Person:John Binns (21)

RELIGION: Christian - Religious Society of Friends. Disowned, 23 January 1839 - Durham, Co. Durham, England.

EDUCATION: I (Benjamin S. Beck) thought people might be interested in this email I had from Dee Cook, Archivist to the Society of Apothecaries (forwarded with kind permission). This is the result of my research into this apothecary: John Binns qualified as a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries (LSA) on 2 March 1843. His Licence entitled him to practise as an apothecary "in the country" which meant anywhere in England and Wales except the City of London and within 10 miles of it. (The provincial Licence was cheaper.) A ruling in the House of Lords in March 1703/4 had put an end to a key, three-year lawsuit (known as the Rose Case) when the Lords ratified an apothecary's right both to prescribe as well as to dispense drugs - and so the General Practitioner (of Medicine) was born. Qualifying as an apothecary was thus the equivalent of becoming a GP today (the definition of an apothecary being "a doctor who dispenses his own medicine"), although from about 1820 to 1865 most medical practitioners took both the MRCS and the LSA (known colloquially as "the College and the Hall") in order to gain full, all-round competence. As a result of the Apothecaries' Act of 1815, no one could practise as an apothecary in England and Wales without holding the Licence, hence Binns had to come to London to be examined at Apothecaries' Hall. The examination was purely an oral ordeal until the 1860s, when some written papers were introduced. According to the Candidates' Entry Book (ref: GL Ms 8241/13), John was

• the son of Mr George Binns of Sunderland in the Co of Durham
• he was apprenticed to Mr Henry Brady of Gateshead, apothecary, for 7 years from 19 May 1831
• his apprenticeship indenture was dated 20 October 1831
• the testimonial of his moral character was supplied by Mr Brady
• he was born on 31 January 1817
• he commenced his medical training/attendance at lectures in October 1837
• the lectures were: 1 session of lectures on Chemistry (taught by Graham); one session on Materia Medica (Thompson); 2 sessions on Anatomy and Physiology (Sharpey); 2 sessions of Anatomical Demonstrations (R Quain); 2 courses of lectures on the Principles and Practice of Medicine (Elliotson); 1 course on Botany (Hoblyn); 2 courses on Midwifery (Heming) and 2 at Newcastle (Dawson); 1 course on Forensic Medicine (Barnes)
• he completed 21 months' attendance at North London Hospital [written above this is 'University Col']
• he was examined by one of the twelve members of the Society's Court of Examiners, Mr Dickinson, and approved on 2 March 1843, when his place of residence was given as Sunderland.

(Dee Cook, Archivist to the Society of Apothecaries Dir Tel: 0207 248 6648)

RESIDENCES: 1817 - At birth - Bishopwearmouth, Co. Durham, England. Haslingden, Lancashire, England. 1871 - Western Hill, Durham, Co. Durham, England.

MISCELLANEOUS_NOTES: The first Medical Directory was published in 1846 but this only covered London. The 1847 edition includes the first Provincial Listing and John Binns's entry gives his place of residence as Haslingden, Lancs, and describes him as being in "Gen. Pract." His LSA 1843 is also noted. Clearly he neither moved, nor gained any other qualifications nor changed the nature of his medical practice because his entry in the Medical Register of 1873 provides no other details. For the years 1874-76, the Medical Directory has an entry for his name but states "address uncommunicated". He is no longer listed from 1877 which suggests that he had died. Unfortunately, I cannot explain why he went to Lancashire, but presumably he had a Quaker/Friend (family?) connection who was able to help him establish a practice there. One reason why he left Sunderland may have been the bad memories associated with his youth - what a sadistic father he had! The 7th of 15 children, John had not completed his apprenticeship when his father died in 1836 and his widowed mother must have relied heavily on the Friends for help. Re the Sheffield University enquiry - I posted my reply just before I emailed you and suggested that they look at your website and contact you direct. I hope you will hear from them soon. (Dee Cook, Archivist to the Society of Apothecaries Dir Tel: 0207 248 6648) Helped to form Miners' Union. Bust of him in Miners' Hall, Durham, Co. Durham, England.

INITIAL SOURCE: Leicester.

1. ↑ ? Arthur Chamney Leicester. An Account of the Family of the Binns from 1663 (Leicester Document). (Unpublished Family Tree).
2. ↑ Joseph John Binns (1839-1922). An Account of the Family of the Binns from 1663 (Sunderland document). (Largely collected materials from Friends' Registers).
3. ↑ Society of Friends Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Deaths and Marriages (1578-1841). PRO RG 6/.775: DUR: QM of Durham: Births 1812-1828. (Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department and Office of Population (1567-1997)).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Extracted by Ms. Dee Cook, archivist. Archives of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, London.. (Archive).
5.   Kenneth Wilson. Lothersdale Chart. (unpublished chart of Binns families derived from Lothersdale records).