QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, a wide and substantial thoroughfare, about ? mile in length, constructed in 1862, leads east from Blackfriars Bridge to the Mansion House. To the right is the large St. Paul's Station of the Southern Railway. On the same side (at a lower level) begins Upper Thames St. Opposite (left) diverges Water Lane, in which stands APOTHECARIES' HALL, dating in its present form from 1670-86, and containing portraits of James I., Charles I., John Keats (a licentiate of the Hall), and others (admission on application to the Clerk).
Apothecary is the name formerly given to members of a subordinate branch of the medical profession. In 1606 James I. incorporated the Apothecaries as one of the City companies, uniting them with the Grocers; but in 1617, when the charter was renewed, they were made a separate corporation under the title of 'Apothecaries of the City of London.' The society grants diplomas for the practice of medicine and surgery, and its licentiates are legally on a par with graduates of the universities. The act of 1874 authorizes the granting of the licence to women. The society still (in accordance with its original charter) manufactures pure drugs, largely exported to the colonies.
