Savory and Moore Pharmacy
The Savory and Moore Pharmacy is situated in the Medical History Museum at the University of Melbourne. It existed as a working pharmacy in London from c.1849 up until 1968. From its site at 29 Chapel Street, Belgravia, it served the wealthy inhabitants of Belgrave Square as well as the nearby Buckingham Palace.
After its closure in 1968 the complete fittings and contents of the pharmacy were acquired by the Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine, which in 1971 gifted it to the Medical History Museum, paying for its shipment and reinstallation at its new site. As well as the original pharmacy bottles and equipment included in the donation was an early collection of Burroughs and Wellcome pharmaceutical products, which dated back to 1880s and the beginning of the mass production of patent medicines.
In 1971 the pharmacy was reopened by former Prime Minister Sir R. G. Menzies in a launching ceremony attended by a distinguished gathering of guests, including representatives from Burroughs Wellcome & Co. and the WellcomeTrust. The pharmacy as it currently stands in the Medical History Museum is an almost exact reconstruction in size and appearance of the original shop, complete with the window case and show globes within. It is a visual reminder of the way in which pharmaceuticals were compounded and dispensed for the sick in the not-so-distant past.
