Homeopathic Hospitals, The Quack’s Charter, & the Day I Met the Queen (well sort of.)

Today the Queen of England will be laid to rest, and we will finally witness the end of the Elizabethan era.

The last thing anybody needs to read is yet another set of reflections on her remarkable legacy, a comforting constant that has been particularly appreciated during recent unsettling times. But when someone passes, it’s only natural to reflect on the moments that you shared with that person, however seemingly insignificant.

Regardless of your views on the British Monarchy, there’s no denying how the very fabric of our everyday lives will be forever changed by the death of Her Majesty.

The installation of a new Duke of Cornwall, means that the green space at Newquay Orchard where I deliver my work will shortly be overseen by a new patron. My customer orders will arrive with a King’s face on the stamp, and new bank notes issued from the Royal Mint will blend together with the old in cash registers and wallets, as the title of monarch passes from mother to son. It’s a very unsettling feeling to think that these familiar fragments of everyday life will change beyond recognition in the coming days and weeks.

King Charles III is a passionate advocate for nature and the environment, and has been a keen supporter of the work at Newquay Orchard – in particular it’s ethos of nature as a prescription.

Looking back at the Queen’s impact on my own life, I was surprised to see just how many of these connections were deeply entwined with my path of becoming a herbalist. I’d have loved to have sat down with a cup of Earl Grey (or a Dubonnet and gin - famously lauded as the Queen’s favourite tipple) and chat about gardens and alternative medicine. The Queen, patron of the Royal Horticultural Society since her accession in 1952, was a great lover of plants and gardens. I think we would have got along famously.

The following are a few anecdotes about the things we had in common, and a tale about the time I actually did meet the Queen in person (well sort of.)

Manchester Homeopathic Dispensary

The Queen was famously a fan of homeopathic medicine. It’s been reported that during her overseas engagements, she would take with her a small leather case containing her trusted supply of remedies. Some people believe this was one of the reasons she enjoyed many long years of good health.

What’s less widely known is that until relatively recently, royal support meant there were three homeopathic hospitals here in the UK that could be accessed by patients on the NHS. In light of the current lack of regard held for homeopaths, it seems incredulous to think that because of our monarch, everyday people were able to access alternative remedies free of charge, and dispensed by highly trained health professionals.

Due to the inevitable march of decline, this service has now sadly been discontinued. However, as an impoverished student in the 90’s, I was privileged to be registered as a patient at Manchester Homeopathic Dispensary where I was able to see first-hand what a professional alternative health care service could look like given the proper funding and support.

I remain warmed by the memory of a waiting room full of folks quietly chatting, while collecting prescriptions that carefully considered their physical and emotional needs. This experience was a key factor in my decision to seriously study the practice of holistic medicine, and sets the standard for what I aspire for my own patients today.

Manchester Homeopathic Institution & Dispensary was founded around 1859. It was a voluntary institution, but patients who were able to paid fees. The Institution aimed to promote a wider knowledge of the principles and practice of pure homeopathy. In 1939 it moved to a purpose-built clinic in Oxford Road, becoming Manchester Homeopathic Clinic. It remained there until the building was demolished in 1970, when the clinic moved to Brunswick Street, which was the premises I had the good fortune of attending as an out-patient.

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a royal institution - the landscape and collections are all royal assets. The Queen it seems, was very proud of the parks in central London, and as I’ve already mentioned, her family have always championed the importance of access to green spaces.

Just recently, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was celebrated with a special exhibition of notable plants in Kew’s living collection, that showcased royal tours and state visits across the globe.

In 2002 I was a student at The College of Naturopathic Medicine in London. As part of our course, we had access to the beautiful botanic gardens and spent many hours indulged in plant identification and taxonomy. Occasionally myself and a fellow herbal comrade in the field would skive off for a cheeky break behind the Temperate House where anyone would have thought we were royalty personified, basking in the company of exotic plants in the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse.

The International Association of Botanic Gardens decided in 1963 that a botanic garden is a place “open to the public in which the plants are labelled”. This is a picture of my first year project, based on my plant studies at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

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The Quack’s Charter

Ultimately, the only reason I’m able to practice as a herbalist at all is down to the Queen’s distant Tudor relative, King Henry VIII, who was responsible for creating what is (in rather derogatory terms) commonly referred to as as “The Quack’s Charter.”

It states:

Anyone having knowledge and experience of the nature of herbs, roots and waters, or of the operation of same, by speculation or practice within any part …. may practise, use and minister to any outward sore, wound, apostemations, outward swelling or disease, any herb or herbs, oyntments, baths, pultes and plaisters, according to their cunning, experience and knowledge, in any of the diseases, sores and maladies before said.

In short - anyone skilled and knowledgeable in the use of herbs would be allowed to provide care to whosoever requested it. This was a very significant step forward in herbal medicine being accepted and recognised as providing an essential service to the public. 

Like the Queen, King Henry had a keen interest in herbal medicine. Tudor medics were scathing of the knowledge of people like the barbers (surgeons) and apothecaries of the day, who hadn’t undergone the same lengthy classical training, and therefore were unable to access the convoluted medical texts which were mostly written in Latin.

However, the King recognised the importance of medical knowledge passed down by the oral tradition. He accused the physicians of allowing patients to "rot and perish to death for lack of help" because they couldn’t afford their extortionate fees. On this basis, he went ahead and enshrined in law the right of the common folk to practice their medicines.

Some however, claim there was an ulterior motive to his seemingly selfless gesture.

One version of the tale is that due to his many dalliances with mistresses, King Henry himself often had recourse to visit the apothecary for his various ailments - in particular those he did not want his personal physicians to bandy about the courts. For example, the "King's Grace's oyntement" was invented "to coole, dry and comfort the member." Records suggest that perhaps the real reason he so vehemently defended his charter was to ensure he could continue to access these folk remedies without loss of face.

Whatever the real reason behind the charter, it made plain that however contemptuous physicians and surgeons may have been of the herbalists with their simples, they had powerful friends in high places, who had a very considerable opinion of their skills, and thought that they deserved protection and encouragement -(and possibly even patronage too.) Here, here and hip, hip hooray!

I’m thankful to Henry, who due to his unassailable royal status as monarch, cannot by law have his proclamation overturned. The Quack’s charter thankfully continues to be recognised in British law today and provides a safeguard for the continuation of herbal healing.

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The Day I Met the Queen

My final story is about the time I met the Queen by accident.

I’d taken the train to attend an interview at Durham University, when trudging up a very steep hill, I was greeted with a frisson of electricity as crowds gathered in anticipation of catching a glimpse of Her Majesty, who had been attending a service at Durham Cathedral.

Within moments, I was treated to the surreal sight of a line of Bentley’s rolling ceremoniously down the hill towards me.

As the cars passed, for one brief moment I was a mere corgi’s breath away from the then sprightly (and very smiley,) ruler of our land, who, I’m convinced, locked eyes and greeted me personally with her trade mark wave. In that fleeting moment, I smiled politely (maybe even a little bit proudly,) before making my way onwards with my battered suitcase in tow.

Did you meet the Queen? Did you sit down for dinner? Do you have a story or anecdote featuring HRH QE2 that you’d like to share with our community? Here’s your chance!

References

(1.) Sloane ms 1047 (BM), cited Blaxland Stubbs, "Henry VIII and Pharmacy: Part I", The Chemist and Druggist, 27 June 1931, p. 794.

Further reading:

https://www.herbalgram.org/resources/herbalgram/issues/42/table-of-contents/article546/

Green Pharmacy by Barbara Griggs, published by Healing Arts Press, an imprint of Inner Traditions International, Rochester, VT, U.S.A. Copyright 1981, 1997 Barbara Griggs]