The Royal college of Physicians is the oldest medical college in England, setting standards in medicine since 1518. Since our foundation by Henry VIII we have built up a magnificent collection of books, manuscripts, portraits and medical artefacts.
The Heritage Collections date back to 1518 when the College was founded. Thomas Linacre’s books formed the core of the first Library which now covers centuries of medical discovery and many diverse subjects besides.
The unique archive and manuscript collections contain a wealth of material on the College’s professional activities and the lives of the Fellows. The manuscripts collection dates back to the twelfth-century and reveal contemporary thinking on botany, astrology, alchemy, oriental and western medicine and many other subjects.
The College’s portrait collection reveals the most eminent figures in the history of medicine and science from the sixteenth-century to the present day depicted by some of Britain’s greatest artists. The silver collection includes items still in regular use and other treasures include a rare seventeenth-century chest of surgical instruments and six seventeenth-century anatomical tables created from preserved human blood vessels and nerves – one of only two sets known to exist. Also on display is the Symons collection – a remarkable group of medical instruments from the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries.
Together the material in the Library, Archive and Museum has grown into a nationally renowned collection. This was recognised in 2008 when the Museum gained Accreditation status from the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council.