author logo, Florence Cole
Florence Cole as a child

Old chemists / pharmacists and their old fashioned remedies

Based on childhood recollections of shops in Edmonton, north London in Edwardian times.

Window display of coloured liquid in large glass jars, typifying chemist shops in the first half of the 20th century.

Window display of coloured liquid in large glass jars, typifying British chemist shops / pharmacies in the first half of the 20th century. Photographed in Milton Keynes Museum.

Chemist shops / pharmacists were always distinctive when I was a child in the early 1900s because their windows would display large glass bottles of coloured liquid, one green and the other red. These were for decorative purposes only and were not, as far as I know, medicines. I suppose that they were supposed to indicate that the pharmacist concerned was well-trained because he was able to mix his own medicines rather than just selling pre-packed concoctions.

The 1911 census shows that my mother's memory was absolutely right: Charles Herschel Chipchase, 55, a retail chemist, born in Stepney, lived at 75 Silver Street with his wife Emma Chipchase, 54, born Hackney. Their shorthand typist daughters, Muriel Irene, 24, born Bow, and Constance Winifred, 4, born Tottenham, lived with them. Pat Cryer

Our local local chemist for where I lived on the Huxley Estate in Edmonton was a Mr Chipchase whose shop was at the corner of Warwick Road and Silver Street. He was a very refined person. To be in the pharmacy business you had to have qualifications, which meant that your parents had money, so he was looked upon as only a step below a doctor and was respected as such. In fact he served as an unpaid doctor and our mothers would ask his advice before calling in the doctor who would always did charge.

Cliff Raven reports that this chemist shop is now (2009) Alan's Pet and Seed Shop. There is a bricked-up side elevation window in Warwick Road which, according to Alan, was where the chemist dispensed prescriptive medicines out of hours.

One thing I remember about the chemist was that he gave us children what he called an Oracle which was no doubt issued as a publicity stunt by some manufacturer. We had to light a match, blow it out and while it was still warm, touch it on the sheet of paper that was the Oracle. This would slowly burn out out a picture.

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Old fashioned remedies and cures

The chemist did a roaring trade:

Camphorated oil, a Victorian / Edwardian remedy for a blocked nose due to a common cold  Castor oil, a Victorian / Edwardian laxative, particularly given to children

Beechams Pills, a Victorian / Edwardian laxative for adults

Epsom salts, a Victorian / Edwardian laxative for adults

Some of the Victorian / Edwardian remedies and cures mentioned on this page. Photographed in Nidderdale Museum.

This website Join me in the 1900s is also known as Join me in the 1900's and is © Pat Cryer.

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SHOPS AND SHOPPING
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the shopping process

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money in use
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buying by weight
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the baker
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the butcher
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the fishmonger
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the cobbler / shoe-mender
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the draper
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the co-op
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the dairy
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the chemist
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the greengrocer
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the grocer
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the ironmonger / hardware shop
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the pawnbroker
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the sweet shop
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the Post Office
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the barber
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the corn-chandler
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the newsagent
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