College history and headquarters
Co-founders of the college include Fraser Rose, John Hunt and George Abercrombie and others who joined the steering committee in 1951. The college began in November 1952 in response to growing physical, administrative and financial pressures that demoralised GPs and undermined standards of patient care. GPs now had to provide free primary care throughout the community and act as 'gatekeepers' with responsibility for referring patients to specialist consultants in NHS hospitals.
The formation of the college received widespread support throughout the medical press and individual GPs. In January 1953 'Foundation Membership' was made available to established GPs who satisfied defined criteria, and within six weeks 1,655 doctors had joined. One of the first presidents of the RCGP was William Pickles. He spoke out in favour of the foundation of the NHS and was held in high regard worldwide for his work in epidemiology. The first honorary registrar was New Zealand doctor Sylvia Chapman.
The college's coat of arms and inscription Cum Scientia Caritas were designed by Perry Harrison, a founder member of the college. The college received the letters patent for its Arms in 1961. The elements represent historical context and themes relevant to general medical practice:
The ancient lineage of medicine – the gavel entwined with the serpent of Asclepius (the Greek God of Medicine).
The owl of the crest represents wisdom, and night visits; the gavel, authority and decision-making.
The shield itself is derived from that of St Bartholomew's Hospital (the oldest extant hospital site in the UK). Its chevron in these arms represents a roof (of the house in which general practice takes place), and day and night (black/white) alluding to the 24-hour commitment of GPs to their patients.
The lamp represents enlightenment, the importance of study/research, and links with the lamp of nursing.
The doctor's compassionate and healing relationship with their patient is represented by the white poppy (symbolising the relief of pain) and the blue gentian (representing the restorative and rehabilitative role of the GP).
The supporters are a unicorn (from the arms of the Society of Apothecaries, the forerunners of General Practitioners in the UK and in whose Hall the College of General Practitioners was first housed, but also representing medicine), and a lynx (from the Arms of the Company of Barbers and subsequently the Royal College of Surgeons, representing surgery). The spots on the lynx indicate its all-seeing nature, which is thought appropriate for general practice.
The motto is Cum Scientia Caritas (Compassion [empowered] with Knowledge).
From 1962 the headquarters of the college were at 14 Princes Gate, Kensington, London. By 1970 the college had 7,500 members.
In late October 2012 the college moved into new headquarters at 30 Euston Square, Camden, London. The building includes a Clinical Skills Assessment Centre (CSA) which means that the college has the capacity to assess several hundred candidates during sittings that are held throughout the year. Concern had been expressed about the effect on the headquarters when re-development of Euston Station takes place to accommodate the new High Speed 2 development. The college hires out the building as an events venue. It was criticised for planning to host the 2020 Oil and Gas UK Exploration Conference, which was cancelled after a petition by college members raised concerns about promoting fossil fuels.
