6 Little Known Facts about 1 Wimpole Street

1. Physics & Medicine

When 1 Wimpole Street was officially opened in May 1912 by King George V and Queen Mary, the Queen was presented with a special bouquet of flowers gathered from the Chelsea Physic Garden to be presented to The Queen.

2. At The Forefront

Shortly after opening, in 1913 – 17, Sir Ronald Ross began using the Marcus Beck Laboratory to conduct the research into malaria and Dr David Thomson successfully grew human cancer for the first time. Today this laboratory is known as the Marcus Beck Library, a meeting room for up to 30 delegates.

3. A New Front

During the First World War, 1 Wimpole Street was the headquarters of the Emergency Surgical Aid Corps. After the Great War ended, the building hosted the Inter-Allied Conference on War Medicine, at which the lecture hall was thronged to capacity with demobilised medical officers. During World War 2 a similar conference was organized too.

To this day 1 Wimpole Street hold meetings for the Military Medicine section of the RSM, which helps further knowledge of medicine amongst serving and past-serving members of the medical services of Her Majesty’s Forces.

4. Library

The Society’s library is one of the largest postgraduate biomedical libraries in Europe and features some half a million volumes, some of which date back to the 15^th century. During the last major refurbishment to the library alone, an additional 3.75 miles of extra library shelving was added!

As well as a library full of medical treasures, our Toynbee Mackenzie ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) Room contains 2 cabinets documenting the evolution of ENT instruments – quite a talking point for guests!

5. A Decade To Remember

In the last 10 years, over £15 million has been spent developing the facilities at 1 Wimpole Street. Our newest facility, the Naim Dangoor Auditorium is arguably one of Central London’s most technologically capable events spaces. This tiered lecture theatre contains £350,000 of in-built audio-visual technology, providing Event Organisers the ultimate tools for stunning presentations.

6. The Old Post Office

There is a disused underground rail station, under 1 Wimpole Street. The station was used by the building’s old occupants – The Western District Post Office – to send mail across London’s West-End.