Pharmacy

Pharmacology laboratory, 1960s (Ref: C/PH4/20)A major success story at Chelsea was the development of the College as a leader in the teaching of pharmaceutical science, which in 1926 saw a Chelsea student became the first University of London pharmacy graduate.

Initially included as a division of the Chemistry Department, from 1922 there had been separate courses at Chelsea for the examinations of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and that same year the University of London also approved the principle of a degree in pharmacy.

Department of Pharmacy at King Street, 1960s (Ref: C/PH1/3)Immediately launched, the success of the new BPharm degree led to the establishment of Pharmacy as a department of the Polytechnic in its own right from 1933.

Post Second World War, Pharmacy became a victim of its own success. In 1948, for the first time in the history of the department, student hours exceeded 10,000, allowing for the development of new laboratories and, from 1950, the introduction of three new courses. This saw a rapid increase in student hours to 50,000. Classes were staggered and laboratories, staffed by relays of staff and technicians, were in use for 11 hours daily. Demand for more advanced courses also increased, with 95% of day and evening students attending post-intermediate or postgraduate study.

By 1951 the Chelsea School of Pharmacy was the largest in the country.

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