The diaries of Anglican clergyman James Woodforde are one of the 18th century’s best known primary sources. Woodforde, a parson in Weston, just outside Norfolk, penned regular entries in his diary for more than 44 years.

Unlike similar documents, Woodforde’s diaries contain nothing scandalous, saucy or incriminating. He never married nor entertained the thought, choosing instead to live with his niece. Most of Woodforde’s entries are concerned with the goings-on in his parish, such as births, deaths and marriages, visitors to the rectory, and the lavish meals he attended with other clergymen. He also made regular observations about the weather, mentioning after one cold night that all the chamberpots in his house had frozen.

Woodforde also mentioned whenever someone close to him was unwell. When his niece Nancy fell ill with a fever, the parson consulted his doctor and was given a complicated procedure involving emetics, warm water, rhubarb, laudanum, bark and powders. But when his servant boy developed the same symptoms, Parson Woodforde’s approach was much simpler:

“My boy Jack had another touch of the ague about noon. I gave him a dram of gin at the beginning… and pushed him headlong into one of my ponds and ordered him to bed immediately… he was better after it…”

Source: James Woodforde, The Diary of a Country Parson 1758-1802, May 22nd 1779, March 13th 1784. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.