Wakefield Museums and Castles

As well as in food, rhubarb was used in medicine for thousands of years.

This is a handwritten cure ‘For the Cholera’ from the 1800s. It recommends a mixture of powdered rhubarb, laudanum, Cayenne pepper and peppermint to help relieve the symptoms of cholera. It says to take ‘30 drops according to the violence of the symptoms’.

Cholera is a potentially fatal infection. It is most commonly caught by drinking infected water. It can cause severe dehydration through  repeated diarrhoea and vomiting.

Cholera first appeared in Britain in 1831. The Industrial Revolution had led to huge numbers of people moving to cities from the countryside. In 1750, only 20 per cent of the British population lived in cities. By 1881, this was 68 per cent.

This sudden surge led to overcrowding, cramped living conditions and poor sanitation. It was the perfect breeding ground for deadly epidemic disease. Cholera was one of the most devastating.

It was a very scary time for ordinary people. There were many recipes for ‘homemade cures’, like this one. It wouldn’t have cured the patient, but it may have helped their symptoms.

Rhubarb has been used in natural medicine for centuries. It can help to detoxify the body and cleanse 'the system'. It acts as a purgative, helping to remove toxins and waste products from the body. Rhubarb was also believed to have anti-inflammatory properties.

In ancient times, rhubarb root was mainly used as a laxative. It was known for its gentle, effective relief from constipation, bloating and indigestion.

It took decades of work by sanitary reformers like Edwin Chadwick and John Snow to realise and treat the source of the problem – drinking water.

Thankfully, cholera is no longer found in the UK. Improvements in sanitation and sewage systems by the late 1800s fixed the problem. The last local case was in 1893.

However, some developing countries still don’t have widespread access to clean drinking water. Cholera still affects around three to five million people worldwide. It causes thousands of deaths each year.