Blogs

Every year the Archives, Heritage Library and Museum's volunteers contribute hundreds of hours to enriching the our services and helping preserve the RCP's rich heritage. Read on for a snippet of what they have been up to this past year.  

A look back at two fascinating talks we had in December 2025 on recent research into how we investigate the history of libraries with doctoral research Samantha Brown and Dr Alice Wickenden.

As part of our recently launched Adopt a Treasure scheme, we are starting a series of blogs looking into the objects themselves and delving into the conservation process that the generous donations received through the scheme have funded. Today's batch of items are all works on paper. 

Have you ever wondered what languages the books in the RCP library are written in? With the help of staff and volunteers, Rare Books and Special Collections Librarian, Katie Birkwood, can now answer that question.

Dr Anita K Simonds, MD FRCP FERS, the current Harveian Librarian, delves into the origins and history of the role.

The Church of England seems to be an unusual source for information about medical practitioners in the early modern period (1500 to 1800), especially female medical practitioners. But it is where this story of a brief period of opportunity is set.

The Royal College of Physicians has loaned one of its most treasured objects to the Garden Museum’s exhibition Seeds of Exchange: Canton and London in the 1700s.

A new display in the RCP Treasures Room, ‘The Ghost in the Library’, showcases several books that Henry Pierrepont’s personal librarian used to create the massive – but missing – Mathematical collections and translations. The display has been researched and curated by doctoral student Constance Hardesty, who has written this blog post about it.

On Saturday 20 September 2025, we welcomed over 400 people to the RCP at Regent’s Park as part of the London Open House Festival. Visitors enjoyed the chance to explore our Grade-I listed building from top to bottom, as well as hearing from expert guides and viewing original architectural plans of the building.

Are you curious about what the RCP Museum gets up to in a year? Well read on for some highlights of what we accomplished in 2025!