Description
The Society of Apothecaries, originally a member of the Grocers' Society, gained its own charter in 1617. In 1632 it purchased Cobham House, once the guesthouse of the Dominican Priory of Black Friars. The external appearance of the Hall today is much like that of the late C18th, surrounding a central paved courtyard. The Society established a pharmaceutical laboratory on the ground floor of its Hall in 1671, the first large-scale drug manufacturing operation. In 1673 it founded the Chelsea Physic Garden, which it managed until 1899. The property was expanded in the 1780s as these operations developed; new west and south ranges were added to the courtyard, now entered through an archway. A retail pharmacy on the north side had a separate entrance on the street in 1823 but in 1922 the Society sold its pharmaceutical business. The colonnade in the courtyard was enclosed in 1929 and in 1967 it was repaved for the 350th anniversary of the Society's Charter.
Practical Information
| Site location | Black Friars Lane |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EC4V 6EJ |
| What3Words | ///toys.sung.awake |
| Type of Site | Square |
| Borough | City of London |
| Open to Public | By appointment only |
| Opening Times | Open weekdays 10am-5pm, apart from public holidays and summer recess last 2 weeks August, first week September (Visits: call 020 7236 1189) |
| Events | Has opened for Open House London |
| Public Transport | Tube: Blackfriars (District, Circle). Bus: 4, 11, 15, 23, 26, 45, 63, 76, 172 |
| Research Updated | 1 December 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The Society of Apothecaries was originally a member of the Grocers' Society, not gaining its own charter until 1617 when it was recognised by James I. It did not have its own hall until 15 years later when the Society bought Cobham House in 1632, so called having been the house of Lord Cobham. This was on a site that had once been part of that of the Dominican Priory of the Black Friars, dissolved in 1538. Lord Cobham had acquired much of the Friary lands post Dissolution. This burnt down in the Great Fire in 1666 and a new Hall was built from 1668-73 with work by a number of people including Thomas Lock, with an internal colonnaded courtyard. The Society's estate had been extended in 1667 when property was purchased in the area including land reclaimed from the Thames. The Apothecaries' Society supplied the Navy, among others, with drugs and from 1671 it established a pharmaceutical laboratory at the ground floor of the Great Hall on the east side of the courtyard, the first large-scale manufacturing operation of drugs.
In 1673 the Society founded the Chelsea Physic Garden, only relinquishing managerial control in 1899. Until 1786 the west side of the courtyard was bounded by large iron gates. Restoration of the property was undertaken in the 1780s as the pharmaceutical operations at the Hall expanded. A new west and south range were added to the courtyard, new premises were added behind the eastern block, and the courtyard had its entry through the archway from the street and was stuccoed. There was a retail pharmacy on the northern side of the courtyard which in 1823 had a separate entrance on the street but in 1922 the Hall sold its pharmaceutical business although the steps and railings remain.
The colonnade in the courtyard was enclosed in 1929. Although redevelopment works took place in the buildings in the 1980s, the external appearance remains that of the late C18th. Between 1981-1987 the courtyard was also redeveloped and a wall plaque records the visit by the Rt. Hon Lord Mayor Alderman Sir Greville Spratt on 18 December 1987; a further plaque beneath this commemorates the 350th anniversary of the Apothecaries' Charter of 1967 when repaving of the courtyard was undertaken 'through the generosity of the Honourable Freemen and Members of the Livery and Yeomanry'.
In 1673 the Society founded the Chelsea Physic Garden, only relinquishing managerial control in 1899. Until 1786 the west side of the courtyard was bounded by large iron gates. Restoration of the property was undertaken in the 1780s as the pharmaceutical operations at the Hall expanded. A new west and south range were added to the courtyard, new premises were added behind the eastern block, and the courtyard had its entry through the archway from the street and was stuccoed. There was a retail pharmacy on the northern side of the courtyard which in 1823 had a separate entrance on the street but in 1922 the Hall sold its pharmaceutical business although the steps and railings remain.
The colonnade in the courtyard was enclosed in 1929. Although redevelopment works took place in the buildings in the 1980s, the external appearance remains that of the late C18th. Between 1981-1987 the courtyard was also redeveloped and a wall plaque records the visit by the Rt. Hon Lord Mayor Alderman Sir Greville Spratt on 18 December 1987; a further plaque beneath this commemorates the 350th anniversary of the Apothecaries' Charter of 1967 when repaving of the courtyard was undertaken 'through the generosity of the Honourable Freemen and Members of the Livery and Yeomanry'.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ317810 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.019 |
| Site Ownership | The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries |
| Site Management | The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries |
| Dates | C17th; C18th; 1981-87 |
| Listed Structures | LBI and SAM: Apothecaries' Hall |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | City of London |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | St Paul's Cathedral |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - St Paul's Heights Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | Strategic Viewing Corridor |
Gallery
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The parish of St Ann Blackfriars was established after the dissolution of the C13th Friary of the Dominicans or Black Friars, so called for the colour of their clothes. The Priory church, initially used as the parish church from 1544, was demolished in 1550 and subsequent complaints by local inhabitants deprived of a place of worship led to the building of St Ann Blackfriars in 1597. It was built on the site known as Ireland Yard, once part of the Provincial's Hall of the Priory. Part of the site of the nave of the Friary church became the burial ground of St Ann, the site now known as Church Entry. St Ann's burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666 and was not rebuilt, the parish amalgamating with that of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe and the church site became a burial ground. The two churchyards closed in 1849 and were later laid out as public gardens by Madeline Agar, MPGA landscape gardener, in 1907. They are largely paved, both raised and containing a number of tombstones.
The church was first called St Andrew's juxta Baynard's Castle after a tower erected on the banks of the Thames by the Baynard family, who came to England with William the Conqueror. Baynard's Castle was later owned by the Crown and occasionally used as a Royal residence. St Andrew's later became known as St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe due to the proximity of the Royal Wardrobe, which had moved from the Tower in the mid C14th to a site now Wardrobe Place north of the church. Baynard's Castle, the Wardrobe and St Andrew's were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the church rebuilt in 1685-94 by Wren. The steep terraced churchyard that lies between the church front and Queen Victoria Street was laid out as a garden in 1901 when the front wall with urns and ornamental wrought iron gates were erected, presented in memory of church warden Professor Banister Fletcher.
Wardrobe Place is so-called after the King's Great Wardrobe, which housed the Crown's storage of clothing and arms. It was moved from the Tower of London to Lombard Street in 1311 and then in the 1360s to a house here that Edward III purchased from Sir John Beauchamp. The Wardrobe was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and the buildings in Wardrobe Place today date from the C18th and C19th. It is reached through an archway from Carter Lane, a paved courtyard laid out with a few trees and seats.
