Boyle Family

Collection of 712 medical receipts, with some cookery receipts, mainly written by two hands: in English.

The most frequent hand, probably a lady's, is a neat italic: the other hand is that of an older person, who is probably the original compiler. Receipt No. 53 is headed 'To make Spirit of Roses my brother Robert Boyls [sic] way': this is written in the older hand, and is perhaps that of Katherine, afterwards Lady Ranelagh [1614-1691], who lived with her brother Robert at her house in Pall Mall from 1668 to the time of her death, exactly a week before that of Robert Boyle himself. The identity of the writer of the greater part of the entries is unknown, but it is possible that she could have been a secretary who copied out the receipts for Katherine Boyle. On the verso of the last leaf of the MS. is a note by this hand 'May the 1st 1711'. Many of the receipts have names attached, and in a number of cases these can be identified with members of the Boyle Family and their circle.