LIKE many villages in the district, Thornton in the 19th and early 20th century was a place of narrow streets and poor sanitation - a breeding ground for disease and infection.

But its people were resilient, and long before the NHS came along the village had its own localised healthcare system with surgeons, midwives, hospitals, and an entrepreneur who oversaw Thornton’s biggest export - maggots.

Bred from leftover carcasses at local farms, the maggots were shipped across the country from Thornton’s railway station, often for animal feed and fishing bait. There was even a ‘Maggotorium Sanatorium’ in Thornton where locals could purchase a pint of maggots to cure tuberculosis.

The story of ‘Maggot King’ Arthur Bryant unfolds in a new exhibition at Thornton’s South Square Centre, reflecting on a poignant year for healthcare and exploring the local heritage of wellbeing and the resilience of ‘Thorntonites’ from 1800 onwards.

Remedy and Resilience features the work of artists responding to the trying times of the 19th century, when population spiked and cholera, smallpox and tuberculosis were commonplace in Thornton. It looks at Thornton’s campaign for better healthcare and reveals the story of Harry Mack, the village’s own quack soothsayer, who accidentally killed someone he was trying to heal...

And there’s chance to learn about some of the natural remedies that were around back then. Indigestion? Suck on a piece of coal. Toothache? Eat some fish eyes!

Opening next week, the exhibition also presents a set of artefacts from the Thornton Antiquarian Archive, and a comic ‘Horrible Histories’ style illustration inspired by the Maggotorium Sanatorium.

In 1902 Arthur Bryant opened a maggot breeding farm in Thornton, said to be the first one in the world. Known locally as the ‘Maggot King’, he used leftover carcasses from farming to breed his maggots. The creatures would fall off the carcasses into a pit of sawdust and Arthur would scoop them up and sell them in tins.

When Arthur’s daughter contracted tuberculosis but recovered, which was unheard of at that time, he was convinced that the high ammonia content from the maggots as they were feeding had cured her. He built a small room in Jerusalem Farm where patients could inhale fumes from the farm, and even packed maggots in small travel tins which he sold, so people with consumption could inhale the smell from their homes. The tins became a lucrative part of the business and were sold for 2 shillings and 6d. Arthur also got planning approval for a two-storey Maggotorium Sanatorium treatment centre for TB patients.

The Maggot King’s story was uncovered after Activities Assistant Chloe Moreton began researching for her first exhibition at South Square. “After a year where we’ve relied so much on the NHS, I thought I would explore what Bradford was like in the years before,” says Chloe. “I took my research from the Thornton Antiquarian Society archive, based at South Square, where I found lots of unusual, sometimes horrid tales about natural remedies used to cure people before the advent of medicine.”

Artists’ responses from the archive include a large comic book style illustration by Gaz Roberts telling the story of Arthur Bryant’s Maggotorium. Artists Jenny Dalby, Zoe Eady and Martha Madden have created work inspired by the library of natural, herbal and ancient remedies from the 19th century. Also on display are historic medical artefacts, including medicine bottles from Bradford pharmacies and an identity bracelet from a local boys’ home. And visitors can make their own bag of ‘smelling salts’, originally used to rouse people who fainted in sewage-ridden local streets.

“Another story I found interesting was Harry Mack, a local soothsayer. People came from as far as Settle to see Harry, although it was reported in 1897 that he accidentally killed a local ironmonger, Joseph Watson, whilst trying to heal him,” says Chloe, who has created a light installation inspired by the soothsayer, which is on display. “I wanted to display some of the artefacts in the archive’s collection which haven’t been exhibited before. I hope people find it interesting, educational and perhaps a little gruesome”

* Remedy and Resilience opens on Friday, October 1 with an event from 5pm-8pm with live music by Dean McPhee. It runs until Sunday, December 19. The South Square galleries are open Wednesday to Saturday, 10.30am-3pm.Visit southsquarecentre.co.uk

* Renovated as a community arts and heritage centre in 1982, South Square is home to 10 artists studio spaces, a gallery, community spaces, the Antiquarian Archive, a bar and café. It re-opened in May following a capital project of nearly £1 million from the National Heritage Lottery Fund.