Floyd Minter Peck

Floyd Minter Peck was born in 1820, the eldest son of another Newmarket medic Robert James Peck and wife Sarah (née Minter, hence Floyd’s middle name) – see The Pecks for more details about the wider family, including the unusual name Floyd. It’s not known where in Newmarket the Pecks were living when Floyd was born. However, by 1850 they’d been living in Mentmore House on the High Street ‘for many years’. They were there on the 1841 census, and the practice was recorded as being on the High Street a couple of years earlier than that, in 1839. Mentmore House is on the St Mary’s north side of the High Street, and all 13 Peck siblings were baptised at St Mary’s church (1820-1834), showing that the family lived on that side of town. So it’s quite likely that Floyd was born in Mentmore House, although in 1821 it was owned by a George Haxall, but he owned two other properties nearby as well. The Pecks possibly rented the house from him initially, like the Grays with Lushington House. Mentmore House is the building in between the Crown and Waggon & Horses (for many years now largely The Lancer restaurant, and other little shop on the ground floor).

In 1834, when 14 years of age, Floyd became an apprentice to his father. That was the normal age to start such an apprenticeship (see The history of medical treatments, training, qualifications and regulation). Floyd was his father’s fifth apprentice, the other four having been significantly earlier, the last having completed his training in 1828 (see the page on Robert James Peck for more details). Interestingly, his father had advertised for a pupil a year before Floyd started, a position that doesn’t appear to have been filled, so his appointment was timely. Floyd would have worked alongside Andrew Ross as well as his father, who in 1833 had become a partner in the practice. Perhaps Floyd covered the practice for both when they attended a meeting together at Bury St Edmund’s in 1835?

In 1836 Robert Peck wrote a will in which he mentioned that all his ‘medical, philosophical and ecclesiastical books’ and ‘surgical instruments’ should be given to his eldest son ffloyd ‘on his attaining the age of twenty one years if he continue in the profession of a surgeon but not otherwise’. He did continue, and by 1837 had started attending medical lectures in London, seemingly whist still an apprentice in Newmarket. He went to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London for 18 months of his training too, before obtaining his LSA and MRCS qualifications in 1841. The records of his LSA examination note that he attended lectures in anatomy and physiology, including anatomical demonstrations and dissections, chemistry, materia medica and botany, the general principles and practice of medicine and clinical matters, midwifery, and forensic medicine. Interestingly the 1841 census captures him living in a household with other medical students in London and defined as a surgeon, possibly having just passed his MRCS at that stage, a few weeks before his LSA examination (see image below).

Soon after qualification Floyd returned to Newmarket to work with his father. At that stage, as far as we know, Robert Peck had been working alone with no colleagues since the departure of his partner Andrew Ross in 1837, so Floyd would have been a welcome addition to the practice, which had been used to apprentices/assistants/partners (there might of course have been an as yet undiscovered assistant in the gap). In early 1842 Floyd became medical officer for Division 3 of the Newmarket Union, which at that time comprised the villages of Woodditton, Cheveley, Ashley, Moulton and Kennett. In 1843 he’s recorded attending an emergency at the Crown, involving someone who apparently was a patient of Richard Faircloth. Presumably Floyd was first on the scene, being called upon living in Mentmore House, next door to the Crown. Especially interesting is what Floyd did; he ‘bled’ the patient – i.e. ‘blood-letting’ (again see The history of medical treatments, training, qualifications and regulation). Also in 1843 we see more regarding Floyd’s medical practice. He gave some advice regarding a Typhus fever outbreak in Moulton (which includes an interesting description of Moulton at that time – click here for full details). This account also shows his concern about some bureaucratic inefficiencies in the medical system of his day. (See the references below for some further interesting cases that he was involved with.)

In 1844 a Suffolk trade directory listed ‘Peck Rt. James and Son’ under ‘Surgeons’ in Newmarket, and the same year he appears to have been present at the post mortem of one of his father’s cases, which was written up by a Bury St Edmunds consultant in the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal (see the page on Robert James Peck for details). However, about the same time in 1844 Floyd resigned his Newmarket Union role (which was taken up by his father) and left ‘to practice in his Profession in the County of Kent’, where in 1846 he was in partnership with his uncle, Michael Minter (a fellow ex-apprentice of Robert James Peck). It appears that perhaps Floyd was based in Sandgate and Michael Minter in Sandgate Rd., Folkestone. Both were surgeons to the Folkestone Dispensary. Michael Minter had been practising in Folkestone since about 1838/9. It’s possible this move was to fill the shoes of John Gill, who died in 1844, and possibly had been involved with the training of Robert James Peck (see The Pecks for more details).

In March 1847 Floyd married Anna Maria Robertson at Hammersmith and initially continued to work in Folkestone. He’s last recorded there in August 1847, then by early 1848 he appears to have re-joined his father in Newmarket, since when his first child was born at that time she was described as a daughter to ‘Mrs. F. M. Peck, of Newmarket’. Moreover, when Robert James Peck died unexpectedly in November 1848 Floyd took back his previous role in the Newmarket Union and in the minutes he’s noted to already be his father’s named substitute, and is described as his partner. The 1848 Medical Directory also places Floyd in Newmarket (presumably this was compiled before November, likely at the start of the year, or even late 1847, which is perhaps why Michael Minter’s 1848 entry in Folkestone still mentions ‘Minter and Peck’).

Following his father’s death, Floyd had the option to take on the family home according to the 1836 will mentioned above, but he did not take that up. Presumably though he practised from Mentmore House until 1850 when it was put up for auction. An 1851 trade directory appears to place him in Railway Street, part of what’s now All Saints’ Rd (using the name Robert Peck interestingly, so the accuracy of this entry must be in question). However, the 1851 census puts Floyd Peck and family at the west end of the High Street on the southern All Saints’ side, probably in what was later to be named Cardigan Lodge (see the page on Cardigan Lodge for details – which was likely rented). Consistent with that, all of his children from 1851 onwards were baptised at All Saints’ church.

It’s of note that in October 1849 Michael Minter together with Floyd’s sister Ann (by that stage married to a medic from Bedford) emigrated to Australia, along with numerous other non-medical members of the extended family, including Floyd’s younger sister, brother and a sister in law too (see The Pecks for more details). Floyd, his wife and family, were to follow over 8 years later. Why they chose to stay in Newmarket for 8 more years is not clear. Were there reasons related to continuing, building up and passing on the practice – perhaps partly financial (practices were bought and sold)? Did he want to see his mother settled and secure? Sometime during this period the rest of the Peck family largely relocated to Folkestone, and in his father’s 1836 will Floyd had been tasked with paying his mother £50 per year out of the business were he to succeed to it on his father’s death. Did he want to wait to see how things were going for the earlier emigrants too? Perhaps his decision was multifactorial – most things are! However, the fact that he didn’t take up the option of buying the house suggests that he likely had plans/dreams that took time to come to fruition for one reason or another.

So he continued in Newmarket, seemingly doing well. From 1851 he’s recorded as the deputy coroner for Cambridgeshire, a role which seems to have taken him further afield, as would be expected (again see the references below) and which he held until his emigration in 1858. Likewise he continued his Newmarket Union role. He was also surgeon to the Duke of Rutland’s Cheveley estate. These posts would have been in addition to his everyday work amongst the people of Newmarket and surrounding villages as surgeon-apothecary and ‘general practitioner’ as he called himself on the 1851 census, an early Newmarket use of that term (again see The history of medical treatments, training, qualifiactions and regulation). In addition, Floyd was a member of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association (the forerunner of the BMA) but resigned in 1854 for unknown reasons.

A bit like his father, Floyd also had a series of apprentices/assistants, although not so well documented, and most appear to have been short term assistants rather than apprentices. In 1849 an assistant called Capron was mentioned in the Newmarket Union minutes. On the 1851 census Thomas John Kennett was described as his ‘pupil and student of medicine’, although there’s no evidence that he ever qualified. This was possibly the same person described as his assistant in a newspaper report a month after the census was taken. However, he had an assistant named Henry Padwick Butler later in 1851 who was charged with robbery! Then a month after that his Cook was in trouble for theft as well – not a good year in the Peck household! However, the way that Floyd dealt with the Cook incident is an interesting example of wisdom and grace (again see the references below). Further assistants Osborne in 1852 and Pennington in 1856 are mentioned in the records too.

In 1857 it appears Floyd had to reply to a complaint regarding his dealings with a poor law patient. His response to this was deemed satisfactory by the Newmarket Union Board of Guardians. It’s an interesting feature of the Newmarket Union minutes that the poor law medical officers not infrequently had complaints that were formally investigated and responded to. So such things were a part of life as a medic even in the 19th century and not a modern development, which seems quite surprising (see examples on other pages of this website regarding Richard Faircloth’s assistant in 1849, and others listed there).

1857 also saw Floyd taking on a partner, William Henry Day, first mentioned in September of that year as his substitute in case of absence from his Newmarket Union work. However, this was obviously a brief handover partnership, since by the end of January 1858 Floyd was on his way to Australia. His medical activity in Newmarket continued until surprisingly close to his departure date. He didn’t resign from his Newmarket Union role until 15th January and he was at a coroner’s inquest in Soham as late as 18th January. After Floyd had left, William Day covered his Newmarket Union role until elections for a successor were held, at which point the rival practice of Page and Mead obtained the role, in the form of George Borwick Mead. The Cheveley Estate role went the same way, and his deputy coroner role went to a Mr York.

During his time in Newmarket, Floyd would have seen the dramatic demise of the Norton, Taylor and Kendall practice during 1830s as he was growing up, with the eventual death of Mark Bullen in 1839 shortly before Floyd qualified. His medical contemporaries in town during the 1840s and 50s would have been Frederick Page (alongside George Borwick Mead at the end), Robert Fyson with Samuel Gamble, and Richard Faircloth, the four practices that came to dominate the 19th century, two of which are still going today (the Pecks practice as The Rookery Medical Centre – see The Rookery practice chain; and see also the page on Richard Faircloth for his significant role in the medical history of Newmarket, whose practice led to both other practices of today).

It took several months for Floyd et al. to get to Australia (the Colony of Victoria) where he established himself in practice at Sale in Gippsland. His house (Grassdale) still exists and is one of the earliest surviving examples in the area, regarded as of special historical significance. Sadly Floyd’s wife died shortly after the birth of their 6th child in 1859. The following year he remarried, and in 1862 the family moved to the centre of Sale, but in 1864 Floyd himself died of a rapid overwhelming infection, the details of which seem a little unclear. Interestingly his practice in Sale was continued by his brother in law George Dixon Hedley (See The Pecks for more details).

During his time in Australia, aside from his medical work, Floyd was known for his involvement in the church and to have played the cello. There’s even a stained glass window in his memory, now in Sale Cathedral (see images left and right).

Floyd Minter Peck is one of the most interesting characters from Newmarket’s medical history, not least because he left to pursue a dream, even if it didn’t last very long, as another interesting character on this website, Francis Greene, would be quick to warn us about. In fact Floyd was almost certainly aware of Francis’ thoughts, prominent near the entrance to St Mary’s church, and appears to have heeded them. It’s unlikely Floyd knew that Francis had been a fellow medic well over a century before him though. I hope they have since met and had an interesting discussion, in a better dream emigration (Hebrews 11:13-16); one day I hope to join in!

 

Image sources and acknowledgements:-

Image 1: From The Synan Collection (cropped); image ©, reproduced with kind permission of Ann Synan. 

Image 2: The 1841 census, reference HO107/724/12 (cropped); image ©, reproduced with kind permission of The National Archives.

Image 3: From a copy of the Medical Directories at The Society of Apothecaries Archives, London; reproduced with kind permission of The Society of Apothecaries Archives. [Note: for further details regarding this publication see the references and other sources consulted sections below.]

Image 4: From the Ferguson and Urie website (cropped); image ©, reproduced with kind permission of the Ferguson and Urie website. [Note: click here for the source.]

Image 5: From the Ferguson and Urie website (cropped); image ©, reproduced with kind permission of the Ferguson and Urie website. [Note: click here for the source.]

Note: see comments regarding images and copyright © etc. on the Usage &c. page as well. 

Relevant references in chronological order

1819, 3rd July: Under marriages, ‘Saturday se’nnight Mr. Peck, surgeon, of Newmarket, to Sarah, youngest daughter of J. Minter, Esq. of Folkstone [sic].’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday July 14 1819: 2.

1820, 26th August: ‘Ffloyd Minter’ Peck son of Robert James and Sarah baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference J552/9, microfilm of Newmarket St Mary’s parish register, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: see the family Bible source below regarding his actual date of birth and other family details.]

1821: George Haxall in possession of property number 206 in the High Street on the Newmarket St Mary’s 1821 enclosure map (he also possessed two other properties round the corner). Reference: FL610/1/6, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: see the page on Mentmore House also.]

1833, 25th February: ‘Mr. PECK, SURGEON, NEWMARKET, re-spectfully announces to his Friends and the Public generally, that he has received his Friend and late Assistant, Mr. ROSS, M.R.C.S. Ed. into Partnership. N.B. A Vacancy for a well-educated Youth as Pupil. 25th of February.’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Feb 27 1833: 3. [Note: see the page on Andrew Ross for an image.]

1835, 18th September: ‘R. G. [sic] Peck’ and ‘J. [sic] Ross’ Newmarket signatories to ‘EASTERN PROVINCIAL Medical & Surgical Association. We, the undersigned, feeling that it is desirable to establish a Society of the above denomination, request those GENTLEMEN of the FACULTY, residing in the counties of NORFOLK, ESSEX, and SUFFOLK, and also in CAMBRIDGESHIRE, LINCOLNSHIRE, and HUNTINGDONSHIRE, who are willing to promote the measure, to meet at the ANGEL INN, BURY ST. EDMUND’s, at One o’clock, on FRIDAY, the 25th day of September instant, for the purpose of setting on foot the said Society.’ Reference: Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. Friday Sept 18 1835: 3.

1836, 19th October: The will of ‘Robert James Peck of Newmarket in the County of Suffolk Surgeon’ (probate 30th December 1848). Reference: The National Archives, Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/2085/122. [Note: he mentions that all his ‘medical, philosophical and ecclesiastical books’ and ‘surgical instruments’ should be given to his eldest son ffloyd ‘on his attaining the age of twenty one years if he continue in the profession of a surgeon but not otherwise’. He mentions that if ffloyd should ‘succeed to the half of the business of a Surgeon and Apothecary in which I am now engaged’ (the other half would have been Andrew Ross at the point of writing this will) he should pay Sarah Peck his widow £50 per year out of the profits of the business. He also mentions that ffloyd be given first refusal on the sale of his home i.e. his Newmarket residence, but interestingly also mentions his ‘copyhold messuage and heretidaments holden of the Manor of Swaffham Prior’.]

1837, 1st July: ‘Notice is hereby given, that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between the undersigned, Robert James Peck and Andrew Ross, both of Newmarket, in the county of Suffolk, Surgeons and Apothecaries, was, on the 1st day of July instant, dissolved by mutual consent.- Dated this 4th day of July 1837.’ Reference: The London Gazette. July 7 1837; Issue 19517: 1728.

1839: ‘Peck Robert James, High st’ listed under ‘Surgeons & Apothecaries’ in ‘Newmarket and Neighbourhood’ Cambridgeshire. Reference: Pigot and Co.’s royal national and commercial directory and topography of the counties of Bedford, Cambridge, Essex, Herts, Huntingdon, Kent, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey and Sussex… . London & Manchester: J. Pigot & Co.; 1839, pg 65. [Note: Bullen Mark Edmund [sic], High st, Faircloth Richard, High St, Fyson Robert, High St, and Page Frederick, High St are listed separately.]

1841, 6th June: Ffloyd Peck, aged 21, surgeon, in the household of Mary Jones, apparently described as a Lodging House Keeper. The household also contained two students of medicine, William and John Belton, aged 25 and 21 respectively, amongst others. St Botolph Aldersgate parish, London. Reference: The National Archives, 1841 census. [Note: although he had not yet passed the LSA (see the next reference below), perhaps he had already passed the MRCS, which he did gain in 1841, and was keen to use his new designation.], [Note also, see image above.]

1841, 29th July: Ffloyd Minter Peck passed the LSA examination, apprenticed to ‘Mr Robert James Peck of Newmarket, Suffolk his said father’ for 5 years, and 18 months attendance at St Bartholomews Hospital. Lectures: chemistry; materia medica; anatomy and physiology; anatomical demonstrations; principles and practice of medicine; botany; midwifery; forensic medicine; clinical lectures; practical chemistry; morbid anatomy; dissections. Reference: Court of Examiners Candidates’ Qualification Entry Book, The Society of Apothecaries Archives, Apothecaries’ Hall, Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6EJ. [Note: the apprenticeship is recorded to have started on 3rd July 1834 and he started attending lectures in October 1837, yet his apprenticeship was 5 years, attendance at Bart’s 18 months and total training 7 years. So he must have started attending lectures in London whilst still an apprentice in Newmarket, with a two year overlap.]

1842, 19th April: ‘Floyd Minter Peck of Newmarket Saint Mary’ elected as Medical Officer for District 3 of the Newmarket Union. Reference: 611/14, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1843, May: ‘NEWMARKET.- Sudden Death.- An inquest was held at the Star Inn, Newmarket, on Tuesday last, before Mr. Phillips, one of the coroners for the county, on view of the body of Thomas Stebbing, gardener, 61 years of age. The deceased had been spending the previous evening at the Crown, and on descending the stairs from the club room, he was observed whilst apparently in the act of stooping forward for his hat, suddenly to drop on one side and fall backwards to the bottom of the stairs. He was immediately bled by Mr. F. Peck, and was con-veyed home, where he died about noon the next day, being attended in the meantime by Mr. Faircloth, sur-geon, who stated to the jury, that the deceased died of apoplexy, and they returned a verdict accordingly. Stebbing’s [sic] was one of the bearers to the grave of Mr. Hase, whose inquest we noticed last week, and likewise one of the jurymen.’ Reference: The Cambridge Independent Press. Saturday May 13 1843: 2. [Note: for interesting background on the rationale behind Floyd’s blood-letting see the page on William Henry Day, especially the 1881 textbook reference.]

1843, 12th May: An unspecified Peck (probably Robert James Peck though) performed a post mortem alongside Richard Faircloth. References: The Cambridge Independant Press. Saturday May 20 1843:2 and The Ipswich Journal. Saturday May 27 1843:3. [Note: this could have been Floyd Peck, the articles only state ‘Messrs. Peck and Faircloth’ – note, it was quite normal for generalist medics to perform post mortems at this time (see other examples on other pages of this website).]

1843, 23rd May: Wrote to the Board of Guardians about Typhus fever in Moulton, proposing some causes to be dealt with, and flagging up the negative consequences of delays in treatment caused by the system of the time. Reference: 611/15, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: click here for the full account.]

1844: ‘Peck Rt. James and Son’ listed under ‘Surgeons’ in Newmarket. Reference: History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of Suffolk, and towns near its borders… . Sheffield: W. White; 1844, pg 719. [Note: Faircloth Rd., Fyson Robert and Page Fredk. are listed separately.]

1844, 7th June: A ‘Mr Peck, Newmarket’ attended the annual meeting of the Suffolk branch of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association (forerunner of the BMA) at the Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds. This was possibly Floyd, who resigned from the same organisation in 1854 (see below). Reference: Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal 1844;8(13)196-198. [Note: this journal was a forerunner of the BMJ.]

1844, October: The son of Mr Peck present at the post mortem of a case (see page on Robert James Peck for details). Reference: Ranking WH. Death from the impaction of a por-tion of the beard of barley under the tongue. Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal 1844;8(30):462-463.

1844, 1st October: ‘Mr F M Peck the Medical Officer for the District of Cheveley sent in his resignation of the Office, at the same time stating that if accepted, his father, if approved by the board, would fulfil his contract entered into with the Board for the performance of his duties until 25th March next whereupon the Clerk was instructed to ascertain whether Mr Peck Senr possessed the requisite qualification’. Reference: 611/16, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1844, 8th October: ‘Upon the board being satisfied that Mr Rob James Peck the father of Mr F M Peck the Medical Officer for the district of Cheveley, was duly qualified according to the Medical Regulations of the Poor Law Commissioners the Board accepted the resignation tendered by Mr F M Peck as well as the offer made by Mr R J Peck for the fulfilment of his sons [sic] contract with the Union by performing the duties of the Office until March next when he would offer himself as a candidate for the vacant office’. Reference: 611/16, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: this is followed by reference to a letter from ‘Mr Page’ offering himself as a candidate for the role, to which the board replied stating that his ‘application was premature’.]

1844, 10th October: Letter from the Newmarket Union to the Poor Law Commissioners stating that Floyd Minter Peck had resigned and that ‘Mr Robert James Peck, the father of Mr F M Peck, and the substitute named by the latter at the time of his election, offered to fulfil his son’s engagement with the Board for the current year’. Reference: MH12/686, Newmarket Correspondence 1843 to 1846, (The National Archives). [Note: this is followed by a note that they should request to be informed of the cause of Mr Peck junior’s resignation if known, followed by a draft form of a letter dated 14th October to the Newmarket Union requesting to be informed of that – the actual letter sent is in: Reference: 611/2, Letters to Guardians from Poor Law Commissioners (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).]

1844, 22nd October: Letter from the Newmarket Union to the Poor Law Commissioners stating that ‘The cause for Mr. F.M. Peck’s Resignation was his leaving Newmarket to practice in his Profession in the County of Kent’. Reference: MH12/686, Newmarket Correspondence 1843 to 1846, (The National Archives).

1844, 25th October: Letter from the Poor Law Commissioners to the Newmarket Union sanctioning the appointment of Mr Robert James Peck in the place of Mr Floyd Minter Peck. Reference: 611/2, Letters to Guardians from Poor Law Commissioners (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1845, 25th March: ‘Mr Robert J Peck of Newmarket’ re-elected Medical Officer for District 3 of the Newmarket Union, comprising the villages of Woodditton, Cheveley, Ashley, Moulton and Kennett. Reference: 611/16, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1846: ‘Minter & Peck, surgeons’ and ‘Minter Michael, M.D’ and ‘Peck F. M. esq’ in Sandgate, ‘Minter Michael, surgeon, Sandgate road’ in Folkestone (but Floyd not mentioned there), and ‘Peck Robert James, surgeon, agent to Crown life assurance company, & medical referee, High street’ in Newmarket (but Floyd not mentioned there). Reference: Post Office Directory of the nine counties; viz.:- Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, with Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex. London: W. Kelly and Co.; 1846, pgs 273-275(Folkestone) 360-361(Sandgate) 1131-1133(Newmarket). [Note: Faircloth Richard, surgeon, High street, Fyson Robert, surgeon, High street and Page Frederick, surgeon, High street are listed separately.]

1847: ‘PECK, LLOYD [sic] MINTER, Folke-stone, Kent –  Gen.Pract.; M.R.C.S. 1841; L.S.A. 1841; Surgeon to the Folkestone Dispensary’. Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1847.

1847, August: Under Folkstone [sic], Coroner’s Inquests, ‘Mr. Peck. surgeon’ was reported to have attended a burns case, and ‘although unremitting in his attention, was unable to save her’. Reference: Maidstone Gazette. Tuesday Aug 24 1847: 5.

1848: ‘PECK, LLOYD [sic] MINTER, New-market, Suffolk – M.R.C.S. 1841; L.S.A. 1841; late Surg. to the Folkestone Dispensary.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1848.

1848: ‘MINTER, MICHAEL, Sandgate, near Folkstone [sic], Kent (Minter and Peck) – M.D. Giessen; Surg. Disp.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1848. [Note: Michael Minter’s 1847 entry does not mention anything about being in partnership with a Peck, but does mention that he also was ‘Surg. to the Folk-stone Dispensary’; nor does his 1849 entry mention a Peck, but again mentions that he was ‘Surgeon to the Dispensary’.]

1848, 28th January: Under births, ‘28th ult. Mrs. F. M. Peck, of Newmarket, of a daughter.’ Reference: The Chelmsford Chronicle. Friday Feb 4 1848: 3.

1848, 7th November: ‘The death of Mr Peck the Medical Officer of District No 3 was reported to the Board and the election of his successor was fixed for Tuesday the 19th Decr next, the notice whereof was to be confined to the present entry on the minutes. The Clerk was instructed to report the same to the Poor Law Board and to inform them that his son Mr Floyd Minter Peck, who was his partner in his profession and substitute in his office, would perform the duties for the remainder of the quarter ending at Christmas next and that the appointment of a successor to commence from Christmas will take place on Tuesday the 19th Decr’. Reference: 611/18, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1848, 14th November: ‘A letter was laid before the Board from Mr Floyd Minter Peck consenting to perform the duties of Medical Officer of District no 3 rendered vacant by the death of his father until Christmas as requested by the Board and offering himself as a candidate for the future appointment to that office.’ Reference: 611/18, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1848, 19th December: Floyd Minter Peck elected Medical Officer for no 3 District ‘on the same terms as the late Mr Robert James Peck held the Office’. Reference: 611/18, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1849: ‘PECK, LLOYD [sic] MINTER, Newmarket, Suffolk – M.R.C.S. 1841; L.S.A. 1841; late Surg. to the Folkestone Dispensary.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1849.

1849, 2nd January: Letter from the Poor Law Board sanctioning the appointment of Mr Floyd Minter Peck as above. Reference: 611/18, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1849, 21st August: A Mr Capron mentioned as assistant to Mr Peck in the Newmarket Union minutes. Reference: 611/18, Newmarket Union minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: this was with regards to a dispute regarding a report about attendance and medicine provided.], [Note also, it’s not entirely clear who this Mr Capron was – there was an Edward Capron who qualified in 1855 and later practised in Guildford, Surrey; he appears to have been a 20 year old apprentice in Guildford on the 1851 census.]

1850: ‘PECK, LLOYD [sic] MINTER, Newmarket, Cambridgeshire –  M.R.C.S. 1841; L.S.A. 1841; late Surg. to the Folkestone Disp.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1850.

1850: ‘Peck Ffloyd Mentor [sic], High st’ listed under ‘Surgeons’ in Newmarket. Reference: SLATER’S (LATE PIGOT & CO.)… DIRECTORY… of… CAMBRIDGESHIRE. London: Isaac Slater; 1850, pg 36. [Note: Faircloth Richard, High st, Fyson Robert, High st and Page Frederick, High st are listed separately.]

1850, 27th March: Notice regarding the auction on 8th and 9th April of the late Robert James Peck’s household furniture (including 250 volumes of books) and ‘freehold family residence situate in the High Street, Newmarket’, described as a ‘spacious dwelling-house’ and ‘for many years in the occupation of the said Robert James Peck £1000 may remain on mortgage. Possession may be had immediately after the sale’. Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Mar 27 1850: 3. [Note: the fact that ‘Possession may be had immediately after the sale’ suggests that the Pecks had already moved out. It’s known that they relocated to Folkestone and that their daughter Emily married John Hammond from Ashley Hall near Newmarket at Folkestone on 11th April 1850, which rather suggests that the Pecks had already relocated to Folkestone by that point: Under marriages, ‘HAMMOND-PECK.-April 11, at Folkestone, by the Rev. R. Baldock, rector of Kingsnorth, John Hammond, Esq., of Ashley Hall, Cambridgeshire, to Emily, fifth daughter of the late Robert James Peck, Esq., of Newmarket, Suffolk.’ Reference: Kentish Gazette. Tuesday Apr 23 1850: 3. However, it’s not yet been possible to locate the family on the 1851 census, which is surprising, and since the 1851 census of Newmarket St Mary’s is missing it raises the possibility that they were in Mentmore House, at least on the day of the census. If it didn’t sell and they still owned it they might even have used it as a Newmarket base for a while?]

1851: ‘PECK, FLLOYD [sic] MINTER, Newmarket, Cambridgeshire –  M.R.C.S. Eng. and L.S.A. 1841; late Surgeon to the Folkestone Disp.; Dep. Coroner for Cambridgeshire.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1851.

1851: ‘Peck Robert, Railway-street’. listed under ‘Surgeons’ in Newmarket. Reference: History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Cambridgeshire… . Peterborough: Robert Gardner; 1851, pg 409. [Note: Faircloth Richard, High-st., Fyson Robert, High-street, Page Frederick, High-street are listed separately.], [Note also, Railway Street is now part of All Saints’ Rd.]

1851, 21st February: A letter from ‘Mr. F. M. Peck’ minuted in his capacity as ‘Deputy Coroner’, regarding a coroner’s inquest at Isleham about a measles death. Reference: 611/19, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1851, 30th/31st March: Floyd M Peck, aged 30, described as a general practitioner and deputy coroner for Cambridgeshire, with qualifications listed also. The household also contained his wife, two daughters, sister Martha aged 19, a visitor, three domestic servants, and Thomas John Kennett aged 22, who was originally from Dover in Kent and described as a pupil and student of medicine. All Saints’ parish, Newmarket. Reference: The National Archives, 1851 census. [Note: the census here seems to be out of sequence – see page on Cardigan Lodge.]

1851, 16th April: ‘Mr. Peck and his assistant, surgeons of Newmarket’ mentioned attending a case at Saxon Street. Reference. The Cambridge Independent Press. Saturday Apr 26 1851: 3.

1851, 29th August: A letter from ‘Mr Peck the Medical Officer’ minuted regarding a delay in implementing an order he had made for a particular diet for a child. The Relieving Officer whose duty it was to carry out the order gave the interesting explanation that ‘the order was not delivered to him till a week after it was given to the parents of the child’, showing that such orders must have taken for form of a written note, almost like a prescription. Reference: 611/19, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1851, 22nd November: Under the heading ‘Extraordinary robberies at Cambridge by a young surgeon from Newmarket’ follows a report regarding Henry Padwick Butler, assistant to Mr Peck of Newmarket, being charged with a robbery. The report includes the interesting detail ‘the superintendent of police, went to Newmarket, and on entering Mr. Peck’s surgery there they found Mr. Butler busy with his drugs’, giving insight into some of the daily work of an assistant. Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Dec 3 1851: 3. [Note: the report mentions Butler’s bedroom, seeming to imply that it was on the same premises, which would not be surprising. However, he was not there on the census earlier in the same year.], [Note also, there does not appear to be any evidence of him in the Medical Directory either, which was relatively new at this stage, and the Medical Register did not yet exist (it started in 1858 – see The history of medical treatments, training, qualifications and regulation. He was not in the first 1859 edition.]

1851, December: ‘NEWMARKET.- Robbery and Confession.- On Thursday night week, the establishment of Mr. Peck, surgeon, of this town, was thrown into an unusual state of excitement, in consequence of the windows of the house having been found opened, and the rooms occupied by the servants in a disordered state: chests of drawers were emptied and left open, boxes and other things strewed about in confusion, as if some one had been ransacking the room, and then made their exit with precipitation. Upon looking things over, it turned out that the housemaid had lost £5, and the cook 10s, and, of course, every one was upon the qui vive, anxious, if possible, to detect the artful thief. It was thought probable that the “unknown” might have concealed himself in the adjoining house, which is uninhabited, for the purpose of availing himself of the stillness of the midnight hour; and, of course, the keys and a policeman were sent for, and the house searched, but no traces of the thief were discovered. Upon more mature consideration, it did not appear at all feasible for any person to have entered the window, without first getting upon the roof, and then crawling over a bed that was standing close by, and as the bed had not been touched, and no other signs of ingress and egress were observable, it was at once suspected that the thief was still in the house, and a strict investigation was instituted, but the whole affair was, as yet, wrapped in mystery, till Mr. Peck told the servants that if any one of them had taken the money, and would confess it, he would readily forgive them, and promised to continue them in his service. The cook then acknowledged that she had stolen the money, and had spent it, and that, to lull suspicion, had left the room in the state they had seen it; and, as a blind, had pretended that 10s was stolen from her also. Cooky, who, by Mr. Peck’s promise, escapes from punishment, was very active in endeavouring to discover the thief, and actually held the candle while this place and that person was undergoing a search; and a short time since, when the medical assistant was apprehended, she wondered whatever could have induced him to commit the robbery, or to succumb to such propensities, and if she had done so she could not live another hour.’ Reference: The Cambridge Independent Press. Saturday Dec 20 1851: 3. [Note: poor old cooky, whose only mention in history is as a thief, but at least a forgiven thief. I can think of someone similar (Mark 15:27), who things turned out well for by pure grace too (Luke 23:40-43). 1 John 1:8-9 springs to mind also. I think Floyd knew his theology, followed by example and led by example.]

1851, 23rd December: ‘CHEVELEY.- Sudden Death.- An awful instance of the uncertainty of life, occurred at Derisley Wood cottage, near Cheveley Park, on Tuesday might last, to Mr. Guy Bell, one of the Duke of Rutland’s keepers. The deceased was consumptive [i.e. had TB], and under the medical treatment of Mr. Peck, of Newmarket. About half-past nine, as he was going to bed in the watch-van, which stood within a yard of the cottage door, he was seized with a fit of coughing, which broke a blood-vessel, and having bled very profusely, he stepped to the cottage to show his housekeeper; and upon the door being opened he fell down in the passage, and had just strength enough to say, “The Lord have mercy upon me.” They im-mediately sent off for assistance, and to Cheveley Park for his father, and to Newmarket for Mr. Peck; but before either arrived, he had breathed his last. He was 23 years of age, and much respected by all who knew him. An inquest was not thought necessary.’ Reference: The Cambridge Independant Press. Saturday Dec 27 1851: 3. [Note: this is reminiscent of Robert Cooke’s death, which was possibly via a similar mechanism.]

1852: ‘PECK, FFLOYD MINTER, Newmarket, Cambridgeshire –  M.R.C.S. Eng. and L.S.A. 1841; late Surgeon to the Folke-stone Disp.; Dep. Coroner for Cam-bridgeshire.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1852.

1852, 16th June: Flloyd [sic] Peck presented a case at a meeting in St Ives, seemingly as part of his deputy coroner role. It involved a post mortem on a child who had died from unexplained chest pain. This turned out to be caused by a needle lodged in the chest that had broken off externally. Reference: Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal 1852;16(14)336.

1852, 16th July: Mr Osborne, assistant to Mr Peck, mentioned on attending a meeting of the Newmarket Union and that he was ‘in the habit of occasionally accompanying Mr Bays to the Workhouse to see the medical practice’. Reference: 611/19, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: it’s not clear from the Medical Directories who this Mr Osborne might have been.], [Note also, Mr Bays was assistant to Richard Faircloth the workhouse medical officer.]

1853, 14th October: Sanitary Report received from Mr Peck and other medical officers. Also ‘Sanitary Sub-Committees’ set up ‘to make a house to house visitation accompanied by the Medical Officer of the District’. Reference: 611/20, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1853, 3rd November: ‘SANITARY MEETING.- On Thursday last, the parish-ioners and rate-payers of Cheveley held a meeting at the Star and Garter Inn, for the purpose of considering the most effectual and salutary mode of removing every nuisance that might exist, and, if possible, to avert that dreadful calamity, the cholera, which was raging within a few miles of the village. It was determined that a ‘“house-to-house” visit should be made through the whole village, and accordingly, on Saturday, a deputation from the Committee, and some of the respectable inha-bitants, headed by F. Peck, Esq., the surgeon appointed by the Board, proceeded with the unpleasant, though necessary, duty, and indiscriminately inspected the pre-mises of each inhabitant, when various nuisances were ordered to be removed within five days. The Board will immediately appoint an Inspector of Nuisances, whose duty will be to go round and see that the above orders are complied with. Similar precautions against the disease have been taken at Woodditton, and the whole parish is now brought to a most salubrious condition:- a worthy example to its neighbours.’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Nov 9 1853: 2.

1854, 8th and 15th December: Mr F. M. Peck appointed substitute to Mr Faircloth the workhouse medical officer in case of his absense or otherwise. Referernce: 611/20, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1854: ‘Peck, F.M., Esq.’ under ‘Cambridgeshire’ and ‘Members who resigned during, and at the close of, 1854’. Reference: Association Medical Journal 1855;3(115):261. [Note: this journal was a forerunner of the BMJ so he was resigning from the equivalent of the BMA; see the 1844 reference above regarding the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association.]

1855: ‘Peck Floyd M’. listed under ‘Surgeons’ in Newmarket. Reference: HISTORY, GAZETTEER, AND DIRECTORY OF SUFFOLK… . Sheffield: William White; 1855, pg 820. [Note: Faircloth Richard, Fyson & Gamble, Fyson Robert, and Page Frederick, are listed separately.]

1856, 14th July: Newmarket inquest: ‘Mr. Pennington, assistant to Mr. Peck, surgeon, was called in, and was of the opinion that he died of disease of the heart, which he knew he had.’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Wednesday Jul 16 1856: 2. [Note: it’s not clear from the Medical Directories who this Mr. Pennington was.]

1857, 10th July: ‘A letter of explanation from Mr. Peck Medical Officer relative to his attendance upon the pauper… was laid before the Board and was deemed satisfactory.’ Reference:611/21, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1857, 25th September: ‘Mr. Floyd Minter Peck, Newmarket Medical Officer of District no. 3… named his Partner Dr. William Henry Day as his substitute in case of absence &c’. Reference:611/21, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1857, 3rd November: Inquest held on a suicide before ‘Mr. Peck of Newmarket, deputy – coroner for the district’ at the Red Lion Inn, Swaffham Prior. Reference: Cambridge Chronicle and University Journal. Saturday Nov 7 1857: 5.

1858: ‘PECK, FFLOYD MINTER, New-market, Cambs. –  M.R.C.S. Eng. and L.S.A. 1841; Med. Off. No. 3 Dist. Newmarket Union; late Surg. Folkes-tone Disp.; Dep. Coroner for Cambs.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1858. [Note: ffloyd does not appear in the 1859 directory.]

1858: ‘DAY, WM. HENRY, 3, Park-terr. Newmarket, Cambs. (Peck and Day)- M.D. St. And. 1857; M.R.C.S. Eng. 1854; L.S.A. 1857; late Asst.-Surg. H.M. 3rd Foot.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1858.

1858, 15th January: ‘Mr. Peck’s resignation of medical district no. 3 was received and accepted when the Board resolved to proceed to the election of his successor… Dr. Day Mr. Peck’s deputy to be requested to attend the sick poor in the mean time until the election.’ Reference:611/21, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1858, 18th January: ‘On Monday last, the 18th inst., an inquest was held before F. M. Peck, Esq., deputy coroner, at the “Bushel and Strike,” Hall-street’ in Soham. Reference: Cambridge Chronicle and University Journal. Saturday Jan 23 1858: 5.

1858, January: ‘CHEVELEY.- Medical Appointment.- Messrs. Page and Mead, of Newmarket, have been appointed sur-geons upon the Duke of Rutland’s Cheveley estate, in the room of Mr. Peck, whose removal has also caused a vacancy in one of the Union districts, to which Messrs. Page and Mead are likely to be appointed’. Reference: Cambridge Chronicle and University Journal. Saturday Jan 23 1858: 5. [Note: the word ‘removal’ here does not imply sacking; it was used to mean ‘moving’ as we would ‘move house’, and presumably is why we still use ‘removal vans’ to do so. cf. Woodward Mudd’s 1813 public notice.]

1858, 5th February: Mr. George B. Mead elected as medical officer to district 3, having received 18 votes compared with 10 for Dr. William H. Day. Reference:611/21, Newmarket Union Minutes, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).

1858, 9th February: ‘NEWMARKET. DEPUTY CORONER.- This office, vacant by the resigna-tion of Mr. Peck, is now filled by the appointment of Mr. York, the partner of Mr. Phillips. THE UNION – MEDICAL OFFICER.- At a meeting of the Board of Guardians, on Friday last, there were two candidates for the appointment of Surgeon for No. 3 District, comprising Ashley, Cheveley, Kennet, Moulton, and Woodditton, namely, Mr. Day, successor to the practice of Mr. Peck, the late officer, and Mr. Mead, of the firm of Page and Mead, Newmarket, when Mr. Mead was successful, having gained the appointment by a majority of ten.’ Reference: The Bury and Norwich Post. Tuesday Feb 9 1858: 3. [Note: according to the minutes above the majority was 8 – don’t believe everything you read in the papers!]

1858, 31st January: ‘SAILING OF THE FLORINE. This fine clipper ship… sailed on Sunday morning for Melbourne, being detained on Saturday by the gale… she had 180 pas-sengers, among whom were… Dr. Peck of Newmarket, Mrs. Peck, 7 children and ser-vant’. Reference: The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian. Saturday Feb 6 1858: 3. [Note: the Pecks had only 5 children, details regarding the other two can be found in the ‘Account of the Peck family’s migration to Australia’ below. Note also, in that account the date of departure is stated as 3rd February, from Liverpool.]

1864, 7th January: The will of ‘Ffloyd Minter Peck of Sale in the Colony of Victoria’. A short will written on the day of his death, in which he leaves everything to his wife Menie. Reference: Public Records Office, Victoria, Australia, Probate and Administrative Files VPRS28/P0000/unit46(item.4/600).

1865: Under Obituaries ‘PECK, FLOYD MINTER, M.R.C.S., of Newmarket, Cambs., at Sale, Gipp’s Land, Vic-toria, Australia, on Jan. 7, aged 43.’ Reference: The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1865. [Note: he is not mentioned in the main part of the directory from 1859, his last appearance there being in 1858.]

Some other sources consulted include:-

Account of the Peck family’s migration to Australia, by Helen Connell (see below); note especially ‘Another doctor arrives in Gippsland – Ffloyd Minter Peck…’ starting halfway through this account. http://www.theminters.co.uk/johnspages/newstyle_helenspages_wholedoc.php (accessed 10th April 2017). [Note: appendix 4 gives an autobiographical account of Michael Minter’s life up to 1845, including the fact that he had been in practice at Folkestone from about 1838/9.] [Note also, this account references the author of talkingdust.net and my 2013 publication regarding the Pecks’ Newmarket medical connection, the research for which we worked on together, as mentioned below.]

Australian Medical Pioneers Index. http://www.medicalpioneers.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?detail=1&id=942 (accessed 3rd April 2017).

Australian Victiorian Heritage Register (Floyd Peck’s house). http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/1009 (accessed 14th April 2017).

Ferguson and Urie. Colonial Victoria’s Historic Stained Glass Craftsmen 1853-1899. https://fergusonandurie.wordpress.com/tag/floyd-minter-peck/ (accessed 3rd April 2017). [Note: the date of death recorded on this stained glass window in memory of Ffloyd is incorrect (see image above), and the cause of death recorded in the associated Australian newspaper articles appears different from that described in the family Bible (see below). Apparently his death certificate reads ‘colic enteritis’, which seems more consistent with the family bible entry below, unless this somehow occurred as a complication of an infection caught from a cut sustained during an autopsy, which seems rather unlikely. Exactly what happened remains unclear, except that it was untimely, rapid and involved overwhelming infection.]

Helen Connell, Meryl Stanton and Patrica Selkirk, descendants of Robert James Peck in Australia (via his son James). Early in this research, in 2013, The Society of Apothecaries in London helpfully put me in contact with Helen Connell, realising that we were researching the same person. A very large number of emails ensued, as we shared information and attempted to solve puzzles together over the subsequent months.

Newmarket Union Minutes 1842-1858. Reference: 611/14-21, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St. Edmunds). [Note: not all entries regarding Floyd Minter Peck in these minutes have been detailed above. There are many more, but largely only about routine payments.]

Shops History Newmarket. http://www.newmarketshops.info/index.html. [Note: newmarketshops.info has been supplied with information regarding the medical history of Newmarket by the author of talkingdust.net since August 2013 (see footnotes on some of the pages). Both websites continue to be developed, and in this sense are mutually symbiotic.]

Suffolk Medical Biographies. Profile for Peck, Floyd Minter. http://www.suffolkmedicalbiographies.co.uk/Profile.asp?Key=2208 (originally accessed pre October 2013). [Note: see comments regarding this website on the Francis Greene page.] 

The Medical Directory. London: Churchill; 1847-1865. [Note: see 1847-52, 1858 and 1865 above for detailed entries.], [Note: this publication has been known by various titles over the years. Initially it just covered London, but from 1847 it had a wider remit, being variously known as the London and Provincial Medical Directory, The Medical Directories, The Medical Directory, etc., essentially the same work with minor variations and developments. It is usually referred to as The Medical Directory (as opposed to The Medical Register), so that is how it’s consistently referred to on talkingdust.net.]

The Peck family Bible (see The Pecks for details). With reference to Floyd (or ffloyd) Minter Peck it records that he was the son of Robert James Peck, born 3.30am Thursday 20th April 1820, christened at St Mary’s church, Newmarket on 26th August 1820. It records that he was vaccinated the same month and ‘went through it satisfactorily’. It also records that he had measles at Chelmsford in May 1826 and Hooping Cough [sic] in 1831 (see image on the page about The Pecks). It notes that he married Anna Maria Robertson at Hammersmith in March 1847, and that they went on to have 5 children in Newmarket: Mary Peck born 28th January 1848 at Newmarket St Mary’s (baptised there the same day, likely because she wasn’t expected to live, but interestingly she died in Australia 81 years later), Annie Peck 1850, Alice Henrietta Peck 1851, Charles James Peck 1853, and Henry Floyd Rutherford Peck 1857 (all the Christenings from Annie in May 1851 took place at All Saints’, Newmarket). They had a further daughter, Emily Frances Peck, born at Grassdale, Sale, Australia on 18th April 1859, but sadly her mother died of puerperal peritonitis 2 weeks later on 1st May. Floyd remarried to a Menie Campbell in 1860, but they had no further children. A particularly interesting feature is that the Bible also records when the children were vaccinated (i.e. against smallpox). Finally it records that Floyd Minter Peck died ‘at Sale, Gipps Land, in the colony of Victoria’ on 7th January 1864 ‘of Intussusception of the Bowels after 7 day’s illness’ and later adds ‘of pyaemia’. [Note: details taken from a transcript supplied by the Peck family and images of some original pages], [Note particularly, it’s of special relevance in Floyd’s case that the family chronicle recorded in this Bible was started by Floyd’s gt gt grandfather George Peck in 1754, the gt grandson of John Floyd the original 17th century owner of the Bible. The surname Floyd had been taken up as a first name in the Peck family over several generations – see The Pecks also for more recent generations (the name is still in use in the family today).]

Note: For published material referenced on this website see the ‘Acknowledgements for resources of published material’ section on the ‘Usage &c.’ page. The sources used for original unpublished documents are noted after each individual reference. Any census records are referenced directly to The National Archives, since images of these are so ubiquitous on microfilm and as digital images that they almost function like published works. Census records are covered by the ‘Open Government Licence’ as should be other such public records (see the ‘Copyright and related issues’ section on the ‘Usage &c.’ page for which references constitute public records, and any other copyright issues more generally such as fair dealing/use etc.).