The Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, established in 1842, provides a wide range of services and activities for everyone interested in the history of British pharmacy.  Based on our unique collections of around 45,000 objects there is something for everyone whether you are a pharmacist, researcher, family historian, visitor to London, or simply fascinated by the history of healthcare.

The museum collection covers all aspects of British pharmacy history including:

• traditional dispensing equipment
• drug storage containers
• fine "Lambeth delftware" dating from the 1600s and 1700s
• proprietary (brand name) medicines dating from the 1700s to present
• bronze and bell metal mortars
• medical caricatures
• a photo archive.

Ground floor (reception area)
Displays on themes from The evolving pharmacy and Lambeth’s Pharmacy Past, to Pharmacy and Nature, and Making Medicines.

Visitors can also find out how pharmacies have changed over time, and compare today’s experiences with how you trained to be a pharmacist in the 1800s.

The objects on display range from 18th century seahorses to current painkillers, and from equipment used to make pills in the 1800s to jars used to hold 16th century medicinal ingredients. There is also an opportunity to see the architect’s model for the 11-storey building that was first planned to house the Society when it moved to Lambeth in the 1970s.

Our Developing Treatments display case focuses on the way that different medical conditions have been treated over time. Each year we examine different conditions from the earliest records to the present day. The display changes in March each year to mark National Science and Engineering Week. The current display explores how controlled substances such as cannabis, coca, cocaine, opium, morphine, and heroin have been viewed and used throughout history as pharmaceutical treatments. This exhibition will end on 29 February 2012.

There is no need to book to visit these displays.

Mezzanine and first floors
The current themes of the displays are:

• Healing Science exhibition, that looks at 1000 years of pharmacy history
• Highlights of our English delftware drug jar collection – beautiful ceramics dating from the 1600s and 1700s
• Bell metal mortars (Ernest Saville Peck bequest)

Please note that these displays can only be visited as part of a guided tour. Please book your tour with the Museum office.

External displays

The Museum’s original materia medica collection is now cared for as part of the Economic Botany Collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Visit the Kew website for more information.

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Souvenirs
Visitors can buy postcards, greetings cards, history books, reproduction jars and British Society for the History of Pharmacy merchandise at the Society’s headquarters. Visit our pharmacy souvenirs section for more information.

Services
The Museum offers a range of historical services based on the information, archives and objects we hold.

If you are a researcher, student, teacher, or simply interested in pharmacy history, we have a wide range of online resources to provide you with ways to find out more. 

The majority of items in the collections are kept off-site safely stored for future generations. If you would like to see any objects or images from our collections, please contact us to make an appointment.

A separate collection of Scottish historical material is maintained at the Scottish Department in Edinburgh.

As an Accredited Museum, we have an Acquisitions and Disposals Policy that governs what we collect, how we collect and how we dispose of items, alongside the ethical, legal and organisational framework within which these procedures operate.

Find out more about our services.

Information sheets
For more information about the history of pharmacy please visit our museum information sheets page.

Events
The Museum runs a programme of events throughout the year. Find out more about our future museum events.

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