The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) existed from its founding as the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1841 until 2010. The word "Royal" was added to its name in 1988. It was the

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

regulatory and professional body for

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

s and pharmacy technicians in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. In September 2010, the regulatory powers of the Society were transferred to the newly formed General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The RPSGB became the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) at that time and retained its professional leadership role; the "Great Britain" part of the name was dropped for day-to-day purposes.

Statutory role

Before the establishment of the GPhC and the transfer of regulatory power, the primary objective of the RPSGB was to lead, regulate, develop and promote the pharmaceutical profession. All

s in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

had to be registered with the Society in order to practise, and the Society was unusual amongst healthcare regulators that it had its own inspectorate. In latter years, in order to become a member of the Society an individual usually had to complete: # a MPharm or (if graduating before 2000) a

BPharm A Bachelor of Pharmacy (abbreviated B Pharm or PharmB or BS Pharm) is a graduate academic degree in the field of pharmacy. In many countries, this degree is a prerequisite for registration to practice as a pharmacist. Since both PharmB and Ph ...

or BSc (pharmacy) degree, # 52 weeks of pre-registration training and # pass a registration examination. This gave them the right to use the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

MRPharmS (Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society) and to practise as pharmacist in Great Britain.

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ships (FRPharmS) were also awarded for pharmacists with long standing and outstanding commitment to the profession. Since 2010, the register of pharmacists is now held by the GPhC and it is this body which now controls registration and fitness to practise. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society now provides Members with the post-nominals 'MRPharmS', Associate members receive 'ARPharmS', pharmaceutical Scientist members awarded 'SRPharmS', and Fellows denoted by the 'FRPharmS' post-nominals.

History

The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was founded on 15 April 1841 by William Allen FRS, Jacob Bell, Daniel Hanbury, John Bell,

Andrew Ure Andrew Ure FRS (18 May 1778 – 2 January 1857) was a Scottish physician, chemist, scriptural geologist, and early business theorist who founded the Garnet Hill Observatory. He was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal S ...

, James Marwood Hucklebridge, and other London chemists and druggists, at a meeting in the

Crown and Anchor Tavern The Crown and Anchor, also written Crown & Anchor and earlier known as The Crown, was a public house in Arundel Street, off The Strand in London, England, famous for meetings of political (particularly the early 19th-century Radicals) and vari ...

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. William Allen was its first President, and the society quickly took premises at 17

Bloomsbury Square Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, London. Developed in the late 17th century, it was initially known as Southampton Square and was one of the earliest London squares. By the early 19th century, B ...

, London where a

School of Pharmacy The basic requirement for pharmacists to be considered for registration is often an undergraduate or postgraduate pharmacy degree from a recognized university. In many countries, this involves a four- or five-year course to attain a bachelor o ...

was established in which botany and materia medica were an important part of the students’ curriculum. In 1843, Queen

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

granted the society its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...

. In 1879

Rose Coombes Minshull Rose Coombes Minshull (1845–1905) was one of the first two women members (with Isabella Clarke) of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (PSGB), admitted in 1879. Early life and education She was born on the 3rd of August 1845 at 19 Bra ...

(1845–1905) and Isabella Skinner Clarke (1842–1926) became the first two women elected as full members of the society. In 1918

Margaret Elizabeth Buchanan Margaret Elizabeth Buchanan (26 July 1865 – 1 January 1940) was a British pharmacist and pioneer of women in pharmacy. Early life and education Buchanan was born in Clerkenwell, London, to Albert Buchanan, a physician, and Elizabeth Anne Blak ...

became the first woman to be elected to the Council of the society, serving until 1926.

Jean Irvine Jean Kennedy Irvine (22 July 1876 – 3 March 1962) was a pharmacist from Hawick, Scotland and the first woman president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Early life and education Jane Kennedy, known from an early age as Jean, ...

became the first female president of the society in 1947, which position she held until 1948. In 1981, the RPSGB Diploma course in

Veterinary pharmacy Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

was initiated by professionals such as Michael Jepson and Steven Kayne, the former of whom led what was to become an institution until he retired in 2004. Sarah Cockbill then took the responsibility. In 1988, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

agreed that the title "Royal" should be granted to the society. The RPSGB operated a publishing company and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum, both of which are now operated by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Arms

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Health in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Medical and health regulators 1841 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1841 Pharmacy organisations in the United Kingdom Regulators of the United Kingdom

Statutory role

History

Arms

See also

References

External links