Apothecaries' Hall

Apothecaries' Hall
Middlesex
Apothecaries' Hall
Type:	Livery hall
Location
Grid reference:	TQ31738104
Location:	51°30’47"N, 0°6’11"W
City:	London
History
	Built 1672
For:	The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London by Edward Jerman
	Livery hall
Information
Owned by:	The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London

Apothecaries Hall is the livery hall and headquarters of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London; one of the chartered livery companies of the City of London. The hall stands on Black Friars Lane in the City, and is a Grade I listed building.

The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, one of the largest of the livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in the order of precedence between the companies.

Apothecaries' Hall is the oldest extant livery hall in the City of London, with the first-floor structure and arrangement of the Great Hall, Court Room and Parlour remaining as rebuilt between 1668 and 1670.

History

The building was originally part of the Dominican priory of Black Friars, was called Cobham House before its purchase by the society in 1632.

Great Hall interior

The original livery hall was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, although a significant extent of the 13th century buildings remain - including a portion of the walls 30 feet high, now incorporated into the north range of the Hall courtyard. A new hall was built on the same site and completed in 1672 to the design of Edward Jerman; an "Elaboratory" was included at this time for the first ever large-scale manufacture of drugs.

From then until 1922, the Society manufactured medicinal and pharmaceutical products at their Hall, and sold some of their products from a retail outlet opening onto Water Lane (now Blackfriars Lane). Much of the manufactured drugs were to supply clients of the Society which included the Navy, the Army, the East India Company and the Crown Colonies.

A major restoration and (external) building programme was carried out in the 1780s. Although the hall underwent further redevelopment in the 1980s, its appearance has altered little since the late-eighteenth century.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Apothecaries' Hall)

• The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London