Was your ancestor a medical professional working in and around Victorian London? Or perhaps you want to know who your ancestor may have seen when they became unwell? These fascinating medical directories contain the names, addresses, qualifications, and appointments of every surgeon, physician, and general practitioner residing in London and its immediate vicinity. They also contain a 'great variety of useful medical information' and provide an insight into a period of change in British medical history.
Was your ancestor a medical professional working in and around Victorian London? Or perhaps you want to know who your ancestor may have seen when they became unwell? These fascinating medical directories contain the names, addresses, qualifications, and appointments of every surgeon, physician, and general practitioner residing in London and its immediate vicinity. They also contain a 'great variety of useful medical information' and provide an insight into a period of change in British medical history.
You will find information including -
First name
Last name
Address
Job title
Qualifications
Additional information, including appointments, honours, publications, and events can be found in the original image.
The London (and Provincial) Medical Directory 1847–1869 represents a vital era of transition in British medical history, predating and then overlapping with the official General Medical Council registers. Before the 1858 Medical Act brought state-mandated regulation, these directories were compiled by private publishers to provide a reliable guide to the fragmented medical landscape. They were more than just a list of names; they served as a "Who’s Who" of the profession, categorising practitioners into physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries across the capital and the burgeoning industrial provinces. For the family historian, these records offer a layer of biographical richness often missing from later official registers. Because they were commercially published, entries frequently included expanded details such as a doctor's published works, specific hospital appointments, and memberships in learned societies. They capture the era of the "General Practitioner" in its infancy, showing how medical men balanced private practice with roles in local workhouses, dispensaries, or as coroners. Tracking a name through these years allows you to see a career trajectory from a young medical student to a respected community figure during the height of the Victorian age.
One of the most infamous doctors of the Victorian era was Edward William Pritchard. Pritchard was born into a naval family, his father, John White Pritchard was a captain, in Southsea, Hampshire, on 6 December 1825. After studying at King's College Hospital, Pritchard joined the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon on HMS Victory. He would serve on other ships, sailing around the world, returning to England aboard HMS Hecate in the early 1850s. Resigning from the navy, he took a job as a GP and married his wife, Mary Jane Taylor in 1851, and had five children together.
You can trace Pritchard's career through his entries in the London and Provincial directories. In 1849 he is listed as being in the medical department of the Royal Navy. By 1852, he was living in Hunmanby, Yorkshire, and working as a District Medical Officer of the Bridlington Union. His entry also includes references to the numerous books, articles, and research he published on topics including the water cure at Hunmanby, his travels, tobacco, cancer, the Egyptian climate, and sleep. However, by 1862, Pritchard had moved to 11 Berkley Terrace, Glasgow.
Tragedy struck the Pritchard house and family not long after the move to Glasgow. In 1863 a housefire killed a 25-year-old servant, Elizabeth McGrain. Her death was seen as suspicious, as she made no attempt to escape the house, but no charges were brought. Two years later, Pritchard's wife and mother-in-law became ill. His mother-in-law died 28 February 1865, with his wife dying a month later on 18 March. They were both being treated by Pritchard and Dr Paterson. Paterson suspected foul play and refused to sign the death certificates but did not go out of his way to inform the authorities. Instead, an anonymous tipped off the authorities and led to the exhumation of the two women. Tests found the poisons antimony and aconitine present in their bodies. Pritchard was charged with, and convicted of, murder. He was the last man to be hanged in public in Glasgow on 28 July 1865.