Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh stands in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, a short walk from Princes Street. Founded in 1681 by royal charter, it is one of three bodies setting standards for medical training in the United Kingdom. Over 14,000 fellows and members hold post-nominals MRCP(Edin) or FRCP(Edin). Sir Robert Sibbald played a key role in its early negotiations. The college first published the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia in 1699, a guide used for over a century. The college’s history includes notable milestones such as admitting women on equal terms in 1920. Its first hall in George Street was abandoned unfinished due to financial strain in the 19th century. A new Queen Street Hall was completed in 1846, designed by Thomas Hamilton. The adjacent 8 Queen Street, built by Robert Adam in the 1770s, was purchased in 1868 and restored in the 1990s. The college also once owned a laboratory on Forest Road, opened in 1896 and closed in 1950. Visitors find the college’s Queen Street buildings arranged around a quiet courtyard. The Sibbald Library holds around 30,000 archived records and historical artefacts, including a medicine chest once belonging to a physician to Bonnie Prince Charlie. The library’s collection of William Cullen’s letters was digitised in 2015. The college continues to publish the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, established in 1971. The New Town setting offers a blend of Georgian architecture and scholarly calm.