Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, 2nd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir John Eardley Eardley-Wilmot, 2nd Baronet (16 November 1810 – 1 February 1892) was a politician and judge in the United Kingdom
.
He served as Member of Parliament
(MP) for South Warwickshire
from 1874 to 1885.
Sir John E. Eardley-Wilmot wrote a number of works, including a work in Latin in 1829, and in 1853, an update of his father's Abridgement of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. He also wrote, in 1860, an analytical review of Lord Brougham's
Law Reforms, in which he listed "no less than forty Statutes which he has initiated and carried through Parliament, besides upwards of fifty Bills introduced by him at various periods. Great portions of the latter have formed the basis of Legislation, and have been incorporated into other Acts", with others remaining unadopted at that time.
In 1855, he published A Tribute to Hydropathy, in which he recounts his own experience of health improvement via hydropathy
at an establishment, including typical adjuncts such as exercise, "simplicity of diet", and the application of various hydrotherapeutic techniques. He also praised Captain R. T. Claridge
for his “for his strenuous exertions in the cause”, to which every hydropathist “owes a deep debt of gratitude”. While Eardley-Wilmot's publications preceding and subsequent to this work were on the "comparatively dry subject of Law Amendment", he indulged in some word-play in his preface to the fifth edition of Tribute to Hydropathy, while at the same time driving home pertinent points.
Nevertheless, his tribute to, and discussion of, hydropathy was in earnest. While acknowledging that some physicians of the day considered hydropathy to be a dangerous experiment by credulous people with a passing fad, until leaving room for "fresh fallacies, to deceive the unwary", Eardley-Wilmot disagreed. He thought the underlying principles would prove sound, and that a solid foundation, simplicity of theory, and effective outcomes would outlast criticisms.
In 1859, he wrote a memoir on Thomas Assheton Smith
, a famous fox hunter in the early 19th century. In 1893, the year after Sir John E. Eardley-Wilmot died, his son, William Assheton Eardley-Wilmot, who was named after the subject of the memoir, published a fifth edition of it. In the preface to the fifth edition, W.A. Eardley-Wilmot wrote:
"The first edition appeared when I was a school boy at Old Charterhouse in the City, and I remember being sent to the office of the Sporting Magazine to copy out the verses on the celebrated Billesdon Coplow Run".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
He served as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for South Warwickshire
South Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)
South Warwickshire was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Warwickshire in England. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...
from 1874 to 1885.
Sir John E. Eardley-Wilmot wrote a number of works, including a work in Latin in 1829, and in 1853, an update of his father's Abridgement of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. He also wrote, in 1860, an analytical review of Lord Brougham's
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux
Henry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.As a young lawyer in Scotland Brougham helped to found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, and was called to the English bar in...
Law Reforms, in which he listed "no less than forty Statutes which he has initiated and carried through Parliament, besides upwards of fifty Bills introduced by him at various periods. Great portions of the latter have formed the basis of Legislation, and have been incorporated into other Acts", with others remaining unadopted at that time.
In 1855, he published A Tribute to Hydropathy, in which he recounts his own experience of health improvement via hydropathy
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
at an establishment, including typical adjuncts such as exercise, "simplicity of diet", and the application of various hydrotherapeutic techniques. He also praised Captain R. T. Claridge
Captain R. T. Claridge
Captain Richard Tappin Claridge, F.S.A. , was a prominent asphalt contractor and captain in the Middlesex Militia, who became best known for his prominent promotion of hydropathy, now known as hydrotherapy, in the 1840s. It was also known as the Cold Water system or Cold Water cure...
for his “for his strenuous exertions in the cause”, to which every hydropathist “owes a deep debt of gratitude”. While Eardley-Wilmot's publications preceding and subsequent to this work were on the "comparatively dry subject of Law Amendment", he indulged in some word-play in his preface to the fifth edition of Tribute to Hydropathy, while at the same time driving home pertinent points.
The Second Edition of this little Watery Tablet having been long out of print, I have been requested to allow a Third Edition to swim to the press. I considered at first that so fragile a memorial would have sunk, when it had no longer the fact of Hydropathy being a novelty to buoy it up, and when Stansted-Bury, the scene of the liquid discipline described, became forsaken for more commodious baths, or for more favourite resorts. But my friends remind me that sickness belongs to no certain period of time and to no particular locality.
Nevertheless, his tribute to, and discussion of, hydropathy was in earnest. While acknowledging that some physicians of the day considered hydropathy to be a dangerous experiment by credulous people with a passing fad, until leaving room for "fresh fallacies, to deceive the unwary", Eardley-Wilmot disagreed. He thought the underlying principles would prove sound, and that a solid foundation, simplicity of theory, and effective outcomes would outlast criticisms.
Medicine, in truest acceptance of the word, is not the art of administering drugs, but the art of healing. He is the best physician as well as philosopher, who removes or assuages those evils to which the human frame is liable, with least violence done to Nature; and while he obviates the present inconvenience, endeavours, as far as lies in his power, to leave the vital powers unweakened, and undiminished by the remedies he applies.
In 1859, he wrote a memoir on Thomas Assheton Smith
Thomas Assheton Smith II
Thomas Assheton Smith was an English landowner and all-round sportsman who was notable for being one of the outstanding amateur cricketers of the early 19th century. He was a Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1821 to 1837...
, a famous fox hunter in the early 19th century. In 1893, the year after Sir John E. Eardley-Wilmot died, his son, William Assheton Eardley-Wilmot, who was named after the subject of the memoir, published a fifth edition of it. In the preface to the fifth edition, W.A. Eardley-Wilmot wrote:
"The first edition appeared when I was a school boy at Old Charterhouse in the City, and I remember being sent to the office of the Sporting Magazine to copy out the verses on the celebrated Billesdon Coplow Run".