Founded by royal charter in 1518, the Royal College of Physicians is the oldest medical college in England. Its collections of books, manuscripts, portraits, silver and medical artefacts are housed in the college’s Grade I listedheadquarters, designed by architect Denys Lasdun and opened in 1964. Beyond a public Portrait Collection, visitors will find a medicinal garden containing more than 1,300 plans, each used in some way as medicine around the world over the past 3,000 years.
For Open House London 2014, the Royal College of Physicians will be open on Sunday September 21, 10am-5pm. An exhibition celebrating the building's fiftieth anniversary includes Sir Denys Lasdun's building models, on loan from RIBA, and at 2.15pm Dr Barnabas Calder will give a lecture on Lasdun's architecture. As well as children's activities and a family quiz, there will be architecture and garden tours, which will be available to book on the day.