Royal Veterinary College, University of London

The Royal Veterinary College stands in Camden Town, a district in London’s north. Founded in 1791 by Granville Penn’s group, it began as the Veterinary College of London on land sold by Earl Camden. The first building formed a neoclassical quadrangle near Royal College Street, with a paddock across the road. Early work focused on horses, and the first horse was treated in 1793. Edward Coleman led the college for nearly forty-six years and helped establish its reputation. The college became the Royal Veterinary College in 1875 after receiving a royal charter from King George IV. In 1879 it opened the Cheap Practice Clinic to treat animals of poor owners who could not afford fees. Women were admitted in 1927 after the Sex Disqualification Act. The Beaumont Animals’ Hospital opened in 1932, and new buildings were inaugurated by King George VI in 1937. The Hawkshead Campus in Hertfordshire opened in 1959, with the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals and Bolton’s Park Farm. Visitors to the Camden campus find the 1930s buildings along Royal College Street, still in use with minor extensions. The main student bar, the Haxby, sits within the Student Union. The Hawkshead Campus lies in rural Hertfordshire, where sports teams train on courts and fields. The Queen Mother Hospital treats large animals, while Bolton’s Park Farm offers practical experience. The college museum once displayed the skeleton of the racehorse Eclipse, dissected in 1789. Both sites reflect the college’s long history of veterinary education and care.