ABSTRACT
The William Rose case was heard in the House of Lords in 1704 and is considered by many to have established the legal foundation for general practice in England. Rose was working as an apothecary in London when he was prosecuted by the Royal College of Physicians for practising physic illegally. He had visited John Seale, an impoverished butcher, in his home and prescribed and dispensed medicines for the treatment of a venereal disease. Rose was represented throughout the proceedings by the Society of Apothecaries, who portrayed the physicians as monopolists and the apothecaries as essential providers of medical services who were practising where the physicians would not, amongst the poor. The House of Lords found in favour of Rose and the Society of Apothecaries, confirming their status as members of the medical profession who were able to prescribe.
