Royal College of Physicians Museum

Royal College of Physicians Museum Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Royal College of Physicians Museum, Nonprofit Organization, 11 St Andrews Place, Regents Park, London.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a public museum comprised of collections of medical history, portraits, sculpture, archives and rare books library housed in grade-I listed modernist architecture on Regent's Park, London

Discover Juan Valverde de Amusco’s beautifully illustrated anatomical book, 'Anatomia del corpo umano con molte figure'....
24/08/2026

Discover Juan Valverde de Amusco’s beautifully illustrated anatomical book, 'Anatomia del corpo umano con molte figure'.

Published during a period of major change in Renaissance medicine, the book used detailed copperplate engravings to help readers explore the structure of the human body. The RCP holds a 1560 Italian edition.

More than 400 years of use have left their mark on the volume. Its leather binding had deteriorated, the covers and spine had become loose, and earlier repairs made the book difficult to open safely.

With support from Dr Diana Walford through the RCP’s Adopt a Treasure scheme, book conservator Elizabeth Neville carefully repaired and strengthened the volume while preserving its original decorated spine.

Discover more about Valverde’s remarkable book and how specialist conservation has helped preserve it for the future: https://history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/preserving-valverde-conservation-renaissance-anatomy-book

This rare early photograph was taken in the 19th century, sometime before 1883. It shows the anatomy theatre built for t...
21/08/2026

This rare early photograph was taken in the 19th century, sometime before 1883. It shows the anatomy theatre built for the RCPs Warwick Lane home in the 1670s. The previous RCP HQ had been destroyed in the Great Fire of London.

We have this rare image thanks to Dr Farre, a 19th century member of the RCP who was fascinated by its rich history and compiled a scrapbook, collecting items illustrating important events.

Read more about our Warwick Lane building architecture here
https://history.rcp.ac.uk/about/architecture/warwick-lane

Royal College of Physicians

The Seventy Tales of the Parrot was a Sanskrit story about a merchant who leaves an enchanted parrot with his wife while...
13/08/2026

The Seventy Tales of the Parrot was a Sanskrit story about a merchant who leaves an enchanted parrot with his wife while he is away on business, to prevent her being unfaithful. The parrot tells her a long story every evening, ending on a cliff hanger, to ensure she stays home the next evening for the next instalment, preventing her from going out to find a lover.

This manuscript was produced in India in the 18th century, a Persian translation of the original Sanskrit, and includes many beautiful illustrations.

This volume is one of the few non-medical manuscripts in the RCP archives. It belonged to Roy Dobbin FRCP (1873–1939), who collected Islamic medical manuscripts during the 1920s and 1930s.

Read more about this unusual Persian translation of the story here
https://history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/merchant-his-wife-and-her-parrot

How did surgeons learn before videos, 3D models and modern medical training?Published in 1724, Lorenz Heister’s beautifu...
07/08/2026

How did surgeons learn before videos, 3D models and modern medical training?

Published in 1724, Lorenz Heister’s beautifully illustrated book Chirurgie helped make surgical knowledge more accessible through clear explanations and detailed illustrations of anatomy, instruments and operating methods. At a time when access to human dissection was limited and surgery remained painful and risky, books like this became essential teaching resources.

The Royal College of Physicians’ copy contains 19 copperplate engravings and later formed part of the collection of pioneering neurosurgeon and medical book collector Harvey Cushing.

However, over 300 years have left their mark on its pages and it requires specialist conservation to last for hundreds more.

Discover the story behind this important work and how you can support its future conservation through the Adopt a Treasure scheme.

👉 Read more: https://history.rcp.ac.uk/blog/chirurgie-discover-18th-century-surgical-manual-need-conservation

📣New exhibition alert!! 👀We are excited to announce new exhibition 'Patient voices: power, truth, understanding' will be...
31/07/2026

📣New exhibition alert!! 👀

We are excited to announce new exhibition 'Patient voices: power, truth, understanding' will be opening on 14 September 2026 at the RCP. Explore the lived experience of healthcare.

For centuries, histories of medicine have focused on famous doctors and scientific breakthroughs. However, many patient voices remain silent. Some were ignored, while others were never recorded.

Yet patients’ voices enrich our understanding of illness and care. They reveal experiences of healing and support – alongside frustration, exclusion and resistance. Listening to these voices helps us to better understand times when healthcare did not meet patients' needs and caused harm.

In partnership with a patient advocacy steering group, this exhibition brings together voices past and present. The group has shaped the exhibition through new artwork, oral histories and by acting as a critical sounding board throughout its development. While this gallery represents only a fragment of a larger history, its purpose is to spark curiosity.

https://history.rcp.ac.uk/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions

We look forward to welcoming you to visit this September.

Royal College of Physicians

30/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined historian and artist Theeba Krishnamoorthy at the RCP Museum for last night’s delightful creative textile workshop celebrating South Asian women doctors and healing herbs 😍.

We were impressed with the beautiful creations made from colouring cloth with natural dyes, flower pounding (hapazome), and lino printing.

As everyone was getting creative, Theeba shared fascinating personal observations & stories celebrating pioneering South Asian women doctors & healing plants.

South Asian Heritage Month Royal College of Physicians

30/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined historian and artist Theeba Krishnamoorthy at the RCP Museum for last night’s delightful creative textile workshop celebrating South Asian women doctors and healing herbs 😍.

We were impressed with the beautiful creations made from colouring cloth with natural dyes, flower pounding (hapazome), and lino printing.
As everyone was getting creative, Theeba shared fascinating personal observations & stories celebrating pioneering South Asian women doctors & healing plants.

We will be closed to drop-in visits from Monday 3 August until Wednesday 2 September 2026 while we undertake conservatio...
24/07/2026

We will be closed to drop-in visits from Monday 3 August until Wednesday 2 September 2026 while we undertake conservation and maintenance works to look after our collections and Grade I listed building.

You will still be able to: attend a guided taster tour in person on Wednesday 5 August from 1.30pm or join an online tour.

⭐go on a guided taster tour in person, Wed 5 Aug @1.30pm
⭐join a virtual tour, Wed 5 Aug @1.30pm
⭐join a virtual lunchtime talk ‘Under the skin: anatomy, art and identity’, Tues 25 Aug

Book now 👉 https://history.rcp.ac.uk/events

Address

11 St Andrews Place, Regents Park
London
NW14LE

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+442030751510

Website

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