THE THREEPENNY DOCTOR OF HACKNEY.
Dr Henry Percy Jelley opened his surgery for the working class people of Hackney and Homerton in 1911 at 172-174 Homerton High Street.
Here he also ran a “lying in hospital”, for mothers after childbirth.
In the year he arrived in Hackney he was married for the second time, to Florrie Glenham, at St Barnabas Church, which was filled with crowds of women and children cheering wildly and scattering confetti everywhere. Irascible to a fault, he nevertheless won hearts and minds by frequent acts of unexpected generosity and kindness. People recalled that on some occasions he visited homes where patients lay sick, bringing his own coal and firewood, and would get down on his hands and knees to light and tend the fire himself. On other occasions he brought food to homes where starvation threatened. Unsurprisingly, as Dr Tanner records ,his behaviour attracted the attention of Parliament, where it was interpreted as the result of severe over-strain and under-payment under the new (National Insurance) Act.’ However, Dr Jelley could not be legislated out of existence. The Times came to the support of Jelley on the 8th February 1913, writing that he was a man who could not be stopped by legislation, and that ‘All the people who used to go to him in troops had gone to him again. They had faith in him.’
Becoming something of a local hero, and known as “the threepenny doctor”, Dr Jelley boasted of being able to treat more than 100 patients an hour. At one time he claimed to have an average of 435 patients a day. At a time when the poor could barely afford to visit doctors and health insurance didn’t exist, he provided a very cheap service to locals – sometimes waiving his fee for those who could not afford to pay: he would prefer them to use the little money they had to buy meat and vegetables, or to have a drink and go out to socialise on a Friday.
In 1911 the sight of Dr Jelley - dressed in a frock coat and top hat - travelling around the borough between patients on a a penny-farthing was a familiar sight, and over time he became a well-known local eccentric, often fined for haring around with whatever vehicle he was driving (in later years, a battered car), possibly drunkenly and dangerously.
Anecdotes that have passed down through history, and possibly some mythology, paint a picture of a man who was almost a folk hero, and it seems some of his medical advice may share more with modern holistic approaches to mental health than traditional Edwardian methods - it has been noted that his “common sense cures” included those similar to talking therapy, and he encouraged eating well.
Despite the fact that Dr Jelley was not an easy man - he had no bedside manner, and he would speak in a monotone voice with no inflection - he lived among the people and was much loved in the community.
But he resisted any attempt to regulate his practice. Jelley came before the local magistrates on a number of charges: striking a child, libelling a schoolmaster and performing abortions, illegal at that time. There were also more serious charges including a murder trial, at which he insisted in defending himself. The jury took just 20 minutes to find him guilty of a reduced charge of manslaughter, for which he was imprisoned for three years. Within days this triggered nearly 3000 letters and a huge petition of support.
Jelley returned to Homerton on his release, but could not return to medicine as he had been struck off. He opened a shop further down Homerton High Street selling men’s clothing, and making use of the tailoring skills he had acquired in prison. His behaviour continued to offer many reasons to question the judgement of this famous Hackney figure - he placed notices all over this shop complaining about the police and his neighbour’s chickens, who he once threatened to shoot - but he retained a longstanding reputation as a doctor for the people.
Dr Henry Percy Jelley opened his surgery for the working class people of Hackney and Homerton in 1911 at 172-174 Homerton High Street.
Here he also ran a “lying in hospital”, for mothers after childbirth.
In the year he arrived in Hackney he was married for the second time, to Florrie Glenham, at St Barnabas Church, which was filled with crowds of women and children cheering wildly and scattering confetti everywhere. Irascible to a fault, he nevertheless won hearts and minds by frequent acts of unexpected generosity and kindness. People recalled that on some occasions he visited homes where patients lay sick, bringing his own coal and firewood, and would get down on his hands and knees to light and tend the fire himself. On other occasions he brought food to homes where starvation threatened. Unsurprisingly, as Dr Tanner records ,his behaviour attracted the attention of Parliament, where it was interpreted as the result of severe over-strain and under-payment under the new (National Insurance) Act.’ However, Dr Jelley could not be legislated out of existence. The Times came to the support of Jelley on the 8th February 1913, writing that he was a man who could not be stopped by legislation, and that ‘All the people who used to go to him in troops had gone to him again. They had faith in him.’
Becoming something of a local hero, and known as “the threepenny doctor”, Dr Jelley boasted of being able to treat more than 100 patients an hour. At one time he claimed to have an average of 435 patients a day. At a time when the poor could barely afford to visit doctors and health insurance didn’t exist, he provided a very cheap service to locals – sometimes waiving his fee for those who could not afford to pay: he would prefer them to use the little money they had to buy meat and vegetables, or to have a drink and go out to socialise on a Friday.
In 1911 the sight of Dr Jelley - dressed in a frock coat and top hat - travelling around the borough between patients on a a penny-farthing was a familiar sight, and over time he became a well-known local eccentric, often fined for haring around with whatever vehicle he was driving (in later years, a battered car), possibly drunkenly and dangerously.
Anecdotes that have passed down through history, and possibly some mythology, paint a picture of a man who was almost a folk hero, and it seems some of his medical advice may share more with modern holistic approaches to mental health than traditional Edwardian methods - it has been noted that his “common sense cures” included those similar to talking therapy, and he encouraged eating well.
Despite the fact that Dr Jelley was not an easy man - he had no bedside manner, and he would speak in a monotone voice with no inflection - he lived among the people and was much loved in the community.
But he resisted any attempt to regulate his practice. Jelley came before the local magistrates on a number of charges: striking a child, libelling a schoolmaster and performing abortions, illegal at that time. There were also more serious charges including a murder trial, at which he insisted in defending himself. The jury took just 20 minutes to find him guilty of a reduced charge of manslaughter, for which he was imprisoned for three years. Within days this triggered nearly 3000 letters and a huge petition of support.
Jelley returned to Homerton on his release, but could not return to medicine as he had been struck off. He opened a shop further down Homerton High Street selling men’s clothing, and making use of the tailoring skills he had acquired in prison. His behaviour continued to offer many reasons to question the judgement of this famous Hackney figure - he placed notices all over this shop complaining about the police and his neighbour’s chickens, who he once threatened to shoot - but he retained a longstanding reputation as a doctor for the people.
🏆4