SPADACRENE ANGLICA.

OR,

The English Spa Fountain.

BY EDMUND DEANE, M.D. OXON.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

These modern accounts cannot be better or more authoritatively exemplified than by taking a short extract from the article "Harrogate" in the "Encyclopædia Britannica."[1]

This paragraph, as a statement of facts, accurately sets out what is to be found in more or less detail in the accessible literature of to-day and will be referred to afterwards as the recognised history of Harrogate. It has received the express or tacit sanction of the Corporation of Harrogate and is embodied in its publications. Further a memorial has been erected to Sir William Slingsby, the Captain William Slingsby of Bilton Hall referred to in the above quotation, as the discoverer of the Tuewhit Well.

Notwithstanding the complete credence that has been given to this account for many years, I think there can be no doubt that it is entirely erroneous, and that unmerited fame has been given to Sir William Slingsby as the discoverer of the medicinal qualities of the Tuewhit Well, and to Dr. Bright as the author who first wrote an account of it.

Deane's history of the medicinal springs of Harrogate in the Elizabethan period is to be found in the earlier chapters of his book. It is therefore only necessary to mention here that, according to "Spadacrene Anglica" the Tuewhit Well was not discovered by Captain (or Sir) William Slingsby, it was not discovered near the close of the 16th Century, and Dr. Bright did not write an account of it. It is hardly credible that the history as given in the extract from the "Encyclopædia Britannica" is actually derived from "Spadacrene Anglica." Yet such is the case. Owing to the great rarity of the first edition of that book, and the fact that the later editions were all, more or less, abridged or incomplete, a series of plausible conjectures by later writers founded on these imperfect editions has evolved a history of Harrogate in this period which is, as regards the main facts, largely fictitious. The object of the following biographical notes is, briefly, to restate the history of Harrogate during the Elizabethan period, in terms of the only reliable source for such a purpose, and to trace the accumulated errors, as far as possible, to their origin and source, an inquiry which the reprint of "Spadacrene Anglica" at the present time makes not inopportune.

No history of Harrogate should be written, unless preceded by a biographical note of the author of "Spadacrene Anglica," to whom and to whose work Harrogate doubtless owes its position as the premier Spa of this country; and it is with no little sense of the fickleness of fame that one finds his name so little known, and his worth as a writer unrecognized. As far as I know, no biography has been written heretofore, nor is his life given in the various collective records of the lives of British medical men, such as Aikin, etc.[2] The same neglect of him occurs in the "Dictionary of National Biography," where in view of the national importance of the Spas of this country, a biography of Deane might not unreasonably be expected. Here and there one is able to glean some small scraps of information about him, but the result of all the gleanings from contemporary records, so far, can be condensed in a very small compass. It does not seem amiss therefore to record here what is known of the "father of Harrogate" albeit at present unrecognized by his off-spring.

Deane was descended from a family who for many generations lived at Saltonstall, a hamlet in Warley in the parish of Halifax, and whose history appears to have been quite uneventful.[3] Owing to the frequency with which the same Christian names occur in the Parish Registers, it is by no means easy to identify the several families of the name of Deane, but in 1612 the family from which the author of "Spadacrene Anglica" was descended, recorded in the College of Arms a short entry of pedigree, of which a copy is appended. His parents were Gilbert Deane of Saltonstall and Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Jennings of Seilsden in Craven, and their family consisted of four sons, viz. Gilbert, Richard, Edmund and Symon (twins). The date of birth of Edmund is not known, but the entry of baptism is on 23rd of March 1572.[4] The mother seems to have died at their birth, for the date of her funeral is but two days' later.[5]

Of the brothers of Edmund, Gilbert, the eldest, apparently lived at Saltonstall, and it was his son, John Deane, who eventually became the chief beneficiary under the Will of Edmund. Symon (or Michaell Symon), the twin brother, died at the age of seven years. His remaining brother, Richard, born in 1570, entered Merton College, Oxford, in 1589, and in 1609 succeeded Dr. Horsfall as Bishop of Ossory. He died in 1614.

Edmund also entered Merton College, matriculating 26th March, 1591, and took the degree of B.A. on the 11th of December, 1594. He then "retired to St. Alban's Hall, where prosecuting his geny which he had to the faculty of physic" he was licensed to practise medicine on the 28th March, 1601, subsequently taking his degrees of M.B. and M.D. as a member of that hall on the 28th of June, 1608. He was incorporated at Cambridge in 1614. After taking his degrees in medicine he retired to York and practised in that city till his death in 1640.[6]

Nothing further is known of his life in York, except that Camidge[7] states that he occupied a house adjoining the residence of Mr. Laurence Rawden in the street called Pavement, a name, it has been suggested[8], derived from the Hebrew Judgement seat "in a place that is called the Pavement,"—this being that part of the City of York where punishment was inflicted and where the Pillory was a permanent erection. It is not unreasonable to suppose that this fact was responsible for Deane's tender pity for the "poore prisoners" in his Will.

In 1626, Deane published his "Spadacrene Anglica" which is here reprinted. "Spadacrene Anglica" is a model of lucid and logical exposition. It provides a quaint and interesting epitome of the medical opinion of the day, but it is of more special interest as the source for the earliest history of the Harrogate waters. Its importance from this particular standpoint will be considered later.

Later in the same year Michael Stanhope published his "Newes out of Yorkshire," and in this book he gives a lively description of his journey with Deane to the Well "called at this day by the country people, Tuit Well, it seemes for no other cause but that those birdes (being our greene Plover) do usually haunt the place." The following extract of the first recorded visit to Harrogate will, I think, be of interest.

It would certainly appear from a perusal of the above, that at the latter end of the year 1625, Deane knew little of the medicinal value of the English Spaw. But such a conclusion is entirely opposed to the dedication and text of "Spadacrene Anglica," which clearly indicates that Deane was a close personal friend of the eminent physicians Dr. Timothy Bright, and Dr. Anthony Hunton of Newark-upon-Trent, who for years had been recommending the waters to their friends and patients. Moreover Deane himself had paid many visits to the English Spaw with the physicians of York, and had been at last induced to commit his knowledge to print. Is it permissible to use imaginative license and see in Deane a humorist who persuaded Stanhope "of taking the aire" while professing no intimate knowledge of the spring, yet going the length of taking the powder of Galls in his pocket to produce a stage effect, which he had never found to fail?[10]

Stanhope readily adopts the plover origin of the name Tuewhit, but the silence of Deane is suggestive of his doubt, and especially so as he mentions the pigeons haunting the sulphur springs as "an arguement of much salt in them." There is no obvious reason of this kind for the plovers frequenting the Tuewhit Well in preference to any other spring in the neighbourhood.

In 1630, Deane published a number of Tracts which had been left more or less incomplete by Samuel Norton. His share in the authorship of the different tracts varies. The titles of one or two will sufficiently indicate the nature of the subjects, and it can be seen that his studies included the philosophical stone, and other subjects receiving attention at the present time, such as "culture pearls."

"Mercurius Redivivus, seu modus conficiendi Lapidem Philosophicum."

"Saturnus Saturatus Dissolutus et Coelo restitutus, seu modus componendi Lapidem Philosophicum ... e plumbo...."

"Metamorphosis Lapidem ignobilium in gemmas quasdam pretiosas, seu modus transformandi perlas parvas ... in magnas et nobilis ..." etc. etc.

Edmund Deane married twice, first to Anne, widow of Marmaduke Haddersley of Hull; the date is not known, though it was before the entry of pedigree was recorded in 1612. In 1625, he had a license at York to marry Mary Bowes of Normanton at Normanton. There does not appear to have been a family by either of his wives.

He died in 1640, and was buried in St. Crux Church, York. This church was demolished about the year 1885, as it was considered structurally unsafe, but there does not appear to have been any memorial erected to him in the church. The manuscript Registers of the Parish of St. Crux are in the College of Arms: the manuscript extracts do not commence until the year 1678. His Will, however, is preserved. It is dated 30th of Oct. 1639, and was proved at York on the 14th of April, 1640.

In a biography it should be the task of the writer to visualise the personality of his subject as well as to record merely the material events of his life. In this instance it would be quite impossible to do so from lack of material, but yet from his works, and from the opinion held of him by Michael Stanhope, and last, but not least, from the contents of his own Will, I think some picture can be painted of him. A man of learning is shown from his writings: a perusal of "Spadacrene Anglica" will exhibit both the clearness of his intellect and the forcibleness of his style. For many years he successfully practised medicine at York. He was held in high esteem among his professional brethren, and was recognized by them as a leader in the profession with a broad mind, ready to listen to and investigate new ideas. His personality is fully and finely revealed in his Will, and as this is the only biography, as it were, written by himself, I append an extract from it, so that he may speak for himself.

In "Spadacrene Anglica" Deane mentions that "out of the divers fountains springing hereabouts" five are worthy the observation of physicians. These are—

1.—The Dropping Well.

2.—The Sulphur Well at Bilton Park.

3.—The Sulphur Well near Knaresborough.

4.—The Sulphur Well at "Haregate head."

5.—The Tuewhit Well, or The English Spaw.

The number of springs worthy the observation of physicians has largely increased and the relative importance of the five mentioned has altered considerably since Deane wrote. But in 1626, The Tuewhit Well, or The English Spaw, was regarded as the most worthy of fame. This well, according to the later writers, was discovered by Captain (afterwards Sir) William Slingsby:—in Chapter 6 of "Spadacrene Anglica," however, a Mr. William Slingsby is given as the discoverer.

From this it appears that the discovery was made by Mr. William Slingsby in his later years, about the year 1571, but if the Mr. William Slingsby here referred to was Sir William Slingsby he would have been a youth of some 8 or 9 years in 1571. Secondly, one would judge from the text that the Mr. William Slingsby referred to by the writer was dead at the time that he wrote, namely 1626, whereas, as a matter of fact, Sir William Slingsby was alive until the year 1634. Thirdly, it is impossible to conceive that Edmund Deane would refer to Sir William Slingsby as Mr. William Slingsby, seeing that the former was knighted in 1603, or 23 years prior to the publication of Deane's work. It is therefore abundantly clear that Sir William Slingsby—a very gallant gentleman—has no claim to the fame which history has insisted upon according him.

The fact is that the Mr. William Slingsby referred to[11] was the fourth son of Thomas Slingsby of Scriven, who married Joan, daughter of Sir John Mallory of Studley, and who had a family of six sons and four daughters. The name of the eldest son was Francis, and, as just mentioned, William was the fourth son. Sir William Slingsby was the seventh son of Francis and the nephew therefore of Mr. William Slingsby. Mr. William Slingsby was buried at Knaresborough on the 8th of Oct., 1606, but the date of his birth does not seem to have been recorded. His elder brother, Francis, died in 1600 at the age of 78, so that he was born in 1522. It is not unreasonable to suppose that William, his brother, one of a large family, was born between the years 1525 and 1527. He would therefore be somewhere between 44 and 46 years of age, when he discovered the medicinal qualities of the Tuewhit Well, which equally accords with Deane's statement that in his younger days he had travelled in Germany.

So far as I can trace, Hargrove[12] is the first author to confuse the uncle and the nephew. He writes that the well

From this quotation it is clearly apparent that Hargrove erroneously inferred that Mr. Slingsby and Capt. Slingsby were the one and the same person instead of being uncle and nephew. In the 3rd edition of the "History of Knaresborough," published in 1782, the reference to Mr. Slingsby is omitted and from that edition onwards, Captain Slingsby appears as the discoverer of the Tuewhit Well in 1571, a discovery clearly inconsistent with the fact that he was born in the year 1562.

The source of Hargrove's information in the above quotation is, without doubt, the summary of "Spadacrene Anglica," published by Dr. Short in 1734 in his History of Mineral waters.[13] The summary by Short of Chapter 6 of "Spadacrene Anglica" is as follows:—