The Dispensary – Beccles and District Museum

The Dispensary - Hungate

During the early part of the 19th Century, particularly following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, there was a feeling that the deserving sick and poor of the town should be helped. The decision to open some sort of medical facility was taken and there followed fund raising initiatives. On the 24th June 1822 the Dispensary opened in Hungate, opposite where the Congregational Church is now located. Patients were treated free of charge but paid for by benefactors. The benefactor would become a subscriber of the Dispensary and for the price of Half a Guinea was entitled to refer one patient a year. There was a sliding scale of benefits depending how much the benefactor was prepared to pay.

In the Rix Collection there are many Dispensary Annual Reports, the earliest is dated 1828 (Rix came to Beccles in 1826).

Donors of Ten Guineas at one time are Governors for life; and may have one patient constantly on the books.

Subscriber of One Guinea or more annually, is a Governor during the continuance of such subscription, and is entitled to have one Patient constantly on the Books, for each guinea subscribed.

Subscriptions of Half-a-guinea per annum, to recommend one patient annually.

Persons wishing to subscribe smaller sums may unite to send one Patient per annum, for half-a-guinea subscribed.

Interestingly domestic servants and indentured apprentices could not be admitted as patients to the Dispensary.

The Dispensary had the call on a number of professional medical men, the Crowfoot family features strongly in the roll call of surgeons and physicians throughout the life of the Dispensary, but there were others as well. These medical people gave their services for free. The annual report records the following men as providing their medical expertise: WE Crowfoot, WH Crowfoot, WM Crowfoot, EB Crowfoot, HS Davey, WHR Davey, George Peskett and RI Metcalfe. In addition, there were paid staff, a Matron, an assistant and a Secretary. As well as the subscriptions, money was obtained via fund raising events such as an annual Ball, Penny Readings and many donations and bequests. The rent for the building appears to have been waived for its first few years of operation.

During the 1860's sources of funding began to change and money started to be donated from local institutions such as, St Michael's Church, the Feoffees and the Town Corporation and some of the congregations of the outlying Village Churches.

By the 1870’s the facility had become inadequate for the town's needs and money was raised for a purpose-built hospital. The last accounts for the Dispensary held in the Rix Collection are for 1871 and the hospital in Fair Close opened at the end of 1874. In its fifty years of operation the Dispensary treated some three hundred patients a year and the 1871 accounts show a total of 9354 patients having been treated during the operation of the establishment.