How to find it
Addington House, 75 London Street, Reading
So who was Dr Addington?
Born on the family estate in Twyford in 1713 he took his M.A. in 1740 and his M.D. in 1744. He set up a good general practice with a special reputation for the treatment of mental disease. He built what is now Addington House as his home and the one next door for the reception of his insane patients.
He practiced for some time in Reading before moving to London in 1754. He was admitted as a fellow of the College of Physicians in 1756. He practiced for 20 years in London, becoming eminent in his field. In 1780 he returned to Reading where he treated the poor for free.
Shortly before he died in 1790, Dr Addington heard his youngest son Henry had become the new Speaker in Parliament. He said at the time “This is but the beginning of that boy’s career.” He is buried in Fringford church, Oxfordshire.
Henry went on to become Prime Minister from 1801 to 1804 and was later made the first Viscount Sidmouth. He donated land to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Sidmouth Street and Addington Road are named after him as is Addington School (an outstanding Special School) in Woodley.
The plaque was unveiled in 2010. It was the idea of Dave Hasler, Managing Director of graphic design company Oculus, which had been in London Street since 1992 and had restored the building. He commented, “This is a very interesting part of Reading. It is a conservation area and we thought it would be nice for passers-by to know the history of this building.”
Background
King George III’s reign lasted for 60 years, until 1820. In the later part of his life he had recurrent and eventually permanent mental illness. Was it mental illness, was porphyria (a genetic blood disorder) or was it the drugs he was given? The weight of judgement seems to be that it was mental illness. Various treatments had been prescribed, many judged as inhumane.
On the 26th November, 1788, Dr Anthony Addington, then living in Reading, received his Royal Highness The Prince of Wales’ command “to proceed immediately to Windsor to consult with his majesty’s physicians on the cure of his majesty.” Dr Addington remained at Windsor four days, visiting the king twice each day. He alone foretold the early recovery of the King, which did follow, on the grounds he had never known a case of insanity not preceded by melancholy which was not cured within 12 months.
Dr Addington in 1767 was consulted by Lord Chatham (William Pitt the Elder) to assess his own illness. He described his recovery as being due to Dr Addington’s “judicious sagacity and kind care”. Some 4 years earlier his course of treatment for his son (Pitt the Younger) included “port wine”,
Addington House is named after him and his son.
