| Administrative History | This manual (D5544/1) was written by Caroline Ann Smedley.
Caroline Ann Harward, the daughter of the Vicar of Wirksworth, married John Smedley in 1846. The couple honeymooned in France and Switzerland. This 'marriage tour' became the turning point for both their lives. John copntracted a severe fever. His life was spared by the treatment he received at Dr. Mcleod's hydropathic establishment in Ben Rhydding, near Otley, West Yorkshire. John saw this as a sign of divine intervention. He was 'converted to a belief in the efficacy of water treatment.
The Smedleys chose to devote their lives to the promotion of the cause of hydropathy. They acquired a house at Matlock Bank. On this site (now Derbyshire County Council's County Offices) John Smedley built his Hydro, to his own design. Until 1872, when the Hydro finally appointed a professional doctor, every patient at the Hydro was dealt with directly by John or Caroline Smedley.
Life at the hydro was frugal, regimented and bleak. In keeping with the widespread temperance movement of the period, tobacco, snuff and alcohol were forbidden; while each day began and ended with family worship. If you broke any of the Hydro's many rules and regulations, you would pay a fine.
Hydropathy of the water cure originated in Germany and its continental associations gave it an air of medical respectability. In the Smedley's time, treatments were extremely simple. They were combinations of hot and cold tap water applied to ther body in different ways. |
| Custodial History | It was donated to Derbyshire Record Office by a private individual in September 2001. |