“Sick to Death started off as something called the Roman Medicine road show. We’d go round with medical items from the Roman period and some interesting prosthetics. We would demonstrate how the Romans practiced medicine and that became very popular with schools and members of the public. Lots of people vomiting and fainting especially with the prosthetic anus we used to have, how to deal with a bleeding fistula, that was always a particularly popular part of the demonstration.”
The Plague Doctor first appeared in Chester in 2016.
“I was just wandering around checking the sights and people were taking pictures of me and sending them out as some kind of viral phenomenon, some kind of creepy character terrorising the public, but I just wanted to say hello to people! After that we found a wonderful place called Bonewaldesthornes Tower and the Water Tower, they weren’t being used, except as a great venue for rats, they loved it in there. We thought it would be fantastic to put on a display about Chester and its medical history. It had a lot of steps and no toilets, not a problem for me because I just do it in a pot and throw it over the side, but for our visitors it was a bit of a nuisance so we had to find somewhere to move on.”
“When the Heritage centre on Bridge street closed, the company that I am affiliated with, Big Heritage, turned it into a place called Chester: a Life story and it was very nice. Around 2020 we decided to put on a bigger Sick to Death display. Around that time there was a strange virus going round, and for me it was like being back in the 17th century. It did make opening a new museum rather difficult, opening at the same time as a gigantic medical crisis. When things eased, we had loads of visitors, thousands flocking to us!” Since 2016 Sick to Death has attracted more than 250,000 visitors.
Of his historical origins, the Doctor says : ” The Plague Doctors were normally found in continental Europe, places like Germany France or Spain in the 17th century. So you wouldn’t normally find me in places like Chester. They probably needed me because there was a terrible plague outbreak here. The whole point of the costume I’m wearing is that I believe in something called miasma, bad smells which spread disease. I cover my body to make sure bad smells get nowhere near me , and the mask contains herbs and spices so nothing gets up my nose. I’m constantly walking around like a teenage boy wearing about 5 birthday and Christmas presents worth of Lynx.
“It’s lovely being part of the Chester massive. I know lots of people, there’s the Town Crier and all the other strange characters you get bouncing around Chester. The people have taken me to their bosom and they’re all extremely welcoming. I actually have a distant cousin in politics, Count Binface. I went into medicine and he went into politics!
“Chester during the Plague was dreadful! There would have been crime, grime, lots of unpleasant people, people sick and dying. They used to put people in huts outside the walls so they died away from everyone else.”
As well as Sick to Death, Big Heritage also run the Deva Roman Experience. The Doctor promises more for the future: “We will be bigger and better! We also have a new attraction on the way. We have the Chester cells opening up underneath the Town Hall, lots of history to do with crime and punishment. Big Heritage are all over the place, our spiders webs are everywhere, there will be history and heritage for everyone. When we open up in October in the Town Hall come and see us!”
