And His Pupil John Snow

XI William Hardcastle (1794-1860) of Newcastle upon Tyne, and his pupil John Snow Spence Galbraith INTRODUCTION have been transcribed from an adjacent entry. He qualified MRCS in 1804s and never became J\uring recent research into the early life of a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries lzl John Snow (1813-1858), a famous epi- (LSA).6 demiologist and anaesthetistr, information William probably joined the practice around about his teacher William Hardcastle and his 1808 at the age of about 14 years, the usual age family of Newcastle upon Tyne was obtained. at which apprenticeships began in the early This account of William Hardcastle and John nineteenth century. York was then a small city Snow provides material for local historians and virtually unaffected by the industrial revolu- others who may wish to investigate further the tion. At the 1801 census 1.6,846 inhabitants Hardcastles who became a well-known med- were recorded, the population increasing much ical family in Newcastle. more slowly than that of northern industrial towns, to 26,260 in 1831, a rise of only 560lo. Few people were employed in manufacturing EARLY YEARS IN YORK 1794.1815 while most worked in agriculture and associ- ated occupations as well as in service in the William Hardcastle was born on 5 January houses of the well-to-do.7 Although York had 1794 and christened on 12 January 1794 in St declined in commercial importance, it had John's Ousebridge, a church on the corner of retained its pre-eminence as an ecclesiastical Micklegate and North Street, York (figure 1). centre and remained an important regional He was the second child of "John Hardcastle, market town. Its port along the banks of the translator [cobbler], and Mary (daughter of River Ouse was still active, linking the City by Thomas and Anne Todd)."2 No further mater- river and canal with Leeds and the West Rid- ial about William was found until he began his ing and by sea with other ports in Britain and medical career as an apprentice to Mr Wm on the European continent. The chief imports Stephenson Clark, surgeon, in Micklegate, were coal and manufactured goods whereas York3. John Hardcastle probably chose Mr the principal exports were agricultural prod- Clark for William's teacher because he was a ucts. well educated and qualified young apothecary. Micklegate provided the main route out of Having been to York Grammar School, Mr the City to the south-west through Micklegate Clark was apprenticed to Alexander Mather of Bar, as it does today. The road was continuous York and completed his medical education in with Briggate, now Bridge Street, which led Londona qualifying as a Member of the Royal over the river Ouse bridge to Low Ousegate College of Surgeons (MRCS)5. He later (figure 1). This bridge was then the only one became a prominent figure in the City as a over the river in the City and must have been councillor, Sheriff, and an alderman. In 1840, close to William's home in the parish of St he was Lord Mayor and was knighted in the John's Ousebridge and not far from Mr Clark's same year.a T\e Medical Directory of 1847 lists practice premises in Micklegate. Rebuilding of 'Sir Wm S Clarke, MRCS 1827, LSA 1826.'but the bridge began when William was an appren- both qualifications are incorrect and appear to tice and he may well have witnessed the laying r56 ARCHAEOLOGIA AELIANA 5 XXVII WILLIAM HARDCASTLE (179,+_1860), AND HIS PTJPIL JOHN SNOW 1,57 of the foundation stone by the Lord Mayor on a new practice on his own as well as expensive 10 December 18108. At this time, Micklegate to buy a practice in the City. In contrast, New- was "undoubtedly the widest and most elegant castle must have seemed an attractive town at street in York" containing "many handsome the centre of the coal and iron industries with houses; and the situation being elevated, airy, a larger and rapidly increasing population and healthy, it is the residence of many gentle- which rose from 28,294 in 1801 to 53,613 in men."8 Mr Clark probably lived in and prac- 1831. It was probably for these reasons that tised from one of these handsome houses William became assistant to a Mr Whitfield where William also would have lived and Burnett of Newgate Street, Newcastle, who worked as his apprentice. also held one of the much sought-after colliery The practice population probably included appointments as mining doctor at Killingworth people living in the streets alongside the river Colliery, about five miles north-east of New- (figure 1). Skeldergate to the south of Mickle- castle. gate was "a long narrow disagreeable street" Around the same time as William joined Mr and "when York was a more commercial city Burnett the first legislation to regulate medical was chiefly occupied by merchants, for the pur- practice was introduced. This was the Apothe- poses of trade"8. It seems that many warehouses caries Act of 1815 requiring students to had closed and some may even have been undergo formal training comprising appren- derelict. They were intermingled with poor ticeship to an established practitioner for at dwellings and dismal courts off Skeldergate. For least 5 years, a period of hospital training and example, Fetter Lane was "a narrow dirty attendance at prescribed courses of lectures. street"8. To the north of Micklegate was North On completion of this programme the student Street also a narrow street but containing sev- was permitted to sit the examination for a eral good houses as well as warehouses along licence to practice. Successful candidates were the river with high walls facing the street.8 The granted the qualification LSA. Many also sat northern end of the street was in the parish of the examination for MRCS.e Apothecaries All Saint's where the Snows lived and the who were principals in practice before 1815 southern in the adjoining parish of St John's were exempted from licensing and were where the Hardcastles lived. Hence it is likely known as "pre-1815" medical men. Those in that the two families may have been training or working as assistants, however, acquainted. John Snow was born here in 1813 were required to fulfil the new training during William's time in the Micklegate prac- requirements and sit the LSA examination. tice. If not already known to the Snows, it is Hence, William later completed this training, possible that William attended the family and attending the Marylebone Dispensary in Lon- may even have been present at John's birth. don for six months. He qualified LSA on 13th William had a particular interest in obstetrics, November 18173 and MRCS on 1st May 1818.'0 later becoming an obstetrician (accoucheur) in Soon after becoming MRCS, William placed Newcastle and John's birth may have been diffi- a notice in the local press in Newcastle which cult since he was baptised on his day of birth. reads, "WILLIAM HARDCASTLE (Three Happily John survived and was about two years years assistant to the late Mr Whitfield Bur- old when William completed his apprenticeship. nett) Member of the Royal College of Sur- geons and Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in London, RESPECTFULLY WILLIAM HARDCASTLE IN intimates to his friends and the public in New- NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE 1815-1827 castle and its vicinity, that he has REMOVED from Newgate Street, to the House of the late William Hardcastle would have known that Mr Surgeon, Westgate Street [Renamed West- York was already well supplied with medical gate Road in 1873] where he will practise as men and that it would be difficult to set up surgeon, Apothecary, and Accoucheur. May (, @ !,:,) o ln - o -ln ffi% z X X O Greenfield Place e Newcastle Infirmary in 1830 ffi O Mr Surgeon's premises, possible site @@ O Mr Hardcastle's premises, 52 Westgate Street' probable site c 1827-c 1849 O Rosemary Lane O Bells court e Lying-in HosPital 1826-1923 oliver's Plan of the Town and county of Newcastle Fig.2 plan of Newcastle upon Tyne in lg3l. Re-draw.n and adapted from Thomas and Information Service' upon Tyne, tfiyt. By courtisy of ihe Newcastle City Libraries wrLLrAM HARDCASTLE (1794-1860), AND HrS puprL JOHN SNOW 159 11, 1818."rr It seems that William must have mortem findings showed that death was prob- settled in Newcastle in 1815 when he would ably due to pneumonia] Signed William Hard- have been aged 21 years. Three years later, it castle. Dr Smith, Mr Greenhow, Mr Frost, and appears that Mr Whitfield Burnett had died myself were present."la The surgeon-apothe- and that William had taken on the practice, caries to the hospital were on-call in pairs for moving to the premises of the late Mr Surgeon periods of three months at a time. William was in Westgate Street. This was preferable to clearly hard-working in these duties as well as Newgate Street since it was a better class area, assiduous in his attendance at hospital commit- recently enhanced by the re-development of tee meetings, rarely missing a meeting.rs He central Newcastle where many improvements remained surgeon-apothecary to the hospital had taken place in the late eighteenth and the for over 25 years until August 1847 when the early nineteenth centuries, several new streets hospital minutes record the receipt of a letter having been constructed and old streets announcing his resignation.16 The hospital widened: in 1810, for example Collingwood moved a second time in 1923, to converted Street was opened, linking Pilgrim Street via buildings at Jubilee Road, off City Road Mosley Street with Westgate Street, lined by (when it was renamed the Princess Mary new shops "of an attractively appointed type Maternity Hospital).

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