John Wesley was passionate about improving the wellbeing of everyday people and in 1747 wrote a book called Primitive Physick, which contains 800 ‘tried and tested cures’ that could be made at home using herbs/plants from the garden, as he wanted people to be able to treat themselves rather than paying for expensive physicians and apothecaries. The remedies found in Primitive Physick were not Wesley’s own ideas (although he does indicate which he thought were most effective), but the way that the book is laid out alphabetically, with a brief description of symptoms and treatments, is.
We are now recreating our Physick Garden based on John’s thoughts and ideas; uncovering ‘hidden’ stories about everyday people’s health and the cures available to them in the 18th century. Our Physick Garden is not a recreation of a garden known to exist at the Old Rectory but the Wesley family may have grown many of the plants we have included.
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The air we breathe is of great consequence to our health – JOHN WESLEY
We have been helped by The Royal Society to create our new Physick Garden so that everyone can explore it. The Primitive Physick was first published in 1747 but was revised three times as new medicines emerged or plants discovered. It was also reprinted many times as new medicine emerged or new plants discovered, including in 1770 by William Pine of Narrow Street Bristol, for the price of 1/6. The numbers listed against each plant, in our Explore More Section are the number of the remedy as it appears in the 1780 edition.
With the rapid development of medical science many of the remedies may appear amusing to us now, but we mustn’t forget that many believe that Wesley initiated the first dispensary for poor people. As the religious revival spread and Methodist societies flourished, so too did his rules of hygiene, nutrition, self restraint and self respect, and they changed the face of Britain. Modern research shows that many of the remedies he included in Primitive Physick have been substantiated or developed by herbalism, nutrition therapy or aromatherapy.
Explore more:
- Digestive Complaints
- Rupture and Fever
- Minor Injuries and Common Conditions
- Dropsy, Swellings and Infestations
- Coughs Nerves and Headaches
- Cancer, Asthma and Jaundice
- Apoplexy, Smallpox and the Plague
- Childbirth, Bowels and Blood
- Colds, Consumption and Scurvy
- Stones, Gout and Leprosy
