| 14. | George Eachus was born in 1759 in Middlewich, Cheshire, England (son of James Eachus and Elizabeth Peachy); died on 3 Apr 1834 in Bethnal Green, London, England; was buried on 10 April 1834 in Baptist Church, Saffron Walden, Essex. Other Events:
- Baptism: 24 Jan 1759, Middlewich
Notes:
Age at death 82. M.I.Ledger stone on the floor of the church.
Admon 1862. Apprenticed to Thomas Millington,Surgeon/Apothecary 1775
Essex R.O. D/DWm T39. Partnership between George Eachus and Thomas Spurgeon.
the 1811 census shows that George Eachus, surgeon and hids family occupied a house in Church Street, A household of six people (3 male & 3 Female)
Many Victorian G.P's carried out their work from home with little accomodation for their medical tasks, except from a small room that might have served earlier as the Surgens-apothecarys shop. In 1821 for example George Eachus and Thomas Surgeon described their proffession as "Surgeons & Apothecary , and carried this out on and around their shop & premises in Church Street. . (Borrowed from "The Evolution of British General Practice 1850-1940" by Ann Digby)
His Obituary published in the Gentlemans Magazine in 1834 suggests he was a man of esteem and of property owning a "manor" (farm) at Little Bromfords which is near Wickford, Essex, some distance from Saffron Walden.
Saffron Walden Museum. Object of the Month - September 2015
Posted on September 1, 2015 by Museum Administrator
September's Object of the Month is the plaster bust of Dr George Eachus, apothecary and surgeon, of Saffron Walden. It was probably cast from a death-mask made at his death on 3 April 1834. It was selected by store volunteer John Ready and Curator Carolyn Wingfield from the Museum's collection of over fifty plaster busts, heads and skulls because it records the life of a respected local doctor. It has also made us re-examine the Museum's collection of historic plaster heads which have not been looked at for many years.
Dr George Eachus was born in Cheshire in 1759 but moved to Saffron Walden before 1784. He worked in partnership with another apothecary and surgeon, Thomas Spurgin, from premises in Church Street, treating patients and dispensing medicines. The Gentleman's Magazine 1834 described Dr Eachus as a respectable medical practitioner
Plaster heads and Phrenology
Plaster casts such as this were very fashionable in the early nineteenth century and the Museum's collection is probably typical of its time. Some heads are of classical or historical figures, or famous men of the day. The collection includes only one (anonymous) female head and busts of several notorious criminals. The plaster skulls are examples of different peoples around the world. Many of these heads and skulls were listed in the Museum catalogue of 1845 as the 'Phrenology' collection. Phrenology was a fashionable theory in the early nineteenth century which proposed that a person's character could be discerned by examining the shape of their head. Although later discredited as a scientific theory, phrenology remained popular through the Victorian period. Ceramic 'phrenological heads' were made with different areas of the skull marked out; antique examples and modern replicas can be bought today as household ornaments.
Baptism:
Archive: digital copy of Parish entry
George married Hannah Leaper on 1 Jun 1784 in St Mary's Parish Church, Whitechapel. London. Hannah was born in 1762 in England; died on 6 Jan 1801 in Saffron Walden, Essex; was buried on 14 Jan 1801 in Saffron Walden, St Mary the Virgin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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