Dirty Dicks Newcastle

[aspin]

My mother suffered from Al apeshier and used to take a little blue bottle to Dirty Dick's
Bare patch's would come on her head as a result she had ring worm when she was very small

Every now and then she would get us to check her head and as soon as we did see a bare spot we had to dab the area with this lotion he made up for .It would most likely cost her a bout 2 shillings

It did work ,I think I still have that blue bottle somewhere in the garage and the label was poison written on it

Elizabeth

[brianlock]

My wife's grandfather, George Conroy, was one of the last chemists to run this business.
Mr Conroy died suddenly in 1960 and the business was closed by a Mr Todd in 1972
The shop was on Clayton Street in Newcastle

[belhay]

thanks everyone for all the info on Dirty dicks
My mother from Seaton Sluice and a lady I new from Bedlington
used this shop
I,d forgotten about the place until my sister said I should go there to get a  cure for my
chaffed hands as my doctor is unable to find me a remedy.

[Chatty133uk]

Hi. I've got quite a bit of info about this James Crozer but unfortunately I have no idea how to upload it onto here. If you could possibly give me your email address I could send it to you? Or is that not allowed? Sorry, clueless lol

[River Tyne Lass]

I think I recall reading about this place in a book called 'Tommy Turnbull' by Joe Robinson.  This was a biography of his miner Uncle and it is an extremely good read.  As I recall poor Tommy went to this place (Dirty Dicks) to get treatment and ended up considerably worse!!

[AllanUK]

Rummaging in a local second hand book shop recently, I came across a book called 'Beyond The Grave, Exploring Newcastle's Burial Grounds' by Alan Morgan. I have just had a good read of it and found James Crozer, alias Dirty Dick' mentioned. I have transcribed the piece below.

JAMES CROZER (1813-1888) ALIAS DIRTY DICK, ECCENTRIC PHARMACIST
Born in Alnwick, Crozer was one of nine children of a nurseryman. He served a seven year apprenticeship as a chemist, but unable to settle down, he travelled the world for about 30 years as pharmacist, school teacher, labourer and ship’s surgeon.
At the age of 54, he opened a pharmacy on Clayton street. He slept on the floor in the back of the shop, lived on rice and tea, and wore a white cotton suit night and day, neglecting his personal appearance. Despite this, his business was very successful – people queued for a consultation and a personalised cure. Prices were adjusted to suit different types of customers and the genuine poor were never charged. A break-in convinced him to install wooden shutters which were never taken down – this made him even more mysterious and popular as well as making the shop easier to find.
At 72, Crozer retired to Brandling Village where his wealth was estimated at nearly £4,000 – mostly in a Chinese bank account. J R Forster succeeded Dirt Dick at the Clayton Street pharmacy and removed the shutters. The next shop occupant, A Conroy, realised the value of Dirty Dick’s reputation and philosophy, promptly restored the shutters and declared ‘’not to fit the case to a particular bottle, but to fit the bottle to a particular case’’. Success followed. Though there is no headstone – presumably there was nobody to erect one – Crozer’s death notice in a local paper for 1888 notes that he was buried at Westgate Hill Cemetery.

The Newcastle Courant published on the 22nd June 1888, carried his death notice –
‘No1 Jessamine Cottages, Brandling Village, on the 16th inst. Aged 75, James Crozer, formerly of Clayton Street, chemist and druggist’

The Newcastle Daily Chronicle dated the 22nd June 1888 published an article of his life. The link below will take you to the image on Find My Past.

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0001634%2f18880622%2f086&stringtohighlight=james%20crozer

Another article to do with his estate indicated that the shop was at 105 Clayton Street, Newcastle -- a quick search brings up a newsagents currently occupying 105 Clayton Street.

Finally, the article in the book carries a small photograph of Dirty Dick's (complete with shutters) when it was owned by J R Forster.