Health and Medicine

Nuncupative will of Jane Todd alias Wintropp, widow, an itinerant beggar

Be it remembred That one day in the moneth of September
in the yeare of our Lord One thousand six hundred fifty Nyne Jaine
Todd (alias Wintropp) a poore beggar travelling abroad to seeke
her liveing John Hindemers of Melden in the County of Northumberland
found her in the Towne of Melden begging of the Inhabitantes there
And the said John Hindemers goeing into the feilds about his busines
perceived the said Jaine to be sickly and spoke unto her, who answared
him that she was sicke and in feare of death, and desired him to give
her harbour at his house, which he in charitie was content to doe, and
after she had Cortynued [continued] there about twenty daies, She the said
Jaine, <being of perfect memorie> in the presence of dyvers credible witnesses, did make
and declare her last will nuncupatively in the wordes, followeing, or
to the like effect videlicet She lyeing on her death <bed> did declare That
one George Wilkin did owe her Forty shillinges, and one Michaell
Wealands other forty shillinges both of them liveing in Longwitton
which moneys she did freely give and bequeath to the said John Hindemers
seeing he had beene soe charitable in harbouring <her> dureing the tyme of
her sicknes. At the speakeing of which wordes one Christofer Hall and
William Davyson were present and heard the same.

Signum
Christoferi Hall juratus [sworn]

Glossary

dyvers [divers]: various, several

[End of page 1 of 1. Ref: DPRI/1/1661/T9/1]

Inventory of Isabel Humble of Stannington

A true and perfect Inventory
of the goods and chattels of Isabel
Humble widow of Stanington
in the County of Northumberland
and Diocess of Durham taken and
apprised by John Hunter and
Edward Browell both of Stanington
and County aforesaid yeomen the 3 ^d
day of September in the xxxvi^th [36^th]
year of the Kings Reign &cæ. Annoque
Domini 1684

	l.	s.	d.
Two Kine valued at	03	12	00

Her funerall charges
In all doth ammount to	04	05	00

John Hunter his mark
Edward Browell

As for James Humble of Shotton what filial
portion was left him was spent and more
on him for seeking cure for the <Kings> evill and after
his return from London was Lame to his death

Glossary

kine : cows
king's evil : scrofula

[End of page 1 of 1. Ref: DPRI/1/1684/H21/1]

Image of the Interrogatories of John Bell, concerning the will of Issabell Rydley of Morpeth, widow. Ref: DPRI/1/1623/R6/4

Interrogatories of John Bell, a cousin, to the witnesses of the will of Issabell Rydley of Morpeth, widow

Interrogatoria ministranda ex parte Johannis Bell unius Consanguinnorum
Isabelle Ridley nuper parochie de Morpeth vidua defunctus Contra testes super probacione
testamenti pretensis sive ultime voluntatis euisdem defuncte et allegatione inde
factum productum et producend, Super quibus petit pars dicti Bell testes
predictum separati et secreto examinari conjunctim et diversim &c.

[Questions on behalf of John Bell a cousin of Isabell Ridley formerly of the parish of Morpeth widow
deceased to be administered to the witnesses produced or to be produced upon the probation of the alleged
testament or last will of the same deceased and upon an allegation in respect thereof, upon which he
requests the counsel of the said Bell separately and privately to examine the aforesaid witnesses jointly
and severally etc.]

Imprimis interrogetur quilibet testis [Firstly let each witness be questioned] how long they knewe the said Isabell Ridley
before her death, And what yearly meanes or Reveniue she had for her
maineteynance these x [10] yeares last and above; And hath she not dureing
these xi [11] yeares last before her death strangely madled & dolted by reason
of her olde age & want of memorie many times curseing Sir William
Fenwicke Knight deceased, other some times her owne brethren and neare kinsfolk,
have yow not heard her aske her land againe [against] of such as never had it nor ever
had dealinges with her; <and namely of the Justices at there publique meetinges And have yow not seene her> ^Θ

^Ø come to the Justices with her Apron full of papers demannding
her land of them, and were not they some tymes forced to
leave there busines, and the place where she was least
they should offend her weaknesse.

Have yow not heard her saie and affirme openly that
on whomsoever she did god beare witnesse, The worlde should see some great
mishapp, or ill fortune befall them, as it had done to dyvers. And have <yow> not
heard her affirme & saye (albeit she had competent meanes) That she had
neyther meate nor drincke to releive her selfe with and was forced for meer
want to drincke water; And had she just cause as yow thincke to utter
the foresaid severall speaches, Or were they not published in dotage and
for want of true feeling what she did, or memorie what she spake, And
<lived> she not dureing all the same tyme of xi [11] yeares under the goverment
of freinds or servantes as a childe being not able to governe her self and
she dyed as yow knowe, thincke, or have Credibly heard. Et Conjunctim diversim
&c. [And jointly and severally etc.]

…

Glossary

dolted	made stupid, inert, as through old age
dotage	the state of one who dotes or has the intellect impaired; feebleness or imbecility of mind or understanding
dyvers [divers]	several (of persons)

[End of page 1 of 1. Ref: DPRI/1/1623/R6/4]

Image of the Inventory (page 1) of Alice Dickson of Newcastle St Andrew, widow. Ref: DPRI/1/1606/D6/1-2

Image of the Inventory (page 2) of Alice Dickson of Newcastle St Andrew, widow. Ref: DPRI/1/1606/D6/1-2

Image of the Inventory (page 3) of Alice Dickson of Newcastle St Andrew, widow. Ref: DPRI/1/1606/D6/1-2

Inventory of Alice Dickson of Newcastle St Andrew, widow

1605 the xx [20th] of June

A true and perficte Inventory of all the goodes moveable &
unmoveable which wedowe Dicksone wife was to arche dickson
had: when she departed: which goodes she did give & bequeth
to Christofor Nicolsone glover & to his daughter.
In the presens of Conand Stevenson Jane Hadocke & Doritie
Stevenson with otheres. & she had the visitation xi [11] weekes
hir goodes being prased by Conand Stevenson & Thomas Stoute

Imprimis one <old> ambre		xviii ^d
Item iiii paire of old harden shettes	ii ^s
Item iii Rayles & iii churchers		xviii ^d
Item iii harden smokes		xx ^d
Item one harden bed	ii ^s		thes is the 3 slat<s> was at hur bureing
Item ii old aprons		vi ^d
Item iiii old hapens		xx ^d
Item a tub & a stand & a kirne & a skele & a trowe stone & a dosen trenchers & a pe<w>der dubler		xxi ^d
Item iii old Cottes being woman cottes	v ^s
Item one bed stead & old bordes		vi ^d
Item one old cloke		vi ^d
Item one brasse pote & a little pan		xvi ^d
Item for one paire of peper whernes & a paire of Irron barres		viii ^d
Summa	xx ^s	vii ^d

Debttes which the sayd Christofor nicolson did paye for the
forsayd wedowe Dickson for thinges which was bestowed
of hir in hir visitation being xi weekes.

Item for one woman to kepe hir xi [11] weekes at thre shillinges the weeke		xxxiii^s
Item for meatt & drinck xi [11] weekes to them		xvi ^s	vi ^d
Item for hir buriall		iiii ^s
Item for clengen the house ii [2] weekes		viii ^s
Item for meatt & drinke to the clenger ii [2] weekes		iii ^s
Item iiii men to carye hir to the church and the bedell			xx ^d
Item a woman to help the keper		iii ^s
Item for bering water & brume to the clengers			xii ^d

So disbursed by christofor nicolson mor then he Reseved	ii ^l	x ^s	v ^d

Wittnesses hereof: thomas stoute
Conand stevenson Jane hadocke
Doritie stevenson with otheres.

…

mor bestowed of hir befor she tooke the visitations when
she had the Jaunes sicknes.

for hir to the poticare for poticare ware	iii ^s
for ii [2] pintes of wine		vi ^d
for bread & drink & flech to hir	iii ^s
for a drinke for the Janes to hir		xii ^d
for suger & clovyes		iiii ^d
Summa	vii ^s	x ^d
being disbursed by Christofor nicolson for the foresayd wedowe Dickson.

…

Mr Thomas Kynge thes ar to disire you to stande this
pore manes Freande in his Juste accione For of
my knolage this which is set downe one the
other syde is moste Juste for thare is a greate
dette mor in charges then all the tryfell goodes
came too for the pore womane thatt owght thes goodes
dyed in the plage and was one of the pore which was
mantaned of the maidlenes, and the Potte which
is nowe in controverse was geven <to> the pore manes
doughter the bearer hearof, thus disiringe you For
godes sake to stande thare Frende I ende

Your Freande to Comande
in all thinges to his pow[er]
Roger Erringtonn

Glossary

ambre	a repository or place for keeping things; a storehouse, a treasury; a cupboard (either in the recess of a wall or as a separate article of furniture)
bedell	beadle
brume	brim[stone] [?]; sulphur
churcher	kerchief, a cloth used to cover the head, formerly a woman's head-dress
clengen	cleansing: this includes both feeding, watering and caring for the sick, as well as disinfecting the house and goods after the death or recovery of the infected persons
cotte	coat
dubler [doubler]	a large plate or dish
glover	a maker or seller of gloves
hapen [happing]	a coarse covering , a rough rug for a bed
harden	a coarse fabric made from the hards of flax or hemp
jaunes, janes	jaundice
kirne	churn
maidlenes	Magdalenes
rayle	a garment, a cloak; a cloth; (also) clothing
skele	a dish or platter
slat [slate]	a bed sheet
smoke	smock
trencher	a plate or platter made of wood, metal or earthenware
trowe stone	trough stone [?]: grindstone
tryfell [trifle]	trivial, paltry
visitacion	a time of sickness or infection with the plague
peper wherne	pepper quern

Historical note:

The 18th century historian of Newcastle, Henry Bourne, reported that Barras Bridge drew its name from the grave barrows of the hospital of St Mary Magdalen, and which he identified with Sick Man's Close in which he thought many of Newcastle's plague victims were also buried. Eneas Mackenzie, writing a century later, disagrees on the latter point.

'That the Maudlin Barras was a burying-place has been placed beyond a doubt, by the vast quantities of human bones that were discovered in sinking two wells behind the Sick Man's House, or St. James' Place. Bones have also been found in digging the foundations of new erections in this place. But it is very improbable that the whole of Sick Man's Close, containing about seven acres, was used as a cemetery. There is a tradition that, during the prevalence of the plague in Newcastle, the inhabitants were removed to tents pitched in this place, from which circumstance it acquired the name of Sick-Man's-Close. Those who died were interred in a spot called Dead Men's Graves, in Benton Lane.'

Bourne, Henry, The History of Newcastle upon Tyne (1736)
Mackenzie, Eneas, Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1827)

[End of page 3 of 3. Ref: DPRI/1/1606/D6/1-2]

Inventory of Robert Carnaby of Durham St Nicholas, servant

… disbu[rsed]
for the funeral expansens And [th]e
Charges of Roberte Carnabie serv[an]t laitly
to Edward Nixon of the Cittie of Durham
Cordwiner deceased as followethe

Imprimis gyven to a phisition the ixth [11th] of november 1610		xii ^d
Item given to Mr Lamb a phisition for his Counsell the same day		xii ^d
Item paid to Bartholomew Barnard for oyntment the xo [10th] day of november		xii ^d
Item for aqua vita		iiii ^d
Item for two Cheases thene		xi ^d
Item gyven to vi [6] or seaven poor wedowes		xiiii ^d
Item paid for bread the xth xi and xiith [10-12th] dayes of november to people and an honest neighbores that Came to visit hime		x ^d
Item paid for drinck the said thre daies	iii ^s
Item paid for Candells		xvi ^d
Item for sugar Candye		i ^d
Item paid to iiii [4] other poore wedowes		iiii ^d
Item paid more for Counsell to A phisition for hime	ii ^s
Item for spyce & a Chicken		vi ^d
Item paid to one going for Counsell		vi ^d
Item paid for two Cheases for his funerall at his departure	iii ^s	viii ^d
Item paid more for bread given to neighbores that Came to visite hime		xii ^d
Item paid the xiiiith [14th] day of november after he was departed and before he was Buried for viii^o [8] gallons of Ayle	iiii ^s
Item for bread thene		xviii ^d
Item paid for a bushell of wheate to maik Caykes to bestowe at his buriall	vii ^s
Item paid for spice before and then for the said Caikes	iiii ^s
Item laid forth for <godsgood> to the said Caikes		viii ^d
Item paid for Candels thene		viii ^d
Item laid forth for Cloath for to maike his winding sheat the xiiii^th [14^th] of november 1610	iiii ^s	viii ^d
Item paid for seaven gallons of Ayle at his bringing forth	iii ^s	vi ^d
Item a stone and a quarter of butter for the Caikes	iiii ^s	ii ^d
Item paid for bread		viii ^d
Item to the poore	ii ^s	iiii ^d
Item paid to the minister for his buriall		xviii ^d
Item paid to the Clarke		xii ^d
Item paid to the Saxtonn for his grave makinge		vi ^d
Item his laire stall in the Church	iii ^s	iiii ^d
Item gyven then to two poore men		iiii ^d

Glossary

aqua vita	ardent spirits or unrectified alcohol
bushell	a standard measure of grain and comprising 4 pecks or 8 gallons
godsgood	or God's good: yeast, barm
laire stall	a grave within a church
saxtonn	sexton
winding sheet	a shroud

[End of page 1 of 1. Ref: DPRI/1/1610/C2/3]

Inventory of Samuel Hammond of Newcastle upon Tyne, apothecary

A true & perfect Inventory of all & singuler the Goods
& Chattles whereof Samuel Hammond late of the towne &
County of Newcastle upon Tine Apothecary deceased dyed possessed
taken & apprized the fourteenth day of May, Anno Regni Regis Jacobi
Secundi nunc Anglie &c. Secundo Annoque Domini 1686. By Edward
Marlay Barber Chirurgion, Lancelott Fenwick Oastman & Joseph
Hammond Marriner as followeth &c.

	^li	^s	^d
Resin Jallepp Six Ounces	00	09	00
Resin Scammonii Four Ounces	00	06	00
Venus Treakle Eighty Pound weight at 3 ^s per L [lb]	12	00	00
Diascordias twenty Pounds weight at 1 ^s 3 ^d per l [lb]	01	05	00
Mithridate Four Pound weight at 2 ^s 6 ^d per L [lb]	00	10	00
Dia-Catholicon Tenne Pound weight at 1 ^s 3 ^d per l [lb]	00	12	06
Balsom of Sulphire	00	15	00
The Booke Debts with the deceaseds Purse & Apparrell	20	00	00
Summa Totalis £	035	17	06

Edward Marlay
Lancelot Fenwicke
Joseph Hammond

Glossary

balsom of sulphire	sulphur dissolved in oil or turpentine, usually for [balsam of sulphur] external application, for healing wounds or soothing pain
dia-catholicon	a laxative electuary so called from its manifold composition and general usefulness; an 18th-century pharmacopoeia lists as typical ingredients senna leaves, pulp of cassia and tamarinds, roots of male fern, rhubarb, and liquorice, aniseed, sweet fennel, and sugar.
diascordias [diascord]	a medicine made of the dried leaves of Teucrium Scordium, and many other herbs
electuary	a sweet medicinal paste compound then valued for its properties as an antidote and preservative
mithridate	a generic term for an electuary
resin jallepp [jalap]	a purgative drug obtained from the tuberous roots of Exogonium (Ipomæa) Purga; the active principle is the resin contained in the tubers
resin scammonii [scammony]	a strong purgative gum-resin obtained from the tuberus roots of Convolvulus Scammonia, a plant native in Syria and Asia Minor
Venus treakle [Venice treacle]	an electuary or salve

[End of page 1 of 1. Ref: DPRI/1/1686/H4/1]

Image of the Schedule of books and surgical instruments bequeathed by the will of Henry Shaw of Newcastle upon Tyne, barber surgeon. Ref: DPRI/1/1692/S9/4

A schedule of books and surgical instruments bequeathed by the will of Henry Shaw of Newcastle upon Tyne, barber surgeon

A Schedule of the Bookes given and bequeathed by
this Will.

Inprimis	Gerrards Herball.
Item	Ambrose Parry in Dutch.
	Veslingius Anotomy.
	Riolanus Physick and Chirurgery.
	Riverius practice of Physick.
	Woodals Chirurgions Mate.
	Browells practice of Physick.
	Lowes Art of Chirurgery.
	Reed of Tumors and Ulcers.
	The English mans Treasure Vicary.
	Banisters history of Man.
	Clowes Chirurgery.
	Petrus Pigrus in Dutch. Chirurgery.
	Edwards. whole Art of Chirurgery.
	Two of Barrow's method of Physick.
	Culpeppers English Physitian.
	Culpeppers Dispensatory.
	Vade mecum.
	Reeds Anotamy.
	Eximinder, Chirurgery in Dutch.
	Senartus in Latin.

	The Instruments
	One Silver Plaister box, One Silver Salvatory, with Henry Shaw on it.
	One Small Silver Siring, One Silver Catheter.
	One paire of Silver topt Scissers.
	One Stitching Quill & needell with a Case of Silver
	One Silver Spatula, One Silver Probe.
	One Silver Spatula Lingua, One Silver Uvula Spoone.
	One Paire of Silver forcepps, One Silver Fleame.
	One peculum Oris with a Screw.
	One paire of Iron forcepps, One paire of Iron Mulletts.
	One Kateriseing Iron.
	Three paire of Tooth Drawers.
	One Dismembering Saw with Two blades.
	One Silver plaister box, One Salvatory.
	One Case with Six Lanchetts, One head Razor.
	One Incision Knife and Two Fleames.

List of Authors

John Gerard

Ambroise Paré

Johann Vesling

Jean Riolan

Lazarus Riverius

John Woodall

Walter Bruele

Peter Lowe

Alexander Reid

Thomas Vicary

John Banister

William Clowe

Pierre Pigray

Edward Edwards

Philip Barrough

Nicholas Culpeper

Thomas Brugis [?] [Vade Mecum: or, a Companion for a chyrurgion]

Daniel Sennertus

Glossary

catheter	a long tubular instrument, of metal, more or less curved at the end, for passing into the bladder in order to draw off urine, etc.; a similar tube for use with other canals
fleame	a surgical instrument for letting blood or for lancing the gums; a lancet
kateriseing	cauterizing
lanchetts	lancets
mulletts	a kind of pincers or tweezers
[s]peculum oris	a surgical instrument of various forms, used for dilating the mouth so as to facilitate examination or operations
plaister [plaster]	at this time a solid medicinal or emollient substance spread on a bandage or dressing and applied to the skin, often becoming adhesive at body temperature
salvatory	a box for holding ointment
siring	syringe

[End of page 1 of 1. Ref: DPRI/1/1692/S9/4]