\n The building first opened in 1788 and quickly became central to the town\u2019s medical and commercial life.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dr. Roberts, born in 1766 in what is now The Bridport Arms in West Bay (formerly the Ship Inn), was not just a physician but a clever marketer.\n<\/p>\n
\n In 1798, he began selling a healing ointment that would become nationally famous.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u2018The Poor Man\u2019s Friend\u2019 helped to put Bridport on the map, promising cures for everything from ulcerated legs, even if of twenty years standing, cuts, burns, scalds, bruises, eruptions, pimples, sore eyes, cancerous humours and eruptions that follow vaccinations.\n<\/p>\n
\n With bold advertising and strategic distribution, Roberts ensured the ointment’s success across the country.\n<\/p>\n
\n The \u2018secret\u2019 recipe, now held at the Bridport Museum, reveals a blend of pig fat, beeswax, small amounts of lead, bismuth and zinc oxide. Red colouring was added to make it look attractive, and rose and lavender oil to make it smell better.\n<\/p>\n
\n In 1805, Doctor Giles Roberts opened his shop at 9 East Street, formally the Old George Inn. Here he was able to set up a laboratory and give lectures.\n<\/p>\n
\n After Dr. Roberts\u2019 death, the business was continued by Thomas Beach and John Barnicott – and to this day, their names remain on the front of the building which now serves as a late-night venue.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dr Roberts is buried in the graveyard at St Mary\u2019s Church. His grave on the northern side of the building is marked by a large obelisk. It\u2019s not far from the home of Jim Hoskins who took the lead role in The Poor Man\u2019s Friend.\n<\/p>\n
\n From healing balm to local lore, the legacy of Dr. Giles Roberts and his \u2018Poor Man\u2019s Friend\u2019 continues to echo through Bridport\u2019s streets, shopfronts, and stories.\n<\/p>\n
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