Sea Surgeons' Examinations recorded in the Court Rough Minutes of the Worshipful Company of Barbers, September 1709 - June 1745

Transcribed and annotated in 2015 by Liveryman Dr C P Willoughby MA DM FRCP and Vicky West MA, Archivist, The Barbers' Company

Notes

1) Uncertainties and comments are high-lighted in red (not present in this online database).

2) The spelling of surgeons' names seems variable and often phonetic.

3) Not only sea surgeons were assessed during the examination sessions recorded in the Court Minutes. Land-based surgeons were examined for the 'Great Diploma' of the Company and for 'Foreign Brother' Diplomas. Furthermore, both surgeons ( recorded in the database ) and other warrant holders such as sailing masters, cooks, carpenters, gunners and boatswains, applying for superannuation after service in the Royal Navy, were occasionally called for questioning and assessment by the Court members during these same meetings, when it was the usual practice for a physician to be present as well as the surgical members of the Court. There is one instance ( 15 April 1740 ) where a John MaCartney was given a surgeon's mate rating for General Kirk's Regiment in the army, where Mr Graham - presumably a member of the Company - was Lt. Colonel. There are also records of the assessment of injuries sustained by naval officers wounded in service or during training with a view to assessing financial compensation in such cases. Only the entries in the Minutes relating to sea surgeons are included in this database.

4) Occasional candidates were examined for the sea service of the East India Company and these have been included in the document.

5) Each entry includes the candidate's surname and forename, the date of their examination, a list of the examiners present, the qualification - surgeon or mate - awarded, the class ( size ) of ship in which he was felt competent to serve, any indication of Company membership or fees paid, and any relevant comments.

6) As on 4th Feb 1734/5, in the case of Thomas Middleton, Examination Courts also dealt with the investigation of complaints from the Commissioners of the Navy relating to the possible incompetence of sea surgeons, and reported back to the Navy Board on their findings.

7) Examination decisions are usually 'signed off ' in the Court Minutes by two to four of the attending Court members. At busy sessions twenty candidates or more might be assessed and it seems probable that the examiners worked in teams rather than all together, in order to get through the workload. In some entries the list of examiners starts with 'The Governors', and this meant the Master and three Wardens of the Company.

8) In the early years of the record, relatively few candidates were examined at each session and it was common for several examinations to be arranged during a month. Later, there was a scheduled session on the first Friday, or later on the first Tuesday of the month, but where a large number of candidates had applied, or when the Admiralty exerted pressure to speed up the appointment of suitably qualified surgeons, examinations tended to process a much larger number of candidates on each day and extra dates were still commonly scheduled to keep up with the demand .

9) At the beginning or end of each Examination Court, a scrupulous record is often entered by the Clerk of all payments made to the attending assessors and of monies due from previous sessions to examiners unable to attend on the current date.

10) Dr Cockburn(e) often appears in the examiners' list - usually when warrant holders are applying for pensions. William Cockburn(e) - was born in 1669. According to the Dictionary of National Biography, Munks Roll of the Royal College of Physicians and the Westminster Abbey website he died in November 1739 and was buried in the central aisle of Westminster Abbey on 24 November of that year. William was an MD - probably of Leiden University, where he was a student of physic in 1691 - and a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London (admitted 02 April 1694). He was Physician to the Blue Squadron of the Royal Navy and was appointed Physician to Greenwich Hospital in November 1731. On different occasions he was described as: 'an eminent physician, immensely rich', 'an old, very rich quack' and 'an old fool'. (Biographical details from Munk's Roll. The Royal College of Physicians).
What is peculiar is that, although buried in 1739, Dr Cockburn(e) continues to appear at Examination Court meetings at Barbers Hall until the assessment of naval personnel ceased in June 1745! The explanation appears to be that a Dr David Cockburn(e) took over at Greenwich Hospital in about 1735 and died while still in post in 1762 (correspondence and will in the National Archives, Kew ). Although described in his will as a 'doctor of physick', David Cockburne does not appear in Munk's Roll and was therefore presumably not a member of the College of Physicians. Whether the two Cockburn(e)s were related remains to be ascertained; William Cockburn(e) does not appear to have had children.

11) Dr Richard Morton also figures at times as a physician representative on the Court. He was appointed physician to Greenwich Hospital on 26 April 1716 and died on 1 February 1729/30. He was mainly renowned for his speciality of diagnosis by inspection of the patient's urine.

12) Dr Morton's predecessor at Greenwich Hospital, Dr Oliver, also attended the Examinations Courts at Barbers' Hall in 1715 to advise in cases where superannuation for warrant officers was being considered. He died on 27 March 1716. Years earlier he had been involved in Monmouth's rebellion and advised the Duke on a possible escape route to Wales (Memoirs of the Life of Judge Jeffreys, Humphry W Woolrych, London, 1827).

13) Dr Stephen Hall was another physician to Greenwich Hospital who sometimes attended Court meetings where superannuation cases were being heard. His appointment at Greenwich was supposed to be worth more than £200 per annum. He was a prominent Freemason and died on 30 Oct 1731 ( The Historical Register, 1731 )

14) Other members of the Court of Examiners mentioned in the minutes are:

Mr Claudius Amyand ( Master 1731; Serjeant-Surgeon to George II 1728-40 )
Mr Gratian Bale ( Master 1709 )
Mr John Barnwell ( Master 1734 )
Mr Charles Bernard ( Master 1703; Serjeant-Surgeon to Queen Anne 1703-10)
Mr William Blanford ( Master 1723 )
Mr Blundell
Mr William Bond ( Master 1708 )
Mr Thomas Bridges ( Master 1737 )
Mr Brooks
Mr John Brown
Mr Henry Bull
Mr William Cheselden - anatomist, surgeon to St Thomas' and to St George's
Hospital, surgeon to Queen Caroline
Mr William Cole ( Master 1727 )
Mr Cornwell
Mr Cousins
Mr William Cotesworth ( Master 1723 )
Mr James Dansie ( Master 1741 )
Mr Ambrose Dickins ('Dukins' ( Master 1729; Serjeant-Surgeon to Queen
Anne, George I and II 1711-28 )
Mr (?Thomas) Essington
Mr January Farmer ( Master 1728 )
Mr James Ferne ( Master 1733 )
Mr Daniel Fradin ( Master 1738 )
Mr John Freke
Mr Gardiner
Mr Robert Gay
Mr Alexander Geekie (Master 1719 )
Mr Zachariah Gibson ( Master 1707 )
Mr Gooddiar ( ? Goodyear )
Mr Edward Green ( Master 1711 )
Mr Joseph Greene ( Master 1717 )
Mr William Haddon ( Master 1742 )
Mr Richard Harvey ( Master 1715 )
Mr Ralph Hatley ( Master 1704 )
Mr Robert Hayes ( Master 1716 )
Mr John Hayward ( Master 1743 )
Mr Anthony Herenden ( Master 1713 )
Mr Hicks
Mr Hobday
Dr Juneau - also attends superannuation hearings
Mr Layfield
Mr Lee
Mr William Loup ( Master 1721 )
Mr Simon Lynch ( Master 1710 )
Mr Luke Maurice ( Master 1732 )
Mr Jonathan Medley ( Master 1744 )
Mr Moss
Mr Henry Myddelton ( Master 1725 )
Mr Humphrey Negus ( Master 1745 )
Mr Nicholls
Mr James Northall ( Master 1720 )
Mr William Oades ( Master 1705 )
Mr Samuel Palmer
Mr William Parker ( Master 1730 )
Mr Pease
Mr William Petty ( Master 1739 )
Mr William Pyle
Mr Randall
Mr Rayfield
Mr Samuel Rayson ( Master 1722 )
Mr Peter St Hill
Mr Salter
Mr Joseph Sandford
Mr John Shipton
Mr John Shott ( Master 1724 and1726 )
Mr Smith
Mr Legard Sparham
Mr Tooms/Toms
Mr John Truelove ( Master 1740 )
Mr (?James) Ward
Mr William Watkins ( Master 1712 )
Mr John Watts ( Master 1736 )
Mr John Wheeler ( Master 1740 )
Mr Wood
Mr Edward Woodward ( Master 1735 )

15) The six guineas - or later seven guineas - fee ( approx. ) that appears occasionally in the records appears to be that charged for the Company's diploma, as it also applies to land-based surgeons applying for accreditation and a licence to practise.

16) Until 1752 the new year started on March 25th. All dates in the spreadsheet are as written in the minutes and are 'old style'.