Morpathia: The latest article about the Morpeth Dispensary - Dr Gostling (2)

It was founded in 1817. The inspiration came from a Morpeth man, Dr William Trotter, but it was the landed gentry who took the lead in founding it and who provided most of the money. Year after year, the same country gentlemen were elected to the Committee of Management – which never met!

The crunch came at the annual meeting in 1850, when hardly any of the gentry attended. A little clique took control, dismissing both the house surgeon and the two honorary surgeons.

A working committee of the local gentry was hastily convened to re-establish proper governance over the charity. The Rules and Regulations were revised, the doctors were reinstated and a new Committee was elected consisting of local trades- and professional men who took their responsibilities seriously. This, then, is the background to what follows.

At the Annual General Meeting of January 30, 1885, the House Surgeon, Dr Gostling, gave his annual medical report and a rule change that had been agreed the previous year came into effect.

Several gentlemen were required to retire due to infrequent attendance. J.B. Proctor was re-elected, but W.J. Atkinson, F. Brumell, J.W. Middlemiss and J. Wigham were not. The day of the sleeping committee member was past.

It was agreed to add a note to the Rules to say that subscriptions were due on January 1st and one to the Annual Report to say that Dispensary tickets were now only valid for the year of issue.

It was resolved that all stationery and printing for the coming year would be supplied by Mr G. Flint. Votes of thanks were given to the Hon. Secretary, Mr G.O. Wright, and the Hon. Treasurer, Mr Greenwood.

New trustees were appointed for the Dispensary’s property and investments, being G. Brumell Jun., R. Nicholson, F.E. Schofield, G.O. Wright and J. Matheson.

What is striking about this is that, whereas until then it had been usual for the trustees to be country gentlemen – one of the few offices they still held – the new trustees were all townsmen. George Brumell Jun. was one of the family of lawyers and doctors of that name.

Frederick Elston Schofield was a chemist in Newgate Street, the Mathesons were nurserymen and seedsmen in Oldgate, George Orwin Wright was a timber and slate merchant, and Robert Nicholson was a solicitor with offices at 29 Bridge Street.

He was the leading figure in a consortium that bought part of the North Field Lands, between Howard Road and Cottingwood Lane, and laid them out in streets and house plots.

It was Morpeth’s first middle-class suburb and Mr Nicholson’s own house, Greystoke, stood at the entrance to the new estate on the corner of Howard Road and Kings Avenue.

In March, the Committee noted that it was contrary to the Rules for a domestic servant in service to be admitted as a patient in the Dispensary – it was the employer who was responsible for the medical treatment of their domestic servants.

They discussed whether druggists’ bills should be paid monthly or yearly, and resolved monthly. Druggists, note. It was the House Surgeon’s job to make the actual medicines.

In August, the Rev. W. Davey gave the Treasurer £2 14s 6d, the proceeds of a collection in the Roman Catholic church, and Mr Marshall, chemist in Bridge Street, informed the Committee that Mr Hogg, the Wesleyan minister, was leaving so it was the new minister, Mr Chamberlain, that they would have to apply to for a collection.

The Committee was very hard-working. The amount of business varied, but the following is a fair sample of a monthly committee meeting where there were things to discuss:

Morpeth Dispensary Dec. 7th 1885

At a meeting of the House Committee held this day at 11 a.m. there were present: Canon Grey (in the chair), Mr. D.W. Greenwood, G.O. Wright, Procter, Orde, Geo. Brumell, W. Burn & Mr. J. Marshall, Rev. W. Davy.

Mr. G.O. Wright proposed to have the tickets of admission for 1886 printed.

Mr. Schofield proposed and Mr. Brumell seconded that A special meeting of Governors of the Dispensary be called for Dec. 21st to consider rules vi & and vii p. 4 in the Rules & Regulations of the Dispensary.

Leave of absence was granted to the House Surgeon for 3 weeks commencing Dec. 28th.

Canon Grey stated that owing to heavy Expenses the Churchwardens of S. James Church were unable this year to grant a collection.

During the month of November 50 patients were admitted. There were four deaths. 2 were twins of premature birth. 1 from pneumonia & convulsions aged 14 mths. 1 from old age 87.

(signed) Francis R. Grey

Canon Grey was the President of the Dispensary, but doubled as chairman of the Committee of Management, or House Committee.

The Vice-Presidents were still mostly landed gentlemen, whose role was purely honorary – though they were, of course, generous subscribers – so perhaps Canon Grey was also the eyes and ears of the traditional ruling class whose subscriptions and donations were vital to the Dispensary’s survival.

The fact that eight people turned out on a winter’s evening says much for their dedication to duty and the range of topics the Committee addressed, while not of major significance, attests the same thing.

Noting the change of Methodist ministers, for instance, is of slight importance, but could mean the difference between getting a collection and not getting one.

The reference to Rules vi and vii was about tickets. A problem had emerged that does not seem to have arisen in earlier years, namely that, towards the end of the year, people wanting a ticket had difficulty getting one – despite the fact that there were tickets unissued in the hands of some of the subscribers, or of their friends or agents.

At the special meeting on the 21st, a letter was received from Mr Schofield proposing that members of the Committee be allowed to grant letters of admission to eligible patients “when deemed expedient”. It was not seconded and so fell to the ground, leaving the ticket problem unresolved.

The annual meeting on January 29, 1886, was purely routine. Messrs N.I. Wright, W. Burn, Rev. D. Young, R. Nicholson and D.F. Wilson had to retire from the Committee from having the fewest attendances. Messrs Wright, Young and Wilson were re-elected by vote.

In September, it was announced that the late Mr Edmund Bowman of Morpeth, civil engineer and railway company director, had left £100 to the Dispensary. He also left £200 to the Mechanics’ Institution, £50 to the Rector and Churchwardens for beautifying the churchyard and £50 to the Rev. W. Davey for St Robert’s Roman Catholic Church.

In the same month, 28 dispensary tickets were received from the Carlisle Trustees – the then Earl of Carlisle was a mental invalid, hence the reference to trustees – and six from Sir John Swinburne. It was agreed to divide them equally between those governors present who had need of tickets.

Dr Gostling was reimbursed 5/6 for house cleaning, which seems to have become an annual event whenever he took his summer holidays.