The Fake Sleep Preacher and the False Leper: The Salisbury 'Impostures' of Dr Heydock & Walter Raleigh

Dr Richard Heydock or Haydock. Source: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Haydock

John Aubrey loved stories. His most famous work, Brief Lives, is replete with gossipy biographical portraits. This fascination for personal flaws, scandal and a good story spilt over into his Natural History of Wiltshire, not least in his notes on Dr Richard Heydock[1] of Salisbury. Heydock may not have been significant enough to be a subject in Brief Lives, but according to the Natural History manuscript (which has never been published in full), he was nonetheless an 'ingenious', a man who possessed both intellectual and creative talents. He was a 'curious anatomist', painter and map-maker, who had engraved a map 'of the Land of Canaan with Hebrew names' and translated Trattato dell'arte della pittura, scoltura et architettura by Gian Paolo Lomazzo into English. But Heydock also had a curious talent for preaching while 'in his dream' [while being asleep], 'which was much noised abroad, and talk't of as a miracle.' According to Aubrey, this talent was actually 'a device to game Proselytes', as the doctor was much against the hierarchy of the church. The device failed, however, and Heydock's 'imposture' was eventually discovered. There are other versions about the detection of the ruse, but according to Aubrey -' James 1st being at Salisbury went to hear him: He observed that this Harangue was very methodical &c. that he [Heydock] did but counterfeit a sleep. He surprized the Doctor by drawing his sword and swearing God's Waunes I will cut off his head: at which the Dr startled, and pretended to awake. So the cheat was detected.'

While Heydock did not appear in Aubrey's Brief Lives, that work extensively references Heydock's contemporary, Sir Walter Raleigh, one of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan Age. A man who combined historical and scientific interests with skill in navigation and exploration, but was also, according to Aubrey, 'immers't' in the 'fabrication of his owne Fortunes (till his confinement in the tower).' The story of Raleigh runs into many pages in Brief Lives, but Aubrey did not recount one strange episode where Dr Heydock and Walter Raleigh crossed paths during another imposture at Salisbury. It was, however, recorded in the Natural History.

Sir Walter Raleigh. Source: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh

In 1603, Raleigh was arrested in Devon and charged with treason for conspiracy to depose James and replace him as monarch with Lady Arabella Stuart. According to the Natural History, Raleigh 'was carried prisoner from the West to London'. When Raleigh arrived at Salisbury he used 'his great Skill in Chimistry' to make it appear he was suffering from leprosy. By this means, according to Aubrey, Raleigh 'thought he might retard his journey to a Prison and study his escape.' His brother, Carew, lived close-by and may have been complicit. However, the authorities called on a local respected medical practitioner, 'to give his opinion if the Prisoner might be carried to London without danger of his life.' The doctor chosen was Dr Heydock, who conducted an examination of Raleigh. The explorer's pulses 'bent well', 'and so [Heydock] detected the imposture'.

Raleigh continued his journey to London, where he was tried and convicted. He was not executed by James but languished in the Tower of London until pardoned in 1616, though finally beheaded in 1618. Heydock, meanwhile, continued to practice and lived on until the outbreak of the Civil War.

By Louise Ryland-Epton

[1] Note that although Aubrey calls the doctor Richard Heydock, he is generally recorded as Richard Haydock.