Victorian Pharmacy Museum
Preserved Victorian pharmacy and Scottish pharmacy collection in the Edinburgh office of the Royal College of Pharmacy.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Victorian Pharmacy Museum shows a preserved Victorian pharmacy from Edinburgh's Old Town. The display was long kept in the Scottish headquarters of the Pharmaceutical Society on York Place, a listed building with a doorpiece of 1884 that carries the society's name.
When the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland moved to 44 Melville Street in November 2019, the old Victorian pharmacy display was installed in the new building, a listed Georgian townhouse in the West End, and plans were made to show more of the society's museum collection there. Today the RPS Scottish Collection, which explores the history of Scottish pharmacy, is shown in the basement museum space. It includes the Victorian drug fittings, a display of poison bottles and a collection of historical medicines. The society changed its name to the Royal College of Pharmacy in April 2026.
Highlights
- Preserved Victorian pharmacy from Edinburgh's Old Town
- Display of poison bottles
- Collection of historical medicines
- RPS Scottish Collection on the history of Scottish pharmacy
- Georgian townhouse in the West End
Permanent exhibition
- RPS Scottish Collection – A preserved Victorian pharmacy, a display of poison bottles and historical medicines trace the history of Scottish pharmacy.
- Operated by
- Royal College of Pharmacy (formerly Royal Pharmaceutical Society)
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Wheelchair access is available to the basement level, which holds the museum space, only. Toilets are on all floors.
Kids & families
On open days colouring sheets are provided for children.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Haymarket station
Melville Street is close to Haymarket railway station on the main line to Edinburgh Waverley and on the tram line from Edinburgh Airport, and is served by major bus routes.
The museum is in the Royal College of Pharmacy's Scottish office, a Georgian townhouse in the West End.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | Visitors are asked to tell the museum in advance when they plan to come (museum@rpharms.com). On open days the museum manager answers questions and a handling collection is available. A self-guided online tour, A Journey through Pharmaceutical Edinburgh, is on the museum website. |
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