# Royal College of Surgeons of England

The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The college is located at Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It publishes multiple medical journals including the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Faculty Dental Journal, and the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

## History

The origins of the college date to the fourteenth century with the foundation of the "Guild of Surgeons Within the City of London". Certain sources date this as occurring in 1368. There was an ongoing dispute between the surgeons and barber surgeons until an agreement was signed between them in 1493, giving the fellowship of surgeons the power of incorporation. This union was formalised further in 1540 by Henry VIII between the Worshipful Company of Barbers (incorporated 1462) and the Guild of Surgeons to form the Company of Barber-Surgeons. In 1745 the surgeons broke away from the barbers to form the Company of Surgeons. In 1800 the company was granted a royal charter to become the Royal College of Surgeons in London. A further charter in 1843 granted it the present title of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

## Members and Fellows of the College

The correct way to address a member or fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons is to use the title Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms, or Mx (not Dr). This system (which applies only to surgeons, not physicians) has its origins in the 16th century, when surgeons were barber-surgeons and did not have a medical degree (or indeed any formal qualification), unlike physicians, who, by the 18th century, held a university medical degree and could thus be referred to as "Doctor".
By the time the College of Surgeons received its royal charter in 1800, the Royal College of Physicians were insisting that candidates for membership of the College of Surgeons must first have a medical degree. Therefore, the ensuing years saw aspiring surgeons having to study medicine first and hence receive the title 'doctor'. Thereafter, having obtained the diploma of Member or Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons he would revert to the title "Mr" as a snub to the RCP. Nowadays the title "Mr" is used by Members of the college who have passed the diploma MRCS examination and the college addresses Members as "Mr" or "Ms".
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, the distinction is made in the following conversation:
   "Come, come, we are not so far wrong after all," said Holmes. "And now, Dr. James Mortimer—"
   "Mister, sir, Mister—a humble M.R.C.S."
Despite Mortimer's correction, he is referred to as "Dr. Mortimer" throughout the story.
A biographical register of fellows is available on Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online

## Buildings

The Company of Surgeons moved from Surgeon's Hall in Old Bailey to a site at 41 Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1797. The British government presented the collection of John Hunter to the surgeons after acquiring it in 1799, and in 1803 the company purchased the adjoining house at 42 Lincoln's Inn Fields to house the collection, which forms the basis of The Hunterian Museum.
Construction of the first College building, to a design by George Dance the Younger, and James Lewis, took place on this site from 1805 to 1813. The company soon outgrew these premises and in 1834 No. 40, Lincoln's Inn Fields was acquired and demolished along with the George Dance building, of which only a portion of the portico was retained. Sir Charles Barry won the public competition to design a replacement, constructing a facade largely of artificial stone composed of cast blocks of concrete and stucco. Barry extended this building southwards following the acquisition of Copeland's Warehouse on Portugal Street, and the enlarged buildings opened in 1855.
The college buildings expanded to their current extent between 1888 & 1889, when additional wings were constructed on the sites of numbers 39 & 43 Lincoln's Inn Fields and two storeys were added to the Charles Barry Building by the architect Stephen Salter (b.1826, d.1896).
In 1941 a German incendiary bomb hit the college causing extensive damage that necessitated major rebuilding during the 1950s and 60s. The surviving portion of the earlier buildings were listed Grade II* on 24 February 1958.
Planning consent for a major rebuilding of the non-listed buildings of the Royal College of Surgeons was granted by Westminster City Council in January 2017. The redevelopment of building has been designed by the architecture practice Hawkins\Brown. Barry's famous north frontage and library will be preserved and restored and The Hunterian Museum will benefit from a new façade and entrance on Portugal Street, to the south of the site. A "topping out" ceremony for the new buildings was celebrated on 24 January 2020, but, as of January 2021, the buildings have not re-opened to the public.
The exterior of the building was one of the filming locations of Agatha Christie's Poirot episode The Mystery of the Spanish Chest.

## Hunterian Museum

In 1799 the government purchased the collection of John Hunter which they presented to the college. This formed the basis of the Hunterian Collection, which has since been supplemented by others including an Odontological Collection (curated by A. E. W. Miles until the early 1990s) and the natural history collections of Richard Owen.
The Hunterian Museum is a member of The London Museums of Health & Medicine group, and displays thousands of anatomical specimens, including the Evelyn tables, surgical instruments, paintings and sculptures about medical individuals and medicine.

## Faculties

* Faculty of Dental Surgery
* Faculty of General Dental Practice
* Faculty of Anaesthetists (until 1988)

## Medals, awards and lectures

The Cheselden Medal was instituted in 2009 in honour of William Cheselden "to recognise unique achievements in, and exceptional contributions to, the advancement of surgery". The award is made at irregular intervals to reflect the outstanding qualities required of recipients and is deemed one of the college's highest professional honours.
The Royal Colleges' Bronze Medal was instituted in 1957 and is awarded jointly with the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. It is awarded annually "on the nomination of the Medical Group of the Royal Photographic Society for the outstanding example of photography in the service of medicine and surgery".
The Wood Jones Medal was instituted in 1975 to commemorate Frederic Wood Jones (Sir William Collins Professor of Human and Comparative Anatomy and Conservator of the Anatomy Museum 1945–52). It is awarded occasionally (triennially until 1994) by a Committee "for contributions to anatomical knowledge or the teaching of anatomy in the tradition of Frederic Wood Jones".
The Clement-Price Award was founded in 1958 with a gift of 1,000 guineas from members of the staff of the Westminster Hospital in honour of Sir Clement Price Thomas. It is awarded triennially, or at such other interval as the President may decide, by the council on the recommendation of the Fellowship Election and Prize Committee, "in recognition of meritorious contributions to surgery in its widest sense, without restriction of candidature".
The Lister Medal has been awarded since 1924 (mostly on a triennial basis), after the college was entrusted in 1920 with administrating the Lister Memorial Fund, in memory of pioneering British surgeon Joseph Lister. The award is decided in conjunction with the Royal Society, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Glasgow. In addition to being presented with a medal, the recipient delivers the Lister Oration at the college.
The Honorary Gold Medal was instituted in 1802 and is awarded at irregular intervals "for liberal acts or distinguished labours, researches and discoveries eminently conducive to the improvement of natural knowledge and of the healing art". Recipients to date include Sir Victor Negus, Sir Geoffrey Keynes, Sir Stanford Cade (all three in 1969), Professor Harold Ellis (1998), Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys (2002) and Dr Barry J. Marshall (2005).
The Bradshaw Lecture was founded in 1875 under the will of Mrs Sally Hall Bradshaw in memory of her husband, Dr William Wood Bradshaw. It is a biennial (annual until 1993) lecture on surgery, customarily given by a senior member of the council on or about the day preceding the second Thursday of December. (Given in alternate years, with the Hunterian Oration given in the intervening years). Not to be confused with the corresponding Bradshaw Lectures delivered to the Royal College of Physicians. See Bradshaw Lecture for list of past lectures and lecturers.
The Hunterian Oration was founded in 1853 when a bequest was made by the executors of John Hunter's will, to provide for an annual dinner and oration in memory of the famous surgeon. It is now delivered biennially.

## Educational history

Prior to 1820, to meet the requirements of London's College of Surgeons, students would spend time in London and select courses of instruction in surgery by teachers at Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' – together known as London's Borough Hospitals – and as well as attend anatomy classes at private institutions such as William Hunter's anatomy school, attached for a time to Middlesex Hospital. Although at this time some students of surgery had already acquired the M.D. (or its equivalent) qualification, it was not until the 1830s that students of surgery were required to have obtained a medical degree at a university before commencing studies for membership of the Royal College of Surgeons. By the 1830s, medical schools in London at the University of London, St George's Hospital and King's College, London had been established and the influence of the private schools was diminished.
The college owns and preserves corpses which are used for educational purposes. In 1998, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales observed that having staff preserve these corpses entailed "many hours, sometimes weeks, of skilled work". There is a common law rule which states that "there is no property in a corpse", but the court ruled that these preserved bodies were legitimately the "property" of the college and that two artists who had stolen a number of bodies were therefore guilty of theft.
Today, the RCS offers a range of both on-line e-learning modules and hands-on practical workshops to facilitate the CPD for trainee and consultant surgeons across varies specialties.
Since May 2017, the RCS started to offer a Postgraduate Certificate in Surgery to junior surgical trainees. This qualification combined e-learning modules and practical causes "offer surgical trainees a high-quality, flexible and interactive way to build their surgical knowledge and skills" across different surgical specialties.

## Current and past Presidents

| Name | Presidential term |
| Tim Mitchell | 2023–present |
| Professor Sir Neil Mortensen | 2020–2023 |
| Professor Derek Alderson | 2017–2020 |
| Dame Clare Marx | 2014–2017 |
| Sir Norman Stanley Williams | 2011–2014 |
| John Black | 2008–11 |
| Bernard Ribeiro, Baron Ribeiro | 2005–08 |
| Hugh Phillips | 2004–05 |
| Sir Peter Morris | 2001–04 |
| Sir Barry Jackson | 1998–2001 |
| Sir Rodney Sweetnam | 1995–98 |
| Sir Norman Browse | 1992–95 |
| Sir Terence English | 1989–92 |
| Sir Ian Todd | 1986–89 |
| Geoffrey Slaney | 1982–86 |
| Sir Alan Parks | 1980–82 |
| Sir Reginald Murley | 1977–80 |
| Rodney Smith, Baron Smith | 1973–77 |
| Sir Edward Muir | 1972 |
| Thomas Holmes Sellors | 1969–72 |
| Hedley Atkins | 1966–69 |
| Russell Brock, Baron Brock | 1963–66 |
| Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt | 1960–63 |
| James Paterson Ross | 1957–60 |
| Harry Platt | 1954–57 |
| Cecil Wakeley | 1949–54 |
| Sir Alfred Webb-Johnson | 1941–48 |
| Hugh Lett | 1938–40 |
| Cuthbert Sidney Wallace | 1935–37 |
| Holburt Jacob Waring | 1932–34 |
| Berkeley Moynihan | 1926–31 |
| Sir John Bland-Sutton | 1923–23 |
| Anthony Alfred Bowlby | 1920–22 |
| George Henry Makins | 1917–19 |
| Sir William Watson Cheyne | 1914–16 |
| Rickman Godlee | 1911–1913 |
| Henry Trentham Butlin | 1909–11 |
| Sir Henry Morris, 1st Baronet | 1906–08 |
| John Tweedy | 1903–05 |
| Sir Henry Howse | 1901–02 |
| William MacCormac | 1896–1900 |
| Christopher Heath | 1895 |
| John Whitaker Hulke | 1893–94 |
| Thomas Bryant | 1890–92 |
| Jonathan Hutchinson | 1889 |
| Sir William Scovell Savory | 1885–88 |
| John Cooper Forster | 1884 |
| John Marshall | 1883 |
| Thomas Spencer Wells | 1882 |
| William James Erasmus Wilson | 1881 |
| John Eric Erichsen | 1880 |
| Luther Holden | 1879 |
| John Simon | 1878 |
| John Birkett | 1877 |
| Prescott Gardner Hewett | 1876 |
| James Paget | 1875 |
| Frederick Le Gros Clark | 1874 |
| Thomas Blizard Curling | 1873 |
| Henry Hancock | 1872 |
| George Busk | 1871 |
| William Fergusson | 1870 |
| Edward Cock | 1869 |
| Richard Quain | 1868 |
| John Hilton | 1867 |
| Richard Partridge | 1866 |
| Thomas Wormald | 1865 |
| Joseph Hodgson | 1864 |
| Frederic Carpenter Skey | 1863 |
| James Luke | 1862 |
| Caesar Henry Hawkins | 1861 |
| John Flint South | 1860 |
| James Moncrieff Arnott | 1859 |
| Joseph Henry Green | 1858 |
| Edward Stanley | 1857 |
| Benjamin Travers | 1856 |
| William Lawrence | 1855 |
| George James Guthrie | 1854 |
| James Luke | 1853 |
| Caesar Hawkins | 1852 |
| John Flint South | 1851 |
| James Moncrieff Arnott | 1850 |
| Joseph Henry Green | 1849 |
| Edward Stanley | 1848 |
| Benjamin Travers | 1847 |
| William Lawrence | 1846 |
| Samuel Cooper | 1845 |
| Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet | 1844 |
| John Goldwyer Andrews | 1843 |
| Anthony White | 1842 |
| George James Guthrie | 1841 |
| John Painter Vincent | 1840 |
| Robert Keate | 1839 |
| Honoratus Leigh Thomas | 1838 |
| Sir Anthony Carlisle | 1837 |
| Astley Paston Cooper | 1836 |
| John Goldwyer Andrews | 1835 |
| Anthony White | 1834 |
| George James Guthrie | 1833 |
| John Painter Vincent | 1832 |
| Robert Keate | 1831 |
| Richard Clement Headington | 1830 |
| Honoratus Leigh Thomas | 1829 |
| Sir Anthony Carlisle | 1828 |
| Astley Paston Cooper | 1827 |
| John Abernethy | 1826 |
| William Lynn | 1825 |
| William Norris | 1824 |
| Henry Cline | 1823 |
| William Blizard | 1822 |
| Everard Home | 1821–22 |

## Past Masters – Royal College of Surgeons

| Name | Magisterial term |
| Thompson Foster | 1820 |
| Sir David Dundas | 1819 |
| Thomas Keate | 1818 |
| George Chandler | 1817 |
| Sir James Earle | 1817 |
| William Norris | 1816 |
| Henry Cline | 1815 |
| William Blizard | 1814 |
| Everard Home | 1813 |
| Thompson Foster | 1812 |
| David Dundas | 1811 |
| Sir Charles Blicke | 1810 |
| Thomas Keate | 1809 |
| George Chandler | 1808 |
| Sir James Earle | 1807 |
| Charles Hawkins | 1806 |
| Thompson Forster | 1805 |
| David Dundas | 1804 |
| Sir Charles Blicke | 1803 |
| Thomas Keate | 1802 |
| George Chandler | 1801 |
| William Long | 1800 |

## Past Masters – Company of Surgeons

| Name | Magisterial term |
| Charles Hawkins | 1799–1800 |
| James Earle | 1798 |
| John Gunning | 1797 |
| Isaac Minors | 1796 |
| William Cooper | 1795 |
| William Walker | 1794 |
| John Wyatt | 1793 |
| Samuel Howard | 1792 |
| William Lucas | 1791 |
| Charles Hawkins | 1790 |
| John Gunning | 1789 |
| Henry Watson | 1788 |
| Edmund Pitts | 1787 |
| Isaac Minors | 1786 |
| Henry Watson | 1785 |
| Joseph Warner | 1784 |
| Richard Grindall | 1782–3 |
| Peter Triquet | 1781 |
| Joseph Warner | 1780 |
| Fleming Pinkstan | 1779 |
| Pennell Hawkins | 1778 |
| Robert Young | 1776–77 |
| Richard Grindall | 1775 |
| Matthew Spray | 1774 |
| Joseph Warner | 1773 |
| John Pyle | 1772 |
| Wentworth Gregory | 1770–71 |
| William Bromfield | 1769 |
| Benjamin Cowell | 1768 |
| Robert Adair | 1767 |
| Stafford Crane | 1766 |
| Percivall Pott | 1765 |
| Robert Young | 1764 |
| John Blagden | 1763 |
| John Townsend | 1762 |
| David Middleton | 1761 |
| Edward Nourse | 1760 |
| Christopher Fullagar | 1759 |
| Mark Hawkins | 1758 |
| William Singleton | 1757 |
| John Westbrook | 1756 |
| Noah Roul | 1755 |
| James Hickes | 1754 |
| Legard Sparham | 1753 |
| John Ranby | 1751–52 |
| Peter Sainthill | 1749–50 |
| Caesar Hawkins | 1748 |
| John Freke | 1747 |
| William Cheselden | 1746 |
| John Ranby | 1745 |