Birth, Family and Early Life

Herapath was born in 1796 in Bristol, the son of a publican who became landlord of The Packhorse Inn on Lawrence Hill four years later. When his father died in 1816 William took over the running of the pub and in 1819 he married Sophia Bird at St Philip’s and St Jacob’s Church. They had six children, three sons and three daughters; the eldest son, William Bird Herapath, also appears in Notable People, and the youngest, Thornton John Herapath, was a talented chemist who died tragically in a sea accident at the age of 28.

Herapath, who was largely self-taught, developed his interest in chemistry from the experiments he performed as a maltster in relation to brewing. He started to publish scientific papers and in 1828 was appointed to the lecturing staff of the newly constituted Bristol Medical School. His lectures were well received and he was soon promoted to be professor of chemistry and toxicology. In 1831 the School was recognised by the College of Surgeons, and in 1879 became the medical faculty within the University College of Bristol. Herapath was also one of the founding members of the Chemical Society of London in 1841. He was involved in exposing quack medicines (in an age when there were many) by analysing their chemical constitution.

The Forensic Analyst

Herapath is best known for his role as a toxicologist in a notorious murder case. In 1835 Mary Ann Burdock was accused of murdering a wealthy widow, Mrs Clara Smith, by arsenic poisoning. Suspicions about her cause of death were raised some time after her burial, so her body was exhumed and chemically examined, the first such occurrence in England. A servant, Mary Allen, alleged that Mary Burdock had administered a ‘red powder’ in some gruel prepared for Mrs Smith, and Herapath showed that her stomach contained sufficient arsenic to have caused death. Their combined evidence was sufficient to convict Mary Burdock and she was duly hanged.

The case established Herapath’s reputation for forensic analysis and he subsequently appeared as a witness in several other trials where poisoning was alleged – in some cases as a witness for the defence. Other toxicologists and judges did not always agree with his opinions!

Other Interests

Herapath was a Radical in politics and active in the campaign for political reform, though in the Bristol Riots of 1831 he sought to quieten the protestors when they turned violent. He was a local Liberal Councillor from 1835-1840 and 1842-63. He was concerned about the contamination of water sources and published both an analysis of the Hotwells Spa waters and a pamphlet entitled Hints on Domestic Sanitation. He was also the first person in Bristol to administer ether as a general anaesthetic during an operation, and similarly nitrous oxide during a dental extraction.

In 2017 a plaque in Herapath’s honour was unveiled at the Packhorse Inn, which he continued to run for many years alongside his professorial career.

Grave

William Herapath is buried in a prominent position on Ceremonial Way alongside his wife Sophia and their two youngest children Thornton and Amelia, who both pre-deceased them.