In the Dorset town of Bridport, one man left behind a legacy that still sparks curiosity today.

His name was Dr Giles Roberts, a chemist and self-made medical practitioner who became widely known for helping ordinary people at a time when professional healthcare was often out of reach.

Before his medical career took shape, Roberts helped his parents run a local pub. But his real interest lay elsewhere in medicine.

Despite having no formal qualifications to begin with, he set himself up as a chemist in 1788. Through study, experimentation, and practice, he built a reputation in the late 1700s as someone people could turn to for help. So trusted was he by his patients that, in 1794, they raised money to send him to London to further his studies at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals.

He returned with official certification to work as a surgeon, physician and chemist, finally answering critics who had doubted his lack of formal training.

Back in Bridport he established his own laboratory where he gave science lectures and carried out experiments. It was here that he developed the product that would define his legacy.

At the heart of his fame was a remedy with a memorable name: “The Poor Man’s Friend.”

Created in the 1790s, this ointment was marketed as a cure-all, something that could treat a wide range of conditions from wounds and skin complaints to aches, pains and inflammation.

In an era before regulated medicine remedies like this were common but Roberts’ version stood out. 

It became hugely popular, spreading far beyond Bridport and bringing him both recognition and financial success.

But his story isn’t just about business. Dr Roberts earned his nickname because of how he treated people. He was known for offering advice and care to those who couldn’t afford it, building a reputation as a generous and community-minded figure.

Today, Dr Roberts is remembered as one of Bridport’s more unusual historical figures, a man who combined entrepreneurship, experimentation, and compassion in equal measure.A healer to some, a businessman to others but to many, simply “the poor man’s friend.”