Bridget Bostock (born c. 1678, died after 1749), also known as the Cheshire Doctoress, was a faith healer who spent her entire life in

Coppenhall Coppenhall is a small settlement in Staffordshire, England. Coppenhall lies southwest of Stafford and NNW of Penkridge with Baron Stafford as lord of the manor. The parish of ~ is bounded on the east by the Pothooks Brook. The centre of the ...

, Cheshire. She had been working as a healer for many years, employing "fasting spittle, a little liquor of ‘a red complexion’, touch, and prayer", but came to national prominence after she was featured in a local newspaper in August 1748, when she was about 70 years of age. Her fame became such that by the following month she was receiving 600–700 visitors a day seeking her assistance, and she soon decided that she would only see those she had dealt with before or who were deaf. Sir John Price, a Welsh

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, repeatedly importuned Bostock to raise his wife from the dead, but she refused. Bostock was reported to be a regular churchgoer and a person of great faith by the minister of her church, William Harding of St Lawrence's Church, Coppenhallhttps://books.google.com/books?id=QVepDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT118&dq=william+harding+coppenhall+church&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjKwqXr09H6AhXBElkFHR2JCBsQ6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=coppenhall%20church&f=false whose son claimed that she had cured his lameness. Nothing is known of her after 1749.

References

Notes Citations Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bostock, Bridget Faith healers

See also

References