Whitworth Heritage Museum
The Heritage Museum, North Street, Whitworth, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL12 8RE
The Whitworth Doctors story tells of a family of blacksmiths, farriers and animal doctors making the transition to human medicine in the early days of the scientific approach to medical practice. This unique story covers the lives of members of the same family providing medical services to a village community from 1764 through to the death of the final family member in 1875. During that period the Taylor family treated not only patients from their own community but, through word of mouth, the stories of their skills passed throughout England to members of the senior clergy, aristocracy and even royalty. Later generations of the family, although not forgetting or dismissing the skills of forebears, did undertake professional training and became fully qualified surgeons and apothecaries. The family line eventually came to an end when the final member of the family, James Eastwood Taylor, died in 1875 without issue. The family wealth, in terms of objects, land and property is testament to the financial success of this unique family.
The Heritage Museum, North Street, Whitworth, Rochdale, Lancashire, OL12 8RE