Included in my guided tour of Marylebone is the Medical Society of London, founded in 1773 by the fascinating John Coakley Lettsom. Exactly 100 years after its foundation, the Society moved into its current wonderful building in Chandos Street, just off Cavendish Square.
Clearly a man with a sense of humour, John Coakley Lettsom penned this ditty:
I, John Lettsom,
Blisters, bleeds and sweats ’em.
If, after that, they please to die,
I, John, Lettsom.
Lettsom produced ‘hints’, pamphlets, and letters on a range of subjects including Sunday schools, female industry, soup kitchens, provision for the blind, and a bee society. He condemned quackery, card parties, intemperance and tea drinking, which he felt made society effeminate.
He also tried to popularise the ‘mangel-wurzel’, but only succeeded in inspiring a ‘scrumpy and western’ band in Somerset.
Find out more on the ‘Meander arond Marylebone’ walk.
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