SH20 THE WORSHIPFUL SOCIETY OF APOTHECARIES OF LONDON

Abstract

Originating from the Gild of Peppers (1180) and later The Grocers’ Company, the Society was eventually incorporated by royal Charter in 1617. Members who specialised in preparing and selling substances for medicinal purposes were referred to as apothecaries.Initially the apothecary brought a description of a patient's complaint to a physician who prescribed medication which was dispensed by the apothecary. By the mid‐seventeenth century apothecaries commonly acted independently and in 1701 the College of Physicians sued William Rose an apothecary for treating a patient without the involvement of a physician. Although the case was decided against the apothecary it was reversed in the House of Lords in 1704. This case ensured the evolution of apothecaries into general practitioners of medicine and established the legal foundation of General Practice in England and Wales.The Apothecaries’ Act 1815 gave the Society the statutory right to conduct examinations and grant licenses to practise medicine. The Society evolved into one of the main non‐university licensing bodies alongside the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons. One of its most celebrated graduates Dr Elizabeth Garrett‐Anderson became the first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain having previously being refused admission to medical school on gender basis.The Society pioneered a number of post‐graduate diplomas including the Diploma in the History of Medicine. An annual Diploma Course consisting of 34 lectures is run by the Society and followed by a written examination, short dissertation and an observed lecture for those who wish to obtain the Diploma.