Rev. Roland Upcher
Title
Rev. Roland Upcher
Description
Rev. Roland Upcher
Go into All Saints Church and look on the wall just inside the door to the right and you’ll see a list of all the known vicars who have been rectors of All Saints Church. JC Ryle who did so much to re-furbish the building, William Tate who welcomed in the 20th century and then Abbott Roland Upcher who held the hand of his congregation through the challenge and despair of the first world war. He was also instrumental in setting up the Mid Suffolk Bowls League in 1914 which is still running today and the matches are still an enjoyable part of The White Hart Bowls Club each season. He became President of the Norfolk and Suffolk Bowls Union. Abbott Roland Upcher was a leader in homeopathic healing and is still quoted for his use of gunpowder – yes gunpowder – within homeopathy. He died suddenly in 1929 and the following is part of his obituary which appeared in The Times newspaper:
“Canon A R Upcher, a former Cambridge running 'Blue' died suddenly, after a short illness, at Kirby Cane, Norfolk, on Friday, at the age of 80. He ran in the quarter-mile for Cambridge in 1869, 1870, and 1871.”. . . . “Abbot Roland Upcher was born in October, 1849, the second son of the Rev. Abbot Upcher., of Kirby Cane. He was educated at Rossall and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1873. His first curacy was served at St Paul's, Boughton, from which he went to St Pancras. In 1877 he was appointed vicar of St Mary's Sheffield, and 12 years later became rector of Halesworth, Suffolk, and Rural Dean of North Dunwich. In 1913 he moved to the rectory of Stradbroke, and last year he succeeded to the benefice of Kirby Cane, of which his grandfather was rector for 64 years and his father rector for 54 years. He had been an Honorary Canon of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich since 1913. Canon Upcher was twice married, and is survived by his second wife and by six children of his first marriage.”
Sadly, no mention that he held the world record for the mile whilst a Cambridge Blue or of his involvement in homeopathic healing. The following is part of an article he wrote on the use of gunpowder to cure blood poisoning:-
" For the last forty years," wrote Mr. Upcher, " I have known and observed from personal experiment the effects of Black Gunpowder as a remedy for various kinds of blood poisoning. The symptoms of poisoning which call for Black Gunpowder are almost invariably abscesses or boils or carbuncles, and frequently, though not always, exaggerated swelling of the poisoned limb, accompanied with discoloration of the skin, so that the arm from the tips of the fingers to the axillary glands is almost of a purple or black tint. In such cases I have found Black Gunpowder, whether in large or small doses, acts like magic." Mr. Upcher tells the story of how he came by the discovery. " My father, a country rector in Norfolk, used to add to his light duties in a small parish the recreation of farming the glebe, and as there was a good lot of pasture, kept sheep. He noticed that at the time of paring the sheeps' feet suffering from foot-rot, his shepherds were continually subjected to blood-poisoning, which was more or less (less, I fear !) successfully treated by local doctors. But it generally ended in the said shepherd having to give up his work and turn his hand to something else. However, at last there came a shepherd, who, year in and year out, never did get blood-poisoning ! " This greatly astonished the rector, and he asked his shepherd how be accounted for the fact. The latter invited his master to come and see him at his afternoon meal, or " fourses " as the Norfolk people call it. He duly went, and found him sitting under a hedge eating bread and what looked like black cheese. "Why, Harry," he exclaimed, " whatever are you eating ? It looks like black cheese." " No, master," was the reply, " that b'aint black cheese, but that is white cheese kivered with black gunpowder, and that's what keeps out the pison, that's what dew the trick - I never gets no pison." In course of time this shepherd got promoted to a better position, and his successor soon got into trouble when the feet-paring season came round. The shepherd's arm was swollen and almost black from finger-tips to armpit. The Rector did not trouble the faculty this time, but undertook the case himself. He mixed a dessertspoonful of gunpowder in half a tumbler of water, making a paste of it first, and gradually adding he water afterwards, and administered the whole in one dose ! Result : a brilliant and rapid cure. From that time on the Rector's shepherds took gunpowder with their cheese, and blood-poisoning disappeared.
AREADMAN-SARA
Source: http://www.homeoint.org/seror/clarkgun/index.htm
The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Oct 29, 1929; pg. 10; Issue 45346.
https://www.sueyounghistories.com/2008-08-01-canon-roland-upcher-and-homeopathy/
Go into All Saints Church and look on the wall just inside the door to the right and you’ll see a list of all the known vicars who have been rectors of All Saints Church. JC Ryle who did so much to re-furbish the building, William Tate who welcomed in the 20th century and then Abbott Roland Upcher who held the hand of his congregation through the challenge and despair of the first world war. He was also instrumental in setting up the Mid Suffolk Bowls League in 1914 which is still running today and the matches are still an enjoyable part of The White Hart Bowls Club each season. He became President of the Norfolk and Suffolk Bowls Union. Abbott Roland Upcher was a leader in homeopathic healing and is still quoted for his use of gunpowder – yes gunpowder – within homeopathy. He died suddenly in 1929 and the following is part of his obituary which appeared in The Times newspaper:
“Canon A R Upcher, a former Cambridge running 'Blue' died suddenly, after a short illness, at Kirby Cane, Norfolk, on Friday, at the age of 80. He ran in the quarter-mile for Cambridge in 1869, 1870, and 1871.”. . . . “Abbot Roland Upcher was born in October, 1849, the second son of the Rev. Abbot Upcher., of Kirby Cane. He was educated at Rossall and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1873. His first curacy was served at St Paul's, Boughton, from which he went to St Pancras. In 1877 he was appointed vicar of St Mary's Sheffield, and 12 years later became rector of Halesworth, Suffolk, and Rural Dean of North Dunwich. In 1913 he moved to the rectory of Stradbroke, and last year he succeeded to the benefice of Kirby Cane, of which his grandfather was rector for 64 years and his father rector for 54 years. He had been an Honorary Canon of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich since 1913. Canon Upcher was twice married, and is survived by his second wife and by six children of his first marriage.”
Sadly, no mention that he held the world record for the mile whilst a Cambridge Blue or of his involvement in homeopathic healing. The following is part of an article he wrote on the use of gunpowder to cure blood poisoning:-
" For the last forty years," wrote Mr. Upcher, " I have known and observed from personal experiment the effects of Black Gunpowder as a remedy for various kinds of blood poisoning. The symptoms of poisoning which call for Black Gunpowder are almost invariably abscesses or boils or carbuncles, and frequently, though not always, exaggerated swelling of the poisoned limb, accompanied with discoloration of the skin, so that the arm from the tips of the fingers to the axillary glands is almost of a purple or black tint. In such cases I have found Black Gunpowder, whether in large or small doses, acts like magic." Mr. Upcher tells the story of how he came by the discovery. " My father, a country rector in Norfolk, used to add to his light duties in a small parish the recreation of farming the glebe, and as there was a good lot of pasture, kept sheep. He noticed that at the time of paring the sheeps' feet suffering from foot-rot, his shepherds were continually subjected to blood-poisoning, which was more or less (less, I fear !) successfully treated by local doctors. But it generally ended in the said shepherd having to give up his work and turn his hand to something else. However, at last there came a shepherd, who, year in and year out, never did get blood-poisoning ! " This greatly astonished the rector, and he asked his shepherd how be accounted for the fact. The latter invited his master to come and see him at his afternoon meal, or " fourses " as the Norfolk people call it. He duly went, and found him sitting under a hedge eating bread and what looked like black cheese. "Why, Harry," he exclaimed, " whatever are you eating ? It looks like black cheese." " No, master," was the reply, " that b'aint black cheese, but that is white cheese kivered with black gunpowder, and that's what keeps out the pison, that's what dew the trick - I never gets no pison." In course of time this shepherd got promoted to a better position, and his successor soon got into trouble when the feet-paring season came round. The shepherd's arm was swollen and almost black from finger-tips to armpit. The Rector did not trouble the faculty this time, but undertook the case himself. He mixed a dessertspoonful of gunpowder in half a tumbler of water, making a paste of it first, and gradually adding he water afterwards, and administered the whole in one dose ! Result : a brilliant and rapid cure. From that time on the Rector's shepherds took gunpowder with their cheese, and blood-poisoning disappeared.
AREADMAN-SARA
Source: http://www.homeoint.org/seror/clarkgun/index.htm
The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Oct 29, 1929; pg. 10; Issue 45346.
https://www.sueyounghistories.com/2008-08-01-canon-roland-upcher-and-homeopathy/
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SLHG
Date
U
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MW
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Stradbroke Village Archive Creative Commons Licence is Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivs - CC BY-NC-ND http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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SVA/12/48
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SLHG, “Rev. Roland Upcher,” Stradbroke Village Archive, accessed January 18, 2025, http://www.stradbrokearchive.org.uk/items/show/1002.
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Graham Beard
The Rev. Abbott Roland Upcher (known as Roland) was a Freemason. At Halesworth, where he was Rector prior to moving to Stradbroke, he was in the 'Prudence Lodge', and he was sometime Provincial Grand Chaplain of Suffolk. In this photo The Rector is wearing clerical robes and Masonic regalia - probably the insignia of his office of Grand Chaplain.
AR
Thank you Graham for this information. Canon Upcher was a very interesting man.