William Tudor (surgeon)

For the Boston politician and solder (1750–1819), see William Tudor.
For his son, businessman and journalist, see William Tudor (1779–1830).

William Tudor
FRCS
Born(1769-04-18)18 April 1769
Died9 July 1845(1845-07-09) (aged 76)
Kelston Knoll, near Bath
Burial placeAll Saints Church, Weston
MonumentsPlaque, Bath Abbey.
Window, All Saints Church, Weston, near Bath
OccupationsArmy surgeon, 1791-1805

Inspector of Hospitals for the Forces, 1799-1805

Surgeon, Bath General Hospital and Surgeon to Royalty at Bath, 1806-1836

Bath Councilman: Constable, Bailiff, Alderman, Mayor, Magistrate, 1808-1835
Signature

William Tudor (18 April 1769 - 9 July 1845) was a British army surgeon, who served the royal family and the residents of Bath, in the county of Somerset, United Kingdom. He was the mayor of Bath between 1828 and 1829.

Career

William Tudor was appointed as a surgeon, by purchase, to the 2nd Dragoon Guards in 1791. He became a staff surgeon under the Duke of York in the Flanders campaign in 1794. He became a member of the Company of Surgeons in 1796, which in 1800 became the Royal College of Surgeons in London. In 1799 he was appointed as an assistant-inspector of Army Hospitals. In 1805 Tudor retired on half-pay as deputy-inspector, and then promoted to inspector, with a brevet rank, in 1821.[1]

Tudor was surgeon to Caroline Princess of Wales, to the Duke of York, Duke of Cumberland, and the Duke of Cambridge. On 10 January 1818 Tudor was appointed surgeon-extraordinary to Queen Charlotte.[2][3]

The novelist and diarist Fanny Burney who live in Bath made frequent references to William Tudor in her letters. This included a letter to her son Alexander in 1717 describing the arrival of the Queen to Bath Pump House to take the waters. William Tudor was in attendance at the royal levée along with many other representatives of Bath society.[4] He later administered to other royal visitors to Bath in 1717–1718 including Princess Elizabeth.[5] Tudor treated Burney's French husband, Alexandre d'Arblay, who was prone to a range of abdominal illnesses. Whilst she had every confidence in Tudor's abilities, her husband's diaries record that he certainly didn't enjoy the surgical interventions. Burney's husband died later in 1818.[2]

William Wordsworth, taking a cure at Bath in April 1839, was put under the care of "that good man and kind, Mr Tudor", and visited and dined with him at Kelston Knoll, Tudor's fine house, near Bath.[6] In 1817 Tudor was practising from 5 Queen's Parade in Bath.[4]

William Tudor became mayor of Bath in 1828.[2]

He was elected to the Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) in 1844,[7] close to his death.

Death

Tudor died at Kelston Knoll on 9 July 1845, aged 76 years.[1] He was buried on 17 July 1845 at All Saints church, Weston, and is commemorated by a memorial inscription in Bath Abbey,[2], which describes him as "an eminent surgeon in this city".

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Johnston 1917, p. 67.
  2. ^ a b c d Burney 1982, p. 781.
  3. ^ The Royal Kalendar 1821, p. 128.
  4. ^ a b Burney 1982, pp. 761–762.
  5. ^ Burney 1982, pp. 830–831.
  6. ^ Wordsworth 1958, p. 220.
  7. ^ Plarr’s 2012.

Bibliography

  • Burney, Fanny (1982). Derry, Warren (ed.). The journals and letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay). Vol. X. Oxford: Clarendon Press (OUP). ISBN 978-0-19-812508-2. OCLC 468524668.
  • "Tudor, William (1769 - 1845)". Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online. London: The Royal College of Surgeons of England. 21 December 2012. OCLC 646581474. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  • Plarr, Victor; Power, D'Arcy; Gask, George; Spencer, Walter, eds. (1930). "Tudor, William (1769 - 1845)". Plarr's lives of the fellows of the Royal college of surgeons of England. (source content for the online version). Bristol: J. Wright & Sons Ltd for The Royal College of Surgeons of England. OCLC 3553206.
  • Johnston, Col. William (1917). "1139. William Tudor". In Howell, Lt-Col. Harry (ed.). Roll of Commissioned Officers in the medical service of the British Army who served on full pay within the period between the accession of George II and the formation of the Royal Army Medical Corps (1727-1898). Aberdeen: University Press, for the Royal Army Medical Corps. p. 67. OCLC 14801693. Archived from the original on 1 November 2025 – via Wellcome Collection.
  • Wordsworth, Mary (1958). Burton, Mary E (ed.). The Letters of Mary Wordsworth, 1800–1855. Oxford: Clarendon Press (OUP). pp. 220–231. doi:10.1093/actrade/9780198845935.book.1. OCLC 1229847794.
  • "The Royal Kalendar, and court and city register for England, Scotland, Ireland, and the colonies". London: TC Hansard. 1821. hdl:2027/hvd.hxjfq6. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
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