Wrington doctors

A note on WRINGTON DOCTORS by Dr Norman Tricks

The first doctors that I can trace at Wrington were in 1864. In the report of the Wrington Village Hospital was one Dr. J. Young M.D. an Hon. Medical Officer, and Dr Horace Swete the local Medical Officer. By 1867, Dr Swete had moved to Weston, and Dr George Barnes MD of Wrington was appointed Medical Officer to the hospital.

Handy Book of
Cottage Hospitals
by Horace Swete

Dr Henry William Collins MRCS, born March 1847, is the next doctor I can find. He died in January 1906, and there is a memorial window to him, in the church, with figures of St John and St Luke. At the top of the window, are pictures of four plants, foxgloves, saffron, poppy and aconite, all used in medicine. Dr Collins' surgery was in Websbrook Cottage.

Dr H.C.Bristowe was here soon after the first Great War, he had his surgery at Butts Orchard, with a door to the railway station so that patients could easily travel from Langford, Burrington or Blagdon by train.

He was succeeded by Dr A.T.F.Rowley, in 1925. He later became pathologist at Weston, and finally entered the Church.

After him came Dr H.B.Maxwell until 1936, when Dr Howard Bell came.[see page on him - Ed] He built his house with a modern surgery wing in Ropers Lane. After the Second World War he took over a practice in Blagdon as well. Dr Bell retired in 1963 when I took over the practice, and consulted for four years from Dr Bell's house in Ropers Lane.

When Dr Bell died in 1967, a new surgery was built in Station Road, in the garden of Charlbury , and a room was provided for the District Nurses so that they could work in closer contact with the doctors. An appointment system was started, and we were one of the first practices in the County to start a computerised immunisation session in 1969.

Dr Robin Joy joined the practice in 1969, and in 1975, when Dr Grey of Langford retired Dr Nicholas Hooper joined us. In 1978 a new surgery was built at Churchill, so that there were surgeries at Wrington, Churchill and Blagdon.

In 1982, Dr Charles Tricks was taken in as a fourth partner because of the increasing workload.