There’s something about the concept of a poison garden that either titillates or terrifies, depending on your preferences. The Garden was originally established by Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, as an outdoor classroom to train their apprentices. Apothecaries were an important part of society, offering general medical advice and treatments often made from herbs. At the Garden apothecaries were trained to identify different plants, and to understand their uses. Until the 1970’s students training to be pharmacists, the modern-day apothecary, studied the uses of plants at the Garden. Thus, the Society's innovation may be seen to have nurtured the recognition and establishment in the UK of pharmacy and medical specialisms (and the subsequent founding of their specialist Royal Colleges and Faculties) including for General Practice, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Occupational Medicine, Public Health Medicine, and Forensic & Legal Medicine.

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Described in the blazon of the Society's Grant of Arms of 1617 as "the inventor of physic" [i.e. medicine], Apollo is depicted in the coat of arms with his head radiant, overcoming pestilence which is represented pictorially by a wyvern (a "serpent" in the blazon). Apollo was the father of Asclepius and therefore grandfather of Hygeia (goddess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation), Panacea (goddess of universal health), Iaso (goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (goddess of the healing process) and Aglaea (the goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence and adornment). The University of Glasgow DTMH team are looking forward to working with The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to prepare an international cohort of students for the professional qualification of Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.” Professor Michael Barrett OBE, Dr Christina Naula & Mr Don Ross a b Stungo, Ruth (1993). "The Royal Society Specimens from the Chelsea Physic Garden 1722-1799". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 47 (2): 213–224. doi: 10.1098/rsnr.1993.0028. ISSN 0035-9149. JSTOR 531786. PMID 11623188. S2CID 43440960.Our garden is only open during events or if you’re staying with us. If you’d like to arrange to view the spaces, please get in touch. Still, treat these plants with respect and you shouldn’t go far wrong. The Influence of the Poison Garden Apothecaries needed to be able to identify the herbs they would be purchasing to compound their products and thus avoid adulteration, poisonings or ineffective treatment”. The hall is the oldest standing livery hall of the city, with the first-floor structure and arrangement of the Great Hall, Court Room and Parlour remaining as rebuilt between 1668 and 1670. John Hope, The Greenhouse fronts to the east, a pencil sketch from memory, 1766 (GD253/144), (Scottish Record Office)

Grow an Apothecary (Physic) Garden as a Beginner How to Grow an Apothecary (Physic) Garden as a Beginner

Members of the Court wear dark-blue gowns with gold facings. The Master and Wardens have chains of office and particular traditional robes – the Master's trimmed with musquash, the wardens' trimmed with fitch. [12] I am no expert in growing plants for medicinal purposes but I am an experienced gardener who can really help you get started as a beginner in this area so read on: Many of these herbs can be used in meals and you get the benefits through simply consuming them in your food. Some, such as chamomile make great herbal teas. I must confess that I have drunk chamomile tea for years and it is very relaxing and makes a great drink for the evening. Welcome to Mark and the rest of the examining team who are now preparing for the first DTM&H examinations, which will take place on Wednesday 12 June 2024. Jones, Roger (2006), ‘Apothecaries, physicians and surgeons’, The British Journal of General Practice, 56 (524), pp. 232-233.Sue Minter explains that the Chelsea Physic Garden also helped to legitimise the apothecaries as “a reputable medical body” during the seventeenth century, a period in which they faced stiff competition from the physicians. This is vital to the development of medicine as a practice. Beware What You Touch… As Master of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, I am delighted to announce that we will be delivering the UK (Independent) Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) from 2024. In collaboration with course providers; Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF UK, MSF South Asia), the University of Glasgow and the University of Sheffield, the Society will be responsible for conducting the examinations and awarding this prestigious Diploma. A huge welcome to our course partners, examining team and students. We are very much looking forward to working with you all. An apothecary garden is a complement to modern medicine and does not replace it. If you have any medical problems consult a medical professional. Your Apothecary Garden will give you great pleasure and may just soothe your minor ailments.

Herb Almanac: A seasonal guide to medicinal plants (CPG) The Herb Almanac: A seasonal guide to medicinal plants (CPG)

Minter, Sue (2003), The Apothecaries’ Garden: A History of the Chelsea Physic Garden, Stroud: The History Press.The society is a member of the London Museums of Health & Medicine and its guild church is the Church of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe. English Heritage (2016), ‘What to grow in a medieval herb garden’, English Heritage, http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/grow-medieval-herb-garden/. The Society of Apothecaries is perhaps best known generally for its foundation in 1673 of the Chelsea Physic Garden, London, one of Europe's oldest botanical gardens and the second oldest in Britain. [13] After Sir Hans Sloane granted the society rights to the manor of Chelsea, the four-acre (16,000m²) garden became the richest collection of medicinal plants in Europe under the direction of Philip Miller. Its seed exchange programme, originally initiated with the Leiden Botanical Garden, led to cotton being planted for the first time in the Colony of Georgia.

the apothecary’s garden | The Spectator A guide to the apothecary’s garden | The Spectator

Each area of the Garden is planted with a specific focus such as edible plants, medicinal plants and poisonous plants. In the Medicinal plant displays, the history of plant medicine is explored. In many cultures around the world health was thought to have come from balance within the body and mind. Plants were often used to help find and restore balance, with herbals being written to aid people in the identification of plants and how to use them correctly. The relationships between people, plants and pharmaceuticals can be found in this area of the Garden. Prior to the foundation of the Society in 1617, London apothecaries were in the Grocers' Company (founded 1345, and whose trade was described in 1365 as the "Mistery of Grossers, Pepperers and Apothecaries"). In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Grocers, Pepperers, Spicers and Apothecaries were the trades constituting the Fraternity of St Anthony. Before that, apothecaries had been Spicer-Apothecaries or Spicers since the 12th century. [1] [2] Between the Apothecaries' Act in 1815 and 1998, the Society also set the qualifying examination for Apothecaries' Assistants or Dispensers. Agatha Christie sat this exam in 1917, studying for which is likely to have served her well in her description of more than 80 poisonings in her books. It seems only fitting that we’d end our trip to the apothecary and poison gardens with a plant that would be at home in both of them. Copeman, W. S. (2 December 1967). "The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London—1617–1967". Br Med J. 4 (5578): 540–541. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5578.540. PMC 1749172. PMID 4863972.Inventum medicina meum est, opiferque per orbem dicor, et herbarum subiecta potentia nobis. Hei mihi, quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis; nec prosunt domino, quae prosunt omnibus, artes! Founded in 1673 by The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London for its apprentices to study medicinal plants and their uses, it became one of the most important centres of botany and plant exchange in the world. Chelsea Physic Garden’s plant collection is unique in being the only botanic garden collection focused on medicinal, herbal and useful plants.