Captain R. T. Claridge
Encyclopedia
Captain Richard Tappin Claridge, F.S.A. (Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries) (c. 1797/1799–1857), was a prominent asphalt
contractor and captain in the Middlesex Militia, who became best known for his prominent promotion of hydropathy, now known as hydrotherapy
, in the 1840s. It was also known as the Cold Water system or Cold Water cure. Claridge is widely credited with introducing the methods of Vincent Priessnitz to England, thus initiating the populist movement of the time. Indeed, much of what is popularly known about Priessnitz in the English-speaking world comes from two seminal publications. Firstly, Claridge's Hydropathy; or The Cold Water Cure, as practiced by Vincent Priessnitz... (1842 & 1843). Secondly, Richard Metcalfe's Life of Vincent Priessnitz (1898), with Metcalfe himself drawing upon Claridge, although Metcalfe also later wrote a historical overview and added more about Claridge and his role in the promotion of hydropathy.
Although name variations such as Richard T. Claridge, Richard Tappin Claridge, and Captain Claridge are found in reference to and by Claridge, the name by which he became most commonly known was Captain R.T. Claridge, hence the title of this article.
, and administered by the Stratford-on-Avon District Council
. Claridge, a member of the Arcadian Academy at Rome
, was the elder and only surviving son of James and Hannah Claridge, and a descendent of church minister and subsequent Quaker, Richard Claridge. Rev. James Claridge was himself a curate in the Established, or Episcopal Church. The Rev. James Claridge died by accident, leaving Richard an orphan at age eight.
Claridge married twice. On 28 June 1822, at St George's, Hanover Square, he married Elizabeth Ann Aldsworth Green, who was the only child of the late William Green, of Bolton Street, Piccadilly, and of Kew, Surrey. In April 1824 they had a daughter named Emma Green, who later married Marie Etienne Charles Henri, Marquis de St. Aignan, and subsequently resided in Nice
. Claridge was a man of independent means, who in 1841 attended Priessnitz's establishment at Graefenberg
along with his wife and daughter. He claimed that his promotion of hydropathy was "completely philanthropic. Having gained my own health and saved the life of my daughter at Graefenberg, and having witnessed most astounding cures there", he wanted to promote this system. Elizabeth died on 24 August 1842. Claridge spent some time in Italy, from where around 1847 he continued promoting hydropathy by petition and a letter written at Bagni de Lucco on 12 May 1847. On 7 January 1854, Claridge, now residing at a villa on the left bank of Paillon in Nice, married his second wife, Eliza Ann Morgan (née Beville) at Trinity Church, Marylebone
. Eliza had herself been previously married to the late George Gould Morgan, of the Tredegar
peerage. Eliza Morgan Claridge died sometime before 1866.
Before his prominence as a hydropathy promoter, Claridge tried his hand in other fields: which indeed some critics alluded he should have stuck with. This included a partnership as a boot and shoe-maker, with the partnership dissolving on February 7, 1824. And as a wine merchant, through at least May 1824 to August 1825, and where early on, he found himself as a potential creditor of a bankrupt. At this time, Claridge resided at 37 Wigmore Street, Marylebone
. Claridge himself was declared bankrupt in 1826.
However, it was another field where Claridge first became prominent, namely that of pioneering the use of asphalt paving in the United Kingdom, which he embarked on after returning from a tour of Europe in 1836. He also served with the Middlesex Militia, attaining the rank of captain, before resigning in 1854. Claridge died in 1857, and his will is held at The National Archives, Kew. At least one portrait of Claridge is known to have been created, by painter James John Hill. It was exhibited in 1844 at the Royal Society of British Artists
, at Suffolk Street, Pall Mall, and titled Portrait of Captain Claridge, Author of Hydropathy, or the Cold-Water Cure.
On June 10, 1837, Bent's Monthly Literary Advertiser carried a brief advertisement announcing the pending release of the book by "Richard T. Claridge, Esq.", with the announcement comprising the book's lengthy title, and noting "Observations on the recent political and social changes in Turkey and Greece. A second edition, with numerous additions, was published in 1839, which Claridge states was prompted by "very favourable reception" of the first edition. One review described it as appearing to convey, "in a concise manner, the necessary directions for a traveller to make a very interesting and instructive tour at the least possible expenditure of both time and money". The second edition incorporated a range of new material, including:
In these publications, Claridge was not yet known as Captain, a title which he only commenced using from the publication of Hydropathy in 1842 onwards. In 1839, Claridge was promoted from Gentleman to Lieutenant in the Royal Westminster Middlesex Regiment of Militia, then in 1842 he was promoted to Captain, before eventually resigning on 24 June 1854. In the meantime, between his 1836 tour of the European Continent, and his hydropathic adventures from the 1840s onwards, Claridge embarked on some pioneering business ventures in asphalt
pavement, obtaining some patents, and setting up a company.
by a competitor of Claridge. But it was Claridge's efforts that were to give the industry impetus. In France, Seyssel asphalt was being successfully implemented for paving by Count de Sassenay. On 25 November 1837, Richard Tappin Claridge (then a "Salisbury Street, gentleman") patented Seyssel asphalt (patent #7849) for use in pavements in Britain, where he managed Sassenay's affairs, Claridge had seen Seyssel asphalt employed in France and Belgium when visiting with Frederick Walter Simms, who worked with him on the introduction of asphalt to Britain. In 1838, Claridge (listed as a gent of 8 Regent St., Middlesex) obtained patents in Scotland on 27 March, and Ireland on 23 April. In 1847, Claridge sold his interest in the patents to the trustees of his company, who in 1851 sought to extend the duration of all three patents, although unsuccessfully.
Apart from the asphalt patents, on 26 April 1842, a six month patent was granted for a composition called "oropholithe" to Claridge and two others, namely Richard Hodgson, and Raoul Armand Joseph Jean Comte de la Chatre (patent #9331). This was a composition used "in preparing fabrics for covering floors, roofs, and other surfaces", which involved coating the fabric on one side for dry applications, or both sides "for roofs and other surfaces exposed to wet and damp". At time of this patent, Claridge was described as living at Weymouth Street, in the County of Middlesex
.
and Isambard Brunel
as, respectively, a trustee and consulting engineer), gave an enormous impetus to the development of a British asphalt industry". Per response to a query on Claridge, "in 1839, the offices of the company were at Stangate, Westminster, as appears in an advertisement in the Athenaeum of 4 May 1838, p.342".
Although asphalt use took off in the 1830s, Mechanic's Magazine noted the existence of a pamphlet from 1621, by "a certain Monsieur d'Eyrinys" stating he had discovered large quantities of asphaltum in the vicinity of Neufchatel, and that prior to his discovery, asphaltum was only known to exist in the Dead Sea. Mechanics Magazine added "we wonder, by-the-bye, no 'Dead Sea Asphalt Company' has yet made its appearance in the market", and wondering whether the lack of such a market take-off in two centuries hinted at limitations of the product. Nevertheless, "By the end of 1838, at least two other companies, Robinson's and the Bastenne company, were in production". Indeed in 1838, there was a flurry of entrepreneurial activity over asphalt, which had uses beyond paving. For example, asphalt could also used for flooring, damp proofing in buildings, and for waterproofing of various types of pools and baths, with these latter themselves proliferating in the 1800s. On the London stockmarket, there were various claims as to the exclusivity of asphalt quality from France, Germany and England. And numerous patents were granted in France, with similar numbers of patent applications being denied in England due to their similarity to each other. In England, "Claridge's was the type most used in the 1840s and 50s", including in such uses as school flooring. In 1847, Claridge's company promoted itself as producing "the only impervious and permanent covering for arches and roofs, and lining of reservoirs, gutters, & c"
In the 1870s, Claridge's company took over asphalt production at Pyrimont Wharf, in Cubitt Town
. "The manufacturing process employed at Cubitt Town involved the heating of bituminous limestone in six large uncovered cauldrons, producing vapours considered offensive by many local residents. The material was employed predominantly for covering and protecting the foundations of buildings. It was employed, for example, at the Tobacco Stores at the Victoria Docks."
- under the title of Clarmac Roads, Ltd", with offices at the same address. Clarmac Roads was a subsidiary company promoted by Claridge's Asphalte Co to manufacture the materials and registered on 14 September 1914. With increasing motor traffic, the directors of Claridge's Asphalte Co thought there was a future for the construction of roads using the tar-bound macadam method, (now commonly known as tarmac
) and invested a substantial amount of funds in the new company, borrowing money to do so. Two products resulted, namely Clarmac, and Clarphalte, with the former being manufactured by Clarmac Roads and the latter by Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co., although Clarmac was more widely used. Scott's Lane, Beckenham
; Dorset Street, Marylebone; Lordswood Road, Birmingham
; Hearsall Lane, Coventry
; Valkyrie Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea
; and Lennard Road, Penge
were photographed as "some amongst many laid with 'Clarmac'"
In 1915, Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co. supplied asphalt for the Strand offices of the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand. In July 1915, Clarmac Roads was in financial difficulties owing to the First World War
, and the Claridge Company directors, believing those difficulties to be temporary, deposited a large amount of debentures with the Clarmac Company's bankers to secure an overdraft. However, the Clarmac Company never recovered. On 16 October 1915, a decision was made to wind up Clarmac Roads and a liquidator duly appointed, and creditor's meeting called. In January 1916, R.T. Wilkinson retired from his position as a director of Claridge's Company, after an association of 63 years. The failure of Clarmac Roads had a flow-on effect to Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company, with a petition to wind it up lodged with the High Court on 2 November 1917 by company director William Allback. Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company finally ceased operating on 10 November 1917, after becoming insolvent following the failure of the joint venture entered into in 1914. The sequel to this was legal action by the liquidator to recover lost funds from Allback, who had played a prominent role in the promotion of Clarmac Roads and investment of funds therein. This case itself is sometimes cited in corporate law, as an early example of exemption from legal liability where the directors of a company sought and obtained legal advice in good faith.
.
Claridge reports that his attention was first seriously drawn to the subject of hydropathy by an officer of marines at Venice, who "Seeing me attacked by rheumatism and head-ache, to both of which complaints I have been subject for the greater part of my life, my friend strongly advised me, in the winter of 1840, to follow his example", and go to Priessnitz's establishment at Graefenberg. This he did, but not before being confined to his bed "for nearly two months", after arriving at Florence in Rome. He stayed at Graefenberg for three months, "during which time the health of that part of my family who were subjected to the treatment was perfectly established; we acquired the habit of living more moderately, of taking more exercise, of drinking more water, and of using it more freely in external ablutions than we were accustomed to; and, I may add, that we have learned how to allay pain". During his time at Graefenberg, Claridge made notes, which would form the foundation of his 1842 Hydropathy book, from his own experiences, his observations of other patients' experiences, and of the methods employed, from his discussions with Priessnitz and other patients. He also collected statistics on patient numbers and break-down by nationality, up to the beginning of September 1841.
Claridge and his family returned to England in November 1841, and stayed at a hotel in Thames Street, until they found lodgings in Weymouth St., where, on 6 January 1842, the cook at the house was alleged to have stolen a quantity of continental lace belonging to Claridge's wife and daughter. The cook was indicted again for theft of other items on 14 February. Both cases were heard on 28 February 1842, and the cook was found not guilty.
.
Some other Englishmen preceded Claridge to Graefenberg, although not many. One of these was Dr. James Wilson, who himself, along with Dr James Manby Gully
, operated a water cure establishment at Malvern
. While acknowledging in an 1843 publication that Claridge did much to promote hydrotherapy, Wilson states that "I had been a considerable time at Graefenberg", and that Claridge "came to Graefenberg some time after I had been there". Nevertheless, in an earlier 1842 publication, Wilson wrote with some praise of Claridge, stating:
Similarly, Sir John E. Eardley-Wilmot
, in his Tribute to Hydropathy, praised Claridge for his "for his strenuous exertions in the cause", to which every hydropathist "owes a deep debt of gratitude". But not everyone wrote favourably, or even kindly, about Claridge and his promotion of hydropathy. One satirical review of Claridge's Hydropathy, playing on both German and English language (e.g. bad=bath in German, but bad in English - see image of hydropathic applications at Graefenberg), summed up the enthusiastic promotion of Priessnitz's water cure thus:
One of the most critical reviews was in The Lancet
medical journal of March 1842, in which Claridge was accused of ignorance and plagiarism, a criticism all the worse for his indulgence in antiquarian research. Moreover, in 1843, doctor Thomas J. Graham wrote somehwat triumphantly that after returning from Graefenberg, "one of the most zealous Hydropathists in this country - a gentleman who in his common conversation speaks most contemptuously of everything but cold water as a remedy for disease", sought his advice for mouth ulcers and bronchial complaints "from which his favourite Cold Water Cure could not deliver him!." Dr Graham "prescribed for him a vegetable alternative, and was favoured thereby to cure him perfectly within six weeks". In a footnote, Graham states "This was no less of a Hydropathist than Captain Claridge".
There were a number of efforts towards sanitary reform in the nineteenth century, and the hydropathy movement is credited with contributing to this. "There can be no doubt that the Bath and Washhouse Movement received a great stimulus through the introduction of Hydropathy into this country, and the consequent dissemination of the curative virtues of water appliances, and sanitary reformers saw the necessity of personal cleanliness in order to ensure perfect health". Metcalfe notes that it was the attention drawn by the publication of Claridge's work "followed by others", that drew attention to hydropathy, "and gave a further stimulus to the movement which resulted in the passing of the Baths and Washhouses Act of Sir George Grey
, in 1846, himself a zealous advocate of hydropathy". A series of statutes followed, which became known collectively as "The Baths and Wash-houses Acts 1846 to 1896". This was an important milestone in the improvement of sanitary conditions and public health in those times, with early, strong support for the promotion of public baths and washhouses from prominent advocates of sanitary reform such as Erasmus Wilson
, who applauded the establishment of Public Baths and Wash-houses, as "amongst the noblest of the institutions…as they are one of the greatest discoveries of the present age". Claridge himself was an early advocate, dating back to a lecture he gave in Edinburgh in 1843. Claridge's Scottish lecture tours highlight overlap of yet another movement with that of hydropathy, namely that of the temperance movement, with both the temperance and hydropathy movements feeding off each other.
Claridge revisited Graefenberg, from where in July 1845, he wrote a letter to the New York Tribune
, which was reproduced in New York's Water Cure Journal in May 1846. And in October 1845, Claridge was one of 124 signatories in an address to Arch-Duke Franz Carl
, extolling the virtues of Vincent Priessnitz and his methods. He sent another letter from Graefenberg on 4 March 1846, this time to an American acquaintance. In this wide-ranging letter, amongst other things he commends the progress of the Water-Cure in America, and describes the progress in Great Britain, including the growth of washhouses. He also comments on some of the criticism against him and other hydropathy proponents, and discusses a book by Dr Erasmus Wilson. He also acknowledges the antiquity of hydropathy, and the work of his predecessors, such as "Dr Sir John Floyer"
, and his work Febrifugum Magnum, and Dr James Currie. On the antiquity of hydropathy, Claridge addresses some of his critics, stating that "we are not urging its novelty, but its UTILITY" (p. 2, emphases in original text), and praises Priessnitz for bringing it to the fore again.
"in the early fifties", after his father had struggled "for nearly a year in New York in search of a practice". A blind colored man named David Ruggles
had previously set up a water cure practice, and after his death in 1849, Charles Munde learned "of the opportunity to take up his favorite method", which led him to pick up where Ruggles left off, thence to the naming of Florence, and accordingly, the name of the Florence Water Cure, also called the Munde Water Cure.
Following its introduction to the U.S., hydrotherapy, as it later became known, was employed by John Harvey Kellogg
at Battle Creek Sanitarium
, which opened in 1866. However, "the crude, but thoroughgoing methods of the original system of Priessnitz, which prospered among the hardy mountaineers of Austrian Silesia, were much too strenuous for more delicately organized and pampered American invalids. This fact, together with the crass empiricism which characterised the use of water in the first half of the last century, when water-cures were for a time almost a fad, brought water into general disrepute as a curative means, and greatly hindered the scientific development of this invaluable agent".
One writer noted that "it is manifest that a great remedial power lies unutilized in a genuine hydropathy, and it calls urgently for earnest study and research", and "Not, be it observed, that hydropathy is a water treatment after all, but that water is the medium for the application of heat and cold to the body". Its utility in that application was not in dispute. Rather, there was a lack of data from reliable scientific investigation into phyisiological mechanisms, and the means "by which the effects of hydropathy can be measured and controlled".
Since then, there has been considerable research and advances in the understanding of underlying physiological mechanisms, including those of circulation and thermoregulation
, and their application to hydrotherapy.
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)
Hardcopy edition.
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)
(Google Books).
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org). Note the pagination is close, but not exactly the same, as the American edition.
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org). Note the pagination is close, but not exactly the same, as the English edition.
Spanish translation of the English book.
. Note, the encyclopaedia lists authors for signed articles, but the Hydropathy article is listed amongst those that are unsigned.
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
contractor and captain in the Middlesex Militia, who became best known for his prominent promotion of hydropathy, now known as hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
, in the 1840s. It was also known as the Cold Water system or Cold Water cure. Claridge is widely credited with introducing the methods of Vincent Priessnitz to England, thus initiating the populist movement of the time. Indeed, much of what is popularly known about Priessnitz in the English-speaking world comes from two seminal publications. Firstly, Claridge's Hydropathy; or The Cold Water Cure, as practiced by Vincent Priessnitz... (1842 & 1843). Secondly, Richard Metcalfe's Life of Vincent Priessnitz (1898), with Metcalfe himself drawing upon Claridge, although Metcalfe also later wrote a historical overview and added more about Claridge and his role in the promotion of hydropathy.
Although name variations such as Richard T. Claridge, Richard Tappin Claridge, and Captain Claridge are found in reference to and by Claridge, the name by which he became most commonly known was Captain R.T. Claridge, hence the title of this article.
Biographical synopsis
Richard Tappin Claridge was born in Farnborough, a village or parish in the county of WarwickshireWarwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, and administered by the Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Stratford-on-Avon (district)
Stratford-on-Avon is a local government district of southern Warwickshire in England.The district is named "Stratford-on-Avon" to distinguish it from its main town of Stratford-upon-Avon where the district council is based, although this name often causes confusion .The district is mostly rural and...
. Claridge, a member of the Arcadian Academy at Rome
Academy of Arcadia
The Academy of Arcadia or Academy of Arcadians was an Italian literary academy founded in Rome in 1690.-History:...
, was the elder and only surviving son of James and Hannah Claridge, and a descendent of church minister and subsequent Quaker, Richard Claridge. Rev. James Claridge was himself a curate in the Established, or Episcopal Church. The Rev. James Claridge died by accident, leaving Richard an orphan at age eight.
Claridge married twice. On 28 June 1822, at St George's, Hanover Square, he married Elizabeth Ann Aldsworth Green, who was the only child of the late William Green, of Bolton Street, Piccadilly, and of Kew, Surrey. In April 1824 they had a daughter named Emma Green, who later married Marie Etienne Charles Henri, Marquis de St. Aignan, and subsequently resided in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. Claridge was a man of independent means, who in 1841 attended Priessnitz's establishment at Graefenberg
Gräfenberg, Bavaria
Gräfenberg is a Franconian town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 16 km southeast of Forchheim and 25 km northeast of Nuremberg.-Location:Gräfenberg is located in the southern part of Little Switzerland....
along with his wife and daughter. He claimed that his promotion of hydropathy was "completely philanthropic. Having gained my own health and saved the life of my daughter at Graefenberg, and having witnessed most astounding cures there", he wanted to promote this system. Elizabeth died on 24 August 1842. Claridge spent some time in Italy, from where around 1847 he continued promoting hydropathy by petition and a letter written at Bagni de Lucco on 12 May 1847. On 7 January 1854, Claridge, now residing at a villa on the left bank of Paillon in Nice, married his second wife, Eliza Ann Morgan (née Beville) at Trinity Church, Marylebone
Holy Trinity Church Marylebone
Holy Trinity Church Marylebone, Westminster, London is a former Anglican church, built in 1828 by Sir John Soane. In 1818 parliament passed an act setting aside one million pounds to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon. This is one of the so-called "Waterloo churches" that were built with the money...
. Eliza had herself been previously married to the late George Gould Morgan, of the Tredegar
Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar
Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. He represented the constituency of Brecon....
peerage. Eliza Morgan Claridge died sometime before 1866.
Before his prominence as a hydropathy promoter, Claridge tried his hand in other fields: which indeed some critics alluded he should have stuck with. This included a partnership as a boot and shoe-maker, with the partnership dissolving on February 7, 1824. And as a wine merchant, through at least May 1824 to August 1825, and where early on, he found himself as a potential creditor of a bankrupt. At this time, Claridge resided at 37 Wigmore Street, Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
. Claridge himself was declared bankrupt in 1826.
However, it was another field where Claridge first became prominent, namely that of pioneering the use of asphalt paving in the United Kingdom, which he embarked on after returning from a tour of Europe in 1836. He also served with the Middlesex Militia, attaining the rank of captain, before resigning in 1854. Claridge died in 1857, and his will is held at The National Archives, Kew. At least one portrait of Claridge is known to have been created, by painter James John Hill. It was exhibited in 1844 at the Royal Society of British Artists
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
, at Suffolk Street, Pall Mall, and titled Portrait of Captain Claridge, Author of Hydropathy, or the Cold-Water Cure.
Before Hydropathy
In 1836, prior to his involvement in the promotion of hydropathy, Claridge journeyed through Europe, making notes along the way, from which he published his first known work in 1837, titled A Guide Along the Danube..., for which he wrote the preface on May 1, 1837, at Venice. This was a tour guide for travel down the Danube, made possible by recent socio-political developments and "the establishment of steam navigation throughout the entire length of the Danube, the Black Sea, the Bosphorous, the Arhipeligo, and the Adriatic", which "converted what was hitherto a journey of toil and danger into one of unmixed pleasure and enjoyment".On June 10, 1837, Bent's Monthly Literary Advertiser carried a brief advertisement announcing the pending release of the book by "Richard T. Claridge, Esq.", with the announcement comprising the book's lengthy title, and noting "Observations on the recent political and social changes in Turkey and Greece. A second edition, with numerous additions, was published in 1839, which Claridge states was prompted by "very favourable reception" of the first edition. One review described it as appearing to convey, "in a concise manner, the necessary directions for a traveller to make a very interesting and instructive tour at the least possible expenditure of both time and money". The second edition incorporated a range of new material, including:
in addition to the voyage down the Danube, and the tour of Constantinople, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, &c., the route from Paris to the Mediterannean, via Marseilles and Malta - the route from Paris to Ancona, via Geneva and Milan - the routes from Paris to Munich, via Nancy, Strasbourg, Badenbaden; and via Metz and Frankfort - the route from Munich to Venice and Trieste, via the Tyrol - the routes from London to the Rhine and the Danube - and the route from Alexandria to Cairo, &c., on the way to India.
In these publications, Claridge was not yet known as Captain, a title which he only commenced using from the publication of Hydropathy in 1842 onwards. In 1839, Claridge was promoted from Gentleman to Lieutenant in the Royal Westminster Middlesex Regiment of Militia, then in 1842 he was promoted to Captain, before eventually resigning on 24 June 1854. In the meantime, between his 1836 tour of the European Continent, and his hydropathic adventures from the 1840s onwards, Claridge embarked on some pioneering business ventures in asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
pavement, obtaining some patents, and setting up a company.
Claridge's patents
The first asphalt patent in Britain was 'Cassell's patent asphalte or bitumen' in 1834, and there was an unsuccessful attempt to use mastic pavement at VauxhallVauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
by a competitor of Claridge. But it was Claridge's efforts that were to give the industry impetus. In France, Seyssel asphalt was being successfully implemented for paving by Count de Sassenay. On 25 November 1837, Richard Tappin Claridge (then a "Salisbury Street, gentleman") patented Seyssel asphalt (patent #7849) for use in pavements in Britain, where he managed Sassenay's affairs, Claridge had seen Seyssel asphalt employed in France and Belgium when visiting with Frederick Walter Simms, who worked with him on the introduction of asphalt to Britain. In 1838, Claridge (listed as a gent of 8 Regent St., Middlesex) obtained patents in Scotland on 27 March, and Ireland on 23 April. In 1847, Claridge sold his interest in the patents to the trustees of his company, who in 1851 sought to extend the duration of all three patents, although unsuccessfully.
Apart from the asphalt patents, on 26 April 1842, a six month patent was granted for a composition called "oropholithe" to Claridge and two others, namely Richard Hodgson, and Raoul Armand Joseph Jean Comte de la Chatre (patent #9331). This was a composition used "in preparing fabrics for covering floors, roofs, and other surfaces", which involved coating the fabric on one side for dry applications, or both sides "for roofs and other surfaces exposed to wet and damp". At time of this patent, Claridge was described as living at Weymouth Street, in the County of Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
.
Formation and growth of Claridge's company
Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company was formed for the purpose of introducing to Britain "Asphalte in its natural state from the mine at Pyrimont Seysell in France", and "laid one of the first asphalt pavements in Whitehall". Trials were made of the pavement in 1838 on the footway in Whitehall, the stable at Knightsbridge Barracks, "and subsequently on the space at the bottom of the steps leading from Waterloo Place to St. James Park". "The formation in 1838 of Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company (with a distinguished list of aristocratic patrons, and MarcMarc Isambard Brunel
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, FRS FRSE was a French-born engineer who settled in England. He preferred the name Isambard, but is generally known to history as Marc to avoid confusion with his more famous son Isambard Kingdom Brunel...
and Isambard Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
as, respectively, a trustee and consulting engineer), gave an enormous impetus to the development of a British asphalt industry". Per response to a query on Claridge, "in 1839, the offices of the company were at Stangate, Westminster, as appears in an advertisement in the Athenaeum of 4 May 1838, p.342".
Although asphalt use took off in the 1830s, Mechanic's Magazine noted the existence of a pamphlet from 1621, by "a certain Monsieur d'Eyrinys" stating he had discovered large quantities of asphaltum in the vicinity of Neufchatel, and that prior to his discovery, asphaltum was only known to exist in the Dead Sea. Mechanics Magazine added "we wonder, by-the-bye, no 'Dead Sea Asphalt Company' has yet made its appearance in the market", and wondering whether the lack of such a market take-off in two centuries hinted at limitations of the product. Nevertheless, "By the end of 1838, at least two other companies, Robinson's and the Bastenne company, were in production". Indeed in 1838, there was a flurry of entrepreneurial activity over asphalt, which had uses beyond paving. For example, asphalt could also used for flooring, damp proofing in buildings, and for waterproofing of various types of pools and baths, with these latter themselves proliferating in the 1800s. On the London stockmarket, there were various claims as to the exclusivity of asphalt quality from France, Germany and England. And numerous patents were granted in France, with similar numbers of patent applications being denied in England due to their similarity to each other. In England, "Claridge's was the type most used in the 1840s and 50s", including in such uses as school flooring. In 1847, Claridge's company promoted itself as producing "the only impervious and permanent covering for arches and roofs, and lining of reservoirs, gutters, & c"
In the 1870s, Claridge's company took over asphalt production at Pyrimont Wharf, in Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town is an area on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is on the east of the Isle, facing Greenwich across the River Thames. To the west is Millwall, to the northwest Canary Wharf and to the north, across the Blue Bridge, Blackwall...
. "The manufacturing process employed at Cubitt Town involved the heating of bituminous limestone in six large uncovered cauldrons, producing vapours considered offensive by many local residents. The material was employed predominantly for covering and protecting the foundations of buildings. It was employed, for example, at the Tobacco Stores at the Victoria Docks."
Last years of Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co.
By 1914, Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company had many contracts in hand, including 70,000 feet of asphalte roofing at HM Stationary Office; damp courses, floors and roofs at British American Tobacco Company's warehouse and W.H. Smith & Sons new printing works. Their expanding business necessitated moving to bigger premises, with their new offices at No. 3 Central Buildings, Westminster. "They also entered another business - that of tarred slag macadamMacadam
Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820. The method simplified what had been considered state-of-the-art at that point...
- under the title of Clarmac Roads, Ltd", with offices at the same address. Clarmac Roads was a subsidiary company promoted by Claridge's Asphalte Co to manufacture the materials and registered on 14 September 1914. With increasing motor traffic, the directors of Claridge's Asphalte Co thought there was a future for the construction of roads using the tar-bound macadam method, (now commonly known as tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
) and invested a substantial amount of funds in the new company, borrowing money to do so. Two products resulted, namely Clarmac, and Clarphalte, with the former being manufactured by Clarmac Roads and the latter by Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co., although Clarmac was more widely used. Scott's Lane, Beckenham
Beckenham
Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
; Dorset Street, Marylebone; Lordswood Road, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
; Hearsall Lane, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
; Valkyrie Avenue, Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea is a suburb of Southend-on-Sea, a seaside resort in the East of England and unitary authority in Essex. It is situated on the northern bank of the Thames Estuary and about 34 miles east of London.-Geography:...
; and Lennard Road, Penge
Penge
Penge is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south east of Charing Cross.-History:Penge was once a small town, which was recorded under the name Penceat in a Saxon deed dating from 957...
were photographed as "some amongst many laid with 'Clarmac'"
In 1915, Claridge's Patent Asphalte Co. supplied asphalt for the Strand offices of the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand. In July 1915, Clarmac Roads was in financial difficulties owing to the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and the Claridge Company directors, believing those difficulties to be temporary, deposited a large amount of debentures with the Clarmac Company's bankers to secure an overdraft. However, the Clarmac Company never recovered. On 16 October 1915, a decision was made to wind up Clarmac Roads and a liquidator duly appointed, and creditor's meeting called. In January 1916, R.T. Wilkinson retired from his position as a director of Claridge's Company, after an association of 63 years. The failure of Clarmac Roads had a flow-on effect to Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company, with a petition to wind it up lodged with the High Court on 2 November 1917 by company director William Allback. Claridge's Patent Asphalte Company finally ceased operating on 10 November 1917, after becoming insolvent following the failure of the joint venture entered into in 1914. The sequel to this was legal action by the liquidator to recover lost funds from Allback, who had played a prominent role in the promotion of Clarmac Roads and investment of funds therein. This case itself is sometimes cited in corporate law, as an early example of exemption from legal liability where the directors of a company sought and obtained legal advice in good faith.
.
Hydropathy and beyond
Claridge wrote a number of works, but his best known, and most widely cited publication was Hydropathy; or The Cold Water Cure, as practiced by Vincent Priessnitz.... The work itself provides an indication of impact and popularity of hydropathy at the time. It was first published in 1842, with the preface to the first edition dated January 21, 1842. In his preface to the third edition, dated May 23, 1842, Claridge noted that the book had "excited considerable attention". It reached its third edition "in the short space of three months", and in that time, "several imperfect extracts in the form of Pamphlets" appeared, and the Hydropathic Society was formed, on 17 March 1842, "at the rooms of the Society of Arts, Adelphi". The fifth edition contains an advertisement (which remained in subsequent editions), stating "it is little more than nine months since the first announcement of the work appeared; and during that brief period of time, five editions, of one thousand copies each, and eight editions of an Abstract, have passed through the press; besides which, several unauthorised publications, in the form of pamphlets, extracted from the work, have been sold in great numbers". With growing popularity among the public, some favourable publications written by a few medical practitioners, and several hydropathic establishments fully operational, Claridge declared that "the year 1842 may be considered as a new era in the mode of curing disease in this country".Claridge reports that his attention was first seriously drawn to the subject of hydropathy by an officer of marines at Venice, who "Seeing me attacked by rheumatism and head-ache, to both of which complaints I have been subject for the greater part of my life, my friend strongly advised me, in the winter of 1840, to follow his example", and go to Priessnitz's establishment at Graefenberg. This he did, but not before being confined to his bed "for nearly two months", after arriving at Florence in Rome. He stayed at Graefenberg for three months, "during which time the health of that part of my family who were subjected to the treatment was perfectly established; we acquired the habit of living more moderately, of taking more exercise, of drinking more water, and of using it more freely in external ablutions than we were accustomed to; and, I may add, that we have learned how to allay pain". During his time at Graefenberg, Claridge made notes, which would form the foundation of his 1842 Hydropathy book, from his own experiences, his observations of other patients' experiences, and of the methods employed, from his discussions with Priessnitz and other patients. He also collected statistics on patient numbers and break-down by nationality, up to the beginning of September 1841.
Claridge and his family returned to England in November 1841, and stayed at a hotel in Thames Street, until they found lodgings in Weymouth St., where, on 6 January 1842, the cook at the house was alleged to have stolen a quantity of continental lace belonging to Claridge's wife and daughter. The cook was indicted again for theft of other items on 14 February. Both cases were heard on 28 February 1842, and the cook was found not guilty.
.
Hydropathy promotion and responses
Following his return to England, Claridge commenced promoting hydropathy in Britain, first in London in 1842, then with lecture tours in Ireland and Scotland in 1843. His 10 week tour in Ireland included Limerick, Cork, Wexford, Dublin and Belfast, over June, July and August 1843, with two subsequent lectures in Glasgow. Claridge states "The leading papers reviewed my work favourably; my lectures in England, Ireland, and Scotland met with serious attention; and baths and wash-houses resulted from a lecture I gave in Edinburgh".Some other Englishmen preceded Claridge to Graefenberg, although not many. One of these was Dr. James Wilson, who himself, along with Dr James Manby Gully
James Manby Gully
Dr James Manby Gully , was a Victorian medical doctor, well known for practising hydrotherapy, or the "water cure". Along with his partner James Wilson, he founded a very successful "hydropathy" clinic in Malvern, Worcestershire, which had many notable Victorians, including such figures as Charles...
, operated a water cure establishment at Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
. While acknowledging in an 1843 publication that Claridge did much to promote hydrotherapy, Wilson states that "I had been a considerable time at Graefenberg", and that Claridge "came to Graefenberg some time after I had been there". Nevertheless, in an earlier 1842 publication, Wilson wrote with some praise of Claridge, stating:
I have read Mr Claridge's work on the 'Cold Water Cure', and I think I ought to notice it. As a non-professional man, it does him infinite credit; he has collected a considerable body of evidence from the works of professional as well as non-professional men, and it will always be read with interest by the advocates of this system. Such men as Mr Claridge ought not to be abused, for he could have no pocket motive in its production; all that can be said is that he is a little enthusiastic in these matters - a little enthusiasm does a great deal of good sometimes, when the motives are such as Mr Claridge's.
Similarly, Sir John E. Eardley-Wilmot
Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, 2nd Baronet
Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot, 2nd Baronet was a politician and judge in the United Kingdom.He served as Member of Parliament for South Warwickshire from 1874 to 1885.Sir John E...
, in his Tribute to Hydropathy, praised Claridge for his "for his strenuous exertions in the cause", to which every hydropathist "owes a deep debt of gratitude". But not everyone wrote favourably, or even kindly, about Claridge and his promotion of hydropathy. One satirical review of Claridge's Hydropathy, playing on both German and English language (e.g. bad=bath in German, but bad in English - see image of hydropathic applications at Graefenberg), summed up the enthusiastic promotion of Priessnitz's water cure thus:
it has been our good fortune, since reading Claridge on Hydropathy, to see a sick drake avail himself of the "Cold Water Cure" at the dispensary in St. James's-park. First in waddling in, he took a Fuss-Bad; then he took a Sitz-bad, and then, turning his curly tail up into the air, he took a Kopf-Bad. Lastly, he rose almost upright on his latter end, and made such a triumphant flapping with his wings, that we really expected he was going to shout "Priessnitz for ever!" But no such thing. He only cried, "Quack! Quack! Quack!
One of the most critical reviews was in The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
medical journal of March 1842, in which Claridge was accused of ignorance and plagiarism, a criticism all the worse for his indulgence in antiquarian research. Moreover, in 1843, doctor Thomas J. Graham wrote somehwat triumphantly that after returning from Graefenberg, "one of the most zealous Hydropathists in this country - a gentleman who in his common conversation speaks most contemptuously of everything but cold water as a remedy for disease", sought his advice for mouth ulcers and bronchial complaints "from which his favourite Cold Water Cure could not deliver him!." Dr Graham "prescribed for him a vegetable alternative, and was favoured thereby to cure him perfectly within six weeks". In a footnote, Graham states "This was no less of a Hydropathist than Captain Claridge".
Hydropathy and related movements
Nevertheless, Claridge and others continued their efforts, and the hydropathic movement gained considerable interest. When Hydropathy was first published in 1842, there were two prominent water-cure establishments. Ten years later, there were 24 establishments in Britain and Ireland, with many famous enough to be known simply by the owner's name. Surveying the publications on hydropathy from 1820 up to 1850, Metcalfe lists 69 authors of English works, and two Water-cure journals - one in London (from 1847) and one in America (from 1845). He also listed 136 authors of German works, 48 of French works, 43 of Latin works, and nine in other languages. Hydropathic establishments also flourished. In Europe, hydropathy was already well established at the time of Claridge's first visit: In his Hydropathy book, he listed 47 known establishments as at 1840. By October 1845, Claridge noted that "in Germany, there are at least fifty; France, Switzerland, the Tyrol, Hungary, Russia, Ireland, Scotland, all have their institutions, and England counts at least twenty, besides private individuals who are introducing it into their practice; and to show its dissemination, it is only necessary to state that at Graefenberg, at this moment, there are amongst the visitors some of the leading nobles of England, Russia, Poland, Austria and Italy". A 1997 review of the hydropathic movement states: "At the peak of the movement in the late nineteenth century there were over fifty hydropathic hotels in Britain, of which the best-known were Smedley's at Matlock in Derbyshire and Ben Rhydding near Leeds. Scotland, however, was over-represented with over twenty", while Ireland had one.There were a number of efforts towards sanitary reform in the nineteenth century, and the hydropathy movement is credited with contributing to this. "There can be no doubt that the Bath and Washhouse Movement received a great stimulus through the introduction of Hydropathy into this country, and the consequent dissemination of the curative virtues of water appliances, and sanitary reformers saw the necessity of personal cleanliness in order to ensure perfect health". Metcalfe notes that it was the attention drawn by the publication of Claridge's work "followed by others", that drew attention to hydropathy, "and gave a further stimulus to the movement which resulted in the passing of the Baths and Washhouses Act of Sir George Grey
Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet
Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet, PC was a British Whig politician. He held office under four Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, Lord Aberdeen, and Lord Palmerston, and notably served three times as Home Secretary.-Background and education:Grey was the only son of Sir George Grey, 1st...
, in 1846, himself a zealous advocate of hydropathy". A series of statutes followed, which became known collectively as "The Baths and Wash-houses Acts 1846 to 1896". This was an important milestone in the improvement of sanitary conditions and public health in those times, with early, strong support for the promotion of public baths and washhouses from prominent advocates of sanitary reform such as Erasmus Wilson
William James Erasmus Wilson
Sir William James Erasmus 'Orgasmus' Wilson FRCS FRS , generally known as Sir Erasmus Wilson, was an English surgeon and dermatologist.-Biography:...
, who applauded the establishment of Public Baths and Wash-houses, as "amongst the noblest of the institutions…as they are one of the greatest discoveries of the present age". Claridge himself was an early advocate, dating back to a lecture he gave in Edinburgh in 1843. Claridge's Scottish lecture tours highlight overlap of yet another movement with that of hydropathy, namely that of the temperance movement, with both the temperance and hydropathy movements feeding off each other.
Claridge revisited Graefenberg, from where in July 1845, he wrote a letter to the New York Tribune
New York Tribune
The New York Tribune was an American newspaper, first established by Horace Greeley in 1841, which was long considered one of the leading newspapers in the United States...
, which was reproduced in New York's Water Cure Journal in May 1846. And in October 1845, Claridge was one of 124 signatories in an address to Arch-Duke Franz Carl
Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria from the House of Habsburg was father of two emperors as well as the grandfather of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination sparked the hostilities that led to the outbreak of World War I, and the greatgrandfather of the last Habsburg...
, extolling the virtues of Vincent Priessnitz and his methods. He sent another letter from Graefenberg on 4 March 1846, this time to an American acquaintance. In this wide-ranging letter, amongst other things he commends the progress of the Water-Cure in America, and describes the progress in Great Britain, including the growth of washhouses. He also comments on some of the criticism against him and other hydropathy proponents, and discusses a book by Dr Erasmus Wilson. He also acknowledges the antiquity of hydropathy, and the work of his predecessors, such as "Dr Sir John Floyer"
John Floyer
Sir John Floyer , English physician and author, was the third child and second son of Elizabeth Babington and Richard Floyer, of Hints Hall, a since demolished country house. Hints is a quiet village lying a short distance from Lichfield in Staffordshire...
, and his work Febrifugum Magnum, and Dr James Currie. On the antiquity of hydropathy, Claridge addresses some of his critics, stating that "we are not urging its novelty, but its UTILITY" (p. 2, emphases in original text), and praises Priessnitz for bringing it to the fore again.
Hydropathy in the United States of America
In the United States of America, the first hydropathic facility has been attributed to Joel Shew (1816–1855), in 1843 or 1844, and to Russell Thatcher Trall ('R.T. Trall'. 1812-1877) in 1844. Metcalfe credits Dr Charles Munde with the first facility, although this is not supported by Munde himself, or by historical evidence now available. Munde describes himself as becoming familiar with Priessnitz' methods around 1836, and later migrating from Germany, where he treated scarlet fever cases in Dresden during the winter of 1845-46. Munde's son recalls that the family went to the area now called Florence, MassachusettsFlorence, Massachusetts
Florence is a village in the northwestern portion of the city of Northampton, near Westhampton and Williamsburg in the U.S. state of Massachusetts.-The naming of Florence, Massachusetts:The name "Florence" was suggested by neurologist Dr...
"in the early fifties", after his father had struggled "for nearly a year in New York in search of a practice". A blind colored man named David Ruggles
David Ruggles
David Ruggles was an anti-slavery activist who was active in the New York Committee of Vigilance and the Underground Railroad. He was an "African-American printer in New York City during the 1830s", who "was the prototype for black activist journalists of his time"...
had previously set up a water cure practice, and after his death in 1849, Charles Munde learned "of the opportunity to take up his favorite method", which led him to pick up where Ruggles left off, thence to the naming of Florence, and accordingly, the name of the Florence Water Cure, also called the Munde Water Cure.
Following its introduction to the U.S., hydrotherapy, as it later became known, was employed by John Harvey Kellogg
John Harvey Kellogg
John Harvey Kellogg was an American medical doctor in Battle Creek, Michigan, who ran a sanitarium using holistic methods, with a particular focus on nutrition, enemas and exercise. Kellogg was an advocate of vegetarianism and is best known for the invention of the corn flakes breakfast cereal...
at Battle Creek Sanitarium
Battle Creek Sanitarium
The Battle Creek Sanitarium, in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States, first opened on September 5, 1866, as the Western Health Reform Institute, based on the health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1876, John Harvey Kellogg became the superintendent, and his brother, W....
, which opened in 1866. However, "the crude, but thoroughgoing methods of the original system of Priessnitz, which prospered among the hardy mountaineers of Austrian Silesia, were much too strenuous for more delicately organized and pampered American invalids. This fact, together with the crass empiricism which characterised the use of water in the first half of the last century, when water-cures were for a time almost a fad, brought water into general disrepute as a curative means, and greatly hindered the scientific development of this invaluable agent".
Hydropathy marketing disputed, not its principles or mechanisms
Kellogg's comments echo that of earlier medical commentators, who took issue not with the underlying principles hydropathy, nor the mechanisms which were not yet fully understood, but with the way in which it was promoted, and indeed, marketed. For example, in November 1881, the British Medical Journal noted that hydropathy was a specific instance, or "particular case", of general principles of thermodynamics. That is, "the application of heat and cold in general", as it applies to physiology, mediated by hydropathy. What was at issue was "that the application of such rules having in general received so special a form has led to forms of treatment called by certain special and almost sectarian names, and too often associated with certain places", and worse, "with the use of certain special, though quite common, waters". Indeed, while the underlying principles of hydropathy "certainly do belong to the general practice of medicine" it had,
through the advertising of public companies and other even more objectionable practices, come to be associated in the public mind with so much mysticism as almost to justify the accusation of quackery and delusion. Yet this is happily dying out; and, no doubt, as the education of the public increases, it will tend to disappear altogether, especially if broad principles be kept steadily before the public rather than narrow and isolated details".
One writer noted that "it is manifest that a great remedial power lies unutilized in a genuine hydropathy, and it calls urgently for earnest study and research", and "Not, be it observed, that hydropathy is a water treatment after all, but that water is the medium for the application of heat and cold to the body". Its utility in that application was not in dispute. Rather, there was a lack of data from reliable scientific investigation into phyisiological mechanisms, and the means "by which the effects of hydropathy can be measured and controlled".
The British Medical Journal concurred with this writer on all counts, noting that there were "simple generalisations" that could be deduced regarding the effects of heat and cold on physiological processes, and lamenting the lack of such generalisations by "therapeutical authorities", let alone scientific investigations.
Probably however, nothing has done more to repel earnest research than the suspicion of quackery which taints the practice that ordinariliy goes by this name. Huge establishments can only be made to pay by full houses well kept up, and this is found as a rule to require that their calling be magnified in ways which are at once too special and popular to be scientific and genuine.
Since then, there has been considerable research and advances in the understanding of underlying physiological mechanisms, including those of circulation and thermoregulation
Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different...
, and their application to hydrotherapy.
Known Publications by Claridge
This list comprises known publications by Claridge. Apart from the Spanish translation and the Abstract of Hydropathy, the primary sources here are Metcalfe, who lists all of Claridge's publications so far referred to in this article, and Browne, who gives a brief mention of Claridge and his works on the first page of her article.Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)
Hardcopy edition.
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org)
(Google Books).
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org). Note the pagination is close, but not exactly the same, as the American edition.
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org). Note the pagination is close, but not exactly the same, as the English edition.
Spanish translation of the English book.
Further reading
Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org). Note, the encyclopaedia lists authors for signed articles, but the Hydropathy article is listed amongst those that are unsigned.