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Captain Richard Tappin Claridge, FSA (c. 1797〔/1799〔–1857),〔 was a prominent asphalt contractor and captain in the Middlesex Militia, who became best known for his prominent promotion of hydropathy, now known as hydrotherapy, in the 1840s.〔〔 It was also known as the ''Cold Water system'' or ''Cold Water cure''. Claridge is widely credited with introducing the methods of Vincent Priessnitz to England, thus initiating the populist movement of the time.〔 Indeed, much of what is popularly known about Priessnitz in the English-speaking world comes from two seminal publications. Firstly, Claridge's ''Hydropathy; or The Cold Water Cure, as practiced by Vincent Priessnitz...'' (1842 & 1843).〔〔〔 Secondly, Richard Metcalfe's ''Life of Vincent Priessnitz'' (1898),〔 with Metcalfe himself drawing upon Claridge, although Metcalfe also later wrote a historical overview and added more about Claridge and his role in the promotion of hydropathy.〔 ==Biographical synopsis== Richard Tappin Claridge was born in Farnborough, a village or parish in the county of Warwickshire,〔〔〔 and administered by the Stratford-on-Avon District Council. Claridge, a member of the Arcadian Academy at Rome,〔 was the elder and only surviving son of James and Hannah Claridge,〔〔 and a descendent of church minister and subsequent Quaker, Richard Claridge. Rev. James Claridge was himself a curate in the Established, or Episcopal Church.〔〔 The Rev. James Claridge died by accident, leaving Richard an orphan at age eight.〔 〔 Claridge married twice. On 28 June 1822, at St George's, Hanover Square, he married Elizabeth Ann Aldsworth Green,〔 who was the only child of the late William Green, of Bolton Street, Piccadilly, and of Kew, Surrey.〔〔 In April 1824 they had a daughter named Emma Green,〔 who later married Marie Etienne Charles Henri, Marquis de St. Aignan,〔〔 and subsequently resided in Nice.〔 Claridge was a man of independent means, who in 1841 attended Priessnitz's establishment at Graefenberg along with his wife and daughter.〔〔 He claimed that his promotion of hydropathy was "completely philanthropic. Having gained my own health and saved the life of my daughter at Graefenberg, and having witnessed most astounding cures there", he wanted to promote this system.〔 Elizabeth died on 24 August 1842.〔 Claridge spent some time in Italy, from where around 1847 he continued promoting hydropathy by petition〔 and a letter written at Bagni de Lucco on 12 May 1847.〔 On 7 January 1854, Claridge, now residing at a villa on the left bank of Paillon in Nice, married his second wife, Eliza Ann Morgan (née Beville) at Trinity Church, Marylebone.〔〔 Eliza had herself been previously married to the late George Gould Morgan, of the Tredegar peerage.〔〔〔 Eliza Morgan Claridge died sometime before 1866.〔 Before his prominence as a hydropathy promoter, Claridge tried his hand in other fields: which indeed some critics alluded he should have stuck with.〔 This included a partnership as a boot and shoe-maker, with the partnership dissolving on 7 February 1824.〔〔〔 And as a wine merchant, through at least May 1824 to August 1825, and where early on, he found himself as a potential creditor of a bankrupt. At this time, Claridge resided at 37 Wigmore Street, Marylebone.〔〔〔 Claridge himself was declared bankrupt in 1826.〔〔 However, it was another field where Claridge first became prominent, namely that of pioneering the use of asphalt paving in the United Kingdom,〔〔〔 which he embarked on after returning from a tour of Europe in 1836.〔〔 He also served with the Middlesex Militia, attaining the rank of captain,〔〔〔 before resigning in 1854.〔 Claridge died in 1857,〔 and his will is held at The National Archives, Kew.〔 At least one portrait of Claridge is known to have been created, by painter James John Hill. It was exhibited in 1844 at the Royal Society of British Artists, at Suffolk Street, Pall Mall,〔〔 and titled ''Portrait of Captain Claridge, Author of Hydropathy, or the Cold-Water Cure''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「R. T. Claridge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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