Morpathia: The latest article about the Morpeth Dispensary - a bizarre discussion and another fatal accident

Dr Paton quickly established himself in Morpeth’s social life. On Bank Holiday Monday, August 6, he helped to organise the children’s sports at Morpeth Flower Show, which was held in a field in Howard Terrace.

A rather bizarre discussion took place at the Committee’s meeting at about the same time. They agreed to allow him to take his holidays beginning on August 8, subject to his arranging with the medical members to cover for him.

In addition, however, “It was proposed that Major Brumell, Dr Logie and Mr R. Nicholson stand security for the House Surgeon’s salary of £30 due August 1st”.

This must refer to the recent decision to pay the house surgeon’s salary quarterly, beginning on his date of commencement, with a penalty if he left without permission between quarterly payments – clearly a precaution in case Dr Paton should fail to return.

But since he began on May 1, the salary due on August 1 should have been for the quarter in arrears. So why did they need security at all?

In November, in a repeat of an event earlier that year, Dr James Logie, one of the honorary surgeons to the Dispensary, was killed by a fall from his horse.

“The unfortunate gentleman was at once taken to the farmhouse at Stobswood and was attended by Dr Davison, of Tritlington, and Dr Hedley’s assistant, Felton, when it was found that he was most dangerously hurt. ... Drs. Skrimshire, Clarkson, Paton, and Dr Logie’s own assistant, Dr Douglas, were soon in attendance. The unfortunate gentleman was, however, beyond all human help and he eventually succumbed to the injuries he had sustained at an early hour on Wednesday morning.”

The inquest took place at the Black Bull. It turned out that the horse he was riding was one he had borrowed:

“Mr Jos. Todd, farmer, East Thriston, (so spelt) saw Dr Logie coming along the highway on horseback, near Stobswood, on Thursday, about 25 minutes past one. He was riding fast after the hounds and appeared to have command of his horse, when about 30 yards from witness just as he came to a sharp turn his horse slipped and fell.

“He fell with it, but clear of it, and by the time he got to Dr Logie other gentlemen in the hunt were assisting him. He was unconscious.

“Mr Hemsley Bell, Longhirst Grange, said Dr Logie, who was his family medical attendant, called at his house on Tuesday morning and stayed about 7 or 8 minutes. He had a little refreshment there.

“As he could not go to the hunt that day himself, he offered Dr Logie the use of his mare. He was led to do that from the fact that on Friday the doctor had tried her in a long round, and had liked her well. She had no vice that he knew of. He had never ridden her to the hounds himself. He had only had her since the October Fair.

“Dr R. E. Paton (sic) said he saw Dr Logie on Tuesday about 7 o’clock. He was unconscious. He attended him till his death, and he never regained consciousness. He died from the effects of his injuries.”

James C. Logie, M.B., C.M., was born on Orkney, where his father was a Church of Scotland minister, before being translated to Dirleton near Dunbar.

Dr Logie trained at Edinburgh and came to Morpeth in about 1874. He left a wife and a four-month-old child. The funeral took place on November 17 at his residence, Ward House in Bridge Street. Dr Paton was one of the many present at the service.

The coffin was then taken by train to Drem station and thence by hearse to Dirleton. Drs Paton, Proctor and McDowall were amongst the party that accompanied the coffin, travelling in the adjoining compartment.

The annual meeting on January 11, 1884, was routine as usual, except that it was resolved that the House Surgeon and the Medical Committee should make a list of the drugs and medical appliances necessary for the use of the Dispensary. There is no mention of a medical report, either in the minutes or in the Morpeth Herald, though I can’t imagine there would not have been one.

There must, however, have been a feeling that the institution was drifting rather than being managed and on February 8, a special general meeting was held at which a committee was set up to undertake a survey of the affairs of the institution – including a revision of the Rules, to report back on March 7.

The Dispensary was not incorporated and so could not hold property in its own name, but had to do so in the name of personal trustees, who must be replaced when they died or became unable to act.

It was accordingly resolved that Col. J.P.O. Mitford, W.C. Lawson, Esq. and W. Orde Esq. be joint trustees of the Dispensary’s funds and that the stock be transferred to their names.

Curiously, however, the Dispensary House, which was a freehold property, was not mentioned when the new trustees were appointed.

The interest of this is that although by this time the management of the Dispensary was in the hands of local business and professional men, it was still thought best for the trustees to be members of the landed gentry.

Dr Paton submitted his resignation at the meeting on March 7, which was accepted. He had not then been in post for a full year, but unusually he seems to have worked his three months’ notice, which gave the Committee more than enough time to act.

They decided at that same meeting to advertise only in The Lancet and BMJ. The days of recruiting locally and by word of mouth were long over.

It was proposed by Dr Clarkson and seconded by Dr Skrimshire that the salary should be £100 p.a. It had been £120 for seven years, since February 1877, so this would have been a drastic reduction and it is interesting that the proposal came, not from one of the tradesmen, but from two doctors – both of whom had held the post of House Surgeon.

It may have been intended as a way of putting the new man on a species of probation, since the salary was restored to £120 when the new house surgeon, Mr Gostling, had been in post for a few months.

On April 17, 1884, the same day the new house surgeon was appointed, the new Rules were adopted by the governors and subscribers in a general meeting assembled. A copy is held at the Northumberland Archives and is the earliest complete set that we possess.

Victorian Dispensary, The Early Christian Landscape of the Wansbeck Valley and The Origins of Morpeth, by Roger Hawkins, are available at Newgate News and the Old Herald Office in Morpeth, or from Amazon.