A miracle cure

'Should be found on every dressing table…'

So recommended Dr Giles Robert, the inventor of the Poor Man's Friend in 1790 in Bridport, Dorset. Excavations at Hungate, York, have produced part of one of his famous ointment jars which dates to the late 19th century, proving the continued faith in this cure-all ointment.

The recipe for this invaluable ointment for 'piles, cuts, burns, leg ulcers and gout' had remained a mystery until an envelope marked 'private' was discovered in Dr. Robert's old shop in Bridport in 1970; it contained the instructions for producing a vat of the salve which was then sold in small jars like the one shown here. In 2003 the Bridport museum acquired the recipe; it includes 50lb of Waterford lard, which was to be cut into pieces and steamed with 6lbs of beeswax and strained through cheesecloth. Other ingredients included calamel, sugar of lead, zinc and lavender. A dermatologist at St Andrew's hospital in London said the ointment would have beneficial effects for conditions such as eczema, mild infections and headaches.
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The example found at Hungate, shown here together with the reverse of a similar jar loaned from a private collection, was found in a layer of levelling material on the site together with other late 19th century pottery and glass. The other side reads, 'Prepared only by Beach and Barnicott, Successors to the late Dr Roberts, Bridport'. It continued in production until the 1960s.