Glass jars filled with dried plants, herbs and powders line the shelves in Ruth Weaver’s apothecary in the heart of Penzance.
There are dozens of brown bottles filled with medicinal tinctures each labelled in a neat hand-writing, infused oils, hydrosols, capsules and dried botanicals, all carefully sourced from organic and sustainable UK and EU-based suppliers.
On the counter a cacao drink mixed with aromatic herbs and mushroom is heating up.
This is no props-stacked space akin to some Diagon Alley Harry Potter film set. It’s a modern and clean working herbalist shop – and business is booming.
“Some 500 years ago herbalists were burnt at the stake as witches,” Ruth said while decanting a concoction into a small brown glass vial for a client.
“Not so long ago if you said you were eating mushrooms, people thought you were on some cosmic journey. Now mushroom supplements are everywhere. You can buy them in health shops all over the place.”
Ruth Weaver’s new Apothecary medical herbalist shop in Market Place, Penzance(Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
Perception of what a herbalist does and the medicinal power of plants has changed dramatically in the time since Ruth graduated with a BA in clinical herbalism from the University of Lincoln 14 years ago.
Its university-level training includes clinical practice, biomedical sciences, pathophysiology and physical examination, allowing herbalists to work safely and effectively alongside conventional healthcare.
Ruth said she noticed a growing trend for nature-based treatment that is supportive of the environment and is sustainable especially during and post-Covid.
“Health shops are so much more popular now,” Ruth explained. “Herbal supplements are big business.
“Compared to when I started out 14 years ago, people are now more aware about what herbal medicine is about. There’s a movement and it is increasingly better accepted.”
The Apothecary, in Market Place, is the first working high-street apothecary to open in the west Cornwall town for more than 85 years.
Ruth Weaver’s new Apothecary medical herbalist shop in Market Place, Penzance(Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
Once a tobacconist and before that a fishmonger that was empty for five years, The Apothecary is not another food supplement health shop.
You can drop in five days a week and receive a mini consultation for a personalised remedy, made for you on the spot or book in to receive more comprehensive support for complex or ongoing health needs.
Unlike over-the-counter herbal products, medical herbalists like Ruth are trained to prescribe powerful plant medicines that are not available in health shops.
This means patients can access herbs such as turkey tail and cordyceps mushrooms, which have recently been restricted from general sale but remain available through qualified practitioners.
Herbal medicine is one of the oldest forms of healthcare in the world. As Ruth explains this is not some witchcraft folklore. Medical herbalism is very much backed by peer-reviewed science and clinical trials.
Ruth Weaver’s new Apothecary medical herbalist shop in Market Place, Penzance(Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
Herbs are biochemically complex and often contain hundreds of active compounds that work in synergy with one another. Ruth explained that between 50 to 60 per cent of modern pharmaceuticals originate from plant compounds with the rest being synthetic compounds.
As she explained, while ‘big pharma’ will look to extract a single compound from plants to produce new medicines, whole plant extracts are used by medical herbalists.
Between five and 15 plants can go into a tailor-made tincture.
Ruth makes no bold claim that this plant or that herb will cure cancer or prolong your life. Clinical herbalists like herself look at the roots of people’s ailments to see if herbal treatments can alleviate the symptoms as well as issues with side effects from modern meds and improve people’s health and wellbeing
Ruth Weaver’s new Apothecary medical herbalist shop in Market Place, Penzance(Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
“Herbal medicine works for people with complex health problems. Most people who come in have been through the system. They either believe in it already, have family connection using natural health remedies or are curious to try it out. Some are desperate and have been taking lots of meds with unpleasant side effects.
“It’s about using herbs to nudge the body back to balance.”
The Apothecary opened on the high street in December in Penzance after Ruth ran her clinic from home for 14 years. She received a grant from the Penzance Town Deal Enterprise Grants Scheme to take over the long-term empty shop and give it a new lease of life.
It is both a retail space and working herbal health hub and drop-in clinic. Ruth believes that with a growing focus on health, the environment, concerns about climate change and a favourable trading high street in ‘alternative independent Penzance’, now was the right time to have a go and open on the high street.
“I wanted this to happen as I couldn’t expand and evolve from home. It felt like the right moment to do so. I don’t have an online shop. It’s all personalised and people focused. People are curious. They want to find out.
“As a herbalist it is about speaking to people face to face. It’s about answering people’s questions, reassure them and explain how it all works.”
Ruth Weaver’s new Apothecary medical herbalist shop in Market Place, Penzance(Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
Ruth hosts monthly evening Herb Club sessions exploring the science and energetics of plants, herbal sauna rituals at Chapel House PZ, a Sober Socials space as well as educational and seasonal events centred on health and wellbeing.
The practice is also offering clinical training hours for students enrolled on UK clinical herbalist programmes.
“This is not about nostalgia,” Ruth added. “It is about bringing rigorous, evidence-informed herbal medicine back into the heart of the community where it belongs.”
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