jaws."
Thistlethwaite, in his electioneering satires called " The
Consultation " and " Corruption," pictures Camplin as a
bumptious divine, who usually blew his nose three times and
cleared his throat before speaking. He is reported to have
" had a tremendous voice," which made the " roof ring
again ! "
The man in the cart who says, "I am the Collector," is
Harson, Collector of Customs. He had been a Dissenting
Minister at a chapel in Old Tucker Street (afterwards Bath
Street), but he changed his principles and became Tory and
High Church. Wrhen he passed his old chapel he was wont to
kick it and say : " Well, old shop, how do ye get on ? "
The group to the right represents the Devil reading an
invitation to " attend at the White Lion." He has in front of
him a stool on which are Clergy Lists, a paper marked " Bribes
1412," and two keys.
William Jones or " Bill Jones," otherwise called " Knock-
knee'd Billy " (a Virginia merchant, partner with Farrell,
" rivals of the Lippincotts in the tobacco trade "), is introducing
Richard Smith, sen., to his satanic majesty : " Here is our
staunch friend Dick the Surgeon who wishes to be introduced
to your infernal majesty." The Devil graciously replies : " My
dear Knock Knee'd Billy, I have long known the merits of this
cutter and slasher ! "
The statue of Cruger, representing Peace and Liberty, is on
the right of the picture. Dick Smith is standing next to " Bill
Jones," and on his other side an individual is aiming a blow at
Cruger's statue with a pickaxe and exclaiming : " No Liberty,
but Popery, bribery and perjury, George Daubeny."
A mitre on the ground to the extreme right is labelled
" for Caiaphas."
When this caricature came out Richard Smith showed it
272
iS'~s*
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
to Mrs. Alleyne, of Trinity Street (afterwards Mrs. Thomas Farr
Ellison), and asked her what she thought of it.
"Think of it!" said she. " Why, I think that the man who
drew it knew nothing about you ! What ! making you stand
there like a fool saying nothing ! Why, there ought to have
"been out of your mouth, ' Thank'ee Billy, the Devil is right—
I need no introduction— we have been pretty well acquainted
this long time ! '"
It may not be out of place to state here that in one of the
poems of Thistlethwaite, above mentioned, Dick Smith's father,
the brewer, is described as having one principal theme, the
praise of his son, which shows that the old gentleman (who died
in 1777) was very proud of " Surgeon Dick."
The year 1831 is memorable in the annals of Bristol as the
date of the terrible " Reform " riots.
" A General Meeting of Friends of the Blue Interest" was
held at the " White Lion," Broad Street, on April 23rd. Mr.
Thomas Daniel was in the Chair, and Messrs. J. S. Harford,
Richard Lowe, Henry Daniel (the two last being at that time
Surgeons to the Infirmary) and others were formed into a
Committee to " conduct the Election " which was then pending.
The main object of the meeting was to consider " the
measures which it may be expedient to adopt in the present
momentous and perilous crisis." It was decided to invite
Mr. Richard Hart Davis, who had represented Bristol for some
years, to stand for the constituency. This step was much
discussed, and the danger of putting forward a Tory candidate
in the disturbed state of the country seemed so great, that a
few days later the above Committee decided to withdraw their
man, and not " to be the instruments of plunging the city
into that state of commotion which must be the necessary
consequence of a contest entered upon under circumstances of
such unexampled excitement."
This precaution did not, however, prevent the catastrophe
to the city in the autumn of the year.
Sir Charles Wetherell, the Recorder, had taken a prominent
part in opposing the Reform Bill, and was, in consequence,
extremely unpopular in Bristol.
He came to hold the "Jail Delivery " on Saturday,
October 29th, 1831, and in anticipation of an attack upon him,
special constables were enrolled, and three troops of Dragoon
Guards under Lieut. -Colonel Brereton were quartered near the
city. A demonstration was made on his entry, stones were
thrown at his carriage, and in the evening the Mansion House
was attacked by the mob. On Sunday morning, October 30th,
273
18
A HISTORY OF THE
Colonel Brereton withdrew the guard from the Mansion House,
which was immediately sacked, the Mayor (Charles Pinney) and
one of the Sheriffs escaping by the roof, together with Sir Charles
Wetherell. It is reported that the latter escaped in disguise
and walked about the streets incognito.
In an old coloured engraving in the possession of Mr. L. M.
Griffiths the Mayor is represented in his robes of office, and Sir
Charles has an old bonnet and shawl on. This caricature was
published a month after the riots. If rumour be true, Sir
Charles was careless about his dress, and usually showed some
of his linen below his waistcoat, as depicted in the engraving.
He was an excitable man, and it is said that in his speeches he
sometimes became almost incoherent. This " gap " in his
apparel was referred to by a wit in the House of Commons,
after one of Sir Charles's furious tirades against Reform, as
" the only lucid interval about him ! " (See Fig. 59.)
Brereton withdrew his troops, and Bristol lay at the mercy
of the rioters. The Mayor, who was a well-meaning, inoffensive
man, failed to give definite orders, and a scene of anarchy
ensued, during which the jails were forced and the Bishop's
Palace and many other buildings were burnt.
On the fourth day of the court martial which followed
Colonel Brereton shot himself, and at the judicial investigation
which afterwards took place the Mayor was held responsible for
the disturbance.
Henry Daniel (Surgeon to the Infirmary 1810 to 1836) gave
evidence at this investigation, and we have an opportunity of
hearing what a capable and accurate eye-witness has to say
about the dreadful night of the riots. 1
At his examination as a witness at the King's Bench (the
King v. Pinney), Mr. Daniel said : " I was at the Council House
on the Sunday evening between six and seven o'clock ; I went
there in the hope of being of some service. But few persons
were present. I met Mr. Alderman Savage at the door, who
told me that the Mayor and some of the Aldermen were gone to
the Bishop's Palace to see if they could be of any service. . . .
We proceeded there immediately, but only succeeded in getting
as far as the archway. There was a great mob, and the soldiers
at that moment coming towards us, we were prevented from
going further. The troops retired, upon which a very large
reinforcement of the mob came up to the Palace. I then
proceeded to the pay-office, that is, Colonel Brereton's recruiting
office, which is close by. I found the Mayor, Messrs. Aldermen
1 Charles Kingsley was then a schoolboy in Bristol, and saw the red glow
from the burning houses rising over Brandon Hill through the mist and drizzle.
274
CARICATURE PUBLISHED AT TIME OF BRISTOL RIOTS
Fig. 59
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Geo. Hillhouse and Savage, and the Town-Clerk there."
Recognising their great danger, they decided to leave the place,
which they did. They were carried along with the mob towards
the Drawbridge. Daniel caught sight of Mr. Pinney, who
called for assistance, and the two succeeded in getting to the
centre of the Green. After great difficulties Daniel succeeded
in getting the Mayor, who was in a great state of exhaustion, to
Mr. Grainger's house. Grainger was so alarmed at having the
Mayor under his roof, that he suggested that he should go
elsewhere, and the two tried to gain admittance to Sheriff Lax's,
but found the family had decamped, leaving a servant man and
another in the house. They finally found refuge in the house of
Mr. D. Fripp. " Looking at the immense personal fatigue he
had undergone," said Daniel, " and the overwhelming circum-
stances that surrounded him, I think the Mayor evinced
greater courage and more presence of mind than fall to the lot
of most men."
Henry Daniel took the Mayor in hand, and rendered him
great assistance more than once during this memorable night ;
and although he bears the above testimony to his presence of
mind, it is evident that the unfortunate Pinney was not in a
fit state to do much for himself or others. Daniel was at this
date forty-eight years of age, the Mayor was thirty-eight.
275
CHAPTER XXI
RESIGNATION OF WILLIAM FRIPP — ELECTION OF DANIEL CAVE —
PHYSICIANS' PUPILS — FEMALE VISITORS — APOTHECARY'S TITLE —
READMISSION OF FACULTY TO COMMITTEE — RISE OF THE BRISTOL
GENERAL HOSPITAL — NEW OUT-PATIENT DEPARTMENT — NEW
WARDS — MEMORIAL FROM MEDICAL SCHOOL — DRESSERS —
LIBRARY AND MUSEUM — THOMAS BAWN — J. J. PALMER — WILLIAM
WEIR — SAMUEL JOHNSON — ROBERT JOHNSON — SECRETARY AND
HOUSE STEWARD — W. H. BOSWORTH — FORTESCUE-BRICKDALE
At a Quarterly Board on September 16th, 1828, a communica-
tion was received from the House Committee that Mr. William
Fripp had resigned his office of Treasurer.
He had been at the helm through a long and stormy period,
and merited the cordial vote of thanks given him by the
Trustees, who expressed their " unqualified approbation of
and most grateful acknowledgment for the zealous attention
with which he had watched over the Infirmary's interests for
the long period of seventeen years," etc. (See p. 168.)
Mr. Fripp continued his duties until a successor could be
found.
On February 3rd, 1829, a Sub-Committee was appointed to
" wait upon any gentleman they may deem eligible to the office
of Treasurer," and on March 17th this Sub-Committee reported
that they had asked Mr. Daniel Cave, banker, a Magistrate of
the County of Gloucester, to allow his name to be nominated.
Mr. Cave was chosen Treasurer on March 17th, 1829, but his
formal election was to date from March 31st.
Daniel Cave, son of Stephen Cave, of Cleeve Wood,
Gloucestershire, was born in 1789. He was a partner in the
bank of Messrs. Ames, Cave & Co., and in the Old Bank. He
married a daughter of Dr. H. Locock.
He was Treasurer for fifteen years, until March, 1844, when
he resigned. During his tenure of office the Out-patient
Department was built, and important modifications made in
the Rules in 1832 and 1843. On his resignation he was cordially
thanked for his services. He died in 1872.
Amongst the newspaper cuttings which are pasted into
Richard Smith's Memoirs is one dated 1837, which may interest
some of my readers. It narrates how Mr. Stephen Cave
276
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
" and his lady, having been married 50 years, gave an invitation
to all the old couples residing in the parish of Mangotsfield, who
had been married 50 years and upwards, to his house, where
they partook of a hearty meal." The united ages of seven of
these worthy couples amounted to 1,036 years (an average of
74 to each individual) .
Mr. Cave had established a school in the parish some twenty-
five years before this, and one hundred and eighty of the
children assembled on the lawn, " when he gave each child is. ;
after which each had a plum cake and a cup of cider."
In 1828 Mr. Henry Clark was lecturing at the " Bristol
Medical and Surgical School," and Drs. Riley and Wallis at the
" Theatre of Anatomy." Teaching was being recognised as a
necessity for medical students, and the Physicians at the
Infirmary were trying to turn to some account the enormous
mass of clinical material at their disposal. They were not
encouraged much by the Surgeons, and it was not until the new
code of Rules was passed in 1832 that they were permitted to
take pupils. On the 7th of February of that year it was agreed :
" That each Physician be allowed to have on the books at one
time three pupils who may see all the medical practice at the
Infirmary and all post mortem examinations," x etc. This
important regulation was one of a set of rules drawn up in the
third year of Mr. Cave's Treasurership (1832).
All pupils were introduced to the Committee, formally, by
their Physician or Surgeon, and read a declaration that they
would conduct themselves " conformably to what is required,"
etc.
I was thus introduced by my Surgeon, Mr. Crosby Leonard,
and remember one of my fellow-students reading aloud from
the printed form, " I promise to conduct myself comfortably
to what is required," etc. -
The Physicians' pupils' fees were fixed at £15 for fifteen
months to the Physician and £5 to the Infirmary ; £18 for two
years and £7 to the Infirmary ; £20 for three years and £10 to
the Infirmary.
Several other important alterations were introduced into the
code of 1832. ,„'*!,
It will be gathered from this history that nearly all the
officers and officials of the Infirmary were originally elected by
the Board, that is by the Trustees. Gradually it became
apparent that this method of election was unwieldy and caused
1 The sequence of events— medical practice and post-mortems— does not
appear to have struck the framer of this rule !
2 He carried out this promise (as amended by himself) very thoroughly.
277
A HISTORY OF THE
an unnecessary amount of trouble, newspaper correspondence,
and canvassing. In 1818 (September 30th) the Rev. John Rowe
proposed that " whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of
Secretary or Matron the same shall be filled up by the House
Committee." Dr. Kentish seconded this, and after considerable
discussion it was lost. In the code of 1832, however, Rule XXI.
reads, " That the appointment to the Offices of Secretary and
Matron be vested in the Committee."
In the preamble to the new code, brought before the Board
on November 15th, 1831, the innovation of female visitors is
specially mentioned, the Committee anticipating " no incon-
venience from its adoption." The rule was passed and has
worked very well at Bristol, as it has at other hospitals. l
The Apothecary's title was changed in these Rules to
" House Surgeon and Apothecary."
W. F. Morgan was in office at this date ; when he resigned,
in 1833, his successor, Mr. Frederick Leman, was elected under
the new title. (In 1843 the two offices, Apothecary and House
Surgeon, were separated.)
This officer's salary was fixed at £130 per annum, and when
it is remembered that he had not only the whole of the medical
and surgical departments in his charge, but had in addition to
look after several apprentices, superintend the dispensing of all
prescriptions, keep the ward diet list, attend the House visitors,
the Committee and the Boards, keep a register of all In-patients,
attend to them on admission, and to " superintend generally
the conduct of the Pupils, Apprentices, Patients, Nurses and
Servants," one realises that the stipend was very modest.
But of all the alterations in this 1832 code, the one which
tended most to the harmony, and therefore to the welfare of the
House, was the readmission, after many years of bitter
controversy, of members of the Medical and Surgical Staff to the
Committee.
The " exclusion rule " was carried in 1810, and it is not too
much to say that for twenty-two years " the House was divided
against itself," the controversy constantly breaking out, and
doing great damage to the Infirmary.
There is abundant evidence to show that in the first three
decades of the nineteenth century hundreds of cases were
annually refused admission for want of accommodation, and
the out-patient rooms were dreadfully crowded.
This led to the establishment in May, 1830, of the " Bristol
1 Some of the jokes made about the appointment of these lady visitors,
which were then thought pleasant witticisms, would now be considered highly
improper.
278
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Hospital and Surgery " in Prince Street. Mr. Hart Davis was
Vice-President, and Messrs. G. Board1 and H. Brigstocke were
Honorary Surgeons.
The Surgeons attended daily, and any necessitous person
was seen without special note or recommendation. During the
first seven months of its existence no less than 2,578 sick people
were seen, chiefly as Out-patients.
It was supported by the contributions of a few benevolent
citizens, and was carried on, as the first balance-sheet shows,
at a minimum of expense.
In fact, the question of the sick poor was much discussed at
this time, and on February 16th, 1831, a public meeting was
held at the Savings Bank, and a committee appointed to report
on the desirability of founding another hospital in addition to
the Infirmary. This Committee ascertained from the Infirmary
books that during the first three months of 1830 no less than
233 patients were rejected for want of room, and that more than
500 were, on an average, annually refused admission !
BRISTOL GENERAL HOSPITAL.
There seemed, therefore, justification for another hospital.
Subscription lists were opened, bazaars were held, and a
provisional Committee was formed. Premises were obtained in
Guinea Street, altered for the accommodation of patients, and
formally opened as the Bristol General Hospital on Thursday,
November 1st, 1832.
A pamphlet entitled " A Rational Appeal to Humanity and
Benevolence relative to the Bristol General Hospital," written
by Abraham Bagnell, M.D., was widely circulated.
This curious document contains, amongst other matter, some
extracts from the French Academy's report on Mesmer, signed
by Franklin, Bailly, Guillotin, and Lavoisier, etc. This was
meant for a " hit " at one of the Infirmary Physicians, Dr. E.
Long Fox, sen., who had tried " Mesmerism " on some of his
patients. The author also speaks with horror of " an
instrument called the Stethoscope," 2 which " is applied to
different parts of the chest and sides of the palpitating patient ! "
All this he calls " horrible quackery." Dr. Bagnell's pamphlet
was not so much a plea for " humanity and benevolence " as a
foolish attack on the Infirmary.
1 Born 1804. Articled at first to an attorney and then to his father, who
was a surgeon. He took the M.R.C.S. and L.S.A. in 1828. He lived at
20 Portland Square.
2 The stethoscope had been used by Laennec in France for some years.
Dr. Riley is reported to have introduced it at the Infirmary.
279
A HISTORY OF THE
As might be expected, there was some opposition to the new-
Institution, but not from the Infirmary.
The first medical officers elected were Drs. J. Addington
Symonds and James Fripp, and Messrs. J. G. Wilson, G. D.
Fripp, H. Brigstocke, and J. G. Lansdown. The promoters of
the " Hospital of Surgery " threw in their lot with the larger
scheme, and handed over their surplus funds. Luckily, many
of the founders were men of ability and common sense, and did
everything they could to prevent any feeling of rivalry between
the old and the new charities.
It is interesting to note that the first medical officers were
elected on a " rotation scheme," each being appointed for ten
years. One of the strongest advocates for this system was
Dr. Kentish, who considered that the conditions of appointment
at the Infirmary constituted an unfair " monopoly." Yet Dr.
Kentish had at this time held the office of Physician to St.
Peter's Hospital for twenty-eight years, and to the Bristol
Dispensary for the same period ! This inconsistency did not
escape the sarcastic notice of a writer in the Bristol Mirror, who
signed himself " A Tickler."
In the year 1829 there were over five thousand Out-patients
treated at the Infirmary. They were seen in a room on the
ground floor, and came in at the front entrance into a waiting
room ; from this they were admitted in large batches into the
" Admission Room," which was dirty, crowded and inconvenient.
Here they were seen by the Physician and Surgeon for the Week,
who sat at a table with the Apothecary opposite, and a few
pupils looked on. The patients stood, and were frequently
examined in a public manner which would now be considered
very improper.
In 1830 William Hetling, acting on behalf of the Faculty,
drew up a scheme and submitted it to the House Committee,
recommending the building of a new Out-patient Department
on some ground at the back of the house, then used as a
receptacle for ashes, etc.
The Committee discussed the matter, but feeling that its
" importance and magnitude were too great for them to decide
upon," referred it to the Trustees, and it came before the Board
on September 31st, 1830.
It was proposed that the rooms hitherto used for Out-
patients should be converted into casualty wards and other
useful offices ; and that a carriage entrance, a carriage shed and
an entrance for patients should be made at the back, so that
Out-patients and others might enter from Lower Maudlin Street,
and the carriages of the Faculty (for all the important medical
280
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
men in Bristol kept carriages in those days, whether they could
afford it or not) might wait under shelter.
To us nowadays the advantages of this plan seem obvious.
The constant entrance and exit of Out-patients at the front
door, the proximity of the wards to infectious and dirty cases,
the overcrowding and general discomfort were crying evils.
The scheme, however, although strongly supported by the
Treasurer, Mr. Daniel Cave, who considered that some of the
funded property of the Infirmary might very well be spent for
the purpose, met with great opposition, and finally a Sub-
Committee was elected to report on it in two months' time.
This Sub-Committee, having consulted an architect (Mr.
Foster), reduced the proposals to a definite detailed plan, and
presented their report to the Board on November 16th, 1850.
The expense of the new buildings was calculated at about
£3,000.
A long controversy was carried on in the newspapers, some
writers condemning the whole system of hospital Out-patients
as inimical to the interest of general practitioners. An editorial
which had appeared in the Lancet on September 26th, 1829, in
which this system was said to make " encroachments upon the
interests and privileges of the profession," was quoted, and
added some force to the arguments used.
One of the most interesting of these letters appeared in the
Bristol Mirror, above the signature of " Civis," dated September
30th, 1830. The writer advocated the abolition of the Infirmary
Out-patient Department, and the relegation of all such work to
a General Dispensary, supported by small contributions from
the labouring classes. This was written by a Mrs. Susanna
Morgan, of Staffordshire. A private letter sent by her to the
Editor, Mr. John Taylor, stated that she preferred writing
under a nom de plume, as her communication " will perhaps
meet with more attention from the public if it is not suspected
to be the production of a female."
The Sub-Committee's plan was agreed to, and the work
was at once put in hand, and by the end of the year 1832 the
new buildings were finished. The actual cost was about
£2,900, of which £305 had been specially collected for the
purpose. A new dispensary was added, so that the old " Shop "
or Dispensary, the " Shop Waiting Room," where patients
went for their medicines, the " Surgery " and " Surgical
Waiting Room," the " Admission Room," and the "Admission
Waiting Room," six rooms in all, were vacated, and these were
converted into two casualty wards with fourteen beds in each,
and a " Leeching Room." The remaining space was to be
281
A HISTORY OF THE
used as a ward for female domestic servants, for each of whom
their employers would be charged a shilling a day. This plan
was not, however, carried out.
It was hoped that these important additions to the usefulness
of the Institution Would increase the annual subscriptions, but
this was not the case. Legacies had, it is true, added to the
capital fund. Mrs. Harriet Butler, for instance, had left £1,000
in 1834, and in 1833 Hannah More died and left £1,000 to the
Infirmary. Through her death another legacy of £1,000, left
by her youngest sister Martha, also became due ; she died
fifteen years before this, but by the terms of her will all her
bequests were left unpaid until the decease of her sister
Hannah. 1
But the number of Annual Subscribers had seriously
diminished from 1,532 in 1814 to less than half this number
(only 872) in 1835, and the following year there were only 820.
This falling-off was probably due to the unsettled state of the
country, caused by the troubles connected with the Reform Bill
of 1832. The interest on the invested capital in 1837 amounted
to £1,840, which, together with the meagre annual subscriptions,
was quite inadequate to meet the ordinary expenditure, and the
balance was made up by using legacy money.
The house had now sixteen wards and two hundred and four
beds. The two wards made from the recently -vacated rooms
were not yet used, and it was not until the autumn of 1838 that
it was decided to try to raise sufficient money to open them for
patients. An urgent appeal was made in December, 1838,
which brought in some extra donations and a few more Annual
Subscribers ; but it was not until 1840 — when Miss Sarah
Whippie, of Whitchurch, came forward with promises of
financial help— that these wards could be properly equipped,
and although they were not actually ready to receive patients
until January 4th, 1841, they were formally opened at the date
of the marriage of Queen Victoria on February 10th, 1840,
and were called "The Victoria" and "The Albert," in
commemoration of this event.
In October, 1837, an important memorial was sent to the
Committee of the Infirmary from the Medical School relative
to the students.
Both the College of Surgeons and the Apothecaries Hall
(from which the ordinary diplomas for practice were obtained)
required attendance at a hospital of recognised size and
1 Hannah More's legacy, received October 30th, 1833, was left in 3 per cent.
■Consols, valued at 87$-. After paying duty, etc., there was only ^784 2s. 6d.
left.
282
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
importance, as well as certain courses of lectures on Anatomy,
Surgery, Medicine, etc. The lectures could be obtained at the
young but vigorous Medical School, the practical bed-side
work could be had at the Infirmary ; but at the latter institution,
according to the then existing regulations, the number of pupils
to whom instruction could be given was very limited.
The memorial pointed out the advantages likely to accrue to
the Infirmary from an increased number of students, and
petitioned for some alteration of the rules by which more pupils
could be taken by the Physicians and Surgeons.
A Committee was appointed to consider this memorial, and
sent a report to a General Board on February 8th, 1838.
The recommendations of this report may be briefly
epitomised as follows : —
1. That each Physician be allowed to have six pupils.
2. That each Surgeon be allowed three assistant pupils or
dressers and three non-assistant.
3. That any Physician or Surgeon, having his complement
of pupils " may, with the sanction of the Committee receive as a
supernumerary to fill the next vacancy a Relative not further
removed than a nephew." (This example of " nepotism "
afterwards disappeared from the rules.)
4. Every pupil to pay £5 a year to the Infirmary ; the
Physician's fees to be £12 a year from each pupil, the Surgeon's
to be £20 from non-assistant and £40 a year from assistant
pupils, or £160 for five years. It must be remembered that
apprentices were still in vogue, and the surgical fees were higher
than the medical, because for so many years surgeons and
apothecaries had been the only recognised paid teachers ; the
physician as a teacher was an innovation, and could not as yet
expect full recognition.
These recommendations were framed into definite rules,
which were confirmed on March 16th, 1838. The most
important of these regulations was the creation of " the
Dresser " or assistant pupil. Rule XV. reads as follows :
" That the Surgeon for the Week appoint an Assistant Pupil to
be provided with board and lodging in the House for that week ;
who shall not leave the Infirmary till another take his place, in
order that at least one Assistant Pupil may be present on the
admission of every Casualty Patient and Case of Emergency ;
and who shall act entirely under the direction of the House
Surgeon, till the Surgeon for the Week or one of his Colleagues
appointed by him, shall arrive."
From the educational point of view perhaps this is the most
important regulation ever made at the Infirmary. By giving
283
A HISTORY OF THE
every dresser an opportunity of acting for himself in the case of
all casualties and emergencies during his " week " at the
House, the training of an Assistant House Surgeon was given
him. This rule has placed the surgical pupils educated at the
Infirmary in advance — as regards practical knowledge and
power to act in emergency — of almost any other hospital in
the kingdom.
Of late years the number of Resident Officers has greatly
increased, both at the London and provincial hospitals, so that
many more young men obtain this excellent " resident "
training ; but it should always be remembered that the Bristol
Infirmary supplied this practically to all the surgical pupils,
who had to see every case admitted and deal with it (as a
House Surgeon), and had at the same time an experienced
qualified man to consult on all difficult cases.
And so it happened that when the students went up to
London for further training, or for examination, they had a
knowledge of practical surgery infinitely greater than the
average London pupil.
The procedure on the admission of an accident, a case of
poisoning or other emergency was this : A loud " casualty "
bell rang ; the Dresser for the Week answered the clanging
summons, and was confronted with perhaps a case of fractured
bone or dislocation. If it were beyond him, he sent for the
House Surgeon, who told him what to do and saw him do it.
But one was supposed to act for oneself as much as possible,,
and the " pupil for the week " was thrown upon his own
resources, and generally did very well.
He was, it must be confessed, especially when "in " for the
first time, much assisted by the ripe experience of the " Casualty
Nurse," who generally knew whether a stitch was wanted in a
wound, whether the patient was a case for admission, or
whether, in a word, the Apothecary (or House Surgeon) should
be sent for. In the seventies and eighties of the last
century a stout old nurse named Widcombe was in the Casualty
Room, and although ignorant in other respects, she had, from
experience and common sense, a wonderful practical knowledge
of " first aid," and many a surgeon now living has often, I am
sure, remembered with gratitude her homely instructions and
advice to him during his early perplexities.
Another important rule made at this time was one which
made provision for a Library and Reading Room for students.
The table in this room was supplied with a few periodicals, and
the books, many of them valuable at that time, were arranged
round the walls in cases, which were kept locked. The key
284
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
could, it is true, be obtained from the Apothecary (or later from
the House Surgeon), but it is reported that it was not often
asked for.
On November 20th, 1826, Richard Smith, then senior
Surgeon, wrote a letter to William Fripp, the Treasurer, placing
a large number of medical works at the service of the Institution
during his lifetime, and after his death they were to become the
property of the Charity.
He gave, in addition, a portrait of John Elbridge, an
engraving of Sir Michael Foster, and the whole of his private
museum, containing one of the finest collections of pathological
specimens then in existence.
On December 6th of this year (1826) Richard Lowe also gave
a valuable set of medical and surgical books.
The two Surgeons were cordially thanked for their gifts,
which established at the Infirmary a first-class Museum and a
useful Medical Library.
The Museum was placed in a room on the ground floor, and
the Library in two adjoining rooms, which had been used as
sleeping apartments for servants, who were to " go upstairs or
in the lumber room below." 1
It was not, apparently, until the autumn of 1838 that a
" Library Committee " was formed, consisting of the Physicians
and Surgeons of the Infirmary and the House Surgeon. 2 At
the first meeting, held on September 26th, some rules were
drawn up and signed by J. C. Prichard (then senior Physician),
G. Waliis, J. Howell, Richard Smith (senior Surgeon), Richard
Lowe, Nathaniel Smith, and W. F. Morgan.
The House Surgeon (C. R. Vachell) was to have charge of
the books and Reading Room, and was authorised to appoint one
of the assistant pupils as " Acting Librarian." All Infirmary
students and pupils could have access to the Library, and could
take out books under certain restrictions.
It was decided that the Committee should meet on the first
Saturday in every month at two o'clock in the afternoon.
A catalogue of the books was kept, and entries made of the
dates on which they were borrowed and returned — chiefly when
they were borrowed, for the Acting Librarian evidently had
great difficulty in getting the volumes back. A separate
column is made in this catalogue for " Remarks " on borrowed
books. These comments are usually of a facetious type, such
1 The Matron at this time lived in a room near the front entrance, and an
adjoining room was partitioned into two for apprentices' bedrooms.
2 His real title at this time was " House Surgeon and Apothecary," but he is
styled " House Surgeon " in the Library Rules.
285
A HISTORY OF THE
as " Sold to buy gin," " Deuced odd." " Popped at Chilcott's,"
" Humbug," " Multum boshii in parvo libro," etc. '
It will be convenient here to say something about the
Secretaries, and to make our account complete we must go
back to the death of Joseph Beech in 1771. (See Chapter vi.}
THOMAS BAWN.
His successor, Thomas Bawn, who was at the time holding
a situation at the Custom House, was appointed on February
26th of that year. It was thought advisable that the Secretary
should enter into a contract to pay a sum of money as a security,
and Bawn signed a penal bond for £500 on his election. He
died on December 15th, 1790.
JOHN JORDON PALMER.
John Jordon Palmer was elected in his place on January 8th,
1791, being then thirty-seven years of age, and continued in
office until September 19th, 1818, when he resigned, " finding
himself pretty far advanced in life."
He appears to have been an excellent Secretary, methodical,
business-like, and honest ; and as a token of appreciation a
piece of plate was voted him for his services. Unfortunately no
notice had been given of this proposal, and at a subsequent
meeting of the Board a resolution was passed that in future no
pecuniary recompense should be decreed to any official without
previous notice. This damped the ardour of those who had
proposed this gift, and nothing was done until 1821, when the
attention of the Infirmary authorities was called to the omission.
It was then ordered and presented to him. He died on April
17th, 1828, aged seventy-four.
WILLIAM WEIR.
William Weir was elected Secretary at a General Board on
October 29th, 1818. There were ten candidates, but the
contest lay between Weir and George Wills. The votes were : —
William Weir 223
George Wills 196
A short time before this, on September 30th, 1818, it had
been proposed that in future any vacancy in the office of
Secretary or Matron should be filled up by the House
Committee, not by the general body of Trustees.
This proposal created a strong and violent opposition, and
1 I copied these " remarks " from the 1855 Catalogue ; some of them are
signed by men who have left great names behind them.
286
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
many letters appeared in the newspapers, including a rhyme
signed " A Printer's Devil," which sums up most of the
arguments against it : —
" No close snug nominations, no Star-Chamber jobs !
No smuggling of power into two or three nobs !
A good open election shall still have my voice,
For I like these here canvassing, bustling boys ! "
Weir was not a success as Secretary. In the year 1823 it
was found that a cheque made payable to the firm of Messrs.
Jones and Wilcox never reached them, and investigation led to
a confession of peculation. His penal bond, however, together
with money that was lent him, covered the deficiency, and
the Committee treated the defaulting but penitent Secretary
with great leniency. A letter was sent to the papers explaining
the affair in a kind and considerate manner. Weir had, of
course, to leave, and John Anthony acted as provisional
Secretary pending the formal election of a successor.
SAMUEL JOHNSON.
Samuel Johnson was appointed to the vacant post on
October 16th, 1823, at the Guildhall. He received 263 votes,
and F. C. Cookwoithy, the other candidate, 190.
He was at this time thirty years of age, and had excellent
credentials from several Bristol firms, for whom he had acted
as accountant. He was a native and freeman of Bristol and
unmarried. He resigned on May 13th, 1840, and died on
September 26th 1849, aged fifty-six. He was the first
Secretary to reside at the Infirmary. (See p. 288.)
ROBERT JOHNSON.
He was succeeded in June, 1840, by Robert Johnson " of the
Police Force," who died on February nth, 1849. (See
pp. 290 and 322.)
On October 10th, 1838, it was proposed that in future the
title of Secretary should be altered to that of " Secretary and
House Steward." This addition indicated that he should
supervise the provisions, etc., required for the patients and
the family," as well as attend to his secretarial duties.
He not only had to keep accounts of all moneys disbursed
and subscriptions and donations received, but prepare and
sign all summonses and advertisements relating to the Infirmary,
take an inventory every year of the household goods and
furniture, " and superintend all property belonging to the
Institution."
287
A HISTORY OF THE
When the question of this combination of offices was
discussed at a Board Meeting in January, 1839, it was suggested
that the duties would be too much for one man, and that an
assistant should be employed to collect subscriptions. Mr.
Thomas Sanders is reported to have said that he " considered
that if the Secretary was to be confined to the House it would
really be cruel, but that the expenditure of two hours, that is
from nine to eleven, in walking about would be nothing more
than a salutary stretching of the legs ! "
The correspondence in the papers on this subject throws
some interesting side-lights on the practices at the Infirmary
at this time.
Leeches were used in enormous quantities, and constituted
quite an expensive item. One of the suggestions made in the
Press was that a professional "cupper" should attend daily,
as at some of the London hospitals, " thereby saving as many
leeches as possible."
Another correspondent recommended that the Infirmary
should " leave off supplying so many expensive leg-irons," and
be " more sparing of linseed-meal ; " also that the " nurses'
wages should be curtailed."
It is a good thing that those in authority at the Bristol
Infirmary, and at other similar charities, have generally had the
sense to discard such false economies.
W. H. BOSWORTH.
When Robert Johnson died he was succeeded on
February 21st, 1849, by W. H. Bosworth, then Inspector of
Police for the Bedminster Division, who was elected from
twelve candidates. He held the post for only two months, and
resigned on April 18th, 1849. (See p. 299.)
In 1832 the Secretary's salary was fixed at £150 per annum,
without residence, bat accoiding to new rules passed on
January 23rd, 1839, the " Secretary and House Steward " was
to have £120 a year, with board and lodging at the Infirmary.
The Sub-Committee who were appointed to report on the
matter appended a note that " in recommending this salary
. . . . they have been influenced by a consideration of the
lengthened period the office of Secretary has been performed by
the present officer " (Samuel Johnson), " but in the event of a
vacancy they are of opinion that an efficient person may be
obtained at a less salary."
These alterations, and others which had been proposed, led
to a general reconsideration of the rules, which will be dealt
with in the next chapter.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
A curious question arose about this time which is worth
recording.
On December 2nd, 1766, Matthew Brickdale wrote to the
Committee, stating that his uncle, John Brickdale. had left £200
to the Infirmary, " upon condition nevertheless that my Great
nephew Matthew Brickdale and his Heirs shall have the Power
and Privelage of Perpetual Subscribers and to recommend
Patients to the said Infirmary." The General Board unani-
mously agreed to this condition.
On July 22nd, 1840, John Fortescue-Brickdale claimed this
right as a descendant of the above Matthew Brickdale, and his
claim was acknowledged.
When Mr. Augustin Prichard was elected Surgeon on
February 28th, 1850, it was resolved that " Six votes should
be received by virtue of an agreement made by the Infirmary
with the Executors of the late John Brickdale, Esq.," and the
Chairman proposed the following resolution, which was carried :
that " it is the opinion of this Board that such decision is not to
be considered as a precedent for the number of votes which may
be claimed under the aforesaid agreement."
On November 26th, 1867, Matthew Inglett Fortescue-
Brickdale applied to have his name inserted in the place of his
late father, John Fortescue-Brickdale, and it was resolved
that his name " be inserted in the list of Life Trustees."
The present Hon. Assistant Physician (1915), Dr. J. M.
Fortescue-Brickdale, 1 is a son of the above Matthew Inglett
Fortescue-Brickdale ; and as this inherited right has been
recognised on three occasions from 1766 to 1867, it would be
interesting to know if it might still be claimed.
1 See Appendix A.
289
19
CHAPTER XXII
NEW RULES — CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE — INCREASED POWER OF
COMMITTEE — PROPOSED ASSISTANT OFFICERS — DISPENSER —
PRESIDENT AND TREASURER — CLINICAL LECTURES — AGE LIMIT —
APOTHECARY — CONSUMPTION OF BEER — TEACHING — INFIRMARY
DINNER — JOHN SCANDRETT HARFORD — DUTIES OF MATRON AND
SECRETARY — W. H. BOSWORTH — WILLIAM TRENERRY — THE
CHAPLAINS — JOHN SWETE — JOHN MAIS — THE MATRONS
The additional work of the Secretary (comprised in the title
" House Steward ") was carried out so efficiently by Robert
Johnson, x that in January, 1842, the Committee stated that the
comparatively small expenditure in provisions " may be
attributed to the appointment of your House Steward, whose
zealous discharge of his duties has met with the warmest
approbation of the Committee."
The changes rendered necessary in the rules by this alteration
of title, etc., seemed a fitting opportunity to recast the whole
code, and a Sub-Committee was appointed for this purpose on
December 17th, 1841.
The members of this Sub-Committee took a year to complete
their report, which was not presented until December 16th, 1842.
They met twice a week during nearly the whole of that time, and
took great pains to ascertain the wishes of the Physicians and
Surgeons on different matters. They, however, did not
approach the Faculty as a whole, but interviewed every member
separately, a method which has led on more than one occasion
in the Infirmary history to confusion and disputes, so difficult
is it for individuals to express correctly the opinions of their
colleagues.
The report may be summarised as follows : —
1. That a permanent Chairman of Committee should be
appointed, under the title of President, and that his duties
should include those of Treasurer.
That one or two Vice-Presidents should be appointed, " and
in addition it might be well to solicit for the more ornamental
purpose of patronage the names of such individuals of exalted
station as the Trustees might think likely to accord that
permission on being applied to."
1 See pp. 2S7 and 322.
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
2. That the number of the Committee be reduced from
thirty to twenty-one, and that these shall be elected as vacancies
occur, by the Board, not only from lists sent by the Committee
but from other Trustees. The time of meeting to be in the
morning, instead of the evening.
Three standing Sub-Committees to be formed, one for
Finance, one for internal arrangements of the House, and the
third for the admission of patients, this last " requiring the
attendance of two persons twice every week."
That with this sub-division of labour it would not be
necessary for the General Committee to meet more than once a
month.
It was proposed also to confer greater powers on the Com-
mittee by giving them the right to make provisional rules and
by-laws, and by placing the election of the House Surgeon and
Apothecary in their hands, as well as that of Matron and
" Secretary and House Steward."
3. Medical and Surgical Departments.
The special Committee made a strong point of the great
advantages to the Infirmary of a teaching staff, and the
stimulating effect on the Faculty of " the presence of enquiring
students."
The Committee recommended the addition to the Staff of
Assistant Physicians and Surgeons for the special purpose of
attending to Out-patients. They made no complaint against
the Physicians and Surgeons, who they considered devoted as
much time as is possible to their patients, but they found " that
the average time given by the Physicians to Out Patients is
about a minute and a half to each," and that " the House
Surgeon is continually required for some or other of the
Physicians or Surgeons who are unable to see their Out Patients."
That the number of full Surgeons be reduced to four by
omitting to fill the next vacancy on the Surgical Staff. (At this
time, 1842-43, there were four Physicians and five Surgeons, so
that the suggested alteration would give one assistant to every
two members of the full Staff.)
Clinical Instruction. — That definite courses of Clinical
Lectures should be given by the Staff.
Qualifications. — That the degrees of Doctor or Bachelor
of Medicine of London and of Glasgow should be recognised
as qualifying for the post of Physician. (In the 1832 rules
Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Dublin only were
recognised.)
Age. — That the tenure of office of Physicians and Surgeons
cease at the age of sixty-five years.
291
A HISTORY OF THE
4. Pupils.
That the number admissible to see the practice of the
House be unrestricted ; that they should be admitted for as
short a period as six months, and that their fees should be
reduced. Also that the Surgeons' pupils (and perhaps others)
should be admitted for short periods to the Dispensary.
5. Resident Medical Officers.
That a Dispenser should be appointed whose duties should
be confined to the Dispensary ; that the House Surgeon and
Apothecary should leave his senior apprentice in charge when
he left the House ; that the Apothecary's apprentices during the
last three years of their indentures should be allowed to see the
Surgical Practice of the House.
One or two other minor points are included in the report,
such as the " deposit money" of Out-patients, i.e. a small sum
(is. or 6d.) to be deposited by Out-patients and given back
when all their bottles, etc., were returned to the Dispensary,
rules regulating the admission of patients from a distance, etc.
These recommendations came up for discussion on January
12th, 1843, and the new rules were finally confirmed on
October 26th, 1843.
Many of them are so important and established such changes
in the Institution that they should be considered separately.
President and Treasurer.
Hitherto the Chairman both at General Boards and Com-
mittees had been chosen at the meeting ; and in consequence of
this it had often happened that during the discussion of
important subjects, necessitating several meetings, different men
had presided, and a want of continuity was apparent in
consequence. It may be said that this rule for establishing a
permanent Chairman, and investing that office in the President,
was one of the most important of the new code.
John Scandrett Harford was the first to be elected under the
new title (March 15th, 1844). It was decided to have two
Vice-Presidents ; and the number of the Committee was
reduced to twenty-one, in addition to the ex-ofhcio members.
The proposal to relegate the election of the House Surgeon
and Apothecary to the Committee was negatived.
There was a great deal of discussion on this question. The
method adopted was first to consider the recommendations of
the special report seriatim, and adopt or reject them by vote.
When this was done, these recommendations were considered,
not as parts of a report, but as rules of the Institution, so that
there was what might be called a first and second " reading."
On January 12th, 1843, it was decided that two Assistant
292
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Physicians and two Assistant Surgeons be added to the
Staff.
This was opposed by the whole of the Honorary Staff, who
had an " Address to the Trustees " printed and circulated,
stating their views on the subject. Their chief arguments
were : —
(i) That each of the nine members of the Faculty had a
smaller share of patients than was seen by the medical officers
at any other hospital, Metropolitan or provincial, from which
reliable statistics could be procured ; and that if the proposed
assistant officers were appointed, the number to be seen by the
senior Staff would be too meagre to keep up the efficiency which
practice alone can give. The Staff, individually and collectively,
emphatically declared that they did not wish to be " relieved of
any part of their duties."
(2) That the poor have a right to the best medical advice
possible, and should therefore be under the care of the senior
Staff and not under the charge of " gentlemen who are to be
in training for the higher situations in the Infirmary."
(3) That the Staff should have the opportunity of treating
all kinds of ailments, and that, consequently, the separation of
the Out-patient from the In-patient experience would be
unscientific.
They also strongly recommended the appointment of an
additional Resident Officer.
The newspapers also contained many letters on the subject,
in one of which the condition of the proposed Assistant Medical
Officers was spoken of as that of " drudges."
When the " second reading " of these rules came up on
August 29th, 1843, the Dean of Bristol, Dr. Lamb, proposed,
and Mr. C. L. Walker seconded, that the proposal be omitted
from the rules, and this was carried.
Assistant Physicians and Surgeons were not appointed
until 1871.
Number of Surgeons.
This question was discussed on January 19th, 1843, and it
was finally decided to leave the number of the Staff as before,
i.e. four Physicians and five Surgeons.
Clinical Lectures.
These were to be given at least once a week by the Physicians
and once a week by the Surgeons in rotation.
They constituted an important feature in the education of
students, from the date of their establishment until recent years.
They are still given, but do not now often take the form of
definite prepared lectures, but in accordance with modern ideas,
293
A HISTORY OF THE
are given as practical demonstrations on cases in the wards.
Their value in former days depended to a great extent on the
personality and eloquence of the lecturer, and frequently they
were well prepared and very well delivered. 1
The present writer remembers, with a lively sense of pleasure,
many excellent and practical lectures given in the Museum by
Dr. E. Long Fox, Mr. Crosby Leonard, Mr. Tibbits, and others,
so well arranged and expressed that they might have been
printed as they were delivered. The " Dressers " and " Clinical
Clerks " were often told beforehand what class of cases were to
be lectured upon, and had to get together notes and specimens.
This kind of " Clinical Lecture " is now a thing of the past.
Age Limit.
The proposal that those holding appointments on the
Honorary Staff should retire at the age of sixty-five was
negatived, and the rule was made " that no person elected to the
office of Physician or Surgeon subsequently to the ist January,
1843, shall hold the same for more than twenty years ; but that
any Physician or Surgeon may, after fourteen years' service, be
appointed by a General Board, especially convened for the
purpose, Honorary and Consulting Physician and Surgeon," etc.
This was passed on January 19th, 1843, on the "first reading,"
and on September 5th, 1843, on the " second reading."
On June 7th of this year Dr. J. Cowles Prichard, who had
been Physician for twenty-seven years, and Dr. John Howell,
who had held office for fourteen years, resigned to the
Trustees.
Mr. Richard Lowe, the senior Surgeon at this date (1843),
had been in office thirty-six years, and Mr. Nathaniel Smith
for twenty-seven years.
Mr. Lowe held the post until his death in 1850, and was
Surgeon for forty-three years.
Although this " twenty years rule " was much better than
none, yet it did not work altogether satisfactorily, for it was
possible for a Physician or Surgeon, for example, to be elected
when he was fifty years of age, and after twenty years' service
he would be — probably in the case of the Physician, and
certainly in the case of the Surgeon — too old for the arduous
duties of Infirmary work.
In 1876 the rule was altered to its present reading, viz.,
" That the Physicians should retire at the age of sixty, the
Surgeons at the age of fifty-five."
1 A book was kept in which attendance on these lectures was registered.
Most of the students made a point of being present, especially (according to
the records) when the lecturer did not appear !
294
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Pupils.
The privileges of the non-assistant pupils were increased in
some minor points, and an important regulation (No. X., under
heading " Medical and Surgical Pupils," in the 1843 code) was
made, viz., " That the Clinical Clerks keep accurate accounts
of the cases of the patients under the care of the Physicians and
Surgeons to whom they are attached," etc.
This laid the foundation of the system of case-books,
invaluable for reference and for statistical purposes. As was
said by a Surgeon, " By this means a complete history of every
surgical patient from his entrance to the Infirmary to his
departure, relieved or cured, was obtained ; and in the same
manner every medical patient's case, from the beginning to the
account of his post-mortem examination, was carefully
chronicled ! "
Resident Officers.
It will be remembered that in the rules of 1832 the Resident
Apothecary's title was changed to " House Surgeon and
Apothecary." In the code we are considering (1843) it was
proposed (see p. 292) that an additional officer, to be called
" The Dispenser," should be appointed, but this was negatived
when discussed at a Board Meeting on January 12th, 1843,
partly owing to Richard Smith, who seconded the amendment
for its rejection. This fact, that the senior Surgeon opposed the
addition of a second resident officer, is rather curious, as a few
months later the whole of the Honorary Staff, in the circular
they addressed to the Trustees, advocated a " second medical
officer " (p. 293), and it was partly due to their representations
that on August 29th, 1843, it was decided " that a second
resident Medical Officer as ' an Apothecary ' be appointed."
It was required of the new officer that he should be M.R.C.S.
and a certified Apothecary. His salary was at the rate of £100
a year " with board, washing and lodging in the house."
He was to have control of the drug department, prepare a
quarterly list of what was needed in the Dispensary, order the
same, and see that the chemicals, etc., were good ; he also had
to do a considerable amount of teaching and general supervision
of the Dispensary pupils and apprentices, and in the absence of
the House Surgeon he was in " charge of the house."
Mr. Richard Davis was the first Apothecary to be appointed
under the new rules.
He was elected at the Coopers' Hall on November 23rd, 1843,
and was nominated by Mr. John Kyrle Haberfield. He was the
only candidate.
The average number of beds occupied during this year (1843)
295
A HISTORY OF THE
was two hundred and twenty-four, and over eight thousand
patients were attended.
Partly owing to strict economy and partly to the comparative
cheapness of provisions, the annual expenditure was less than
usual.
Beer, in different forms, accounted for £290 of this.
Patients were given strong beer, porter or Scotch ale, if it was
thought they required it, but the bulk of malt liquor consumed
was made on the premises.
But times were changing ; alcoholic drinks were no longer
considered so important as foods; in fact, three years before
this, on September 2nd, 1840, beer was definitely withdrawn
from the diet list, and was " served as an extra only on prescrip-
tion of the medical officer in attendance on the patient, in such
quantities as he shall prescribe."
That the Staff still had great belief in the efficacy of malt
liquors is evident from the fact that the annual consumption of
these at the Infirmary showed small signs of decrease for many
years. The waning of the beer bill did not really occur until
nearly the end of the century.
There had, during the " thirties," been many complaints
from the patients and Visitors about the Infirmary " brew," and
in 1840 it was decided to discontinue the brewing of " small
beer," and " that good one-way Beer be in future brewed for
the use of the House."
In 1842 the amount of bottle beer used in the Institution
was so great that a Committee was appointed to report on
the matter.
It was found that the consumption of beer each day was
as follows : —
18 1 wards ' at 3 quarts a ward . . . . 55! quarts.
Laboratory and servants 5
Porter and Baker 4 ,,
Wash House and Laundry 4 ,,
Kitchen and Parlour io| ,,
Total . . . . 79 quarts.
It was the habit amongst the pupils to make every new-
comer treat the rest to beer, a custom strongly condemned by
the Committee in October, 1841.
Milk had increased in favour, and had now reached the
respectable quantity of 20,000 quarts per annum (only 8,000
less than the consumption of beer !).
1 The " half " ward was a small one used for special cases.
296
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The diet of the nurses left much to be desired ; they had
frequently to cook their food in the wards as " the only way of
getting a comfortable meal," and the Lady Visitors made
arrangements by which they (the nurses) dined together in two
batches at 12 o'clock noon and 12.30. Their rations, especially
the bread and meat, were considerably increased. Meat was
looked upon then as all-important, especially for those who did
bodily work ; and it was decided in 1842 " that 56 lbs. of meat
be dressed for 38 nurses," instead of 49 lbs., nearly a pound and
a half for each nurse per diem.
Fifteen thousand leeches were bought during the year, and
more than three and a half tons of linseed meal was used for
poultices.
The year 1842 was rich in legacies, including one from Mr.
John Curtis for £1,000, and one from Dr. Carrick for £200. The
following year was poor in donations, life subscriptions, and
legacies, and the Committee had to report an adverse balance
of nearly £3,000.
This debt was paid off in 1844 from the funded property,
and owing to an unusual number of life subscriptions, donations,
etc., there was a balance in the hands of the Treasurer on
December 31st of £546 18s. 3d.
In spite of urgent appeals, the collections at places of worship
had seriously fallen off, and in 1845 reached the paltry sum of
£27 14s. 6d.
The receipts from all sources increased in 1846, but owing to
the high price of provisions (it was the year of the " Railway
Panic ") — meat alone costing the Infirmary £200 more than in
1844 — there was an adverse balance of £200.
The year 1846 is also notable as that in which a special fund
for the Chaplain was initiated. £2,600 was collected for this
purpose, and invested in Government securities.
Among the receipts for this year we notice " the Amateur
Bristol Brass Band £32 2s. 6d.," and a subscription of £2 raised
at " The Sugar Loaf," Milk Street.
Many minor alterations were made about this time, most of
them conducive to the increased comfort of the patients.
Better mattresses were introduced, the diet was supervised, and
the wards were more frequently cleaned.
There were plenty of students at the Infirmary, who picked
up what knowledge they could by watching the practice of the
Staff, but there was very little systematic instruction.
According to the late Augustin Prichard, x the senior Surgeon,
Richard Lowe, a typical specimen of the older class of Surgeons,
1 Infirmary Reports, vol. i., 1878-9, p. 346.
297
A HISTORY OF THE
"' seemed never to entertain the idea of teaching." The only
one of the Faculty who gave any clinical lectures at this time
was John Harrison.
All the " dressers " were supposed to attend the operations,
not only of their own Surgeon, but those of others, and were
expected to be present at whatever hour these were performed.
After the Physicians had seen their Out-patients, the " Dresser
for the Week " had to do the cuppings and bleedings, and insert
the setons and issues if any had been ordered. The House
pupils claimed the right of making post-mortem examinations,
and thus obtained many specimens either for study or to be
added to the Museum.
The House Surgeon, however, did a great deal of the teaching
which should have been given by the Faculty, and it is stated
by Mr. Augustin Prichard that one of the Physicians " for many
years received none of his pupils' fees, but handed them over to
the House Surgeon."
The Infirmary had a licence under the Anatomy Act, and
dissection of bodies for anatomical purposes was carried on
there, especially in the summer months, in addition to the
dissection carried on at the Medical School.
About the year 1848 a " Bristol Infirmary Dinner " was
organised, chiefly by Crosby Leonard, who was then a senior
student. Past and present members of the Staff and others
met together at the Montague Tavern. Richard Lowe, the
senior Surgeon, was in the Chair, and there was a large company,
but we are told " the proceedings were the reverse of lively,"
differing very much from the annual medical dinners organised
by Infirmary students in the year 1879, which are now
important annual functions.
On the resignation of Daniel Cave, John Scandrett Harford
was elected President and Treasurer on March 15th, 1844, being
the first to have the double title, and the first permanent
Chairman of Committee in accordance with the rules of
i843-
He was the second member of the family to hold the post of
Treasurer, the first being Joseph Harford. (See p. 134.)
JOHN SCANDRETT HARFORD.
John Scandrett Harford, son of the J. S. Harford who built
Blaise Castle, was born on October 9th, 1785. He became a
distinguished man of letters, a Fellow of the Royal Society,
and a D.C.L., a great connoisseur and collector of pictures, and
well known as a writer on art and geology.
He resigned on March 15th, 1859, to the great regret of all
298
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
those interested in the Infirmary, but continued a member of
the Committee until his death on April 16th, 1866.
He was succeeded by his grandson, John Battersby -Harford.
According to the 1843 code of rules, the Secretary was to be
elected by the Committee, not by the Board of Trustees as
heretofore.
W. H. Bosworth (see p. 288) was the first to come under this
regulation, and the first to undertake the double duties of
Secretary and House Steward.
The Matron had before this taken an inventory of the
supplies of food, linen, etc., brought into the House, and there
was at first some friction between the two officials as to their
respective functions. The Committee did what was necessary
to make things work smoothly, and made suggestions as to the
manner in which the accounts should be kept. Bosworth does
not appear to have been sufficiently business-like for the post ,
and, as we have seen, only held it a few weeks.
He was succeeded by William Trenerry, who was unani-
mously elected from nine candidates on May 9th, 1849. He
continued Secretary and House Steward until his death on
October 14th, 1884.
We have seen (p. 39) that the Rev. John Swete was appointed
Chaplain on January 22nd, 1817, and made arrangements for
regular weekly prayers, etc., in the wards.
He attended three mornings a week to visit the sick, and on
Sunday evenings held Divine Service for nurses and convalescent
patients in the Committee Room.
He compiled a special form for use at the Infirmary services,
choosing, it must be confessed, prayers fitted for sinners of a
decided stamp, and especially for those on the threshold of
another world. In a published address of his to Infirmary
patients1 he reminds his audience that no one is able " to say
with certainty whether your disorder may now be unto death,"
.and even should they recover, " yet soon will death claim you
for his prey." He further cheers them with the following
words, highly appropriate for those contemplating, for example,
a serious operation : " Everything around you — the pains of
your own body — the groans of your dying associates here — the
corpses of those with whom medical care has proved unsuccessful
— and the reflections which are thereby forced upon you, that
you must yourself die," etc.
I give these extracts not as in any way reflecting on Mr.
Swete, but as a type of the ghostly comfort at that time
1 An Affectionate Address to the Patients in the Wards of the Bristol
Infirmary, by the Chaplain. Bristol, printed by W. Major, St. John's
Steps, 181 7.
299
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
administered to the poor, who were nearly always assumed to
be vicious, unrepentant and thick-skinned.
On his resignation in 1825 x the Rev. John Mais, who had
for some months undertaken most of the Chaplain's duties, was
appointed on May 15th. Mr. Mais was admitted to Holy Orders
in 1814 ; he was a Bachelor of Divinity, and was for nine years
curate of St. Mary Redcliff .
Like Goldsmith's " Village Parson," "passing rich on forty
pounds a year," he received £20 from the Corporation and the
same sum from the Merchant Venturers per annum for his work
at the Infirmary.
The Corporation was precluded by the Reform Act of 1835
from using any portion of their money for ecclesiastical purposes,
and consequently from 1835 to 1856 the only certain income
Mr. Mais received for his services to the Charity was £20
a year from the Merchants. *
He resigned on September 2nd, 1856, and on October 7th
the Rev. William Hood Sage was appointed.
Miss Mary Davy, who had served as Matron for more than
fifteen years, resigned on September 21st, 1827, and on October
4th of that year Mrs. Mary Wadley was appointed. The election
was at the Guildhall, and no less than 417 Trustees voted.
" The votes of the Ladies, Medical Gentlemen and Invalids "
were taken at the door, as was usual on such occasions.
Mrs. Wadley resigned on December 29th, 1830, and on
February 3rd, 1831, Mrs. Ann Jean Lynch was elected Matron.
There were three other candidates, and 481 Trustees voted at
the Guildhall.
Mrs. Lynch resigned on September 12th, 1838, and on
October 3rd Mrs. Mary Wheeler was appointed. She died on
October 26th, 1844.
Her niece, Miss Mary Ann Weaver, was elected in her place
on November 14th, 1844. She resigned owing to ill -health on
March 27th, i860, after " sixteen years' faithful service." As
her successor was not appointed until three months later, the
Trustees allowed her " 30 shillings a week for 12 weeks in lieu
of lodging."
She was succeeded on July 24th, i860, by Mrs. Elizabeth
Beaven, who resigned on January 10th, 1865.
1 He had been irregular in his attendance for two or three years, owing
(according to his letter of resignation) to " indisposition in the legs."
2 He also received some ^50 yearly from the Chaplaincy Fund apparently.
300
CHAPTER XXIII
DR. GEORGE WALLIS — DR. JOHN HOWELL — DR. RILEY — DR. LYON
DR. J. F. BERNARD — JOHN HARRISON — W. HETLING'S LAST
DAYS — W. F. MORGAN — DEATH OF RICHARD SMITH —HENRY
CLARK — THOMAS GREEN — FREDERICK LEMAN — C. R. VACHELL
— CHARLES GREIG — RICHARD DAVIS — H. A. HORE — NATHANIEL
CRISP — J. S. METFORD — ROBERT POWELL
After the election of Drs. H. H. Fox and Prichard and
Nathaniel Smith in 1816 there was no vacancy on the Hon.
Staff for twelve years. On January 30th, 1828, Dr. Stock
sent in his resignation to the Committee, without, apparently,
intimating his intention to his colleagues. In fact (as Richard
Smith puts it), " he slipped his neck quietly out of the collar."
Dr. George Wallis was appointed Physician in his place on
February 21st, 1828, after a memorable contest, nicknamed
" the Saints and Sinners Election," fully described elsewhere. 1
A writer in the Bristol Mirror for February 9th, 1828, raised
a curious question, that according to the Charter of the College
of Physicians of London " no person be suffered to practise as a
Physician in England until he has been examined at London by
the President and those of the Elect of the College of Physi-
cians," etc. Of the five candidates who applied for the post of
Physician in 1828 Dr. Dick was the only one who held the
diploma of the College of Physicians ; was he not the only
eligible candidate ? This point would at one time have been
of great importance, but the above rule was quite obsolete when
this election was held.
GEORGE WALLIS.
George Wallis was the second son of George Lewis Wallis,
a gentleman of property, who lived at Ockbrook, in Derbyshire.
He was educated at Repton by the Rev. Dr. Heath until his
eighteenth year, when he came to Bristol and was entered as a
pupil under Richard Smith on April 15th, 1805.
At the expiration of his indentures he went to the London
Hospital, and then to Edinburgh, where he graduated for the
degree of M.D. in 1812. The title of his inaugural thesis was
" de motu musculorum."
After three years in Scotland he went to Emmanuel College,
1 See Appendix A.
301
A HISTORY OF THE
Cambridge, took the degree of Bachelor of Medicine, and came
to Bristol, where he set up in practice in Park Street.
He was from his student days fond of anatomy, and soon
identified himself with that branch of science. He gave a
course of lectures in the Anatomical Theatre in Lower College
Green, which formerly belonged to Thomas Shute, in 1816, and
here, at the Bristol School of Anatomy, at the Infirmary,
and at the Medical School became noted as a teacher. (See
pp. 212 and 373.)
He also gave public lectures, at the Bristol Institution, on
Comparative Anatomy. In December, 1816, he married Eliza,
daughter of Mr. Oakes, of Derby.
After holding the post of Physician to the Infirmary for
twenty-seven years, he resigned in January, 1855, and died on
June 6th, 1872.
JOHN HOWELL.
Dr. Wallis's opponent at his election, Dr. Howell, was
appointed Physician on June 4th, 1829, in the vacancy caused
by the resignation of Dr. H. H. Fox.
John Howell, who graduated at Edinburgh, and was a
Fellow of the Royal Society of that city, was at the time of his
second application for the Infirmary post senior Physician to
the Clifton Dispensary. * It is interesting to note, in connection
with the much-discussed question of " plurality of hospital
appointments," that at his election at the Guildhall he was
asked if he would resign his post at the Dispensary, and under-
took to do so.
He had at this date been in practice at 45 Royal York
Crescent for some years, and was looked upon as one of the
leading medical men of Bristol.
A few years later he did excellent service as one of the
volunteer physicians at the great cholera epidemic in Bristol
in 1832.
He was a learned man as well as an able practitioner,
acting on the Council of the Bristol College, on the Committee
of the Blind Asylum, and taking an active part at the meetings
of the Bristol Institution. His name also appears in connection
with the Bristol Penitentiary, and on many subscription lists
for charities, church building, etc.
He resigned the Infirmary post in June, 1843, and died on
May 28th, 1857.
1 This Institution was founded in 1813, and was at this time in a very
nourishing condition. In 1823 it was recognised by the Society of Apothecaries
as a place for clinical instruction.
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Dr. Carrick, after a long and distinguished career at the
Infirmary, resigned in August, 1834, and Mr. Daniel Cave
proposed that in accordance with the recently-made rule he
should be made Consulting Physician to the Institution. He
was the first to receive this honour.
HENRY RILEY.
On August 28th, 1834, Dr. Riley was appointed Physician
in Dr. Carrick's place.
Henry Riley (or Ryley) was at the time of his election well
known as a lecturer of more than usual ability. He was the
son of Edward Ryley (who spelt his name with two " y's "),.
who lived at Windsor Terrace, and received most of his medical
education in France. He was one of the old-fashioned
" bleeding school." The late Augustin Prichard says of him in
his " Reminiscences : " " When the coincidence occurred that
my father (James Cowles Prichard) and Dr. Riley, then the
junior Physician, very French and fresh from Paris and
Broussais, saw their out-patients on the same day . . . the
work of the dresser was almost more than the length of the day
would allow him to get through ; and this will be recognised
when I say that I have had to bleed as many as forty out-
patients in one day, and after that had to bleed and cup the
in-patients in the wards for whom the physicians had prescribed
it, to spread my dressings and dress my patients and to attend to-
the not infrequent summons of the old low-toned casualty bell."
Dr. Riley's diagnosis was considered particularly good in
chest cases, and he was apparently the first to introduce
the stethoscope into use in Bristol.
According to Dr. Augustin Prichard, he always wore a deep,,
white " choker," " so well starched that it was without crease
or wrinkle." *
The year after his election he achieved notoriety in con-
nection with the celebrated murder case in which Mary Ann
Burdock poisoned an old lady with arsenic. (See p. 270.)
On May 19th he was married at St. George's Church, Bristol,
to Cecilia Anne, only daughter of Henry Daniel, Surgeon to the
Infirmary from 1810 to 1836.
Apparently this marriage was to have taken place earlier,
for a special licence was taken out on December 18th, 1832 ;
but, according to a newspaper report, the bridegroom did not
put in an appearance ! "At the appointed hour of eight
everybody was assembled in holiday dress — with one exception
. . . the gentleman was sent for, but . . . refused to ratify
1 History of the Bristol Medical School, before quoted.
303
A HISTORY OF THE
his engagement, under the plea that it was too early an hour
for such an important event ! "
Henry Riley was a man of considerable scientific attain-
ments, a keen naturalist (he was provisional Secretary of the
Bristol Zoological Society in 1835), a good comparative
anatomist, and a physiologist. His lectures at the Bristol
Institute were frequently reported at length in the papers, and
these reports show how extensive his knowledge was. He was
one of the earliest lecturers at the Bristol Medical School. He
resided in Berkeley Square, and had a large practice. In 1834
a number of his old pupils dined together at the " Montague,"
and presented him with a silver salver "as a mark of their
esteem."
He died on April 20th, 1848, aged fifty-one.
On June 7th, 1843, Drs. J. C. Prichard and J. Howell
resigned, and on June 29th Drs. Gilbert Lyon and James Fogo
Bernard were elected Physicians.
GILBERT LYON.
Gilbert Lyon took his degree at Edinburgh in 1823, and
afterwards studied on the Continent. At the time of his
election he had been fourteen years Physician to the Clifton
Dispensary and eleven years Physician to St. Peter's Hospital.
Before this he had been a lecturer at the " Bristol Medical and
Anatomical School." He resigned the Infirmary in August,
1857-
He had a large practice in Clifton, and is still remembered
by many as a clever physician, devoting great attention to the
diet of his patients, which he was the better qualified to do as
he was, I am told, " an excellent cook."
He died at 1 Lansdown Place, after a long illness, on
October 5th, 1873, aged seventy, " much respected for his
kindly disposition and amiable nature as well as for his
professional abilities." 1
JAMES FOGO BERNARD.
James Fogo Bernard was one of the founders of the Bristol
Medical School, where he lectured on Materia Medica from 1835
to his appointment at the Infirmary in June, 1843. " His
lectures," says Augustin Prichard, " were scholarly and showed
much erudition."
He was a graduate of Cambridge University and a Fellow of
the College of Physicians. Like many of the physicians of
those days, he studied at Paris, and for a short time also at
1 Times and Mirror, October 7th, 1873.
304
^m
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Edinburgh, London and Dublin. His wife was a Miss Lawrence,
sister of John and Henry Lawrence, both prominent men in
connection with the Indian Mutiny. His brother, Ralph
Bernard, was Surgeon to the Infirmary from 1854 to 1871, and
his father, also a doctor, was in practice in Bristol, and a
member of the Medical Reading Society from 1825 to 1832.
He resigned his post at the Infirmary in 1856, and died on
May 6th, 1878. (For portrait see Fig. 60.)
On the surgical side of the House the following changes
may here be noticed.
JOHN HARRISON.
Henry Daniel sent in his resignation on July 6th, 1836, and
was cordially thanked for his twenty-six years' services ; he
was succeeded by John Harrison, who was elected Surgeon on
July 21st of that year.
John Harrison was apprenticed to Richard Smith at the
Infirmary for five years, and afterwards attended the London
hospitals. At the time of his election he was in partnership
with Mr. Estlin. He gave a dinner to his Election Committee
at the Montague Hotel, at which thirty-six of his friends were
present, who celebrated his success, according to the custom of
the time, in numerous speeches.
It must have been a great ordeal for a young man, before
anaesthetics were introduced, to suddenly become an operating
surgeon to a large hospital, without the previous training as a
resident officer, and then as assistant surgeon, which is usual
nowadays.
Mr. Harrison's first operation was on a man " with a tumour
under the tongue," on August 9th, 1836. He was naturally
clever with his hands, and became a first-rate surgeon, advo-
cating good food and tonics after operations, instead of low
diet and depletion. He had himself to undergo two serious
operations. "He once," sa\s Mr. Board,1 "walked down to
the Infirmary, and smoked a cigar on the operating table, while
one of his confreres removed a malignant tumour from his
arm." Some time after this, when the disease recurred, his
former pupil, Augustin Prichard, amputated the arm below the
elbow.
He was distinguished, not only for his surgical skill, but fcr
his personal charm and artistic qualities. " Painter, musician,
and even poet of no mean order, his kindly and cheerful
disposition, combined with a keen sense of humour, great
observation, and an excellent memory, made him a delightful
1 " The Old Order Changeth," in The Stethoscope , February, 1906.
20
A HISTORY OF THE
companion, with an unflagging interest in everything and
everybody."1 (For portrait see Fig. 61.)
He became senior Surgeon in 1850, resigned in December,
1859, and died on June 6th, 1892, in his ninety-first year.
He forms one of the group of Infirmary Surgeons shown
in Fig. 62.
w. hetling's last days.
William Hetling resigned by a letter to the House Committee
on November 8th, 1837. He was at this time sixty-four years
of age, and had been in failing health for some months ; he had,
for that reason, absented himself from the House, and
complaints had arisen in consequence.
On November 6th Nathaniel Smith was going to do an
important operation, which had only once before been performed
at the Infirmary, viz. tying the external iliac artery.
William Hetling, pale and panting for breath, came into the
consultation room. " We were all," says Richard Smith,
" struck with his wretched appearance. He said, ' Well,
Gentlemen, how are you all ? I 'm very poorly, but I
determined to come — in fact, I intended to be longer amongst
you — but I don't know ' and here he was overcome and
cried. I said to him, ' Hetling, you know we are willing
cheerfully to act for you as long as your health continues bad.'
' Yes ! yes ! ' said he, ' Mr. Smith I know that ; I acknowledge
all the kindness of everyone of you — to say the truth it is more
than I could have expected — but I am very grateful, I am
indeed.' " He then broke down again, and spoke of his
intended resignation. He waited to see the operation, and
then left the House for ever. The next day Mr. Francis
Jarman, attorney, an active member of the Infirmary Com-
mittee, called on Mr. Hetling, and advised him to resign.
" To be disconnected with the Infirmary," said he, " would be
like tearing my very heart out." Mr. Jarman, however, drew
up a letter of resignation, which Hetling with difficulty signed.
He had been Surgeon for more than thirty years, but so
much inconvenience had been caused by his long absences, that
when his resignation was read at the Committee the question
of a vote of thanks was actually discussed and even put to
the vote.
This was on Wednesday, November 8th. " On the
Saturday morning " (November nth), writes Richard Smith,
" I sent my servant to the house with a card, and the answer
1 " Reminiscences of the Bristol Royal Infirmary," by A. W. Prichard, in
The Bristol Medico-Chiritrgical Journal for September, 1890.
306
GROUP OF INFIRMARY SURGEONS, 1857.
1, William Francis Morgan ; 2, Nathaniel Smith ; 3, Henry Clark ; 4, Thomas Green
5, John Harrison ; 6, Ralph Montague Bernard.
Fig. 62.
\ )
\
.■■
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
was ' he died at five this morning.' Mr. J. B. Cross was with
him and a short time before he died he said to him, ' Tell Smith
and the other Surgeons that I am very grateful for all their
kindnesses, and say also that it is a great consolation to me to
know and feel that I die in good fellowship with all my colleagues
— tell them so."
Although he died on November nth, he was not buried until
the 20th, in accordance with a custom, now happily abolished,
of keeping the dead above ground for ten or twelve days. l
WILLIAM FRANCIS MORGAN.
W. F. Morgan, who had held the important post of Resident
Apothecary for eight years, with great advantage to the
Institution, was elected in Hetling's place on November 23rd,
i837-
William Francis Morgan was born at Shepton Mallet, in
Somersetshire, in August, 1800, and received his elementary
education under Mr. Rogers, of Dursley, and Mr. Mules, of
Ilminster. It is recorded that " he read Homer, Demosthenes,
and Xenophon, together with Juvenal, Virgil and Horace," a
proof, amongst many others recorded in this history, that the
old-fashioned apothecaries and surgeons were not the illiterate
persons often represented in novels. That he profited by his
schooling is evidenced by the excellent testimonials given him
by Mr. Mules.
He was apprenticed to Richard Smith for five years, for
which he paid two hundred guineas, and served as Physician's
pupil during the year 1820. After this he went to London,
where he assiduously attended lectures by Abernethy and
others, and a course at the London Eye Hospital.
When he returned to Bristol he settled in Bridge Street in
1824, and was elected Apothecary to the Infirmary on July 7th,
1825, being the only candidate who came to the poll. He
resigned this office in April, 1833, and on April 18th (when his
successor, Frederick Leman, was elected) he received not only
a vote of thanks from the Trustees, but a special one from the
Staff, so highly were his services appreciated.
After he left the resident post at the Infirmary he set up his
plate in Park Street, and at once began to get into practice,
making £150 his first year.
We have seen that he was elected Surgeon in 1837, and
resigned in April, 1854. On May 4th he was unanimously
elected Consulting Surgeon.
Both as Apothecary and Surgeon to the Infirmary he won
1 See also p. 188 for biographical notes on William Hetling.
307
A HISTORY OF THE
" golden opinions from all sorts of people," and there is no doubt
that he would have been an excellent teacher and lecturer had
it not been for a slight " stammer," which interfered with
his utterance. (For portrait see Fig. 63.)
" As I remember him," says Mr. A. W. Prichard, 1 " he was a
grey-whiskered little man, neatly dressed in a long frock coat.
Documents which I have seen concerning him, and the
testimonials which he received from his colleagues and the
Committee, show what a very high opinion everyone had formed
of his worth and character, and old friends now living tell me
they look back upon Mr. Morgan as an ideal of everything that
was kind and good and true." (See group, Fig. 62.)
He died rather suddenly of heart disease on Sunday,
December 7th, 1872.
DEATH OF RICHARD SMITH, JUN.
Richard Smith, jun., to whom we are indebted for much
information about the early history of the Infirmary, died on
January 24th, 1843. He was elected on June 23rd, 1796, and
had therefore been Surgeon for forty-six years and seven months !
He died at the " Bristol Institution " in Park Street (now
the Masonic Hall) , and his death was ascribed to apoplexy, but
its absolute suddenness renders this improbable.
He had been ailing for some months, but had apparently
recovered his health, and was going about as usual.
He was in the habit of attending lectures, etc., at the
Philosophical Institute, and on Tuesday evening, January 24th,
1843, he was in an ante-room of this building talking to Mr.
L. O. Bigg, and characteristically, asking for information about
some old Bristol Society. He suddenly staggered and fell
heavily. Death appears to have been instantaneous.
The event was announced at a Board Meeting on January
26th, and so deep was the impression made, that a motion to
adjourn was proposed by Dr. Howell, but the very important
nature of the subject before the Trustees rendered this course
unadvisable.
He was buried the following Tuesday at Temple Church,
in the vault in which his mother had been interred.
Richard Smith was a well-known citizen quite apart from
his long connection with the Infirmary ; he was a member of
the Town Council, a Charity Trustee, and Deputy Provincial
Grand Master of the Masonic Lodges in the Bristol District.
His funeral was, therefore, quite a public one.
1 " Reminiscences of the Bristol Royal Infirmary," supra cit.
308
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The procession left his house in Park Street and proceeded
through crowded and silent thoroughfares. It was met at the
Institution by a large body of Freemasons, dressed, according
to the quaint directions issued for the occasion, " each Brother
in full black, with white cravat and white gloves, a black crape
pendant Hatband tied with black, and three black crape
rosettes on his apron."
At the Mayor's Chapel the Charity Trustees and children
of the City Schools joined in.
The coffin was carried at the church by Drs. Prichard,
Wallis, Howell and Riley, and Messrs. Richard Lowe, Nat.
Smith, J. Harrison and W. Morgan, his former colleagues at
the Infirmary. The Rev. L. R. Cogan conducted the service.
No man connected with the Infirmary was ever more missed
than Richard Smith. His " florid face, large whiskers and
hearty, jovial manner " * were known and welcome to everyone,
and his jokes and stories, which he told in a " rather loud,
brusque voice," were long remembered. Although he was a
strong and vigorous man for his age (seventy), there is little
doubt that " he had kept at his post until he was thoroughly
incompetent," and this was probably one of the reasons which
induced the Trustees, in the code of rules made in 1843, to limit
the time of service on the Staff to twenty years. 2
HENRY CLARK.
Henry Clark was elected in his place on February 23rd, 1843.
It will be seen from Chapter xxviii. (pp. 378-80) that
Henry Clark was a noted lecturer, and did as much as
any man for the proper teaching of anatomy in this
city. Mr. Augustin Prichard writes of him : 3 "Asa lecturer,
especially on Anatomy, Mr. Henry Clark was very clear and
impressive, and readily imparted his information to his pupils.
He was also a good surgeon, though rather a nervous operator."
He acquired a large practice, and was generally considered
the most eminent surgeon in Bristol, and had the honour of
having the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons conferred upon
him. In 1853 he was President of the local branch of the
British Medical Association. It is said that he never took a
holiday, and the amount of work that he got through was so
great that this seems highly probable.
His name is perpetuated in the " Clark Prize." He left
1 Alford's " Reminiscences."
2 For biography of Richard Smith see Appendix B.
3 Early History oj the Bristol Medical School.
3°9
A HISTORY OF THE
^500 to the Infirmary, the interest of which was to be given
annually to the best third year's student at the Medical School.
He gave up his post as Surgeon to the Institution in August,
1857, and died in 1861, aged fifty-nine. His photograph is in
the group of Infirmary Surgeons shown in Fig. 62.
THOMAS GREEN.
Nathaniel Smith, who was not one of the most punctual of
the Staff, frequently relegating his work to the resident officers,
resigned in August, 1844, and Thomas Green was elected in his
place on August 29th, 1844. (For portrait see Fig. 64.)
He was born in Ireland, and studied in Dublin, and after-
wards under Trousseux at the Hotel Dieu at Paris.
He was well educated, a Fellow of the College of Surgeons,
and a quick and skilful operator.
In his day erysipelas and extensive inflammations of the
tissues (cellulitis) were common enough in all hospitals. The
treatment for the latter was to make long and deep incisions in
the limbs to allow the dangerous discharges to escape. It is
reported of Green that on one occasion he had a patient with
this complaint (cellulitis), and made a very long cut in the leg
with a scalpel. Next day, on visiting the ward, he asked the
nurse if there was anything for him to see, and she called his
attention to this man. He forgot that he had operated on him
the day before, and when the cut — which he had himself made —
was exposed, he exclaimed, " Good God ! How on earth did
you get that ! "
He was extremely kind and sympathetic, and always ready
to help both patients and friends. After his death, according to
Mr. A. W. Prichard, 1 " many letters of gratitude from old or
unsuccessful medical brethren whom he had befriended in the
hour of trouble," were found amongst his papers.
In 1853 he was made an Alderman of Bristol, and the same
year was President of the Dolphin Society.
He resigned the post of Surgeon at the Infirmary in August,
1864, and died on October 31st, 1878, aged seventy-five.
He appears in the group of Surgeons shown in Fig. 62.
FREDERICK LEMAN.
W. F. Morgan resigned his post of Apothecary in April, 1833, *
and on April 18th Frederick Leman was appointed " House
Surgeon and Apothecary," the first to have this double title.
Frederick Leman, the son of a Bristol solicitor, was born in
Berkeley Square on November 24th, 1808. He was educated
1 " Reminiscences of the Bristol Royal Infirmary." 2 Page 307.
310
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
by the Rev. Richard Porter, under whose care he remained for
four years, and " read Livy, Virgil, Homer and Euripides."
At the age of fifteen he was elected an apprentice to William
Swayne, the Apothecary, on Thursday, May 8th, 1823. There
was another candidate, Charles John Culliford, also fifteen years
of age, and it shows how important these posts were considered
that no less than one hundred and nine Trustees voted at the
election, seventy for young Leman and thirty-nine for Culliford.
The apprenticeship lasted five years, and Leman then set up
in practice, apparently in Queen Square, occasionally acting for
W. F. Morgan during the latter's absence.
His connection with the Institution and his good credentials
gave him such an advantage when he applied for the post of
Apothecary that George Hilhouse Hetling, who was a strongly-
supported candidate, withdrew, and Leman was elected (April
18th, 1833) without opposition.
He resigned owing to ill-health in June, 1837. He died on
August 25th, 1873.
He appears to have been a careful and able officer.
Amongst his papers is a memorandum of the major operations
performed and casualties admitted during the year he was
elected. There were 64 of the former, and 1,186 of the latter.
At the present time this would represent little more than one
week's work !
CHARLES REDWOOD VACHELL.
Charles Redwood Vachell, who was appointed in Leman's
place on July 20th, 1837, was articled to his father, Charles
Vachell, of Cardiff, in 1829, and afterwards to Nathaniel Smith
and James Cowles Prichard at the Infirmary. He became a
Member of the College of Surgeons and Licentiate of the
Society of Apothecaries, and subsequently graduated at
Edinburgh University.
He resigned in October, 1840, and died on May 26th, 1865.
The Apothecary's apprentices frequently made up the
prescriptions of the Physicians, and as they were mere boys at
the time of their appointment (usually fifteen to seventeen), the
question has been asked whether serious mistakes were ever
made in the patients' medicines.
After a careful scrutiny of all the old records, I can only find
two or three errors of this kind, and it was during Charlea
Vachell's term of office that one, the most important of these,
occurred. A woman with disease of the chest had been ordered
some dilute hydrocyanic acid ; the prescription was made up
by one of the apprentices, who put into the bottle a much larger
311
A HISTORY OF THE
dose than was ordered. The woman's breathing became worse
soon after taking the medicine, and she died shortly afterwards.
Although according to Drs. Prichard and Howell the symptoms
did not point exclusively to hydrocyanic acid poisoning, yet it
is probable that death was accelerated by the overdose.
The effect of this mistake upon the unfortunate apprentice
was very serious. He became dangerously ill, and for some days
was in a state of mania. Considering the hundreds of thousands
of prescriptions dispensed, it is astonishing that more such
mistakes were not made during the old apprentice days.
Two gentlemen applied for the vacancy caused by Vachell's
resignation, Charles Greig and James Barrington Prowse.
There was a great deal of canvassing, in which members of the
Staff, especially Richard Smith, obviously took part ; and the
friends of the two applicants did not confine themselves to
advertising the qualifications of their own candidates, but
made the mistake of hinting at the supposed deficiencies
of the other.
The election took place at the Guildhall on November 5th,
1840, and resulted in a victory for Charles Greig by 414 votes
to 163.
J. B. Prowse was the son of Dr. James Prowse, who practised
in St. James's Barton, and was at this time twenty-four years
of age. x Charles Greig was his senior, and had been a pupil at
the Infirmary. Richard Smith strenuously supported the latter,
who had been an apprentice of his, and at the election insisted
on making a lengthy speech in his favour, amidst constant cries
of " Question \" " Hear, hear ! " " Chair ! " etc., which, according
to the newspaper reports, " increased to such a degree that it
was impossible to understand one word that was said, and after
a few minutes spent in attempting to be heard Mr. Smith sat
down."
As an example of the absurd reasons which were frequently
given in support of a candidate under the old system of election,
it may be mentioned that on this occasion it was claimed that
one had a " rather more commanding appearance " than the
other, and that it was " some claim on citizens of Bristol that
Mr. was the eldest of eleven children ! "
CHARLES GREIG.
Charles Greig was born at Heavitree, near Exeter. His
father died when Charles was a boy, and his guardian sent him
to a school near Havre de Grace, in Normandy, where he had for
1 The present senior Physician (1914), Dr. Arthur B. Prowse, is his
nephew. (See Appendix A.)
312
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
companions, according to his own statement, l " three sons of
Admiral Otway, and James Stuart, the lineal descendant of the
royal house of Scotland." He describes James Stuart as " tall,
well-proportioned and rather good looking," but proud and
vindictive.
In 1827 he was sent to the Grammar School at Lewes, in
Sussex, where he studied under the Rev. Dr. Proctor.
He was indentured to Richard Smith as an "out door"
apprentice (that is, he did not live in his master's house) for five
years, on February 26th, 1833, for which he paid three hundred
guineas ; and at the expiration of his " time " he received from
Richard Smith a most eulogistic testimonial, containing the
following words, very unusual in this kind of document : —
" To what quarter of the Globe the gales of life will hurry your
Barque, God only knows ! but if you will continue to act as you
have hitherto done, with zeal in your profession, strict integrity
of conduct and a gentlemanly deportment, I am quite satisfied
you cannot do otherwise than well," etc.
Charles Greig was elected to the combined offices of " House
Surgeon and Apothecary," and when the two were separated in
1843 he was elected House Surgeon. He resigned on December
9th, 1846, when he set up in practice in Clifton.
He twice applied for the surgeoncy, in 1844 and 1850,
unsuccessfully. He acquired a large practice, and became very
well known both as a medical man and as a citizen. He died
on February 27th, 1884.
RICHARD DAVIS \ HENRY AUGUSTUS HORE.
The new rule for separating the offices of House Surgeon and
Apothecary (which had been combined in one resident for ten
years) was confirmed on October 26th, 1843 ; and on
November 23rd Richard Davis, who was the only candidate,
was elected Apothecary at the Coopers' Hall, King Street.
Davis held the post only seven months. He resigned on
June 19th, 1844, and on July 4th Henry Augustus Hore was
unanimously elected in his place.
On the resignation of Charles Greig, in 1846, Hore was
unanimously appointed House Surgeon in his place, and held
the office until January, 1856, when he resigned. During his
tenure of office as Apothecary, and then as House Surgeon — a
period of twelve years— he took careful notes of the cases
admitted, and tabulated them in some excellent reports, which
were printed in the annual States. (See p. 321.) He was
1 In a short account of his early history, written for R. Smith.
313
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
appointed Hon. Surgeon on September 3rd, 1857, resigned in
April, 1868, and died on May 24th, 1871, aged forty-eight.
(See p. 344.)
NATHANIEL CRISP ; JOSEPH SEYMOUR METFORD.
He was succeeded (in the resident post) on January 17th,
1856, by Nathaniel Crisp, who had on May 22nd, 1851, been
appointed to the new post of Assistant House Surgeon. When
Greig was elected House Surgeon, Joseph Seymour Metford was
elected Apothecaty at the Guildhall on January 7th, 1847.
Two candidates came to the poll, William Richard Bridges and
Metford. The votes were as follows : —
J. S. Metford 468
W. R. Bridges 286
Majority . . . . 182
ROBERT POWELL.
Metford resigned in March, 1850, and was succeeded as
Apothecary on May 2nd by Robert Powell, who only held
office for a year, and resigned in April, 1851. He was the last
to hold the title of Apothecary, which was changed to that of
Assistant Surgeon at the time of his resignation.
3M
CHAPTER XXIV
WANT OF ACCOMMODATION IN OUT-PATIENT DEPARTMENT—
" TWO IN A BED " — THE BOARD ROOM AND " PING PONG " —
DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS — NURSES — ANAESTHETICS — DR.
BEDDOES AND HUMPHRY DAVY — SUPLE PRIZE — MR. HORE'S
STATISTICS — BRISTOL " ROYAL " INFIRMARY — IVYLEAF LEGACY
— FINANCES — DIET — JOHN GEORGE SHAW — COLLECTION OF
£9,000 — THE CHAPLAINS
On February 26th, 1848, the Faculty wrote an important letter
to the Committee concerning the want of proper accommodation
in the Out-patient Department, and the state of affairs which
this letter discloses makes one realise how much progress has
been made since then in looking after the comfort of the sick
poor.
At this time there was no restriction to the number of
Out-patients recommended by each Trustee; it was not until
June, 1854, tnat. it was limited to six votes for each subscriber
of two guineas.
There were two rooms for seeing patients, one medical and
one surgical ; and a common room in which all, both male and
female, waited their turn.
Out-patients were seen on Monday and Thursday mornings
at eleven o'clock, and as there were four Physicians and five
Surgeons, on each of these days there were two Physicians
seated at a table in the medical room, and two or three surgeons
in the surgical room, attending to their patients at the same time.
The atmosphere of the room in which these patients waited,
in a closely-packed crowd, was described as " tainted and
poisonous ; " a policeman was employed to keep order, and
when a fresh " batch " was wanted, the door of the common
room was opened by one or two attendants, and the crowd of
maimed and diseased wretches shouldered and fought their way
into the place where they were seen by the Physicians and
Surgeons, who had to arrange and sort them as they came in.
It was not until 1859 fnat one of the resident officers divided
the cases into medical and surgical beforehand.
Men and women were, under this old system, admitted into
the room, where they were examined and attended to together,
3X5
A HISTORY OF THE
and " the great indelicacy of this arrangement " (to quote from
the Faculty's letter) was obvious. 1
A Sub-Committee was appointed on March ist, 1848, and a
collection was made to enable the Committee to carry out the
necessary alterations to improve this state of things. Towards
this fund the Treasurer (J. S. Harford), Mrs. Martha Daubeny
and Edward Sampson, of Henbury, each contributed one
hundred pounds.
The demands for admission at this period (1848) were so
great that the bad habit of placing two patients in a bed was
still practised, in spite of protests from the Committee.
In the summer of 1851 Charles Greig, who had, as we have
seen, acted as Apothecary and House Surgeon, and knew a
great deal about the internal working of the House, called
attention to the admission of scarlet fever cases, the over-
crowding, and the great increase in the number of emergencies
which were admitted. There were two hundred and forty-two
available beds at this time, and they were generally all
occupied. A Sub-Committee was appointed to investigate the
matter, and the report admitted the " doubling of beds," but
stated that it was " resorted to only under urgent circum-
stances and as much as possible confined to non-adults."
The Board Room was still put to many diverse uses. The
old custom of occasionally giving a public demonstration on a
gibbeted murderer, whose body was exposed on a trestle in the
middle of the room, had long ago ceased ; and a more pleasing
use was made of it by having lectures and religious services there.
We find a reference in one of the Minute Books for 1850 to " the
pulpit in the Board Room," which was used on these occasions.
Perhaps the most frivolous use that this room — full of
sombre and serious memories — has been put to was in the
year 1902.
My readers may remember the almost universal rage for the
game of " Ping Pong " during the opening years of this century.
It is recorded in the Minute Book of the Committee that on
January 14th, 1902, the Matron obtained permission " for the
use of the Board Room for Nurses, two evenings a week, for the
game of Ping Pong." The large, smooth table suited the game
admirably. A " Ping Pong Tournament " was held this year
for the benefit of the Infirmary, " under the patronage of the
Committee."
We have seen that after 1843 there were two resident
officers, the Apothecary, who was at the head of the dispensing
1 There was no gas in these rooms, and in the winter patients were some-
times seen late in the afternoon by candle-light.
316
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
department, and had a great deal to do with the pupils and
apprentices, and the House Surgeon, who had the management
of the wards in the absence of the Honorary Staff.
In 1850 a Dispenser was appointed, at a salary of £50 a year,
to look after the drugs and relieve the Apothecary of some of his
work, so that he could give much of his time to the Physicians ;
and in April, 1851, the title of Apothecary was changed to that
of " Assistant House Surgeon."
In the old days, when there was only one " resident "
medical officer, the Apothecary, the Matron had a sitting-room
on the ground floor adjoining her sleeping apartment. In this
sitting-room (which was to the right of the main entrance, and
next to the Library) she kept her stores of linen, etc., and here
the Apothecary and the House pupils (usually three in number)
had their meals with her.
The Apothecary had his rooms also on the ground floor.
The pupils had no separate sitting-rooms.
When a second medical officer was added to " the family,"
the Matron had her meals by herself, and it was not until 1849
that she again took her place at the dinner table with the others.
The Committee furnished the dining-room in 1850 (after which
date it was used almost exclusively for meals) with a Brussels
carpet and rug, and good solid mahogany chairs, some of which
are still in existence, in spite of a fair amount of rough usage.
I remember one day in the year 1876, after the Matron and
resident officers had left the room, taking part, together with
the Dresser for the Week and the " House pupil," in a race, three
times round the room, using these chairs as horses. At the third
lap, when we were engaged in the final dash for the winning-post,
making a great noise and falling over each other, the door
suddenly opened and the House Surgeon, Mr. Chute, entered.
He was one of the strictest of disciplinarians, and very great on
such occasions as this. He had a most effective manner of
giving a short, stately, sarcastic bow, and twirling his long
moustache, without speaking, which was infinitely more awe-
inspiring to the culprit than any lecture. He went through this
performance when he caught us ill-treating the chairs— but
said nothing !
The day-porter lived in a small room near the entrance, and
was generally a man of mark, thinking a great deal of himself
and his office. Mr. Board says1 that fifty-six years ago the
porter of that time " prided himself on dressing and wearing his
back hair ' like the nobs.' On one occasion one of the porters
was terribly scared by having a bag containing currant jam
1 The Stethoscope, February, 1906.
317
A HISTORY OF THE
popped off in his face, covering him with red fluid, which he
believed to be blood flowing from a wound." This story
suggests — what indeed was the case — that these officials had to
put up with a great deal of horse-play ; but they were not of
the quiet, respectable type of the modern porter, and did not
mind it.
Those who are accustomed to the neat, cleanly, and well-
trained women who now officiate in the wards can have little
idea of the old-fashioned hospital nurse of the early Victorian
epoch. Attempts had been made from time to time to improve
the type, but not very successfully. A small Sub-Committee
was appointed in March, 1849, to consider the condition of the
nurses, and the respective duties of the Matron and House
Steward. The report shows that women were taken into the
service of the Charity without any training — knowing nothing
of their work — and at once put in charge of serious cases.
There was an understanding amongst them that they " would
not be put upon," and if the Matron found any fault they at
once gave notice. The report states that • " in several cases
within the last few years the deaths of Patients had been
manifestly attributable to the want of reasonable good nursing,
and in some others the lives of Patients had been preserved by
removing them from one of the many wards where there are
very bad nurses to one of the few where there are good ones."
Henry Hore, who was then House Surgeon, made inquiries,
and found that the wages given at most other hospitals were
higher than at the Bristol Infirmary, in some places reaching
£50 per annum for head nurses.
It was accordingly decided to raise the remuneration of the
day nurses from £12 to £16 per annum, and to increase this by
yearly additions until it reached £20. The night nurses were
to have a similar annual increase up to £16 a year, subject to
the approval of the Matron and resident medical officers.
All the nurses at this time received board wages and catered
for themselves. It was not until 1867 that they were regularly
supplied with food in the House, although this was suggested
by the Faculty in i860.
Perhaps the most obvious blessing ever introduced into
surgical practice is anaesthesia, and as the discovery of the
properties of nitrous oxide was made in Bristol, it is important
to say a word or two about this.
Dr. Beddoes (see Chapter xxviii.) came to Clifton in
1793, and opened the famous " Pneumatic Institute " and
" The Bristol Preventive Medical Institution." His main
idea was to cure or prevent consumption by the inhalation of
318
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
gases, and amongst others he made extensive trials of nitrous
oxide (at first called " Laughing Gas "), which had been
discovered by Priestley in 1776. His institution was opened
in 1799 at 6 Dowry Square, and Humphry Davy, who had
been recommended to him as a clever chemist and promising
young man, was made superintendent.
Beddoes thought that the proper treatment for consumptives
was to make them inhale various gases, and it was under his
directions that Davy made his experiments with nitrous oxide.
There is no doubt that the intoxicating and — to some extent —
the anaesthetic effects of this vapour were first discovered at the
Pneumatic Institute in Dowry Square, Bristol. Davy inhaled
it himself, and it " absolutely intoxicated " him ; and very soon
Southey, Coleridge and many others came and breathed it in
from a large bag or bladder. Its impure condition, and the free
mixture of air taken with it, produced in these early experiments
a pleasant delirium, graphically described by Robert Southey
in a letter to his brother : " The gaseous oxyde ! Oh Tom ! I
have had some : it made me laugh and tingle in every toe and
finger tip . . . Oh, excellent air-bag ! " etc.
Maria Edgeworth (whose sister married Beddoes) speaks of
" certain gases which inebriate in the most delightful manner,
having the oblivious effects of Lethe," etc. ; but unfortunately the
hallucinations, excitement, etc., were thought more of than the
dulling of sensation, and it so happened that this, the most
perfect anaesthetic for short operations, was not actually
introduced into surgical practice in England until 1868.
The question to whom the credit should be given for
discovering the properties of nitrous oxide is not quite easy
to answer. The great fame of Humphry Davy eclipsed that of
his employer, Beddoes ; but it must be remembered that the
former was working under the latter's directions. Beddoes
started the Pneumatic Institute, and wished his assistant to
try the effects of nitrous oxide and other gases, and if it had not
been for Beddoes, it is probable that the discovery would not
then have been made. *
In 1803 Beddoes gave up, to a great extent, the use of gases,
and removed his Institute to the Broad Quay, and in 1804 our
friend Dr. Stock became associated with it, and afterwards
wrote a life of Beddoes.
Ether was administered in America in 1846 2 (possibly
1 An excellent account of the subject is given in Hutton's Bristol and its
Famous Associations, pp. 269—75.
1 Faraday as long ago as 181 8 described the effects of breathing ether and
air, likening them to those of nitrous oxide. See Medical Journal for February
8th, 1913.
319
A HISTORY OF THE
earlier), and chloroform in England in 1848, but these
anaesthetics found their way into the practice of the Bristol
Infirmary very slowly. The Surgeons were unwilling to
" experiment " on their patients, and for many years after their
use became general long and painful operations were frequently
gone through without anaesthetics, the patients being carefully
strapped down and sometimes large doses of brandy and opium
given.
The first mention that I can find of the use of chloroform at
the Bristol Royal Infirmary is this : —
" Cons. Room, Aug. 31, 1850. A consultation was held upon
Samuel Edgar, a patient of Mr. Harrison, with Calculus, as to the
propriety of administering Chloroform previous to the operation
of lithotomy, and it was agreed upon that Chloroform should be
administered."
This entry in the " Surgical Consultation Book " is signed
by Nathaniel Smith, John Harrison, \V. F. Morgan, Henry
Clark, Thomas Green, and Augustin Prichard, that is, by the
whole of the Honorary Surgical Staff.
Samuel Edgar, who was fifty years old, and a native of
Bristol, did very well, and the anaesthetic seems to have been
successful in every way ; but there is no further reference to
chloroform until May 20th, 1851, when another patient of Mr.
Harrison took it. Nearly all the major operations were still
performed without an anaesthetic, for so powerful a drug was
looked upon with fear.
For instance, on July 15th, 1851, a woman with a diseased
breast (also Mr. Harrison's patient) was to have taken it, but
" a preliminary trial of Chloroform having been made it was
deemed inexpedient to administer it at the time of operation." *
In 1849 Mr. Robert Suple left a legacy of £1,000 to the
Infirmary for the purpose of awarding two yearly prizes to
students. It was decided that the interest of this money should
be given annually in the form of a gold medal and about seven
pounds in money to the two students who should, respectively,
write the best reports on a certain number of medical and
surgical cases, and answer questions set by the Physicians and
Surgeons most satisfactorily.
These "Suple Prizes" have been a coveted mark of
distinction amongst Infirmary students, and it may interest
some of my readers to hear of the first presentation, which was
made with a " pomp and circumstance " lacking in after years.
On July 16th, 1850 (I quote from the Minute Book), " the
ordinary business of the day having been disposed of, the
1 Consultation Book, July 19th, 1851.
320
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
'Committee proceeded to make arrangements of [sic] the Suple
Medals in accordance with the Resolution passed at the Special
Meeting on the 9th inst. The Medical and Surgical Gentlemen
connected with the House being present by invitation as
also their several Pupils — the President 1 then in kind and
appropriate language, and at great length, 2 addressed the
successful Candidates, Mr. Perin and Mr. Leonard, 3 and
presented them each with the Suple Prize Medal for 1849, an(i
the Candidates having gracefully addressed the President and
Committee and expressed their grateful thanks for the honour
conferred upon them, the proceedings terminated."
This stately ceremonial befitted the manners of the time.
Nowadays the President's speech is of the shortest, the recipient
makes an awkward nod, with or without a " thank you," and
both rush off to other business.
The first to receive the " Clark Prize," worth about eleven
guineas (see p. 309), was Robert William Thomas, who was in
1863 judged to be " the best third year's student " at the
Medical School for that year.
We have referred (p. 313) to the excellent and elaborate
tables of cases compiled between the years 1844 and 1856 by
Mr. H. A. Hore.
To medical men a comparison of these lists with a modern
analysis of Infirmary cases is of great interest. One fact,
amongst many, may be mentioned as showing the difference
between " now " and " then." In 1850 there were 89 operations ;
in 1912 there were 1,871 major and 962 minor operations
recorded, and since then the number has greatly increased.
Mr. Hore also published an analysis of these Infirmary cases
in the Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical
Association. In volume xvii. of that journal he records the
curious circumstance that in 1848 more than a hundred cases
of poisoning by the seeds of a foreign plant, the Jatropha
curcas, were treated at the Institution, fifty-six of which were
bad enough to be taken as In-patients. The symptoms were
burning heat in the mouth and throat, purging, vomiting, and
great collapse. The seeds, which have a sweet taste, were
picked up in the streets, chiefly by children. How they came
to be scattered about in the streets is not clear, but they were
probably imported together with some tapioca, which is made
from a nearly-related plant.
On August 15th, 1850, the President, Mr. J. S. Harford,
wrote on behalf of the Committee to the Right Hon. Sir George
1 Mr. John Scandrett Harford. 2 The italics are mine.
3 Mr. Crosby Leonard, afterwards Surgeon to the Infirmary.
321
21
A HISTORY OF THE
Grey, Secretary to the Home Department, begging Her Majesty
Queen Victoria to give permission to call the Institution the
Bristol " Royal " Infirmary, and the reply was received and
read at a meeting on October 22nd. (See Fig. 65.)
It is needless to say that this mark of the Sovereign's favour
was received with lively gratitude, and steps were at once taken
to re-christen the Infirmary.
At this time Bristol was a city of strongly-marked political
opinions. The Hospital had from the first been supported
chiefly by Liberals, the Infirmary by Tories ; and soon after the
receipt of this royal permission Mr. G. E. Sanders made the
remark : " The Patients who want a sovereign remedy will now
go to the Royal Infirmary ; but those who want a radical cure
will go to the Hospital \ " x
In spite of the royal patronage, the year 1850 was not a
fortunate one for the Infirmary.
Robert Johnson, the Secretary, died in February, 1849 (see
p. 287), and left the accounts in great confusion, nearly £600 in
subscriptions being unaccounted for. Nearly the whole of this
amount was ultimately recovered from Johnson's estate. The
number of Out-patients had enormously increased, there being
over three thousand more than in the preceding year, and there
were two hundred and eighty more In-patients. The expenses
had been otherwise heavy, owing to alterations in the Out-
patient Department, etc., and for some reason which I cannot
ascertain there had been no collection for the Charity at any
place of worship.
From these and other causes the Institution was at the end
of the year in debt to the Treasurer for £3,590.
On January 16th, 1850, a Mr. James Ivyleaf, of High
Ongar, Essex, formerly of Bristol, left all his property to the
Infirmary.
There was a report that the testator died in debt, and on
November 5th a Sub-Committee, consisting of the Rev. B.
Winthrop, Sir J. K. Haberfield, and others, was appointed to
inquire into the matter.
In December Mr. Winthrop, with a representative of Sir
J. K. Haberfield, went to London and interviewed the
administrator of the will, Mr. Rees, in whose house James
Ivyleaf died. Rees affirmed that after paying the outstanding
debts a sum of £3,000 was left, which was in the hands of a Mr.
Lloyd. It was found, however, that Lloyd had advanced this
1 See " The Early History of the Bristol Medical School," by Augustin
Prichard, F.R.C.S., in the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal for December,
1892.
322
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Fig. 65.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
money to a young man, the heir of the Earldom of Wicklow, and
had received as security a post-obit deed for £25,000, which he
(Lloyd) had immediately transferred to his wife. The affair
got into Chancery, and the Court ordered Mrs. Lloyd to pay the
Infirmary £2,500, and this was ultimately done by yearly
instalments of £500 during the years 1855-9 inclusive.
This business made a great stir at the time, and gave, as
may be imagined, much work to lawyers.
In 1851 the adverse balance was increased to £4,334, the
expenditure being over £3,000 more than the receipts from
dividends and annual subscriptions.
In March, 1852, the Committee sent out an urgent appeal for
help, which was so far successful that a number of donations
and a collection of £744 made at places of worship, together with
some timely legacies, reduced the debt to the Treasurer to a
little over £2,000. The number of annual subscribers, however,
was only increased by twenty. 1
The Trustees in general appear to have taken little interest
in these difficulties, and at the Quarterly Board Meetings on
September 17th and December 17th, 1852, when important
financial matters might have been discussed, there was actually
no " quorum."
Partly in consequence of this apathy, and perhaps because
of the high price of provisions and the ominous state of foreign
affairs, the next year, 1853, was financially bad, and the debt
was increased to £3,734.
In the following March war was declared with Russia, and
April 26th was set apart as a solemn Fast Day. Provisions
became so dear that although the amount of meat and flour
consumed at the Infirmary was less in 1854 than in the year
before, the money paid for these two articles was actually
£400 more.
In fact, expenses were steadily increasing, and the income
was not nearly sufficient. Meetings were held, and a Sub-
Committee was appointed to investigate the great increase in
the annual cost of diet. The report of this Sub-Committee is
interesting, because it clearly shows that the old-fashioned plan
of treating many medical cases by semi-starvation and bleeding,
etc., was disappearing, and a more generous diet, with plenty
of meat and vegetables, strong beef tea, and occasionally wine
or spirits, was gradually gaining ground.
^ Dr. Budd, who was years in advance of his time in so many
points of practice, is especially mentioned in this report as
1 In 1852 0.6 per cent, of the total number of inhabitants of Bristol
subscribed annually to the Infirmary.
323
A HISTORY OF THE
" ordering a very much larger proportion of Extraordinaries " x
than his colleagues, and a table that was drawn up, making
comparisons between the diet ordered by different members of
the Staff, gave rise to much protest.
Such investigations, however, could lead to little real
improvement in the financial position, and it became obvious
that some energetic action must be taken to free the Institution
from debt.
On April 4th a Sub-Committee, was appointed " to consider
the proper course to be adopted," and it was decided to ask the
Mayor to call a public meeting and lay the position of affairs
and the needs of the Charity before the citizens. The Bishop
of Bristol and other important people were invited to help.
The Mayor, Mr. John George Shaw, took up the matter
with great energy, and a largely attended meeting was held at
the Guildhall on Monday, August 7th, 1854, at one o'clock.
The Mayor made an excellent and judicious speech, full of
that reliance on the good feelings and benevolence of the
audience which in the history of the Infirmary has often been
successful in raising funds.
He referred to the collection of £10,000 made in 1797, when
the then Mayor, James Harvey, inaugurated an appeal to wipe
out a large debt on the Institution, and expressed the utmost
confidence in a similar result — a confidence which was fully
justified, for before the meeting was over £3,000 had been
promised. A pleasant little episode at this memorable meeting
was the announcement by the Mayor " that Mr. Harford's head
gardener had given a donation of two guineas, and the butler
one guinea, both entirely unsolicited " — a statement that of
course " brought down the house ! "
An influential Committee was then and there appointed to
canvass the city, and in a few months nearly £9,000 was
collected, the debt was wiped out, and £3,000 was in hand for
investment. This was the third occasion on which a large
sum had been collected by a similar appeal, the other two
being in 1797 and 1805. (See pp. 151 and 154.)
It is sad to think that the prime mover in this benevolent
effort, John George Shaw, twice Mayor of Bristol, and on more
than one occasion a staunch friend to the Infirmary, spent his
last days in poverty and obscurity. He died of malignant
disease, in a room over a chemist's shop in Whiteladies Road,
on October 28th, 1876, aged seventy-one.
He was attended during his last illness by a gentleman
1 Extraordinaries included fowl, fish, eggs, broth, strong beef tea, wines
and spirits.
324
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
who is now one of the Hon. Consulting Physicians to the
Infirmary.
In spite of this collection, the Institution was again in debt
in 1855. In fact> at this time the annual income from ordinary
sources was about £4,500, and the expenditure £7,500, so that
unless £3,000 came annually from special donations or legacies,
there was bound to be a large deficit. The following year, 1856,
over £2,000 fell in from this last source, and things were again
fairly satisfactory.
We have seen (p. 34) that occasionally difficulties had
occurred in connection with the religious instruction of the
patients. Every facility had always been given for anyone
who wished to have a minister of his or her denomination to
attend ; but great tact and management was required, and
these matters were generally left as much as possible in the
hands of the Chaplain.
On March 10th, 1852, the Lady Visitors sent in their report
for the year, and expressed a wish to distribute small tracts,
which they promised should not be " of a controversial nature,"
amongst the inmates. This was allowed on the condition that
the tracts should be previously submitted to the Chaplain.
These directions were not always adhered to, and in 1857 some
of the Lady Visitors had to be told that it formed " no part of
their duty to convey religious instruction to the inmates of the
Infirmary."
The want of judgment in giving spiritual advice, etc., to
patients who are dangerously ill or expecting a serious operation
is sometimes inconceivable.
It is not infrequent to find leaflets of a most disquieting
nature given to such, tracts of the " Out of the Frying-pan into
the Fire " species ; on the other hand, it is only just that a
tribute should be paid to many of those who have officiated
in the wards, and to some of the sisters and nurses. To
give one instance out of many. A poor girl who was shortly
to die, and knew it, begged that when the time came she might
hold the hand of the ward sister. The patient was conscious
to the last ; the sister sat quietly and cheerfully by her side
and held her hand. What she said to her I do not know, but
the child (she was only eighteen) said that she was quite
happy, and with the support of her friend passed away,
declaring " she did not mind a bit." This is surely better than
frightening patients by " propositions in Divinity."
It will be convenient to mention here some of the changes
which occurred in the Chaplaincy in the latter part of the
nineteenth century.
325
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Mr. W. H. Sage, 1 who had been appointed " as in all respects
a fit and proper person to fill the office of Chaplain " on October
7th, 1856, resigned on January 24th, i860, and on April 24th
the Rev. John Mackie was appointed. He held office for sixteen
years, during which his kind and cheerful manners endeared him
to the patients and officials. He resigned on May 23rd, 1876,
and on August 8th of that year the Rev. Oswald Harrison was
appointed. He only held the post for five months, and was
becoming very popular, when serious illness obliged him to
resign on January 9th, 1877. He was replaced on February
13th by the Rev. Oliver Sumner, who resigned on August 27th,
1878, but continued his duties at the Infirmary until his
successor, the Rev. Octavius Maunsell Grindon 2 was elected on
December 10th of that year. Mr. Grindon resigned on
August 25th, 1885, on his nomination to a benefice, and on
November 24th, 1885, the Rev. Fairfax Goodall was appointed
Chaplain. (See p. 410.)
1 Page 300. * See photograph of Infirmary group, Fig. 72.
326
CHAPTER XXV
(1857— 1868)
ERECTION OF CHAPEL AND MUSEUM — CONVALESCENT ROOM —
THE PHARMACOPCEIA — DIET — THE FACULTY ON " CHOPS " — THE
LIFT — ELECTION OF RESIDENTS — HOSPITAL SUNDAY CLEARING
OFF THE DEBT — THE DISPENSER — CALLS TO CONSULTATIONS —
THE TELEGRAPH — JOHN BATTERSBY-HARFORD — THE LADY WITH
THE VOTES — HILL'S WARDS — THE NURSES, THEIR DIET AND
SLEEPING ACCOMMODATION — W. G. GRACE
In the autumn of 1857 the project of building a Chapel for
Divine Service came before the Trustees, and the Treasurer,
Mr. J. S. Harford, not only took a leading part in promoting
the scheme, but subscribed handsomely to the special fund
which was raised for the purpose.
The Faculty suggested that it would be desirable to erect
at the same time a Museum to contain the excellent pathological
specimens given to the Institution by Richard Smith and others.
Hitherto these preparations had been lodged in a large room on
the ground floor of the west wing. Nathaniel Crisp, whilst
House Surgeon, had taken great pains in the arrangement of the
specimens in this room, which was open to the Subscribers to
the Infirmary every Tuesday between 10 a.m. and noon.
Richard Smith left £400 in Consolidated Bank Annuities, the
interest of which was to be devoted to the up-keep of his
Museum.
Dr. Budd drew up a list of suggestions on behalf of his
colleagues, and the Staff subscribed fifty pounds towards the
new buildings. Plans were brought before the Trustees on
February 16th, 1858, and were unanimously approved. It was
estimated that the cost would be about two thousand pounds.
The Chapel and Museum were the chief objects, but it was
proposed to make a Lecture Theatre and a Convalescent Day
Room for patients.
Mr. Fripp, the architect, soon got his plans ready, and the
work was begun ; everyone was anxious to help, and
Mr. William Miles earned the gratitude of the Committee by
giving a large portion of the stone used.
The Chapel, which was ready for Divine Service in i860, was
327
A HISTORY OF THE
built over the Museum, so that the old rhyme might be applied
quite literally to the situation : —
" The Spirit above was the Spirit Divine,
But the spirit below was the spirit of wine."
The old Museum was converted into a Convalescent Room for
men, and continued as such until 1865. It was furnished with
a table, chairs, newspapers, and a few magazines, and was
appreciated by the patients, but it was found that the
convalescents wanted a great deal of looking after, and the space
was wanted for other purposes ; the plan was never, in fact,
a success.
On the completion of the new buildings in i860 the Faculty
arranged a public ceremony for the formal opening of the new
Museum, to which the House Committee, medical men of the
neighbourhood, students, and friends were invited.
Dr. Budd, the senior Physician, gave an excellent address
on this occasion. » He pointed out that the Bristol Infirmary
had at that time the best collection of calculi in England (with
the exception of the College of Surgeons and the Norwich
Infirmary), and paid a handsome tribute to Mr. Crisp's catalogue.
He mentioned some of the historical specimens on the shelves,
such as the stone from the kidney of the well-known preacher,
Robert Hall ; the thigh bone of a French prisoner who was the
first in England to undergo amputation at the hip ; the skeletons
of the two unfortunate women whose bodies were publicly
dissected in the Board Room in 1802, and other gruesome
curiosities.
He also stated that the Faculty, with the consent of the
Committee, intended the room to be used as a place where
portraits of past medical officers might be hung, as a microscope
room, and for the photography of pathological specimens.
Dr. Budd always maintained the dignity and even sacredness
of medical work, and declared that he and his colleagues
" thought that the Museum of that Institution — though neither
Bishop nor Priest be needed to perform the rite — should have
its day of consecration."
The Museum was in charge of the Honorary Staff, but most
of the work in it was done by the " residents." When the
appointment of honorary assistant medical officers was mooted
in 1858, Dr. Budd proposed that the Assistant Physician should
be Curator of the Museum and the Assistant Surgeon " General
Superintendent of the Dead House " — a title of such horrid
1 Reported in the Bristol Times and in Felix Farley's Bristol Journal for
October 6th, i860.
328
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
import, that one cannot but think that the doctor was indulging
in some dry humour at the expense of his surgical colleagues !
From very early days it had been the custom to keep a list
of formulas of the most frequently-used prescriptions for the
sake of the Apothecary and Staff. This was compiled by the
Physicians and Surgeons, and was at first called " Formula
Medici." * Two copies of it were ordered to be kept in the
" Shop " or Dispensary.
From time to time these recipes of recognised value were
added to, and they were ultimately printed in a useful little
book called The Pharmacopoeia of the Bristol Infirmary. The
directions were (until recently) written in Latin, and the correct
composition of these often occasioned curious little discussions
at Faculty meetings. For example, on November ioth, 1857,
Dr. Edward Long Fox (then recently made Physician to the
Institution, and fresh from Oxford) proposed that the word
" utendum " should be expunged, and Mr. Augustin Prichard
proposed " that the Imperative mood should be substituted for
the Gerund whenever practicable." I have consulted two-
eminent classical scholars, who tell me that they see no reason
for either of these changes.
When Dr. Budd made the sensible suggestion that all the
directions should be written in English he met with no support.
Various complaints had been made of the large amount of
" Extras," especially fowl and fish, which had been ordered for
patients, and the Faculty were requested to look into the matter.
They did so, and Dr. Brittan presented their report at a
Committee Meeting on February 17th, 1859.
They found that the pint of milk given to each patient daily
was often left ; otherwise that the diet was rather too poor.
Some of the suggestions made are of interest ; for instance, it
was stated that the soup served with the " Milk Diet " was
" found to consist of a weak and greasy mutton broth, with
vegetables." The Faculty's recipe for a good soup to replace
this was as follows : " All the bones from the previous day's
dinner to be crushed and placed in a coarse canvas bag," and
to this was to be added (presumably for each patient) " 2 oz. of
Fresh Beef, 1 oz. Scraps of Mutton (cut fine), 2 oz. Vegetables,
2 pints of water — Simmer to one pint — cool — skim." Their
idea of a bread pudding is : "4 oz. Bread, Crust and Crumb
softened with Boiling Water and beaten to a Pulp, 1 oz. sugar,
1 drop Oil of Lemons, 1 pint Milk — Bake."
This question of diet has given rise to many anxious
discussions. For instance, in 1861 it was thought by the
1 Rule XXXVIII. in the 1779 code.
329
A HISTORY OF THE
Committee that there was considerable waste going on in
butcher's meat, and a Sub-Committee reported on the matter.
In one month more than fifty-six hundredweight of meat
was consumed, with an average of 229 patients, which works
out at nearly a pound a day each, and a large number of the
patients ate no meat at all.
The resident officials at this time were sixteen in number ;
the porter, servants and boys dined at three o'clock, the
" family " (that is, the Matron, House Surgeon, Assistant
House Surgeon, and resident pupils, etc.) at five o'clock.
These sixteen people consumed, according to the books, one
hundred and ninety-six pounds of meat a week, or one pound
and three-quarters a day each ! This was considered, quite
reasonably, " a large amount."
The report further states : " The Sub-Committee also found
great misunderstanding to prevail on the subject of mutton
chops. The rule in the kitchen was to interpret a mutton chop
to mean 1 lb. of raw meat. Upon asking the opinion of the
Faculty, this was not found to be their meaning when ordering
a chop — their intention was to give a patient unable to eat the
full diet something rather more delicate and less in quantity.
Upon carefully experimenting we found that 5 oz. of Loin of
Mutton would always give such a diet as the Faculty require."
The kitchen fire at this time consumed a ton and a half of
coal per week.
Vaccination had been carried out for many years in all the
large towns in England, but occasional epidemics of small-pox
broke out, and the want of medical supervision frequently led
to a rapid spread of the disease. Thus in 1858 there was an
outbreak, and several cases occurred in the Infirmary. In
March of this year one of the wards (No. 9) was cleared of
surgical patients and given up to small-pox cases, and in the
following month it was decided to utilise the brew-house for
this purpose.
This year (1858) a " Lift " was erected at a cost of £460.
It was a small one, and used almost entirely for carrying up
coals, dinners, etc., to the wards. Occasionally a boy went up
with it.
The question of substituting a large lift, with hydraulic
power, was mooted in 1869, but it was decided to repair the old
one, " special regard being made to the statement in Mr.
Stothert's report that he declines to warrant it safe for lifting
human beings."
Patients were carried to the wards in a chair with poles by
the porter and a boy. There is an entry in the " Surgeons'
33o
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Miscellaneous Book " in 1852 that " Mr. Harrison presented a
basket which he had received from Mr. Syme for the purpose of
carrying patients from the Wards to the Operating Theatie."
It was not until 1866 that a canvas " stretcher " was introduced,
something like that used in the army.
Up to the year 1869 all the medical officers, honorary and
salaried, were elected by a General Board of the Trustees, after
advertisement in the local papers.
As the resident posts were filled almost entirely by former
pupils at the Infirmary, the opinion of the Faculty had naturally
great weight in the selection ; the Physicians and Surgeons were
often consulted, and their recommendations influenced the
appointment.
A feeling gradually gained ground that these important posts
should not be restricted to local candidates, and on February
7th, i860, a Sub-Committee was appointed to consider how
these vacancies might be more widely known. It was decided
to advertise them for the future in the weekly medical journals,
and the Trustees were earnestly requested not to promise their
votes until the Faculty and Committee had examined and
reported on the applicants' testimonials.
Thomas Joseph Cookson Powell, who succeeded Nathaniel
Crisp as House Surgeon on October 7th, 1858 (he had been
Assistant House Surgeon from 1856 to 1858) died, much
regretted, at the age of twenty-seven, on February 26th, i860.
It was agreed that this resolution to more widely advertise
the vacancy should not apply to the election of a House Surgeon
in Powell's place, which was fixed for March 12th (when Mr.
Geoffrey Viel Cooper, who had acted as Assistant Surgeon since
October 7th, 1858, was elected), but should be put in force at
the forthcoming election of Assistant Surgeon to the post
vacated by Cooper.
This latter post (of Assistant Surgeon) was therefore
advertised in the medical journals, and seven candidates applied.
The Faculty examined their applications, and reported " that
Messrs. Board, Flicker, and White 1 be recommended to the
Committee as having the best testimonials and being well
qualified for the office of Assistant Surgeon."
These new arrangements were much talked about, and, as
is usual with departures from old-established routine, were
much condemned. It was said that an attempt was being made
to wrest the elective power from the Trustees and place it in the
hands of the Committee and Faculty.
1 Edmund Comer Board (now Hon. Consulting Surgeon to the Infirmary) ;
Louis M. Flicker, Crawley, Essex; George F. White, Royal Infirmary, Isle of
Wight.
331
A HISTORY OF THE
The supporters of the local candidate, Mr. Board, convened
a public meeting at the Commercial Rooms on March i6th,
with our friend Mr. J. G. Shaw in the chair. The reported
introduction of some London candidates was hotly discussed,
but on the appointed day, May 17th, i860, Mr. Board was elected
without opposition, the other applicants having withdrawn.
I have narrated this incident fully because it was no doubt
the beginning of a movement which ultimately led to the election
of resident medical officers by the Committee.
The idea having germinated, was occasionally talked over,
but was not officially mentioned until 1864, when it appears in
the Annual Report of the Committee. It did not become law
until new rules were drawn up in 1869, and confirmed in
January, 1870.
By Rule XII. of this code the Committee has the " power
to appoint all paid Officers."
Mr. Ebenezer Ludlow, who was elected Assistant House
Surgeon on January 4th, 1865, at the Guildhall, was the last
resident to be appointed by the general body of Trustees. 1
He was elected House Surgeon on January 22nd, 1870, vice
Mr. Board, by the Committee, under the new regime.
From time to time the Bristol Infirmary Committee had
made urgent appeals to the clergy and ministers of the city to
preach sermons and institute collections on behalf of the
Charity ; in fact, the annual sermon which was instituted at the
foundation of the Infirmary may be said to have been the first
recognised annual collection-sermon of the kind in England.
But the idea of setting apart one Sunday in the year for a
simultaneous collection at several churches and chapels for a
hospital appears to have originated in Birmingham in 1859.
Soon after, in May, i860, the Committees of the Bristol
Royal Infirmary and General Hospital exchanged views with
each other on the subject, and it was decided on May 22nd, i860,
that the combined Committees should co-operate " in the effort
to obtain from the Clergy and Ministers of Bristol collections
in their Churches and Chapels on the second Sunday in January
in each year for the benefit of the two Institutions."
This was the origin of " Hospital Sunday " in Bristol. The
Rev. Thomas Hope and Mr. Protheroe were energetic in carrying
out the scheme, which was so well responded to that it made an
immediate and most welcome increase in the yearly incomes of
1 The actual selection, however, was in the hands of the Committee and
Faculty, who chose him from twelve candidates, and their choice was not
challenged. He was elected House Surgeon three days before the new rule
was confirmed.
332
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the Infirmary and Hospital, besides making the usefulness of
these Institutions more widely known.
The following year (1861) more than a thousand pounds
were thus collected, of which the Infirmary received half. x
The year i860 was notable in the annals of the Infirmary in
many ways. Not only were the Chapel, Museum, and
Convalescent Ward opened, and the whole House re-painted
(at a cost of £350), but an important alteration was made in the
Out-patient Department. Hitherto the Physicians and Surgeons
had attended on two days a week only. Early in 1859 the
Faculty urged the importance of a daily attendance, and after
some opposition this was arranged, greatly to the advantage of
the patients, who no longer had to wait — sometimes in great
need of medical advice — for the appointed day.
The experiment was also tried of allowing Out-patients to
send for their medicine, etc., instead of waiting for it, but as
this was soon altered, we may presume that the plan was not
a success.
The year was an expensive one, and in spite of an increase
in annual subscriptions and over £2,000 in legacies the debt to
the Treasurer had again increased to £5,626. To wipe this out
a canvass of the city was instituted, which brought in £3,745.
Each parish or district (for the surrounding country was
included) was solicited by a Committee of workers. Clifton
heads the list with £544, then comes St. James's with £195.
The donations next year (1861) were numerous and
satisfactory, and the income from all sources was £13,892, but
the expenses were so great that there remained a small adverse
balance.
The cost per head of In-patients this year is stated in the
report to be £2 12s. 6d., slightly less than at the Birmingham
General Hospital and at the Sheffield Infirmary.
Long before this, in May, 1816, William Swayne, Apothecary,
had made application for the appointment of a Dispenser, as
the work in the Shop was too heavy for the three apprentices.
This was granted, and for some years a druggist or druggist's
assistant was paid fifty guineas per annum for this work. *
After a time the Apothecary and his apprentices managed
without this additional help.
At a Faculty Meeting on January 24th, 1859, Mr. Augustin
Pilchard proposed that it was desirable " that a Dispenser be
1 The provinces were much ahead of London in this matter. See Burdett's
Hospitals and Charities.
2 The appointment rested chiefly with the Apothecary, and the Dispenser
-was allowed to have breakfast and dinner at the Infirmary. Apparently a
certain William Cross was the first to hold this office.
333
A HISTORY OF THE
appointed to relieve the Assistant House Surgeon of his duties
in the Shop." The chief object was to give the Assistant House
Surgeon time to help with the numerous Out-patients.
The Committee agreed to this suggestion, and advertised the
new post, and on August 16th, 1859, Joseph Monkman, who had
acted as Dispenser at the York County Hospital, was appointed
at a salary of £110 per annum, to be raised to £120 at the end of
a year if the Committee was satisfied.
The dispensing of the numerous and lengthy prescriptions
of the Physicians kept the dispensary staff pretty busy in
those days.
Besides the Dispenser there was a senior, or " first
assistant," a " second assistant," and two boys, whose salaries
were as follows : —
Mr. Monkman £120 Per annum.
John Jones, first assistant . . £40 and £18 for board.
Alfred Jones, second assistant £18 do.
Frederick Jeffery, first boy . . £10 8s. do.
Charles Broad, second boy . . £3 18s. do.
In addition to the two Dispensary boys, there were, in 1861,
three " messengers," two at an annual salary of £7 16s. and
one at £3 18s.
Their duties were to run errands, find the House Surgeon
when he was wanted for casualties, etc., take notes to the
Surgeons, attend to the lift, etc.
It has been elsewhere stated that punctuality at operations
and consultations has been one of the cherished traditions at the
Infirmary, the patient taking precedence of all other engage-
ments, however important. This humane rule, which has
prevented an immense amount of distressing waiting, has
hitherto been strenuously upheld.
At this date (1861) each Surgeon took a week in rotation,
during which all surgical cases requiring in-door treatment were
admitted to his wards. When an operation was necessary, a
messenger boy was sent to the Surgeon's house ; if he intended
to operate, the boy went round to the other Surgeons,
summoning them to a consultation. It was to ensure the
Surgeon's speedy attendance that the rule was made that no
one should " continue to hold office whilst he shall reside more
than one mile and a half from the Infirmary." In the 1870 code
the distance was increased to two miles.
At first the messenger went on foot, but to save time he was
afterwards sent in a cab. Motors and telephones have made
these calls to urgent cases a much simpler matter.
334
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
To facilitate communication, an experiment was tried in
1863 of laying a long gutta-percha tube from the porter's lodge
to the Dispensary ; this acted very well, and led to other
" speaking tubes " being installed.
There was still, however, a difficulty in sending messages to
the wards. For example, a casualty might be admitted whilst
the resident medical officers were going their " morning rounds."
The porter or student for the week had to get some messenger
to go and search for them, and this sometimes meant consider-
able delay. Much thought was expended on this problem, and
in January, 1868, some gentleman unknown offered, through
Miss Edwards, to defray the expenses of fixing some form of
telegraphic apparatus throughout the House.
This was carried out under the supervision of Mr. Grafton,
architect, at a cost of £250. It was an ingenious arrangement,
and answered well for years. Many old Infirmary men will
remember the " clocks" over the fireplaces in the wards. A
large circle was painted on the wall, like the dial-plate of a
clock, with a hand, which would swing round and point to the
words " Casualty," " Dinner," etc., according to the nature of
the summons, a small bell being struck at the same time.
A loud, clanging bell near the entrance announced the
arrival of a casualty or emergency. When medicine was
wanted in a ward, the nurses either left the prescription in the
porter's lodge or took it direct to the Dispensary. The latter
plan was, however, strictly forbidden in 1868, as it was found
in one or two instances that the conversational powers of the
Shop assistants unduly delayed their return.
On April 16th, 1866, John Scandrett Harford, who had
served as President and Treasurer from 1844 to 1859, died
peacefully in his eighty-first year. He was succeeded by his
grandson, John Battersby-Harford, M.A., J. P., D.L., who was
elected on March 15th, 1859. These two were perhaps the most
accomplished and learned of all the distinguished men who have
held this office.
John Battersby-Harford was the son of Abraham Gray
Harford-Battersby, and was born in 1819. He was educated
at Harrow, and played in the School eleven against Eton at
Lord's in 1836. He is described as being " strikingly handsome,
with a classic profile and short aquiline nose," well proportioned,
and tall.
He married in 1850 a daughter of Baron Bunsen, and just
before this he changed his name, by royal licence, from Harford-
Battersby to Battersby-Harford.
He died on February nth, 1875.
335
A HISTORY OF THE
He was a man of varied tastes and pursuits, addicted to
study and the belles-lettres, also to countryside amusements and
sport. He had the reputation of being " an excellent shot,
especially for woodcock." 1
The year 1866 was an important one in the history of the
Infirmary in many ways.
It was a good one financially, the total income amounting
to over £11,000. Several important legacies fell in, notably one
from the executors of Mr. Thomas Harris for £1,500, and two of
£500 each from the late Treasurer, J. S. Harford, and from
Mr. George Anstice, of Chipping Sodbury.
On July 10th Mr. W. F. Morgan, one of the Consulting
Surgeons, announced that a lady, who wished to remain
anonymous, had given £1,000 to the Institution.
This donation made her a life subscriber with thirty votes,
and at all subsequent elections to honorary posts for many
years this unknown donor was sought for with the greatest
assiduity to obtain her promise of support. When the present
writer was contesting the post of Assistant Surgeon in 1885,
the information that the other candidate had obtained this
lady's " proxies " came as a great blow to him and his
Committee.
Improvements were made in many directions. Three dirty
and unsightly houses at the back of the garden (in Whitson
Court) were purchased 2 and pulled down ; and this, together
with the widening of Maudlin Street, made the surroundings of
the Infirmary more healthy. A new carriage shed was also
erected at the back entrance, for the Faculty drove up to the
House in carriages in those days, and cut much more imposing
figures than now, when they arrive on trams and bicycles !
A new and much better dead-house, with a post-mortem
room adjoining, was erected this year near the Museum.
On April 20th, 1866, Mr. T. E. Clark, one of the Surgeons,
informed the Faculty that a gentleman was willing to pay
between two and three thousand pounds for the erection of
two new wards, to be added to the west wing of the Infirmary,
and to be called after the donor's name. This generous offer
came before the Committee on May 8th, and was thankfully
accepted. It was soon known that this gentleman was Mr.
T. W. Hill. Negotiations were at once opened with him ; a
plan of Mr. Henry Crisp's (of the firm of Godwin and Crisp) was
adopted, and the work was at once put in hand.
1 See Annals of the Harford Family.
2 Two of the houses were bought in February, 1867, the other one in May
of that year.
336
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
These wards were built at the back of the west wing, and no
pains were spared to make them light, well ventilated, and
commodious. The lower one became No. 19 (men's) and the
upper one No. 20 (children's). Each is fifty feet long and
twenty-five feet wide. The walls were plastered with Parian
cement, and the floors laid with polished oak. They are perhaps
the best wards erected in the old building ; with the necessary
furniture, etc., they cost £3,760, nearly the whole of which was
paid by Mr. Hill.
It was intended to have a public opening on Thursday,
August 26th, 1868, but as the donor could not be present, the
ceremony was a quiet one.
The question of the efficiency of the nurses was again under
serious consideration in 1866, and a Sub-Committee was formed,
which furnished a report on the general internal economy of the
House on December nth.
This Sub-Committee held many consultations with Miss
Laura E. Edwards, the Hon. Secretary of the Nurses' Training
Institution, * and the outcome of these deliberations may be
epitomised as follows : —
(1) Board wages were to be entirely abolished, and all meals
provided for nurses in the Infirmary.
(2) Proper sleeping accommodation for the whole staff of
nurses to be provided, in the House if possible.
(3) The wards to be divided into four " groups," and four
" Head Nurses " to be appointed, one for each group of wards.
(4) A " ward nurse " to be in charge of each ward (under the
supervision of the " Head Nurses "), two " additional " nurses
provided for each " group," and eight " Infirmary Pupils " who
were to work for three months in each " group," until they had
completed a year's training. In addition, four " Institution
Pupils " (from the Nurses' Training Institution) were to be
added to the list.
There were therefore to be forty nurses, the whole to be under
the management of a " Lady Superintendent," " to be sole
responsible Female Authority within the Infirmary." The
House Surgeon was to have nothing to do with the appointment
or dismissal of nurses.
It was estimated that the cost of this new arrangement
would be about £1,900 per annum (the old system cost about
£1,800).
On January 9th, 1867, Mrs. Lovell was appointed by the
Committee to the new post of Lady Superintendent, with a
1 Inaugurated September 19th, 1862, for " the supply of trained Nurses of
good character for the public on the usual terms and of gratuitous nursing for
the sick poor."
337
22
A HISTORY OF THE
salary of £jo a year, and it was decided to try the scheme and
see how it worked.
There were two great difficulties to be met, the meals in the
building and the sleeping accommodation.
I have mentioned that the room in the west wing formerly
used as a museum had been in i860 converted into a
Convalescent Ward for men. This had not proved a permanent
success, and it was now (1866) decided to furnish it with a long
table and chairs, and make it into a Nurses' Dining-room. It
would accommodate half the nurses, and they had their meals
here in two batches at the following hours : —
Breakfast at 7 and 7.30.
Dinner at n and 11.30.
Supper at 8 and 8.30.
The Housekeeper provided each nurse with half a pound of
butter a week ; this she kept in her ward, and took with her to
her meals. At breakfast time a twelve-ounce loaf of bread was
given to each, to last for the day. The nurse was to take what
she required of this loaf into the ward for her tea, which she
could have whenever she found it convenient. For this meal
she was allowed three ounces of tea and half a pound of loaf
sugar a fortnight. Tea for breakfast was, however, provided.
In 1890 the allowance of tea was increased from two to four
ounces weekly, and in 1893 fish and bacon were added to the
breakfast, in addition to eggs. In 1895 butter was placed on the
table in small pats, and there was no restriction as to the
amount used.
For dinner they had (in 1866) meat and potatoes every day,
soup twice a week, and a second vegetable or milk pudding
twice or thrice a week. For supper, cold meat and bread and
cheese were provided, with half a pint of beer for each (both for
dinner and supper) . 1
Hitherto the Infirmary had consisted of a three-storied
building (from the front), with low garrets over the central
portion and wings, in one of which (that over the west wing)
Richard Smith found the old records in 1791. (See Introduction.)
After much debate it was decided to build a new story with
large and well-fitted dormitories for the nurses, in place of the
small, ill-ventilated garrets where most of them slept before,
and which were, as the report says, " quite unfit to be occupied
by respectable women."
During these alterations, which were completed the following
1 In May, 1896, the title of " Sister " was given to nurses in charge of
wards. This was much opposed at the time, on the grounds that the epithet
" savoured of Popery."
338
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
year (1867) at a cost of about £3,000, the skylight of the
operation theatre was threatened ; but the Surgeons protested,
and the roof of the room was raised, a fact which accounts for
the unusual height of the excellent operating room in the old
building.
Whilst the new dormitories were being got ready the
nurses had to be boarded out, and this, combined with the
many anxieties connected with the working of the new
arrangements, threw an immense amount of responsibility on
the Lady Superintendent, Mrs. Lovell, whose health became
so impaired, that in August, 1867, her tenure of office had
to terminate, and Miss Worthington was appointed " Lady
Superintendent and Matron " on October 17th.
On the resignation of Miss Worthington — also from ill-
health — in November, 1868, the title of "Lady Superintendent"
was abolished, and the new system was much modified, as
it was found that it had proved no better than the old.
On December 8th, 1868, Miss Sarah Bird, who had been
Matron at the Sheffield Infirmary, was appointed Matron. x
This year it was decided that no one should be taken as a
nurse under the age of twenty-one, a most important regulation,
for the hard work and responsible duties incident to nursing put
too great a strain on women below this age.
It may here be recorded that on October 27th, 1868, William
Gilbert Grace, the great cricketer, entered as a pupil of Mr.
Tibbits at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. He was then in his
twenty-first year, and was already one of the most famous men
in England. He became an " Assistant Pupil " on December
13th, 1870, and a Physician's pupil (under Dr. Brittan) on
January 23rd, 1872. His brother, Fred Grace, became a pupil
of Dr. Brittan at the same date.
" W. G. " presided at the Annual Medical Dinner in 1893.
1 She resigned in 1885, after seventeen years' faithful service. In
December, 1901, it was found that she was in reduced circumstances, and a
collection was made for her, to which members of the Committee and Faculty
subscribed.
339
CHAPTER XXVI
OUTWARD APPEARANCE — " HATS ON " — DRESSERS' GOWNS — THE
NEW TYPE — WILLIAM BUDD — FREDERICK BRITTAN — ALEXANDER
EAIRBROTHER — EDWARD LONG FOX — JOHN BEDDOE — AUGUSTIN
PRICHARD — R. M. BERNARD — H. A. HORE — CROSBY LEONARD —
T. E. CLARK — R. W. TIBBITS — ROBERT PHIPPEN — RULES OF 187O
— ASSISTANT MEDICAL OFFICERS — E. LUDLOW — E. C. BOARD —
CONVALESCENT HOMES — RESIDENT APPRENTICES— R. SHINGLETON
SMITH — H. M. CHUTE — DEBT — INSANITARY CONDITION —
TEMPORARY REMOVAL TO COLSTON STREET — PERSONAL
REMINISCENCES — RE-OPENING OF INFIRMARY
Before the King's visit in 1912, when the outside of the
building was scraped and re-painted, people often remarked on
the sombre appearance of the old Infirmary. But before the
year 1867 it was more gloomy still, for, to use the words of Mr.
Latimer, " for some inscrutable reason the whole of the Infirmary
buildings were painted black ; " and when Prince Puckler
Muskan visited the city in 1828, he compared the place to an
" enormous mausoleum." x
On November 12th, 1867, Mr. Henry Palmer, one of the
Vice-Presidents, told the Committee that he was desirous of
seeing the external appearance improved, and made of a " more
cheerful colour." He offered to pay £200 for this purpose, and
the walls were rough cast and coloured (apparently a light grey) .
The habits and costumes of the Staff altered, of course, with
the times. In the eighteenth century, for instance, one or two
of the Physicians and Surgeons were in the habit of hanging up
their hats when they went round the wards, but the majority
kept their heads covered, and wore their swords or rapiers
whilst they were at their work. When the tall " top " hat
came into fashion in the early part of the nineteenth century,
it gradually became recognised as an almost necessary part of
a medical man's outfit, and the custom at the Infirmary was
for the Visiting Staff — and even the Residents — to wear their
hats in the wards.
Qualified men who " went round " with the Physicians and
Surgeons also invariably wore the " topper ; " unqualified men
were supposed to go round bareheaded, and it thus became an
1 Latimer's Annals of Bristol, Nineteenth Century, p. 28.
34°
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
outward and visible sign that a man had " passed the College "
if he appeared in the wards with his hat on. Directly a student
had obtained the M.R.C.S. he took the first opportunity of
claiming his privilege, and appeared some Saturday morning,
when there were usually plenty of people to see and envy him,
in the full splendour of a silk hat. So tenacious were some of
this custom, that Mr. Board, when House Surgeon, never went
from one room of the Institution to another without putting
on his hat.
Dr. Beddoe, who was elected in 1862, was the first to break
through this absurd custom ; for many years he was the only
member of the medical staff who went into the wards bare-
headed. Mr. Richardson Cross, who was elected Assistant
Surgeon in 1878, almost from the first saw his Infirmary patients
with his hat off, and his example was very slowly followed
by others.
The Surgeon usually kept on his ordinary coat for minor
operations. When undertaking a major operation he exchanged
this for an old black cloth coat kept for the purpose. A row of
these dirty garments might be seen hanging up in the consulta-
tion room ready for use ; they must have been so full of germs
that it is a wonder septic troubles were not even commoner than
they were.
During the early years of the nineteenth century the
dressers were supposed to wear long gowns made of some
plain, washable material. Apparently this costume did not at
all satisfy them, for they wrote a letter to the Surgeons on the
subject. This curious document is still in existence ; it is
unfortunately undated, but from the signatures it must have
been written between 1812 and 1817.
They profess " a rooted dislike to the gown now used, which
is certainly no better than a butcher's frock," and suggest, as a
suitable costume, " the cap and gown of the University student,
with some modification," designating the gowns they were
supposed to wear as " unbecoming and indecorous."
What the immediate result of this letter was I cannot
ascertain, but the student's gown was afterwards altered,
according to the taste of the surgeon to whom the dresser
belonged ; it had deep and capacious pockets, in which a
" dressing case " of instruments, some lint, and a " roll of
spread ointment and plasters " * were carried.
When I was a dresser in 1877 we were allowed some latitude
in the choice of a gown, but the prevailing pattern was a long
1 See Mr. A. W. Prichard's " Reminiscences of the Bristol Royal Infirmary,"
in the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal for September, 1900.
341
A HISTORY OF THE
flannel garment, not unlike a neat, closely-fitting " dressing-
gown," frequently of some Scotch plaid, with deep side pockets,
and usually with a waist-band.
These gowns did not easily show stains, and were not too
often cleaned ; they were, in fact, particularly unfitted for
surgical purposes. Some of the dressers actually carried the
instruments in their waist -bands when assisting at operations,
and many of my colleagues will remember the burly student
H V (who was above the usual age, and wore a thick
beard), who presented a terrific aspect in the operation room,
with saws, forceps and knives stuck into his belt, looking very
much like a comic bandit.
Long after Lister's gospel of surgical cleanliness was adopted
some of the older Surgeons clung fondly to the ancient methods,
and as late as 1895 I have seen a former member of the Infirmary
Staff, when operating in private, stick the needles he was to use
for sewing up the wound in the bed curtains, " to be handy," as
he expressed it. It is needless to say that the wound did not
heal by " first intentions."
Medical and surgical practice began to undergo a great
change in the middle of the nineteenth century. Pathology
was becoming a definite science, owing chiefly to the work of
Virchow and Billroth in Germany, Claude Bernard in France,
and Paget and Jenner in England. The researches of Louis
Pasteur were also beginning to be recognised in this country.
Luckily there was a man ready who could interpret the
spirit of the time, and introduce the new scientific knowledge
at the Infirmary. On Dr. Riley's resignation William Budd
was elected in his place, on October 28th, 1847. Various
references will be found in these pages to this great physician.
He was at this time thirty-six years of age, and had been in
practice for about six years. He brought a splendid intellect
and intense love of his calling to his work amongst his patients,
and his connection with the Institution added great happiness
to his life. So keen was he, that " as he walked down, for he
had not then attained the dignity of a carriage, as soon as he
got within sight of the Infirmary, like a boy within view of his
bathing-place or cricket-field, he could hardly restrain himself
from setting off to run, in his anxiety to see how his cases were
getting on." * (For portrait see Fig. 66.)
Dr. George Wallis (see Chapters xvii. and xxviii.) resigned in
January, 1855, and on February 15th Dr. Frederick Brittan was
elected Physician after a smart canvass. (See Appendix A.) He
1 See Obituary Notice of Dr. Budd in the Bristol Infirmary Reports
(1878-79), by Augustin Prichard.
342
FIVE MEMBERS OF MEDICAL READING SOCIETY, .1854.
'1, Dr. J. G. Swayne ; 2, Charles Smerdon ; 3, W, F. Morgan; 4, William Goodeve ;
5, Dr. Fairbrother.
Fig. 68.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
became very popular, both at the Infirmary and in private
practice, his cheerful presence and many social qualities making
him a great favourite. He was a fluent and eloquent speaker,
taking a great interest in all sorts of professional work, whether
pathological or clinical. He resigned in October, 1873, and died
on February 15th, 1890, the thirty-fifth anniversary of his
election on the Infirmary Staff. (For portrait see Fig. 67.)
On June 5th, 1856, Dr. Alexander Fairbrother, x who had
served as Physician at the General Hospital from 1838 to 1853,
was elected on the Infirmary Staff on Dr. J. F. Bernard's
retirement. He was forty-six years of age at the time of his
election, and held office for twenty years. He resigned on
June 27th, 1876, and had therefore altogether thirty-five years'
experience of hospital work. He spent a great deal of his time
at the Infirmary, and liked nothing better than a chat or gossip
in the wards or corridors, either about his cases or any local
event. He was often seen at the Commercial Rooms, which he
frequented, I am told, from his love of picking up the latest
news.
He had a peculiarity which many of the students of those
days noticed ; he would never enter a ward (or indeed any room)
without using the tail of his coat as a covering to his hand when
turning the handle of the door. What his reason for this was
I do not know, but suppose he did it that he might not con-
taminate his hand. He died on May 13th, 1889, aged seventy-
nine, and left £1,000 to endow a bed in Ward III. (female) and
£500 for the endowment of a cot in the Children's Ward.
Dr. Lyon resigned in August, 1857, and Dr. Edward Long
Fox (grandson of the Dr. Edward Long Fox who was on the
Medical Staff from 1786 to 1816) was elected Physician on
September 3rd, 1857. He was only twenty-five years of age
at the time of his election, and entered upon his long and
useful career at the Infirmary with great enthusiasm. (See
Appendix B.)
Dr. John Beddoe succeeded Dr. Budd as Physician to the
Institution on March 20th, 1862, and resigned in October, 1873.
He was born at Bewdley on September 21st, 1826, and was,
when he began his Infirmary work, already distinguished not
only as a physician but as an anthropologist. His book on
the Races of Britain (1885) placed him in the foremost ranks of
scientific men. It is unnecessary here to give any biography
of so well-known a man. His kind and gentle manners, and his
great skill and intellectual endowment, made his career as a
1 See group of Medical Reading Society for Dr. Fairbrother's portrait
<Fig. 68).
343
A HISTORY OF THE
Physician to the Infirmary an extremely valuable one both to
his colleagues and to his patients.
As the new type of scientific physician came to the
Institution in the person of William Budd in 1847, so the new
type of surgeon came at the death of Richard Lowe, when
Augustin Prichard was elected on February 28th, 1850, on the
surgical staff. Notes on the members of the Prichard family
who were connected with the Infirmary will be found at the
end of the book. 1
At W. F. Morgan's resignation Ralph Montague Bernard
was elected Surgeon in his place on May 4th, 1854, from a
number of distinguished candidates, including William Bird
Herapath, Crosby Leonard, Frederick Brittan, etc. (See
Appendix A.)
Mr. Bernard was a brother of Dr. J. F. Bernard, who was
Physician from 1843 to 1856. He was killed by a fall from some
cliffs near Lampeter in Wales on August 18th, 1871, the event
being rendered more terrible from the fact that it was witnessed
by his wife and children.
Henry Augustus Hore (whose excellent work in tabulating
Infirmary cases has been mentioned before) 2 was elected
Surgeon on September 3rd, 1857, on Henry Clark's resignation.
During his long career at the Infirmary (he was connected
with the Institution as Resident and Honorary Surgeon
altogether twenty-four years) he did a great deal of useful
work both in the Museum and wards. He resigned in April,
1868.
He had a marked impediment in his speech, which interfered
with his usefulness as a teacher and lecturer. He was also
short-sighted, but this did not prevent him from being a good
operator. A story is told that on one occasion when
amputating a leg by what is known as the " circular " method,
which requires the operator to begin the sweeping cut with the
long knife pointed towards his face, Mr. Hore inflicted such a
severe wound on his own nose, that he had to be attended
to by a colleague before he could proceed with the major
operation !
He died on May 24th, 1871, aged forty-eight.
John Harrison resigned the Surgeoncy in December, 1859,
and Crosby Leonard was elected in his place on January 5th,
i860.
He belonged to a well-known Bristol family. His father,
Isaac Leonard (who married Mary Ann Crosby, from whom
1 Appendix B. 2 Page 313.
344
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Crosby Leonard obtained his Christian name), practised for
many years as a surgeon in Brunswick Square. l
Crosby Leonard was born on May 16th, 1828. He was at
first educated by the Misses Overbury, in Ashley Place, and
afterwards at the Bristol College, where he was, according to
Mr. John Exley, " a good and industrious little boy." 2
At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to his father, and
in September, 1845, he entered the Infirmary as a pupil of Mr.
Lowe, and three years after he became a pupil of Dr. Lyon. s
About this date he began also to attend Mr. Estlin's Eye
Dispensary, and continued to be connected with that useful
Institution almost to the end of his life. When he had passed
the " College " and the " Hall " (in 1849 and 1850), he studied
in Paris, and on his return to England began practice with his
father. In 1854 he became Lecturer on Anatomy at the Bristol
Medical School, and in the same year he was appointed Surgeon
to the Bridewell. In 1863 he removed to Rockleigh House,
Whiteladies Road, where he lived for many years with his two
sisters. Many of his friends and pupils have good reason to
remember the kindly welcome they received at that hospitable
house. (For portrait see Fig. 69.)
Crosby Leonard identified himself very closely with the
Bristol Royal Infirmary, and became very popular with the
patients and with the students and Staff. (See also p. 360.)
The following table, showing some of the relationships of
Isaac Leonard, Crosby Leonard, Edward A. Leonard (who was
Secretary to the Infirmary from 1895 to 1902), with other
1 His father's name was also Isaac. There is an entry in the Committee
Book under date August ist, 1812 : " Mr. Isaac Leonard attended with his
son," who was indentured to Mr. Hetling for five years. Isaac the younger
was a member of the Medical Reading Society and of the Infirmary Medical
Reading Society ; he was man-midwife to the Bristol Dispensary, and was
one of those who sent a provisional application to the papers on the threatened
resignation of the Surgeons in 1825. Amongst the many invitations still in
existence, written to Richard Smith, jun., is one from Isaac Leonard dated
April, 1829, which reads as follows : " Dear Sir, If not too late in the Season,
will you be one to attack a barrel of Oysters to-morrow evening."
It may interest the superstitious to know that at the Annual Dinner of the
Medical Reading Society (the twelve members of which have dined together
every year since 1807 to the present time, 1915), it was remarked that the
number was increased to thirteen by the presence of an invited guest. Isaac
Leonard, who was present at this dinner, died before the year was out.
2 See Augustin Prichard's short biographical sketch of C. Leonard in the
Bristol Royal Infirmary Reports.
3 He entered the Medical School in October, 1845. It may interest the
many who think the modern student has too many lectures to attend to learn
that Crosby Leonard was " signed up " for three winter courses of Descriptive
and Surgical Anatomy, each course consisting of one hundred and forty
lectures ! This was in addition to three courses of " General Anatomy and
Physiology " of about the same length ; the lecturers on Surgery, Medicine,
Chemistry, and Materia Medica each gave a series of about a hundred lectures.
345
A HISTORY OF THE
members of the Staff and Committee, may interest some of
my readers : —
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u
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Dr. Thomas Edward Clark was elected Surgeon on
September 15th, 1864, vice Thomas Green, and resigned on
September 23rd, 1873, when he was appointed Physician to the
Bristol General Hospital. He took Holy Orders in 1885, and
became Vicar of St. Peter's, Clifton. He died on December
24th, 1897, aged sixty-two. (For portrait see Fig. 70.)
H. A. Hore's successor, Robert William Tibbits, was elected
Surgeon on April 28th, 1868. He was twenty-six years old at
the time of his appointment, and during his short but active
career at the Infirmary he initiated and carried out many
important reforms, which will be referred to later. He was, in
fact, an enthusiastic reformer, and made a deep impression
on professional life in Bristol. (See pp. 360 and 361, also
Appendix A. For portrait see Fig. 71.)
On the resignation of John Battersby-Harford, Robert
Phippen was elected President and Treasurer on April 27th,
1869.
Mr. J. B. Harford had, in the words of the Annual Report,
" discharged the duties most kindly and efficiently for ten years,
following in the steps of his uncle, John Scandrett Harford, Esq.,
who occupied the same position to the satisfaction of all
connected with the Infirmary for fifteen years."
Mr. Phippen, who was born at his father's house in
Bedminster in 1801, had been Vice-President for no less than
twenty-three years, and had taken a most active part in the
affairs of the Infirmary. His election as President gave general
satisfaction, but he did not long enjoy the honour conferred
on him.
A few months after his election, on July 5th, he went to
dinner at the Mayor's house to meet the Committee of the
Grateful Society. He arrived a few minutes after the company
had sat down to dinner, and he had probably hurried, a fact
which may have been the immediate cause of his death. After
taking a mouthful or two of soup he turned pale and faint. He
recovered sufficiently to be placed on a sofa and wheeled into
the drawing-room, but in spite of the attentions of Dr. Lyon
and Mr. Ormerod of Westbury, he died about an hour after he
entered the house.
It was found on examination that he had ruptured
the great artery leading from the heart — an unusual
occurrence.
He was Mayor of Bristol in 1840-41, one of the Charity
Trustees, and an active and benevolent citizen, putting his
wealth to good uses. He was a great lover of botany.
He was succeeded at the Infirmary by the Rev. James
347
A HISTORY OF THE
Heyworth, who was elected President and Treasurer on July
27th, 1869.
Although the 1843 code of rules had been modified in 1852,
there had been no reprint of them since the former date.
During the year 1869 the whole of the regulations were
revised, and the new code was confirmed on January 25th, 1870.
At this time the honorary medical officers were appointed
for twenty years, at the expiration of which time they had to
retire. This was felt by many to be a bad arrangement, for a
Surgeon elected on the Staff at say forty-five years of age
might, towards the end of his tenure of office, be unfit for the
physical exertion and quickness of eye and muscle constantly
required. x An attempt was made to alter this, but un-
successfully. It was not until December 28th, 1877, that the
present regulation was adopted, viz. : "That no person elected
to the Office of Physician shall hold the same beyond the age
of 60 years, nor to that of Surgeon beyond the age of 55 years."
As far back as 1858 Dr. Budd proposed at a Faculty Meeting
(on June 12th) that an Assistant Physician and an Assistant
Surgeon should be appointed to attend to the increasing
number of Out-patients ; and ten years later, in 1868, the
question was again discussed by the Faculty. The resident
medical officers at this time regularly helped in the crowded
out-patient rooms, together with the students who were doing
" dressing," but a great deal of waiting and delay was
unavoidable.
Soon after the new rules were printed in 1870 the question
of assistant medical officers again came to the fore, and at
length, on December 13th of this year, it was decided to appoint
an Assistant Physician and an Assistant Surgeon, whose duties
should " be confined solely to the Out-patient Department."
On January 28th, 1871, Dr. Ebenezer Ludlow and Mr.
Edmund Comer Board were duly elected by the Trustees under
the respective titles of " Assistant Physician and Assistant
Surgeon to the Out-patients." It was also decided that the
Surgeon for the Week should not only appoint a resident
dresser for that week, but also " an efficient Assistant Pupil
to attend to the Out-patient Department during the fourth
week folio wing."
Many members of the full Staff continued to see Out-
patients ; indeed, the new officers were at first looked upon as
merely additional " helps," but as time went on the out-patient
work was more and more relegated to the Assistant Physicians
and Surgeons.
1 The group of Infirmary Surgeons shown in Fig. 62 is interesting in
connection with the above.
34«
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Patients who left the Infirmary in a weak condition were at
this time often sent to Convalescent Sanatoria at Shirehampton
or Weston-super-Mare, or to Lady Ducie's Home at Cromhall.
On August 22nd, 1871, the Committee received a letter from
the representatives of " the Bristol Fever Hospital of 1864-5,"
stating that the sum of £1,100 had been paid by them to the
Committee of the West of England Sanatorium at Weston-super-
Mare, on the condition that the Committees of the Infirmary and
General Hospital should be entitled to nominate a certain
number of patients for annual admission to the Sanatorium.
The number of beds for Infirmary patients was fixed at eighteen.
In 1870 the House Surgeon was allowed to take three
resident apprentices, who were elected by the Committee.
Each of these paid the Infirmary £255 for five years' apprentice-
ship, and the House Surgeon £60. They were taken on trial for
two months before they were accepted, and they had such
unusually good opportunities of learning their profession that
there was no lack of applicants. Alterations in the medical
curriculum gradually made this arrangement difficult, and
House Surgeon's apprentices were abolished on March 3rd, 1880.
On January 24th, 1871, Dr. Robert Shingleton Smith was
elected House Surgeon in place of Dr. Ludlow, who was on
January 28th elected the first Assistant Physician.
Dr. Shingleton Smith had served as Assistant House Surgeon
from March 1st, 1870, and was succeeded in that post by Henry
Macready Chute, who was elected November 22nd, 1870. Mr.
Chute became House Surgeon on November 25th, 1873, and
resigned in 1877.
He was a brother of Mr. James Macready Chute, so long and
honourably connected with the Prince's Theatre, and was
educated at the Bristol Medical School, which he entered in
1866. He made an excellent House Surgeon — quick, decisive,
self-reliant, and well able to maintain discipline. He afterwards
went to Cape Colony.
The expenses of building and alterations, together with the
growing needs of the Institution, had so depleted its finances
that more than £5,000 was owing to the Treasurer at the end
of 1870. A canvass was instituted, which brought in a hundred
fresh subscribers in 1871, besides many donations, but there
were very few legacies, and extensive repairs were required in
the bathrooms and in the flues of the House, so that the deficit
had increased to £8,000. by the end of the year.
This state of affairs was improved in 1872 by a considerable
increase in the Annual Subscriptions, and by important legacies,
especially one of £5,000 left by the late President, Robert
349
A HISTORY OF THE
Phippen. The total income was brought to £14,790, and the debt
to the Treasurer was diminished by over £4,000.
For the first time since its foundation the Infirmary had this
year (1872) to pay rates and taxes. During the next two or
three years attempts were made to get exemption, and
Parliament was petitioned, but in vain.
Amongst the useful gifts received at this time may be
mentioned one hundred and four cupboards for patients to use
as receptacles for their food, etc. (in 1871), and " one hundred
and sixty excellent Counterpanes for the Patients' Beds," from
Mr. Robert Hassell (in 1873).
The Infirmary had hitherto obtained its water from a well
on the premises. The water was pumped up to a large cistern
on the roof by a steam engine which was installed in the base-
ment. The vibrations of this engine could be distinctly
perceived in the Committee Room, and were sometimes a
source of annoyance.
The Faculty suspected some contamination of the well and
cistern as far back as 1855, but did not then take any definite
action in the matter. Certain kinds of illness in the wards
caused the question to be again discussed in 1874, and on
May 19th of that year Mr. Harrison (then Consulting Surgeon)
wrote to the Faculty asking them to obtain an analysis of the
water. The intricate arrangement of internal drains was also
thought to be dangerous, and a resolution was sent to the
Committee requesting a report on the whole subject of drainage
and water supply. The Committee sent samples of the water
to the City Analyst, Mr. W. W. Stoddart, who found evidence
of contamination with sewage. 1
It is curious that Dr. Fairbrother alone of all the Faculty
disagreed with all their recommendations, but would give no
reason for so doing. A resolution was therefore sent to the
Committee by the other members of the Medical Staff, requesting
that in future Dr. Fairbrother's statements should be accepted
" upon his own personal responsibility only, and as in no way
representing those of his colleagues." Although this resolution
could only result in the Committee proceeding " with the
business of the day," the Faculty were justified in sending it,
for the line of independent action taken by Dr. Fairbrother
from time to time in the history of the Infirmary led to so much
confusion and misunderstanding that it was rightly condemned.
A " Sanitary Sub-Committee " was appointed, and Mr.
1 In spite of this report, the Infirmary water continued to have a reputation
for some occult curative powers ; people used to apply for it, and Mr. Trenerry,
the Secretary, sent bottles of it to many applicants. The well was situated
not far from the old dead-house !
350
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Salter, of London, the eminent architect and civil engineer, was
commissioned to examine and report on the condition of the
House. He found many faults, chiefly connected with the fact
that the drains were built of stone, and as time went on the
slabs had become separated and leakage of sewage had occurred.
He strongly advised a complete re-arrangement of the drains,
the use of Company's water, new floors, fresh ventilation, and
many other alterations.
The Committee adopted the report of the Sub-Committee,
and presented it to the Trustees at a special Board held on
July 13th, 1875.
It was agreed that these improvements were urgentlyneeded,
and such was indeed the case. Septicaemia, erysipelas, and
every disease which could be caused or fostered by foul air and
insanitary conditions were rampant, especially in the surgical
wards, so that operations were looked upon as fraught with
great danger to the patients' lives. The results of wounds —
whether accidental or made by the surgeon's knife — were
frequently terrible ; weeks and months of fever, sloughing,
pyaemia, and abscesses — in fact, all the horrors of surgical
uncleanliness were common. Mr. R. W. Tibbits was extremely
active in endeavouring to combat these evils. He worked with
characteristic energy and contempt of conventional customs and
ideas to bring about a more healthy state of affairs, and the
Infirmary owed much to his persistence and enthusiasm.
It was realised that these extensive alterations would cost
a great deal, and it was decided to sell out sufficient 3 per cent.
Consols to raise the sum of £15,000. Mr. Salter was appointed
architect, and Messrs. Baker & Sons contracted for the work.
It was obvious that all the patients must be cleared out
during these alterations, and some empty houses (Nos. 1 to 7)
in Colston Street were taken for six months at a rental of £270,
and fitted up as a temporary infirmary ; water was laid on,
earth closets made for the patients, a large kitchen range hired,
and wards and residents' rooms furnished.
The number of Out-patients was necessarily curtailed, only
casualties and emergen cies were seen, and the number of beds
was limited, but in a very short time everything was working
quite smoothly.
It was thought that the renovation of the Infirmary would
be finished in six months, but as a matter of fact patients were
not admitted again until September, 1876, so that the work
was carried on in the temporary premises in Colston Street for
twelve months.
It was on October 1st, 1875, that I became a " dresser "
35i
A HISTORY OF THE
under Mr. Crosby Leonard. The custom in those days was for a
pupil to attend under one of the Surgeons directly he joined the
Medical School, and to take " out dressing " at the end of a
year. We generally " dressed " for eighteen months or two
years, during which time we came into residence for a week at a
time in rotation. In consequence of this long period of practical
work, during which we had a great deal of responsibility thrown
on our shoulders, we usually acquired a knowledge of casualty
work (cuts, burns, fractures, dislocations, etc.), which was more
than once noticed by the examiners at the College of Surgeons.
After our " dressing " we became clinical clerks to one of
the Physicians.
I came "in for the week " for the first time on December
20th, at the new premises in Colston Street. Every morning I
went round the wards with Mr. Chute, the House Surgeon,
attended to my chief's patients, and answered the frequent
summons of a loud, clanging bell, which meant that a casualty
or emergency had come in.
My first casualty was a drunken man with a cut head, and
under the directions of " old Mother Widcombe," 1 the casualty
room nurse, whose advice the younger students always
implicitly followed, I stitched up the wound without any sign
of pain on the part of the patient, who was too far gone in drink
to feel such a trifle as having his scalp sewn up.
As my " week " did not end until Monday, December 27th,
I was " in " on Christmas Day, and was hospitably and kindly
entertained by Dr. J. E. Shaw, then Assistant House Surgeon,
who invited me to dinner in his room.
It may interest medical students, who do not now (1914) do
any hospital work until they have gone up for their second
" Conjoint " examination, to learn that whilst I was " dressing "
at the Infirmary I attended lectures at the Medical School, went
in for my " Primary " examination in London, and was a pupil
at the Eye Dispensary in Orchard Street. I also found time to
play in all the School football matches (the Medicals had a
strong Rugby team in those days), 2 and did a fair amount of
1 Mrs. Widcombe continued at the Infirmary until the summer of 1887,
being by that time too old for her work. On her departure she received a
present of money from the Infirmary, and went to live with some relatives.
2 My readers may recognise the names of some well-known players in the
Clifton and Medical teams which played on November nth, 1876. Clifton
won, the Medicals played one short.
Clifton. — J. D. Miller (Captain), J. C. Gilmore (back), W. O. Moberly.
J. G. Thomson (half-backs), W. Fairbanks (three-quarter back), P. Allen, M.
Curtis, C. Chamberlain, A. H. Dvmond, A. Francis, E. Grubb, G. D. Oswell,
C. G. Parnell, H. W. Peck, E. Phillips (forwards).
Medical School. — A. W. S. Young (Captain), T. Pullen (half-back), G.
Munro Smith, J. P. Bush (backs), C. Henderson, H. Smith, Guy, F. Peck, H.
Visger, R. Doyne, Dester, Logan, Bradshaw, Imlay (forwards).
352
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
boxing, most of which pastime was carried on sub rosa in the
dining-room at the Infirmary.
The formal re-opening of the Infirmary took place on
October 3rd, 1876. Divine Service was celebrated in the Chapel
at eleven o'clock, and an address was given by the Lord Bishop
of Gloucester and Bristol. A special meeting of Trustees was
afterwards held in the Board Room, when speeches were made
by the Bishop, Dr. Fox and others, and the President, the
Rev. James Heyworth, gave an account of the alterations and
declared the Institution opened.
The building was thrown open to the public from one to five
o'clock in the afternoon, and (according to the Minute Book)
" many thousands of persons visited it."
Besides the extensive alterations in drainage, closets and
so forth, a new dead-house and post-mortem room were
built, the wards and passages were repainted, new floors of
polished wood were laid down, and a commodious " cottage "
was erected at the end of the garden, at a cost of £683, for cases
which might be detrimental to other patients if kept in the
wards.
The result of this thorough and much-needed cleansing, and
the installation of a pure water supply, etc., was at once
apparent in the improved results of treatment, especially in the
surgical wards, and pyaemia and kindred diseases were almost
extinguished.
This was not, however, entirely due to the improved hygienic
conditions. Another factor which revolutionised surgery was
beginning to work, namely the introduction of Listerism, the
history of which at the Bristol Infirmary we must now briefly
narrate.
353
23
CHAPTER XXVII
ANTISEPTICS — PASTEUR AND BUDD — LISTER AT THE INFIRMARY
— CHANGES IN THE STAFF — FINANCES IN 1875 AND 1876 — OUT-
PATIENTS AND HOSPITAL ABUSE — APPOINTMENT OF HOUSE
PHYSICIAN — DEATH OF CROSBY LEONARD AND TIBBITS —
JOHN HELLICAR — REV. JAMES HEYWORTH — SIR CHARLES CAVE —
DEATH OF WILLIAM BUDD — J. C. WAYET — MEMORIAL TABLETS
IN THE CHAPEL
The existence of infinitely small organisms had been suspected
since the time of Aristotle, but although the possibility of their
connection with disease had been vaguely suggested, it was not
until the nineteenth century that scientists had seriously
considered the question. Three eminent men in Germany and
France (Schultze in 1836, Schwann in 1837, and Latour in 1838)
really laid the foundation of a " germ theory of disease," but
their speculations produced little inpression.
Pasteur definitely proved the connection of microbes with
putrefaction, and showed that the latter could not occur if the
former were carefully excluded. He carried his researches into
the diseases of animals, and must be looked upon as the real
pioneer in this important field of work.
In 1863 Dr. Budd, then Consulting Physician to the
Infirmary, gave a memorable address before the British Medical
Association, in which he maintained that many contagious
diseases were due to minute living organisms, and proved his
thesis by some accurate investigations of a widespread epidemic
amongst sheep. He was one of the first to apply Pasteur's
discoveries to a definite disease in England.
It was two years after Budd's address that Lister first put
these theories into practice in the treatment of surgical injuries,
using German creosote as a germicide and antiseptic in a case of
compound fracture ; and in 1868 he made his first experiment
in tying a large blood vessel (the carotid artery of a calf) with
catgut, which he thought was free from germs, and might
therefore be safely left on the artery, the wound being closed. l
The animal recovered perfectly.
1 The old plan of tying a vessel was to use thread, and leave the ends
hanging out of the wound ; the ligature was, after a few days, " sloughed off,"
cutting its way through the vessel. To hasten separation a bullet or other
light weight was sometimes hung on the thread.
354-
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
These wonderful results, however, percolated so slowly-
through the general surgical mind, that in the early seventies
the old plans were generally still followed. Amputations were
expected to slough ; hempen ligatures were used for tying
vessels, and unprepared horsehair was kept for sewing up
wounds. A large leash of black horsehair was hung up under
the gallery of the operation room at the Infirmary, ready
for use. 1
The new teaching spread slowly, the provinces taking it up
first and London following. When it took root in Bristol it was
carried out vigorously and with great success, only one or two
of the Infirmary Surgeons holding out, from sheer conservatism,
against it. In those early days of antiseptics the part to be
operated on was enveloped in a thick mist of dilute carbolic
vapour, generated in two or three sprays, which were kept
boiling by spirit lamps ; the dressings were large and somewhat
costly, and the ritual was complicated. 2
On May 3rd, 1880, Lister accepted an invitation from the
Faculty of the Medical School to distribute the annual prizes
to the successful students, and the opportunity was seized of
asking him to give a demonstration of his methods at the
Infirmary. He readily agreed to this, and the Museum was got
ready for the function.
Lister was at this time fifty-three years of age, and was
recognised by the younger generation of medical men all over
the civilised world as the prophet of the most important surgical
gospel ever preached. He was tall, dignified, and with a
remarkably sweet and gentle expression. 3
The demonstration was arranged as follows. A woman in
one of Mr. A. W. Prichard's wards had an abscess in her neck
which required incision, and she agreed willingly to let the great
man operate upon her. As many of us as the room would hold,
including prominent citizens and a great many of the medical
men of Bristol, crowded into the Museum. In the centre
sat the patient, her neck swathed in the thick gauze dressings
then used. She appeared very pleased with the proceedings,
and showed no sign of pain when Lister, after a few words of
explanation, opened the abscess under the usual cloud of
carbolic spray.
1 See A. W. Prichard, in Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal for September
1900.
2 On one occasion a steam spray blew up in a most alarming manner ;
luckily no one was seriously hurt.
3 " The mouth very firm but very mobile, and often relaxing into
a peculiarly charming smile." — Dr. Roxburgh, in the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical
Journal, vol. xxx.
355
A HISTORY OF THE
When this was over, Dr. Brittan, who was then one of the
Consulting Physicians to the Infirmary, came forward and made
a short speech. He then took Lister by the hand, and said " he
could only feebly imagine the feelings of the man who had by
his noble talents and noble work diminished more than
perhaps anyone else who had ever lived the sufferings of
thousands and millions of men and women."
Lister and, I imagine, most of those in the room were deeply
affected by the scene.
The Faculty had decided to entertain Professor Lister at
lunch, and a Sub-Committee consisting of Dr. Shaw, Mr.
Richardson Cross and Mr. Greig Smith obtained permission from
the Committee to have this meal in the Board Room, the only
occasion, I believe, in which a public lunch has been held in
that room.
The affair went off very well, Lister's health was drunk
and there were more speeches. I had the privilege of being
present as a newly-qualified Infirmary student, but I remember
little about it except that it was a trifle dull. I sat next to the
late Samuel Henry Swayne, and recollect that he told me a pun
made on the spur of the moment by Nathaniel Smith. Some
custard had been upset over his shoulder by a careless waiter,
and he at once said, " This is cuss'd hard ! "
It is astonishing that, with the results of Lister's treatment
of wounds before their eyes, so many eminent surgeons refused
for several years to adopt it, and even fought against it most
vigorously. It is worth noticing that the surgeon who most
opposed its introduction into the Infirmary was the last to
give up the use of the " spray " after he had become a
convert.
Other applications of the " germ theory of disease " took a
long time to take root in England. For example, although
Cohnheim had conclusively proved in 1880 that the matter
from phthisical lungs produced tubercle when injected into
guinea-pigs, this plain evidence was ignored by many.
In the Bristol M edico-Chirurgical Journal for July, 1883,
appeared two interesting papers, one entitled " Clinical Evidence
against the Contagiousness of Phthisis," by Dr. Markham
Skerritt, Physician at the General Hospital, and the other
called " The Proofs of the Existence of a Phthisical
Contagion," by Dr. Shingleton Smith, Physician to the
Infirmary.
It is to the credit of the Infirmary Staff that they took,
in fact, a very active part in spreading the new doctrine, both
by practice and precept.
356
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
During the ten years from 1870 to 1880 the following
changes took place in the Staff (see also Appendix A) : —
Dr. Ludlow resigned the post of Assistant Physician in 1872,
owing to ill-health, and Dr. Spencer was elected in his place ;
the following year the latter was made Physician in the vacancy
caused by Dr. Brittan's resignation, and at the same date
Dr. Shingleton Smith replaced Dr. Beddoe as Physician.
Dr. Waldo, who was elected (also in 1873) as Assistant
Physician, became Physician in 1876, and Dr. Shaw, who was
elected Assistant Physician in Dr. Waldo's place, became
Physician on Dr. Fox's resignation in 1877.
Amongst the Surgeons the changes were still more rapid.
Mr. Board, elected Assistant Surgeon in January, 1871, became
Surgeon in September of the same year in Mr. Bernard's
place. Mr. Dowson, who took Mr. Board's place as Assistant
Surgeon, came on the full Staff in 1873 when Mr. T. E. Clark
resigned.
In 1878 Mr. Crosby Leonard and Mr. Tibbits died. Mr.
A. W. Prichard was elected in place of the former, and Mr.
Richardson Cross, who was elected Assistant Surgeon in
September, 1878, took Mr. Tibbits' place as full Surgeon. Dr.
Steele resigned at the end of 1878, and Mr. Greig Smith was
appointed in his stead in January, 1879. Mr. Harsant was
elected Assistant Surgeon in 1879 vice Mr- Cross.
It so happened, therefore, that Mr. Board, who was House
Surgeon in 1870, was Senior Surgeon in December, 1878.
Most luckily the year 1875, during which the renovation of
the Infirmary was begun, was remarkable for the amount of
legacies and donations, including a £3,000 donation from Mr.
Selwood Riddle, a £3,000 legacy from Mr. T. W. Hill, and a
£5,000 legacy from Lady Haberfield. The collections in places
of worship were also above the average, so that the total income
of 1875 amounted to £20,547 16s. 7d.
Nearly £6,000 of this was paid for the rent and fittings of
the temporary Infirmary, in sanitary improvements, and in the
erection of the new mortuary and post-mortem room. The
ordinary expenses were considerably lessened owing to the
decreased number of patients.
The following year, 1876, was also noticeable financially, for
the balance sheet showed the largest expenditure and the
largest apparent receipts in the history of the Infirmary.
The expenditure included over £10,000 for sanitary repairs
and alterations and extra expenses connected with the Colston
Street premises. The income was £23,500, but this included
the proceeds of the sale of over £10,000 3 per cent. Consols.
357
A HISTORY OF THE
There was a legacy of £4,500 from the executors of the late
Mr. T. W. Hill.
The expenditure in the following year (1877), which included
the final payments (£4,596 13s.) for the alterations, amounted
to over £17,000. The income, luckily, included legacies to the
amount of £21,778 3s. 5d., but of this £20,000, part of a legacy
from Mr. T. W. Hill of £23,000 for the support of the wards
named after him was, in accordance with the will, invested.
By this investment the annual income of the Infirmary was
increased by nearly £900.
At the end of the year 1877 the balance due to the Treasurer
was £7,110.
Another important legacy from the late Mr. James Powell
of £18,000 fell due in 1878, and one from Miss Theresa Deane
of £1,000 ; and in 1879 the sum of £5,457 was paid to the
Institution by the executors of Mrs. Price.
By these timely additions the Infirmary was able to more
than make up the amount of invested capital sold to defray the
great expense of the alterations of 1875 and 1876.
On August 10th, 1876, Mr. A. W. Prichard was elected
Assistant Surgeon at the Guildhall. This was the last time
that a medical officer was elected at a public building other than
the Infirmary. On September nth, 1877, Dr. Shaw was elected
Physician, in the place of Dr. E. Long Fox, in the Board Room,
and since then all Infirmary elections have taken place in
this room.
The vacancy caused in the assistant staff by this election
of Dr. Shaw was not filled until September, 1883, when
Dr. Prowse was appointed Assistant Physician.
It is difficult to understand why so important a post was
allowed to remain vacant so long. A meeting was called for
October 9th, 1877, but there were no applicants. There appears
to have been no particular desire to fill it either on the part of
the Faculty or Committee.
The question of Out-patients was much discussed at this
time. It was suggested that a small fee should be charged for
attendance, but this was negatived as " contrary to the spirit
and usages of this Institution and the Motto under which it has
usefully existed for 140 years." It was pointed out that the
working men of Bristol (by the penny-a-week contributions
collected at various large firms) subscribed between eight and
nine hundred pounds a year, and that this constituted a kind of
" Provident Dispensary " arrangement, and gave to some of
these employes, who were quite well enough off to pay a medical
man, a claim to attend at the Infirmary whenever they liked.
358
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
A Sub-Committee, appointed on October 16th, 1877, to
consider the question, made two suggestions : (1) That a
Resident House Physician should be appointed, at a salary of
£100 a year, whose duty should be to attend medical and
surgical Out-patients when necessary ; and (2) to limit the
abuse of the Out-patient Department by people who could well
afford to pay for advice, the names of all those attending from
January 1st to March 31st, 1878, should be forwarded to the
Secretary of the Charity Organization Society, with a request
that the circumstances of all these patients should be
investigated. The Society undertook this task, and made the
necessary inquiries into " the circumstances of 500 patients
(taken indiscriminately), and as it did not appear that any
great abuse of the Charity existed, the Committee did not deem
it prudent to pursue the inquiry further, at all events for the
present." 1 This did not by any means, however, settle the
vexed question of " Out-patient abuse."
The creation of the new post of House Physician necessitated
other changes in the Resident Staff, and another new office, that
of Medical Superintendent, was established.
On June 25th, 1878, James Greig Smith, who had been
House Surgeon since August, 1877, was made the first Medical
Superintendent, and Dr. James Scott, who had been Assistant
House Surgeon since October, 1877, was appointed the first
House Physician.
The post of Assistant House Surgeon was abolished, and
the three Residents were therefore : —
1. The Medical Superintendent, who was in charge of the
whole of the medical and surgical departments in the absence
of the Honorary Staff. Greig Smith held this office for six
months, and on his appointment as Surgeon in January, 1879,
John Henry Macintyre took his place.
2. House Surgeon.
3. House Physician.
In the summer of 1883 another re-arrangement of resident
posts was made, that of Medical Superintendent was abolished,
and the senior of the other two medical officers (House Surgeon
and House Physician) was to " exercise general supervision over
the House," under the title of Senior Resident Officer. In
addition a third was appointed as Assistant Resident Officer
and Pathologist, who had control of the Pathological Depart-
ment, " performing either personally or by authorised deputy
all post-mortem examinations," etc. He was also expected to
1 Annual Infirmary Report, 1878.
359
A HISTORY OF THE
attend at n a.m. to classify the Out-patient notes, to act as
Emergency and Casualty Officer, and to administer anaesthetics
when required.
When this post was advertised there were sixteen applicants.
Mr. John Dacre, of the Leeds General Infirmary, was appointed
on November 6th, 1883.
During the decade from 1870 to 1880 death was busy
amongst the Medical Staff and Committee.
Crosby Leonard l resigned owing to failing health in August,
1878. His colleagues urgently requested him to retain his post,
" even if he could not carry out the duties of the office," * but he
felt that his career at the Infirmary was over, and refused their
kind solicitations. He died quietly and painlessly at his house
in Whiteladies Road on Monday, October 13th, 1879, age<i
fifty-one.
His death caused a widespread feeling of sorrow and loss,
not only at the Infirmary and amongst his patients, but in the
city generally.
He was of a rather florid complexion, with pro-
minent, well-shaped nose, blue eyes, and kind and placid
but firm expression. He was tall, inclined to be stout,
well dressed, with a genial manner which always inspired
confidence.
He was regular in his attendance at the Infirmary, where his
sound judgment and unruffled temper made him very popular
amongst his colleagues and with his patients. As an intimate
friend of his has written, " He was particularly deficient in the
art of quarrelling." 3
On Thursday, November 22nd, 1878, one of the most
energetic Surgeons ever connected with the Infirmary, R. \V.
Tibbits, * passed away, at the height of his mental and bodily
powers, in his thirty-seventh year. His ten years of office at
the Institution were full of active reforms, especially in his
endeavours to bring in antiseptic surgery and to do away with
all forms of surgical uncleanliness. He was one of the chief
movers in the sanitary alterations and improvements in the
House in 1875-6. He was quick in his movements, " bustling,"
rapid in speech and action, regardless of conventionalities,
1 See pp. 344-6.
2 Surgeon's Miscellaneous Book.
In a small pocket-book in which Crosby Leonard scribbled a few scattered
memoranda, chiefly with reference to the dates on which his horses were shod,
is the entry under Tuesday, August 13th, 1878 : "Resigned as Surgeon to
the Infirmy."
3 Augustin Prichard. * See p. 347.
360
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
impatient of stupidity and of contradiction — a reforming spirit.
He was dark haired, ruddy, and wore a monocle.
He and Crosby Leonard were good operators, but of very
different type. Leonard was careful, methodical, unflurried,
not in a hurry to operate ; Tibbits was quick, impatient, showy,
certainly fond of operating, and was known amongst the
students by the name of the " slasher," which always seemed to
me to express his methods very well.
Unlike his colleague Leonard, he by no means disliked a
good quarrel, and entered into a dispute with alacrity and
obvious enjoyment.
The difference between the two men was apparent in
their writings. Crosby Leonard took voluminous notes
of his cases, but seldom published. Tibbits published his
ideas not only in medical journals but often in the daily
papers.
Both were excellent clinical teachers. Leonard shone as a
lecturer, Tibbits as a demonstrator at the bedside and in the
post-mortem room. Both were students at the Bristol Medical
School.
Crosby Leonard left the sum of £300 to the Infirmary, the
interest of which was to be awarded annually to an Infirmary
student of the third year of study who should give the best
report of ten surgical cases.
It was thought that Tibbits' name could be best
commemorated by founding an annual prize for Infirmary
students, " for the greatest proficiency in practical surgery."
The sum of £315 was collected by public subscription
for the purpose. This was called the " Tibbits Memorial
Prize."
Mr. John Hellicar, a valuable member of Committee, died
on June 4th, 1877, aged sixty-nine. He had for many years
taken a keen interest in the welfare of the Infirmary, and is
referred to in the Annual Report thus : "It is not too
much to say that no member of the Committee was better
acquainted with all the details of the arrangements of the
Institution."
He was the son of Thomas Hellicar, who, together with his
brother Joseph, was an active member of Mr. Bowles's Election
Committee in 1806. His grandfather, Ames Hellicar, actually
travelled from the extreme end of Cornwall to Bristol on purpose
to vote for Bowles. (See Appendix A.)
John Hellicar was Master of the Merchant Venturers in 1840,
and Treasurer of that Society from 1873 to 1875.
The following fragment of pedigree shows some of the
361
A HISTORY OF THE
relationships of this family, which are of interest in a history
of the Bristol Royal Infirmary :—
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The Rev. James Heyworth, who had served on the Com-
mittee since 1857, and was elected President and Treasurer on
Mr. Phippen's death in 1869, died on Monday, December 22nd,
1879, aged seventy-two. His health had been failing for some
362
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
months, and he had gone abroad in the hope of recovering it.
He died at Cannes.
He graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1830, and
was ordained by the Bishop of Cork in 1833. He took a
prominent part in the establishment of Clifton College (he was
Chairman of the Council for some years) and the Bristol Fine
Arts Academy.
Perhaps his most fitting panegyric may be found in the
resolution passed by the Infirmary Committee : " They
gratefully remember that he filled the Presidential Chair for
ten years with an ability and kindness combined with an earnest
regard for the welfare of the Charity which won him the esteem
of all connected with the Infirmary."
Mr. Charles Daniel Cave was elected President and Treasurer
on March 23rd, 1880, in Mr. Heyworth's place. Sir Charles
Cave, who is the son of Mr. Daniel Cave (President from 1829
to 1844), was born in 1832, and graduated at Exeter College,
Oxford. He married a daughter of the celebrated Dr. John
Addington Symonds in 1859. He was created a Baronet in
1896. His great business capacity and the keen interest he
took in the Infirmary made his tenure of office of great service
to the Institution. He resigned on May 5th, 1904. (See
p. 407.)
Within a few days of the death of the President, Dr. William
Budd, x then senior Consulting Physician to the Infirmary, died
near Clevedon, on January 9th, 1880, in his sixty-ninth year.
He resigned his post of Physician in February, 1862, after fifteen
years' service. His magnificent mental endowments had
suffered eclipse for many years before his death.
William Budd's contributions to medical science gave him
a world-wide reputation ; he investigated the pathology of
cholera, diphtheria, rickets and many other diseases, throwing
light on every subject he handled. But perhaps his most
valuable work was his book on Typhoid Fever, published in
1873. He was the first to clearly show that this complaint is
contagious, and that the contagious material is cast off by
the bowels.
Those who have read the scattered references to him in
these pages will realise that he was one of those geniuses who
live in advance of their time. His views on contagion, on the
supreme importance of pathology, on research, his suggestions
as to the uses of photography, on the concentration of scientific
workers, on the absurdities of our dog-Latin in prescriptions,
1 See p. 342.
363
A HISTORY OF THE
and on the relegation of Out-patients to special officers, may be
mentioned as examples of his foresight. 1
Mr. William Trenerry, who had been Secretary to the
Infirmary since 1849, died on October 14th, 1884. * He had,
therefore, been in office for thirty-live years, and had proved
himself a most punctual, careful, and honourable servant to
the Institution.
His family, through no fault of his, were left in indigent
circumstances, and a fund was raised for them, of which
Mr. Paul Bush was Treasurer. A good portrait of Mr. Trenerry
may be seen in the group of Infirmary officials shown in
Fig. 72.
A sad event which took place at the Infirmary in 1877 may
be recorded here.
John Cecil Wayet, son of the Rev. F. W. Wayet, Vicar of
St. Stephen's, a promising medical student of twenty years of
age, died whilst acting as Dresser for the Week on February
26th, 1877.
He had suffered from severe toothache, and had taken a
dose of laudanum to relieve the pain. He was found by the
night nurse in an unconscious condition, and in spite of the
efforts of Mr. Chute the House Surgeon and Mr. Greig Smith
the Assistant House Surgeon, with the aid of Mr. Tibbits, who
was promptly sent for, he died in a few hours.
The unexpected and sudden death of a young man so full of
life and cheerful activity as " Jack " Wayet cast a gloom upon
the House. The Staff and his fellow-students erected a marble
tablet to his memory in the Chapel.
The visitor to this little Chapel will notice several memorial
tablets, and a stained glass window put there to commemorate
some of the nurses who have died at their posts.
One of these tablets, placed on the wall by the Committee,
is in memory of Charlotte Charles, for thirty years a nurse at
the Institution. She died in the performance of her duties on
January nth, 1870, aged seventy.
Another tablet was erected by members of the Medical Staff,
nurses, and friends to the memory of Elizabeth Hunt, " for
14 years the devoted Charge Nurse of No. 6 Ward." She died
on May 19th, 1889.
The Staff, nurses, and friends also erected a tablet to the
memory of Eleanor Agnetta Foort, who " counted not her life
1 See Bristol Royal Infirmary Reports, 187S-9, also British Medical
Journal, January 24th, 1880.
8 See also p. 299.
364
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dear unto herself." She died of illness contracted whilst on
duty on April 20th, 1894, aged twenty-five.
The stained glass window commemorates Sister Rosetta Hill
and Nurses Edith Annie Pascoe, Alice Stebbings, Mary Elizabeth
Bird, Agnes Mabel Hawkins, Kate Amelia Mundy, Ellen Bertha
Wilkins, and Agnes Jenkins.
Another brass tablet should also be mentioned. It was put
up by his friends and fellow-students of the Bristol Royal
Infirmary and Medical School to the memory of Surgeon
George Dix Bradshaw, A. M.S., who died at Korti in the Soudan,
March 13th, 1885, aged twenty-six. He was formerly Resident
House pupil at the Infirmary, and one of the most lovable of
friends, true to the high ideals he always set before him.
On December 19th, 1884, Lieut. -Colonel Charles Senhouse
Graham, late of the Royal Artillery, was elected Secretary and
House Governor in William Trenerry's place.
He worked with great enthusiasm for three years, when his
health broke down, and he resigned on December 13th, 1887.
He died on June 20th, 1896.
365
CHAPTER XXVIII
MEDICAL TEACHING IN BRISTOL IN THE EIGHTEENTH AND EARLY
PART OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY — LECTURES BY FORD AND
PAGE — GODFREY LOWE, BOWLES, AND SMITH — BEDDOES — HIS
UNPUNCTUALITY — THOMAS POLE — WILLIAM HETLING'S LECTURES
AND THE FACULTY — PRICHARD AND STOCK — ROLFE — WALLIS —
THOMAS SHUTE'S THEATRE — DINNERS AT THE " MONTAGUE " —
FRANCIS GOLD — HIS ADVENTURES IN FRANCE — " SCHOOL OF
ANATOMY AND MEDICINE " — " BRISTOL MEDICAL AND SURGICAL
SCHOOL " — FOUNDATION OF THE BRISTOL MEDICAL SCHOOL
Since the foundation of the Bristol Infirmary, many of the
more enlightened members of the Committee and Staff have
recognised the intimate connection between the healing of the
sick and the education of medical students at such an Institution.
Drs. Carrick and James Cowles Prichard and others had
prophetic visions of Bristol as a great educational centre with a
University connected with the Infirmary. Before briefly
narrating how their ideals were ultimately realised, we must
break the thread of our narrative and give a short history of the
part taken by the Infirmary Staff in medical teaching in Bristol
and the antecedents and origin of the Medical School.
The first recorded lectures given by members of the Infirmary
Staff were those delivered in the Surgeons' Hall, Bristol, by
John Page and James Ford in the year 1746. These were
anatomical, and occasionally some dissections were shown,
which were obtained from the Infirmary dead-house, or even
from the burial - ground. The course began on Friday,
November 7th, 1746, at six o'clock in the evening.
John Page published an anatomical " Compendium " in
1741, containing tables of the muscles, etc., written in Latin
(and very well printed by S. and F. Farley), in the form of
headings for lectures. On the cover of this pamphlet he styles
himself " JohanPage, Chirur. et Prael. Anat. Bristol," so that it
is probable that he had given lectures before this date.
Godfrey Lowe, who was apprenticed to Jerome Norman in
1756, and afterwards studied in the Borough Hospitals, gave a
series of lectures on his return to Bristol, and continued to
deliver them regularly for several years.
366
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
In August, 1785, a Dr. Miller gave lectures on anatomy " in
Terrell Street, Magdalen Lane," according to a notice in an old
newspaper, but I can find no further mention of them.
Francis Cheyne Bowles gave lectures and demonstrations,
before his election as Surgeon, which were eagerly attended by
Infirmary students. He began these probably in 1793 or 1794.
They were not recognised by the authorities, and had no
publicity, but there is evidence that they were very good.
(See p. 186, also Chapter xvii.)
In November, 1797, Dr. Beddoes, of " Pneumatic Institute "
fame, called upon Bowles and proposed that they two should
give a course of anatomical lectures.
In those days, when anatomy was considered by the public
to be a forbidden and mysterious subject, there was a great
interest taken in it, and people eagerly attended scientific
lectures, especially those connected with medical subjects.
Some gentlemen had approached Beddoes, with a request that
he would endeavour to get some competent surgeon to undertake
a course of public lectures on anatomy, and had given him £50
to defray any expenses which might not be covered by the
receipts. These gentlemen were the Bishop of Sodor and Man,
Lord Lansdown, Lord Stanhope, Thomas Coutts the banker,
Benjamin Hobhouse, ' James Watts, jun., and Thomas
Wedgwood. *
Bowles felt some diffidence, especially as he had not a
large number of specimens, and asked Richard Smith to join
him in the undertaking. After some difficulty in arranging
matters the latter agreed to the proposal, and took up the
scheme with his usual energy.
A large, convenient room in the Red Lodge (which was then
vacant) was got ready, and the following notice was sent to
the papers : —
"ANATOMY.
" Messrs. Bowles and Smith will begin their Anatomical Lectures
at the Red Lodge, Stoney Hill, on Friday, the 17th of November,
at 7 in the evening. The Course will be adapted to Scientific
persons in general, as well as Medical Gentlemen.
" The first Lecture will be open to all who choose to attend."
Dr. Beddoes had promised to send an introductory lecture
to be read by Bowles, and had also undertaken to give four
lectures on Phthisis Pulmonalis at the end of the course ; this
latter promise, however, he failed to fulfil.
1 Member of Parliament, afterwards made a Baronet ; President of the
Anchor Society in 181 1.
2 Then residing at Cote House, Durdham Down.
367
A HISTORY OF THE
The public responded is a satisfactory manner, and there
was every chance of at least a pecuniary success.
Dr. Beddoes, however, gave the lecturers a great deal of
trouble. He appears to have treated such obligations to the
public in much the same way that his friend Samuel Taylor
Coleridge did. Daily entreaties to compose his lecture produced
nothing but vague promises, and on the morning of the
momentous day his introductory lecture was only partly done,
and was written " in such a scrawl as to be utterly illegible."
The story may be best told in Richard Smith's words : —
" After dinner Mr. Bowles posted to Clifton and found the
doctor writing away against time, with his watch at his elbow.
He first looked up — beckoned to the intruder not to interrupt
him, but to take a chair — to have said a word would only have
been to make bad worse. The clock had struck seven ! There
sat poor Bowles, stewing, but as mute as a fish. In the interim
Mr. Smith had set all in order in the Lecture Room ; the
audience poured in, and the benches were presently full. Half
an hour elapsed — no Mr. Bowles ! Message after message was
dispatched but there were no tidings of him ! It was now eight
o'clock, and the knocking of sticks on the floor indicated the
impatience of the audience.
" Mr. Smith's feelings may easily be imagined ; he felt
himself obliged to come forward, and with the most profound
bow and in agitation, to state to the company the cause of the
delay. Scarcely had he finished when his long looked for
partner made his appearance ; breathless, and in a profuse
sweat, having run all the way from Clifton ! As soon as he
could recover himself, Mr. Bowles thus addressed the audience :
' Gentlemen, this is no fault of mine ; Dr. Beddoes desires me
to make his apologies to you ; I am very sorry that it has so
happened. I have not received the manuscript above a quarter
of an hour, and have not yet perused a word of it. The Doctor
has indeed read it over to me, so I will endeavour to do the
same to you, but I know not how I shall get through it. I will,
however, do it as well as I can, and I beg your indulgence.'
" He began, but what with interlineations, and going back
' to page this ' and ' page that,' ' here bring in note this ' and
' here bring in note that,' such a jumble of discordant paragraphs
can scarcely be imagined ! After wading about three parts
through Mr. Bowles closed the paper in despair, and said that
' he really was extremely mortified and ashamed, but that he
hoped the audience would pardon him, as he had done his best,
but found it impossible to make out any decent decyphering of
Doctor Beddoes' hand-writing.' — A mixture of applause and
36S
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
dissatisfaction followed, and the two Lecturers turned the key
on their benches heartily chagrined and sickened at the slovenly
commencement of their undertaking !
" The next day they represented to the Doctor that some-
thing in the way of apology to the audience from him, personally,
seemed necessary, on which he sent them the following notice,
to be posted in the Room : —
" ' Dr. Beddoes is sorry that he kept the Gentlemen
attending these lectures waiting, and that the haste in which
his Introduction was composed prevented Mr. Bowles from
reading it intelligibly — that, however, is of no consequence, as
Dr. B. intends to print it, and it may be had in a few days at
Messrs. Biggs & Cottle — price 3 shillings.' "
This hasty composition, struck off at white heat, was,
however, so well written, that Dr. Stock, in his Life of Beddoes,
says that it " deserves to be ranked amongst the most valuable
of his Publications."
In spite of this unfortunate beginning, the efforts of the two
young lecturers were crowned with success ; the enterprise
became popular, and they received a general request to give
another series suitable for a mixed audience of men and women.
To this they agreed, and advertised that a second course
would be given, to " include The Senses and the general
Structure of the Frame, in which will be comprehended
some hints on the Management of Children."
The first lecture was fixed for Monday, January 1st, 1798,
at twelve o'clock, and they were given three times a week ; the
fee for the course was one guinea.
This second course was also so well attended, that after
paying all expenses the two enterprising young surgeons found
that each had made a hundred guineas !
Elated with the result of their labours, Smith and Bowles
decided on a bold step. They determined, in conjunction with
Beddoes, to build a theatre for lecturing purposes, " with every
convenience and accommodation for Anatomy and Chemistry
in particular." Proposals were published, and the scheme so
suited the public taste, that £800 was actually promised in a
few days. Negotiations were opened for a piece of ground on
the east side of Berkeley Square, but some legal difficulty as to
the height of the building, says Richard Smith, " damped our
projects and prevented their being immediately carried into
effect and so the matter evaporated ! "
They were not to be baulked, however, and determined to
give a course the next winter. The Red Lodge was now let,
but they obtained the use of a long room " in the Prebendary,
369
24
A HISTORY OF THE
No. io, within two doors of the Arch going into the Lower
Green as it was then called."
Here they began their second winter course in December,
1798.
According to the printed syllabus the lectures were given
" three evenings in the week," and there were to be " at least
twenty-six." In his written notes, however, Richard Smith
says they were given in the " mornings and evenings." The
subscription was two guineas, and after all expenses were paid
they made about fifty guineas each.
The encouragement they received made them still more
anxious to found a permanent School of Anatomy, and they
again looked about for a suitable building.
No. 14 College Green was then in the occupation of a Mr.
Walker, who had built there a large dancing room. It was
thought that this, " together with two Stables adjoining," would
make an excellent lecture theatre, and application was made
to the Dean and Chapter, the lease of these premises having
nearly run out.
To the surprise of the two lecturers, however, they received
an absolute refusal, without any reason being assigned.
The secret soon leaked out. At that time party spirit ran
so high in Bristol that, as Richard Smith puts it, "it was
sufficient to be seen with one [party] to be hated and thwarted
by the other," and it was known that they had been connected
with " that Jacobin x Beddoes." It appears also that although
Bowles was a Churchman and his brother Edward was a
Minor Canon at the Cathedral, yet his family were Moravians,
" another mortal cause of enmity."
These difficulties, and the rapidly-increasing professional
work of the two (especially of Bowles, who was becoming very
busy), made them less keen on the lecturing project, and after
some fruitless attempts to obtain a room in 1799 and 1800, the
plan was abandoned.
Bowles was an accomplished draughtsman, and the diagrams
which he made to illustrate his lectures are excellent. One of
these is here reproduced, as a specimen of his work. (See
Fig- 73-) As Richard Smith was equally clever in preparing
specimens, there is little wonder that their lectures were
popular.
Amongst those who attended the lectures of Smith and
Bowles was Thomas Shute, afterwards (1812) elected Surgeon
to the Infirmary. He gave anatomical lectures in a theatre in
1 Probably this is a mistake for " Jacobite," but Beddoes may have
merited both titles. The Jacobins of Paris ceased to exist as a club in 1794.
37°
DIAGRAM DRAWN BY 1 C BOWLES.
Fig 73
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Lower College Street. These will be referred to later. (See
P- 374-)
In 1802 or 1803 Dr. Thomas Pole, a member of the Society
of Friends, gave scientific lectures to mixed audiences at his
house in St. James's Square, Bristol. These discourses covered
a wide range of subjects ; indeed, the learned Quaker might
almost be said to have constituted himself (like Diogenes
Teufelsdrockh) " Professor of Things in General." He included
in his course, which he entitled " The (Economy of Nature,"
Surgery, Botany, Chemistry, Physics, the use of the Globes,
Midwifery, Optics and Astronomy !
His fees were four guineas for the whole course, or two
shillings and sixpence for single lectures. * He lectured in
London before this (in 1799), on the " Theory and Practice of
Midwifery," and was " Man-Midwife Extraordinary to the
Obstetric Charity."
He died suddenly, while preparing for bed, at the age of
seventy-six.
He married a Miss Elizabeth Barrett. His daughter Rachel
married Nehemiah Duck, and a daughter of this marriage
became the wife of Mr. Thomas Wedmore, formerly of Druids
Stoke. Mr. E. T. Wedmore, great-grandson of Dr. Pole, has
written a short account of his life.
On March 9th, 1814, William Hetling (Surgeon, 1807-37)
wrote to the Treasurer (William Fripp), asking permission to
give a course of lectures on the " Principles and Practice of
Surgery " in the Admission Room, or other suitable place, at the
Infirmary. He proposed lecturing twice a week to the students,
and to any " Scientific Gentlemen who might wish to attend."
This request was granted, arrangements were made, and several
gentlemen, including some members of the Committee, entered
their names as desirous of attending. An advertisement was
also sent to the papers.
It appears, however, that William Hetling, who on this and
other occasions acted in an independent manner (see p. 190),
had not conferred with his colleagues, and his action was
resented by many members of the Staff.
Consequently, on March 30th, an application was made by
Richard Smith, Richard Lowe, and Henry Daniel, three of the
Surgeons, for permission to give similar courses of lectures.
That their motive was not entirely the diffusion of knowledge
may be readily guessed, and this indeed is admitted in a letter
to the Bristol Mirror, signed " A Trustee," and unmistakably
written by " Dick " Smith, in which the proposed lectures are
1 James Cowles Prichard was one of his pupils. (See p. 468.)
37*
A HISTORY OF THE
thus referred to : " Wishing to give this usefulness and honour
a still wider scope, or unwilling to suffer a professional eclipse —
chuse which motive you please, unless you are willing to
combine them both," etc.
The Committee's reply to this application was a suggestion
that Smith, Lowe, and Daniel should join with Hetling in giving
a conjoint course, or should deliver theirs after he had finished.
As soon as Hetling was told of this reply, he wrote to
Richard Smith proposing a meeting to arrange for a combined
course, and received for answer a letter stating that " their
arrangements were of such a nature as not to allow of a coalition
with advantage to either party."
Hetling communicated this answer to the Committee on
April 13th, and considered himself at liberty to continue his
arrangements.
Richard Smith then again wrote to the Committee,
expressing the feelings of his colleagues against a united course
of lectures, and the objections to postponement, as several
people were anxious to attend ; also pointing out that the two
sets of lectures might easily run concurrently.
The Committee did not directly answer this, but passed a
resolution giving permission to Messrs. Smith, Lowe, and Daniel
to give their lectures after Hetling's.
Of course, the matter got into the papers, the correspondents
writing under the thin disguise of a nom de guerre.
Finally Hetling wrote to the Committee that as his primary
object was to lecture to Infirmary students, and only one had
sent in his name, he had decided to abandon the idea. The
Committee at once offered the room to Richard Smith and his
colleagues, but there is no record that they availed themselves
of this offer, and we may infer that their object was to stop
Hetling rather than to lecture themselves !
On September 28th, 1816, Dr. J. Cowles Prichard, who had
been elected Physician the previous February, and Dr. John
Edmonds Stock (elected in 1811) wrote to the Committee that
they wished to give a course of lectures on the " Institutes and
Practice of Medicine," to be illustrated by cases in the wards
of the Infirmary, and asked permission to use a room. 1 This
letter contains the following sentence : " We are the more
disposed to prefer this request, because it is an object of
ambition to both to attempt to lay the foundation of a Medical
1 Dr. Prichard had previously given a course of lectures on Physiology,
Pathology and the Practice of Physic, which began on March 8th, 1814, at his
house in College Green, " in which at that time there were no shops, and a vine
ran up the front of the house as far as the drawing-room windows." — The
Early History of the Bristol Medical School, by Augustin Prichard.
372
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
School in an Institution which, we think, furnishes so many
valuable opportunities for professional improvement." This
scheme was approved by the other Physicians, and the Com-
mittee readily agreed.
The fee for the course (about sixty lectures) was three
guineas, and those who attended were taken by one of the
lecturers round the wards with the pupils.
It may be remarked that the syllabus shows that the history
of medicine received particular attention, and that an amount
of learning and investigation was shown which indicates the
great intellectual powers of one at least of the lecturers.
Mr. W. D. Rolfe, one of the founders of the Bristol Lying-in
Institution for poor women, gave lectures in 1816 on " The
Principles and Practice of Midwifery, illustrated by an ingenious
machine and apparatus contrived for the purpose."1
In the spring of 1819 he gave a lecture (probably more than
one) at his house in St. Augustine's Place, on " The History of
Midwifery."
Dr. George Wallis (elected Physician to the Infirmary in
1828) gave a course of eleven lectures on " Comparative
Anatomy " at the Bristol Institute in 1825. These were free
to members of the Institute ; they were well reported in the
daily papers.
The temporary feud between William Hetling and his
surgical colleagues in 1814 (see pp. 371-2) passed away, and
did not prevent the latter from recognising his great ability
as a lecturer.
With the full approval of the Staff, he published a scheme
in 1831 for some winter courses of lectures on " The Principles,
Practice and Operations of Surgery." The fees were "for a
single course three guineas, for a second course two guineas —
Perpetual, five guineas." These lectures were commenced on
Wednesday, February 2nd, 1831, at half-past two o'clock, in
the Infirmary Museum, and were recognised by the College of
Surgeons for the instruction of students.
Hetling gave three of these Infirmary courses, of about sixty
lectures each, all of them fairly well attended, not only by
pupils at the Institution, but by practitioners and others. 2 At
his first lecture fifty-one persons were present, including Dr.
Carrick, and Messrs. R. Lowe, H. Daniel and Nathaniel Smith.
Richard Smith was ill at the time, or we may be sure he would
have been present.
The lecture was fully reported in the press. Hetling paid a
1 According to Augustin Prichard.
2 W. Hetling was the first lecturer on Surgery at the Bristol Medical School.
373
A HISTORY OF THE
high compliment to the first Richard Smith on the Surgical Staff,
and to his private museum. " This highly gifted individual,"
he said, "naturally attracted the attention of myself and the
rest of the pupils of that day towards him, and on one
distinguished occasion he most kindly and considerately
invited me to his house to meet the present Sir Everard Home,
who came to Bristol to view his museum. At that period I
perfectly recollect, after going over every individual specimen,
which occupied several hours, that gentleman's declaration —
that it was the most unique, skilful and extensive museum he
had inspected as the production of one individual, excepting of
course the unrivalled Hunterian Collection."
The old Museum at the Infirmary can no longer be
considered perfect for present teaching purposes (although the
additions of recent years have immensely increased its usefulness
in this respect) , yet all connected with the Institution should be
proud of such praise as the above from an impartial judge.
After this date (1831) the formation of the Bristol Medical
School began to engage the attention of the Infirmary Staff and
of other prominent scientific men in the city.
We have seen that there was in the early years of the
nineteenth century a great demand for medical lectures. The
difficulty of conducting such lectures, especially when human
anatomy was one of the chief subjects, led to various
attempts to establish anatomical theatres, schools for anatomy
and surgery, and so forth, such as already existed in large
numbers in London. Moreover, the growing importance in the
public mind of a proper training for medical students, and the
passing of the Anatomy Act in 1832, paved the way for the
formation of such institutions, whose origin in Bristol we must
now briefly consider.
Thomas Shute (elected Surgeon to the Infirmary in July,
1812) was one of those who attended the lectures of Smith and
Bowles in 1798 and 1799. (See p. 370.) He afterwards became
a House pupil to Mr. Headington, of Broad Street, London, for
three years, during which time he attended lectures by that
gentleman and Mr. Frampton at the London Hospital. He
came to Bristol, and began practice in 1805. The next year he
determined to establish a school for anatomy, and tried at first
to obtain a room for the purpose " opposite the East end of
the Cathedral," which had belonged to the Literary and
Philosophical Society, and afterwards to Dr. Kentish, who
used it for " Vapour Baths."
Lower College Green and the purlieus of the Cathedral were
favourite sites for anatomical rooms. Gold, Wallis, and Shute
374
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
all had their establishments in the neighbourhood. The sacred
edifice itself was invaded by these unholy things. In one of the
pictures in Skelton's Antiquities a skeleton is seen at an upper
window immediately over the cloisters. It was probably in
this room, used for dissecting bodies, etc., by Gold and others,
that Mrs. Robinson, who afterwards captivated George the
Fourth when she was playing in the part of " Perdita," was
born. According to the late Robert Hall Warren, the present
Cathedral pulpit stands very nearly on this spot. Three such
diverse uses for a locality remind one of Austin Dobson's lines
in Angel Court : —
" Nay ! the Eternities are there,
Death at the doorway stands to smite,
Life in its garrets leaps to light,
And Love has climbed that crumbling stair ! "
Shute failed in these first negotiations, but built a room on
" some void ground near the old Riding School at the lower end
of Lower College Street, at the back of his father's Stables."
This was altered and enlarged from time to time, and at length
became " a very elegant and commodious theatre."
He was a good dissector, and spent nearly all his time in
making preparations for his lectures.
On October 17th, 1806, he put an advertisement in the
papers, addressed " to the Medical Students of Bristol,"
informing them that he hoped his theatre would be completed
in a few weeks.
After so much trouble and expense he must have looked
forward with anxiety to his first lecture, which was given on
February 9th, 1807. He was disappointed to find that only
seven people joined, but Richard Smith states that he gave
both this and his subsequent lectures " in precisely the same
manner as if the room had been full."
This first course lasted three months ; it was chiefly on the
bones and muscles, and may be considered as an introduction
to his second course, which included " The Principles and
Operations of Surgery," and commenced on Thursday, October
1st, 1807. He lectured at eight o'clock in the morning. The
fee for the opening series was two guineas, and for each
subsequent course five guineas, with an additional charge of
three guineas for the use of the dissecting room. He had his
" subjects," x each of which cost him six guineas, " regularly by
the Waggon " from London ; he used three in each course.
Great credit is due to Shute for the energy and determination
1 I need hardly remind my readers that bodies used for dissection are
known to medical men and students as " subjects."
375
A HISTORY OF THE
with which he carried out all these difficult and not very-
remunerative arrangements ; he may be said to have laid the
foundation in Bristol of regular anatomical instruction.
It should be remembered that he lectured to medical
students only, although he once, in June, 1808, gave three
public lectures on the Ear. One is glad to find, from entries in
his class book, that his enterprise prospered.
For his second course he had eight students, and five more
at work in the dissecting room ; the next year he had altogether
sixteen, and the numbers went up to eighteen in 1812 and
nineteen in 1813. His largest class apparently was in 1814,
when he had twenty-four.
The advertisements for his lectures are headed " Anatomical
Theatre, Bristol," or " Anatomical Theatre, Lower College
Street, Bristol."
Thomas Shute, whose somewhat melancholy career has been
described (see pp. 192-4), was a tall, loosely-made man, with
a sallow complexion and a nose slightly disfigured by an
accident. He is described as a good lecturer, " never at a loss
for words," fluent and correct. He very seldom used any notes,
and — possibly for this reason— his physiology lectures were
wanting in arrangement.
His pupils looked up to him with esteem and admiration,
and after his first course they showed their appreciation by
inviting him to a dinner. This became an annual custom with
them, and in 1813 they formed themselves into a society, and
made the dinners more public by advertising them in the daily
papers. They usually dined at the Montague Tavern at five
o'clock, and had two Presidents (chosen from Shute's present
or past students), a Secretary, and a Committee consisting of
" the Lecturer and six resident Practitioners." Amongst the
Presidents I find the names of George Wallis, Walter Cleve,
George McDonald, John Charlton Yeatman, Thomas Pendrill,
James Howell, G. N. Robinson, W. H. Lassalle, etc.
In 1815 there is a minute in their book that Dr. Pole (p. 371)
gave to the Society fifteen models and casts of distorted pelves,
calculi, etc., which were deposited in Shute's museum.
In 1813 a formidable rival appeared in the person of Francis
Gold, who established a school for teaching anatomy " near the
Cloisters " of the Cathedral. (See p. 375.) Gold was the son of
an apothecary practising in College Green, whose Christian name
was also Francis ; he was twice an applicant for the post of
Surgeon to the Infirmary (in 1812 and 1816). In 1801 he went
to Egypt as an army surgeon, and resigned his commission after
the Peace of Amiens in 1802. He travelled homewards through
376
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Italy and Switzerland. War was soon afterwards declared with
France, and Gold had the ill-luck to arrive in Paris the very
evening before the decree was issued for detaining the English in
that city. He was made prisoner and kept there for some years.
The celebrated Dr. Edward Jenner interested himself in the
matter, and wrote a letter to the authorities in Paris, begging
for Gold's release, and an order to that effect was given by
Napoleon Bonaparte, who is reported to have said " he could
refuse nothing to so great a man."
Unfortunately, this order for his release, " after much
inquiry, was found thrown aside in the Office through the
negligence of a Subaltern Agent of the French Government,"
and Gold was not, apparently, liberated until the year 1812.
Soon after his return he fitted up two rooms "ina house
near the College, looking into the Cloisters," and began his
anatomical lectures and demonstrations.
His terms were three guineas for the course of lectures, and
three guineas for the use of the dissecting room. In the
advertisement it is stated that he lectured every morning
except Sundays and Thursdays from eight to nine o'clock.
Each student was to find his own " subject," a regulation which
no doubt led to " body-snatching." These classes were kept up
with success until 1819, when Gold gave up the profession and
went to London.
There is evidence that he was clever with his hands, not only
as a dissector but as an artist, and he occasionally exhibited
his pictures.
He translated two or three French scientific works into
English, notably Bichat's Physiological Researches on Life and
Death. 1
At Shute's death, Dr. George Wallis, one of his first pupils,
took over the management of the " Theatre of Anatomy."
He began his first course on January 4th, 1817, and was
assisted by Mr. George McDonald.
Wallis was, as we have seen, a noted " Resurrectionist,"
and had received a good all-round medical training under
Headington and Frampton in London, and Rutherford, Gregory
and Munro in Edinburgh. He was elected Physician to the
Bristol Infirmary in 1828, at the celebrated " Saints and
Sinners " contest. (See Appendix A.)
1 In Felix Farley's Journal for September 2nd, 1826, is a translation of
one of Horace's Odes (Ode xxix., Liber i.), adapted to Francis Gold by the
Rev. John Eagles. We gather from this that Gold was contemplating some
extensive travels abroad.
According to Richard Smith, Gold died in 1830, aged eighty-six. He was.
a member of" the " Catch Club." (See p. 235.)
377
A HISTORY OF THE
This " Theatre of Anatomy," founded by Thomas Shute in
1807, and continued by Wallis in 1817, was the first institution
in Bristol which could be called a medical school. Wallis carried
on the enterprise for many years, assisted by George McDonald,
and in 1828 by Henry Riley, with Lassalle (who was practising
as an apothecary in College Green) as Secretary. Private
lectures were still given, but they gradually ceased as the
*' Schools " became more vigorous. We find, for instance, from
an advertisement, that Mr. Goodeve gave anatomical lectures in
College Green, but he afterwards threw in his lot with Wallis.
Wallis's " Theatre of Anatomy " gradually became extended
in its scope, and there was a fairly complete medical curriculum,
including courses on Surgery and Midwifery by D. Da vies,
M.D., Anatomy and Physiology by G. Wallis, M.D., Materia
Medica by Paris Dick, M.D., and Chemistry by Edward Halse,
F.L.S.
At this period the advertisements of " Schools of Anatomy,"
" Theatres of Anatomy," etc., become rather confusing. For
instance, in 1826 Henry Clark put a notice in the papers that
his " Theatre of Anatomy " would be " opened immediately,"
and in 1830 we find a " School of Anatomy and Medicine "
flourishing in Limekiln Lane, where Wallis, Riley and Halse
were lecturing on Anatomy, Pathology, Chemistry, and Materia
Medica. This establishment was afterwards removed to Lamb
Street, Park Square.
As it is distinctly stated that this " School of Anatomy and
Medicine " was founded in 1807, we may, I think, conclude that
it was a development of Shute's original " Theatre of Anatomy,"
which began its career in that year.
Henry Clark's " Theatre of Anatomy " soon became popular,
and its title was changed to the more imposing one of " Bristol
Medical and Surgical School."
It may be said, therefore, that in the year 1830 there were
two recognised Medical Schools in Bristol, viz. the " School of
Anatomy and Medicine " in Limekiln Lane, where Wallis,
Riley and Halse were lecturing, and the " Bristol Medical and
Surgical School," which was conducted by Henry Clark, William
Herapath, Adam Chadwick, John Brathwaite Taylor, and
Nathaniel Smith.
The former was recognised by the Court of Examiners of the
Apothecaries' Hall, the latter by this Court and by the examiners
at the Royal College of Surgeons.
This meant that students attending either school could go
up for their examination at " the Hall " with only a few days'
residence in London, and those attending the Medical and
378
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Surgical School could apply for the diploma of the College of
Surgeons after " no more than six months' residence in the
Metropolis."
This Medical and Surgical School was certainly in existence
as late as 1840, and was for some years concurrent with the
Bristol Medical School, which we shall refer to directly.
Luckily there is in existence a letter of Henry Clark's dated
November 28th, 1833, giving an account of the school which he
founded. From this we gather that it began in the autumn
of 1826. " At that time," he writes ," the anatomical depart-
ment was at a very low ebb, indeed I think I had no more than
■seven or eight pupils who entered to my list, though I had my
full proportion of the number of pupils then in attendance on
Anatomical Lectures." Amongst his first pupils were " Mr.
Thornton Coathupe of Nailsea and Mr. John Colthurst, a pupil
of Mr. Dicks." In 1827 he enlarged his lecture theatre, made
some improvements in his dissecting room, and began his course
in the autumn of that year with eleven pupils. The following
year, 1828, he was joined by William Herapath, who gave a
course of lectures on Chemistry, the first on this subject delivered
in Bristol, which were recognised by the Apothecaries' Hall.
His anatomical class this year consisted of twenty-four pupils.
In the summer of 1829 he entirely rebuilt his anatomical
theatre, further enlarged his dissecting room, and obtained the
co-operation (in addition to that of William Herapath) of
Chadwick, Nat. Smith, Taylor, and Roolsey.
The numbers attending his classes steadily kept up. " In
the autumn of 1833," he writes, " it was thought advisable to
unite the two Anatomical Classes together by obtaining the
co-operation of Dr. Riley, a gentleman who had lectured on
Anatomy and Medicine for several years with very great success
[at the " School of Anatomy and Medicine "]. This junction it
was conceived would give greater energy to our efforts for the
establishment of a more complete Medical School. The union
was effected and other gentlemen associated themselves with
the School, so as to make it complete in all its departments.
Two Classes have already commenced their Sessional duties,
viz. the Anatomy and the Chemical ; to the former has [sic]
49 pupils and to the latter between 30 and 40."
This letter of Henry Clark's, from which the above
quotations are made, was written on November 28th, 1833.
The amalgamation he speaks of is, of course, "The Bristol
Medical School," at which, he says, " two Classes have already
commenced their Sessional duties." This would give the date
of opening of the School as 1833. Now the late Augustin
379
A HISTORY OF THE
Prichard says that the " Complete School " was opened " in
the Old Park in 1832." He knew so much of the medical
history of Bristol, and was so accurate a man, that his statement
has great weight ; but we not only have the date given above
by Henry Clark, but in the Bristol Gazette for October 24th, 1833,
there is an account of a lecture given at the Infirmary by
William Hetling, " in reference to a Complete Medical School
in this City," and in the same paper there is the following :
" The Bristol Medical School, Monday, October 14th, 1833.
This Institution was opened this morning by Dr. Carrick, who
delivered the preliminary address."
In this address, which is about medical education and the
advantages to be gained by a School of Medicine in Bristol, are
the words : " This is the first time that an adequate number
of respectable and talented individuals have united for
the purpose of giving instruction in every department of
medical science — the first time that anything has appeared
which could have any title to the character of a Medical
School."
Moreover, in William Hetling's introductory lecture at
the School, delivered on December 17th, 1834, is the state-
ment, " This is only the second Session of our Medical
School."
We may therefore conclude that the Bristol Medical School
was opened on October 14th, 1833, not in 1832 as usually
supposed, and that it was an amalgamation of the " Bristol
Medical and Surgical School " and the " School of Anatomy
and Medicine."
There are, however, two puzzling questions : Why is the
date on the Seal of the School mdcccxxviii. ? and how comes
it that these two forerunners of our Medical School did not
cease their separate existences at the date of amalgamation, for
they are advertised under their old names in Bristol papers of
1836 ? It is difficult, if we accept Henry Clark's statement, to
answer this last question, but possibly some students had taken
out " perpetual tickets " at these schools, and this made it
necessary to continue them nominally for a few years.
As to the first difficulty, the date on the Seal, it is probably,
I think, due to the fact that in the year 1828 Henry Clark's
establishment was first recognised by the Examining Board of
the Apothecaries' Society, and is for this reason considered the
most direct ancestor of the Medical School.
Before concluding this chapter, it may be worth recording
that Dr. Carrick in his address, referred to above, concludes
by saying : " And this leads me to offer a few words on the
380
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
subject of attaching a Medical School to the Bristol College.
To me it appeared most desirable that a School of Medicine
should form an integral part of the College," etc.
We have in these words the nucleus of an idea which many
years later, in 1876, brought about the affiliation of the Medical
School to the newly-formed University College of Bristol, and
the incorporation of the two Institutions on November 16th,
1892.
381
CHAPTER XXIX
FOUNDATION OF BRISTOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE — THOMAS
COOMBER — TEACHING AT THE MEDICAL SCHOOL — " FITZ " —
PROPOSED INFIRMARY SCHOOL — OUT-PATIENTS — DAVID EDWARD
BERNARD — ELECTION OF GREIG SMITH AS ASSISTANT HOUSE
SURGEON — EDWARD LONG FOX — INFIRMARY REPORTS — RISE OF
THE SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS — NURSES' HOME — COLLECTION OF
l88l — LEGACIES — RENOVATION OF HOUSE IN 1887 — HARLEY
BUSHELL — ENTRANCE SCHOLARSHIPS — TEACHING OF MORBID
ANATOMY — DENTAL DEPARTMENT — DEAN OF FACULTY —
W. H. SPENCER — C. H. DOWSON — APPOINTMENT OF ADDITIONAL
ASSISTANT SURGEON
In the autumn of 1872 the lecturers at the Bristol Medical
School, dissatisfied with the inadequate accommodation in the
Old Park, where the School had been doing useful work since
1833, decided to make an appeal to the public to obtain funds
for a new building. In January, 1873, a preliminary circular
was issued for this purpose ; but at a meeting held on
February 3rd, 1873, Mr. Thomas Coomber, Lecturer on
Chemistry, suggested that an attempt should be made to
establish a School of Science for Bristol, of which the Medical
School should be a part. The idea was warmly taken up by the
Faculty of the School ; meetings were held, notably a largely-
attended public meeting at the Victoria Rooms on June nth,
1874, presided over by the Mayor, at which Professor Jowett,
Dr. Temple, and others strongly advocated the plan. A general
appeal for subscriptions was organised, and Thomas Coomber's
idea resulted in the proposal to found University College,
Bristol. On July 24th, 1876, a memorandum of agreement was
drawn up between the School and the proposed University
College, whereby the former was to be affiliated to the latter.
The idea started by Dr. Carrick, Dr. Cowles Prichard, and
other members of the Infirmary Faculty many years before
became, therefore, an established fact on the foundation of the
University College in Tyndall's Park in 1877. It should be
remembered that this institution, so important in the history of
education in the West of England, was the outcome of a hope
expressed by Infirmary Physicians, which received its final
impetus from Thomas Coomber in 1873.
382
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
For two or three years before this affiliation Bristol students
had been doing badly at their examinations in anatomy and
physiology, and it was obvious that they had not had sufficient
teaching in these subjects.
This was not only calculated to lower the prestige of the
School, but the supply of efficient "dressers" was curtailed,
and it was not easy to carry on the surgical work at the Infirmary
in a satisfactory manner ; for in those days, when there were
fewer resident officers, more of the routine work of the wards
was entrusted to the students than now.
The Infirmary Staff thought that the best remedy for this
was a close connection between the University College and the
School, and Drs. Shingleton Smith and Spencer, with Messrs.
Tibbits, Leonard, Steele and others, were anxious that the
School should be actually incorporated with University College,
not merely affiliated ; but, in spite of their efforts, this desirable
event did not take place until November 16th, 1892. This delay
was owing to opposition on the part of members of the School
Faculty ; strong resolutions were sent from the Infirmary, and
were answered by " the order of the day." A special meeting
of the School Faculty was at length called for June 15th, 1877,
when Mr. Tibbits proposed a resolution in favour of complete
incorporation. Twelve members of the Faculty were present ;
the four Infirmary lecturers voted in favour of amalgamation,
the eight others who were present voted against it.
There can be no doubt at all that the teaching at the School
at this time required supervision. There were no paid
demonstrators or medical tutors, and students in the dissecting
room were left to their own devices, " Fitz," the old porter,
reigning supreme over all arrangements as to " bodies," etc. 1
Many of the lecturers had no control over the students, and
lectures were often a scene of noise, practical jokes and disorder.
At the Chemistry and Materia Medica Lectures especially
newspapers were read, even songs were sung, and there was in
fact carmagnole complete.
The Infirmary section of the lecturers wished the whole
management to be vested in the University College, which
arrangement could only be brought about by complete
" incorporation," and this was steadily opposed, especially by
1 The presiding genius at the School in those days was an old Irishman
named William Fitzpatrick. His official capacity was that of porter, but he
usurped charge over everything, including the lecturers and students. He
took the liberties of an indulged, eccentric servant, and talked as if he had the
management of the establishment. When I obtained one of the prizes at the
School, he called and told my family that " he and the lecturers thought I
deserved it," and when Mr. A. W. Prichard was awarded the second year's
prize, he actually wrote to him : " Dear Prichard, I here you have again took
the 2nd years prize. Yours Fitz " !
383
A HISTORY OF THE
the Hospital lecturers. There was, in fact, underlying the real
wish for reform, a great deal of friction and irritation between
the two medical charities.
The General Hospital had been enlarged in the year 1863,
and was then recognised by the examining bodies as a place
where students could do their clinical work. At this date the
lecturers at the School were chiefly Infirmary men, and a resolu-
tion was passed by which the lectureships were equalized
between the Infirmary and Hospital. In 1869 this rule was
rescinded, and from that date to 1877 the Hospital had always
a fairly large majority at Faculty meetings.
The Infirmary lecturers at the School, unable to obtain the
thorough investigation of the teaching arrangements which
they thought necessary, and struck by the want of elementary
medical knowledge possessed by the students, and the continued
large percentage of rejections at the examinations in Anatomy
and Physiology, etc., determined to ask the Council of the College
of Surgeons to interfere and investigate. They were inclined
still more to this strong measure by the report that a deputation
of Hospital lecturers had already waited upon the Council.
They invited the Hospital members of the School Faculty to
join them in their petition to the College of Surgeons This
request was refused, and the petition was sent up to London by
the Infirmary members only. The result was a series of
inquiries made by the Council of the College of Surgeons, and
the request for a full report from the School Secretary.
It will be seen that there was sufficient material here for
a very pretty quarrel. Feeling ran high for some time, and
it was actually decided at a meeting of the Infirmary Faculty,
held at Mr. Crosby Leonard's house on June 29th, 1878, " that
Dr. Spencer and Mr. Tibbits prepare a scheme as to how 1 an
Infirmary School could be started, in reference to the premises
obtainable, the lecturers willing to lecture and the way in which
the funds for supporting such a school could be raised."
This scheme was at once put in hand. Dr. Spencer and
Mr. Tibbits interviewed the President and Secretary of the
Royal College of Surgeons, a promise of recognition subject to
certain conditions was obtained, and it was decided to start the
new Infirmary School by the following October. The members
of the Infirmary on the School Staff were of course to resign
their lectureships at the School.
This energetic action produced at length a plan which,
1 Some of the resolutions quoted from Minute Books are badly worded ;
they were often no doubt made in a hurry, with more consideration for the
sense than the method of expression.
3S4
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
although incorporation was not argeed to, satisfied the Infirmary
members. The main feature of this plan was the appointment
of a Governing Body, composed of nineteen members elected by
the Infirmary and Hospital, representing the Committees and
Faculties of those institutions, and the lecturers of the School ;
the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer of the Council of
University College to be ex-officio members.
This scheme, subject to some alteration in details, was
agreed to at a meeting of the Infirmary Faculty held at Dr.
Spencer's house on July 27th, 1878.
At this meeting Mr. Crosby Leonard was in the Chair, and
Mr. Tibbits, who had taken a leading part in all these negotia-
tions, and whose " blood was up," desired " to have it placed
upon the Minutes that he did not speak or vote upon the
question." Two months and a day after this he had the
attack of paralysis which ushered in his last illness (see p. 360) ,
and took him away at a time when his energy and power of
organisation were most wanted. 1
The various changes in the Staff that occurred about this
time (during the seventies and eighties) are fully recorded
in Appendix A.
The relegation of the Out-patients to the charge of Assistant
Physicians and Surgeons in 1871 proved a great advantage to
the Institution ; the patients had more time given to them, and
the students began to look upon this department as a valuable
means of acquiring medical and surgical knowledge. As more
teaching was expected of the assistant officers, and as the
Physicians and Surgeons gradually gave up attending to Out-
patients, the work naturally became very heavy.
Mr. David Edward Bernard, 2 who was elected Assistant
Surgeon in 1873, and held the post for three years, tells me :
" I resigned because the work was impossible. Before the post
of Assistant Surgeon was created it was the custom of the
Surgeons, of whom there were five, to give two days a week
each to seeing their respective Out-patients. After an Assistant
Surgeon was appointed they discontinued doing this, and the
whole of the ten days' work fell to the Assistant Surgeon.
1 Red brick buildings were erected for the Medical Faculty of University-
College in Tyndall's Park, and lectures commenced there on October ist, 1879.
Part of these premises is still used for the Anatomical Department of Bristol
University. The University College buildings were occupied the following
year (1880). The " new " medical wing of University College was formally
opened by Sir Andrew Clark, Bart., on November 16th, 1S92.
2 Mr. Bernard was the third member of the family on the Honorary Staff
of the Infirmary. He entered the Medical School in 1863, and was elected
Assistant Surgeon ten years later. He is the son of the Rev. Samuel Edward
Bernard (1800- 1884), who was first cousin to Ralph Montague Bernard
{Surgeon, 1854-71) and to James Fogo Bernard (Physician, 1843-56).
25
A HISTORY OF THE
I found it quite impossible to do anything like justice to either
the patients or myself, and therefore I resigned."
The strain of seeing daily so many Out-patients was very
great, but it was not until December 26th, 1888, that it was
decided to increase the number of Assistant Surgeons to two,
and in 1893 (March 28 th) the number of Assistant Physicians
was also increased to two.
An election to one of the resident posts, which greatly
influenced the prestige of the Infirmary, may here be mentioned.
Dr. Shaw was elected Assistant Physician on July 28th, 1876.
He resigned his post of Assistant House Surgeon on May 9th,,
and a Sub-Committee was formed on May 23rd to consider the
applications for the resident post which would now be vacant.
This Sub-Committee consisted of seven members of the House
Committee, and the ex-officio representatives of the Faculty on
the Committee, Dr. Spencer and Mr. Board.
There were several applicants, amongst others Mr. F. C.
Palmer, who had won golden opinions from the Staff during
the four years that he had been Resident House pupil at the
Infirmary. So keenly did the Faculty feel in the matter that a
letter was sent by them to the Committee on June 23rd, 1876,
setting forth the excellent character and abilities of Mr. Palmer,.
and recommending him in the strongest terms for the vacant
post. This letter was signed by all the Physicians and Surgeons,
and by two of the Hon. Consultants, Dr. Brittan and Mr.
Augustin Prichard.
The Sub-Committee gave in their report on June 27th.
Four names were chosen as best qualified for the appointment,
viz. Dr. J. Greig Smith of Aberdeen, Mr. F. C. Palmer, Mr.
Arthur B. Wade of St. Mary's Hospital, London, and Mr. F. M.
Hawkins of St. George's Hospital ; Mr. Palmer, as stated, being
selected for special recommendation. The Committee, never-
theless, " after due deliberation," appointed Mr. Greig Smith.
This little episode of the appointment of a stranger, contrary
to the expressed opinion of the Faculty in favour of a local man,
illustrates one of the difficulties of hospital administration.
Medicine and surgery are such technical and specialised sciences,
that it may be truly said that it is almost impossible for anyone
but a qualified medical man to gauge the fitness of another
medical man for any important post, yet in this instance who
can doubt that the Committee made the wisest choice ?
Mr. Palmer was known to be a particularly well-qualified
surgeon, courteous, gentlemanly and considerate ; Greig Smith
was judged by his testimonials, without absolute knowledge.
Yet, as events turned out, one of the greatest surgical geniuses
386
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
was chosen, and all who have realised what Greig Smith did for
the profession and for the Infirmary must be grateful to the
Committee for their selection.
The following year Dr. Edward Long Fox terminated his
career at the Infirmary, greatly to the regret of all connected
with the Institution. He resigned his post of Physician in
accordance with the " twenty years " rule on August 14th, 1877.
Dr. Fox was one of the few who could, without chance of
ridicule, bring religion into his daily teaching ; and his last
clinical lecture, given in the Museum to a number of students,
concluded with an eloquent exhortation, full of pious advice,
the tones of which must be vividly impressed on the memories
of those who were present. (See the Fox biographies,
Appendix B.)
On April 26th, 1879, the Faculty decided to publish a
volume of reports, to contain an epitome of recent work done
at the Infirmary. The Committee undertook to defray the
expense, Dr. Spencer and Greig Smith were appointed editors,
and Mr. J. W. Arrowsmith did the printing and publishing.
The book was ready in 1880, and contained a great deal of
interesting matter, notably some original work by Greig Smith,
and useful tabulated lists of cases, etc., also some well-written
obituary memoirs. A special feature was the excellent litho-
graphic plates of microscopic sections, some of the best of
the kind ever produced.
It was intended that this should be the first of a series of
annual or biennial reports ; but the publication of the second
volume was delayed, and in July, 1883, the first number of the
Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal was issued, under the
editorship of Greig Smith, and this has continued since then to
be the published organ of the medical profession in Bristol and
the neighbourhood.
On January 7th, 1879, three elections took place on the
Staff. Mr. F. Richardson Cross, who had been Assistant
Surgeon since September, 1878, succeeded Mr. Tibbits as
Surgeon ; Mr. Greig Smith was elected in Dr. Steele's vacancy ;
and Mr. W. H. Harsant, who had since September, 1874, been
House Surgeon at the General Hospital, was made Assistant
Surgeon in Mr. Cross's place.
At this time the formation of Bristol University College
and the affiliation of the Medical School to it had given a
stimulus to medical education in Bristol, and the Faculty of the
Infirmary did what they could to increase the efficiency of
clinical teaching in the wards. Hitherto there had been
practically no instruction in special subjects at the Infirmary,
387
A HISTORY OF THE
and soon after their appointment as Surgeons to the Institution,
Greig Smith, Cross and Harsant brought this subject before the
Faculty. The matter was discussed at a Faculty meeting on
June 21st, 1879, when a resolution was carried unanimously :
" That it is desirable to create departments for the purpose of
Clinical teaching at this Infirmary," and a Sub-Committee
consisting of Dr. E. Long Fox, Dr. Spencer, and Mr. Board was
appointed to report on the subject to the Faculty.
This report, brought forward on July 5th, 1879, deprecated
any special beds being set apart for departmental work, but
suggested that, without asking the Committee to formally
authorise the scheme, the Faculty should arrange amongst
themselves as follows : —
Mr. Arthur Prichard and Mr. Richardson Cross to give
special instruction in Diseases of the Eye.
Mr. Greig Smith to give instruction in the wards and out-
patient rooms on Diseases of Women.
The Physicians to give demonstrations on Diseases of the
Skin.
Mr. Harsant to take Diseases of the Throat and Ear, and the
Resident Medical Officers to instruct the students in Dentistry.
The three men who were chiefly instrumental in bringing
about this arrangement (which was carried out very success-
fully) were anxious from the first to form recognised special
departments ; but at this date (1879) specialists were few, and
the idea of setting apart wards, or even a few beds, for diseases
of the eyes or throat, etc., met with strenuous opposition.
Every Infirmary Surgeon in those days performed, when
necessary, all the known operations of surgery, and it was not
realised until some years later how important division of labour
was in so large a field.
Recognised departments, with a specialist at the head of
each, were not established at the Infirmary until 1885. In
October of that year Mr. Richardson Cross was elected
Ophthalmic Surgeon, to take which post he resigned the
Surgeoncy. It was decided that twelve beds should be given
to this department, and there was much discussion as to where
room for a suitable ward could be found.
The nurses at this time slept in dormitories on the top floor
of the Infirmary. In 1886 a large building called Camden
House, in Terrell Street, was bought with money derived from a
legacy left to the Institution in 1885 by Mr. Edward Phillips.
This house was properly furnished and equipped, and was
opened in September, 1886, as a Home for the Nursing Staff,
about half of whom it accommodated.
388
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O i 1
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The dormitories vacated by the nurses at the top of the
Infirmary were then converted into two ophthalmic wards.
This was the first special department to be formed at the
Bristol Royal Infirmary. 1
The other special departments (referred to in Appendix A
and on pp. 397-400) followed in this order : the Obstetric in
December, 1887, the Dental in 1888, the Bacteriological in
1897, the Skiagraphic in 1898, and the Throat and Nose in
1906. 2
In spite of numerous important legacies in favour of the
Institution in the years 1876-9, the expenses had so much
increased, that by the end of 1880 the debt amounted to the
large sum of over £10,000.
At a special meeting of the Committee held on March 29th,
1881, a letter was read by the President and Treasurer, from
Mr. Woodwell Dodd, who offered to give a thousand pounds to
the Infirmary " on condition that the whole debt of
£10,233 7s- I(i. is subscribed for within the next three months."
It was at once decided to call a public meeting at the Guildhall,
and lay the urgent needs of the Charity before the citizens, as
had so often been successfully done on other occasions. The
Mayor of Bristol, Joseph Dodge Weston, presided at this
meeting, which was held on Friday, April 29th, 1881.
Many influential people were present, and there was a large
attendance. The Chairman referred to the last public meeting
held for the purpose of clearing off a large Infirmary debt in
1854, when the Mayor of the day, Mr. John George Shaw,
presided, and nearly £9,000 was collected. (See p. 324.) This
was, in fact, the third important appeal made by the friends of
the Institution during a period of eighty-four years, the dates
being 1797, 1854 an<* 1881.
On this occasion the President, Sir Charles Cave, said in his
speech that he held in his hand promises for nearly £4,000,
besides the donation of Mr. Dodd.
The Duke of Beaufort, Dean Randall, Mr. Lewis Fry and
others gave excellent addresses ; perhaps the most noticeable
1 The appointment of an Ophthalmic Surgeon necessitated a re-arrange-
ment of fees. Hitherto there had been five Surgeons and four Physicians ;
the students' fees had been divided into nine parts, one-ninth part for each
member of the Honorary Staff. The question now arose, should the fees be
divided into ten parts, there being six Surgeons and four Physicians ?
After some discussion it was decided that the fees should still be divided
into nine parts, the four Physicians to take four-ninths, and the six Surgeons
the remainder !
2 There was, however, a clinic for ear cases, not formally recognised by the
Committee, initiated in 1879, first under the supervision of Mr. Harsant and
afterwards under Mr. Mole. Skin cases began to be seen separately bv
Dr. Waldo in 1S80. ' ^
389
A HISTORY OF THE
was Dean Randall's. He began in a humorous vein, and then
made an eloquent appeal to the feelings of his audience, referring
in a most telling manner to the picture called " Christus
Consolator."
The Bristol public showed by the hearty response they made
that they fully appreciated the usefulness of the Charity, and
subscribed £9,971 ns. 8d., which was more than the sum
stipulated to secure the £1,000 conditionally promised by Mr.
Dodd, and on June 14th the Committee were able to send him
the good news that the conditions of his gift were fulfilled, and
to express their gratitude for the donation which had " produced
such happy results."
The impetus given by this appeal did not end here, a general
canvass was instituted, which brought in £744 in donations and
a welcome increase of £200 in annual subscriptions. A special
collection made at places of worship realised £752 7s. 9d., which
together with half the usual Infirmary and Hospital collection
brought in £907 6s. id. The house to house canvass was
continued, and by the end of 1883 amounted to nearly a
thousand pounds.
In 1882 Mr. P. D. Prankerd gave £1,000 for the endowment
of a bed in the Children's Ward.
It may be mentioned here that it was thought advisable at
this time — apart from considerations of economy — to substitute
a fish for a meat diet on one day a week for the patients ; this
saved, as a matter of fact, £120 per annum ! 1
During the time of the above collections for the payment of
the debt many letters were written to the papers, one of which
is worth noticing. It was written by Mr. Gilmore Barnett, who
made the calculation that a quarter of the population of Bristol
received medical attendance gratis. This computation has
since been confiimed.
With the exception of the legacy of £6,000 left to the
Infirmary in 1885 by Mr. Edward Phillips (see p. 388), and one
of £4,500 left in 1888 by Mr. Harley Bushell, 2 the next few
years were, financially, uneventful ; but in 1889 the Institution
received from the executors of Miss Marianne Bell the sum of
£3,738, which was added to the Innys Fund " for incurable
patients," and the interest of the combined bequests has since
then been used to supply artificial limbs, surgical appliances,
1 Amongst " minor economies," ^54 was obtained by the sale of
" dripping and bones."
2 Mr. Harley Bushell was a well-known figure in society, not only in Bristol,
but at Cheltenham and Bath. He was noted as an excellent " after dinner "
speaker, and was one of the best whist-players of his day. He annually edited
an Almanac containing prophecies of the weather, etc.
390
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
etc., to deserving patients. This is usually known as " the Innys
and Bell Fund." The same year (1889) the sum of £4,313 was
received from the executors of Mr. William Thompson.
In the autumn of 1887 the House was repainted throughout,
some of the sanitary arrangements were altered, and the floors
of the wards, which had become rough and uneven, and no doubt
contained an accumulation of infected dust, were taken up and
replaced by a parqueting of teak wood. This not only got rid
of the particles of all kinds which had gradually permeated the
old wood, but presented a hard, smooth surface, which could
be readily cleaned. This made a greater improvement in the
health of the patients than all the elaborate alterations which
were effected eleven years before this. 1
We have mentioned that a Home for Nurses was established
near the Infirmary in 1886. (See p. 388.) This was much enlarged
in 1889 at a cost of £2,300, and a large new wing was erected
in 1899, so that nearly all the Infirmary nurses could be
accommodated with sleeping and day rooms, etc., and the
Committee were enabled to initiate a " Nursing Institute,"
from which nurses could be supplied to private cases. This
scheme has proved of great service both to the public and to
medical men. It is due to the memory of Greig Smith to state
that in 1888 he strongly advocated the formation of such an
institute.
To defray the expenses of these useful additions, a most
successful Carnival was held at the Zoological Gardens, Clifton,
on June 22nd-24th, 1899, from the proceeds of which £1,480
was handed over to the Infirmary. 2
In the year 1884 two Entrance Scholarships, of thirty-five
and ten guineas respectively, were established for Infirmary
students. There were four compulsory subjects, viz. (1) Latin,
(2) English and Logic, (3) Physics and Chemistry, and (4)
Botany. Physiology and Euclid were optional. The members
ol the Honorary Staff set the questions for these Scholarships
and examined. The subjects were distributed thus : —
Latin Mr. A. W. Prichard.
English and Logic . . . . Mr. Greig Smith.
Physics and Chemistry . . Mr. Cross.
Botany Dr. Prowse.
Physiology Dr. Shingleton Smith.
Euclid Dr. Spencer.
1 Judged by the decrease of the death rate, but this was probably partly
due to improved methods of treatment.
2 Mr. Bush acted as Treasurer and Dr. Stack as Secretary of this well-
organised affair.
391
A HISTORY OF THE
After a few years, however, it was realised that the assumption
of such work by busy medical men, who had for the most part
left their Latin and Euclid, etc., behind them in the school
class-room, was ridiculous, and the papers of candidates were
examined henceforth by members of the staff of University
College.
Hitherto the post-mortem examinations had been made by
senior students, under the supervision of the House Surgeon or
one of the Residents. On December 22nd, 1885, it was
decided by the Faculty to recommend the appointment of an
Honorary " Demonstrator of Morbid Anatomy," who was to
have control of the arrangements in the post-mortem room, give
demonstrations at autopsies, and see that careful records were
kept, etc. The Committee agreed to this proposal, and I was
appointed to the new post of Demonstrator. I resigned in 1890,
and at the recommendation of the Faculty, the Committee
decided to appoint an officer to be called " Honorary
Pathologist ; " he was to hold the post for one year, but to be
eligible for re-election. The Demonstratorship of Morbid
Anatomy was really a Faculty appointment ; the Honorary
Pathologist was elected by the Committee, and his name
appeared amongst the list of officials.
Dr. Francis Henry Edgeworth was elected Honorary
Pathologist on July 8th, 1890.
The Dental Department was formally established in
February, 1888, by the appointment of Mr. W. R. Ackland (who
had been Demonstrator of Practical Dental Surgery at the
London Dental Hospital and Assistant Dental Surgeon at
Charing Cross Hospital) as Dental Surgeon.
In March, 1902, Dr. Charles Hayman was elected " Hon.
Dental Assistant," to instruct students in dental mechanics.
The advantage of having a properly-equipped department,
with expert dentists, and the many accessories necessary for
tooth extraction, etc., was at once apparent, and the shrieks
associated with this branch of surgery became confined to
certain days. The department grew rapidly. On April 26th,
1904, Dr. Hayman was appointed Assistant Dental Surgeon,
and on April nth, 1905, Dr. Leonard A. Moore was elected
Honorary Anaesthetist to the Dental Department.
On June 2nd, 1880, the Medical Staff decided to appoint a
Dean of the Faculty, whose duties should be to supervise
and arrange the clinical instruction at the Infirmary. Mr.
Richardson Cross was elected the first Dean, and held the office
until September 3rd, 1883, when Dr. Spencer was chosen for the
post. Dr. Prowse took Dr. Spencer's place on the resignation
392
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
of the latter in 1888, both as Physician and Dean of the
Faculty.
Dr. William Henry Spencer had served for sixteen years on
the Honorary Staff; he was elected Assistant Physician in 1872
and Physician the following year. For many years he lectured
on Medicine at the Bristol Medical School, and took an active
part in the initiation of the University College. He was born
on July 10th, 1837, an^ was the son °f Mr. Henry Spencer of the
Oakhill Brewery, Bath. He married on July 8th, 1859,.
Marianne R. Goddard, of Clifton. He died May 27th, 1910.
Dr. Spencer will be remembered by old students of the
Bristol Infirmary as a good, systematic teacher and lecturer.
He was one of the first to insist on the great importance of
case taking, and introduced printed forms for this purpose
into the wards, where they were of great use, and ensured
much better records of medical cases.
Mr. Christopher Henry Dowson, who had been on the
Surgical Staff for seventeen years — he was elected Assistant
Surgeon in September, 1871, and Surgeon in October, 1873 —
died at Clifton on January 14th, 1889.
His father, Mr. H. C. Dowson, married Miss Bryant, daughter
of Dr. Bryant, of Park Row, Bristol ; his sister married
Dr. Shingleton Smith.
He was born at St. Pierre dTrube, near Bayonne, and was
educated at an Elysee at Bordeaux. His parents came to
England, and Christopher Dowson was entered at the Bristol
Medical School in 1862, the same year that E. M. Grace, cricketer
and coroner, joined.
He was apprenticed in the old style to Mr. Hore (Surgeon
to the Infirmary 1857-68). When qualified he became for a
short time a Poor-Law officer to the parish of St. Augustine,
Bristol.
He was short in stature, with dark hair and complexion,,
and blue eyes ; quick and vivacious in his looks and
movements. His good temper, liveliness, and fund of amusing
anecdotes made him popular with his colleagues and with the
students.
He had acquired the habit of taking snuff, and spoke with a
slightly nasal, French accent, being always unable to manage
the pronunciation of the English " th." For this reason he
went by the name of " Mossoo " in his student days.
The increasing work in the Out-patient Department, and
the fact that the number of beds when divided amongst five
Surgeons amounted to only a small number for each, induced
the Committee, on the suggestion of the Faculty, to appoint an
393
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
additional Assistant Surgeon and lessen the number of Surgeons
to four. The rule did not come into force until after the next
election on the Surgical Staff, so that when Mr. Dowson died
the vacancy was filled (by the appointment of Mr. Paul Bush),
and the number of Surgeons remained at five.
When Mr. E. C. Board, the senior Surgeon, retired, his place
was not filled, reducing the number of Surgeons to four, and
Dr. James Swain was then (June 7th, 1892) appointed additional
Assistant Surgeon.
394
CHAPTER XXX
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE STAFF— JUNIOR POSTS— ENTERTAIN-
MENTS— RULES — OBSTETRIC DEPARTMENT — BACTERIOLOGY AND
PATHOLOGY — NOSE AND THROAT DEPARTMENT — SKIAGRAPHIST
ANESTHETISTS — OPERATION THEATRE — DEATH OF GREIG SMITH
— CHANGES IN COMMITTEE AND STAFF — RESIGNATION OF SIR
CHARLES CAVE, BT. — ELECTION OF SIR GEORGE WHITE, BT.—
DEATHS OF INFIRMARY STUDENTS
On March 27th, 1888, a recommendation by the Faculty as to
the qualifications of the Honorary Staff came before the Com-
mittee. It was proposed that in future any applicant for the
post of Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon, or Ophthalmic Surgeon must
be a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of England, and that
applicants for the post of Physician, Assistant Physician, or
Obstetric Physician must be Members or Fellows of the College
of Physicians of London.
This gave rise to many indignant protests from Irish and
Scotch doctors, and letters appeared in the daily papers strongly
condemning this proposed " monopoly in favour of the London
Colleges," and the attempt to " boycott " Dublin and Edinburgh
degrees, etc. The discussion was postponed, but in the mean-
while further consideration resulted in the inclusion of Edinburgh
and Dublin qualifications, and this is embodied in the rales
which were revised and reprinted in 1890.
Shortly before these 1890 rules were settled two new
resident posts were made, called respectively Junior House
Physician and Junior House Surgeon. These officers were
appointed by the Committee, on the recommendation of the
Faculty, after competitive examination.
The Junior House Physician was to make himself generally
useful in the Medical Wards and Out-patient Rooms, and to
devote a good deal of his time to the Museum and Post-mortem
Room, " performing either personally or by recognised deputy
all post-mortem examinations," etc.
The Junior House Surgeon's duties were to attend all
casualties which could not be treated by the Resident "Dresser,"
to assist with Out-patients, to help the House Surgeon in the
wards, and to " administer anaesthetics when required to do so."
These junior posts had no stipend attached to them ; the
395
A HISTORY OF THE
very valuable experience they offered was rightly considered a
sufficient inducement to young, recently-qualified men to apply,
and it was generally understood that they were especially
intended for Bristol students.
The first Junior House Physician was John Henry Fardon, l
who was appointed on June nth, 1889 ; the first Junior House
Surgeon was Charles Brooke Gratte, 2 appointed February 25th,
1900.
Visitors to large and busy hospitals are often struck by the
general tone of cheerfulness which prevails, not only amongst
the officials but amongst the patients. Pain and suffering of
course are there, but the predominent feeling expressed is that of
comfort and anticipation of relief. This is accounted for by the
fact that so many trained persons are doing their best to make
injury and disease as bearable as possible, and it would be a
good thing for such institutions if the public more fully realised
that this is so, and that the teaching of students round the
bedside is nearly always an actual pleasure to the patients.
In addition to the care for bodily comfort and for the relief
of pain, at most of these Charities an attempt is occasionally
made to entertain the inmates by concerts, etc. At the Bristol
Royal Infirmary both professionals and amateurs have fre-
quently helped at such entertainments, especially at Christmas
time. At this season dinners are given in the wards, at which
songs are sung, speeches are made, and in the men's wards
smoking is allowed. Beef, turkeys, plum pudding, and other
kinds of Christmas fare are partaken of in a most cheerful
manner, and patients consider they are in luck to be inmates of
the House at this time.
For many years there have also been entertainments given
to the Nursing Staff. In the seventies and eighties of
last century this took the form of a " party," with games, songs,
and a good supper ; this was afterwards changed to theatricals
and concerts. Pierrots and conjurors go round the wards at
Christmas, and everything is done to make the patients forget
their maladies.
Madame Clara Butt and other well-known singers and
musicians have often given their services, to the unbounded
delight of the inmates of the House.
Another popular entertainment is the Christmas Tree in the
Children's Ward. As many of the small patients as are well
1 He entered the Medical School at Bristol in October, 1883, and became
L.R.C.P. Lond. and M.R.C.S. in 1889. He is now (1914) practising at
Claughton, near Birkenhead.
2 He entered the Bristol Medical School in May, 1885, and qualified in
1890. Now (1914) at Newport, Monmouthshire.
395
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
enough to attend, together with members of the Resident Staff,
Committee, and Faculty, and a number of visitors take part in
this festivity. The prizes from the tree, generally including a
few for the doctors, are distributed by the Lady Mayoress or
some other well-known lady.
In November, 1896, Mr. Squire Bancroft (he had not then
been knighted) agreed to give a public reading in aid of the
Infirmary funds, and on Thursday, January 28th, T897, he read
Dickens' " Christmas Carol " to a very appreciative audience.
The Duke of Beaufort was in the Chair, and the celebrated
actor's rendering of the popular and pathetic story was
thoroughly enjoyed. After paying all expenses, the proceeds
amounted to £49 8s.
During the latter part of 1889 a new code of rules (referred
to on page 395) was prepared. These were passed on December
24th, 1889, and confirmed on March 25th, 1890.
The special feature of this code was the introduction of
bye-laws. The regulations for the general management and
constitution of the Infirmary, which do not often require
alteration, were embodied in forty-four rules ; whereas matters
of detail, which fluctuate from time to time, and can be arranged
more conveniently by the Committee than by the whole body
of Governors, were formulated in bye-laws.
This innovation required great discrimination, and much
care was spent upon the new code. Dr. Shekleton, the
Secretary, was very assiduous in collecting information from
other hospitals.
In March, 1891, there was considerable discussion as to the
management of diphtheria cases, which had up to that time
been admitted into the ordinary wards. It was decided that
these patients should be placed in two rooms at the top of the
House, but this arrangement was condemned, and in July, 1891,
it was decided to build an Isolation Cottage for such cases at
the bottom of the garden. This building, which contained two
small wards, was erected the following year.
We have seen (p. 389) that an Obstetric Physician was
appointed, and this department formally recognised in 1887.
At first it was concerned only with Out-patients, and with the
organisation of attendance by students on midwifery cases,
under the supervision of the Obstetric Physician. Before this
time the requisite number of these cases which had to be
attended to satisfy the Examining Boards were seen by medical
students with very little help of any kind.
The house where the patient lived was notified and put on
a list, and when the " dreadful summons " came, one had to do
397
A HISTORY OF THE
one's best, aided in the dark hour of need by a small book by
the late Dr. J. G. Swayne, called Obstetric Aphorisms. This
excellent little book gave plain directions for the guidance of the
beginner, and thousands of young men must have cordially
blessed it.
In real necessity Dr. Aust Lawrence (who was appointed
Physician-Accoucheur to the General Hospital in 1875) could be
sent for, and cheerfully came to the relief both of the patient
and her young medical attendant.
In fact, this practical midwifery in those days was a great
ordeal ; the dirty and squalid room, the incompetent, garrulous
and frequently ancient nurse (often enough some " friend of the
family " or near neighbour, without a vestige of training, her
only qualification being that she had given birth to and buried
a long family), the weary waiting in the company of the above
and of numerous fleas — all this had to be borne as patiently
as possible.
After the appointment of Dr. Walter Swayne in December
of 1891 matters began to mend rapidly. In 1892 a nurse was
set apart to help in these cases, and in May, 1894, a permanent,
well-qualified obstetric nurse was appointed, who accompanied
or preceded the student to the patient's house ; the student
himself could, by an arrangement made in February, 1893,
reside at the Infirmary on payment of five guineas per month,
and in January, 1897, the post of Resident Obstetric Officer was
founded. His duties were to attend to the external maternity
work, to help when required with the Medical Out-patients
and in the Bacteriological Department, and to have charge of
the Obstetric Wards.
Mr. John Courtenay MacWatters * was appointed to this
post on February 23rd, 1897.
In June, 1892, the Faculty recommended that an Obstetric
Ward should be opened, and the vacation of some cubicles at
the top of the House (hitherto occupied by nurses, who now had
sleeping accommodation in the new Home) made this possible.
A ward of six beds was established in the summer of 1893, but
it was soon apparent that this was not sufficient.
As no available space could then be found, it was proposed
in June, 1894, that six additional beds should be given for
obstetric cases from the ordinary wards. This led to a long
discussion at Faculty meetings, neither Physicians nor Surgeons
being willing to give up any beds for this purpose. Mr. Greig
Smith ultimately proposed a compromise, which was agreed to.
1 Joined Faculty of Medicine of Bristol University College in October, 1 89 1 .
Now (19 14) practising at Almondsbury, near Bristol.
398
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
In 1900 a large additional room was added, and the difficulty
was overcome.
We have seen that in 1883 one of the Resident Officers was
put in charge of the Pathological work, and that in 1885 a
Demonstrator of Morbid Anatomy was appointed (p. 392).
Dr. Edgeworth was made Honorary Pathologist in 1890 (p. 392),
and on July 9th, 1895, he was succeeded by Dr. Theodore
Fisher.
Meanwhile the constant demand for expert microscopical
examination for the identification of various germs, etc.,
rendered it necessary to establish a Bacteriological Department,
and on August 10th, 1897, Dr. J. Odery Symes (afterwards
Physician to the General Hospital) was elected Honorary
Bacteriologist. He resigned on December 12th, 1899, when
Dr. Stanley Kent, Professor of Physiology at Bristol University,
was appointed.
In 1901 four rooms near the Museum were fitted up and
converted into laboratories for this work. The department was
formally opened on the afternoon of October 25th, 1901, by Sir
Frederick Treves, K.C.V.O., C.B., etc. Tea and coffee were
served in the Board Room to the numerous visitors, medical and
otherwise, who came to the ceremony ; after this Sir Frederick
gave a short but very interesting address in the Museum. He
emphasised the fact that one of the oldest Infirmaries in the
kingdom was one of the first to establish a Bacteriological
Department. 1
The great development of Pathology and kindred sciences
soon made further advances necessary, and in October, 1905,
it was agreed, on the suggestion of the Faculty, that a
" Pathologist, Bacteriologist and Director of the Clinical
Laboratory " should be appointed as a salaried officer. The
fact that the Chair of Pathology at University College was
soon to be advertised made the occasion opportune, as
it was thought that the combination of the two offices might
induce a first-class Pathologist to apply. This prediction was
justified, and when the vacancies were advertised there
were six applicants, all of whom were well qualified for the
posts.
On January 23rd, 1906, Dr. I. Walker Hall, of the Victoria
University, Manchester, was unanimously chosen by the
Committee.
1 This was a busy day for Sir Frederick Treves. After he left the Infirmary
he distributed the prizes to medical students at University College and gave
another address. He was a guest at the Annual Medical Dinner in the
evening, and just before midnight some of us had the pleasure of meeting
him at Dr. Markham Skerritt's.
399
A HISTORY OF THE
On April ioth, 1906, Dr. J. J. S. Lucas1 was appointed
Demonstrator in Morbid Anatomy and Assistant Curator of
the Museum, and when the Opsonic treatment came into vogue
in the same year Dr. J. M. H. Munro, 2 of Bath, who was
experienced in the technique of these delicate investigations,
was appointed " Assistant in the Pathological Department for
Opsonic Treatment."
A Nose and Throat Department was established in the
autumn of 1906, and on November 14th of that year Dr.
Patrick Watson-Williams was appointed Physician-in-charge. ■
At first eight beds were given from the ordinary wards for
the In-patients of this department, but two wards were
ultimately made for them in the top story. On January 25th,
1910, the Ear and Throat and Nose Departments were
amalgamated.
In 1900 a suggestion was sent to the Committee by the
Christian Social Union that Provident Dispensaries should be
established by the Infirmary and Hospital ; that ordinary
Out-patients should be attended in these by Dispensary doctors,
and that the Out-patient Departments of the two Medical
Charities should be retained entirely for consultation cases, to
be sent by the Dispensary Medical Officers when necessary.
This was not seriously considered at the time, but the idea
would now (19 14) no doubt meet with some support.
In 1904 many important alterations and improvements were
made, at considerable expense, in the Out-patient Rooms,
greatly to the advantage of the patients. Fresh washing
arrangements, with plentiful supply of hot and cold water, and
sinks, etc., were put in. When these changes were completed
there were six Consulting Rooms in which patients were seen,
and a Dental Operation Room, and greater accommodation was
obtained in the Waiting Rooms.
Now and then inquiries have had to be made concerning
the prescribing of stimulants and expensive drugs to Out-
patients. For instance, on May 12th, 1896, there is the following
somewhat curious entry : the Dispenser reported that " on
the 8th inst. a pint of Brandy (with a few grains of salt)
had been prescribed for an out-patient and dispensed accord-
ingly." On further investigation it was explained " that the
1 Dr. Lucas obtained the Crosby Leonard and Clark Prizes at the Bristol
Royal Infirmary, and a Chemical Scholarship at the Bristol University College.
2 Dr. Munro obtained the Senior Entrance Scholarship at the Bristol
Royal Infirmary.
3 Dr. Watson-Williams was elected Assistant Physician on May Sth, 18S8,
and Physician on March 7th, 1905. He was educated at University College,
Bristol, and was made House Physician at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in
May, 1887.
400
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
circumstance was altogether an exceptional one ; " this might be
called, in the words of Sam Weller, a " self-evident proposition."
Amongst other alterations may be mentioned that in 1896
the old Casualty Room was converted into a Faculty Room,
and the old Dining Room was made into a commodious, light
Casualty Room, with easy access from the Entrance Hall.
In December, 1892, most of the books in the Library were
handed over, on loan, to the Library in the medical wing of
University College.
In January, 1898, the Faculty recommended the purchase
of some X-ray apparatus, and on June 28th of that year
Mr. James Taylor 1 was appointed Honorary Skiagraphist, and
put in charge of this very useful department.
In 1893 the lighting of the wards was still very deficient,
being supplied by one gas jet in each. A few extra burners
were added, but all who have had any experience of night work
at hospitals, especially operations, will realise the immense
improvement which was made in 1901, when electric lighting
was installed over the building. No arrangement of the old-
fashioned gas-burner could be made to compare with the easily-
moved and adaptable electric light.
Before 1897 the wards were of a somewhat dingy colour, but
in that year they were entirely repainted in lighter and more
pleasing tints, the then Secretary, Mr. E. A. Leonard (a well-
known amateur artist), giving valuable help in the selection of
colour, etc.
In 1893 a Laundry was established in connection with the
Infirmary. In 1895 the Secretary estimated that this saved
the Institution " at least £300 a year."
For many years it was the custom for the House Surgeon or
House Physician to give the anaesthetics. As work grew, and
operations increased in number, this was no longer possible,
and on January 12th, 1897, it was decided that an officer, called
the Resident Anaesthetist, should be appointed to give
anaesthetics, to act as House Surgeon to the Ophthalmic
Surgeon, to help with surgical Out-patients, and to assist in
the pathological work of the House.
Mr. William Herbert Cooper z was appointed to this post on
March 9th, 1897.
The study of anaesthetics was gradually becoming a special
branch of medicine, and this was realised by the Faculty and
Committee. It was determined to appoint an Honorary
1 Mr. Taylor entered the Bristol Medical School in 1871.
2 Mr. Cooper, who is now (1914) practising at Staveley, in Westmoreland,
also held the posts of Junior House Physician, Ophthalmic House Surgeon, and
Surgical and Medical Registrar at the Infirmary.
401
26
A HISTORY OF THE
Instructor in Anaesthetics, and on January 28th, 1902, Dr.
Francis Henry Edgeworth 1 was elected to the new post.
On February 9th, 1904, this office was modified, and an
Honorary Anaesthetist was appointed. The first to hold this
title was Mr. E. Mount] oy Pearce, 2 who was appointed on
February 23rd, 1904. He resigned the following September,
when Dr. A. L. Flemming 3 was elected.
It was soon found that this arrangement was insufficient to
deal with the increasing number of anaesthetics given, and on
April nth, 1905, Dr. W. Stuart Vernon Stock* was appointed
Honorary Assistant Anaesthetist, and Dr. Leonard A. Moore 5
was made Honorary Anaesthetist to the Dental Department.
The importance of massage as a means of medical and
surgical treatment has been long recognised at the Infirmary.
In May, 1891, a special massage nurse was appointed, to give
instruction and attend to the patients, and in June, 1907, Dr.
Per Emil Christofferson, • an expert Swedish masseur, was
appointed Honorary Officer in charge of Swedish Exercises and
Massage Department.
We have seen that Mr. Hore, when House Surgeon (1846-56),
published some remarkably good lists of Infirmary cases,
carefully tabulated ; and from time to time such lists have
appeared in the Annual Reports and elsewhere, compiled from
the Case Books. In order to ensure full and accurate reports
and statistics, the Faculty recommended in July, 1905, that two
Registrars should be appointed to supervise and be responsible
for proper note-taking, and to look after the indexing of medical
and surgical reports, etc. On January 2nd, 1906, Dr.
Fortescue-Brickdale 7 was elected Honorary Medical Registrar,.
and Dr. E. H. E. Stack 8 Honorary Surgical Registrar.
1 Dr. Edgeworth, who afterwards became Physician to the Infirmary,
entered the medical department of University College, Bristol, in 1887. (See
Appendix A.)
2 Mr. E. M. Pearce entered University College, Bristol, in 1891.
3 Dr. A. L. Flemming, who entered the medical department at University
College, Bristol, in 1887, ne^ at different times the following posts at the
Infirmary : Junior House Physician, Resident Obstetric Officer, and Surgical
Registrar.
4 Dr. W. S. V. Stock held the posts of Resident Obstetric Officer, Casualty
Officer, and Junior House Surgeon and Anaesthetist before this at the Infirmary.
He entered the medical department of University College, Bristol, in 1892.
6 Dr. Moore entered as a student at Bristol in May, 1895. He formerly
acted as Assistant House Surgeon at the Bristol General Hospital.
• Mr. Christofferson, who is a graduate of the Royal Cent. Gym. Institute
of Stockholm, became a student at University College, Bristol, in 1898.
7 Elected Assistant Physician July 28th, 1908. (See Appendix A.)
8 Elected Assistant Surgeon January 23rd, 1906. (See Appendix A.)
402
J. GREIG SMITH.
Fig. 77.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
In 1894 the old wooden operation table, presented to the
Infirmary by Richard Smith, was replaced by a more up-to-date
metal one. Greig Smith was energetic in bringing about this
and other improvements. The Surgeons were dissatisfied with
the arrangements of the room, and deputed Greig Smith to
explain to the Committee the nature of the alterations they
suggested. The Committee obtained the services of an
experienced hospital architect, Mr. W. H. Thorp, who drew up
plans which were discussed and finally adopted. It is
interesting to note that in these plans and specifications it is
stated that wires were to be inserted " in case electric lighting
should ever be introduced."
Those who served on the Committee and Faculty in those
days must remember the impetuous energy with which Greig
Smith advocated his own ideas of reform, and swept away any
opposition " as well-meant superfluities which would never do." x
The Infirmary Operation Room was foremost in his thoughts
during the last few months of his life. He did not live to see
his cherished projects fulfilled, but died of pneumonia on May
28th, 1897, aged forty-three, after eighteen years' service on the
Honorary Staff. He was elected Assistant House Surgeon on
June 27th, 1876, House Surgeon on August 23rd, 1877, and was
made the first Medical Superintendent on June 25th, 1878.
His biography has been written elsewhere, * but the following
personal reminiscences may be of interest to some who knew
him.
I first saw him when I was a student doing my surgical
" dressing " in 1877. He was then rather thin-featured, with
a clear complexion, and a face that was mobile and full of
expression. He was broad-shouldered, quick and determined
in his movements, and possessed of great muscular strength,
which he occasionally showed at operations by breaking
instruments which he thought were faultily made. I have seen
him on such occasions bend and fling away large artery forceps,
which some of us found it impossible afterwards to straighten.
He did not, however, give one the impression of being
constitutionally strong.
He saw Out-patients with great rapidity, and as he had,
when he first came to Bristol, such a marked Aberdeen accent
that people here could barely understand him, he often found
his work difficult. One of my earliest recollections of him is his
attempts to remove a polypus from a woman's nose, when the
Infirmary work was being carried on in Colston Street. He was
1 See Carlyle's Life of Sterling, chapter on Coleridge.
3 See Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal for June, 1897.
403
A HISTORY OF THE
severely lecturing the unfortunate and struggling patient, telling
her that " he could not fight with her and the polyp at the same
time." She did not understand a word he said, and he left her
in despair and went on with other patients.
He was a great conversationalist, and after our evening meal
at the Infirmary he used to talk by the hour with James Scott
the House Physician, Holland the House pupil, and the Dresser
for the Week. We often got into a hot discussion, but Greig
Smith " talked down " other people's arguments, and would
never allow himself to be beaten ; as Boswell said of Johnson,
" if his pistol missed fire he knocked you down with the
butt end."
In public he was an eloquent speaker, with great command
of language, and the gift of making himself clearly understood ;
his literary and classical knowledge was above the average, and
stamped his language with a good style.
When operating he used all his powers, working hard with
mind and body, often perspiring profusely, and usually
explaining all the time what he was doing.
He was buried on June ist, 1897, at Redland Green, where he
lies under a monumental cross made of his native Aberdeen
granite.
Wnen his death was formally announced at the next
Committee Meeting, on June 8th, it was agreed that the re-
construction of the Operation Room should be carried out as a
fitting memorial to him, and the general public of Bristol were
invited to contribute towards the necessary funds. It was
proposed that part of the money collected should be spent on a
medallion of Greig Smith, which should be fixed on the wall of
the Operation Room, and that his bust should be placed in
some public building.
The chief points insisted on by Greig Smith in the
reconstruction of the room were these : The floor was relaid and
covered with a smooth coating of marble " terrazzo," with all
the angles rounded to prevent accumulation of dust and allow
easy cleansing ; the walls were lined with glazed tiles ; new
basins with hot and cold water supply were fixed, and arrange-
ments for filtering and sterilizing water, etc., were introduced ;
the doors were of polished teak, and were made double, and the
air was admitted through a filtering apparatus.
The bronze medallion, well executed by Mr. John Fisher, was
fixed to the wall, and under it a blackboard was fastened for the
use of those Surgeons who wished to explain operations, etc.,
by diagrams, a method in which Greig Smith, who was a good
artist, excelled.
404
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
This renovated Theatre was opened by Sir William
MacCormac, Bt., then President of the Royal College of
Surgeons, on September 30th, 1898. A large tent was erected
in the Infirmary garden, and in this Sir William gave a most
interesting address on " Operation Rooms, Past and Present,"
to a large audience, narrating in a graphic manner some of his
experiences as an army surgeon in the Franco-Prussian War
of 1870. * Mr. Richardson Cross, who that year was Sheriff
of Bristol, was in the Chair.
The bust of Greig Smith was executed by Mr. Ernest Fabian
in dark-coloured bronze, on a base of green Irish marble, resting
on a pedestal of black marble. It was unveiled on May 5th,
1898, by Mr. Richardson Cross, in the Vestibule of the Bristol
Museum and Library, and is considered a good likeness of the
original. It is now in the Bristol Art Gallery. It was copied
from a death mask, and from photographs which aided the
artist's memory of the deceased.
After paying for the medallion and bust, £280 of the money
collected was left for the Operating Theatre. *
During the last few years of the nineteenth century and the
first decade of the twentieth many important changes took
place on the Committee and Staff, which may here be briefly
alluded to.
Dean Pigou was an active member of the Committee for
many years. He was elected Vice-President, in place of Dean
Elliot, on November 24th, 1891, and resigned on June 20th.
1905.
Surgeon-General Joseph Furlonge Shekleton, M.D., who was
elected Secretary and House Governor on December 13th,
1887, as successor to Colonel Graham, resigned in the year
1895. His business-like, exact methods, together with his
military respect for discipline, his integrity and high sense
of duty, made him a most successful Secretary. He died in
April, 1903.
Mr. Edward Albert Leonard, whose family connections with
the Pages and Crosby Leonard are referred to on page 346,
was elected in Dr. Shekleton's place. He assisted as Secretary
in some important changes and improvements, e.g. the
additions to the Out-patient Department, repainting of the
wards, Greig Smith memorial theatre, Bacteriological and
Skiagraphic Departments, etc. He resigned on May 13th, 1902.
Mr. Richard J. Coles, whose undoubted abilities were much
1 See Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, 1898, vol. xv.
2 About ^500 was collected by a Committee, of which Mr. Paul Bush and
Dr. James Swain were Hon. Secretaries, and Mr. F. B. Girdlestone was
Treasurer. Mr. J. W. Arrowsmith was very energetic in organising the affair.
405
A HISTORY OF THE
appreciated at the Infirmary, was elected Secretary and House
Governor on July 29th, 1902.
He resigned, to the regret of the Committee, on January 10th,
1905, on his appointment to the post of Secretary and
Superintendent of Addenbroke's Hospital, Cambridge.
On his resignation, Mr. W. E. Budgett, who had done
excellent service on the Committee for ten years, and was well
acquainted with the working of the House, consented to act as
Secretary pro tempore. On November 14th, 1905, he was
unanimously elected Secretary and House Governor, and has
held the post since that time, with great advantage to the
Institution.
On February 12th, 1895, Mr. John Rycroft, the Secretary's
clerk, retired after ten years' able service, and was replaced by
Mr. Edmund Gill, who now (1914) holds this post.
Mr. Augustin Prichard, Honorary Consulting Surgeon,
resigned his post as a member of the Committee on August nth,
1896, owing to increasing deafness. His long association with
the Institution, and knowledge of all connected with it, made
him a very valuable addition to the Committee, and his resigna-
tion was much regretted. He died on January 5th, 1898, and
left £300 to the Infirmary, the interest of which was to be given
annually to the first year student who should show the most
satisfactory knowledge of Anatomy, the examination to be held
by the Surgeons of the House.
Mr. Prichard's idea was to encourage the Surgeons as well as
the students in the study of Anatomy. (See Appendix B.)
On September 7th, 1898, the Committee lost one of its most
learned members by the death of the Rev. Samuel W. Wayte,
in his seventy-ninth year. He had served on the Committee
since 1883, a period of fifteen years.
He was a man of great literary and classical attainments,
and his kindly and tolerant disposition, and keen interest in
philanthropic work, made him generally loved and respected.
He was President of Trinity College, Oxford, from 1866 to 1878.
As he was one of the most unassuming of men, his talents were
not so widely recognised as they deserved to be.
Another notable scholar, Mr. John Thompson Exley, died in
September, 1899, in his eighty-fourth year. He had been on the
Committee for twenty-seven years. He left a legacy of £100 to
the Institution.
Mr. Fleetwood H. Pellew resigned on November 26th, 1901,
after sixteen years' valuable and regular service to the Charity ;
and Colonel Hardy, a well-known and much honoured member
of the Committee, died in May, 1903.
406
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
On November 22nd, 1904, the Vice-President, Mr. W. E.
•George, resigned, and Mr. Philip H. Vaughan, well known for
philanthropic work in connection with the Queen Victoria
Convalescent Home and other charities, was elected in his
place.
A deservedly popular member of die Committee, Mr. Visger
Miller, died on March 12th, 1907. Amongst many other useful
acts of his, it may be mentioned that he was Chairman of
the Executive Committee of the Carnival held in 1905 (see
pp. 416-17), and although he characteristically put all the
credit for this successful affair on other shoulders, there is no
doubt that his wise management helped very materially.
Rather more than a passing notice should be taken of the
resignation of Mr. Robert Hall Warren, which took place on
February 27th, 1906, after twenty years' service. During this
long period he was very regular in his attendance, and when it
was decided that a permanent Chairman of Committee should
be appointed, he was unanimously chosen for that office op
April 28th, 1903.
He was an energetic Visitor, took a keen interest in the
welfare of the nurses and patients, and frequently made useful
suggestions in matters of finance and general management.
He died on June 24th, 1912. (See also p. 346.)
The present (1914) Matron, Miss A. B. Baillie, was elected
(from forty-three candidates) on February 8th, 1898.
Sir Charles Cave, who was elected President and Treasurer
on March 23rd, 1880, wrote to the Committee in September,
1902, expressing his wish to retire. This announcement caused
great regret. Sir Charles had rilled the post with so much
ability and tact that he was urgently requested to hold office
longer, and he consented to do this until arrangements could be
made for appointing his successor. It was not until May 5th,
1904, that his resignation came formally before the Board of
Governors.
During the twenty-four years of his Presidency he had
successfully guided the Infirmary through many and notable
changes, and his appointment and resignation must be
considered as important landmarks in the history of the
Institution. The resolution read by the Secretary expresses the
feeling of the Governors : " The Board of Governors accept
Sir Charles Cave's resignation with profound regret, and
unanimously desire to place on record their appreciation of
the signal services which he has rendered for nearly twenty-five
years, and of the unfailing courtesy and patience which have
endeared him to all his colleagues."
407
A HISTORY OF THE
As we shall see directly, the financial position of the Infirmary
at Sir Charles Cave's resignation was very serious, and the
Sub-Committee appointed to consider the question of the
Presidency approached Mr. George White in the hope that he
would accept this post of honour and difficulty. This he could
not at first accede to, but on April 26th, 1904, Sir Charles Cave
wrote to the Committee that Mr. G. White had expressed his
willingness to accept the post, a statement that was received
with general expressions of satisfaction. Mr. George White was
created a Baronet shortly after his election as President and
Treasurer on May 5th, 1904.
Mr. R. H. Warren, in congratulating the Board on " having
secured the services of a gentleman so eminently qualified for
the position," said " his name was a synonym in that city for
energy, application, business capacity and success, and — he
must also add — for generosity. They were exceedingly
fortunate in getting him for their new President."
Mr. Frederick J. Kilner, who had previously acted as
Assistant Dispenser, was made Chief Dispenser, in place of Mr.
Dixon, on May 25th, 1878. He resigned in the autumn of 1899,
after twenty-five years' work at the Infirmary. x He was
replaced on November 28th, 1899, by Mr. A. L. Taylor, from the
East Dulwich Hospital, formerly Assistant Dispenser at St.
Bartholomew's.
The following deaths of Infirmary students and of young
qualified men formerly connected with the Institution may
here be recorded.
Walter Alfred ap Prys, of Bridgend, Glamorgan, died on
December 15th, 1892, of blood poisoning contracted whilst
acting as Dresser for the Week. He was twenty-four years
of age, bright, intelligent, and of considerable promise. A brass
tablet was erected to his memory in the Infirmary Chapel.
Another memorial tablet on the same walls commemorates
the death of Surgeon -Major J. E. Trask, A. M.S., formerly
student at the Infirmary, who died of cholera whilst on active
service at Kosheh, on the Nile, on July 25th, 1896, aged
thirty-four.
Surgeon-Major John Fenton Evans, who had distinguished
himself at the Medical College at Calcutta, where he was
Professor of Pathology, died of plague contracted during his
investigations of that disease on March 13th, 1899, aged forty-
three. Dr. Evans, after acting for two years as Tutor at the
Medical Department of Bristol University College, was elected
House Physician at the Infirmary on March 13th, 1883, and
1 F. J. Kilner's portrait is in the group of Infirmary officials in Fig. 72.
408
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
House Surgeon on October 28th, 1884. He resigned the latter
post on entering the Indian Army Medical Service in 1886.
His colleagues at Calcutta put up two brass tablets to his
memory, one in the Medical College, Calcutta, the other in the
Infirmary Chapel at Bristol.
Dr. Evans's excellent work at the Medical School and
Infirmary will long be remembered by those associated with
him. He was short in stature, with light hair, and a prominent
aquiline nose ; a strict disciplinarian, careful and thorough in
all he undertook ; a good anatomist and pathologist ; and a
man of integrity and honour.
Lieutenant Guy Harle Irvine, of the Army Medical
Department, a former student at the Infirmary, was killed on
March 31st, 1900, whilst attending to the wounded in an action
at Sannas Post, Africa.
According to eye-witnesses he showed great gallantry,
exposing himself more than once freely to the enemy's fire in
his endeavours to save English soldiers.
A tablet was erected to his memory in the Infirmary Chapel
by the Honorary and Resident Staff.
409
CHAPTER XXXI
CHANGES IN CHAPLAINCY — APPOINTMENT OF CASUALTY OFFICER
— OUT-PATIENT ABUSE — QUEEN VICTORIA CONVALESCENT HOME
— LUNCHEONS FOR STUDENTS — PRINCESS CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL
— NURSES' HOME — LEGACIES AND DONATIONS — SERIOUS
FINANCIAL POSITION — CARNIVAL OF I905 — SIR GEORGE
WHITE, BT., AND THE COLLECTION OF I906 — CONCLUSION
1 have mentioned (p. 326) that on November 24th, 1885, the
Rev. Fairfax Goodall was elected Chaplain. His health became
seriously impaired in the spring of 1900, and his duties at the
Infirmary were undertaken by the Rev. E. F. Neep, of St.
James's Church, until Mr. Goodall's resignation on May 22nd of
that year. He died somewhat suddenly on January 26th, 1902.
On June 26th, 1900, the Rev. Odiarne W. D. Lane was
appointed Chaplain. He resigned on April 9th, 1901, and on
June 25th the Rev. F. A. D. Williams was appointed. He
continued in office until 1906. On his resignation the Rev.
George Beilby, of Haselbury-Plucknett, Crewkerne, was elected.
Mr. Beilby's tenure of office terminated in January, 1908,
when an arrangement was made whereby Mr. Neep undertook
to supply a curate for the Chaplain's work at the Infirmary.
Mr. Beilby was very popular with the patients, residents and
officials, and he was a great favourite too with the Honorary
Staff. It was written of him by an Infirmary man, " His tact
and genial manner have won him the friendship of all whom he
has come across." 1
At the end of 1909 the Clergy of St. James's retired from
officiating as Chaplains, and on February 8th, 1910, the Rev.
Charles W. Fowler was appointed. He resigned the post in
the same year, the Rev. G. W. Pitt, from the clergy of St.
George, Brandon Hill, then undertaking the duties, and at the
beginning of 1913 the Rev. P. W. Bischoff was appointed
chaplain.
In the early days of the Infirmary the Apothecary, and the
apprentices under him, attended to the casualties. When the
Dresser for the Week was appointed, it was his duty to give
"' first aid " to all casualties and emergencies, on the strict
understanding that he should at once summon the House
Surgeon if the case presented any difficulty or was of a serious
nature. This plan worked well for many years, and considering
1 The Stethoscope, vol. xi., pp. 12-13.
410
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the enormous number of accidents brought to the Institution,
there were very few complaints of any kind.
In August, 1896, x a cabman, who had been seen by the
Dresser for the Week, died at his house a few days afterwards.
He was attended by a medical man at his home, but the case
was one of unusual difficulty, and the nature of his complaint
was not diagnosed until he was dead. After a careful inquiry
into all the circumstances of the affair, no blame could be
attached to the Dresser for the Week, but the unfortunate
occurrence opened the question whether it would not be wiser
for all casualties to be seen by a fully-qualified medical man.
This led the Faculty, on January 12th, 1897, to recommend the
appointment of a Resident Casualty Officer, whose duties should
be to see all casualties and emergencies ; to give Dental
Anaesthetics ; to help in the Out-patient Rooms ; and to
attend to the minor casualties which came to be dressed in the
Out-patient Department at 9 a.m., and were called by the
Residents " the Early Dawns." The Committee agreed to this
arrangement, and on February 23rd, 1897, Mr. Thomas Wm.
Widger Bovey was appointed Resident Casualty Officer. *
" Can this patient afford to pay a doctor ? If so, ought he
to attend as an Out-patient ? " These difficult questions have,
from time to time, come to the front at almost every hospital,
and in the years 1895 and 1896 were much discussed, especially
at Bristol. On December 3rd, 1896, the Honorary Staffs of the
chief Medical Charities in the city met a special Committee
appointed by the local branch of the British Medical Association
to consider the matter.
A Committee was formed, of which Dr. Bertram Rogers
was the Hon. Secretary, and it was determined to ask the
Medical Charities of Bristol to continue to pay one or more
salaried officers to examine the financial position of patients,
and report on the matter.
This proposition came before the Committee of the Infirmary
on December 22nd, 1896, and on March 23rd, 1897, the
Committees of the Infirmary and Hospital decided to appoint
Inquiry Officers. These gave in their report a year afterwards,
on March 8th, 1898, to the effect that a considerable amount of
abuse existed.
The Faculty of the Infirmary entered a protest against
attending " cases of obvious abuse such as those shown to exist
in the report of the Inquiry Officer," but no practical solution
1 Eight thousand casualties were seen at the Infirmary this year.
* Mr. Bovey held the posts, at different times, of Resident Anaesthetist,
Junior House Surgeon, and Medical and Surgical Registrar at the Infirmary.
He received his medical education at University College, Bristol.
4II
A HISTORY OF THE
of the difficulty was forthcoming. The result, however, of the
investigation was that increased care was taken, and the abuse
was slightly lessened.
As before stated (p. 327), the experiment of setting apart a
ward for convalescent patients was tried in i860, with only
limited success. Arrangements were afterwards made for
sending such patients to homes at Weston-super-Mare and
Clevedon, etc., and in May, 1892, Mrs. Armitage opened the
Oldland Rest Home, at 1 Beaconsfield Road, Clifton, for
female convalescents, and placed four beds at the disposal of
the Infirmary free of charge. This generous provision was
thankfully utilised.
At the close of 1896 a proposal was on foot to find some
means of celebrating in a suitable manner the sixtieth year of
the reign of Queen Victoria. Meetings were held, and an
influential Committee was organised by the Mayor. A Sub-
Committee was then appointed to confer with representatives
of the Infirmary and Hospital, and as a result of these conjoint
deliberations it was decided to suggest to the Mayor's
Committee that the best memorial for Her Majesty's beneficent
reign would be the foundation of a Convalescent Home in
connection with the two chief Medical Charities of Bristol. It
was thought that a sum of £40,000 would be required for this
project.
The history of the establishment of this excellent Queen
Victoria Convalescent Home, and the generous gifts and
exertions of many prominent citizens, need not be narrated here.
The fine buildings and grounds were purchased in 1898, and
the Home has been, since its foundation, of the greatest advan-
tage to the many Infirmary patients who need good air and food
and pleasant surroundings to expedite their convalescence.
On July nth, 1899, the Faculty recommended that in future
it would be wise to allow students to attend at either the
Infirmary or Hospital for their clinical studies ; that is, that a
student might enter at the Infirmary for surgical work, at the
General Hospital for medical work, and so on. This was agreed
to, and from that time students have entered at the University
College (and University), and either attended their whole
Hospital curriculum at one Institution or divided it between
the two, as they chose.
This necessitated some difficult manipulations of the various
Prizes and Scholarships, several of which were, according to the
expressed statements in the wills of the founders, to be given
only to students of one or other of the two Medical Charities.
The plan has, however, been successfully carried out.
412
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
A practical difficulty in connection with the work of medical
students in Bristol has been the midday meal. A morning
at the University, followed by several hours' work in the Out-
patient Room or in the wards, leaves little time for lunch,
especially if this means a journey to some eating-house. In
the seventies and eighties the plan was to go to a neigh-
bouring tavern and get some bread and cheese or a bun, and a
glass of beer. Consequently the medical student of those days
often acquired a knowledge of public houses which was, like
Sam Weller's, " extensive and peculiar."
In September, 1895, the Committee decided to provide
luncheons for Infirmary pupils at a small charge ; a plate of
cold meat, with bread and pickles, and a small bottle of ale or
lemonade, etc., could be obtained for a few pence, and was at
first a very popular arrangement ; but after a year or two
complaints were made that the meat was not done or was
overdone, that it was cut too thick, that the bread was stale,
etc., etc. In fact, these luncheons were not liked, and when a
meal (or a man, for that matter) becomes unpopular with
students, nothing will restore it — or him — to favour. The
luncheons were ultimately discontinued. They have now (1914)
been revived at the Infirmary, and have been established at the
General Hospital.
Towards the end of the year 1899 Mr. Alfred Mosely under-
took to equip a field hospital for the South African War, to be
called after H.R.H. Princess Christian. Mr. J. Paul Bush was
appointed Surgeon-in-charge, and took with him Mr. A. L.
Flemming, Mr. Mountjoy Pearce, and Mr. A. B. Cridland as
Assistant Surgeons. Sister Fisher also went, the Committee
readily agreeing with these airangements.
A complimentary dinner was given to Mr. Mosely and the
Staff of the Princess Christian Hospital at the Clifton Spa, on
Saturday, February 17th, 1900, at which function I had the
honour to preside. The menu on this occasion had on it a
drawing entitled " The two Pauls," depicting Mr. Paul Bush,
holding in his hand a fearful-looking surgical instrument, hotly
pursuing Paul Kruger.
The hospital contingent had an enthusiastic " send off "
from Bristol Station on February 24th. They returned, safe
and sound, in September, 1900.
This contribution of the Bristol Royal Infirmary to the war
must be ranked as one of the most important, and was of great
service. For his work in connection with it Mr. Bush received
the distinction of C.M.G.
We have seen (pp. 388 and 391) that in 1886 a residential
413
A HISTORY OF THE
Home was established for Infirmary nurses. In the autumn
of 1904 this was greatly extended by the purchase of a large
neighbouring house and adjacent property, and the Home was
made capable of housing the whole of the nursing staff. 1
On December ioth, 1908, a large house in Berkeley Square
was opened by Her Grace the Duchess of Beaufort as a
Preliminary Training School for Nurses before their actual work
in the wards. The rooms were fitted up with diagrams, models,
and every furtherance for practical instruction. This institu-
tion, the only one of the kind in the provinces, was initiated
by the Matron, Miss Baillie. It has proved a great success.
The Duchess of Beaufort has also interested herself in what
is known as the Ladies' Needlework Guild. Under her
management and that of Lady White this has proved a most
useful adjunct to the Infirmary. For several years the whole of
the linen required for the Institution has been supplied by the
members of the Guild. The exhibition of the various articles
made or given by these charitable ladies is one of the most
interesting annual functions connected with the Infirmary.
During the last twenty-five years many important legacies
have been left to the Institution, amongst which may be
mentioned a bequest of £1,000 from Miss Hopper in 1890, and a
similar amount from Mrs. R. L. Nash in 1891 ; £2,000 from the
will of Mr. Richard Vaughan in 1893, and about the same
amount from his residuary estate ; £1,000 from Mr. Samuel
Jones, and another £1,000 from an anonymous donor in 1895.
On September 22nd, 1896, a letter was received by the
Committee from Miss Mary Cannington, stating that she had
left in her will £10,000 to the Infirmary, but had altered her
arrangements so that the Institution might have the advantage
of this money during her lifetime. Her wishes were that this
gift should be used for the endowment of a ward, to be called
after her late uncle, Mr. James Palmer. Miss Cannington chose
No. 6 (medical) ward for this special endowment, and a brass
plate recording this was fixed on the walls.
Another handsome legacy, under the will of Miss Martha
Daubeny, became due on the death of Mr. Edward Sampson on
October 13th, 1897. This consisted of the residuary estate of
£17,960, which was, however, reduced by death duties to
£16,151-
In 1899 Sir George Edwards and Mr. Philip H. Vaughan gave
donations of £1,000 each ; in 1901 Mr. W. Butler left £1,000,
1 The house bought was called Beaufort House, and the surrounding
property consisted of two shops and a mason's yard in Maudlin Street and some
cottages in Green's Court ; some land adjoining Alfred Hill was also purchased,
and direct access to the Home from the hill was made possible.
414
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and in 1900-1 the Institution received £4,219 from a legacy
of Mr. Worsley.
In March, 1903, Mr. B. de Quincey gave £1,000 for the
endowment of a Child's Cot in memory of Mary Frances de
Quincey, and in December, 1904, £2,000 for the endowment of a
bed came from Miss Camilla Kirby. This money had been left
to the Infirmary in the will of Miss M. A. Kirby, to be paid on
the death of her sister, but Miss Camilla Kirby waived her life
interest in the sum.
Many legacies and gifts have come from grateful patients,
a few of which may be here mentioned.
On December 10th, 190 1, the Secretary notified a legacy of
twenty pounds from George Jenkins, a farm labourer. This
formed a large proportion of his worldly goods, and shows in a
marked manner his thankfulness to the Institution where he
had been tended and nursed.
On December 22nd, 1903, a communication was received
from the Vicar of Fishponds, to the effect that a woman living
in that place, seventy years of age, was anxious that the sum
of £50 (nearly all she possessed) should be given to the Infirmary,
provided she should receive a small interest on the money during
the remainder of her life. She firmly refused to receive more
than 2 per cent.
On the same date the Matron reported that " Lady Howard
had sent her all the money her deceased little boy (who had been
nursed by one of the Bristol Royal Infirmary nurses) possessed,
viz. £12, for the benefit of the Children's Ward, as she felt sure
such would have been his wish."
In October, 1904, Miss Elizabeth Binsin, lately an In-patient,
left £142 to the Infirmary, in gratitude for the kindness and skill
she had received in the wards.
Such gifts as the above are very encouraging, and lighten
the labour of all those who work for the patients more than is
sometimes thought.
Amongst other sources of income may be noted : In 1899
£105 was sent by Mr. Chute, Lessee of the Prince's Theatre, being
part proceeds of the Bristol Theatrical and Music Hall Sports ;
in 1893 £790 was received from the Fine Arts Exhibition.
In 1897 the Mayor's Hospital Sunday Fund was started on
behalf of the four principal medical charities of Bristol, the
Infirmary's proportion being 43^ per cent, of the collection,
and in 1898 they received the sum of £436, being the first
payment.
In spite, however, of these donations, legacies, and other
furtherances, the annual income fell short of the expenditure
4i5
A HISTORY OF THE
year after year, and at the end of 1900 more than £7,000 was
due to the Treasurer. This debt increased rapidly, so that by
Christmas, 1903, more than £15,000 was owing.
Sir Charles Cave, who had resigned in the autumn of 1902,
but had consented to continue in office until his successor
should be appointed, * wrote to the Chairman of Committee in
February, 1904, pointing out very forcibly this serious state of
affairs, and recommending either that five or six wards should
be at once closed, and sufficient capital sold to pay off the debt,
or that the Chief Magistrate of Bristol should be asked to
convene a meeting and inform the inhabitants of the city that
unless the sum of £30,000 could be raised it would be
impossible to carry out the work of the Infirmary efficiently.
The latter course was decided on, and a Committee was
appointed to organise a special appeal.
When, at this critical time, Mr. George White was elected
President and Treasurer (on May 5th, 1904), there was a debt
on the Institution of £15,552.
He had, further, to face the facts that the annual subscrip-
tions were quite inadequate, that the work in the wards and
Out-patient Department was steadily increasing, and that in
many respects the House was old-fashioned in its construction,
and was, especially on the surgical side, by no means up to date.
How the new President, backed up by the Committee,
grappled with these difficulties, must now be briefly narrated
as a fitting conclusion to this history.
Very soon after he took the reins of office into his hands the
Committee had the pleasure of congratulating Sir George on
the honour of a Baronetcy which the King had conferred upon
him, and these congratulations came with equal heartiness from
the Honorary Staff, the Residents and the nurses.
One of the first and most striking results of the fresh life
and energy which followed the election of the new President
was the rapid increase in that most essential of all forms of
income to such a Charity, viz. that received from Annual
Subscribers. When he came into office there were 1,272 of
these, whereas at the close of the year 1913 there were no less
than 3,771, bringing in a yearly income of £7,272. 2
As a means of raising money, and advertising the needs of
the Institution, it was decided that a Carnival, organised on a
large scale, should be held at the Zoological Gardens at Clifton.
An Executive Committee was formed, of which Mr. Visger
1 See p. 407.
2 The number of In-patients treated at the Infirmary in 1913 was 5,500 ;
ten years before this it was 3,480. The average number of beds occupied in
1904 was 213, in 1913 it was 297.
416
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Miller was Chairman (p. 407), and extensive arrangements were
made, including an Art Union Drawing for £1,000 worth of
pictures, presented by Mr. Samuel White, special motor trips,
entertainments by well-known comedians (such as Wilkie Bard
and Miss Louie Freear), acrobats, coon-singers, grotesque
artists, and a hundred other popular amusements.
The Carnival was held from June 26th to July 1st (inclusive),
1905. The weather was bright and sunny with the exception
of showers on the last two days, and the whole affair was so
successful that the profits amounted to £4,023 ; Mr. Samuel
White added to this £4,015, making a total of £8,038, and Sir
George White gave the necessary surplus to wipe off the debt
of £i5.552 (that is £7,514).
When this satisfactory result was declared at the next
Committee Meeting on July nth, 1905, and it was at length
known that the long-standing incubus of debt was removed, a
vote of thanks, expressing great depth of gratitude, was voted
to the President and his brother, and it was unanimously
agreed that one of the wards should in future be called the
" Samuel White Ward."
The clearing away of the debt was, however, only a part of
the task before the President and Committee. It was realised
that much alteration was necessary, as stated before, to meet
the requirements of a modern scientifically constructed hospital,
and it was decided to issue an urgent appeal to the citizens of
Bristol for a £50,000 fund.
An auspicious beginning was made at once, for at the above
Committee Meeting, on July nth, a telegram was received from
Sir George White, who was at Newquay, to the effect that Mr.
Philip Henry Vaughan had announced his intention of
subscribing £5,000 to this fund. This generous gift, added to
the sum realised at the Carnival, made a total of £20,000, raised
in the short space of two weeks.
The next thing was the organisation of a large public
meeting, at which a statement of the financial needs of the
Infirmary might be made, with a strong appeal for help. The
history of the past has shown that such appeals have always
been successful. The meeting took place at the Merchants'
Hall on Thursday, January 4th, 1906.
His Grace the Duke of Beaufort was in the Chair. Amongst
the speakers (besides the Duke of Beaufort) were Sir George
White, Bt., the Lord Mayor of Bristol, the Right Hon. Lewis Fry,
Sir Charles Cave, Bt., the Sheriff, and the Presidents of the
General Hospital and Children's Hospital.
In addition to the £5,000 given by Mr. P. H. Vaughan, the
4X7
27
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
following promised £1,000 each, viz. : Sir W. H. Wills, Bt.,
Sir Frederick Wills, Bt., M.P., Lady Smyth, Sir J. Clifton
Robinson, Messrs. Francis J. Fry, J. Storrs Fry, H. O. Wills,
and a donor who contributed under the pseudonym of "Caspar."
The Honorary Staff gave £500.
At the close of the meeting Sir George White announced,
amidst great enthusiasm, that the total promised so far
amounted to no less than £38,132 2s.
At a meeting of the Committee held on January 23rd, 1906,
nineteen days after the public meeting, it was stated by the
Treasurer that £3,000 more had been subscribed, bringing the
total to £41,132.
In March a general canvass of the city was arranged, and
before the year was out (on November 27th, 1906) Sir George
White announced that his brother, Mr. Samuel White, desired
to contribute what balance was necessary to complete the
£50,000 fund ; the donor wished this gift to be in memory of
his mother, Mrs. Eliza White, who had recently died. In the
very hearty vote of thanks which followed, it was unanimously
resolved to ask Mr. Samuel White to " select one of the women's
wards which should be named the ' Eliza White Ward ' in
memory of his late lamented mother."
The fund was therefore completed in less than eleven
months after the meeting on January 4th.
Many appeals have been made to the Bristol public on
behalf of their oldest Medical Charity, the most memorable
being the collections in 1797, 1854, and 1881, each of which
realised some £10,000.
The one in 1906, which owed its phenomenal success chiefly
to the energy and liberality of a few men, exceeded all previous
efforts.
There is no doubt that the chief credit of this must be given
to Sir George White, and with the above brief outline of this
instance of public-spirited generosity and skilful organisation
this history must close.
Of the erection of the magnificent new Surgical Wing,
which was opened by Their Majesties King George and Queen
Mary on June 28th, 1912, and of the many extensions of the
last few years, the present writer must be silent. He leaves all
this to be recorded by some future historian, with the firm
conviction that Bristolians will support the recent additions to
their great Medical Charity with as much pride and zeal as they
have bestowed during the last hundred and seventy-eight years
on the older portions of the time-honoured Bristol Royal
Infirmary.
418
APPENDIX A
INFIRMARY ELECTIONS
It is proposed in this section to give an account of the elections of
the Honorary Medical Officers at the Infirmary. The details have
been obtained from Bristol newspapers, Richard Smith's MS.,
and from the Minute Books of the Board and Committee. I have
briefly described one or two of the first elections of other than those
of the Medical Staff as illustrating the old methods of procedure.
At the first General Meeting of Subscribers to the Infirmary,
held at the Guildhall on December 23rd, 1736, with Dean Creswick
in the Chair, it was decided that the management of the Institution
should be in the hands of Trustees, and that " all Persons sub-
scribing two Guineas per annum shall be Trustees so long as they
continue payment," and that all contributing " twenty guineas at
one payment shall be Trustees during life."
At the first " Board of Trustees," held on January 7th, 1736-7,
when the Dean was again in the Chair, it was agreed " That all
Gentlemen now Present be of the Committee, and all other Trustees
who come to have Votes."
The principle was therefore established that the Trustees were
the elective body, and for many years all the officials were elected
by them.
For the dispatch of business it was decided to hold weekly
Committee Meetings of Trustees, and these could recommend or
nominate candidates. For instance, at a Weekly Committee held
at Mrs. Barry's Coffee House on March 18th, 1736-7, it was
" thought proper to recommend Mrs. Fancourt, Widdow of the
late Lyon Fancourt as a Person throughly Qualified " for the post
of Matron, and at a Committee held on March 25th, 1737, it was
" agreed that Mr. Nathaniel Rumsey be recommended to the
General Board as a proper Person to serve the Society as an
Apothecary to the Infirmary." These two, the Matron and the
Apothecary, were the first officials nominated.
The first election was that of John Elbridge (or Ellbridge) as
Treasurer. This took place at "a General Meeting of the
Gentlemen Subscribers at the Surgeons' Hall, Dean Creswick in
the Chair," on February 4th, 1736-7. The choice appears to
have been unanimous. The entry in the Minute Book runs : " Mr.
John Ellbridge, being present accepted of the Office of Treasurer."
The first Medical Officers were elected at a General Meeting of
Subscribers at the Surgeons' Hall on May 20th, 1737.
It was decided that the Honorary Medical Staff should consist
of four Physicians and two Surgeons, and it was further agreed
that they should retire during the voting.
419
A HISTORY OF THE
The result of the ballot was as follows : —
Dr. John Bonython . . . . 36 votes.
Dr. William Logan 32
Dr. Hardwicke 1 —
Dr. Middleton J —
Two Surgeons were then appointed, viz. : —
Mr. William Thornhill . . . . 36 votes.
Mr. Thomas Page 30 ,,
" The question being moved that an Apothecary be appointed
for the Infirmary Mr. Rumsey was chose by 27 Votes."
Mr. Morgan Smith acted as Secretary during the first year, but
how or when he was elected does not appear.
At the Monthly Meeting of Trustees held on June 3rd, 1737,
Dr. Middleton declined to serve as Physician, and Dr. Etwall was
elected in his stead.
At a General Meeting of Subscribers held at the Surgeons' Hall
on October 7th, 1737, Mrs. Ann Hughes was elected Matron at a
salary of fifteen pounds a year. There were other candidates, but
there is no record of how the votes were taken. Subsequently the
election of Matron took place at the Guildhall, and was a keenly-
contested event, often the cause of much heat and jealousy.
The first Treasurer, John Elbridge, died on February 22nd,
1738-9, and on March 2nd John Andrews was appointed in his
place. The entry in the Minute Book reads : " Agreed that Mr.
John Andrews be treasurer to this Society and that Mr. Josh. Beck,
Mr. Abel Grant and Mr. Chas. Scandrett, be desired to acquaint
him of it."
After the first election of Honorary Medical Officers, there was
no vacancy until the death of Thomas Page on May 5th, 1741, and
on June 5th of that year John Page, his son, was elected Surgeon
at a Quarterly Meeting of Subscribers. The election was by
ballot, and there were three other candidates, viz. John Deverell,
Abraham Ludlow, and James Ford. There is no record of the
voting. (This Abraham Ludlow must not be confounded with his
son, Abraham Ludlow, jun., who was elected Surgeon in 1767.)
On June 3rd, 1743, it was decided at a General Meeting of
Subscribers, " it is the opinion of this Board that it will be for the
Interest of the Society, to increase the number of Surgeons on
opening the New Ward — by adding one only. Agreed that the
Society proceed to the choice of a Surgeon Monday Se'night and
that the Apothry send out General Summons accordingly."
Ten days later, on June 13th, 1743, James Ford was unanimously
chosen Surgeon, "Mr. Wathen2 having declined." There was
therefore no ballot on this occasion, and it will be seen that only
ten days' notice of the vacancy was given to would-be candidates.
1 Number of votes not decipherable.
2 " A Practitioner of good reputation at the Hotwells, where he died a
few years afterwards." — R.S.
420
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Dr. Etwall, one of the first four Physicians appointed, resigned
in 1743, but no attempt was made to fill up the vacancy until
a Quarterly Meeting of Subscribers on December 1st, 1747. Dr.
Hardwicke died on September 1st of this year, and it was proposed
at the meeting " that it would be for the Interest of this Society
to add two more Physicians to the present number." We now get
a glimpse at the method of voting. " The question was put
whether the motion made by Dr. Bonython for two Physicians to
be chosen at another meeting be now put or not. Those that were
for it divided to the right hand of the Chair, and those against it to
the left. It was carried in the affirmative. The motion being
then put it was likewise carried in the affirmative."
The question was much discussed by the general public, many
people being anxious to avoid a contested election. A correspondent
to the Bristol Oracle for November 28th, 1747, in a letter addressed
" to the Gentlemen of the Infirmary," wrote that in his opinion
there were three ways out of the difficulty : (1) to leave matters
alone, and let the remaining two Physicians continue to do all the
work ; (2) that two new Physicians should be chosen, " as to the
Seniority of Standing in the City ; " or (3) " let every Physician
(which I think at present are eight) be a Physician to the Infirmary
if he thinks fit."
The election, which took place on December 15th, 1747, at the
" Taylors' Hall, Mr. Alderman Coombe in the Chair," was interest-
ing chiefly because the important question arose : Ought two to be
elected together from amongst the candidates, or should one be
chosen first and then a second one .by a separate vote ?
There were three applicants, Francis Randolph, Archibald
Drummond, and William Cadogan, all well known and of
acknowledged ability.
The plan was for the voters to write the name of the candidate
for whom they wished to vote (or the two candidates, as the case
might be) on a slip of paper and place it in a hat. One hundred
and eighty Trustees were present.
It was at first decided that each should write down the name
of two candidates. Dr. Randolph was thought to be the favourite,
as the interests of Drs. Drummond and Cadogan clashed, and it
was predicted that Randolph would " walk over the course " and
the only struggle would be for second place.
However, Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, one of the Trustees,
proposed that " as two Physicians were to be chosen out of the
Candidates they should proceed to the Choice of one Physician
first, and then out of the remaining Candidates chuse one more."
This was agreed to, and " they then proceeded to the choice of
one Physician by Ballot, and upon casting up the Votes the
numbers were
For Dr. Drummond 98 votes.
,, Dr. Randolph 75
,, Cadogan 7 „
421
A HISTORY OF THE
They then proceeded to the Choice of a Second Physician by
Ballot and upon casting up the Votes the numbers were
For Dr. Cadogan 87 votes.
„ Dr. Randolph 84
Whereupon Dr. Drummond and Dr. Cadogan were declared duly
Elected."
There is very little doubt that if the candidates had not been
voted for separately Randolph and Drummond would have been
elected, and that Mr. Burroughs' astuteness procured the return
of the two applicants he favoured.
In this and the early elections the candidates withdrew during
the counting of the votes, and the result was announced to them
by a small deputation.
After William Thornhill had been Surgeon to the Institution for
some fifteen years he became very irregular in his attendance, and
was more than once spoken to by the Visitors. This, and the
affair of taking a fee for his services to an Infirmary patient (see
p. 70) caused him, on the advice of his friends, to give notice in
October, 1754, that he intended to resign in the following June.
This soon became known, and an energetic canvass at once began
for the expected vacancy. The candidates were John Castelman,
Jerome Norman, John Townsend, Thomas Hellier, James Grace,
and William Barrett, the Bristol historian.
" The ferment," says Richard Smith, " continued for two
months and from the spilling of ink the candidates and their friends
came to the spilling of blood, until at last the nuisance became so
intolerable that the subscribers proceeded to an election and
absolutely forced him (Thornhill) from his seat in November, 1
1754- "
The Weekly Committee at this time consisted of any
Trustees who chose to attend. The most constant members were
some of the Physicians and Surgeons and a few other Trustees, and
the Honorary Staff usually formed the majority, and had therefore
a great deal of power, frequently advising delay, etc., in filling up
vacancies. On this occasion Drs. Bonython, Logan, and
Drummond, and the Surgeons Page and Ford, together with three
or four others, formed a party, and at first tried to prevent any
election ; but finding public opinion too strong for them, they
decided to support either Castelman or Townsend, both of whom
had been educated at the Infirmary ; they opposed Jerome
Norman, who had not been a pupil at the House.
This party, which fought strenuously for its objects, was the
subject of many freely-expressed opinions in the daily papers and
became known as the little Committee, the word " little " being
always printed in very small type.
One of the most scurrilous and personal of " newspaper wars "
waged for weeks ; there were twenty-seven letters and addresses in
the local press in one month, besides a pamphlet in which many of
1 This should be December.
422
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
these were published together. The Infirmary was called
" Elbridge's Butchery," and the Surgeons " Elbridge's Butchers."
They were accused of " filling the Streets with wooden legs ; " it
was said that " the number of mutilated objects gave reason to
believe that there had been sometimes too hasty an application of
the knife," and that it " was like dragging a Bear to the Stake to
persuade a poor object to embrace the Benefit of the Charity," etc.
In fact, the usual accusations and innuendoes against medical
charities, many of which have survived to the present day, were
scattered broadcast.
A meeting of Subscribers was held on December 3rd, 1754, at
which Mr. Buckler Weeks presided. The account in the Minute
Book gives no record of one of the chief points of discussion, viz.
how many Surgeons should be elected. But in the introduction
to a pamphlet called " The Infirmary Contest," published in
January, 1755, it is reported that at this meeting " upon the
question whether one or more Surgeons should be chosen a very
large majority of the Gentlemen present divided for the greater
number ; whereupon all order and Decency were violated, the
scene became tumultuous, and the Gentleman in the Chair thought
proper to withdraw without determining any Thing."
Another General Meeting was called for December 20th, 1754,
at the " Merchant Taylors Hall, Abraham Isaac Elton Esq. in
the Chair." The notes on this meeting in the Minute Book are
very brief, but from the above-mentioned pamphlet and from
Richard Smith's MS. it appears that it was first decided to
ascertain, by vote, the opinion of the Trustees present on the
number of Surgeons who should be elected. The result was : —
No Surgeon at all 1 vote.
One Surgeon 12 votes.
Two Surgeons 60
Three ,, 139
Four ,, 2 ,,
A second ballot was then taken for the selection of three
Surgeons, and the votes were : —
Mr. Castelman 157 votes.
Norman 145
Townsend 145
Hellier 62
Barrett 59
Grace 28
The first three on the list were declared duly elected, " which,"
says the writer of this old pamphlet, " put a Period to the
Business." But it by no means put an end to the ill-feelings
engendered by the contest, which took many months to simmer
down. There were now six Surgeons at the Infirmary and only
four Physicians, and as the Medical — or " Physical " — patients
423
A HISTORY OF THE
were about equal in number to the Surgical, the position was
peculiar.
Amongst the side-issues which arose in this election was the
question : Who wrote the numerous anonymous letters in the
papers ?
One rather virulent one, attacking the officers of the House,
was attributed to William Barrett, who was " hustled " by members
of the Faculty and their " myrmidons " whenever opportunity
offered, " because he refused to take his oath that he had not
written it."
This triple election was the first of many Infirmary contests in
which feeling ran very high, and nearly the whole city watched
with almost as keen an interest as at a Parliamentary Election.
The two chief points of contention were the caprices of a small
Committee, and the advantages of candidates having received their
medical education at the Infirmary. In subsequent elections
religious and political opinions were the main points of dispute,
as will be seen later.
It may be noted that the candidates did not print their applica-
tions in the papers. Castelman, it is true, publicly thanked the
subscribers for their support, but I can find no other published
notice.
Thornhill still clung to his post, and actually went round the
wards, after the election, and attempted to see his patients.
Moreover, Page and Ford affected to consider the new Surgeons as
interlopers, and these, in their turn, made it as unpleasant as
possible for their seniors, so that there was no little confusion.
Frequent meetings, however, and the lapse of time, made them
ultimately very good friends.
Dr. William Cadogan resigned his post as Physician on March
3rd, 1752.
No attempts were made to fill up the vacancy, and for more
than five years after this there were only three Physicians, viz.
Bonython, Drummond, and Logan, another instance of irregularity
due to the management of a small " open " Committee, of which
several interested men were ex-officio members.
Dr. Logan died on December 14th, 1757, and two days after
the Committee met and issued notices for a Board Meeting " to
elect one or more Physicians " on December 23rd, when Dr. Francis
Woodward and Dr. Edward Lyne were unanimously elected.
It will be noted that from the death of one Physician to
the election of his successor there was an interval of only nine
days.
On June 5th, 1759, James Ford's resignation came before the
Quarterly Meeting of Subscribers. There were no Consulting
Surgeons in those days but James Ford was not only thanked for
his services, but the hope was expressed that " he will still give us
his assistance and advice upon any Emergency."
A week later, on June 12th, at a meeting of Subscribers at the
424
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Guildhall, Mr. Jarritt Smith, M.P., 1 in the Chair, John Ford was-
elected Surgeon in his brother's place. This was the first Infirmary
election held at the Guildhall. John Ford had a large majority of
votes over the two other competitors, William Barrett and
Abraham Ludlow.
On November 13th, 1761, Dr. John Bonython, the first Physician
elected on the Staff, and one of the original founders, died in his
sixty-seventh year, after serving the Institution faithfully for
twenty-four years.
It had been distinctly laid down at a Quarterly Board on
September 4th, 1759, that " the number of Physicians and Surgeons
belonging to the House shall not exceed four each."
At Dr. Bonython's death a canvass began between Drs. Plomer,
Gordon, and Mackenzie, and the fight between the two first seemed
likely to be keen and acrimonious. 2 Various letters appeared in
the papers, one of them deeply lamenting that "at a time when
Universal Peace and Harmony prevail throughout the City," a
contested election at the Infirmary should ruffle the public mind,
and urging that two physicians should be elected. The advocates
of this plan made two attempts to rescind the rule of September 4th,
one on December 1st, 1761, and another on December 8th, but
failed in their purpose, and Dr. James Plomer was elected on the
latter date by a majority of nineteen votes over Dr. Gordon.
" Before the Ballot began Dr. Mackenzie the other Candidate was
pleased to decline in a genteel Address to the Society."
Dr. Plomer was forty-seven years old at the time of his appoint-
ment, and did not resign until 1798, when he was eighty-four.
On October 25th, 1765, Dr. Lyne wrote a letter to the
Committee resigning his appointment, but in spite of the rule that
there should be four Physicians on the Staff, Drs. Drummond,
Woodward, and Plomer quietly reported to the Committee on
November 4th that they were " willing and do agree to take the
Physical care of the business belonging to the House upon them-
selves," and this decision, was ratified at a Quarterly Board on
December 6th, 1765.
Dr. Samuel Farr, a young man of great promise, had returned
from his studies abroad, and set up in Bristol in 1764. Like most
other able and ambitious practitioners, he had his eye upon an
Infirmary appointment, and felt much annoyed that no attempt
was made to fill up Dr. Lyne's place. He and his friends started
an agitation on the subject, and letters appeared in the papers
1 Created a Baronet in 1763.
8 From Felix Farley's Bristol Journal for Saturday, November 14th,
1761 : —
" Notwithstanding the premature Application some Physicians have been
pleas'd to make to succeed the late Dr. Bonython at the Bristol Infirmary, it
is requested that the Subscribers to that Charity do not engage their Votes ;
as a Gentleman of regular Education, and unquestionable Abilities, we hear,
intends to offer his Services."
We may gather from this, that as Dr. Bonython died on the 13th, a canvass
had begun (as was only too common in such cases) before he was actually dead.
425
A HISTORY OF THE
demanding, on behalf of the Subscribers and of the public generally,
an explanation of this omission ; the Committee, especially the
members of the Staff upon it, being accused of " having ridden
and juggled the Society until their tyrrany was intolerable."
One correspondent asked : " Does the Infirmary want a
Physician, or does a Physician want the Infirmary ? " The answer
given to this is a good specimen of the language used on such
occasions : " A short address to the Author of a short Query in
your last. Are you by Nature void of Common Sense or do you
only wear the outward mark of a Fool ; some people judge the
former to be true or you might have known that a Physician wants
the Infirmary and the Infirmary absolutely wants a Physician ! "
At length, after a long controversy, a letter was sent to the
Committee signed by the Treasurer, Abraham Richard
Hawkesworth, John Milton, and members of the Staff, requesting
Mr. Bridges, the Apothecary, to summon a General Board on
January 6th, 1767, to consider " whether there shall be another
Pftysician added to the Infirmary." This meeting was held at
the Merchant Tailors' Hall, Sir Abraham Elton being in the Chair.
A ballot was taken, and it was resolved by no votes to 93 that
another Physician should be elected. This narrow majority shows
the power of the " small " party in the Committee.
The election was called for January 13th, 1767, at the
Merchant Tailors' Hall, and Lord Botetourt was in the Chair.
There were three candidates, Dr. Farr, Dr. Corryn, and Dr. John
England. Dr. Farr was elected.
This, however, did not finish the matter. A motion was
proposed by " Mr. Collector " (i.e. Mr. Daniel Henson, Collector of
Customs) " to prevent any Discord and disturbances in future and
to conciliate all differences at present that the Rule concerning the
number of Physicians and Surgeons made at a Quarterly Meeting
the 4th September, 1759, and confirmed at the next Quarterly
meeting be repealed. That for the future the stated number of
Physicians and Surgeons belonging to the Bristol Infirmary shall
not be more nor less than five each Profession . . . and this
rule shall be neither repealed nor altered but by another General
Board called together for that purpose," etc.
This was unanimously agreed to ; how it was kept will soon
appear.
The above alteration necessitated the addition of a fifth
Physician, and the meeting dealt with the matter at once by
electing Dr. John England.
Dr. England was, I believe, the first candidate for a vacancy on
the Infirmary Staff who advertised in the newspapers that he
offered himself for the post. His modest and well-written applica-
tion appeared on December 26th, 1766.
Dr. Corryn was much annoyed at the election of Dr. England,
thinking, perhaps rightly, that as this was a new post it should
have been advertised before being filled.
426
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
In accordance with the new rule that the number of the
Honorary Medical Staff, on each side of the House, should be
strictly limited to five, another Surgeon had to be appointed, and
a meeting was called at the Merchant Tailors' Hall for January
20th, 1767, for this purpose ; for Mr. Jerome Norman died on
April 29th, 1763, and no steps had been taken as yet to fill the
vacancy.
Sir Abraham Elton presided at this memorable meeting, and
had an experience which has surely seldom fallen to the lot of
any chairman.
The two candidates were Abraham Ludlow and Thomas Skone.
They both belonged to respectable professional families, and had
received part of their education in Bristol. Neither was especially
favoured by the Faculty, the members of which seem to have taken
little part in the contest. But the canvass had been very energetic,
and public feeling ran high. We are told that " scores had
promised both in order to be rid of importunity," and that Joseph
Shapland (afterwards Apothecary to the Infirmary) " boasted upon
the Exchange that he had given three of his patients doses of
Physic on the day of the election to prevent them from voting for
Mr. Ludlow." 1
The election was fixed for eleven o'clock in the morning, and
the room at the Merchant Tailors' Hall was soon filled.
Two hundred and ninety-three votes were recorded, but
according to Richard Smith, " several of Skone's friends said they
had voted twice."
The votes were written on slips of paper, and put into two hats,
a hat for each candidate ; there were no " tellers," and the
counting had to be done by the Chairman.
It was expected that the contest would be a close one, and
everyone waited in great excitement for the result of the ballot.
Sir Abraham Elton announced that the votes were : for Mr. Skone,
147, for Mr. Ludlow, 146 ; but, " Gentlemen," he added, " I am
by no means certain that I am correct." The friends of Ludlow
shouted " A scrutiny ! a scrutiny ! Tell the votes again," whilst
the rest huzza'd and shouted " Victory ! Victory ! "
When the noise had subsided the Chairman proposed that the
papers should be reckoned again, and this was at length agreed to.
After another careful count, he gave out that he now made it :
Mr. Ludlow, 147, Mr. Skone, 146 !
J 1 This announcement led to a scene of tumult, and it looked very
much as if there was going to be a free fight with canes and sticks.
Sir Abraham with great difficulty persuaded the meeting to allow
a fresh count to be made by two persons, one of whom was to be
appointed by the friends of each candidate. This was scarcely
agreed to when " a young friend of Mr. Skone's made an attempt
to toss a vote privately into his hat, which being perceived on the
1 According to J. P. Noble, afterwards Surgeon to the Infirmary, at this
time an apprentice of Mr. Ludlow.
427
A HISTORY OF THE
other side, his example was imitated and in a second or two more
papers were thrown into the other (hat)." This produced fresh
altercation, and in the dispute both hats were upset, the names were
scattered upon the floor, and it became utterly impossible to declare
which was the successful candidate. Some called for a fresh
election, some for a postponement, and a third party clamoured
for the election of both. " The company, however, had by this
time been worn out by the dreadful uproar, which instead of
abating, increased," and it was at length decided that the best way
out of the difficulty was to elect both candidates, in spite of the
solemnly-enacted rule, made only the week before, that there
should not be " more nor less than five Surgeons."
As a matter of fact this had not been confirmed, and it was
agreed to " withdraw the Confirmation of the Rule made at the
last General Meeting." This solution appears to have been
decided on unanimously.
There were now six Surgeons ; but when Thomas Skone
resigned a few years later (on June 4th, 1770) in a letter to John
Page, the latter read the contents to the Surgeons, " quietly put
the letter into his pocket," and no steps were taken to fill the
vacancy.
Dr. England died of typhus a few weeks after his election, and
on March 3rd, 1767, Dr. Thomas Rigge was appointed Physician in
his place. There was, apparently, no other candidate.
Dr. Drummond sent in his resignation on October 29th, 1771,
and Dr. John Wright was elected Physician on November 4th.
This was also an unopposed election.
We have seen how the rule that there should be five Physicians
and five Surgeons, passed on January 13th, 1767, was kept on the
surgical side of the House. It was soon broken on the medical side,
without any excuse ; for on the resignation of Dr. Woodward on
December 5th, 1769, 1 no steps were taken to fill the vacancy, and
the number of Physicians was therefore reduced to four, viz.
Drs. Drummond, Plomer, Farr, and Rigge. This was in 1769,
and the names of the Medical Staff appear thus in the Annual
Report of that year. But in the 1770 Report there are five
Physicians in the list, including Dr. Drummond and his successor,
Dr. Wright ! Probably this was a judicious manipulation to keep
up the appearance of the rule, as people had been making awkward
inquiries. In the Weekly Committee Book is an entry under date
August 18th, 1772, " Dr. Paull has offer'd his Service as a Physician
to this Society," and a summons was issued for a meeting at the
Guildhall on September 5th, for the election of a Physician.
There were two candidates, Dr. Robert Robertson and Dr.
John Paull. The usual notices were sent to the papers, also the
following : " The Subscribers to the Bristol Infirmary are desired
not to engage their votes until the day of Election when a
1 His letter of resignation is dated November 29th. It came before the
Board on December 5th.
428
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Gentleman of great merit in his profession will be proposed a
Candidate for that important trust." This was probably sent by
the Committee, and refers to Dr. Paull, who was elected by a
substantial majority.
Abraham Ludlow resigned on December 6th, 1774, and the
Subscribers were summoned to the Guildhall on December 15th, at
eleven o'clock, to appoint his successor.
There were six candidates, viz. Godfrey Lowe, Richard Smith,
sen., Thomas Davies, J. Rawlins, James Norman, and Robert
Dukinfield.
This was a hotly-contested election, but there was little doubt
from the first as to the result. Richard Smith was a popular
" Society " man, and his friends had been very energetic in
obtaining promises of votes, the work of canvassing being then
carried on chiefly by the candidate's supporters ; he himself did
very little personal application.
Richard Smith, moreover, was Surgeon to St. Peter's, and this
post was so commonly looked upon as a stepping-stone to Infirmary
appointments, that the two Charities were sometimes called the
Lower and Upper Houses.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of this election was the
part taken by ladies.
The account given by Richard Smith, jun., is as follows : " The
Subscribers amounted to 580, of whom 70 were females. No one
had ever heard or even dreamed of such a thing as a Lady's giving
a vote for a Surgeon to the Infirmary, but nevertheless a Miss Elton
suggested the Scheme and Mr. Smith very readily adopted the
plan, a considerable number of ladies were, with great secrecy,
collected at the White Lion, ready to vote if needful, and by way
of trying the question, Miss Elton insisted on giving her vote.
The adverse party were entirely surprised and endeavoured by
urging the want of precedent to disqualify the suffrage. Miss
Elton, however, contended that the law was too clear to be shaken ;
it was ' that every person paying two guineas per annum shall
become a Trustee and that all Trustees have votes.' After much
altercation the vote was accepted and the lady retired in triumph
to marshall her amazons. It appearing however that there was no
real doubt respecting the issue, Mr. Smith went to thank the ladies
for their kind intentions, but declined giving them trouble merely
to swell a majority."
The votes polled were : —
Richard Smith 211 votes.
Thomas Davies 81
J. Rawlins 47 ,,
The reader may be interested to know who this Miss Elton was,
and from a communication made to Richard Smith, jun., by Mr.
Joseph Metford, we learn that she was a maiden lady of good
family living in considerable style in Orchard Street. She was
429
A HISTORY OF THE
descended from the Eltons of Stapleton, was stout in person, was
an admirer of the Stage, and considered a patroness of Genius. She
was particularly interested in Miss Young, afterwards more
celebrated as Mrs. Pope, and when this actress performed at Bristol,
according to Metford, " she constantly upon coming on the stage
advanced to the Stage Box and made a most profound and
ceremonious courtesy to Miss Elton, and having so done, next paid
her respects to the Audience." i
Richard Smith, with his untiring zeal for collecting curiosities,
obtained from the Theatre an old leaf from the Box Book, with
the bookings for Monday, August 23rd, 1773, when Miss Young
took her " benefit " in Lady Jane Grey. Miss Elton's name is
marked as occupying the Stage Box. (See Fig. 79.)
Richard Smith, sen., sent a letter to Felix Farley's Journal for
December 17th, 1774, two days after his election, thanking the
Subscribers " for the distinguished (tho' unmerited) mark " of their
favour.
Dr. William Moncrieffe was unanimously elected Physician on
July 18th, 1775, on the resignation of Dr. Paull. Dr. Knowlton,
the other candidate, did not go to the poll. Neither appears to
have put any notices in the papers.
On August 15th, 1775, Godfrey Lowe was unanimously elected
Surgeon in the place of John Ford.
Robert Dukinfield was again a candidate, also James
Norman ; and votes were solicited by James Noble for John
Padmore Noble, who was absent from Bristol. The three retired
before the election.
When J. P. Noble found that he had little chance in the contest
he wrote a letter, rather unfortunately worded, stating that " he
resigned in favour of Mr. Lowe," also that he had been " indulged
with every means of compleating his education as a Surgeon."
These harmless sentences drew upon him the ridicule of "A
Subscriber," who wrote a long letter to the newspapers, explaining
that no one could resign before he was elected, and that he " never
heard of anyone being the better for being indulged," etc. I
mention this as an example of the trouble people took at these
contests to be as disagreeable as possible to the opponents of
their candidate.
Godfrey Lowe, who was a man of ready wit, by which, as he
used to say, he could " throw a man upon his back," narrated the
following anecdote of this election. During his canvass he called
upon a grocer who subscribed to the Infirmary, to ask for his vote,
" and making his bow, as is usual on these occasions, said, ' Sir,
I have taken the liberty of troubling you, to request that you
would ' " At this moment he saw by the stern brow of the
1 The playbills also announce that on this occasion the farce High Life
below Stairs was played, and Miss Young took the part of " Kitty," " with a
song and Mock Minuet in character for that night only."
A few days later (on August 30th) Miss Young played in " The Historical
Play called Timon of Athens (altered from Shakespeare and Shad well)."
430
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
grocer that he was going to give him a refusal, and promptly ended
his sentence, " Weigh me out a pennyworth of plums! "
John Page resigned the Surgeoncy, which he had held for
thirty-six years, in April, 1777.
At a Board Meeting on May 6th a resolution was proposed
by Dr. Ludlow, seconded by Alderman Smith, and carried
unanimously, " that the thanks of this Board be given to Mr.
John Page, Surgeon, for the great Services which he has rendered
this House during a series of near Forty years, and that in
consideration thereof he be desired to attend as Surgeon
Extraordinary."
This is the first instance of any such honour being conferred,
and put Page into a curious position with his colleagues, which
has been referred to on page 65.
There were five candidates for the vacancy, James Norman,
Robert Dukinfield (his third application), James Shute, Morgan
Yeatman, and John Padmore Noble. In this election politics
were predominant. The " running " was chiefly between Norman
and Noble, the former supported by the Tories, the latter by the
Whigs, and a great deal of rancour was shown on both sides. One
newspaper correspondent went so far as to say that a former
promise of a vote should not be necessarily considered binding, as
it was better to disappoint one person than " injure hundreds."
The anonymous writer who had found fault with Noble's English
(p. 430), returned to the charge, and, according to Richard Smith,
this so angered Noble, that when the subject was mentioned thirty
years afterwards, he exclaimed, " Rot him ! I remember him, and
I'da good mind at the time to have given him a good licking,
a lying, canting rascal ! "
The result of the polling, which took place on May 6th, 1777,
was the election of John Padmore Noble by 211 votes, James
Norman obtaining 148 ; majority sixty-three.
Dr. Rigge resigned on March 3rd, 1778, and a notice appeared
on March 12th summoning a General Board for the 17th, for the
election of a Physician.
There was apparently only one candidate, Dr. Benjamin Collyns
(or Collins), who had taken out a diploma at Glasgow, and was at
the time actually a pupil at the Infirmary. According to the
Minute Book he was " unanimously chosen ; " but many of the
Trustees were angry that a mere student, who had given no proofs
of any special ability or fitness, should be elected to so important
a post.
Poor young Collins himself suffered by it, for he was at the time
considerably in debt, and the notoriety of being made Physician
to the Infirmary pointed him out to his creditors. The bailiffs
kept such a close watch upon him, that he could not leave his
residence without fear of capture, and was obliged to confine his
visits to the wards to Sundays, when he could not be legally
apprehended for debt. He was in such straits, that four months
43i
A HISTORY OF THE
after his election " he embarked privately on board a vessel lying
in Kingroad and sailed for the West Indies." No notice was taken
of his departure, except that his name was omitted from the list of
Physicians, the number of whom was thus reduced finally to four.
Dr. Collyns died a few years afterwards at Barbadoes, where
he had acquired a good practice.
John Castelman resigned on July 28th, 1779, and three
candidates appeared in the field, Morgan Yeatman (who soon
withdrew), Joseph Metford (who was recommended to the Trustees
by the retiring Surgeon, Castelman, "as in every respect well
qualified to succeed him "), and James Norman (who had already
applied on two previous occasions for the Surgeoncy).
This election, which was fixed for August 9th, 1779, at the
Guildhall, under the Presidency of Mr. James Hill, was fought
out chiefly on political grounds ; for although it was sometimes
spoken of as Church versus Dissent (Norman being Church of
England and Metford a Quaker), these theological differences were
dwarfed by the more important question of political creed. At
that time " the man was nothing," says Richard Smith, " the
colour of the cockade in his hat was all."
Yeatman had not so many adherents as Norman, and as both
were Tories, it was feared that Metford might slip in between them
if the blue votes were divided ; Yeatman consequently withdrew.
James Norman's most energetic supporters were Mr. Camplin, 1
then known by the name of " Fire Office Jack " (father of Alderman
Thomas Camplin), and James Jones, the " Commissary " who
figures in the election caricature described on page 272. Camplin,
who was, like Metford, a Taunton man, declared that " it was not
against his friend Metford, but against a Dissenter that he acted."
There was some talk of George Goldwyer contesting this
vacancy. The following story is told by Richard Smith : —
" Mr. Ballard, a surgeon at Portishead, called upon Mr. Nicholas
Glass, meaning to ride into Bristol to vote for Mr. George Goldwyer,
but meeting upon the road a Trustee, who informed them that Mr.
Goldwyer was not a candidate, they were about to turn back, when
hearing that the struggle lay between a Churchman and a Quaker,
Mr. Ballard insisted upon it that they should vote, to keep out a
Dissenter ! When they arrived at the Hall, the President, who
was a decided supporter of Mr. Metford, was making the last call
of ' Any more Votes ? ' The three new comers were throv/n in
for Mr. Norman, and after another pause the ballot was declared
to be closed. The words were scarcely passed Mr. Joseph Harford's
lips, 2 when Messrs. G. Ash, Page, and a friend were upon the steps
of the Hall. Mr. Metford exclaimed, ' Here are three of my
voters ! ' while his adversaries cried out, ' Too late ! too late ! '
1 His daughter married Dr. Gray, afterwards Bishop cf Bristol.
2 According to the Minute Book, Mr. James Hill was in the Chair on this
occasion. Mr. Joseph Harford was Treasurer of the Infirmary.
432
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
and after some little discussion it was agreed that the poll was
actually closed, and thus the election was ' lost by the Dissenter
and won by the Churchman,' and it was so considered and spoken
of, with little or no reference to any personal feeling towards the
candidates."
James Norman was elected by the narrow majority of three
votes. Richard Smith and Godfrey Lowe supported Norman
confessedly " entirely upon blue principles."
When Dr. Farr resigned in April, 1780, only one application
appeared in the papers, and this was inserted by the Rev. Mr.
Broughton on behalf of his brother, Dr. Arthur Broughton, who
was then absent. There appears to have been no canvassing for
-votes. Dr. Broughton was elected on May 4th, 1780.
Mr. Townsend's resignation and farewell dinner on
November 14th, 1781, have been described on page j8.
Three candidates applied for the vacant post, George Goldwyer,
who withdrew before the poll, Morgan Yeatman, and Joseph
Metford.
It is to be noted that Yeatman's notice in the papers is dated
November 14th, the day of Townsend's handing in his resignation
to the Committee. This and the evidence of Richard Smith show that
he had timely warning, and probably his electioneering plans were
already matured. The voting at the Guildhall (November 27th,
1781) was : —
Morgan Yeatman 211 votes.
Joseph Metford 150
Majority 61
An incident occurred at this election which shows the vindictive
means sometimes used to injure a candidate. The editor of the
Bristol Gazette, Mr. Pine, had handbills printed stating that Morgan
Yeatman had sent him " an impertinent message ; " these were
distributed at the door of the Guildhall to the Trustees as they
went in. No previous attempt had been made to verify the truth
of this, which was denied " in toto " by Yeatman, and probably
originated in the spitefulness of the servant who carried a message
from him to the Gazette office.
In March, 1783, James Norman went to live at Bath, and
resigned the Surgeoncy at the Bristol Infirmary.
After a short contest with G. Goldwyer, T. Baynton, and
Danvers Ward, Joseph Metford was elected on April 1st, 1783.
He had canvassed for the post of Surgeon on three previous
occasions, in 1777, 1779, and 1781.
When Dr. Arthur Broughton went to Jamaica for his health in
December, 1783, his colleagues at the Infirmary promised to do his
work in the wards, and there was an understanding that the post
should be kept open for him. But he did not return, and on
March 28th, 1786, the Trustees decided to appoint a Physician in
433
28
A HISTORY OF THE
his place, on the understanding that if he returned within twelve
months from this date the gentleman appointed should at once
resign in his favour ; if he did not return and resume work before
the expiration of the year, the candidate elected as his locum tenens
should be definitely appointed Physician to the Infirmary.
Dr. Samuel Cave, a well-educated man, with excellent
credentials from the Infirmary authorities for his conduct as
Apothecary's apprentice, was considered to be almost certain of
election. He had timely notice of the proposed filling of the
vacancy, and began to make his arrangements.
The death of Mr. Till Adams, a busy practitioner of the
apothecary type, and a member of the Society of Friends, had
induced Dr. Edward Long Fox to come to Bristol early in the year,
and set up practice. A quiet but energetic canvass began between
these two young men, and on the announcement of the vacancy the
fight went on openly and vigorously.
Mr. William Fry of Redchff Street, distiller and wine merchant,
and Mr. Thomas Cave headed one party, and Messrs. Harford,
Battersby, and Butler were the chief of Dr. Fox's supporters.
This election therefore came to be nicknamed " The Distillers v.
the Quakers."
Dr. Robert Cooper also applied in the papers, but he was too
late in the field, and retired before the poll.
The general plan of campaign at these elections was for each
candidate to form a Committee of his supporters, which organised
the method of canvassing the Subscribers. The city was usually
divided into districts, and the names and addresses of the Trustees
living in each division were entrusted to two or more of the
candidate's friends, who canvassed personally or by letter all
Subscribers who lived in the allotted area. The candidates
themselves also spent much of their time in personal calls, and if
the arrangements were made in a business-like manner, it was
possible to tell in a few days' time how the voting was likely
to go.
A contested election would frequently cost an applicant from
£50 to £150 or more in printing, cab fares, stamps, and sundries.
In the Fox and Cave contest both candidates worked very
hard, every vote being of importance, and it appears from their
letters and notices in the papers that both were confident of
success.
It is narrated that Dr. Cave called upon Joseph Metford to ask
him for his vote one day when Dr. Fox's Committee were actually
met together in Metford's parlour ; and when this was explained
to him, Dr. Cave, as he went through the hall, exclaimed, " I '11 get
it, in spite of you and your friends, for I am already sure of it ! "
Dr. Fox, who overheard this, said that " if his antagonist were
so certain their labours were useless ! " " Pish ! Pish ! " replied
an old Quaker, " that young man's security will ruin him ! Go on I
Thee go on ! There is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip."
434
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
The polling took place at the Guildhall on April 3rd, 1786, when
the Rev. Dr. Camplin was in the Chair. The result was : —
Dr. E. L. Fox 157 votes.
Dr. Cave 137
Majority 20
Dr. Broughton never returned from Jamaica, and Dr. Fox's
appointment became absolute.
Richard Smith, sen., died on June 21st, 1791, and the vacancy
was filled on July 7th. The candidates were, Robert Jones Allard,
Dan vers Ward, John Newman, David Da vies, and Lewis J.
Jardine. The last three retired, and Allard was elected by 230
votes to Ward's 96, majority 134.
Dr. Wright died on December 23rd, 1794. It was known some
time before that his illness was likely to prove fatal, and the
canvass began some days before his death, applications appearing
in the papers on the 18th and 19th of December.
Drs. Lovell, Carrick, Stephen, and Craufuird competed, but the
last two retired, and Robert Lovell was elected on January 7th,
1795, by a majority of 185 votes (Lovell 292, Carrick 107).
Joseph Metford resigned on June 8th, 1796, and Richard Smith,
jun., was unanimously elected Surgeon on June 23rd.
Dr. James Plomer resigned on April 4th, 1798. He was at the
time eighty-four years of age, and had been Physician to the
Infirmary for more than thirty-six years.
There were three candidates : Dr. John New, who states in his
application that he had " served a regular apprenticeship of seven
years to the Infirmary," * Dr. John Heathfield Hicks, a much older
man, who had been Physician to the Gloucestershire County
Hospital for fourteen years, and Dr. Andrew Carrick, who had been
in practice for ten years in Bristol ; he soon retired, and the contest
lay between Hicks and New.
One of the spiteful acts which often defaced these elections
occurred on April 16th, when a handbill was extensively circulated,
worded as follows : —
" Bristol Infirmary Election.
" The Subscribers who have spirit enough not to be swayed by
private interest, and have really the welfare of the Charity at
heart, would do well to inquire into the conduct of one of the
Candidates during his regular apprenticeship at the House ; and
they will then be better able to judge what claims he has to their
favors.
" Tuesday, April 16, 1798."
This of course was intended for New, and Hicks's Committee
hastened to declare publicly that they " utterly disclaimed and
1 He was elected Apothecary's apprentice on March 2nd, 1784.
435
A HISTORY OF THE
condemned the above publication," which indeed appears to have
had no sufficient foundation.
The election was at the Guildhall on April 18th, 1798, with
Mr. Edward Brice 1 in the Chair. Dr. New had many friends and
connections in the city, and was elected by a majority of 161
(New 377, Hicks 216).
Dr. New resigned on October 28th, 1802, and Dr. Walter
Kennedy Craufuird, who had twice before applied for the post of
Physician, at once began to canvass for the vacancy. He had at
this time been in practice some nine years, and was warmly
supported by various officers at the Customs House in Queen
Square, where his uncle had formerly been " Patent Searcher."
His friends were so energetic on his behalf that Dr. Carrick, who
intended to compete, did not even advertise his application in the
papers.
This was nicknamed " The Custom House Election." Dr.
Craufuird did very little canvassing himself, partly because he was
out of health, and partly because he was confident of success. In
fact " he was made one of the Physicians to the Infirmary," says
Richard Smith " whilst he was quietly sitting in his arm-chair."
He was elected November 18th, 1802.
Godfrey Lowe, who had been Surgeon to the Charity for
thirty-one years, died on April 8th, 1806.
Nine candidates were canvassing at least a month before his
death, but only three of them came to the poll, viz. William
Hetling, Richard Lowe, and Francis Cheyne Bowles.
The election was held at the Guildhall on April 24th, 1806, the
Mayor, Mr. Daniel Wait, jun., being in the Chair, and was decided
by ladies' votes. There was a dispute whether such votes could be
taken, but the precedent of Richard Smith's election (p. 429) was
quoted, and the claim was allowed. Accordingly " a deputation
waited upon each lady, as her carriage arrived at the door of the
Hall, to receive their tickets."
The men's votes were taken first, and Hetling then had a
majority, but after the female votes had been taken (it is stated
that about thirty-five voted), the numbers were : — -
Bowles 237 votes.
Hetling 235 „
Lowe 166
One of the newspapers, commenting on this, concludes with the
reflection : "In all future elections, therefore, we presume especial
good care will be taken to plough with the heifer." %
It will be noticed that there was a majority of two only. It
was thought that the contest would be a close one, and Mr. Ames
1 Mayor of Bristol 1782-3.
i witl
436
2 The ladies' votes were procured with all secrecy by Bowles's Committee
the day before the election.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Hellicar actually came up from Land's End on purpose to register
his vote.
Mr. Wintour Harris drove in from the country at his horses'
" utmost speed," and arrived at the door of the Hall " at the
instant when the Chairman had proclaimed, ' The third and last
time of asking — is there any other voter not polled ? ' " His and
Hellicar's votes therefore turned the election.
Although this was a particularly keen contest, it is pleasant to
be able to record that there was no ill-feeling amongst the
candidates, and the letters sent to the papers by Hetling and Lowe,
in which they speak in high terms of their successful rival, are in
the very best taste, and honourable to all concerned.
Francis Cheyne Bowles died on May 15th, 1807, and on June
2nd William Hetling was elected in his place by a large majority.
Two other candidates came to the poll, Richard Lowe and Nathaniel
Smith.
On this, as on other occasions, the canvass began before the
vacancy was declared, and on May 13th, 1807, the Committee
issued a notice in the papers expressing strong disapproval of such
premature action ; but this reprimand (to use Richard Smith's
words) " had all the effect which all persons acquainted with
electioneering might have easily anticipated — that is to say, none
at all."
Morgan Yeatman resigned the Surgeoncy, which he had held
for twenty-six years, on June 24th, 1807. There were five can-
didates for the vacancy, but Richard Lowe, who had applied twice
before (in 1806 and 1807), had an easy victory. The numbers were: —
R. Lowe 346 votes.
H. Daniel 121
N. Smith 88 „
R. Edgell 60 „
J- King 36 „
According to the papers, " about 120 votes were received at
the door, from ladies and invalids ; of the former 48 gave their
suffrages to the successful candidate."
Dr. Robert Lovell resigned on August 29th, 1810, and on
September 20th Dr. Andrew Carrick was appointed Physician.
There were seven candidates, but from the first the contest lay
between Drs. Carrick, Stock, and J. C. Prichard.
The voting at this election was on religious and political
grounds, Dr. Carrick having the support of the Church and Tories,
Dr. Stock that of the Dissenters and Whigs.
The polling was remarkable as the largest, so far, at any
Infirmary election, the numbers being : —
Dr. Carrick 448 votes.
Dr. Stock 216
Dr. Prichard 81
745
437
A HISTORY OF THE
Although political and religious differences swayed these
elections, it must not be supposed that the personal attributes of
the competitors counted for nothing. The character of the
applicant, especially his reputation for kindness to patients, etc.,
was often insisted on ; such expressions as " a tender disposition,"
and " a feeling heart " were frequently used ; and whatever the
faults of the old system were (and they were many), there is little
doubt that men of good manners and breeding, and of real or
apparent gentleness, had a better chance than others whose only
claims were ability and good professional testimonials.
Robert Jones Allard resigned in September, 1810, and on the
27th of that month Henry Daniel was elected Surgeon. This was
the fourth time he had canvassed for a similar post, viz. in 1806,
and twice in 1807. He exemplifies the fact that under the old
regulations persistence in applying was generally ultimately
crowned with success.
No less than eleven candidates appeared on this occasion, but
only three came to the poll, when the numbers were : —
Henry Daniel 336 votes.
Thomas Shute 224
Nathaniel Smith 100
Apropos of this election, the following poem appeared in the
Bristol Mirror : —
" Infirmary — to wit :
Shoals of Candidates ! heigho ! What myriads of bows
Will be made for a Seat in a certain great house !
By the mass, all this booing would make it appear
" A snug sinecure place of a thousand a year,'
Yet for aught I can find I must frankly avow,
They '11 get little except a most deuce of a Row ! " 1
Dr. Craufuird resigned on March 13th, 1811, and on March 28th
Dr. John Edmonds Stock was elected Physician. He was opposed
by Dr. Thomas Webb Dyer (Apothecary to the Infirmary 1789-
1810), and by Dr. J. C. Prichard. The latter retired, and there was
a brisk contest between the other two candidates, resulting in a
victory for Dr. Stock by a majority of 28 votes (Stock polled 384
and Dyer 356).
John Padmore Noble died on June 22nd, 1812, and Thomas
Shute, jun., was appointed Surgeon on July 9th.
He had applied three times before for the Surgeoncy, in 1807 on
the death of F. C. Bowles and on the resignation of Morgan
Yeatman, and on R. J. Allard's resignation in 1810.
1 The feud between the Committee and Faculty about the exclusion of
the latter from the meetings of the former was then at its height.
438
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
There were eleven candidates, four of whom went to the poll,
with the following result : —
Thomas Shute 404 votes.
Nathaniel Smith 293
John Bishop Estlin 97
John King 9 „
This election was fought less on party lines and more on
personal qualifications than many others. The experience Shute
had gained in previous contests stood him in good stead.
Dr. Moncrieffe died on February 13th, 1816, after holding the
post of Physician to the Infirmary for forty-one years, and on the
next day Dr. E. Long Fox, sen., resigned.
On February 29th Dr. James Cowles Prichard, who had
applied twice before, and Dr. Henry Hawes Fox, son of Dr. E. L.
Fox, were duly elected.
Three candidates went to the poll, with the following result : —
Dr. Fox 968 votes.
Dr. Prichard 670
Dr. Dyer 515 „
The election was carried on with great spirit, and various
humorous skits enlivened the newspapers, containing references
to " young Foxes breaking covert," etc.
The large number of votes will be noticed. Hitherto at these
elections the total recorded number was the actual number of
Trustees who voted. When there were two vacancies, the Trustees
still had only one voting paper each, and could therefore only vote
once, except in the Drummond and Cadogan election in 1747, when
the votes were taken first for one vacancy and then for the other.
In 1754, when there were three vacancies to be filled, according to
Richard Smith, each Trustee could only have voted for one man.
At this 1816 election, however, it is probable that each Trustee
had the power of voting for two names. The Committee
formulated some rules, and when the Subscribers met at the
Guildhall on February 29th the Treasurer read these to the
meeting, and they were adopted. They may be epitomised
as follows : —
1. That two friends of the respective candidates be appointed
to stand at the door of the Guildhall to receive votes from Ladies,
Medical Gentlemen 1 and Invalids ; the names of these Subscribers
to be written on a ticket and entered in a list.
2. That in the Hall the votes of the Corporation and of the
Society of Merchant Venturers be taken first ; after this the list
of Subscribers to be called over in alphabetical order.
3. To avoid delay, a Committee of six (consisting of a friend
of each candidate and members of the House Committee) should
1 Doctors were included in the list because they frequently could not stay
long enough to register their votes in the ordinary way.
439
A HISTORY OF THE
attend in St. George's Chapel to receive votes from country
Subscribers, the votes to be written on tickets.
4. Subscribers who are in arrear may qualify as voters by
paying their subscriptions there and then.
When each of the candidates had been duly proposed and
seconded, the list of Subscribers was called over by the Chairman,
each Subscriber registering his vote when called. The votes were
then taken into the parlour and counted by a representative
Sub-Committee. At this particular election the Rev. John Rowe
called over the votes taken in St. George's Chapel, and the votes
taken at the door were counted by the collectors. The general list
was then called over by the Chairman a second time, and the total
added up " in open Court."
When elected on the Honorary Medical Staff, a man was
supposed to relinquish any other post which would interfere with
his work at the Infirmary. In the Board Minute Book for
February 29th, 1816, is the entry : —
" Dr. Fox and Dr. Prichard in their several Addresses of
Thanks to the General Board, pledged themselves to retain the
situation to which they had been elected no longer than while
they were capable in respect of health and free from pre-occupation
to fulfill its duties."
Thomas Shute died on September 2nd, 1816. There were
fourteen candidates for the vacancy, but Nathaniel Smith, although
only twenty-four years of age, had competed no less than five times
before, and was therefore quite an fait at Infirmary electioneering.
He had his lists of Trustees, etc., in order, and friends in every
parish provided with street lists and application cards, ready to
start the instant Shute's death was announced. The consequence
was that half the city had been canvassed before some of the
candidates heard of the vacancy.
This prompt action kept the other thirteen from coming to the
poll, and Nathaniel Smith was elected Surgeon without opposition
on September 19th, 1816.
Amongst the many candidates at this time was Richard
Edgell, * who had twice before applied for surgical vacancies. He
was an experienced man, engaged in a large practice, and had
served with distinction in the army.
Some of the Trustees thought that the system of applying for
votes by a pre-arranged Committee, especially when the canvass
began before the vacancy actually occurred, might preclude the
election of a man who was better fitted for the post than the
successful candidate.
Expression was given to this opinion by Edgell's father-in-law,
Councillor Edmund Griffiths, who wrote a very sensible letter to
1 There is a letter in the Richard Smith MS. from the great surgeon
Guthrie, from which it appears that Edgell had petitioned to have the title
of M.R.C.S. bestowed upon him. Guthrie states that an examination would be
necessary, which would have " reference to Surgery rather than to Minute
Anatomy." Apparently Edgell did not take any further steps in the matter.
440
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
the Bristol Mirror on the subject. This letter was sent to Richard
Smith, who was then connected with the Mirror, with a note :
" I send this in time that your Devils may not be hurried."
Dr. J. E. Stock resigned on January 30th, 1828, and two strong
candidates, Dr. John Howell and Dr. George Wallis applied.
Three others, Drs. Dick, Bompas, and Green were in the field, but
did not come to the poll.
This election was at first called " Clifton v. Bristol," from the
fact that Howell lived at York Crescent and Wallis at Park Street,
but it was afterwards nicknamed " Saints v. Sinners," and was
fought out on religious grounds. Richard Smith speaks of Dr.
Howell's supporters as " the Evangelical or pious people," and
adds, " All those who were not straight-laced joined the ranks of
Dr. Wallis."
It was known that the fight would be severe, and both
combatants appeared confident, each of them expressing their
sanguine hopes of success in letters to the papers.
In looking over the Canvassing Committees of the two, I find
that Dr. Wallis was actively supported by Joseph Metford (Surgeon
to the Infirmary 1783-96), James Lean the banker, John Rich
the tanner (" one of the most bustling, regular and indefatigable of
the whole bunch "), Dr. Riley (afterwards Physician to the
Infirmary), John Taylor of the Mirror, the Daniels, William
Wright, wine merchant, etc. ; whilst Dr. Howell was equally well
backed up by Alderman James George, Alderman William Fripp,
the Rev. John Bridges, Richard Brickdale Ward, attorney, the
Kingstons of Leigh (" the females of the family being very active "),
Robert Bush the cooper (" omnipotent amongst his friends ' the
Blues ' "), J. M. Gulch, printer of Felix Farley's Journal, Thomas.
John Manchee of the Mercury, the Brights of Ham Green, and
people connected with the Clifton Dispensary.
Many ladies worked for Howell, and " were indefatigable in
writing letters for him ; several were at his house from breakfast to
midnight, and amongst the most zealous was Anna Maria, daughter
of Matthew Brickdale, M.P. for the city in 1870." x
Dr. Wallis was a graduate of Edinburgh University, and was
entitled by examination to the M.D. of Cambridge, but although
he had written for his diploma, the degree had not been actually
conferred on him. In a letter which he sent to the papers on
January 31st, 1828, he unwisely stated that he had " graduated
at both the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh," and this
slip brought upon him the accusation of deception, which was
made by the opposite party.
Unfortunately the contest became more and more personal,
and at length the scandal-mongers accused Wallis of frequently
driving with a lady in his brougham. His explanation that she was
a patient in whom he was interested did not undo the mischief
caused by the report, for " if you throw mud enough, some of it is
1 He was M.P. for Bristol 1768-74 and 1780-90. — Beaven's Bristol Lists.
44 1
A HISTORY OF THE
•sure to stick," and some went so far as to wonder " what might
happen in the female wards if he were elected " — "so scandalous
is scandal ! "
William Edkins, the artist, declared that no less than eight
people had called on him to beg him to withdraw his promise to
vote for Wallis on account of " the fib and the lady."
Miss Hannah More and a coterie at Barley Wood did all they
could in favour of Dr. Howell and against Dr. Wallis, and
influenced, amongst others, the Addingtons of Langford Court, who
were patients of Richard Smith, and had hitherto always followed
his advice in these Infirmary contests. They had acquiesced in his
suggestion that they should support Dr. Wallis ; but " on the
morning of the election," writes Richard Smith, " whilst I was at
breakfast a livery servant on horse-back stopped at my door with
a Letter, and when I opened it, it was to say that he (Mr. Addington)
had been so pressed to vote for Dr. Howell, and not to serve so
immoral a man as Dr. Wallis, that altho' he did it with great
Teluctance yet he must desire that neither his own vote nr that
of his brothers 1 should be given to the latter."
This letter implies that voting by " proxy " was then allowable,
but this method did not come in until some years later. The
-explanation is that the Addingtons had paid their subscriptions
through Richard Smith, and the person who paid had the vote.
As the day fixed for the polling drew near, every device was
used to screw out an extra vote, or choke off those promised to
the opposite party. For instance, a well-known banker, who had
canvassed a tradesman to vote for his candidate, and had been
refused, hinted that he must ask for the tradesman's balance,
which was overdrawn at the bank. Whether this threat succeeded
we are not told.
On February 14th, a week before the election, Dr. Wallis had
the following letter sent him : —
Hoel's praise demands the Song." — Gray.
" Squib.
" How doth the little busy Bee
Employ each shining hour
And gather Honey all the day
From every opening flower.
" So sing the Saints at evening Tea
When giving me advice,
I go therefore from door to door,
I am not over nice.
1 This is copied correctly from R. Smith's MS. In the list of subscribers
to the Infirmary in 1828 the names of H. U. Addington and H. J. Addington
appear as annual subscribers of two guineas each, " per Mr. Rich. Smith."
442
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
" And, as it opens, in I rush,
No matter whom I meet,
There 's nothing like a little push,
Tho' kicked into the street.
" I tell my tale to all I see
Or Father, Wife or Son,
'Tis only ' Pray do vote for me ! '
And then my tale is done.
" Come then, let naughty men alone
And let me gain your voice
For that will make the wicked groan
And all the Saints rejoice ! "
It is narrated that Dr. E. Long Fox, sen., had voted as a
professional man at the door, but afterwards, hearing his name
called as an ordinary subscriber, he stepped forward and dropped
a vote into the hat. When asked whether he had not already
registered his vote, he replied " he really didn't recollect it, but he
believed he had." This was, of course, mere absence of mind.
An interesting question arose about the " Pers," that is those
who had paid in money for Subscribers. These " Pers " had the
right to vote irrespective of the wishes of the actual contributors ;
it was only by courtesy that the latter were asked whom they
wished to support.
Some of the " Pers " had nine or ten votes, and Dr. Howell's
Committee urged that " a sort of order, or power of Attorney "
might be used to compel them to vote as the Subscribers wished.
Many of the " Pers " intended to vote for Dr. Wallis, when the
Subscribers for whom they acted wished to support Dr. Howell.
It was decided that the " Pers " could use their discretion ; had
-they been coerced Dr. Howell would have got in.
To show what a bustle the city was in on these occasions, it
may be mentioned that nine persons, the greater part of the staff
of Parsons and Hurle's Linen Warehouse in High Street, left their
work on the day of the election, and were " incessantly engaged all
the polling time in bringing up voters." The Chair was taken at
eleven o'clock in the morning, and the result was not given out
until seven or eight o'clock in the evening.
To those who wish to hear the din and tumult of an old-time
Infirmary election, Richard Smith's account x of the final stages is
worth reading : —
" At a quarter past 6 in the Evening, of 400 Votes Dr. Howell
73 ahead. A person called out ' I '11 bet a £100 to £10 that Howell
wins.' All was silent and we looked at each other with astonish-
ment — the run went on — the same voice said ' Lombard Street to
a China orange for Howell — who will offer any odds ? ' We had
1 As he heard it from his friends, for he was not present in the final stages
-of the polling.
443
A HISTORY OF THE
calculated that about 740 persons would vote, and we were so
close in our calculation that it fell short only 23 ! It was evident
that we had grossly miscalculated our strength. ... No one
upon the Committee had ever dreamed upon the result which now
appeared certain. . . . The luck, however, seemed to be
turning and at 7 o'clock Dr. Howell's majority was reduced to 20,
but the hats were nearly exhausted. The Votes then ran neck
and neck — Walks, Howell, Howell, Walks, but a few minutes
Walks bad a run, and wken only ten voting papers were left, tkey
were at a tie ! — tke breatkless interest may be imagined — wken
7 were left Howell was one akead — tke Mayor took out another —
Walks even ! Anotker, Walks One akead, kis friends clapped
tkeir kands violently, tke Mayor paused and cried ' Silence,
Gentlemen, Silence ! ' Anotker was drawn, Walks. Tke noise
arose again — tke Mayor begged silence for a few moments only.
Walks was now 3 akead and tkere were only two votes left, he
must tkerefore kave kad a majority of one — they, too, were taken
out and shewn, for notking could be beard, Walks, Walks ! ! !
His friends tken could be restrained no longer, tkey skouted
Walks for ever, wkilst tke Pupils in tke Gallery waived tkeir kats
and gave tkree Cheers. This is always infectious and the old folks
in tke Hall reiterated tke tkree Ckeers and skook kands witk eack
otker as for a great Victory ackieved."
Out of doors tke excitement was equally great. Rickard
Smitk left tke room when the voting appeared to be going against
his old pupil Walks, partly to get fresk air, and partly because ke
did not wisk to see tke enemy triumpk. He went witk otkers to
tke Commercial Rooms, and anxiously awaited tke result. Wken
at lengtk Mr. Gwyer came witk a beaming face and shouted
" Walks has got it ! " the newspapers were dropped, and "a
general shout was set up ' Huzza for Walks and tke Sinners, down
witk tke Saints ! ' "
Tke election was on February 21st, 1828, the actual number of
votes being : Walks 361, Howell 356.
Wken tke result was known, Dr. Metford wrote to the successful
candidate, who had gone through a most exciting and trying
time :—
" My dear Wallis,
" My whole family sincerely congratulate you on the events
of the da}', and I recommend you to take a blue pill to-nigkt and
go to bed early."
Dr. Henry Hawes Fox resigned on May I3tk, 1829. Tkere
were five candidates for tke vacancy, Drs. Henry Riley, G. Lyon,
Adam Ckadwick, G. G. Bompas, and Jokn Howell. Tke number of
votes Dr. Howell kad received in kis contest witk Dr. Wallis the
year before made his election certain, and the others retired. He
was unanimously elected Physician on June 4th, 1829.
444
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Dr. Andrew Carrick resigned on August 6th, x 1834. He was
made Honorary Consulting Physician to the Infirmary on his
retirement, the first to have this honour bestowed on him. Dr.
Henry Riley was unanimously elected in his place on August 28th.
Drs. Dick, Lyons, and J. A. Symonds were candidates, but Dr.
Riley (like Dr. Howell at his second application) had such
advantages from his previous canvass, that he had no serious
opposition. He was at the time Physician to St. Peter's Hospital
and to the Clifton Dispensary, both of which posts he relinquished
on his appointment to the Infirmary Staff.
In November, 1832, there was a report that Henry Daniel was
about to resign the Surgeoncy, and a spirited canvass at once began
between William Martin, Thomas Green, William James Goodeve,
G. T. Clark, H. Brigstock, and John Harrison.
It is impossible to say how this rumour originated, but it was
quite groundless, and he did not resign until July 6th, 1836.
There were then ten applicants, but John Harrison's supporters
were so numerous and powerful that the others gradually withdrew,
and he was elected without opposition on July 21st, 1836.
He was much helped in his canvass by Richard Smith, who
invariably looked after the interests of his old pupils (of whom
Harrison was one) whenever he was able.
Mr. Arthur Palmer, who proposed Harrison for election,
referred to the presence of ladies, " who shed a lustre and a grace
upon our meeting."
William Hetling resigned on November 8th, 1837, and William
Francis Morgan was unanimously elected on November 23rd.
There were eight other competitors, but Morgan's position,
both as a former applicant and as an old Resident Officer (he was
Apothecary from 1825 to 1833) rendered their canvass hopeless.
Henry Clark was the only one who obtained many promises of
support.
Richard Smith, who had proposed Morgan as Apothecary twelve
years before, undertook the same office for him on this occasion.
Richard Smith, jun., died on January 24th, 1843, after holding
the office of Surgeon for more than forty-six years, and Henry Clark
was elected to fill the vacancy on February 23rd.
There was another strong candidate, Thomas Green, who was
then Lecturer on Surgery at the Medical School. Both applicants
appeared confident. Green wrote to the Bristol Mirror (February
18th), " I have every reason to believe I shall be the successful
candidate." And Clark wrote, " I am justified in entertaining the
strongest confidence of success." The numbers were : —
Henry Clark 521 votes.
Thomas Green 283
Majority 238
1 His resignation came before the House Committee on this date ; it was
not read to the General Board until August 21st.
445
A HISTORY OF THE
Drs. J. C. Prichard and John Howell resigned on June 7th, 1843,
and were made Consulting Physicians, and on June 29th Dr.
Gilbert Lyon and Dr. James Fogo Bernard were elected to fill
the vacancies.
Dr. Alexander Fairbrother and Dr. C. R. Vachell were
candidates. The latter did little or no canvassing.
Nathaniel Smith resigned on August 7th, 1844. He had been
Surgeon to the Infirmary for twenty-seven years, and senior
Surgeon for twenty. There were several applicants for the
vacancy, R. B. Ruddock, Charles Greig (who was then House
Surgeon), George Rogers, of the Clifton Dispensary, Augustin
Prichard, J. G. Swayne (Demonstrator of Anatomy at the Medical
School), Charles Smith Bompas (Nathaniel Smith's nephew, late
House Surgeon at the Bristol General Hospital), W. J. Dunsford,
and Thomas Green.
Green was elected Surgeon without opposition on August
29th, 1844.
Dr. Riley resigned on October 13th, 1847, anc* Dr. William
Budd was unanimously elected on October 28th. He was proposed
by Mr. J. Sanders and seconded by Mr. Phippen.
When he returned thanks to his supporters after his election,
he paid " a deserved tribute to the great ability of his predecessor."
Dr. Riley was precluded from being made Consulting Physician,
as he had not held office for the required time (fourteen years).
Richard Lowe died on February 9th, 1850, after nearly forty-
three years' service as Surgeon to the Infirmary.
Four strong candidates appeared for the vacancy, viz. Frederick
Brittan, who retired from the contest on February 22nd, R. M.
Bernard, Charles Greig, who published long testimonials in the
papers, and Augustin Prichard, who had applied twice before.
The canvassing was very energetic, and began — as was too
often the case on such occasions — before Mr. Lowe's death. A
correspondent to the Bristol Mirror on February 16th, 1850,
strongly condemns this. He says : " It is with unutterable
disgust that he has noticed this premature canvass, the candidates
hovering like hungry vultures over their prey, waiting with im-
patience till death should summon him."
There was a full account of the election in the papers, from
which we may select the following from the Bristol Mirror and
General Advertiser for March 2nd, 1850 : " This being the eventful
day the exertions of the hard-worked Committees were, if possible,
redoubled. Refreshments were provided, flys were engaged, all
was hurry and bustle. From ten in the morning till late in the
evening, Broad Street was completely blockaded with flys, all were
on the qui vive to aid their favourite candidate, and the Guildhall
all day was regularly crammed with individuals who appeared to
take a very lively interest in the proceedings."
Mr. J. S. Harford 1 appeared on the scene about midday.
1 President and Treasurer 1844-59.
446
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
He came to register his vote, but was unable to preside, as he was
suffering from sciatica. It was objected, however, that the
President of the Infirmary could not vote unless he took the Chair
on these occasions— a frivolous objection, but there was so much
discussion about it that he decided not to vote. The result of
the poll was : —
Augustin Prichard 410 votes-
Charles Greig 304 »
:R. M. Bernard 276
W. F. Morgan resigned on April 18th, 1854, and on May 4th
Ralph Montague Bernard was elected Surgeon.
The other candidates were Charles Greig, Frederick Bnttan,
H A Hore, J. S. Metford, John Bleeck (Surgeon to the Jail),
Crosby Leonard, and William Bird Herapath. 1 J. B. Prowse and
D. E. Hamilton advertised their intentions to compete for the
next vacancy.
All the applicants except Bernard retired before the day of
election, although Brittan had promises of a great many votes.
The Special Board met at the Guildhall on May 4th, and as
there was only one candidate, the Mayor, Mr. J. G. Shaw, proposed
that Mr. Bernard should be declared elected ; but Mr. Brittan
objected that this was not the legal method, and accordingly, in
obedience to the rule that " the ballot should be taken in four
places," four hats were placed in different parts of the Hall, and a
few votes were collected in each, the Mayor " first asking Mr.
Brittan if he had an objection to a hat being considered a
balloting-box ? "
It is noteworthy that this was the first Infirmary election at
which " Proxies " were used ; that is, printed forms authorising
another subscriber to vote for you.
At the same meeting W. F. Morgan was made a Consulting
Surgeon.
Dr. Wallis resigned on January 3rd, 1855. He was sixty-
eight years of age, and had been Physician for twenty-seven years.
He illustrates the importance of a retiring age, for it is evident
that he had failed for some months to attend regularly in the
wards he loved so well. For many years he took very little holiday,
and the heavy work of seeing Out-patients, added to his other
duties, was too much for his strength. His absence had been
noticed by the Visitors, and he had explained matters to the
Committee on December 23rd, 1854.
There was a smart canvass for the vacancy between Dr.
Frederick Brittan and Dr. Fairbrother, but shortly before the
1 W. B. Herapath was a Doctor of Medicine of London University, and had
obtained Honours in Comparative Anatomy, Botany, Surgery, and Medicine,
being nearly at the head of the list in all these subjects.
447
A HISTORY OF THE
election on February 15th the latter withdrew, Dr. Brittan having
secured promises for nine hundred votes, he was therefore elected
without opposition.
Dr. J. F. Bernard resigned on May 20th, 1856, and Dr.
Alexander Fairbrother, whose position was secured by the promises
of votes he had obtained at his previous canvasses in 1843 and
1855, was elected without opposition on June 5th.
Dr. Gilbert Lyon and Henry Clark resigned on August 18th,
1857. Both had served on the Staff for fourteen years.
Dr. Edward Long Fox, jun., and Dr. John Beddoe were the
principle candidates for the vacancy caused by Dr. Lyon's resigna-
tion, but Dr. Beddoe withdrew, and Dr. Fox was unanimously
elected on September 3rd.
Mr. Richard Poole King, who was Chairman of Dr. Fox's
Committee, referred to the candidate's youth, and cited instances
of members of the Staff who had been elected early in life, notably
Richard Smith, jun., who became Surgeon to the Infirmary at the
age of twenty-one. Dr. Fox was twenty-five years of age at this
time ; he was a grandson of the Dr. Edward Long Fox who was
elected Physician in 1786, and nephew of Dr. H. H. Fox, who was
elected in 1816. (See Biographies, Appendix B.)
Dr. H. E. Fripp would have competed, but was disqualified as
he had no English degree, although he was a Licentiate of the
College of Physicians of London and a Doctor of Medicine. The
rules were soon after altered, and made to include Edinburgh and
Dublin degrees as qualifying for the post.
There was a keener canvass for the surgical vacancy (Henry
Clark's), especially between H. A. Hore, Crosby Leonard, T. E.
Clark, and J. S. Metford.
Crosby Leonard had obtained a good many promises, having
Mr. Charles Nash, a man very experienced in such matters, as
Chairman of his Committee, but retired before the poll.
Henry Augustus Hore was unanimously elected Surgeon on
September 3rd, 1857.
John Harrison resigned on December 20th, 1859, and three
candidates, Crosby Leonard, T. E. Clark, and J. S. Metford,
applied for the vacancy ; but Crosby Leonard (who was at this
time Lecturer on Anatomy at the Medical School, and Surgeon to
the Bridewell) began the contest with so many promises from his
former applications in 1854 and 1857 that the others retired, and
he was unanimously elected Surgeon on January 5th, i860.
Dr. Budd resigned on February 25th, 1862. He was at this
time fifty-one years of age, and had a large consulting practice ;
he was busy also writing a book on Typhoid Fever, and felt that
he could not give sufficient time to the Infirmary. His letter to
the Committee expresses so well the sorrow that every man must
experience on severing himself from such an Institution, that it
may be partly quoted. " It is impossible," he writes, " to have
taken part so long in the service of such a noble Institution without
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
feeling a deep attachment to it, and a corresponding sense of
regret in retiring from it."
Dr. John Beddoe (who competed with Dr. Edward Long Fox
in 1857) was elected Physician without opposition on March 20th,
1862.
Thomas Green resigned on August 23rd, 1864. He was the
first member of the Honorary Staff to come under the rule made
in 1843, that Physicians and Surgeons should retire after twenty
years' service (he was elected August 29th, 1844).
Thomas Edward Clark, who had competed twice before for the
Surgeoncy (in 1857 and in i860), was unanimously elected Surgeon
on September 15th, 1864. He had obtained proxies for 1,020 votes.
H. A. Hore, who had been connected with the Institution (as
Assistant House Surgeon, House Surgeon, and Surgeon) for
twenty-four years, resigned on April 14th, 1868.
An energetic canvass at once began between Robert William
Tibbits and Charles Steele. Both candidates had been educated
at the Infirmary ; Tibbits was Demonstrator of Anatomy at the
Medical School, Steele was Hon. Secretary of the local Branch of
the British Medical Association.
They published in the papers the names of their Committees,
each filling a column of small print. A few days before the election,
it was found by a comparison of the proxies that Tibbits had the
majorit}/ of promises, and he was elected without opposition on
April 28th, 1868.
Augustin Prichard retired in accordance with the twenty years
rule on February 22nd, 1870, and Charles Steele was elected
unanimously on March nth.
It was decided at a General Board on December 13th, 1870,
that an Assistant Physician and an Assistant Surgeon should be
added to the Staff ; and as these posts were almost certain steps
to positions on the full Staff, the importance of Infirmary elections
from this date centres on the appointment of these junior officers,
the senior posts being recruited from their ranks almost as a matter
of course.
The first election to the newly-made posts was held at the
Guildhall on January 28th, 1871, when Dr. Ebenezer Ludlow (who
had been Assistant House Surgeon 1865-70 and House Surgeon
1870-1) was unanimously appointed Assistant Physician, and
Edmund Comer Board (Assistant House Surgeon 1860-3 and
House Surgeon 1863-70) was unanimously elected Assistant
Surgeon.
Ralph M. Bernard was killed by a fall from some cliffs on
August 18th, 1871, and E. C. Board was elected Surgeon in his
place on September 21st.
On the same date Christopher Henry Dowson was elected
Assistant Surgeon to the vacancy caused by E. C. Board's
promotion to the full Staff.
Dr. Ebenezer Ludlow resigned his post of Assistant Physician
449
29
A HISTORY OF THE
on May 14th, 1872, on account of ill-health, and on May 30th
Dr. William Henry Spencer was elected to the vacancy.
Dr. T. E. Clark resigned the Surgeoncy on September 23rd, 1873,
and was elected Physician to the General Hospital September 30th.
On October 9th C. H. Dowson was elected Surgeon.
The vacancy in the Assistant Staff was filled on the same date
by the election of David Edward Bernard, nephew of Ralph
Montague Bernard.
Dr. Frederick Brittan resigned on October 14th, 1873, and
Dr. Beddoe resigned on the 28th.
The two vacancies were filled on November 20th, by the
election of Dr. Spencer in Dr. Brittan's place, and Dr. Robert
Shingleton Smith (who was Assistant House Surgeon 1870-1
and House Surgeon 1871-3) in Dr. Beddoe's.
In accordance with the general rule, Dr. Brittan was made
Consulting Physician ; Dr. Beddoe had not held office long enough
to qualify him for this distinction.
There were two candidates for the post of Assistant Physician
rendered vacant by Dr. Spencer's promotion, viz. Dr. Henry
Waldo and Dr. W. Johnstone Fyffe, and it was at once evident
that there would be a closely-contested election.
Dr. Fyffe came with excellent testimonials from the Royal
Victoria Hospital and the Army Medical School, Netley, with
which he had been connected for ten years ; he had married a
Clifton lady, and had many influential friends in the neighbourhood.
Dr. E. Long Fox, especially, was a staunch supporter of his claims,
and his position at the Infirmary gave his advocacy great weight ;
it was generally thought, in fact, that he was acting as the mouth-
piece of the Faculty in supporting Dr. Fyffe. This opinion was
strengthened by a circular, sent to all the Trustees by Dr. Fox,
containing the words, " I have been myself so many years
Physician at the Infirmary, that judging of its many wants, I feel
that my friend Dr. Fyffe meets them all." This letter was com-
mented on in the papers, and Mr. Mark Whit will, sen., Vice-Chair-
man of Dr. Waldo's Election Committee, wrote to the Faculty,
asking permission to contradict the report " current amongst the
Subscribers " that Dr. Fox was officially representing the Staff
in supporting Dr. Fyffe. Most of the Staff favoured Dr. Waldo
as a local man, whose career at the Medical School 1 and Infirmary
was known to them, and they at once gave authority to Mr.
Whitwill to contradict the above rumour, and this statement,
which showed that seven members of the Honorary Staff had
promised their votes to Dr. Waldo, no doubt influenced the election.
Another thing which prejudiced Dr. Fyffe's candidature was
the unfortunate mistake made by many of his supporters of
thinking that he was applying for the post of Physician instead of
Assistant Physician. The public contradiction of this gave an
opportunity for much unfriendly comment in the newspapers^
1 He entered the Bristol Medical School in 1867.
45°
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Dr. Fyffe was fifty years old at the time, Dr. Waldo was twenty-
eight ; this marked difference in age was used as an argument —
for and against the fitness of the applicants — by each party.
Both candidates had strong Committees, which worked
vigorously, the Mayor, Mr. W. Hathway, being on Dr. Fyffe's.
On the day fixed for the election, November 20th, 1873, a large
number of Subscribers attended at the Guildhall. The Rev.
James Heyworth, President and Treasurer, was in the Chair, and
there was great excitement when Mr. Cartwright, representing
Dr. Fyffe, claimed that the latter had 788 proxies.
An animated discussion arose as to the method of counting,
and it was at length decided that Mr. Livett should act as umpire ;
that Mr. Paul should be scrutineer for Dr. Waldo, Mr. Lawrence
for Dr. Fyffe, and that the meeting should be adjourned until
November 25th, when the result would be announced.
On November 25th Mr. Cartwright explained that a curious
mistake had been made.
A lady who had given a large donation to the Infirmary, and
had, therefore, a great many votes, had promised them to Dr.
Fyffe. She had now written to Dr. Waldo's Committee to say
that she " only intended to vote for Dr. Fyffe as an annual sub-
scriber," and had since sent a telegram that she " did not know
what she was doing " when she promised the votes. The umpire
had ruled that these votes could not be recorded in Dr. Fyffe's
favour, and he (Dr. Fyffe) had therefore withdrawn.
Mr. Cartwright, nevertheless, still claimed these votes for
Dr. Fyffe, and demanded a fresh scrutiny ; but after much talk it
was decided that as Dr. Fyffe had retired, there was only one
candidate, and Dr. Waldo was duly elected on November 25th, 1873.
This was a good example of the bitterness and ill-feeling
engendered by this form of election. Both candidates acted in a
perfectly upright and honourable manner ; Dr. Fox's advocacy
of a personal and esteemed friend was natural and right, yet the
heat of a contested election inflamed people's minds, and turned
many friends into enemies.
Dr. Fyffe became well known in Clifton, and much esteemed.
He died on May 17th, 1901, aged seventy-eight.
Dr. Fairbrother resigned in accordance with the twenty years
rule on June 27th, 1876, and on July 28th Dr. Waldo was elected
Physician in his place.
The post of Assistant Physician vacated by Dr. Waldo was
filled on the same date by the election* of Dr. John Edward Shaw,
who had been Assistant House Surgeon from 1873 to 1876.
D. E. Bernard resigned the Assistant Surgeoncy, which he had
held for three years, on July 25th, 1876, and on August 10th
Arthur William Prichard, son of Augustin Prichard, and grandson
of Dr. J. Cowles Prichard, was elected in his place.
This was the last Infirmary election which took place at the
Guildhall ; the first held in this building was that of John Ford
45i
A HISTORY OF THE
on June 12th, 1759. The earlier elections were in the Surgeons'
Hall or the Merchant Tailors' Hall. Richard Champion, sen., was
elected Treasurer at the Rummer Tavern.
From 1876 onwrds these functions took place in the Board
Room of the Infirmary, and lost much of their public character.
Dr. E. Long Fox resigned, after twenty years' service, on August
14th, 1877, and on September nth Dr. John Edward Shaw was
appointed Physician. He was the first Honorary Medical Officer
to be elected in the Board Room.
The vacancy on the Assistant Staff was not filled until 1883.
On December 28th, 1877. the " retiring rule " was altered ;
instead of twenty years' service on the full Staff as the limit,
it was decided that Physicians should retire at the age of
sixty, and Surgeons at the age of fifty-five. This was not made
absolute until the new code of rules was passed in 1890.
Crosby Leonard resigned on August 13th, 1878, and A. W.
Prichard was elected Surgeon in his place on August 27th.
Francis Richardson Cross was elected Assistant Surgeon in
A. W. Prichard's place on September 10th.
R. W. Tibbits died on November 22nd, 1878, and Charles
Steele, 1 then senior Surgeon, resigned on December 10th.
On January 7th, 1879, F. R. Cross was appointed Surgeon in
Tibbits's pace, and James Greig Smith (who had been on the
Resident Staff since June, 1876, as Assistant House Surgeon,
House Surgeon, and Medical Superintendent consecutively) was
elected in Dr. Steele's place.
William Henry Harsant (who had been House Surgeon at the
General Hospital since September, 1874) was elected Assistant
Surgeon on the same date, in F. R. Cross's stead
As above stated, when Dr. Shaw was elected Physician on
September nth, 1877, the post on the Assistant Staff which he
vacated was not filled until 1883. During these six years the
Physicians and Residents saw the medical Out-patients.
In the summer of 1883 it was decided to appoint an Assistant
Physician, and two candidates applied, Dr. Arthur Bancks Prowse
and Dr. Barclay Josiah Baron. Dr. Baron had recently come to
Clifton with high testimonials from Edinburgh. Dr. Prowse
belongs to a well-known family of doctors. He is the son of
William Prowse, M.R.C.S., and nephew of James Barrington
Prowse, who in 1840 was an applicant for the post of Apothecary
to the Infirmary. (See p. 312.)
After the usual canvassing experiences, a friendly meeting of
the candidates' supporters took place, and a scrutiny of promised
votes showed such a preponderance in favour of Dr. Prowse, that
Dr. Barclay Baron retired.
Dr. Prowse was elected on September 25th, 1883.
1 He took the M.D. of Durham in 1880, and has since been widely known
in Clifton and Bristol as " Dr. Steele." He entered the Bristol Medical School
in 1856, and took the F.R.C.S. Eng. in 1869.
452
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
On May 22nd, 1885, the Faculty recommended the formal
recognition of three special departments, the Ophthalmic, Obstetric,
and Dental ; the Committee agreed, and the first of these posts
was advertised.
On October 26th, 1885, F. R. Cross was unanimously elected
Ophthalmic Surgeon.
W. H. Harsant, who had been Assistant Surgeon for nearly
seven years, was elected Surgeon, without opposition, on
November 10th, 1885.
As stated above, it was known in May that there would be
three vacancies in the autumn. About Mr. Cross's and Mr.
Harsant's election there was no question, but there was no such
certainty about filling the vacant post of Assistant Surgeon.
Until an official statement was made it was impossible to
conduct a public canvass, but it was equally impossible for the two
prospective candidates to refrain from getting their " fighting
gear " ready, and privately asking for promises of votes, " in case
a vacancy should occur."
As might be expected under such circumstances, difficulties
arose. One candidate, finding that some friends on whom he
relied for votes had been canvassed, issued a circular to the
Subscribers, asking them to reserve their promises. This was
answered by another circular from the other candidate, hinting
that premature action had been taken, as there was then no
vacancy. By the middle of June Election Committees had been
formed, districts mapped out, and the Trustees were assailed by
letters, testimonials, and personal calls ; in fact, the bickering,
intriguing, and all the horrors of an old-fashioned Infirmary
election were in full force. Complications arose from the fact
that two or three dozen kind-hearted people not only promised
their support to both candidates, but in some cases actually allowed
their names to appear on both Committees !
Whatever might be said in favour of this mode of election, the
work to the candidates themselves was expensive, difficult, and
repulsive. To go round, day after day (generally in a " hansom "),
begging the suffrages of hundreds of Subscribers, in all different
stations in life, was a great tax upon one's time, temper, and
amour-propre. There was bound also to be an amount of friction
and annoyance, which might easily, unless great care were taken,
make ill blood between friends.
The two applicants were James Paul Bush and myself. The
former had the advantage of having been connected with the
Infirmary as House Physician, House Surgeon, and Senior Resident
Medical Officer. I relied on my connection with the Teaching
Staff of the Medical School. We had both been educated at
Clifton College, and had local ties and influence.
Towards the end of October, in order to avoid the further
expense of a contested election, we agreed to place our lists of
supporters in the hands of Dr. Prowse, who kindly undertook to
453
A HISTORY OF THE
count the promised votes. He found that Mr. Bush had a majority.
I accordingly retired, and everything ended amicably.
James Paul Bush was duly elected Assistant Surgeon on
November ioth, 1885.
There was a third candidate, William John Penny, a
distinguished pupil of Sir Joseph Lister at King's College Hospital.
He withdrew after a short canvass. In June, 1886, he was
appointed Assistant Surgeon to the General Hospital.
The Obstetric Department was instituted in the summer of 1887,
and it was understood that two candidates, Dr. Ernest Wedmore
and Dr. Patrick Watson-Williams, were applying for the post of
Obstetric Physician. The latter, as a distinguished Bristol student
and Resident at the Infirmary (he was then House Physician), had
great support from the Trustees. Dr. Wedmore had made a
special study of midwifery and diseases of women at London
and Vienna.
Dr. Watson-Williams, who had other plans in view, withdrew
from the contest, and on December 13th, 1887, Dr. Wedmore1
was elected Obstetric Physician without opposition.
The Dental Department was established in January, 1888,
and on February 28th William Robert Ackland was elected
Dental Surgeon.
Dr. Spencer retired in March, 1888, after fifteen years' service
as Physician and one as Assistant Physician. Dr. Prowse was
elected Physician in his place on March 27th. The vacancy caused
by Dr. Prowse's election on the full Staff was filled on May 8th
by the appointment of Dr. Watson- Williams as Assistant Physician.
On December 26th, 1888, it was decided to reduce the
number of Surgeons from five to four, and to appoint another
Assistant Surgeon, the rule not to come into force until after the
next vacancy had been filled.
Christopher Henry Dowson died on January 14th, 1889, and
on February 12th J. Paul Bush was elected Surgeon in his place.
On the same day G. Munro Smith was made Assistant Surgeon,
without opposition.
Two other candidates applied for the post, viz. Dr. James
Swain, who was then Senior Resident Medical Officer, and John
Dacre, who had held the post of Junior Resident Officer, House
Physician, House Surgeon, and Senior Resident Medical Officer.
These two gentlemen retired soon after making their formal
applications, and there was practically no canvassing.
On May 26th, 1891, Dr. Ernest Wedmore resigned the post of
Obstetric Physician, which he had held for three and a half
years.
For some months before this his attendance at the Infirmary
had been intermittent owing to ill-health, and this led to his
resignation.
1 Dr. Wedmore was the son of Mr. Thomas Wedmore of Druid Stoke, and
was connected on his father's and mother's sides with Bristol families.
454
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
On December 8th, 1891, Dr. Walter Carless Swayne was
elected in Dr. Wedmore's place.
Dr. Swayne is a great-nephew of William Swayne, who was
Apothecary to the Infirmary from 1816 to 1824, and nephew of the
late Dr. J. G. Swayne, who was Physician-Accoucheur to the
General Hospital from 1854 to 1875.
This election, it may be noted, was the last by the whole body
of Trustees. After this date all appointments on the Honorary
Medical Staff were made by a Committee of Election.
E. C. Board resigned on May 10th, 1892. He entered the
Bristol Medical School as a student in 1855 ; became a Resident
House pupil at the Infirmary, and was elected Assistant House
Surgeon on May 17th, i860, House Surgeon on November 19th,
1863, Assistant Surgeon on January 28th, 1871, and Surgeon on
September 21st, 1871. He was appointed to all these Infirmary
posts by the Trustees.
The vacancy caused by Mr. Board's resignation was not filled,
and the number of Surgeons was thus reduced to four. (See p. 454.)
On January 26th, 1892, it was decided that in future every
vacancy in the Honorary Medical and Surgical Staff should be filled
by a Committee of Election, to consist of the President, Vice-
Presidents, the Consulting Physicians and Surgeons, the Physicians
and Surgeons (including the Obstetric Physician and Ophthalmic
Surgeon), the members of the Committee of Management, together
with twenty-one Governors, to be appointed annually at the
General Board held in March of each year. x
The time-honoured plan of election by the suffrages of the
Trustees or Governors was thus abolished, not without a passing
sigh of regret from some. It was a cumbersome, expensive
method, and success under its rule depended more on the local
interests, organising powers, and political and religious opinions of
a candidate than on his professional equipment. On the other
hand, although the majority of the Trustees could not judge the
applicant's medical or surgical knowledge so well as a properly
constituted Committee, there was, nevertheless, under the old
regime greater importance attached to his social position, general
character and reputation, and personality ; but the change has
worked well, and was inevitable.
The rule for increasing the number of Assistant Surgeons
made in December, 1888 (see p. 454), came into operation on
June 7th, 1892, when Dr. James Swain was elected to the new post
by the Committee of Election, unopposed.
Dr. Swain, who came from the Westminster Medical School and
Hospital, was elected House Physician on March 22nd, 1886, and
House Surgeon and Senior Resident Medical Officer on May 24th,
1887.
1 This was first proposed by Mr. Pellew on October 13th, 1891. It was
then warmly opposed and withdrawn. The General Hospital had already
adopted this plan.
455
A HISTORY OF THE
On March 28th, 1893, it was decided to appoint an additional
Assistant Physician, and two months later the post was advertised.
Two candidates applied, viz. Dr. Francis Henry Edgeworth and
Dr. Bertram Milford Heron Rogers.
Dr. Edgeworth, the son of a well-known Bristol doctor, entered
the Bristol Medical School in 1887. He studied also at Cambridge
(where he was a Scholar of Gonville and Caius College), at the
Sorbonne at Paris, and at the Universities of Tubingen and
Gottingen, also at London and Dublin. He was made Honorary
Pathologist at the Infirmary on July 8th, 1890.
Dr. Rogers was educated at Westminster School and Exeter
College, Oxford, where he graduated in the Natural Science
School in Honours. He received his medical education at
University College Hospital, London, where he took the Silver
Medal in Medicine.
Dr. Edgeworth was elected Assistant Physician on June 13th,
1893.
A point of some importance arose at this election. The Staff
of the Infirmary, in recognition of Dr. Edgeworth's work at the
Institution, had given him a testimonial signed by all the members
of the Faculty. Some of the Trustees protested against such
testimonials from the whole Staff as certain to prejudice the
chances of any other applicant. The force of this objection was
allowed, and it was agreed that in future individual testimonials
only should be given by members of the Staff to candidates for
Infirmary posts. (It may be mentioned that Greig Smith
composed the joint testimonial in favour of Dr. Edgeworth,
and afterwards proposed that such testimonials should not be
given.)
James Greig Smith died on May 25th, 1897, and on June 17th
George Munro Smith, who had been Assistant Surgeon since
February, 1889, was elected Surgeon. On the same date Thomas
Carwardine was elected Assistant Surgeon.
Dr. H. Elwin Harris (Cambridge and St. Bartholomew's) was
also a candidate. (Mr. Carwardine came to Bristol from University
College and the Middlesex Hospitals, and was appointed House
Surgeon and Senior Resident Officer at the Infirmary on May 14th,
1895-)
F. Richardson Cross resigned the post of Ophthalmic Surgeon
on July 10th, 1900, after twenty-two years' service on the Honorary
Staff, and on September 25th Dr. Alexander Ogilvy was elected
in his place.
Dr. Ogilvy had made a special study of Diseases of the Eye at
Dublin and London, also at the Universities of Vienna and
Heidelberg, and at the Ophthalmic Hospitals of Utrecht, Leipsic,
and Berlin. At the time of his election he had been for six years
Surgeon to the Bristol Eye Hospital.
Dr. Ogilvy died on June 10th, 1914, and Edward Hugh
Edwards Stack was elected in his place on July 28th.
456
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
W. H. Harsant resigned in October, 1902, after twenty-three
years' service on the Honorary Staff, and on October 28th Dr.
James Swain, who had been Assistant Surgeon for ten years, was
elected Surgeon.
Harold Frederick Mole was on the same date elected Assistant
Surgeon in Dr. Swain's place.
Mr. Mole entered the Bristol Medical School in 1884. He was
elected Junior House Physician at the Infirmary on February 24th,
1891, Junior House Surgeon on July 28th, 1891, House Physician
on May 14th, 1895, and House Surgeon on June 17th, 1897.
Dr. Charles Hayman, who had acted as Dental Assistant since
March 25th, 1902, was appointed Assistant Dental Surgeon on
April 26th, 1904.
Dr. Shingleton Smith retired on January 10th, 1905, after
serving on the Honorary Staff for nearly thirty-two years. As he
held resident posts before this, he was connected with the Infirmary
as Medical Officer for nearly thirty-five years.
Dr. Watson- Williams, who had been Assistant Physician for
the long period of seventeen years, was elected Physician in
Dr. Smith's place on March 7th, 1905.
There were two candidates for the post of Assistant Physician
vacated by Dr. Watson- Williams, viz. Dr. Theodore Fisher and
Dr. John Alexander Nixon.
Dr. Fisher had been Honorary Pathologist to the Infirmary
since 1895, and had spent much time and labour in cataloguing the
Museum specimens, etc., and had occasionally seen medical Out-
patients in the absence of the Assistant Physician. Dr. Nixon has
been Plouse Physician since the autumn of 1902, and had before
this acted as Ophthalmic House Surgeon and House Physician at
St. Bartholomew's, and House Surgeon at the Metropolitan
Hospital, London.
Both candidates had great claims on the Institution, and both
were strongly supported.
Unfortunately some complications had been introduced by a
letter written by Dr. Fisher, and the election was therefore
postponed. In the meanwhile another candidate applied,
Dr. John Roger Charles, who had held important resident
posts at St. Thomas's, at Addenbroke's Hospital, Cambridge,
and at the General Hospital, Birmingham, where he was also
Casualty Assistant Physician.
Dr. Fisher and Dr. Nixon retired, and Dr. Charles was elected
Assistant Physician on June 20th, 1905.
Dr. Waldo retired on January 23rd, 1906, after serving on
the Honorary Staff for thirty-three years, and on February 14th
Dr. Edgeworth, who had been Assistant Physician for nearly
thirteen years, was elected Physician. On the same date Dr. Nixon
was elected Assistant Physician.
On January 23rd, 1906, A. W. Prichard, who had been on the
Honorary Staff for nearly thirty years, resigned the Surgeoncy,
457
A HISTORY OF THE
and Thomas Carwardine was elected Surgeon in his place. The
vacancy caused in the Assistant Staff was filled on the same date
by the appointment of Dr. Edward Hugh Edwards Stack as
Assistant Surgeon. He resigned this office on February 25th,
1913, on his appointment as Surgeon, and on July 28th, 1914,
succeeded Dr. Ogilvy as Ophthalmic Surgeon.
Dr. Stack, who had previously held important Resident posts
at St. Bartholomew's, was elected House Physician at the Infirmary
on July 27th, 1897, House Surgeon on October 14th, 1902, and
Surgical Registrar on January 2nd, 1906.
Dr. P. Watson- Williams was unanimously elected Physician
to the recently-established Throat and Nose Department on
November 14th, 1906.
Dr. Shaw resigned on September 14th, 1907, after being
connected with the Infirmary (on the Honorary and Resident Staff)
for thirty-four years.
Thus at the end of the year 1907, owing to Dr. Shaw's resigna-
tion and Dr. Watson- Williams's appointment to the Throat and
Nose Department, there were only two Physicians on the Infirmary
Staff, viz. Dr. Prowse and Dr. Edgeworth.
The Faculty suggested that two more should be appointed to
complete the regular number of four ; but at this time the re-
arrangement of the Residents' duties and the question of beds
for the Assistant Staff were being discussed, and the election was
postponed, pending the consideration of these matters.
It was agreed that as Dr. Nixon and Dr. Charles wished to
continue their Out-patient work after election on the full Staff
only one Assistant Physician should be appointed in their
place.
The election did not take place until July 28th, 1908, when Dr.
Nixon and Dr. Charles were appointed Physicians vice Dr. Watson-
Williams and Dr. Shaw, and on the same day Dr. John Matthew
Fortescue-Brickdale was elected Assistant Physician.
Dr. Fortescue-Brickdale, who had been Medical Registrar at
the Infirmary since January 2nd, 1906, and had previously been
Clinical Assistant, Assistant House Physician, and House
Physician at Guy's Hospital, is a son of the Matthew Inglett
Fortescue-Brickdale who claimed and was granted the right to
recommend patients to the Infirmary in accordance with the
conditions of a bequest made by John Brickdale in 1766. (See
p. 289.)
G. Munro Smith resigned on June 8th, 1909, after being
connected with the Infirmary for twenty-three years (Demonstrator
of Morbid Anatomy, January, 1886, Assistant Surgeon, February,
1889, and Surgeon, June, 1897), and H. F. Mole was elected
Surgeon on July 27th, 1909. On September 28th of this year
Mr. Mole relinquished his charge of ear patients, who were, after
this date, included in the Throat and Nose Department.
On July 27th, 1909, Charles Ferrier Walters, who had been
-158
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Casualty Officer, Junior House Surgeon, Junior House Physician,
Resident Obstetric Officer, and Honorary Assistant Anaesthetist,
was elected Assistant Surgeon in Mr. Mole's place.
On December 14th, 1909, Dr. Charles Hayman resigned the
post of Assistant Dental Surgeon, and Dr. F. C. Nichols was
elected in his place.
On January 15th, 1913, J. Paul Bush resigned the Surgeoncy,
having held office on the Honorary Staff for twenty-eight years.
As he was a Resident for some time before this (he was elected
House Physician on September 12th, 1882, and House Surgeon
and Senior Resident Medical Officer on February 13th, 1883), he
was connected with the Infirmary Staff altogether for thirty-one
years. -^
On December 9th, 1913, Richard Clarke was elected Assistant
Physician. " "
459
APPENDIX B
BIOGRAPHIES
In the following pages a short account will be given of some
well-known people connected with the Infirmary, whose biographies
could not well be inserted in the body of this history without
interrupting the narrative.
THE RICHARD SMITHS.
RICHARD SMITH, SEN.
In the early part of the eighteenth century Richard Smith,
a native of Warminster, came to Bristol, and established himself
as a brewer and maltster in this city, where he married Elizabeth
Bradford, a shrewd and energetic woman.
He was a man of elegant and refined manners, fond of books,
and unfitted for his business, which was managed principally by
his wife. " No two people," wrote their grandson, " could be
much more unlike each other. He was sedate, slow of speech,
mild and placid . . . while she was quick and irritable, and
knew how to scold." They were not a well-matched couple, and
the joke of the neighbours was that " Smith and his wife seemed
to agree in only one point and that was the getting of children,"
of whom eleven were born to them. They lived at Counterslip,
in a house with a freestone front, opposite the Baptist Chapel.
Richard Smith was much respected ; he was a Tory in politics,
and was President of the Dolphin Society in 1766. He died in
1777, leaving his son Richard his executor. His business was
carried on for some years after his death by his daughters
Elizabeth and Ann.
Richard, the only one of his offspring with whom we have
to deal, was born in the house at Counterslip on June 14th,
1748.
At the age of nine he went to the Grammar School in
Christmas Street, of which the Rev. Samuel Seyer * was head
master. About the year 1758 he was sent to the Grammar
School at Warminster, where the discipline appears to have been
1 Father of the Rev. Samuel Seyer who wrote the History of Bristol.
460
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
too severe for his taste ; for little Richard ran away " with a
small bundle of clothes," and was found, several days afterwards,
working with some masons who were building a house. This
was known long afterwards amongst his friends as " the house
that Dick built."
He was then sent to Winchester College, under Dr. Barton,
where, according to the Rev. George Wilkins (one of his school-
fellows, afterwards Rector of St. Nicholas) the unmanageable Dick
was very idle, and was " pretty regularly flogged." He was, in
fact, high spirited and mischievous. The senior boys at the school
used to frequent an ale-house, where they drank punch to the
health of the Pretender ; they occasionally had fights with the
townspeople, and even robbed orchards and farmyards. In all
these freaks Dick Smith was a conspicuous figure. He had a good
voice, and developed early in life a love for music. At a grand
" visitation " to Winchester by the Chancellor and several noble-
men he was selected to chant the " Benedic nobis, Domine," and
the " Benedictus sit Deus in donis suis " (the former before and
the latter after dinner), and it is reported that Lord Berkeley, who
was present, was so pleased with his performance that he gave him
a guinea.
In 1762 he left school, and was indentured to John Townsend,
Surgeon to the Infirmary, then practising in Broad Street. His
indentures are dated September 9th, 1762. Young Dick (he was
only fourteen at the time) covenants that " Goods he shall not
inordinately waste, Taverns he shall not frequent, at Dice he shall
not play. . . . Matrimony he shall not contract," etc.
Townsend did his best to keep his apprentice in order, but had his
difficulties. For instance, in the third year of his indentures
Master Richard came home one night just at the point of eleven
o'clock. His master had locked the door, and told him with a
growl to "go about his business, that no one should come in after
eleven." " Sir," said the apprentice, "the quarter-boys are now
going, and Christ Church has not yet finished striking," to which
Townsend answered, " My clock has struck, and that 's enough
for me ! " Dick Smith wisely called the watchman, and " bid him
take notice he was at the door before the Parish Clock had struck."
The next morning the surgeon would neither receive the apprentice,
nor return any portion of his fees, and seemed inclined to adhere
to this. A lawsuit followed, in which the youngster pleaded for
himself, and won a verdict. Afterwards, however, the two were
perfectly good friends, for Townsend, although rough and surly,
seldom bore malice.
I Richard Smith then studied in London, at the Borough
Hospital, and attended his midwifery cases there. Dr. Colin
Mackenzie, whose lectures he attended, once stopped him when
" he was going to a ' labour ' with a scarlet cloak and sword, as
was then the mode with the students." The doctor took him to
task, pointing out the ,"LimProPriety of a man's going armed to
461
A HISTORY OF THE
bring a being into the world, when such a weapon could only serve
to send a person out of it ! "
In 1768 he returned to Bristol, and began practice at his father's
house at Counterslip, and on August nth of that year he was
elected Surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital, when he was only twenty
years old.
Richard Smith was good looking, and his manners and conversa-
tion were attractive. He was always popular with rich and poor,
and he appears to have at once obtained a fair amount of
professional work. His sister Elizabeth told her nephew that
" when brother Dick came from London patients poured in upon
him so fast, that his father gave him a sort of Cock-loft in the
Brewery, which he fitted up as a Surgery ; and up there used to
mount men and women, gentle and simple, such a cataband 1 that
there was no end to them, and we were all heartily glad when he
went to Queen Square."
Early in 1771 he left Counterslip, and went to live in " the last
house in Charlotte Street, at the corner of Queen Square, opposite
the gable end of the Mansion House."
There is a water-colour drawing of this house in the Memoirs
of Richard Smith, jun., a copy of which is reproduced here.
(See Fig. 80.)
It is memorable as the residence of four Infirmary Surgeons in
succession. " Tom Skone " lived there before Richard Smith ;
the latter left it in December, 1785, when Godfrey Lowe took up
his abode there, and after his death in April, 1806, his son Richard
Lowe lived there until 1811. It was originally No. 6, but when the
other corner house was made into two residences it became No. 7.
The little wooden porch at the side of the house led into the
sm-gery.
On September 23rd, 1771, Richard Smith married Augusta,
daughter of the Rev. Alexander Stopford Catcott, 2 master of the
Free Grammar School, and on December 6th, 1774, he was elected
Surgeon to the Infirmary. (See p. 429.)
Although his practice was a fairly good one for so young a man,
an accidental circumstance gave it a sudden impetus, and brought
him rapidly into fame.
The master of a large brewery in Redcliff Street dislocated his
shoulder, and sent for Townsend, who tried in vain to reduce it,
" assisted by a number of workmen." He had just told his
patient that he was afraid he could not get the bone into place,
when the brewer saw Richard Smith riding past the window, and,
with the consent of Townsend, called him in.
The muscles of the shoulder had no doubt become exhausted
by the severe pulling they had received, and were no longer in
1 I cannot find this word " cataband " in any dictionary.
2 Augusta Catcott was a sister of George Symes Catcott, of Chatterton
celebrity. Another brother was the Rev. Alexander Catcott, who wrote a
" Treatise on the Deluge ; " he was Vicar of Temple Church, Bristol.
462
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
that state of tension which makes reduction so difficult ; for when
Richard Smith was examining the arm to ascertain the position of
the head of the bone, " in a few seconds, as it were by magic, the
head slipped into the socket."
The patient and the numerous on-lookers were delighted.
" Old Johnny Townsend pouted his great lips, and said, ' Humph,'
put on a bandage and departed."
Richard Smith was the first to recognise that this was luck,,
not skill, but his reputation was made.
In 1777 he was fortunate enough to restore life to an apparently
drowned boy, for which he received the Royal Humane Society's
medal. This added to his fame, and for many years he made a
large income, and would have died a rich man had it not been
for his fondness for pleasure and society.
In the year 1784 he made the acquaintance of Mr. John Archer,
of Welford in Berkshire, a man of great wealth and of good manners
and pleasant appearance, who followed the rather frivolous and
dissipated career of a " blood " of those days. He took such a
fancy to Richard Smith that he came to live in Bristol, and spent
most of his time with his friend. Archer drove a coach and six,
and lived in a convivial, extravagant style, which led his companion
into many expenses.
In December, 1785, the Smiths left Queen Square and took a
house1 in College Green, opposite St. Augustine's Church. The
following year Richard Smith was President of the Dolphin Society,
and during the remainder of his life he worked hard at business and
pleasure.
The early summer of 1791 was very hot, and one day towards
the end of May he came home, after a long ride, in an exhausted
condition, and had a sharp attack of fever. He made a partial
recovery, but had a relapse, and died on June 21st, 1791. During
his last illness he " set his house in order," and supported and
helped by his loving and pious wife, he resigned himself with
fortitude to meet the end.
Richard Smith was tall, handsome, of a slight but athletic
figure, with bright eyes and beautifully white teeth. He was
kind hearted, generous with his money, fond of music and literature,
an excellent companion ; not easily angered, but quick to resent
minor troubles, such as a bad hand at cards, etc. He was
impetuous, and always ready to fight when occasion arose.
He appears to have been a good boxer, and frequently " took
off his coat " and attempted to thrash any man whom he saw
ill-treating a horse or other animal. Some of his school exercises
are still in existence, and these show that he was a fair Latin
scholar.
He left two children, Henry, who became an attorney and
married Anne Hyden Creedy, and Richard.
1 Formerly inhabited by Mr. Delprat.
463
A HISTORY OF THE
RICHARD SMITH, J UN.
Richard Smith, jun. (as he is usually styled in Infirmary
records, although he was the third of that name), was born in
Queen Square on June 28th, 1772.
He was apprenticed to his father, but at the death of the latter
in 1791 he was " turned over," as the phrase then was, to Godfrey
Lowe, the senior Surgeon ; and it was when he was a student at
the Institution that he made the happy discovery of the old
documents to which, and to his notes, we are indebted for so much
information about the early history of the Infirmary. (See
Introduction.)
He was elected Surgeon to the Charity on June 23rd, 1796, on
the resignation of Joseph Metford ; in 1812 he became senior
Surgeon, and from that time until his death on January 24th, 1843, x
he identified himself very closely with the history of the Infirmary,
attending all the Board and other meetings, and devoting much of
his time to the wards and to the collection of " specimens ; " and
it may interest some of my readers to learn that his own " milk "
teeth were carefully collected as they were shed and fastened on a
card. They are now one of the curiosities in the Infirmary
Museum.
- In 1802 he married Anne Eugenia, daughter of Henry
Creswick, a descendant of an old Bristol family to which Dean
Creswick — who was so active a promoter of the Bristol Infirmary,
and preached the inaugural sermon on December 13th, 1737 —
belonged.
The house in which the Creswicks lived for many years
descended to Richard Smith's wife, and was sold by him for the
site on which the Commercial Rooms were built.
The following year, 1803, he was appointed chief of the Medical
Staff of the Bristol Volunteers, and in 1804 he became one of the
proprietors of the Bristol Mirror.
He was, like his father, a convivial, cheerful man, with a ruddy
face, and a loud, strident laugh, which accompanied or followed
his own gros mots or his friends' stories.
His passion for collecting morbid specimens, and especially
anything gruesome or uncanny, has been referred to before in
these pages.
He was an enthusiastic Freemason. He was initiated in the
Royal Sussex Lodge of Hospitality in 1817 by his brothei
Henry, and became Worshipful Master of the Lodge in 1820.
On June 8th, 1830, he was installed Deputy Provincial Grand
Master.
In 1 841 a subscription was made to have his portrait painted by
J. Bran white ; it was presented to him in October of that year,
and is still hanging in the Lodge Room. (For portrait see
Frontispiece.)
1 See pp. 30S-9 for an account of his death and funeral.
464
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BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
He left no issue. His brother Henry had three children, a son,
Richard Catcott, who died in 1862, and two daughters, Augusta
Anne, who married Mr. Goodwin Rooth, and Elizabeth Creedy,
who married Mr. John Rooth.
Richard Smith's social habits and his excellent qualifications
as a host have been referred to more than once. When dining
with a company of friends he was full of life and jollity, and sang
his songs or told his stories with an exuberance of animal spirits.
He was fond of quoting the saying, " Nemo mortalium omnibus
horis sapit."
He once gave some books to his friend Alfred Bleeck on the
following conditions : —
1. That he " shall not part with them so long as he is able
to bear a Bob in a Catch, glee or madrigal."
2. " That he shall at each ensuing birthday drink a bumper
with his friends in silence ' to the pious memory of the donor ' —
but after a lapse of two minutes exactly, the company shall strike
up Smart's glee of ' With my jug in one hand and my pipe in the
other.' "
After his death a friend composed a " Round " to his memory
(see Fig. 81), the words of which are : —
" He is gone, a fine old fellow.
For others' good his heart was mellow ;
In life all men his friendship found,
Let now his mem'ry circle round."
In his latter years, according to Augustin Prichard, " Dick
Smith drove about in a gig, wrapped in a rough camlet cloak, with
a white dog running underneath."
SIR MICHAEL FOSTER.
" As Mansfield wise and as old Foster just."
Churchill's Rosciad.
Michael Foster shares with Elbridge, Bonython, Richard
Champion, and Creswick the honour of being one of the chief
promoters of the Bristol Infirmary. He gave up a great deal of
time, from a very busy life, to the welfare of the Institution, and
drew up the first code of rules, many of which, with slight
alterations, are still in force.
He was born at Marlborough on December 16th, 1689. His
family were Protestant Dissenters, and his father and grandfather
were both well-known attorneys.
He was educated at the Free Grammar School of his native
place, and at Oxford University, and was admitted to the
Middle Temple in 1707.
Although he attended with great assiduity at Westminster
465
30
A HISTORY OF THE
Hall, his talents were not recognised in London, and he retired
to Marlborough, when he soon attracted considerable notice
by a pamphlet entitled " Letter of advice to Protestant
Dissenters."
In 1725 he married the daughter of James Lyde, of Stanton
Wick, Somerset, and soon after this he came to Bristol, where he
lived in St. James's Barton, and occupied chambers directly
opposite the door of St. Werburgh's Church.
It was not until 1735 that he made himself famous, by writing
a spirited reply to Bishop Gibson's Codex Juris Ecclesiastici
"Anglicani. In this well- written publication he criticises the
Bishop's views as to the independence of the ecclesiastical and other
law courts. The same year he was made Recorder of Bristol ; he
became Serjeant-at-Law in 1736, and was appointed a Judge of the
King's Bench in 1745, in which year he was knighted by George
the Second.
In 1758 he did good service by attacking the practices of the
press gangs. At that time the Crimps had on several occasions
seized respectable citizens in the open streets, and at the Royal
Exchange, and sent them abroad as ordinary soldiers. This
tyranny was to a very great extent suppressed by his vigorous
efforts.
This year also a question came prominently before the nation,
viz. whether the public had a right of thoroughfare through some
of the Royal grounds. The Princess Amelia had given orders to
her keeper to close the gates of her residence, Richmond Park, on
the populace. The right of the inhabitants to walk through the
park was confirmed by Sir Michael's decision, which was considered
at the time (when judges were more dependent than now on royal
caprice) a national triumph.
There is a story told that when the King inquired what would
be the expense of erecting gates to exclude the populace, someone
had the temerity to answer : " Perhaps it might cost your Majesty
a crown or two."
Sir Michael Foster was a just and good man, severe sometimes
in his sentences on criminals, but on the whole kind hearted. He
was of robust health, and seldom had a day's illness before the
death of his wife. He appears never to have recovered from this
loss, and died a few years after her, on November 7th, 1763. His
last days were peaceful and full of pious resignation ; "he
expatiated with his friends upon religious topics, and expressed
great joy at the glorious prospect beyond the grave which
Christianity opened to his view."
He died in London, but his remains were buried at Stanton
Drew in Somersetshire. (For portrait see Fig. 82.)
I append a portion of a pedigree of his family, compiled by the
Rev. John Ward, of Great Bedwyn Vicarage.
466
SIR MICHAEL FOSTER.
Fig. 82.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
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467
A HISTORY OF THE
THE PRICHARDS.
JAMES COWLES PRICHARD.
James Cowles Prichard was born at Ross, in Herefordshire, on
February nth, 1786.
His father, Thomas Prichard, who belonged to the Society of
Friends, came to Bristol and became a member of the firm of
Harford, Partridge & Co., iron and tin plate merchants, in Small
Street. He lived at a house in Somerset Street, and afterwards
in Park Street.
In 1793 James Cowles, then seven years of age, went to school
at Mr. Richard Durban's in College Green ; his education after
this was conducted at home, where he was taught by a Quaker
gentleman named Barnes.
His father returned to Ross in 1800, and there he employed a
French doctor named Bonis to teach his son French and Latin ;
then the Rev. Mr. Mills was his instructor, and Mr. J. B. Cross
taught him some Greek.
He appears to have had an early inclination towards medicine,
which his father did not encourage, wishing him to follow his own
business. He ultimately, however, consented, and sent the boy,
then seventeen years of age, to be under the care of Dr. Pole, *
" being most anxious " (according to Mr. J. B. Cross) " that his
son should retain the primitive simplicity and orthodoxy of
genuine Quakerism, which he feared the study of medicine would
contaminate."
Probably he only attended the course of lectures which Dr. Pole
was then giving, and in 1803 he was sent to live with a Mr. Tothill
of Staines, who was partner with Dr. Pope, subsequently well
known as one of the physicians to George the Third.
From September, 1804, to September, 1805, J. C. Prichard was
attending St. Thomas's Hospital, London ; he then went to
Edinburgh, where he was a medical student until 1808, when he
took his degree of M.D. His thesis, which was much longer and
more elaborate and learned than such compositions usually are,
showed the direction in which his studies were already tending ;
it was entitled " De Generis Humani Varietate," and at once
stamped him as a man of extraordinary ability.
In the autumn of 1808 he entered at Trinity College, Cambridge,
and removed the following October to St. John's College, Oxford.
After keeping a term or two, he went as a Gentleman Commoner
to Trinity College, Oxford.
He left the University without taking a degree, and came in
1810 to Bristol, where he at first resided in Berkeley Square.
In February, 1811, he married Miss Estlin, and the same year
1 See p. 371.
468
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
was made Physician to St. Peter's Hospital. He also associated
hims -If with Dr. King in a Dispensary in Castle Green.
He changed his place of abode several times, from Berkeley
Square to College Green, then to another house in Berkeley Square,
and finally to the Red Lodge.
He was elected Physician to the Infirmary at the same time as
Dr. Henry Hawes Fox, on February 29th, 1816, and resigned in
June, 1843. As might be expected, his work in the wards was
marked by the learning, skill, and energy which characterised all
he did. He belonged to the " depleting " school, and had nearly
all his patients bled ; the words " V.S. ad Ixii." (to be bled to
twelve ounces) constantly occurred amongst his and the other
physicians' prescriptions in those days. For instance, there is an
entry made on a scrap of paper dated June, 1817, that out of
twenty-one persons admitted to the Infirmary on that day no less
than twenty were bled.
A doggerel rhyme, made by one of the patients, refers to this
practice, and shows also how the inmates of the medical wards
were impressed by the Infirmary Physicians. The lines run : —
" Dr. Carrick he comes in
So meek, so mild as anything,
Saying, how are you to-day my child ?
Your pains with patience you must bear,
And we will seek for your cure.
" Of all the Physicians in this place,
Dr. Stock he is the best,
His fame is spread by land and sea,
For the good he has done in the Bristol Infirmary.
" Dr. Fox he do come in,
He has the presence of a King,
His breath 's as sweet as any rose,
He visits his patients and out he goes.
" Dr. Pri chard do appear
With his attendance and his care.
He fills his patients full of sorrow,
' You must be bled to-day and cupped to-morrow.' "
His patients were kindly treated and well looked after, but they
had some reason for being " full of sorrow," for he not only bled
and purged them freely, but he was fond of applying blisters,
setons, and other strong counter-irritants. One " issue " was
called after him ; it consisted of "An incision through the scalp
from the vertex to the forehead, three or four inches in length,
kept open, firstly by dry lint, and after suppuration was established,
by peas." 1
Although Dr. Prichard's medical writings procured him a great
1 " The Bristol Infirmary in my Student Days, 1822-1828," by Henry
Alford, F.R.C.S., in Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal for September, 1890.
469
A HISTORY OF THE
reputation, his fame rests chiefly on his contributions to the science
of Ethnology. His inaugural thesis, " De Generis Humani
Varietate," was much enlarged, and appeared as an octavo volume
with the title, Researches into the Physical History of Man, in 1831,
and it was for this and for his subsequent researches in the same field
that he deservedly received the Fellowship of the Royal Society,
an Honorary M.D. of Oxford, and other honours. He was
particularly well suited for such investigations, both because he
had the power of patient application, making use of every hour of
his spare time — and being an early riser, he often did a great deal
of work before breakfast — and because he was an excellent linguist,
and a man of wide and general knowledge.
He took an active part in the foundation of the Bristol College,
was President of the Medical Library, and was a prominent
member of many scientific and social societies, etc., but the business
of his life was his scientific work. Like another great Infirmary
Physician, Dr. Budd, he was much in advance of his time, and the
parts of his writings which his learned contemporaries most
criticised would now be accepted as correct. So much has been
done in the subject in which he was almost a pioneer, that few
modern scientific men probably have read his books carefully, and
many who have followed recent speculations as to the inheritance
of acquired characteristics, will perhaps be surprised to know
that in 1831 James Cowles Prichard came to the conclusion
that " acquired peculiarities are never transmitted to the
offspring." x
Like other physicians of his time, he " magnified his office,"
and took a high standard in questions of medical etiquette. For
instance, on January 13th, 1826, Dr. David Davies, a member of
the College of Physicians of London, and a busy Bristol practitioner,
asked Dr. Prichard to meet him in consultation, and this request
was refused on the grounds that Dr. Davies was attending the case
"as a Physician." It is difficult to understand the position he
took in this affair — the whole correspondence, with criticisms, was
published by Dr. Davies. At that time the physicians were doing
their best to free themselves from the apothecaries, and apparently
maintained that all strictly medical cases should be attended by
them, in the interests of the patients, not by apothecaries, or even
by general practitioners like Dr. Davies.
In 1845 Dr. Prichard was appointed one of the Commissioners
in Lunacy, and went to live at Woburn Place, Russell Square,
London. He was on circuit as a commissioner, when he was
1 Some Account of the Life, Writings, and Character of the late James Cowles
Prichard, M.D., F.R.S., by John Addington Symonds, M.D., 1849.
Since writing the above it has been pointed out to me that Professor
Paulton has commented on this " remarkable anticipation of modern views on
evolution," and has also noticed that Dr. Prichard (probably in consequence
of the criticisms of his friends), modified his opinions on the inheritance of
acquired characteristics in subsequent editions of his book.
470
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
seized with an attack of illness on December 14th, 1848 ; he was
taken to his home, where he died on December 23rd. x
As to his personal appearance, his friend Dr. J. Addington
Symonds said : " The countenance, to the most superficial observer,
betokened deep thoughtfulness, with something of reserve and
shyness, but blended with true kindliness."
Professor Gibson, of Philadelphia, described him as " a short,
compact, close-made man, with bluish-grey eyes, large and
prominent features, and expression uncommonly mild, open and
benevolent, so much so that almost anyone would naturally
inquire who he was." 2 (For portrait see Fig. 83.)
The late Henry Alford says of him : "He was a small, spare
man, with quick, decided step ; sharp, somewhat curt,, in his speech,
but kind and very attentive to the hospital patients. He generally
wore a large, loose overcoat, with roomy side-pockets, large enough
to hold a quarto or small folio case-book ; and he generally carried
other books with him in the seat of his carriage. ... He took
notes of the cases of his patients in the Infirmary in short, terse
Latin sentences, in his case-book." 3
AUGUSTIN PRICHARD.
Augustin Prichard, the second son of the above James Cowles
Prichard, was born at 39 College Green, Bristol, on July 16th, 1818.
He went, as a small boy, to a school kept by a Mr. F. Norton,
at 33 Old Park ; and at the age of thirteen he was sent to the
Bristol College, which had been founded to a great extent by the
influence of Dr. J. C. Prichard, Dr. Andrew Carrick, Dr. Symonds,
and Mr. J. C. Swayne.
At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to his uncle, Mr.
J. B. Estlin, from whom he no doubt obtained his first impulse
towards the study of Diseases of the Eye.
In 1836 he became a Physician's pupil under his father at the
Bristol Infirmary, and in 1838 a Surgical pupil under John Harrison.
Next year he followed the custom of those days of attending
one of the Borough Hospitals. He entered at St. Bartholomew's,
" going up by the night coach and being deposited at the ' Swan
with Two Necks,' Lad Lane, Cheapside, at seven o'clock in the
morning." 4
After taking the M.R.C.S. and L.S.A., he went to Berlin,
1 His last illness " was of comparatively short duration. It was
apparently occasioned by fatigue and exposure during the performance of his
public duties." — Some Account of the Life, Writings, and Character of the late
fames Cowles Prichard, M.D., F.R.S., by John Addington Symonds, M.D.
He was attended by Dr. Tweedie, who called in Benjamin Travers and his
son, William Lawrence, Dr. Latham, and Dr. Hodgkin.
2 Prichard and Symonds, by Hack Tuke. Churchill, 1891.
3 " The Bristol Infirmary in my Student Days," supra cit.
4 "A few Medical and Surgical Reminiscences," by Augustin Prichard.
471
A HISTORY OF THE
" travelling via Rotterdam, up the Rhine and on to Heidelberg in
company with a friend, and then, being before railway times,
alone by coach (eilwagen) across the country through Cassel and
Magdeburg." *
At Berlin he took the degree of M.D. The examination, both
written and viva voce, was conducted in Latin. His thesis was on
the subject of " Iritis." He studied for a time at Vienna and
Paris, and in October, 1842, he " put up his plate " in College
Green, and soon afterwards at his father's house, the Red Lodge.
For many years he lived at Chesterfield Place.
In 1843 he was appointed Lecturer on Anatomy at the Medical
School. In 1845 he married Miss Mary Ley. He took the F.R.C.S.
in 1849, and on February 28th, 1850, he was elected Surgeon to
the Infirmary. He resigned, after twenty years' service, in
February, 1870.
For many years he was Surgeon to the Bristol Eye Dispensary,
where he attended with great regularity, and did an enormous
amount of useful work amongst the poor.
He was chosen to give the address in Surgery at the Annual
Meeting of the British Medical Association at Swansea in 1853,
and at the Bristol Meeting in 1863.
He was one of the founders of the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical
Society in 1874, and filled the Presidential Chair in the session of
1877-8.
He died of intestinal obstruction on January 5th, 1898.
Augustin Prichard was tall, well-made, sedate in his manners,
with an expression which struck one as being stern. This im-
pression was somewhat increased by a superficial acquaintance,
for he was not talkative, except to his friends, and usually spoke
in rather a brusque manner, using as few words as possible. Those,
however, who had the privilege of penetrating this barrier of reserve,
always found " personified in his life, duty, honour, skill, and a
sweet homely kindliness based on the deepest foundations." 2
(For portrait see Fig. 84.)
He was a good artist in water colours, and an excellent operator.
Nothing could be finer than his manipulation of the knife in
delicate operations such as cataract, and he had great power of
controlling and giving confidence to the patient. He always
knew his own mind, and carried out every detail of an operation
with firmness and skill, never showing signs of indecision. It is
worth record that in i860 he began to use Compound Tincture of
Benzoin for wounds, and the success he obtained by this method
was no doubt due to the fact that he was anticipating the antiseptic
treatment.
The following table will show some of the relationships of the
family : —
1 '* A few Medical and Surgical Reminiscences," by Augustin Prichard.
2 E. Long Fox.
472
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
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473
A HISTORY OF THE
THE FOXES.
EDWARD LONG FOX, SEN.
Edward Long Fox, sen., was born on April 26th, 1761, at
Falmouth, where his father, Joseph Fox, a member of the Society
of Friends, was in practice as a surgeon and apothecary. 1
He received his early education in his native town, first at a
preparatory school, and then at a classical school conducted by a
Presbyterian minister. He afterwards went to a school at
Plymouth.
At the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to his father, and in
1779 he entered the University of Edinburgh, where he was
admitted a member of the Medical Society on November 27th of
that year. In 1781 he returned to Falmouth, and assisted his
father in general practice until the autumn of 1783, when he again
went to Edinburgh, and graduated as a Doctor of Medicine on
January 24th, 1784. His thesis for the degree was entitled " De
voce humana."
He practised in Plymouth until the spring of 1786, when the
death of Dr. Till Adams, who had a large connection amongst the
Quakers of Bristol, seemed to offer an opening there. He found,
however, that Drs. Drummond, Moncrieffe, Broughton, Ludlow, and
Rigge divided nearly all the medical practice of the city between
them, and he was in doubt whether to stay or not, when it was
announced that the post of Physician to the Infirmary, which had
been kept open since 1783, owing to Dr. Broughton's long absence,
was about to be declared vacant. He at once became a competitor,
and an energetic canvass began between Dr. Fox and Dr. Cave.
The contest became celebrated as the " battle between the Distillers
and Quakers." (See p. 434.) Fox was successful, and was elected
Physician to the Institution on April 3rd, 1786, when he was
twenty-five years of age.
The next year (on January 21st, 1787) he was admitted an
extra Licentiate of the College of Physicians of London.
[ 4 He lived for some time at 16 Castle Green, " in the house near
the corner, facing the open street ; " in 1793 he removed to
45 Queen Square.
In 1787 he was elected a member of the Bear's Cub Club ; but
in consequence of his " advocacy of the common people " in the
1 Joseph Fox was apprenticed to John Wolcot of Fowey, whose nephew,
another John Wolcot — afterwards celebrated as the writer of some well-known
verses, e.g. " The Pilgrims and the Peas," " The Apple Dumplings and a
King," etc., under the nom de plume of Peter Pindar — was a fellow-apprentice.
In 1766 Joseph Fox took a house at Porham, near Falmouth, for harbouring
and attending sick seamen. Dr. Pole (p. 371), who was one of his assistants,
said that at one time over a hundred patients were landed and put under his
care. Apparently he was appointed by the Government to " take charge of
sick and wounded seamen in the King's service."
This information was given me by Dr. A. E. W. Fox, of Bath, to whom I
am indebted for many interesting particulars incorporated in this biography.
474
•
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i
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1 qf
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
affair of the Bristol Bridge Riots in October, 1793 (when many
were shot by the Hereford Militia), his name was taken off the
books of the club, and he was nick-named " Jacobin."
In 1784 Dr. Mesmer, who had created a furore in Paris, had been
exposed in a report drawn up by Bailly, Franklin and others, and
had retired, with the money he had made from his dupes, to
Constance. He had, however, many followers, amongst others
Dr. E. Long Fox, who had studied his " Animal Magnetism," as it
was then called, under a Frenchman called Mainanduc. He tried
this new remedy (since known as hypnotism) on some patients at
the Infirmary, with the laudable desire to find out if there was any
truth in it. Mesmer's exposure as a quack, and the strange tales
current about the new science, had made the subject unpopular,
and Dr. Fox was attacked in the newspapers in a virulent manner
by an apothecary named Milbourne Williams. The doctor replied
that " the experimental inquiry was begun from most disinterested
motives, but that being unable to ascertain that any such power
as animal magnetism existed, he had laid it altogether aside."
This, however, did not satisfy the class of people who take a pleasure
in attacking medical charities, and for some time afterwards letters
appeared in the press, severely commenting on these harmless
investigations.
Dr. Long Fox became famous as an authority on lunacy. He
succeeded Mr. Henderson at the Asylum at White's Hill, and in 1804
he built the fine Asylum at Brislington, where he went to live in 1806.
He resigned his post at the Infirmary in February, 1816, and
devoted himself after this more exclusively to his special subject.
He was one of the first doctors to treat the insane in a humane
manner. Before this time those afflicted with madness were often
confined in rooms which were little better than dens, and sometimes
were fastened up like savage animals. The " non-restraint "
system was, from the beginning, carried out at Brislington, and it
was probably the first institution of the kind where provision was
made for the inmates to have regular religious services.
So famous did Dr. Fox become that he was called in consultation
on George the Third at Windsor.
One of the most interesting features of his writings and teaching
was his recognition of what he called the " animalcular origin " of
diseases. This appears particularly in a pamphlet on Cholera
which he published in 1831. x In this he distinctly attributes the
disease to a " living animalcular virus," and recommends for
treatment arsenic, mercury, tar, the essential oils, etc., all known
now to be germ destroyers.
In an outbreak of Glanders amongst his own horses he made use
of a powder consisting of one grain of corrosive sublimate mixed
with an ounce of arrowroot, which he blew up the animals' nostrils
every day with a long tube. Two of them recovered from this
dangerous complaint.
1 Surmises respecting the Cause and Nature of Cholera," printed by Mills
and Son, Bristol, 1831.
475
A HISTORY OF THE
It is evident, therefore, that Dr. Long Fox anticipated the
discoveries of Pasteur, and their application by Lister, to an extent
which should be permanently recorded.
A transaction much talked about at the time, which was very
honourable to Dr. Fox and his father, may here be mentioned. It
has been told in various ways, but some of the details given, both
in English and French papers, are incorrect. The following
account is taken from a letter written by E. Long Fox himself : —
Joseph Fox, of Falmouth, who as a Quaker " recognised no
political enemies," was at the time of England's declaration of war
with France in 1778 the member of a firm which possessed two
vessels well suited for privateering. These cutters were aimed with
guns, and sent out with the purpose of capturing defenceless
merchantmen belonging to the enemy. Joseph Fox strongly
disapproved, and told his partners that if they obtained any
prize-money in this way he should return his share to the
original owners.
The two English ships made some successful captures, and the
booty was so great that Joseph Fox's share amounted to £22,000.
He acted up to his principles, and at the end of the war, in 1784, he
sent his son, the doctor, to France, having previously found by
advertising who were the owners of the captured ships, and what
firms were involved. l The whole sum was restored, with the
exception of £120 for which there was no claimant. According
to Dr. Long Fox, this " accumulated to £600 " s in a few years,
and was given by him to a fund for the invalid seamen of France.
This act of generous restitution brought to the Foxes many
expressions of praise and thanks, but no doubt the son was speaking
the absolute truth when he wrote : " The chief applause he (Joseph
Fox) sought was a conscience void of offence towards God and
man." 3
Newspaper " skits," especially in the form of verses, were the
fashion at the end of the eighteenth century, and Edward Long Fox
came in for his share of these.
For instance, when it was known that he was going abroad on the
above charitable errand, the following appeared in a Bristol paper : —
" A doctor well skill'd in the medical art,
'Mongst others, for France was resolved to depart,
And leave his domestic concerns : —
But what will become of his patients the while ?
' O, fear not,' a neighbour replied with a smile !
' They will LIVE — -till the Doctor returns ! ' "
1 Mons. Elie de Fibure, father of the Mayor of Rouen, was the chief
proprietor.
2 His words are, " The balance has in the interval accumulated to ^600."
3 The crest of the family is a fox, " supporting by his sinister paw a
flagstaff of the second, thereon a banner azure, seme of fleur-de-lis or."
The legend is that the King of France, Louis XVI., was so pleased with the
transaction above narrated, that he gave Dr. Edward Long Fox permission to
use the French neur-de-lis in his crest, and that this right was not made use
of by the doctor, who was as a Quaker indifferent to such things, but that
when his descendants took out a Grant of Arms the fleurs-de-lis were
incorporated.
476
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
Some of the verses published on leaflets concerning the experi-
ments on mesmerism and the building of Brislington Asylum are
unjust and virulent to an extreme degree.
After a busy and useful life Edward Long Fox died on
May 2nd, 1835, aged seventy-four. (For portrait see Fig. 85.)
He was a man of great ability, " well acquainted with botany,
chemistry and mineralogy, a good French scholar, and could write
and converse fluently and correctly in Latin." l To the poor he
was always kind, both in charitable gifts and in free attendance.
He bought Knightstone, at Weston-super-Mare, and built salt-
water baths there, chiefly for the use of Infirmary patients. 2
HENRY HAWES FOX.
Henry Hawes Fox, son of Edward Long Fox, was born in 1788.
His early education was received at a school in Queen Square,
Bristol, kept by a Mr. Peter Hill. He was apprenticed, in the
usual manner of the time, to Charles Holman, surgeon, of
Milverton, Somerset ; he then studied at Edinburgh, where he
took his degree.
When Dr. Lovell resigned his post at the Infirmary in
August, 1810, Dr. Long Fox applied on behalf of his son for the
vacancy ; but Henry Hawes Fox returned from Edinburgh too late,
and finding that most of the votes were already promised, he
withdrew his application on September 2nd.
He was elected Physician to the Infirmary on February 29th,
1816, on his father's resignation, and held office until May, 1829.
He lived at 25 Berkeley Square, and had a large practice. He
married Harriet, daughter of the Rev. Richard Jones, Vicar of
Charfield.
Like several other members of his family, he devoted himself
especially to the study of lunacy, and in 1833 he settled at
Northwoods, near Winterbourne, where he built a fine asylum.
He died on October 12th, 1851, at the age of sixty-three, after
only two or three hours' illness. " He was sensible to the end, and
conversed quietly and sensibly about the various signs of the very
peculiar and gradually increasing paralysis of his limbs, and his
other symptoms, until he died." 3
We have, fortunately, some excellent descriptions of him.
1 According to Dr. A. E. W. Fox.
2 In 1814 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was at that time in a state of
great misery from the excessive use of opium, thought that nothing would
cure him but the restraint of an asylum, and suggested Dr. Fox's house at
Brislington. Joseph Cottle says of the doctor that he " was an opulent and
liberal minded man ; and if I had applied to him (or any friend) I cannot doubt
but that he would instantly have received Mr. Coleridge gratuitously."
He pays a further tribute to his benevolence : " Mr. Coleridge knew
Dr. Fox himself, eighteen years before, and to the honour of Dr. F. I think
it right to name, that, to my knowledge, in the year 1796, Dr. Fox, in admira-
tion of Mr. C.'s talents, presented him with FIFTY POUNDS ! '•—Early
Recollections, chiefly relating to the late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, during his
long Residence in Bristol, by Joseph Cottle.
3 " A few Medical and Surgical Reminiscences," by Augustin Prichard.
477
A HISTORY OF THE
Mr. Henry Alford1 says : " He was pre-eminently a courtier, with
soft, slow and gentle speech, and a kind and insinuating look and
manner. A rather stout, handsome, middle-aged man (this was
in 1822-8), always well dressed. His walk was quiet and
deliberate, and apparently slow. . . . The treatment of his
patients at the Infirmary was almost entirely expectant. . . .
He would see and prescribe for twenty to forty or fifty Out-patients
in twenty or twenty-five minutes, and would go round the wards
in the same time and manner."
With reference to his rapid but deliberate methods, Mr. Alford
writes : " Seated by the table in the Out-patient Room, with the
resident medical officer or his senior pupil by his side to write his
prescriptions, this would be the general mode of procedure. As
they came into the room, one at a time, and stood (rarely sat) by
his side, Dr. Fox would look kindly and say, ' How-do-you-do, my
friend ? ' Some answer would come from the patient ; but the
doctor would immediately turn to his attendant scribe and say,
' Continue,' or ' Repeat, Sir,' and then to the boy at the door,
' Next, if you please.' "
Mr. Augustin Prichard says of him in his Reminiscences : " He
was a short but sturdily-built man, with a very grave expression
of countenance, and being well dressed, he looked, as he was, a
typical physician of the old school, with his shiny Hessian boots
with a little silk tassel at the side, and conspicuous white shirt-
frills, white cravat, and black clothes."
Dr. A. E. W. Fox writes : " He was one of the best whips in
the country, and he drove four horses to perfection ; he generally
had thorough-breds. When in practice he made about £4,000
a year."
EDWARD LONG FOX, JUN.
Edward Long Fox, jun., the son of Dr. Francis Ker Fox, of
Brislington House, and grandson of Edward Long Fox, sen., was
born in 1832, and received his early education from a private tutor,
and at the Bath Grammar School. He was sent to Shrewsbury
School in 1845, and in 1850 went to Balliol College, Oxford. He
obtained a First Class in Natural Science in 1853 ; he then studied
Medicine at Edinburgh and at St. George's Hospital, London. He
took his degree of M.B. at Oxford in 1857, and the M.D. in 1861.
He was elected Physician to the Infirmary on September 3rd,
1857, and resigned, in accordance with the twenty years rule, in
August, 1877.
From 1869 to 1874 he lectured on Medicine and Pathological
Anatomy at the Bristol Medical School, in which he took a keen
interest. He felt the importance of a good medical library, and
considered that this, and a large and convenient room in which
professional meetings could be held, should be in connection with
the University College. On June 2nd, 1888, he gave a dinner to a
1 " The Bristol Infirmary in my Student Days."
478
EDWARD LONG FOX, JUN.
Fig. 87.
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
number of medical men at the Queen's Hotel, Clifton, in connection
with a movement then on foot to establish such a library. So
successful was he in advocating this, that no less than £1,200 was
promised by those present at the dinner.
His services at Clifton College (to which he was appointed
Physician in 1862), and to many other local philanthropic and
educational institutions, have been described elsewhere. »
He was a frequent contributor to discussions, etc., at Medical
Societies, and in 1894 was President of the British Medical
Association.
In 1882 he gave the Bradshaw Lecture at the College of
Physicians, of which he was made a Fellow in 1870. He died,
much lamented, on March 28th, 1902.
Dr. Fox was of middle height, strongly made, energetic in his
movements, with a rather quick, determined walk. He was
always neat in his person and dress, with a look of freshness and
vivacity due to the brightness of his eyes and to his remarkably
clear, ruddy complexion, which contrasted well with his black
hair and whiskers. His expression was gentle and refined. (For
portrait see Fig. 87.)
He was an excellent host, and told amusing anecdotes in a
forcible, clever way ; he always made his guests feel at home, and
encouraged them to talk.
When he lived at Church House, Clifton, it was his custom to
invite all the Bristol medical students and practitioners once a
year to a " strawberry party." This function, which was held,
weather permitting, in the pleasant garden at the back of his house,
was very popular, and was much enjoyed by everyone.
He took a personal interest in all his pupils, looking after them
in every way, guiding their studies, frequently asking them to his
house, and, in the case of his clinical clerks, usually giving them
some standard work on Medicine.
He knew very well how to utilise time ; nearly always read
journals or books whilst going his rounds in his carriage, and was
impatient of delay at patients' houses.
He was rapid in diagnosis, and saw his Infirmary patients
quickly, passing from one bed to another with a cheery word, or
orders for some alteration in treatment. He had the knack of
appearing to consult his senior pupils in a way which was very
nattering, and even when he did not accept their opinions, he was
so adroit that students frequently thought he was following their
suggestions, when in fact he was adopting quite a different line
of treatment.
Besides many contributions to journals, he published two
books, The Influence of the Sympathetic on Disease, and The
Pathological Anatomy of the Nervous Centres, both of which were
considered at the time standard works.
See The Bristol Medico-Chinwgical Journal for June, 1902.
479
A HISTORY OF THE
The following table, for which I am indebted to Dr. A. E. W.
Fox and Dr. C. H. Fox, sufficiently explains the relationships of
some of the medical members of the family : —
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480
APPENDIX C
LIST OF ELECTIONS AND RESIGNATIONS OF INFIRMARY OFFICERS
TREASURERS.
Name.
Elected.
Resigned.
Died.
John Elbridge
Jan. 7, 1736-7
Feb. 22,1738-9.
John Andrews
Mar. 2, 1738-9
Dec. 7, 1739 . .
—
Richard Champion
Dec. 18, 1739 . .
—
Feb. 23,1747-8.
Nehemiah Champion
Mar. 8, 1747-8
—
Dec. 12, 1753.
Richard Champion
Dec. 20, 1753 . .
—
Jan. 9, 1766.
Abraham Richard
Hawkesworth
Feb. 11, 1766 . .
—
Oct. 29, 1768.
Richard Champion
Dec. 6, 1768
Dec. 24, 1778 . .
—
Joseph Harford
Jan. 4, 1779 . .
Sept. 6, 1791 . .
—
Edward Ash
Dec. 20, 1791 . .
Mar. 15, 1808 . .
—
Samuel Birch
Dec. 20, 1808 . .
Dec. 17, 1811 . .
—
William Fripp
Dec. 30, 1811 . .
Mar. 31, 1829 . .
—
Daniel Cave
Mar. 31, 1829 . .
Mar. 15, 1844 . .
PRESIDENTS AND
TREASURERS.
Name.
Elected.
Resigned.
Died.
John Scandrett
Harford
Mar. 15, 1844 . .
Mar. 15, 1859 . .
—
John Battersby-
Harford
Mar. 15, 1859 . .
April 27, 1869. .
—
Robert Phippen
April 27, 1869. .
—
July 5, 1869.
Rev. James
Heyworth
July 27, 1869 . .
—
Dec. 22, 1879.
Sir Charles
Daniel Cave, Bt.
Mar. 23, 1880 . .
May 5th, 1904.
—
Sir George White, Bt.
May 5th, 1904.
—
31
481
A HISTORY OF THE
SECRETARIES.
Name.
Elected.
Resigned.
Died.
Morgan Smith
Jan. 7, 1736-7
1739
Richard Lathrop . .
Feb. (?), 1739
—
i75i-
Joseph Beech
1752
—
Feb. 2, 1 77 1.
Thomas Bawn
Feb. 26, 1771 . .
—
Dec. 15, 1790.
John Jordon Palmer
Jan. 8,1791 ..
Sept. 19, 1818. .
—
William "Weir
Oct. 29, 1818 . .
Oct., 1823
—
Samuel Johnson . .
Oct. 16, 1S23 . .
May 13, 1840 . .
—
Robert Johnson
June, 1840
—
Feb. 11, 1849.
William Henry
Bosworth
Feb. 21, 1849
—
April 18, 1849.
William Trenerry . .
May 9, 1849 . .
—
Oct. 14, 1884.
Lieut. -Col. Charles
Senhouse Graham
Dec. 19, 1884 . .
Dec. 13, 1887 . .
—
Joseph Furlonge
Shekleton, M.D.
Dec. 13, 1887 ..
Nov. 12, 1895. .
—
Edward Albert
Leonard
April 9, 1895 . .
May 13, 1902 . .
—
Richard John Coles
July 29, 1902 . .
Jan. 10, 1905 . .
—
William Edward
Budgett ....
Nov. 14, 1905 . .
—
—
CHAPLAINS.
Name.
Elected.
Resigned.
Died.
William Davis
1739-40 .. ..
April 24, 1772.
Thomas Johnes
Nov. 9, 1772 . .
Jan. 8, 18171 . .
—
John Swete
Jan. 22, 1817 . .
June 1, 1825 . .
—
John Mais
May 15, 1825 . .
Sept. 2, 1856 . .
—
William Hood Sage
Oct. 7, 1856 . .
Jan. 24, i860 . .
—
John Mackie
April 24, i860. .
May 23, 1876 . .
—
Oswald Harrison . .
Aug. 8, 1876 . .
Jan. 9, 1877 . .
—
Oliver Sumner
Feb. 13, 1877 . .
Aug. 27, 1878
—
Octavius Maunsell
Grindon
Dec. 10, 1878 . .
Aug. 25, 1885
—
Fairfax Goodall
Nov. 24,1885 . .
May 22, 1900 . .
—
Odiarne W. D. Lane
June 26,1900 . .
April 9, 1901 . .
—
F. A. D. Williams. .
June 25,1901 . .
Aug. 1, 1905 . .
—
George Beilby
Feb. 13, 1906 . .
Jan., 1908 2
—
Charles W. Fowler. .
Feb. 8, 1910 . .
May 10, 1910 . .
—
G. W. Pitt . .
June 14, 1910. .
Dec. 10, 1912 . .
_
P. W. Bischoff
Feb. 25, 1913 . .
—
—
1 His resignation did not come into force until March 25th.
* From January, 190s, to December, 1909, the Clergy connected with
St. James's Church officiated as Chaplains.
482
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
MATRONS.
Name.
Elected.
Resigned.
Died.
Mrs. Ann Hughes . .
Oct. 7, 1737 . .
June, 1770.
Mrs. Ann Williams
June 25, 1771
—
1778.
Mrs. Elizabeth
Preece
Nov. 19, 1778. .
—
Mar. 12, 1790,
Mrs. Jane Simmons
April 8, 1790 . .
April 12, 1812 1
—
Miss Mary Davy . .
Feb. 27, 1812 . .
Sept. 21, 1827. .
—
Mrs. Mary Wadley
Oct. 4, 1827 . .
Dec. 29, 1830 . .
—
Mrs. Ann Jean
Lynch
Feb. 3, 1831 . .
Sept. 12, 1838. .
—
Mrs. Mary Wheeler
Oct. 3, 1838 . .
—
Oct. 26, 1844.
Miss Mary Ann
Weaver 2
Nov. 14, 1844. .
Mar. 27, i860 . .
—
Mrs. Elizabeth
Beaven
July 24, i860 . .
Jan. 10, 1865 . .
—
Miss Tresidder 3
Feb. 20, 1865 . .
—
Mrs. Lovell
Jan. 29, 1867 . .
Aug. 27, 1867. .
—
Miss Worthington . .
Oct. 17, 1867 . .
Oct. 13, 1868 . .
—
Miss Emily Bird . .
Dec. 8, 1868 . .
April 14, 1885
—
Miss Corvan
June 9, 1885 . .
Jan. 8, 1889 . .
—
Miss Maud G. Smith
Feb. 15, 1889 . .
Dec. 14, 1897 . .
Miss A. B. Baillie . .
Feb. 8, 1898 . .
—
—
1 She formally resigned after the election of her successor.
2 Niece of Mrs. Mary Wheeler.
3 Owing to new arrangements, Miss Tresidder's term of office expired
on appointment of Mrs. Lovell as Lady Superintendent and Matron in
January, 1867.
PHYSICIANS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
William Logan
John Middleton
— Etwall
Archibald Drummond
William Cadogan
Francis Woodward
James Plomer
Samuel Farr
John England
Thomas Rigge
John Wright
May 20, 1737
May 20, 1737
May 20, 1737
May 20, 1737
June 3, 1737
Dec. 15, 1747
Dec. 15, 1747
Dec. 23, 1757
Dec. 23, 1757
Dec. 8, 1761
Jan. 13, 1767
Jan. 13, 1767
March 3, 1767
Nov. 4, 1771
Nov. 13, 1761.
Dec. 14, 1757.
Sept. 1, 1747.
June 3, 1737.
1743-
Oct. 29, 1771.
March 3, 1752.
Dec. 5, 1769.
Oct. 25, 1765.
April 4, 1798.
April 13, 1780.
March, 1767.
March 3, 1778.
Dec. 23, 1794.
483
A HISTORY OF THE
PHYSICIANS (continued).
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
John Paull
William Moncrieffe
Benjamin Colly ns. .
Arthur Broughton
Edward Long Fox
Robert Lovell
John New-
Walter Kennedy Craufuird
Andrew Carrick
John Edmonds Stock
James Cowles Prichard
Henry Hawes Fox
George Wallis
John Howell
Henry Riley
Gilbert Lyon
James Fogo Bernard
William Budd
Frederick Brittan
Alexander Fairbrother
Edward Long Fox
John Beddoe
William Henry Spencer
Robert Shingleton Smith
Henry Waldo
John Edward Shaw
Arthur Bancks Prowse
Patrick Watson-Williams
Francis Henry Edgeworth
John Alexander Nixon
John Roger Charles
Sept. 5, 1772
July 18, 1775
March 17, 1778
May 4, 1780
April 3, 1786
Jan. 7, 1795
April 18, 1798
Nov. 18, 1802
Sept. 20, 1810
March 28, 181 1
Feb. 29, 1816
Feb. 29, 1816
Feb. 21, 1828
June 4, 1829
Aug. 28, 1834
June 29, 1843
June 29, 1843
Oct. 28, 1847
Feb. 15, 1855
June 5, 1856
Sept. 3, 1857
March 20, 1862
Nov. 20, 1873
Nov. 20, [873
July 28, 1876
Sept. 11, 1877
March 27, 1888
March 7, 1905
Feb. 14, 1906
July 28, 1908
July 28, 1908
July 10, 1775.
Feb. 13, 1816.
July, 1778.
March 28, 1786.
Feb. 14, 1816.
Aug. 29, 1810.
Oct. 28, 1802.
March 13, 1811.
Aug. 2i, 1834.
Jan. 30, 1828.
June 7, 1843.
May 13, 1829.
Jan. 3, 1855.
June 7, 1843.
Oct. 13, 1847.
Aug. 18, 1857.
May 20, 1856.
Feb. 25, 1862.
Oct. 14, 1873.
June 27, 1876.
Aug. 14, 1877.
Oct. 28, 1873.
March, 1888.
Jan. 10, 1905.
Jan. 23, 1906.
Sept. 14, 1907.
Nov. 14, 1906.
ASSIST;
\NT PHYSICIANS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or
Resigned.
Jan. 28, 1871
May 14,
1872.
William Henry Spencer
May 30, 1872
Nov. 20,
1873.
Nov. 25, 1873
July 28,
1876.
John Edward Shaw
July 28, 1876
Sept. 11
1877.
Arthur Bancks Prowse
Sept. 25, 1883
March 2
7, 1888.
Patrick Watson-Williams
May 8, 1888
March 7
1905.
Francis Henry Edgeworth . .
June 13, 1893
Feb. 14,
1906.
John Roger Charles
June 20, 1905
July 28,
1908.
John Alexander Nixon
Feb. 14, 1906
July 28,
1908.
John Matthew Fortescue-
Brickdale
July 28, 1908
Dec. 9, 1913. .
484
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
SURGEONS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
William Thornhill
Thomas Page
John Page
James Ford
John Castelman
Jerome Norman
John Townsend
John Ford
Abraham Ludlow
Thomas Skone
Richard Smith
Godfrey Lowe
John Padmore Noble
James Norman
Morgan Yeatman
Joseph Metford
Robert Jones Allard
Richard Smith
Francis Cheyne Bowles
William Hetling
Richard Lowe
Henry Daniel
Thomas Shute
Nathaniel Smith
John Harrison
William Francis Morgan
Henry Clark
Thomas Green
Augustin Prichard
Ralph Montague Bernard . .
Henry Augustus Hore
Crosby Leonard
Thomas Edward Clark
Robert William Tibbits
Charles Steele
Edmund Comer Board
Christopher Henry Dowson . .
Arthur William Prichard
Francis Richardson Cross . .
James Greig Smith
William Henry Harsant
James Paul Bush
George Munro Smith
James Swain
Thomas Carwardine
Harold Frederick Mole
Edward Hugh Edwards Stack
May 20, 1737
May 20, 1737
June 5, 1741
June 13, 1743
Dec. 20, 1754
Dec. 20, 1754
Dec. 20, 1754
June 12, 1759
Jan. 20, 1767
Jan. 20, 1767
Dec. 15, 1774
Aug. 15, 1775
May 6, 1777
Aug. 9, 1779
Nov. 27, 1781
April 1, 1783
July 7, 1791
June 23, 1796
April 24, 1806
June 2, 1807
July 9, 1807
Sept. 27, 1810
July 9, 1812
Sept. 19, 1816
July 21, 1836
Nov. 23, 1837
Feb. 23, 1843
Aug. 29, 1844
Feb. 28, 1850
May 4, 1854
Sept. 3, 1857
Jan. 5, i860
Sept. 15, 1864
April 28, 1868
March 11, 1870
Sept. 21, 1871
Oct. 9, 1873
Aug. 27, 1878
Jan. 7, 1879
Jan. 7, 1879
Nov. 10, 1885
Feb. 12, 1889
June 17, 1897
Oct. 28, 1902
Jan. 23, 1906
July 27, 1909
Feb. 25, 1913
Oct., 1754.
May 5, 1741.
April, 1777.
June 5, 1759.
July 28, 1779.
April 29, 1763.
Nov. 14, 1781.
1775-
Dec. 6, 1774.
June 4, 1770.
June 21, 1791.
April 8, 1806.
June 22, 1812.
March, 1783.
June 24, 1807.
June 8, 1796.
Sept., 1810.
Jan. 24, 1843.
May 15, 1807.
Nov. 8, 1837.
Feb. 9, 1850.
July 6, 1836.
Sept. 2, 1816.
Aug. 7, 1844.
Dec. 20, 1859.
April 18, 1854.
Aug. 18, 1857.
Aug. 23, 1864.
Feb. 22, 1870.
Aug. 18, 1871.
April 14, 1868.
Aug. 13, 1878.
Sept. 23, 1873.
Nov. 22, 1878.
Dec. 10, 1878.
May 10, 1892.
Jan. 14, 1889.
Jan. 23, 1906.
May 25, 1897.
Oct., 1902.
Jan. 15, 1913.
June 8, 1909.
July 28, 1914.
485
A HISTORY OF THE
ASSISTANT SURGEONS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
Edmund Comer Board
Jan. 28, 1871
Sept. 21, 1 87 1.
Christopher Henry Dowson . .
Sept. 21, 1871
Oct. 9, i873-
David Edward Bernard . .
Oct. 9, 1873
July 25, 1876.
Arthur William Prichard
Aug. 10, 1876
Aug. 27, 1878.
Francis Richardson Cross . .
Sept. 10, 1878
Jan. 7, 1879.
William Henry Harsant
Jan. 7, 1879
Nov. 10, 1885.
Nov. 10, 1885
Feb. 12, 1889.
George Munro Smith
Feb. 12, 1889
June 17, 1897.
June 7, 1892
Oct. 28, 1902.
Thomas Carwardine
June 17, 1897
Jan. 23, 1906.
Harold Frederick Mole
Oct. 28, 1902
July 27, 1909.
Edward Hugh Edwards Stack
Jan. 23, 1906
Feb. 25, 1913.
Charles Ferrier Walters
July 27, 1909
OPHTHALMIC SURGEONS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
Francis Richardson Cross . .
Alexander Ogilvy
Edward Hugh Edwards Stack
Oct. 26, 1885
Sept. 25, 1900
July 28, 1914
July 10, 1900.
June 10, 1914.
OBSTETRIC PHYSICIANS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
Walter Carless Swayne
Dec. 13, 1887
Dec. 8, 1891
May 26, 1 891.
DENTAL SURGEON.
Name.
Elected.
William Robert Ackland
Died or Resigned.
Feb. 28, 1888
486
BRISTOL ROYAL INFIRMARY
ASSISTANT
DENTAL SURGEONS.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
Frederick Charles Nichols . .
April 26, 1904
Dec. 14, igog
Dec. 14, igog.
THROAT AND NOSE PHYSICIAN.
Name.
Elected.
Died or Resigned.
Patrick Watson-Williams .
Nov. 14, igo6
487
INDEX
Abernethy, 192, 193, 307.
Ackland, William Robert, 392, 454. 486-
Acting Librarian, 285.
Adams, Dr., 38.
John Till, 98, 99. 254, 434, 474-
Mr., Dispute over, 190.
Addenbroke's Hospital at Cambridge,
8, 406.
Addington, H. J., 442.
H. U., 442.
Admission Room, 194, 281 ; lectures in,
371 ; unclean state of, 280.
Agaric, Use of, 67, 264-5.
Ainsworth, Nathaniel, 37.
Albion Tavern, 226.
Aldworth, Robert, 44.
Alford, Henry (cited), 174, 180, 191,
192, 197, 198, 208, 309, 469, 471,
478.
Allard, Robert Jones, 128, 164, 185,
191, 193. 251, 435. 438, 485-
Allbutt's (Clifford) System of Medicine,
(cited), 89.
Allen, Mary Ann, 270.
" Thumb," 226.
Alley ne, Mrs. (cited), 273.
American War, 142, 272.
Ames, Alderman, 123.
J-, 236.
An Account of the Hospitals, Alms
Houses, and Public Schools in
Bristol (cited), 15.
Anaesthetics, 318-20, 401-2.
Instructor in, 402.
Anaesthetist, 402.
Assistant, 402.
Resident, 401, 411.
to Dental Department, 402.
An Affectionate Address to the Patients
in the Wards of the Bristol Infirmary
(cited), 39, 299.
Anatomical Department, 385.
Lectures and Demonstrations, 205,
366-81.
Theatres and Schools, 194, 212, 302,
37°. 376> 377- 378-
Anatomy Act, 204, 208, 298, 374.
Anchor Society, 123, 134, 367 ; curious
toast at Annual Dinner, 228.
Andrews, Colonel John, 47, 235.
John, 9, 12, 14, 27, 47, 48, 64, 100,
235, 420, 481.
Love, 47.
Annals of the Harford Family (cited),
47. 336.
Annual Dinner, Heads broke at. 24,111.
Report or " State " (cited), 18, 36,
154. 347. 359, 361.
Sermon, 23, 25, 26, 144, 332.
Anstice, George, Legacy by, 336.
Anthony, John, 287.
Anti- Jacobin (cited), 230.
Antiseptics, 354-6.
Apothecaries (general), 249-53, 262,
263; Society of, 302; Visiting,
21, 33-
Apothecaries' Hall, 282, 378, 379.
Apothecary, 3, 6, 21,-23, 29, 32, 34, 49,
50. 5i. 52, 53. 55. 56, 58, 63, 70,
75, 91, 92, 93. 96, 99. 100, 103,
105, 109, 113, 114, 118, 132, 169,
170, 171, 172, 174, 192, 194, 196,
198, 207, 222, 249, 255, 263, 280,
284, 285, 292, 295, 307, 311, 313,
314, 316, 317, 329, 333. 41°. 419,
420 ; title of changed, 278.
Apprentices, 51-3, 155, 167, 173, 278,
349 ; dispute over, 189-90 ; dis-
turbances by, 197-8 ; education
of, 263 ; serious mistake by,
311-12.
Arbitration Money, 43.
Arbuthnot, 249.
Archer, John, 463.
Mr., 252.
Armitage, Mrs., Gift by, 412.
Arnold, Charles, 28.
Arno's Vale Burial-ground, Interment
of patients at, 41.
Arrowsmith, J. W., 387, 405.
Artichoke Tavern, 226.
Ash, Charles Wyndham, 238.
Edward, 2, 47, 87, 130, 137, 146-7,
163, 165, 207, 481.
G , 432.
William, 168.
Ashley, A. H., 263.
Assault on day-porter, 317-18.
489
32
INDEX
Assistant Physician, 348, 386, 395, 449,
452 ; list of, 484
Surgeon, 314, 331, 336, 341, 348. 386,
395. 449 ; list of, 486.
Axford, Mrs., 22.
Babington, Benjamin, 97.
William, 26-7.
Bacteriological Department, 389, 398,
405 ; opening of, 399;
Bacteriologist, 399.
Bagnell Abraham, Pamphlet by, 279.
Bailey's Dictionary (cited), 77.
Baillie, Miss A. B. 407, 414, 483.
Baily, Giles, 21, 40.
Baker, Betty, 242, 243, 245, 246.
Robert, 170.
Ball, Cecilia, 84, 104.
Hannah Love, 101, 104.
Love, 84.
Ballard, Mr., and the Church v. Dissent
Election, 432.
Balsum, Eliza, Murder of, 215-16.
Bancroft, Air. Squire, Reading by, 397.
Baptist Burial-ground, 21, 66.
Barber-Surgeons, 12, 66, 108, 247-9,
250, 252, 262, 263.
Barker, William, 146.
Barnes, William, 12.
Barnett, Gilmore, Letter by, 390.
Baron, Barclay Josiah, 452.
Barrett, Elizabeth, 371.
William, 21, 70, 248, 259-60, 422, 423,
424, 425-
Barry, Samuel, 93.
Barry's Coffee House, Meetings at, 12,
419.
Reading Room, 230.
Bartlett, John, 27.
Bartley, Alfred Collett, 172.
Battersby, William, 139, 142.
Baugh, Benjamin, 155.
Bawn, Thomas, 145, 2S6, 482.
Bayce, Sarah, Complaint by, 160.
Baylis, Dr., Physick Garden kept by,
259.
Baynton, Daniel, 243, 245.
Dr. 255.
Thomas, 100, 255-7, 433 ; works by,
256.
Bear's Cub Club, 37, 133, 176, 179, 181,
223, 231-4, 474.
Beaufort, Duchess of, 96, 414.
Duke of, 204, 389, 397, 417.
Beaufort House, Home for Nurses, 414.
Beaven's Bristol Lists (cited), 6, 124,
163, 441.
Beaven, Elizabeth, 300, 483.
Beck, Joseph, 27, 145.
Joshua, 420.
Beckford, Richard, 271.
Beddoe, C. B., 225.
John, 341, 343, 357, 448, 449,"450,
484.
Beddoes, Thomas, 126, 156, 159, 253,
318-19, 367-70.
Beddome, Joseph, 129.
Miss, 129.
Bedford, G. C, 223.
Rev. Mr., 237.
Bedingneld, James, 172-3.
Bedminster Churchyard, Body stolen
from, 210 ; fight in, 212.
Beech, Joseph, 49, 69, 70, 105, 145, 286,
482.
Beilby, Rev. George, 410, 482.
Bell, Marianne, Legacy by, 390.
Bennett, Susannah, 40.
Berfew, John Payne, 232.
Berjew, Thomas, 95.
Berkeley, Earl of, 153, 461.
Bernard, Claude, 342.
David Edward, 385, 450, 451, 486.
James Fogo, 304, 343, 344, 385, 446,
448, 484.
Ralph Montague, 305, 344, 357, 385,
446, 447, 454, 485.
Rev. Samuel Edward, 385.
Betterley, John, Murder by, 267.
Bigg, L. O., 308.
Billroth, 342.
Binsin, Elizabeth, Legacy by, 415.
Biographical Memoirs (cited), 27, 45, 79,
in, 172, 178, 194, 224, 237, 265,
276.
Biographies, 460-80.
Birch, Samuel, 163, 164, 165, 168, 481.
Bird, E., Picture by, 119.
Emily, 483.
Mary Elizabeth, 365.
Sarah, 339.
Birmingham General Hospital, 333.
BirtilCjohn, 154, 155-
Bischoff, Rev. P. W., 410, 482.
" Bishop's Bull," The, 38.
Blackwell, John, 10, 12.
Blagden, Thomas, 95.
Blake, William, 141.
Blandford, George, and his red cloak,
3i-
Bleeck, Alfred, 194, 224, 225, 236, 465.
Charles, 225, 250.
Family, Pedigree of, 225.
John, 225, 447.
Margaret, 224, 225, 235.
Bleeding, 31, 54-5, 121, 124, 160, 174,
180, 193, 197, 198, 199, 263, 298,
3°3- 469-
Blunt, John, 94, 95.
Board, Edmund Comer, 331, 332, 341,
348, 357. 386, 388, 394, 449, 455.
485, 486 ; cited, 305, 317.
G., 279.
John, 160.
Board Meetings, Squabbles at, no,
130 ; poor attendance at, 146.
Room, Diverse uses of, 316, 328,
356. 452.
Board of Trustees, 10, n, 33, 299, 419.
Bobbett, Charlotte, Murder by, 268.
Body-snatching, 41, 64, 75, 203, 204,
205-14, 377.
490
INDEX
Bolle, John, 186.
Bompas, Charles Smith, 446.
G. G., 441, 444.
Bonis, Dr., 468.
Bonner and Middleton's Bristol Journal
(cited), 151, 269.
Bonville, Thomas, 130, 161.
Bonython, Dr., 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16,
17, 18, 22, 23, 30, 40, 44, 67, 69, 73,
85, 106, 109, 271, 420, 421, 422,
424, 425, 465, 483.
Borlase, John Bingham, 97, 98-100, 113,
118, 134, 208.
Rev. William, 98.
Boswell, 1, 49, 257 ; cited, 38, 82, 223,
404.
Bosworth, William Henry, 288, 299,
482.
Botetourt, Lord, 426.
Bovey, Thomas W. Widger, 411.
Bowen, Polly, 116.
Bowles, Edward, 186, 370.
Francis Cheyne, 141, 156, 186-8, 193,
195, 203, 208, 209, 230, 233, 239,
316, 367-7°. 374. 436, 437. 438, 485-
Bradford, Elizabeth, 460.
Bradshaw, Surgeon George Dix, Tablet
in Chapel to, 365.
Braham, John, 162.
Brereton, Lieut. -Col., 273, 274.
Brewer and Baker, 73.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and
Fable (cited), 244.
Brewing, 61, 72, 139, 144, 145, 199. 296.
Brice, Edward, 436.
Brickdale, Anna Maria, 441.
John, 289, 458.
Matthew, Legacy by, 289, 441.
Brickenden, Thomas, 246.
Bridges, Edward, 93-5, 96, 105, 113,
426.
Rev. John, 441.
William Richard, 314.
Bright, Henry, 203, 204.
Lawbridge, 232.
Mr. 165.
Richard, 232.
Brights of Ham Green, The, 441.
Brigstocke, H., 279, 280, 445.
Brislington Churchyard, Body-snatch-
ing in, 212.
Bristol and its Famous Associations
(cited), 319.
Art Gallery, Bust of Greig Smith
in, 405.
Bishop of, 34, 38, 39, 324 ; palace
of burnt, 274; " Spital Sermon"
by, 26.
Bridge Riots, 475.
Central Library, R. Smith MSS. at,
25, 42, 268.
Chamberlain of, 41, 268.
Chronicle or Universal Mercantile
Register (cited), 19.
Coal Gas Company, 202.
College, 179, 302, 345, 381, 470, 471.
Bristol, Corporation of, 24, 38, 39, 40
114, 300, 439.
Dean of, 9, 11, 293, 3S9, 390.
Dispensary, 118, 123, 169, 183, 213,
280, 345.
Eye Dispensary, 345, 472, 473.
Eye Hospital, 258.
Gazette and Advertiser (cited), 180,
254. 38o, 433.
General Hospital, 279-80, 332, 384.
Hospital and Surgery, 278-80.
Institution, Lectures on Anatomy
at, 302, 373 ; death of Richard
Smith, jun., at, 308.
Library Society, 37, 39, 118, 179.
Lying-in Institution, 373.
Mayor of, 10, 12, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29,
40, 81, 113, 134, 150, 153, 161, 163,
164, 226, 227, 247, 268, 274, 275,
347, 382, 389, 412, 417, 447, 451.
Medical and Anatomical School, 304.
Medical and Surgical School, 195,
277. 378, 379, 380.
Medical Library, 97, 470.
Medical School, 139, 231, 240, 270,
271, 282, 283, 302, 304, 310, 321,
345. 349, 352, 355. 365. 366, 373,
379, 380, 381, 382, 387, 393, 449,
472, 478.
Medical Students' Literary Societ-
231.
Medico-Chirurgical Journal (cited)
356, 403, 405 ; first issue of,
387-
Medico-Chirurgical Society, 472.
Memorialist (cited), 268.
Mirror (cited), 156, 159, 162, 171,
182, 213, 217, 227, 229, 280,
281, 303, 438, 441, 445, 446,
464.
Mirror and General Advertiser (cited),
446.
Oracle (cited), 101, 262.
Oracle and Weekly Miscellany (cited),
31, 205, 248, 421.
Penitentiary, 179, 302.
Preventive Medical Institution, 318.
Recorder of, 11, 14, 16, 22, 40, 106,
216, 245, 267, 270, 273.
Riots, 273-5.
Samaritan Society, 157.
Sheriff of, 10, 12, 27, 129, 134, 135,
151, 163, 165, 168, 215, 220, 226,
274, 275, 4I7-
Times and Mirror (cited), 6, 7,
304, 328.
Volunteers, 150, 186.
Bristolian (cited), 217.
" Bristol Milk," 84.
British Medical Journal (cited), 264,
319, 364-
Brittan, Frederick, 329, 339, 342, 344,
350, 357- 446, 447. 448, 450, 484,
Broderip, Robert, 235, 236.
William, 92, 232, 250, 252, 253.
Brossart, 264.
)2 A
491
INDEX
Brouglrton, Arthur, 132-3, 176, 232,
433. 435. 474, 4§4-
Rev. Thomas, 133, 232, 433.
Brown, Anne, 189.
Bruce, Captain, 125.
Bryant, Dr. 393.
Miss, 393.
Budd, William, 323-4, 327, 328, 329,
342, 343. 344. 348, 354- 363. 446,
448, 484.
Budgett, William Edward, 406, 482.
Building Committee, 15, 48, 139, 142,
161.
Bull-baiting, 222, 223.
Bunsen, Baron, 335.
Burdett's Hospitals and Charities
(cited), 333.
Burdock, Mrs., Murder by, 270-1,
3°3-
Burke, Edmund, 1, 105, 134, 135,
271.
Mrs., 105.
Richard, 124, 245.
Burke murders, 204.
Burroughs, Jeremiah, 44, 421, 422.
Bush, James, 21.
James Paul, 364, 391, 394, 405, 413,
453. 454- 459. 485, 486.
Robert, 441.
Bush Tavern, 226, 234, 237, 239, 243.
Bushell, Harley, Legacy by, 390.
Bute, Lord, 67.
Butler, Bishop (cited), 26.
Harriet, Legacy by, 282.
Mr., 434.
W., Legacy by, 414.
Butt, John, Murder of, 269.
Madame Clara, 396.
Buxton, Jedediah (calculating prodigy),
135-
Cadogan, WTilliam, 68-9, 421, 422, 424,
483-
Calendar, Alteration in, 5, 6, 23.
Calls to Consultation, 334.
Camborn, William, 12.
Camplin, Alderman Thomas, 432.
Mr., 432.
Rev. John, 138, 139, 272, 435.
Cannington, Mary, 414.
Carless, Martha, 170.
Rev. Joseph, 170, 175.
Carlyle (cited), 316, 371, 403.
Carnivals, 391, 416-17.
Carpenter, Lant, 181, 182.
Carrick, Andrew, 179-80, 181, 197, 198,
201, 220, 233, 303, 366, 373, 380,
382, 435, 436, 437, 445, 469, 471,
484.
Carter, Rev. J., 39.
Sarah, 66.
Cartwright, Mr., 451.
Carwardine, Thomas, 456, 458, 485,
" Caspar," Gift by, 418.'
Castle, Michael, 161.
Castleman, John, 19, 73,74-6, 105, 111,
132, 184, 265, 422, 423, 424, 432,
485-
Paul, 74.
Rev. John, 74.
Casualty Hospital, 132.
Officer, Resident, 411.
Room, 401.
Casualties, 154.
Catalani, Madame, 162, 224.
Catch Club, 97, 234-7, 377-
Catcott, Alexander, 81, 127.
Augusta, 462.
George Symes, 82, 83, 117, 462.
Martha, 83.
Rev. Alexander, 462.
Rev. Alexander Stopford, 462.
Catley, Martha, 168.
Cato Street Conspiracy, 196.
Cave, Daniel, 276, 277, 281, 298, 303,
363. 481.
Samuel, 70, 258, 434, 435, 474.
Sarah, 261.
Sir Charles Daniel, 363, 389, 407-8,
416, 417, 481.
Stephen, 276.
Thomas, 434.
William, 125.
Caw, W. S., 9.
Chadwick, Adam, 378, 379, 444.
Chairman of Committee, 290, 298.
Champion Family, Pedigree of, 104.
Joseph, 103, 104.
Nehemiah, 11, 61, 69, 84, 100, 101,
104, 481.
Richard (1), 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 23, 47,
63, 69, 100-1, 104, 134, 452, 465,
481.
Richard (2), 11, 27, 101-2, 104, 146,
481.
Richard (3), 37, 102, 103-5, 107, 108,
!33. I45. 271, 481.
Chaplain, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 192,
223, 231, 299, 300, 325 ; Deputy,
40 ; list of, 482.
Chaplaincy, 25 ; changes in, 325-6, 410 ;
Fund, 36, 38, 297, 300.
" Charity Universal," 11, 59.
Charlemont, Lord, 82.
Charles, Charlotte, Tablet in Chapel to,
364-
John Roger, 457, 458, 484.
Charlton, Richard, 21.
Chatham, Dowager Countess of, 116.
Chatterton, Richard (cited), 1, 37, 77,
82, 248, 260, 462.
Cheyne, George, 132.
Chiun, Edward, 235.
Chloroform, First use of, 320.
Cholera epidemic, 302.
Christian Social Union and Provident
Dispensaries, 400.
Christofierson, Per Emil, 402.
Church v. Dissent Election, 432.
Church and Dissenters, 11, 36, 37.
492
INDEX
Churches and Chapels, Collections at,
61, 142, 323, 332, 357.
Chute, James Macready, 349, 415.
Henry Macready, 317, 349. 352> 364-
Clare, Robt., Complaint against, 27.
Lord, 271.
Clark, G. T., 445.
Henry, 277, 309-10, 320, 344, 378,
379, 380, 445, 44S, 485; Prize,
309, 400 ; first winner of, 321.
Sir Andrew, 385.
Thomas Edward, 336, 357, 448, 449,
450, 4S5 ; Vicar of St. Peter's,
Clifton, 347.
Clarke, Clementina, Abduction of , 242.
Rev. Alured, 9.
Richard, 459, 484.
Samuel, Operation on, 160.
Clements, John, Grant of land to, 40.
Cleve, Walter, 376.
Clifton v. Bristol Election, 441.
Clifton Dispensary, 302, 304, 441,
445-
Clinical Clerks, 294, 295.
Lectures, 291, 292, 293, 298.
" Close Committee," 145, 167.
Coates, William, 234.
Coathupe, Thornton, 379.
Cobb, Gilbert, 17.
J- 17-
Cockburn, Mr., 237.
Cock-fighting, 96. 222.
Cock Tavern, 83, 226, 227.
Cogan, Rev. L. R., 309.
Coleridge, 319, 477.
Coles, Richard John, 405, 482.
College of Physicians, 249, 301, 479.
Surgeons, 184, 282, 328, 373, 378,
379-
Collignon, Professor Charles, 214.
Collyns, Benjamin, 131, 431"2- 483-
Colston Dinners, 227.
Edward, 45.
Colthurst, John, 379.
Combe, Richard, 81.
Commercial Rooms, Meeting at, 332.
Committee of Election, 455.
Inquiry, 167.
Room, Lectures in, 220.
Concerts, 90, 153.
" Conciliation Committee," 197.
Connor, Eleanor, Sentence of death
passed on, 267.
Constitution of the Infirmary, 10.
Consultation Room, 213, 216, 320, 400.
Consulting Physician, 450.
Surgeon, 307.
Convalescent Homes, 349, 412.
Ward, 327, 333, 338, 412.
Cook, E. H., 270, 271.
Mrs., 270.
Cooke, Mrs., 136.
Cookworthy, F. C, 287.
William, 105.
Coombe, Alderman, 421.
Coomber, Thomas, 382.
Cooper, Geoffrey Viel, 331.
Rev., Open-air sermon by, 152.
Robert, 434.
William Herbert, 401.
Coopers' Hall, Meetings at, 135, 229;
elections at, 295, 313.
Corporation of Surgeons, 202 ; appeal
to, 384.
Corryn, Dr., 426.
Corvan, Miss, 483.
Costello, Mr., 224.
Cottle, Joseph (cited), 477.
Coutts, Thomas, 367.
Cove, Eliza, 43, 58.
Cove's Ward, 58, 66.
Cox, Joseph Mason, 236.
Craufuird, Walter Kennedy, 171, 176-9
180, 253, 435, 436, 438, 484-
Creedy, Anne Hyden, 463.
Creswick, Anne Eugenia, 464.
Dean, 9, 11, 12, 14, 22, 23, 23, 34, 45,
419, 464 ; fondness for cock-
fighting, 222.
Henry, 464.
Cridland, A. B., 413.
Crisp, Henry, 336.
Nathaniel, 314, 327. 328, 331.
Croles, Rev., 195.
Crosby, Mary Ann, 344.
Cross, F. Richardson, 227, 341, 356,
357. 387. 388, 391. 392, 4°5. 452,
453. 456, 485. 486-
J. B., 307, 468.
William, 333.
Crossley, William, 26.
Cruger, Henry, 37, 207, 271, 272.
Cruikshank, 129, 183.
Culliford, Charles John, 311.
Rev. John, Rector of St. Michael's,
40.
Cupping, 263, 298
Curious Prescriptions, 264.
Currie, 193.
Curtis, John, Legacy by, 297.
Thomas, 12, 14, 27.
Custom House Election, 436.
Dacre, John, 360, 454,
Dallaway, James, 102, 105.
Dampier, Alderman, 120.
Daniel, Cecilia Anne, 303.
Henry, 159, 164, 165, 171, 185, 190-1 ,
197, 203, 228, 229, 263, 273, 274,
275. 303, 305. 371"2- 373- 437. 438.
445- 485-
Thomas, 273.
Danvers, John, 209, 210.
Daubeny, George, 271, 272.
John, 139.
Martha, 316; legacy by, 414.
Davies, D., 378, 435, 470.
Mark, 232.
Thomas, 51, 429.
Davis and Bobbett, Skeletons of, 216.
Davis, Maria, Murder by, 268.
493
INDEX
Davis, Rev. William, 35, 36, 39, 69,
105, 482.
Richard, 295, 313.
William, Murder by, 269.
Davy, Humphry, 319.
Mary, 137, 300, 483.
Day, Henry, 216.
Nathaniel, 23.
Rev. Mr., 218.
Thomas, 21.
" Dead Hole " or House, 63, 120, 161,
205, 207, 209, 220, 336, 366 ;
General Superintendent of, 328.
Deane, Theresa, Legacy by, 358.
" Death by pressure," 215.
Death sentence on criminals in Bristol,
214, 267.
Delprat, Mr., 463.
Dental Assistant, 392.
Department, 389, 392, 453, 454.
Operation Room, 400.
Surgeon, 392, 454, 486 ; Assistant,
392, 487-
Deputy Treasurer, 69.
Deverall, John, 420.
Dew, James, 255.
Diaper, Mrs., 92.
Dick, Dr., 270, 301, 441, 445.
Paris, 378, 379.
Dickens (cited), 52, 201, 203-4, 263,
401.
Dictionary of National Biography (cited) ,
135-
Diet, 31, 32, 297, 323-4, 329-30.
Dining-room, Games in, 317.
Dinners, 223-4.
Dispensary or " Shop," 21, 23, 42, 48,
51, 62, 90, 96, 98, 145, 155, 172,
173, 202, 281, 292, 329, 333, 335 ;
fighting cocks kept in, 96, 222 ;
staff of, 334.
Dispenser, 57, 62, 292, 295, 317, 333,
334-
Dispensing Druggist, 253-4.
Disputation Society, The, 230.
Dissection of bodies of criminals, 215,
268, 269.
Dissenters, 239.
Distillers v. Quakers Election, 434, 474.
Dixon, Mr., 408.
Dobson, Austin (cited), 375.
" Doctors' Stand, The," 237.
Dodd, Woodwell, Gift by, 389, 390.
Dolphin Society, 83, 126, 128, 170, 171,
183, 192, 229, 310, 460 ; dinner,
227, 228 ; toasts at, 228.
Dorcas Ward, 58,
Dowding, Peter, 236.
Dowson, Christopher Henry, 357, 393,
394. 449, 45°. 454. 485. 4§6.
H. C, 393-
" Dr. Stock's Conversion," 181.
Draper, Sir William, 255.
Drawing Society, 239.
Dresser for the Week, 173, 284, 298,
317, 404, 410, 411 ; death of, 364.
Dressers, 294, 29S.
Dressing Boxes, 51.
Drummond, Archibald, 68, 69, 105, 107,
122, 237, 421, 422, 424, 425, 428,
474. 483-
Ducie, Lord, 153.
Duck, Nehemiah, 371.
Duels, 97, 120, 193, 240, 241.
Dukinfield, Robert, 429, 430, 431.
Dunsford, W. J., 446.
Durban, Richard, 468.
Dyer, Robert, sen., 261.
Robert, jun., 239, 261.
Thomas Webb, 171-2, 185, 192, 438,
439-
William, 2, 92, 95, 132, 250, 261.
Eagles, Rev. John, 377.
Earl, Thomas, 210.
" Early Dawns," 411.
Edinburgh Medical Society, 68.
Pharmacopceia (cited), 264.
Royal Infirmary, 8, 9.
Eden, Rev. John, 173, 192, 233, 234,
239.
Rev. Thomas, 173, 192.
Edgar Family, 14.
John Fry, 234.
Edgell, Richard, 185, 437, 440.
Edgeworth, Francis Henry, 392, 399,
402, 456, 457, 458, 484.
Maria, 319.
Edkins, Michael, 226.
William, 21, 442.
Edwards, Laura E., 337.
Miss, and the telegraphic apparatus,
335-
Sir George, 414.
Elbridge, Aldworth, 44, 46.
Elizabeth, 44, 46.
Family, Pedigree of, 46.
Frances, 45.
Giles, 44.
John, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 22, 23, 25,
43, 44-6, 47, 57, 285, 419, 420, 465,
481 ; Blue School founded by, 45.
Mary, 46.
Rebecca, 46.
Thomas, 44, 46.
Thomas, jun., 45, 46.
Ward, 58.
" Elbridge's Butchers," 74, 423.
Eliza White Ward, 418.
Ellis, John, 95-6, 113.
Elliot, Dean, 405.
Ellison, Thomas Farr, 177.
Elmes, Thomas, 93, 95, 113, 255.
Elton Abraham, 10.
Abraham Issac, 423.
Alderman, 266.
Isaac, 90.
Miss, 429, 430.
Rev. Sir Abraham, 233.
Sir Abraham, 426, 427.
Emergency and Casualty Officer, 360.
494
INDEX
Emery, Henry Gresley, 76, 172.
England, John, 103, 113, 115, 116, 119,
426, 427, 483.
Entertainments, 396-7.
Entrance Scholarships, 391, 400.
Estlin, Anna Maria, 468, 473.
Edward Richmond, 213.
J. Bishop, 159, 171. 3°5, 345- 43 9,
47i, 473-
Rev. J. B., 132.
Ether, Use of, 319.
Etwall, Dr., 11, 16, 20, 67, 420, 421, 483.
Evans's History of Bristol (cited), 15,
21.
Evans, David, 151, 157, 165.
Surgeon-Major John Fenton, 408-9.
Exley, John (cited), 345.
John Thompson, 406.
Thomas, 234.
Eye Dispensary, 233, 345, 352.
Eyres, Rev., 195.
Thomas, 66.
Fabian, Ernest, Bust of Greig Smith
by, 405.
Faculty, Dean of, 392-3.
Room, 401.
Fairbrother, Alexander, 343, 350, 446,
447. 451- 4§4-
Fancourt, Lyon, 419.
Mrs., 16, 22, 419.
Faraday, 319.
Fardon, John Henry, 396.
Farland, Mr., 261.
Farley, Felix, Si, 180.
Mr., 237.
Sarah, 102.
Farnell, William Balme, 94, 95.
Farr, Alderman, 115.
Paul, 116.
Samuel, 94, 95, 103, 105, 107, 115-16,
133- 425. 426> 428, 433. 483 ;
works by, 115.
Fayle, R., 225.
Felix Farley's Bristol Journal (cited),
17, 95, 101, 102, 117, 122, 152, 171,
238, 247, 249, 328 377, 425, 430.
Fernie's Animal Simples (cited), 264.
Fiddis, Mary, 158-60.
Figgins, Miss, 11S.
Filer, Charity, 164, 165.
Finances, 42-3, 57-8, 61-2, 72, 90, 114,
148-57, 161, 196, 297, 322-4, 333,
336, 349-50, 357-8, 389-91, 414-18.
Fine Arts Exhibition, 415.
Finny, Miss S., 100, 104.
" Fire Office Jack," 432.
First patients, 27-8.
Fisher, John, Medallion of Greig Smith
by, 404.
Letitia, 74.
Paul, 14, 27, 40, 61, 70.
Sarah, 64.
Theodore, 399, 457.
" Fitz," the porter, 383.
Flemming, A. L., 402, 413.
Foort, Eleanor Agnetta, 364.
Foot, Mr., 51.
Football, 352.
Ford, James, 12, 19, 51, 58, 66-7, 69, 71,
74, 205, 259, 366, 420, 422, 424,
485-
John, 105, 118, 127, 129, 183, 425,
43°. 451, 485-
Mrs., 52.
Thomas, 66.
Fordyce, John, 129.
" Formula Medici," 329.
Forster, Rev. Robert, 233.
Forster's Coffee House, 12.
Fortescue-Brickdale, John, 289.
John Matthew, 2S9, 402, 458, 484.
Matthew Inglett, 289, 458.
Foster Family, Pedigree of, 467.
Mr., 281.
Serjeant (or Sir Michael), 9, 10, 11,
14, 22, 40, 44, 47, 106, 215, 267,
285, 467 ; biography of, 465-6.
Fowler, Mr. Sheriff, 165.
Rev. Charles W., 410, 482.
Fox, A. E. W. (cited), 474, 477, 478, 480.
C. H., 480.
Charles James, 184.
Edward Long, sen., 142, 176, 220,
253, 264, 279, 343, 434, 435, 439,
443, 478, 480, 484 ; biography of,
474-7-
Edward Long, jun., 294, 329, 353,
357, 358, 387, 388, 448, 449, 450,
452, 480, 484 ; biography of, 47S-9 ;
cited, 472.
Family, Pedigree of, 480.
Francis Ker, 478.
Henry Hawes, 182, 196, 197, 301, 302,
439, 440, 444, 448, 469, 480, 484 ;
biography of, 477-8.
Joseph, 474, 476.
Foy, Nathaniel, 113.
Frank, Mr., 146.
Franklin, 135, 279.
Frederick, Sir John, 203.
Freeman, Francis, 21.
French Academy, 279.
French, Dr., 11.
French Prisoners in Bristol, 272.
Revolution, 150, 189.
Revolutionists, 123, 1S0, 230.
Fricker, Louis M., 331.
Fripp, C. Bowles, 188.
G. D., 275, 2S0.
H. E., 44S.
James, 168 280.
Mr., 327.
Samuel, 168.
William, 63, 168, 200, 276, 2S5, 271,
441, 481.
Fry, Francis J., 418.
J. Storrs, 418.
Mr., 41.
Right Hon. Lewis, 3S9, 417.
William, 434.
495
INDEX
Fryers and Temple Street Meeting
House, Collection at, 61.
Fyffe, W. Johnstone, 450, 451.
Gaisford, Mr., 230.
" Gallipot Hall," 253.
Gallows Field, 215.
Gardiner, Joel, 142.
Garlick, Edward, S7-90.
Garnet, John, 232.
Garrard, Elizabeth, 225.
Garrick, David, 67, 68, 82, 135 ; cited,
103.
Garth, Mr., 177.
Sir Samuel, 249.
George, Alderman James, 441.
W. E., 407.
Ghent, Mayor of, 244.
Gibbons, Molly, 114.
Gibbs, Mr., 118.
Gibson, Bishop, 22, 466.
Professor (cited), 471.
Gifford, Andrew, 66.
Sir Robert, 216.
Gifts, 350, 415.
Gill, Edmund, 406.
Gillard, Joe, 226.
Girdlestone, F. B., 405.
Glascorine, Mr., 260.
Glasgow Infirmary, 156.
Glisson, Benjamin, 27.
Gloucester, Duke of, 258, 263.
Glynn, Dr., 83.
Goddard, Marianne R., 393.
Godwin, Mr., 138.
Godwyn, Thomas, 255, 261, 262.
Goizin, Daniel, 27.
Gold, Francis, 235, 237, 239, 374, 375,
376-7 ; prisoner in Paris, 377 ;
translation of works by, 377.
Goldney, Miss, Gift by, 145.
Goldsmith, 1, 82, 83, 300.
Goldwyer, Edward, 257.
Family, Pedigree of, 257.
George, 257, 432, 433.
Henry, 233, 257.
John, 257.
William Henry, 77, 78, 224, 249,
257"9 ; founding of Bristol Eye
Hospital by, 258 ; freedom of
city presented to, 258.
Goodall, Rev. Fairfax, 326, 410,
482.
Goodere, Captain Samuel, Murder by,
267-8.
Sir Dinely, 19 ; murder of, 267.
Goodeve, William James, 387, 445.
Gordon, Dr., S5, 425.
Isabel, 225.
William, 242, 243.
Gordon Riots, 135.
Golden Hart Tavern, Clutton, Doctors'
dinner at, 126.
Gough, R., Grave robbers caught by,
Grabham, John, 19.
Grace, E. M., 393.
Fred, 339,
Gilbert, 339.
James, 422, 423.
James, 254.
Grafton, Mr., 335.
Graham, Col. Charles Senhouse, 365,
405, 482.
Grainger, Mr., 275.
Granger, Frederick, 192.
Grant, Abel, 420.
Grateful Society, 347.
Gratte, Charles Brooke, 396.
Gray, Dr., Bishop of Bristol, 432.
Great George Tavern, 229.
Green, Mr., Land bought of, 200.
Rev. Henry, 237.
Thomas, 227, 310, 320, 347, 441, 445,
446, 449, 485-
Greenly, Mr., 252.
Greig, Charles, 312-13, 314, 316, 446,
447-
Grey Friars, 15.
Grey, Right Hon. Sir George, 321.
Griffiths, Edmund, 190, 440.
Family, Pedigree of, 175.
L. M., 274.
Martha, 170, 175.
Mr., 195.
Thomas, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175, 176,
1S5. 235.
Grimstead, Harriet, 258.
Grindon, Rev. Octavius Maunsell, 326,
482.
Guildhall, Elections at, 95, 97, 100, 127,
137, 169, 170, 287, 300, 302, 312,
3i4. 332, 358, 42°. 425, 429, 432,
436, 439, 447, 449, 45 1 ; meetings
at, 138, 150, 161, 180, 185, 324,
389, 419, 424.
Guillotin, 279.
Guinness, Mr., and religious teaching in
the wards, 35.
Gulch, J. M., 441.
Gulliford, Rev., 266.
Guthrie (cited), 440.
Guy's Hospital, 97, 120.
Haberfield, Sir John Kyrle, 295, 322.
Lady, 357.
Habits and Costumes of Staff, 340-2.
Hague, Daniel, 142.
Halfpenny, Mr., Plan of Infirmary by,
48.
Half-pint Club, 126, 237-S.
Hall, I. Walker, 399.
John, 237, 23S.
Joseph, 195, 201.
Robert, 328.
Halse, Edward, Lectures by, 37S.
Hamblett, John, 41.
Hamilton, D. E., 447.
Hann, Hannah, 184.
Hanson, Richard, 159.
496
INDEX
Harcourt, Rev. Dr., n, 12.
Harding, Martha, 225.
Hardwicke, Dr., 11, 16, 18, 67, 420, 421,
483-
Dr., of Sodbury, 93.
Hardy, Colonel, 406.
Hare, Charles, 186.
William Ody, 217, 218.
Harford, Charles, 134, 232.
Charles Joseph, 135.
Edward, 47.
John Battersby, 299, 335, 347, 481.
John Scandrett, 141, 197, 273, 292,
298-9, 316, 321, 324, 335, 336, 446,
4S1.
Joseph, 47, 90, no, 133, 134-5. I42.
146, 147, 298, 232, 481,
Mark, 47.
Miss, 47.
Harford-Battersby, Abraham Gray, 335,
434-
Harris, H. Elwin, 456.
Thomas, Legacy by, 336.
Wintour, 2, 41, 164, 437.
Harrison, John, 213, 298, 305-6, 309,
320, 331, 344, 350, 445, 44S, 471,
485-
Rev. Oswald, 326, 482.
Harsant, William Henry, 357, 387, 388,
389, 452, 453, 457, 485, 486.
Hart-Davis, Richard, 203, 204, 273,
279.
Hartnell, Aaron, 234.
Harvey, C. O., 225.
James, 150, 324.
Haslar Hospital, 89.
Hassell, Councillor Thomas, 212, 215.
Robert, 362.
Hathway, Mr., 451.
Hatton, Peter, 107.
Hawkesworth, Abraham Richard, 47,
102-3, 105, 146, 238, 239, 426, 481.
Richard, 102.
Mrs., 103.
Hawkins, Agnes Mabel, 365.
F. M., 386.
Mr., 207.
Hayman, Charles, 392, 457, 459, 487.
Haynes, Rev. Richard, 234.
Haythorne, Alderman, 216.
Headington, Mr., 193.
Heath, Rev. Dr., 301.
Heilicar, Ames, 361, 362, 437,
Family, Pedigree of, 362.
John, 361, 362.
Joseph, 361, 362.
Thomas, 235, 361, 362.
Hellier, Thomas, 249, 422, 423.
Henderson, Mr., 475.
Henson, Daniel, 426.
Herapath, C. E. K., 240.
C. K. C, 240.
William, 240, 270, 271, 37S, 379.
William Bird, 231, 240, 241, 271,
344. 447-
Herring, Mrs., 137.
Hetling, Ernest Von, 189.
Family, Pedigree of, 189.
George Hilhouse, 311.
Henry Ernest, 189, 190.
Thomas, 189.
William, 156, 173, 185, 188-91, 200,
201, 213, 224, 233, 280, 345, 371-2,
373. 380, 436, 437, 445, 485 ; his
last days, 306-7.
Hewlett, Ann, 189.
Heylen, Susannah, 10.
Heyworth, Rev. James, 348, 353, 451,
481 ; death of, 362-3.
Heylyn, Edward, 12.
Hicks, John Heathfield, 435.
T. W., Gift by, 336 ; legacy by, 357.
358-
Higgs, Samuel, 97, 100, 169.
Hill, James, 432.
John, 232.
Peter, 477.
Rosetta, 365.
William, 267.
Hill's Wards, 336-7.
Hillhouse, Alderman George, 275.
History of the Study of Anatomy at
Cambridge (cited), 214.
Hobhouse, Benjamin, 367.
Isaac, 43.
Hodgkin, Dr. 471.
Hodnett, E. J., 188.
Hofman, Thomas, 28.
Holman, Charles, 477.
Holmes, Marcus Henry, Painting by,
45-
Home, Sir Everard, 374.
Honorary and Consulting Physician
and Surgeon, 295.
Hopetoun, Earl of, 9.
Hope, Rev. Thomas, 332.
Hopper, Miss, Legacy by, 414.
Horace (cited), 117.
Hore, Henry Augustus, 313-14, 3l8.
344, 347, 393. 402. 447. 448. 449.
485 ; table of cases compiled by,
3!3. 321.
Horler, William, 159.
Horner, Miss, 66.
Hort, Ann, 46.
Horwood, John, Story of murder by,
215-21.
" Hospital " or " Putrid Fever," 93,
95. "3. J34-
Hospital Sunday, 332-3, 415.
House Committee, 161, 196, 199, 306,
328, 439-
Physician, 401 ; Resident, 359.
Pupils, 51, 174, 197. 278, 295, 317,
330 ; fees of, 277, 283, 292 ;
luncheons for, 413.
Steward, 87, 88, 290, 318.
Surgeon, 91, 154, 284, 285, 292, 295,
298, 313. 3M, 317. 33°. 33i. 334.
337- 34L 349, 359. 392, 4°i, 4i°;
Assistant, 284, 314, 317, 330, 331,
332, 334. 359-
497
INDEX
House Surgeon and Apothecary, 278,
285, 291, 295, 3io, 313, 316.
Visitors, 20, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33,
34, 49, 61, 70, 73, 91, 95, 159,
278, 296, 422, 447 ; lady, 278,
325-
House of Commons, 203, 223 ; petition
to, 204.
Lords, Petition to, 204.
Howard, John, 141.
Lady, 415.
Howell, James, 376.
John, 2S5, 294, 302, 304, 308, 309,
312, 445, 446, 484 ; account of his
election, 441-4.
Hughes, Ann, 3, 16, 22, 29, 56, 70, 105,
135, 420, 483.
Humphries, Governor, 217, 218,
219.
Humphrys, Ann, 58.
Hungerfords of Farleigh Castle, The,
189.
Hunt, Elizabeth, Tablet in Chapel to,
364-
Samuel, 27.
Hunter, John, 183, 202.
Zaccheus, 199.
Hydrophobia, Outbreak of, 126.
Infirmary Burial-ground, 40-1, 208,
209, 213 366.
Chapel, 154, 327 ; memorial window
in, 365 ; opening of, 333 ; tablets
in, 364-5, 4o8> 4°9-
Dinners, 228, 298; heads broke at,
24, in.
Elections, 419-59 ; committee for,
455 ; cost of, 434 ; disturbances
at, 422, 427-8, 453 ; ladies' votes
at, 429, 436 ; political and religious
differences at, 437-8 ; rules for,
439-40.
Library, 285, 317, 401.
Medical Reading Society, 345.
Museum, 131, 215, 238, 248, 268, 285,
294, 298, 327, 328, 336, 374, 395,
416, 457, 464 ; curator of, 328 ;
demonstration in, 355 ; lectures in
373, 387 ; opening of, 333.
Reports (cited), 297.
Well, Contamination of, 350, 351.
" Infirmary Contest, The " (pamphlet),
423-
Influenza epidemic, 133, 250.
Ingleby, Mr., 157.
Innys Fund, 202, 390.
Mary, Legacy by, 156.
In-patients, 15, 28, 35, 43, 45, 49, 57,
72, 88, 89, 154, 196, 278, 293, 322,
333, 4°°-
Invasion scares, 150, 185.
Ireland, James, 139.
Irvine, Lieut. Guy Harle, 409.
Isolation Cottage, 397.
Ivyleaf, James, Legacy by, 322-3.
Jack's Coffee Houses, 241.
Jackson, Mr., 254.
Jacob, Mr., 138.
Jacobins, 230, 370, 475.
Jacobites, 143, 23S, 370.
Jail Fever, 113.
James, Cecilia, 192.
David, 128.
Elizabeth, 135, 136.
John, 192.
Samuel Loscombe, 45.
Jardine, Lewis J., 435.
Jarman, Francis, 306.
Jeffery, Frederick, 334.
Jefferies, William, 43.
Jekyll, Mr., 251.
Jenkins, Agnes, 365.
George, Legacy by, 415.
Robert, 215, 217.
Jenner, Edward, 195, 377.
Sir William, 113, 342.
Job's Ward, 58.
" John Jones, Brewer," 62.
Johnes, Rev. Thomas, 37, 38, 39, 40,
141, 192, 223, 231, 482.
Johnson, Dr., 5, 38, 49, 77, 82, 118, 223.
J-, 203.
Robert, 287, 290, 322, 482.
Samuel, 198, 287, 288, 482.
Joliffe, Mrs., 72.
Jones, Alfred, 334.
Elizabeth, 47.
James, 272, 432.
John, 334.
Harriet, 477.
Martha, 112.
Mary, 22.
Miss, 92.
Rev. Richard, 477.
Samuel, Legacy by, 414.
Thomas, 237.
William, 272.
Journal of Sciences and Arts of the Royal
Institution (cited), 152.
Jowett, Professor, 382.
Junior House Physician, 395.
Surgeon, 395, 396, 411.
Keir, Dr., 11.
Kelson, Joseph James, 270.
Kempster, Christopher, 112.
Kent, Stanley, 399.
Kentish, Dr., 161, 171, 278, 280, 374.
Kenyon, Lord, 122.
Kill, Hannah, 134.
Joseph, 134.
Kilner, Frederick J., 408.
King, John, 234, 239, 437, 439, 469-
Richard Poole, 448.
W. P., 234.
Kingsley, Charles, 274.
Kingstons of Leigh, The, 441.
Kirby, Camilla, Legacy by, 415.
M. A., Legacy by, 415.
Kitcat, Hester, 225.
Knight, Mr., 263.
498
INDEX
Knowles, Sheridan, 229.
Knowlton, Dr., 261, 430.
Kruger, Paul, 413.
Ladies' Needlework Guild, 414.
Lady Superintendent, 337, 339.
Laennec, 279.
Lamb, Dr., 293.
Lancaster, John, 195.
Lancet (cited), 281.
" Landlord Wyat," 226.
Lane, Elizabeth, 17.
Rev. Odiarne W. D., 410, 482.
Richard, 17.
Langley, Humphrey, 192.
Langton, Sir Thomas, 14.
Lansdown, J. G., 2S0.
Lord, 367.
Lassalle, W. H., 376, 378.
Latham, Dr., 471.
Mr., 246.
" Latham the Newsman," 50.
Lathrop, Richard, 12, 69, 482.
Latimer, John (cited), 340.
Latour, 354.
" Laughing Gas," 319.
Laundry, 401.
Laurence Sterne, Dissection of body of,
214.
Lavoisier, 279.
Lawrence, Aust, 398.
Henry, 159.
John, 305.
Miss, 305.
Mr., 207.
Sir Henry, 305.
Lax, Robert, 185, 208, 246.
Sheriff, 275.
Leach, John, 239.
Lean, James, 441.
Lecture Theatre, 327.
Lee, Rev. Charles, 37, 191, 235.
Thomas, 158, 159.
Leech, Ada, 225.
Alfred, 225.
Joseph, 225.
Mabel, 225.
Mary, 225.
Leeches, 199, 263, 297.
Leeching Room, 281.
Legacies, 44, 62, 282, 297, 320, 322, 336,
343. 349. 357-8, 389-91, 406, 414-
15-
Leigh, Mr., 227.
Leland (cited), 15.
Leman, Frederick, 278, 307, 310-11.
Leonard, Crosby, 21, 277, 294, 298, 321,
344-6, 352, 357, 360, 361, 383, 384,
385. 4°5. 447. 448, 452. 485-
Edward A., 21, 345, 346, 401, 405,
482.
Family, Pedigree of, 346.
Isaac, 344, 345, 346.
Leprosy, 89.
Letsom, J. C, 203.
" Letters of Junius," 121.
Lewin's Mead Chapel, 61, 65, 69, 123,
131-
Lewis, Mr., 212.
Ley, Mary, 472, 473.
Library Catalogue, Curious comments
in, 285, 286.
Committee, 285.
and Reading Room, 284, 285.
Lift, 330.
Lighting, 202, 316, 401.
Lippincott, Sir Henry, 271.
Lister, 342, 454, 476 ; demonstration by
at the Infirmary, 355-6.
Listerism, 353.
Little, W. E., 225.
" Little Committee," 422.
Livett, Mr., 451.
Lloyd, Harford, 81.
Mr., 322-3.
Mrs., 323.
Samuel, 48.
Lloyd's Encyclopedic Dictionary (cited),
199.
Locock, H., 276.
Logan, Mrs., Murder of, 266.
William, 11, 16, 19, 67, 69, 81, 266,
420, 422, 424, 483.
London, Bishop of, 34.
Eye Hospital, 307.
London Pharmacopeia (cited), 264.
" Long Jack," Story of, 206.
Love, Susanna, 47.
Lovell, Mrs., 337, 339, 477, 483.
Robert, 124, 176, 233, 435, 437, 484.
Lowe, Godfrey, 1, 75, 88, 93, 109, no,
125, 127-9, 141, 142, 188, 189, 191,
205, 227, 250, 252, 265, 366, 429,
430. 433. 436, 462. 464. 485-
Miss, 171.
Richard, 2, 128, 164, 165, 185, 191,
197, 198, 227, 237, 273, 285, 294,
297. 298, 309, 344, 345, 371-2, 373,
436, 437- 446, 462. 485-
Richard Godfrey, 198, 240.
Lucas, J. J. S., 400.
Ludlow, Abraham, 98, 99, 103, 105, 115,
116, 117-19, 121, 123, 127, 129, 184,
206, 237, 260, 420, 485.
Abraham, jun., 206, 420, 425, 427,
429, 436, 474.
Ebenezer, 332, 348, 349, 357, 449,
484.
Lunell, Mr., 78, 171, 239.
Luscombe, Mr., 202.
Lyde, James, 466.
Lynch, Ann Jean, 300, 483.
Lyne, Edward, 21, 81, 84-6, 104, 115,
424, 425, 483.
Lyon, Gilbert, 228, 304, 343, 345, 347,
444. 445. 446. 448, 484-
Madam Trenchard of Leigh Court, 10.
Maddox, John, 232.
Macalister, Professor, 214.
499
INDEX
Macartney, James, 43.
Macaulay, Lord, 242.
Zachary, 242.
MacCormac, Sir William, 405.
Mackenzie, Dr., S5, 425.
Dr. Colin, 461.
Mackie, Rev. John, 326, 482.
MacWatters, John Courtenay, 398.
Magdalen Ward, 58.
Mahony, Matthew, Murder by, 267.
Mainanduc, 475.
Mais, Mr., and Body-snatching, 213.
Rev. John, 300, 482.
Major, W., 299.
Man " whipp'd publickly," 267.
Manchee, Thomas John, 441.
Manchester Riots, 196.
Man -Midwife, 129, 170, 213, 259, 261,
345. 371-
Mansion House, Sack of, 273, 274.
Marks, Alfred (cited), 215.
Martin, William, 445.
Mason, Benjamin, 97, 100, 113, 169.
Massage, 402.
Master of the Ceremonies " for
Bristol, 222, 232.
Materia Medica, Lectures on, 304, 383.
Matravers, Miss, 184.
Matron, 3, 16, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30,
32, 34,35. 42, 48, 62, 63, 70, 73,
91, 99, 105, 114, 135-7, I6o, 161,
278, 285, 286, 299, 300, 316,
317, 3i8, 330, 339, 419, 420; list
of, 483.
Matthew's Directory (cited), 142, 248.
Maze, Peter, 264.
McDonald, Arthur, 85.
George, 231, 376, 377, 378.
John, 213.
Mease, Matthew, 24.
Medical and Chirurgical Association,
262.
and Surgical Departments, 291.
and Surgical Library, 191.
and Surgical Registrar, 411.
Superintendent, 359.
Book Society, 256.
Charges, 262.
Reading Society, 305, 345.
Registrar, 402.
Medical Times and Gazette (cited), 8.
Medicinal Dispensary, 254.
Merchant Tailors' Hall, Elections at,
101, 102, 421, 423, 426, 427, 452.
Merchant Venturers, 38, 39, 116, 300,
361, 439 ; meeting in hall of, 417.
Merlott, Alderman, 232.
John, 133.
Mesmer, 279, 475.
Metford, Joseph, 65, 125, 142, 150, 156,
1S3-5, 186, 189, 260, 429, 432, 433,
434. 435. 441. 464. 485-
Joseph Seymour, 314, 447, 448.
Middleton, John, 16, 19, 420, 483.
Miles, William, 327.
Millard, Mr., Land bought of, 200.
Miller, Dr., 367.
Miss, 86.
Mr. (keeper of the jail), 158.
Mr. (Mayor), 25.
Visger, 407, 416.
Millet, Miss, 86.
Mills, Misses, 242.
Rev. Mr., 468.
Selina, 242, 243, 244.
Milton, John, 108, 426.
Rev. W., 232.
Minute Books (cited), 7, 12, 15, 23, 41,
49. 56, 59. 90, 101, 138, 142, 146,
148, 161, 19S, 199, 213, 316, 320,
419, 420, 431, 440.
Moffat, Mrs., 136.
Mole, Harold Frederick, 389, 457, 458,
459, 485, 486.
Moncrieffe, William, 125-7, J55> I7I>
192, 220, 227, 237, 253, 430, 439,
474. 484-
Monkman, Joseph, 334.
Montague, Lady Mary Wortley (cited),
201.
Montague Tavern, 126, 174, 223, 226,
228, 240, 262, 298, 304, 305, 376.
Montgolfier, 152.
Moore, Leonard A., 392, 402.
Thomas, 45.
Morbid Anatomy, Demonstrator of,
392, 399, 458 ; and Assistant
Curator of Museum, 400.
More, Hannah, 83, 143, 144, 242, 442 ;
legacy by, 282 ; Memoirs 0/ (cited),
84. 144-
Martha, 282.
Patty, 144.
Morgan, David, 219.
Susanna, 281.
William Francis, 173, 278, 285, 307-8,
309, 310, 311, 320, 336, 344, 445,
447. 485-
Morning Chronicle (cited), 244.
Morse, John, 95.
" Mother Widcombe," 284, 352.
Mortimer, William, 224.
Mosely, Alfred, 413.
Mules, Mr., 307.
Mundy, Kate Amelia, 365.
Munk, Dr. (cited), 97.
Munro, J. M. H., 400.
Murders, 19, 215, 266-71.
Murray, Charles, 172.
Musical Festivals, 153, 162, 196.
Muskan, Prince Puckler, 340.
Nagg's Head Club, 102, 238-9.
Tavern, 23, 24, 143, 226, 228, 238-9.
Napoleon Bonaparte, 150, 153, 162,
1S5, 377-
Nash, Charles, 448.
Mrs. R. L., Legacy by, 414.
Susannah, 45.
Neale, George, 265.
Neep, Rev. E. F., 410.
500
INDEX
Neddy Bridges, 75.
Nelson, Toast of, 237.
Nepotism, 283.
New Bears' Club or Bears' Debating
Club, 233.
Jail, Executions at, 220, 270.
Surgical Wing, 41S.
New, John, 176, 435, 436, 484.
Newgate Prison, Unsanitary condition
of, 220.
Newman, John, 435.
Newton, Dr. Thomas, 38.
Niblett, Mr., 227.
Nicholas, William, Murder by, 266.
Nicholson, Mr., 261.
Nicholl's History of Bristol (cited), 215.
Nichols, Frederick Charles, 459, 487-
Nitrous oxide, Discovery of, 319.
Nixon, John Alexander, 457, 458, 4S4.
Noble, Alderman, 129.
James, 430.
John Padmore, 24, 31, 78, 93, 98. 109,
no, 113, 125, 128, 129-31, 141, 143.
155, 184, 192, 230, 250, 427, 430,
43L 438, 485-
Luke, 129.
Sheriff, 129.
Norman, Bridget, 127.
James, 109, 132, 183, 255, 257, 429,
43°. 43i. 432, 433. 485-
Jerome, 73, 76, 125, 127, 265, 36b,
422, 423, 427, 4S5.
North, Lord, 184.
Norton, Frederick, 234, 471.
Mr., 121.
Nose and Throat Department, 400.
Nott, Dr., 193-
Nugent, Robert, 271.
Nurses : Diet and sleeping accommoda-
tion, 338 ; efficiency of, 337 ;
Home, 388, 391 ; old style, 28,
31S ; Training Institution, 337 ;
Training School, 414.
Nursing Institute, 391.
Oakes, Eliza, 302.
Obstetric Aphorisms, 398.
Department, 389, 397"9, 453- 454-
Officer, Resident, 398.
Physician, 395, 397. 454- 4S6.
Wards, 398.
O'Connor, Emily, 177.
Sir Patrick, 177.
Ogilvie, Mr., 242.
Ogilvy, Alexander, 456, 458, 4S6.
Oil Gas Company, 202.
Old Hagley, 143.
Pretender, 30.
Quiddle, 56.
Rosewell, 66, 247, 259.
Whig, 7.
"Old Order Changeth, The" (cited),
3°5-
Oldland Rest Home, 412.
" Open Committees," 85, 146, 167, 424.
Operations, 55, 74, 76, 158, 160, 184,
200, 201, 305, 355.
Operation Room, 145, 190, 200, 220,
339, 4°3. 4°4. 4°5-
Table, 145, 403.
Ophthalmic Department, 389, 453.
Surgeon, 389, 395, 401, 453, 456, 458,
486.
Oracle County Advertiser (cited), 266.
Orlebar, John, 7.
Osborne, Jere, 232.
Miss, 176.
Otway, Admiral, 313.
Out-patients, 23, 26, 28, 43, 57, 72, 101,
109, no, 154, 157, 160, 164, 173,
181, 196, 198, 279, 280, 281, 291,
292, 293, 298, 322, 333, 334, 34s-
35i, 358, 359, 364, 385, 386, 395.
397, 398, 400, 401, 403, 447, 452,
457- 478.
Out-patient abuse, 359, 411-12.
Book, 59, 60.
Department, 14, 199, 276, 2S0, 281,
315-16, 322, 333, 348, 359, 393. 4°°.
405, 411, 416.
Room, 130, 198, 395, 411, 47S.
" Over-times," 59, 152, 167.
Owen, Mr., 16.
Page, Alderman John, 19, 84.
John, 12, 19, 21, 64-6, 69, 105, 117,
121, 129, 169, 205, 206, 248, 268,
346, 366, 420, 422, 424, 428, 431,
432, 485-
Thomas, 16, 19, 20, 21, 64, 66, 109,
265, 346, 420, 485.
Paget, Sir George, 214, 342.
Paisley, John, 243, 245.
Palmer, Arthur, 445.
Esther, 100, 104.
F. C, 3S6.
Henry, 340.
James, 414.
John Jordon, 145-6, 192, 286, 482.
Miss, 235.
William, 170.
Pall Mall Magazine (cited), 234.
Palmerston, Viscount, 82.
Park Street Club, 233-4.
Parker, George, 249.
Henry, 265.
Richard, 40.
Parsley, James, 247, 248.
Parson Penrose, 267.
Parsons, Dr., 231.
Miss, 68.
Rev. Mr., 38, 40.
Parliamentary Elections, 105, 184, 239,
240, 249, 271.
Partridge, Thomas, 233.
Pascoe, Edith Annie, 365.
Pasteur, Louis, 342, 354, 476.
Pathological Department, 359, 399-
Assistant in for Opsonic' Treatment,
400.
501
INDEX
Pathologist, 392, 399, 436, 457.
Pathologist, Bacteriologist, and Director
of the Clinical Laboratory, 399.
Paty, Thomas, 140, 142.
Paull, John, 123, 124-5, 428, 429, 430,
484.
Peace of Amiens, 153, 376.
Pearce, E. Mountjoy, 402, 413.
Pelham, Sir Henry, 103.
Pellew, Fleetwood H., 406, 455.
Pelly, Edward, Story of, 163-7.
Peloquin, Mary Ann, Legacy by, 114.
Pendrill, Thomas, 376.
Penny, William John, 454.
Penrose, Rev. Mr., n.
Pepys's Diary (cited), 264.
Percivall, Joseph, 62.
Richard, 62.
Percy's Reliques (cited), 186.
" Perdita " (Mrs. Robinson), 242, 375.
Perin, Mr., and Suple Prize, 321.
Perrin, Dr., 254.
Perry, Mrs., 245.
Richard Vining, abduction by, 242-6;
duel fought by, 240 ; lecture by,
241.
" Pers," 443.
Personal Reminiscences, 351-3.
Perth, Dukes of, 68.
Pharmacopceia of the Bristol Infirmary,
329-
Phillips, Edward, Legacy by, 388,
39o.
Philosophical Institute, 308.
Phippen, Mr., 227, 446.
Robert, 347, 362, 481.
Phcenix Glee Society, 236.
Physician for the Week, 109, 194,
280.
Physicians, Qualifications of, 291 ; list
of, 483-4.
Physicians and Surgeons, Age limit,
291, 294; number of, 290, 291.
Physick Gardens, 259.
Pickwick in Bristol, 234.
Pigou, Dean, 405.
Pine, William, 19, 433.
Pine's Gazette (cited), 112.
Thursday Paper (cited), 229.
Ping Pong Tournament in Board Room,
316.
Pinney, Charles, 274, 275.
Piquenet, Miss, 249.
Pitt, Rev. G. W., 410, 482.
William, 116.
Plomer, James, 24, 73, 85, 86-8, 95, 9S,
105, 107, 121, 141, 176, 177, 179,
425, 428, 435, 483.
Plowden, Mr., 35.
Pneumatic Institute, 159, 318, 319.
Pocock, Andrew, 15.
Lydia, 15.
Thomas, 15.
Poisoning epidemic, 321.
Pole, Thomas, 371, 468.
Rachel, 371.
Politics, 30, 105, 126, 128, 135, 171, 183,
184, 237, 239, 271, 273, 322, 431,
437. 46°-
Polito, Mr., 157.
Pope, Alexander, 201, 249.
Dr., 46S.
Mrs., 430.
Noble, 14.
Porter, Rev. James, 163.
Rev. Joseph, 102.
Rev. Richard, 311.
Portland, Duke of, 153.
Post-mortem examinations, 161, 392.
Room, 336, 357, 392, 395.
Pountney, W., 66.
Powell, James, Legacy by, 35S.
Robert, 314.
Thomas Joseph Cookson, 331.
Power, Onesiphorus, 232. .
Prankerd, P. D., Gift by, 390.
Preece, Elizabeth, 35, 114, 136-7,
483-
Prescriptions, Use of Latin in, 329.
President, 2, 321.
and Treasurer, 290, 291, 298, 335,
347, 348 ; list of, 481.
Pretender, The, 30, 143, 461.
Prevalent Diseases, 29, 59, 60, 89.
Prideaux, John, 235, 236.
Priest, Robert, 95, 96, 99, 139.
Priestley, 319.
Price, Mr., 240.
Mrs., 358.
Prichard, Arthur William, 357, 358,
383, 388, 391, 451, 452, 457, 473,
485, 4S6 ; cited, 306, 308, 310,
355-
Augustin, 305, 320, 329, 333, 344,
360, 386, 406, 446, 447, 449, 451,
473, 485 ; biography of, 471-2 ;
cited, 174, 213, 214, 297, 298, 303,
304, 309, 341, 342, 372, 373, 380,
465, 471, 472, 477, 478 ; Prize, 406.
Family, Pedigree, of, 473.
James Cowles, 181, 182, 194, 196,
197, 198, 227, 233, 234, 285, 294,
301, 303, 304, 309, 311, 312, 345,
366, 372-3. 382, 437, 438, 439, 44°.
446,451,471,473,484; biography
of, 468-71.
Thomas, 468, 473.
William, 112.
Prince Consort, Ward named after, 282.
Regent, 186.
Princess Amelia, 466.
Charlotte, 22S.
Christian Hospital, 413.
" Printer's Devil," Rhyme by, 287.
Privateering, 57, 121, 476.
Proctor, Rev. Dr., 313.
Protheroe, Edward, 154.
Mr., 332.
Philip, 165.
Sir Henry, 156.
Provident Dispensaries, 400.
Provincial Medical Association, 227.
502
INDEX
Prowse, Arthur Bancks, 312, 358, 391,
392, 452, 453, 454, 458, 484.
James, 312.
James Barrington, 312, 447, 452.
William, 452.
" Proxies," 447, 449. 451-
Prys, Walter Alfred ap, 408.
Pye, James, 249.
Samuel, 248, 249.
Quacks, 56, 260-2.
Quaker funeral, 103, 146.
Quakers' Burial-ground, 41, 146, 147.
Qualifications of Staff, 395.
Quarrels, 24-5, 37-8, 52, 8S, 97, 108,
110-11, 120-1, 130, 190, 197, 384,
422.
Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature
and Arts (cited), 68.
Queen Anne, 21.
Charlotte, 67.
Victoria Convalescent Home, 407,
412; title of "Royal" granted
by, 322 ; ward named after, 282.
Quincey, B. de., 415.
Mary Francis de, 415.
Railway panic, 297.
Randall, Dean, 389-90.
Randolph, Francis, 233, 421, 422.
Ratcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, 140.
Rawlins, F. L., 47, 102, 104, 105.
J-> 429-
Rawlinson, 241.
Ray, Rev. R. C, 189.
Read's Weekly Journal or British
Gazeteer (cited), 10.
Red Lodge, 17, 138, 139 ; lectures in,
367-9-
Rees, Mr., and the Ivyleaf Legacy, 322.
Reeve, William, 43, 238.
Reform Bill, 273, 282, 300.
Resident Medical Officers, 292, 295.
Residents in Park Street in 1822, 171.
Resurrectionists. See Body-snatching.
Reynall, Rev. Carew, 10, n, 25.
Reynolds, Richard, 154.
Re-opening of Infirmary, 353.
Rich, Alderman, 14.
John, 441.
Richards, Thomas, 62.
Richardson, B. W., 8.
Ridder, Edward de, 234.
Louis E., 234.
Riddle, Selwood, Gift by, 357.
Ridout, Charles, 258.
Rigge, Thomas, 24, 25, 93, 96, 103, 105,
107, 109, no, in, 115, 117, n8,
119-23, 131, 240, 428, 431, 474, 483.
Riley, Henry, 55, 212, 213, 270, 277,
279, 3°3-4. 309, 342. 378. 379, 441-
444. 445. 446. 4S4-
Rishton, Miss, 189.
Roach, Elizabeth, 135, 136.
Robertson, Robert, 428.
Robinson, G. N., 376.
Sir J. Clifton, 418.
Rochester Infirmary, 8.
Rodbard, Dr., 118.
Rodney, Admiral, Toast of, 237.
Rogers, Bertram Milford Heron, 411,
456.
Eliza, 104.
George, 446.
Miss, 102.
Mr., 307.
Robert, 21.
Rolfe, W. D., 373.
Rook, George Elbridge, 45.
Rooke, Major James, 122.
Thomas, 45.
Thomas Elbridge, 45.
Withington, 45, 46.
Roolsey, Samuel, 233, 234, 379.
Roosser, Joseph, 127.
Rooth, Goodwin, 465.
John, 465.
Rowand, John, 96, 222.
Rowe, Rev. John, 131, 153, 161, 181,
278, 440.
" Rowley Poems," 82.
Rotation Scheme, 155, 156, 280.
Roxburgh, Dr. (cited), 355.
Royal College of Physicians of Edin-
burgh, 8.
College of Surgeons, 202, 378.
Hampshire County Hospital, 9.
Ruby, H.M.S., Murder on, 267.
Rucster, William, 235.
Ruddock, R. B., 446.
Rudge, C. King, 185.
Rev. Thomas, 185.
Rules, 10, 22, 27, 28, 29, 58, 70, 106-12,
134, 137, 153, 197, 276, 277, 278.
283, 290-5, 299, 309, 332, 348, 397.
Rummer Tavern, 44, 47, 100, 226, 237,
452.
Rumsey, Henry, 21, 50.
Nathaniel, 16, 21, 50, 419, 420.
Rupert, Prince, 21.
Russell, Ann, 45.
Russia, War with, 323.
Ryan, Dr., 262.
Rycroft, John, 406.
Ryley, Edward, 303.
Rymsdyke, 21, 85, 226.
Sage, Rev. William Hood, 300, 326, 482.
Saints v. Sinners Election, 301, 377,
441.
St. Alban's Tavern, 234.
St. Andrew's Festival, 180, 228.
Society, 126.
University, 98, 118.
St. Augustine's Church, 19, 61, 238.
Churchyard, 267, 270 ; body stolen
from, 210.
St. George's Burial-place, Tyburn,
Body stolen from, 214.
503
INDEX
St. George's Chapel, Votes taken in,
44° ■
St. George's Church, 303, 410.
St. James's Church, 14, 15, 35, 37, 39,
228, 249 ; Annual Sermon in, 24,
25, 26 ; clergy of as Chaplains,
410, 482.
Churchyard, 14; body removed from,
204.
Priory, 14.
St. John's Church, 37, 86.
St. Michael's Church, 18, 40, 86, 127.
234-
St. Michael's Hill Gallows, 266, 267.
St. Nicholas Church, 61, 461.
St. Paul's Church, Picture in, 119 ;
Musical Festival in 153, 162.
Churchyard, 74.
St. Peter's Hospital, 14, 64, 70, 120,
121, 125, I32, 183, 207, 248,
249, 26l, 280, 304, 429, 445, 462,
469.
St. Philip and Jacob Church, 20.
Churchyard, Body stolen from, 213.
St. Stephen's Ringers, Society of, 183,
192, 229.
St. Thomas's Church, 68.
St. Vincent, Earl of, 37.
St. Werburgh's Church 121, 168,
466.
Salmon, Samuel Simmons, 150, 259,
260.
Salop Infirmary, 87.
Salter, Mr., 351.
Sampson, Edward, 316, 414.
Sam. Farley's Bristol Newspaper (cited),
261.
Samuel White Ward, 417.
Samuels, Mr., 243, 245.
Sanders, G. E., 322.
J., 446.
John Naish, 234.
Thomas, 288.
Sartor Resartus (cited), 3.
Sauvages, Boissier de, 113.
Savage, Alderman, 274.
Scandrett, Charles, 420.
Schimmelpenninck, Mary Ann, 221.
School of Anatomy and Medicine, 378,
379. 380-
Schultz, 354.
Schwann, 354.
Scott, James, 359, 404.
Sir Walter, 258.
Scudamore, Rowles, Land bought of,
114.
Seagram, William Lye, 197.
Secretary, 11, 12, 21, 25, 69, 73, 105,
145, 156, 161, 198, 199, 278, 286-8,
290, 299 ; list of, 482.
and House Governor, 2, 405, 406.
and House Steward, 287, 299.
and Receiver, 69, 70.
and Recorder, 12.
Sewell, Jem, 226.
Seyer, Rev. Samuel, 116, 239, 460.
Seyer's History of Bristol (cited), 268.
Shapland, Angell, 50.
Charlotte, 181.
Joseph, 50, 51,70, 92-3, 170, 232, 249,
250, 427.
Rev. J., 181.
Sharpe, Anthonv, 15.
R. A. F., 42. "
W. E., 42.
Shaving on the Lord's Day, 247.
Shaw, John Edward, 352, 356, 357, 358,
386, 451, 452, 458, 484.
John George, 324, 332, 389, 447.
Sheffield Infirmary, 333, 339.
Lord, 153.
Shekleton, Surgeon-General Joseph
Furlonge, 397, 405, 482.
Shellard, Thomas, 93.
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 67.
Ship Tavern, 226.
Shipton, Dr., 232.
Shop Waiting Room, 281.
Shute, James, 431.
Thomas, 192-4, 302. 37°. 374-6, 377,
378, 438, 439, 440, 485.
Simmons, Jane, 137, 192, 483.
Simpson, Mr., 192.
Nicholas, 21, 50, 91, 93.
Sion College, 259.
" Sister," Opposition to title of,
338.
Skelton's Antiquities (cited), 375.
Skerritt, Markham, 356, 399.
Skiagraphic Department, 389, 405.
Skiagraphist, 401.
Skone, Thomas, 66, 76, 103, 105, 115,
116-17, 127, 260, 427, 428, 462,
485-
Slade, John, 187.
Mr., Operation on, 248.
Sara, 225.
Small, W. P., 123.
Small-pox, 195, 330.
Smart, Sir George, 162.
Smith, Adam, 86.
Alderman, 431.
Augusta, 259.
Augusta Anne, 465.
Brooke, 232.
Clara Ann, Murder of, 270.
Elizabeth Creedy, 465.
George Munro, 346, 362, 454, 456,
458, 485, 486.
Henry, 62, 63, 193, 240, 259, 463, 465.
James Greig, 356, 357, 359, 364. 386,
387, 388, 391, 398, 403-5, 452, 456,
485.
Joseph, 232.
J. N., 96.
Maud G., 483.
Morgan, 10, 11, 12, 14, 69, 420, 482.
Nathaniel, 171, 185, 194-5, 196, 197.
213, 270, 285, 294, 301, 306, 309,
310, 311, 320, 356, 373, 378, 379,
437- 438, 439. 44°. 446, 485-
Richard Catcott, 465.
504
INDEX
Smith, Richard, Sen., 20, 45, 55, 77, 81,
88, 97, 109, no, in, 117, 120, 125,
126, 129, 134. 141. x42. I45. I56,
185, 186, 227, 234, 240, 252, 259,
271, 272, 374, 429, 433, 435, 485 ;
biography, 460-3.
Richard, jun., 1, 2, 6, 24, 45, 131, 146,
150, 154, 156, 159, 160, 163, 165,
171, 181, 185, 186, 190, 191, 192,
195. !97. 2°2. 2°7> 2°8> 2I5. 22I>
223, 224, 227, 230, 235, 236, 251,
257. 259. 26l> 265> 269. 285. 295.
3°i. 305. 3°6. 3i2- 313. 327. 373.
43°. 435. 445. 448, 485 ; biography
of, 464-5 ; death of, 308-9 ; lectures
by, 367-70 ; MSS., cited through-
out the work.
Robert Shingleton, 349, 356, 357.
383, 391, 393, 450, 457, 484-
Sir Jarritt, 19, 267, 425.
W. A., 214.
Smollett's Humphry Clinker (cited), 97.
Smyth, Dowager Lady, 44.
Lady, 418.
Sir John Hugh, 44, 46.
Snow, Miss, 124.
Robert, 124.
" Social Villagers, The," 229.
Social and Scientific Club, 231.
Society of Apothecaries, 302, 311.
Bristol Artists, 239.
Friends, 34, 36, 47, 90, 103, 146, 371,
434. 474-
Sodor and Man, Bishop of, 34, 367.
South Sea Annuities, 57, 114.
Bubble, 74.
Southey, Robert (cited), 223, 230, 319.
Sowerby, Mr., Action against for re-
covery of fees, 251.
Special Departments, 389, 405.
Spencer, Henry, 393.
William Henry, 357, 383, 384, 385,
386, 387, 388, 391, 392, 393. 450.
4S4.
Spurzheim, Dr., 221.
Stack, Edward Hugh Edwards, 391,
402, 456, 458, 485, 486.
Stanhope, Lord, 367.
Stark's Picture of Edinburgh (cited), 9.
Stayner, Ann, 44, 46.
Stebbings, Alice, 365.
Steele, Charles, 383, 3S7, 449, 452, 485.
Stephen, Dr., 435.
Stephens, Nathaniel, 145.
Mrs., and her nostrum, 56, 260.
William, 12.
Stethoscope, First use of, 279.
Stethoscope, The (cited), 305, 317.
Stimulants and expensive drugs, 400.
Stock, John, 180.
John Edmonds, 180-2, 197, 220, 236,
260, 301, 319, 369, 372"3, 437-. 438.
441, 469, 484 ; his " Conversion,"
181.
Robert, 263.
W. Stuart Vernon, 402.
Stoddart, W. W., 350.
Stokes, Sir William, 133.
Stone, Bridget, 63.
Samuel, 91.
Stonhouse, Rev. Sir James, 25, 144.
Stratton, Thomas (cited), 8.
Stuart, James, 313.
Lady, 226.
Sturge, Joseph, 236.
Sugar Loaf Tavern, 297.
Sumner, Rev. Oliver, 326, 482.
Suple, Robert, Legacy by, 320 ; Prizes,
320, 321.
Surgeon Extraordinary, 65, 431.
for the Week, no, 155, 280, 283, 348.
Surgeons' Hall, 12; elections at, 16,
452; lectures at, 205, 366; meet-
ings at, 14, 419.
Miscellaneous Book, 213, 331, 360.
Surgeons, List of, 485.
Surgery and Surgical Waiting Room,
281.
Surgical Consultation Book, 320.
Registrar, 402.
Swain, James, 394, 405, 454, 455, 457.
485. 486.
Swayne, Anne, 175, 255.
John Champney, 170, 174, 175.
Joseph, 175, 255.
Joseph Griffiths, 55, 175, 398, 446,
455. 47i-
Miss, 175.
Rev. George, 173, 175.
Rev. Robert Arthur, 175.
Samuel Henry, 175, 356.
Walter Carless, 170, 175, 398, 455.
486.
William, 170, 173-5, 185, 194, 196,
311, 333, 455.
Swete, Rev. J., 39, 299-300, 482.
Swift, Dean, 122.
Syme, Mr., Gift by, 331.
Symes, J. Odery, 399.
Symonds Family, 61.
John Addington, 270, 271, 280, 363,
445, 471 ; (cited), 470, 471.
Talbot, Joseph, 254.
Talbot Tavern 226.
Tandy, J. M., 258.
Taylor, A. L., 408.
Chevalier John, 262.
James, 401.
John, 2S1, 441.
John Brathwaite, 378, 379,
Rev. James, 86.
William, 66.
Telegraphic Apparatus, 335.
Temple Church, John Elbridge buried
in, 45 ; ]\Iessiah performed in, 153 ;
Richard Smith, jun., buried in, 308.
Temple, Dr., 3S2.
Temporary removal to Colston Street,
35i-
Thackeray, 52, 263.
505
INDEX
Thatch'd House Tavern, 234.
Theatre of Anatomy, 277.
Theatrical Performances, 90, 14s, 153.
The Bristol Journal, 169.
The Feathers Tavern, 229.
Thistlethwaite (cited), 105, 122, 272,
273-
Thomas, Charlotte, 270.
John, 191.
Mr., 178.
Oliver, 159.
Robert William, 321.
Thompson, Miss, 20.
William, Legacy by, 391.
Thornhill, Miss, 76.
William, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 20, 30, 54,
69, 70- 73. 76> 77. io9, 247, 248,
264, 268, 420, 422, 485.
Thorp, W. H., 403.
Three Tuns Tavern, 123.
Throat and Nose Department, 389, 458.
Physician, 487.
Thynne, Dr., 192.
Tibbits, Robert William, 294, 339, 347,
351, 357. 36i, 364. 383. 384. 385.
387, 449, 452, 485 ; death of, 360 ;
Memorial Prize, 361.
Tool, James, 267.
Tothill, Mr., 468.
Townsend, John, 14, 76-80, 105, 107,
112, 128, 139, 237, 265, 422, 423,
433, 461. 462-3, 485-
Tozer, Arthur, 168.
Mr., 38.
Transactions of the Provincial Medical
and Surgical Association, Analysis
of Infirmary cases in, 321.
Trapnell Collection of Bristol Porcelain,
105.
Trask, Surgeon-Major J. E., Tablet m
Chapel to, 408.
Travers, Benjamin, 471.
Treasurer, 11, 23, 29, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44,
47, 48, 62, 64, 69, 74, 84, 87, 90, 92,
100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107,
108, 134, 143, 148, 150, 151, 153,
158, 163, 164, 167, 197, 207, 271,
276, 281, 285, 322 ; title changed,
290 ; list of, 48 1.
Treasurer's Clerk, 69.
Trenerry, William, 299, 364, 482.
Tresidder, Miss, 483.
Treves, Sir Frederick, 399.
Trousseux, 310.
Truman, Susannah, 104.
Trustees, 10, 11, 15, 16, 24, 25, 26, 33,
35, 38, 42, 44, 68, 85, 88, 93. 95.
107, 108, no, in, 115, 118, 133,
137, 139, 142, 145, 153, 156, 164,
189, 200, 276, 277, 280, 286, 290,
291, 295. 3°°. 3°7. 3°9, 3i5. 327.
33i. 332, 4I9, 420, 421, 429.
Tucker, Edward, 254.
Rev. Josiah, 26.
Tudway, Caroline, 179.
Tully, George, 59.
Turner, Hester, 143.
Mrs., 137.
William, 142-4.
Tweedie, Dr., 471.
" Twenty years rule," 294.
" Two in a bed," 316.
Tyburn Tree, its History and Annals
(cited), 215.
Tyndall, Mr., 139.
Typhoid Fever, 113, 199.
Typhus Fever, 93, 113, 116, 134, 169.
Unitarian Burial-ground, 124, 131, 181.
University College, 381, 387, 393, 400,
401, 478 ; affiliation of Medical
School with, 383-5 ; Chair of
Pathology at, 399 ; foundation of,
382 ; opening of, 385.
Vaccination, 195, 330.
Vachell, Charles, 311.
Charles Redwood, 269, 285, 311-12,
446.
Vandarwell, Martha, 104.
Vaughan, Ann, 20.
John, 139.
Philip H., 407, 414, 417.
Richard, 414.
Vice-Presidents, 290, 292, 347.
Virchow, 342.
Visitors, 20.
Volunteers, 150.
Wade, Arthur B., 386.
Wadley, Mary, 300, 483.
Wait, Daniel, jun., 436.
E. T., 231.
Waldo, Edward, 213.
Henry, 213, 357, 389, 450, 451, 457,
4S4.
Walker, Charles Ludlow, 226, 293.
Mrs., 119.
Wallis, George, 159, 171, 212, 231, 277,
285, 301-2, 309, 342, 374, 376,
377-8, 447, 4S4 ; account of his
election, 441-4 ; lectures on Com-
parative Anatomy by, 302, 373.
George Lewis, 301.
Walters, Charles Ferrier, 458, 486.
Ward, Danvers, 260, 433, 435.
Miss S., 166.
Rev. John, 466.
Richard Brickdale, 236, 441.
Waring, Lydia, 102.
Warren, Robert Hall, 346, 375, 407,
408.
Thomas, 235.
Wasbrough, John, 235.
Rice, 235.
Waterloo, Battle of, 196.
Water Ram, Invention of, 152.
Wathen, Mr., 420.
Watkins, Valentine, 132.
506
INDEX
Watson's Medicine (cited), 89.
Watson-Williams, Patrick, 400, 454,
457, 458, 484, 487.
Watt and Downie, Republicans, 180.
Wratts, James, jun., 367.
Mr., 134.
Roger, 226, 227.
Way, Lewis J. U., 44, 46.
Wayet, Tohn Cecil, Death of, 364.
Rev. F. W., 364.
Wayte, Rev. Samuel W., 406.
Weare, G. E., 15.
Wearing of swords, 31.
Weaver, Mary Ann, 300, 483.
Webb, John, 261.
Wedgwood, Thomas, 367.
Wedmore, Ernest, 454, 455, 486.
E. T., 371.
Thomas, 371, 454.
Weekly Committee Book (cited),
428.
Weeks, Buckler, 12, 423.
Jack, 234, 237, 239, 243.
Weir, William, 286-7, 4§2-
Weld, Thomas, 162.
Wellington, Duke of, 263.
Wells, Peter, 77, 132, 238 ; thigh bone
of, 238.
Wesley, John, 34.
Westbury Churchyard, Body stolen
from, 212.
Western Daily Press (cited), 66.
West Indian Coffee House, 12.
Westminster Hospital, 6.
Weston, Joseph Dodge, 389.
Wetherell, Sir Charles, 270, 273,
274.
Wheeler, Mary, 300, 483.
Whippie, Sarah, 282.
" Whitawers and Glovers," 12.
WTritchurch, George, 159.
White, Charles, Murder by, 267.
George, 416, 417, 481 ; baronetcy
conferred on, 416.
George F., 331.
Lady, 414.
Mrs. Eliza, 418.
Samuel, Gifts by, 417, 418.
White Hart Tavern, 241
White Lion Club, 239.
Hotel, 126, 227, 237, 239, 241, 248,
262, 272, 273, 429.
White Lodge, 14.
Whitefield, Captain, 57.
Whitehead, Miss A., 101, 104.
Thomas, 105.
Whitwill, Mark, 450.
Wickham, Miss, 189.
Windham, William, 223.
Wilcox, John, 122, 151.
Mrs., 137.
Miss, 122.
Wilkes, Jack, 121.
Wilkins, Ellen Bertha, 365.
Rev. George, 461.
Rev. J., 234.
Willcocks, Joshua, 104.
Mrs., 84.
Williams, Ann, 135, 136, 483.
Rev. F. A. D., 410, 482.
Rowland, 120.
Samuel, 79.
William, 37.
Willoughby, Christ., 40.
Wills, George, 286.
H. O., 418.
Sir Frederick, 418.
Sir W. H., 418.
Wilson, J. G., 280.
Winchester County Hospital, 8, 9.
Winthrop, Rev. B., 322.
" Wire-drawers and Pin-makers," 12.
Wiseman, 256.
Wolcot, John (" Peter Pindar "), 474.
Woman " burnt in the hand," 267.
W7ooden legs, 156, 423.
Woodford, Patience, 135, 136.
Woodward, Francis, S1-4, 105, 107, 122,
227, 424, 425, 428, 483.
Mr., 240.
Richard, Bishop of Cloyne, 81.
Woolnough, Elizabeth, 44, 46.
Henry, 44, 46.
Rebecca, 45, 46.
Worcester, Marquis of, 153.
W'orrall, George, 122.
Worsley, Samuel, 234.
Mr., 415.
Worthington, Miss, 339, 483.
Wright, John, 123-4, J7^> x77> I79, 428,
435. 483-
Matthew, 148.
Thomas, 123.
William, 441.
X-ray apparatus, 401.
Yates, Constable, 213.
Yeatman, Charlton, 169-70, 183.
H. F., 95.
John Charlton, 376.
Morgan, 31, 128, 158, 169, 183, 191,
227, 251, 431, 432, 433. 437, 438,
485-
Yeld, Thomas, 171.
York County Hospital, 334.
507
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