History has been very unkind to early men of medicine. They are portrayed as charlatans who knew little of the workings of the human body and often amputated needlessly with no regard for their patients suffering.
Master Obadiah Ringwood, a barber-chirurgeon from the time of the English Civil Wars (1642-51) endeavours to prove that for the most part these slurs are untrue. After extensive research of primary source material and the construction of one of the finest collections of replica surgical tools, a presentation has been prepared to show just how able these early surgeons were.
At venues where his audience is constantly changing Master Ringwood's talk lasts for around 30 minutes, during which he sets the scene with a short history of the surgeons guilds and then demonstrates hair cutting; shaving; bleeding; tooth drawing; cosmetic surgery; clystering; boil treatments and several others.
The presentation is delivered in a very light-hearted manner so that the audience is in no way upset. For pre-booked groups the list of treatments can be enlarged to include amputation and bullet removal. Also the history of the subject can be enlarged upon. Our longest presentation that included a break lasted 2 1/2 hours, although 1-1 1/2 hours is usual.
This is our oldest and most successful presentation. It has been featured on television, radio and in the press; even featured in glowing terms in a book on the subject of living history. We have been used at wound management days at various hospitals. Master Ringwood is considered to be the leading figure in 17th century surgical interpretation in the UK.
