A carving of Apollo and Artemis riding a chariot marks this place. It is the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This building’s story begins long before its doors opened in 1929. Sir Patrick Manson founded the school in 1899. It was initially known as the London School of Tropical Medicine. Back then, it was situated in the bustling London Docks.
Imagine the docks. Ships arriving from distant lands. Exotic diseases were also arriving. The school aimed to combat these diseases. It was a crucial mission for a vast empire.
In 1920, the School relocated. Its new home was Endsleigh Gardens. This was in central London. The building had been a hotel. During World War I, it served as a hospital for officers.
The Rockefeller Foundation played a key role. It proposed a London-based institution. This would lead the world in public health and tropical medicine. The Athlone Committee supported this vision in 1921. The school received its Royal Charter in 1924. It became the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Keppel Street was chosen for a new building. This area had a rich history. It once housed 40 Georgian houses. Painter John Constable and novelist Anthony Trollope lived here. The National Theatre Committee had bought the site. They planned to build a Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. World War I halted these plans.
The Rockefeller Foundation donated $2 million. This funded the purchase and construction. A design competition was held. Morley Horder and Verner Rees won.
Neville Chamberlain laid the foundation stone on July 7, 1926. His father had been involved in the School’s foundation. Chamberlain later became Prime Minister. The Prince of Wales officially opened the building on July 18, 1929.
The building is steel-framed. It has a Portland stone facade. It was designed in the stripped Classical style. Look closely at the first-floor balconies. They are decorated with gilded bronze insects. These insects transmit diseases. A frieze surrounds the building. It displays the names of 23 pioneers of public health.
The building was designed in the shape of a capital A. Two open courtyards provided air and light. The architects designed the furniture for the Board Room and Library. The Keppel Street building gained Grade II listed status in the 1980s.
The facade remains unchanged. There have been internal modernisations. A bomb damaged the Malet Street wing in 1941. Graham Greene worked here as a firewatcher. The wing was restored in 1951. New floors were added in later decades.
A new building opened in the North Courtyard in 2004. Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiated. This seven-story building provides space for staff. The South Courtyard development opened in 2009. The Princess Royal was present. It houses lecture theatres and research space.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine continues its vital work. It proudly displays its purpose to all who look upon it. Its legacy of fighting disease continues to this day.