Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh photo, Thomas Hamilton architect, Date, 9 Queen Street building history

Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh

RCPE Queen St Building, New Town, Scotland design by Thomas Hamilton Architect

6 Aug 2014

The Physicians Hall: new photograph, © Adrian Welch, from Aug 2014:

Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh

Date built: 1845/46

Architect: Thomas Hamilton ; Robert Adam (part)

Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh Building

Address: The Physicians Hall, 9 Queen St, Edinburgh EH2 1JQ

Phone: 0131 225 7324

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was established in the 17th century. While the RCPE is based in Edinburgh, it is not solely a Scottish professional body.

No larger photograph:
Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh: Queen Street facade © Adrian Welch

Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh

Late Greek Revival, one of only two Scottish buildings illustrated in Watkin’s ‘A History of Western Architecture’ (the other is Glasgow School of Art). Hamilton also designed the Royal High School.

Watkins describes this buildinf (p.399) like this: ‘The bold essays in the Greek Revival by Thomas Hamilton included the Royal High School and the more eclectic Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh‘. He states however that St George’s Hall in Liverpool is the finest British example of the Greek Revival.

Thomas Hamilton architect

No. 8 Queen St is by Robert Adam, 1771

Conference centre in 8-13 Queen Street

The RCPE building is located on Queen Street in central Edinburgh. Three figures stand above the entrance. These are: Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing (left); Hygieia, Greek god of cleanliness (centre/top); and Hippocrates, with the hypocratic oath (right).

The RCPE building at 9 Queen Street was designed by the Edinburgh architect Thomas Hamilton, and was built between 1844 and 1846. In 1868 the College purchased the adjacent building at 8 Queen Street, which had been built by the renowned and influential Edinburgh architect Robert Adam in 1771. The Physicians Hall, as the conjoined buildings are now collectively known, is a superb example of eighteenth-century architecture; both the exterior and interior are extremely well preserved despite modernization.

Scottish Capital Building Designs

Contemporary Scottish Capital Property Designs – recent architectural selection below:

Royal College of Physicians context : Edinburgh New Town
Edinburgh New Town
building photo © Adrian Welch

Another design by architect Thomas Hamilton in Edinburgh:
Thomas Hamilton Edinburgh
property picture © Adrian Welch
Royal High School, Calton Hill

Royal College of Surgeons Building

Key buildings near to Royal College of Physicians:

Harvey Nichols Edinburgh

Register House

Jenners

Royal College of Surgeons

BMA Scotland HQ
Design: John Robertson Architects (JRA)
Angela St Clair-Ford - British Medical Association HQ Edinburgh
image courtesy of architects
British Medical Association HQ Edinburgh

West Town Edinburgh 20-minute neighbourhood
West Town Edinburgh 20-minute neighbourhood
image courtesy of West Town Edinburgh Ltd
West Town Edinburgh 20-minute neighbourhood

Comments / photos for the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh Architecture design by Thomas Hamilton Architect Scotland, United Kingdom, page welcome.

Website: www.rcpe.ac.uk