Cinderloo
(Dawley Riots)

Superstitious Cures

Shropshire Folklore Introduction Contents

Well, apparently the most popular afflictions in 19th Century Shropshire - or at any rate those with the most cures - were whooping cough and warts...

Reading these cures, I have three thoughts: "perhaps natural remedies aren't all they're cracked up to be", "thank God I wasn't born a hundred years ago" and, mostly, "thank God I wasn't born a hundred years ago and suffered from quinsy".

Quinsy is now known as streptococcal tonsillitis and is curable by antibiotics. However, in 1875 the cure (at least if you lived on the Shropshire/Worcester border) was: the sufferer sat upright in a chair with a poached egg perched on the top of their head and a string of roasted onions around their neck. The practitioner of the cure then blew a red powder through a tobacco pipe into the patient's mouth. Even Charlotte - who as you may recall was very firm about respecting the beliefs of her informants - felt moved to add "After this ....(various weird cures are mentioned)... seem tame and rational in comparison."

So: the remedies. I can't take any responsibility if you feel inclined to try them ... but if you do (and survive), let me know how you get on.

Whooping Cough