William Norford (1715–1793) was an English medical practitioner and writer. William Norford Singleton

Life

Norford was apprenticed to John Amyas, a surgeon in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, and then began practice at

Halesworth Halesworth is a market town, civil parish and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in north-eastern Suffolk, England. The population stood at 4,726 in the 2011 Census. It lies south-west of Lowestoft, on a tribut ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, as a surgeon and man-midwife. He married the daughter of a surgeon, and after some years moved to

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

. He became an extra-licentiate of the

College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of p ...

on 26 November 1761, and began to practise as a physician: on the strength of his licence he styled himself Doctor. Norford died in 1793.

Works

Norford began to write inspired by the example of

Dale Ingram Dale Ingram (1710 – 5 April 1793) was an English physician. Biography Ingram was born in 1710, and, after apprenticeship and study in the country, began practice at Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Engla ...

, and some remarks of John Freke. His works were: *''An Essay on the General Method of treating Cancerous Tumours'' (1753), dedicated to Freke who was senior surgeon to

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

. Norford endeavoured to establish rules for the treatment of cancer, discussing the views of Henri-François Le Dran,

Gerard van Swieten Gerard van Swieten (7 May 1700 – 18 June 1772) was a Dutch physician who from 1745 was the personal physician of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and transformed the Austrian health service and medical university education. He was the f ...

, and

Richard Wiseman Richard John Wiseman (born 16 September 1966) is a professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. He has written several psychology books. He has given keynote addresses to The Roy ...

, and stating cases of his own. He believed in a sulphur

electuary An electuary is a medicine consisting of a powder or other ingredient mixed with something sweet such as honey to make it more palatable.

, and a proprietary ointment. *''A Letter to Dr. Sharpin in Answer to his Appeal to the Public concerning his Medical Treatment of Mr. John Ralling, apothecary, of Bury St. Edmund's in Suffolk'', pamphlet of 1764, written against Dr. Edward Sharpin of

East Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parish in the Breckland District of the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich and east of King's Lynn. The civi ...

, over a case of intestinal obstruction. *''Concisæ et Practicæ Observationes de Intermittentibus Febribus curandis'' (1780).

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Norford, William 1715 births 1793 deaths English surgeons English medical writers