Opium in Hastings Old Town

A little opium tale from Hastings Old Town. In the mid-19th century, the artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal stayed at #5 High Street in Hastings. At that time, laudanum was a widely and freely available in the UK “cure-all” for various ailments, including pain and distress, and could be purchased easily from local shops. Siddal became seriously reliant on it, ultimately dying of an overdose in 1862…. The Hastings Museum has a little exhibition on it…including a little whiff of the stuff…