The Village Doctors – and financial issues?

Sutton Benger Doctors

There have been doctors in Sutton Benger since the end of the 17th century. A chronological summary of the known doctors is shown below.

The earliest known reference to a doctor in Sutton Benger dates from 3 November 1698, when Archibald Campbell, of Sutton Benger, was licensed as a doctor by the Diocese. A baptism entry from 1696, for Henrietta, daughter of Archibald Campbell, suggests that he might already have been in practice for at least 2 years before 1698. After him came his son, John Campbell; he is shown as a ‘physitian’ in the Last Will and Testament of his daughter, 22-year old Betty Campbell, in 1756.

John Campbell’s other daughter, Jane, married Joseph Nott in 1756; he called himself a ‘surgeon’ and practised in Sutton Benger for a few years. In 1767 he decided to try and make his fortune with the East India Company, but died two years later in Madras (now Chennai).

The Surgery

It is difficult to be precise about exactly where the doctors were living in Sutton Benger in the 1600s and 1700s as there were no ‘house numbers’ corresponding directly with modern addresses. Also, it is difficult to be precise about the qualifications of the ‘doctors’ or ‘surgeons’ or 'physicians' in the 1800s; not only was the terminology different, there were also fewer regulations restricting people from practising medicine. A 'surgeon' or a 'physician' would have been today's 'general practitioner' - but would have had much less training than today.

We do know that Charles Butler, who was the village doctor for about 30 years until 1858, lived in ‘The White House’ at No 50 High Street; after he died his family carried on living there until the 1920s. From 1848 onwards, through the first half of the 1900s, a succession of doctors rented The Bell House; the entrance to the surgery was from Bellside. Although the doorway has been bricked up, its outline can still be seen. After The Bell House became a hotel again, Dr Robinson had her surgery in the skittle alley at The Wellesley Arms in the 1950s, then bought 58 High Street (‘The Rowans’). When Dr Wilkinson took over in the 1990s he had a temporary building on the Recreation Ground for a while, before moving into the new surgery behind The Bell.

Sutton Benger Doctors; 1696 – Present

• abt 1696 – abt 1730 — Archibald Campbell
• abt 1730 – 1754 — John Campbell
• abt 1755 – 1767 — Joseph Nott
• abt 1820 — Joseph Hayward
• abt 1830 – 1858 — Charles Butler
• abt 1840 – abt 1845 — George Stiles
• abt 1845 – abt 1855 — Charles Edwards
• abt 1855 — William Luxton
• abt 1855 – abt 1865 — George Symmons (or Simmons / Symons)
• abt 1861 — William Thomas (apprentice)
• 1859 – abt 1867 — Henry Ryley
• 1867 – abt 1870 — James Wells
• 1867 – abt 1880 — Edward Little
• abt 1880 – abt 1910 — Percie Garlike
• abt 1910 – abt 1915 — Charles Barnes
• abt 1915 – abt 1925 — Peter Sturridge
• abt 1925 – abt 1935 — Dr Frank Sawdon
• abt 1935 – abt 1945 — Lt Colonel William Spong
• abt 1945 – abt 1955 — Dr Clarke
• abt 1955 – abt 1990 — Dr Robinson
• abt 1990 – abt 2000 — Dr Charles Wilkinson

Financial Issues

Several doctors from the 1600s to the 1800s seem to have suffered from some sort of financial issue.

• Archibald Campbell was temporarily removed from the village in 1696; this was probably because of money problems.
• John Campbell may have misused money that was left to his wife and children by his wife’s father.
• After Charles Edwards took a lease on the Bell House he needed to borrow money from the Vicar, the Reverend Marsh.
• Henry Ryley is known to have been declared bankrupt; his problems also had an impact on the Vicar, and the Reverend Dawson had to pay over £100 on his behalf.

The Surgery that never was

Proposed House and Surgery for Dr Roberts

Before the houses on Bell Piece were built, the land belonged to The Bell House. In 1947 Dr A M Roberts bought, or tried to buy, about ¼ of the plot: the end between High Street, Sutton Lane and Chestnut Road. He submitted a planning application for a futuristic, ultra-modern house / surgery to be built on the site. It seems that planning permission was refused because it would have been out of character with the village at the time. He never seems to have been a doctor in the village, and it would be interesting to know where he practised, and if he ever built the house somewhere else.

Thanks

With thanks to Tim Couzens for several facts and references, published on his Draycot Cerne website at https://draycotestatehistory.wordpress.com/sutton-benger/ Thanks also to Nesta Heath for her notes on village life in her Life and Herbing in Sutton Benger, p. 5 /p. 12.

Please get in touch if you are related in any way to any of the village doctors and can add to their stories, or if you want to know any more about them.

Is there any particular story from Sutton Benger’s past that you want to know more about? Please get in touch:

By phone: 01249 721731

By email: hello@bengertrails.co.uk