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Edward Snape’s muscular preparation

24th October 2013/4 Comments/in Archives, Horses /by Clare Boulton

The library is currently having a makeover which has meant emptying shelves and cupboards. One thing that has come out of its cupboard is a print titled ‘A muscular preparation of a horse with references.’

Edward Snape – A Muscular preparation of a horse

The inscription reads:

“To His most Excellent MAJESTY GEORGE III. King of Great Britain &c &c. This Plate is most humbly inscribed by His Majesty’s most faithfull (sic) Subject and Servant Edwd Snape Farrier to their Majesty’s & the 2nd Troop of the Horse Guards.
Published 15th April 1778 and sold by E. Snape in Berkeley Square”

Edward Snape 1728-18?? was a London based farrier who claimed to be a descendant of Andrew Snape of The Anatomy of an horse fame.

Edward Snape

Little is known of him but he seems to have had a genuine desire to see his profession progress. In 1766 he proposed the establishment of a “hippiatric [horse] infirmary” as a school for the “instruction of pupils in the profession.” The school eventually came into existence in Knightsbridge in 1778.

There is a short account of the school in an ‘advertisement’ (which reads like an obituary though Snape was still alive and presumably the publisher knew this!) in the 2nd, 1805, edition of the Practical treatise on farriery (1st edition 1791) though it doesn’t actually say it opened – just that it was built. The ‘advertisement’ also makes the following claim “whatever benefit the Country now derives from the establishment of the Veterinary College, originated in him.”

Alongside the Practical treatise the print is the only other thing that Snape is known to have published. My research suggests that Snape’s print is based on an earlier one by Jeremiah Bridges. Looking at reproductions of the two prints side by side in the Veterinary History article the illustrations are remarkably similar though Snape has added labels (his ‘with references’). If it is true that Snape has copied an existing illustration then he would share a trait in common with his supposed ancestor Andrew Snape who used Carlo Ruini’s Anatomia del Cavallo as the basis for his work (for more information on Ruini’s work and Andrew Snape)

Close up of head

It would appear that the print I ‘found’ is not the first ‘edition’ as it has some minor changes to the inscription when compared to the earliest known copies. Luckily we also have a copy of the earlier printing (of which Wood says there are only 4 known copies)

One interesting thing about the early version of the print is that whilst it bears the date 1778 all the known copies are on paper bearing an 1808 watermark. I doubt we will ever know why that is the case. It could it be that it was prepared for use at the hippiatric infirmary but not actually printed until the later date. Or was it produced in 1808 but ‘back dated’ to give some credence to the claim that the benefits of the Veterinary College (now the Royal Veterinary College, founded 1791) originated in Snape?

Close up – fore legs

Once the library is back in order I will give the two prints a proper outing and put them on display – do come and see them.

Update: See comments for further information on Snape

Bibliography

Smith, Frederick (1924) The Early history of veterinary literature and its British development Vol II. London: Bailliere, Tindall & Cox

Wood, John GP (2004) A tale of two prints: Jeremiah Bridges and Edward Snape Veterinary History Vol 12 no 2 pp 173-183

Open wide

28th November 2013/1 Comment/in Archives, Horses /by Clare Boulton

In a paper read before members of the Veterinary Medical Association (probably in 1849) Thomas Gowing said

“I have …experienced great difficulties in many required operations on the teeth [of the horse] from the want of proper dental instruments.”

His solution? To invent a set of instruments which “I flatter myself, will be found useful… [and] I venture to recommend them to you with confidence.”

The set included: large and small forceps; a sliding chisel; a guarded chisel; lateral repellers; posterior repellers; a gum lancet, and a tooth rasp.

Thomas Gowing’s dental instruments

His paper was later published as An essay, descriptive and pathological, on the diseases incidental to the horse; containing remarks upon operative dental surgery and the instruments required. The 13 page essay contains an illustration of this dental set (above), some discussion of the possible causes of tooth disease in horses and explanations of how to use the instruments.

List of dental instruments donated by Thomas Gowing

Thomas William Gowing 1810?-1888 was a London practitioner who qualified from the London Veterinary College in 1847. He served on RCVS Council for over twenty years, including periods as Vice President and was one of the Primary Fellows elected in 1877.

He gave a slightly modified set of these instruments to the RCVS Museum in 1866 – as recorded in a note which is bound within a book of pamphlets in our collection alongside his paper to the VMA.

I have yet to find any other illustrations of mid 19th century dental instruments in our historical collections but images of teeth appear frequently, usually as part of discussions on how to age a horse.

The ones I like best are those drawn by Edward Mayhew – a couple of which are shown below.

The teeth of a three year old horse

Illustration by Edward Mayhew showing the teeth of a three year old horse

and the first plate in Mayhew’s book The Horse’s mouth: showing the age by the teeth

Illustration from Edward Mayhew’s The Horse’s mouth: showing the age by the teeth 1849

117 Earls Court Road

30th March 2014/0 Comments/in Archives, Exotics /by Clare Boulton

Most of the photographs in our collections are portraits of RCVS Council, or other prominent, members of the profession. We do have a few photographs of vets going about their daily work but as far as I am aware the only photograph of the exterior of a veterinary practice is this one of Henry Gray’s surgery on the Earls Court Road.

Henry Gray's practice at 117 Earls Court Road

Henry Gray’s surgery at 117 Earls Court Road

Henry Gray (1865-1939) qualified from the London Veterinary College in 1885. After a few years as an assistant in the East Midlands he moved to London and set up his own practice in Kensington. Here he rapidly built up a flourishing mixed practice, building up the small animal side as equine work declined. His particular interests were diseases of the eye and the study of birds.

Henry Gray

On coming to London Gray developed a friendship with William Hunting who encouraged him in his writing and he was soon in demand as an author. He became a regular contributor to Veterinary Record and Veterinary Journal, for a time edited Veterinary News, revised George Fleming’s Practical horse keeper and wrote chapters for a number of other books. His interest in birds meant his writing was also sought by non veterinary publications such as Fur and feather

Gray amassed a large library which was given to us following his death and which now forms part of our Historical Collection. The books are mainly in English, though there are several in French and German, and most are about birds. As shown in a previous post many of the books on birds are lavishly illustrated.

In 1955 we were also given a collection of Gray’s personal correspondence and research notes which cover the whole of his working life. The papers give glimpses into the cases Gray saw in his practice and reveal his research interests. These papers, together with Gray’s library of 123 books, would be of interest to anyone studying the development of ornithological research at the start of the 20th Century.

A note on the back of the photograph identifies the gentleman in the doorway as Dick Green, brother of Robert Green MRCVS. Henry Gray was assistant to their father after qualifying.

WAHVM Congress 2014

17th April 2014/0 Comments/in Archives, Events (HC) /by Clare Boulton

Readers of this blog with an interest in veterinary history might like to know about the 41st Congress of the World Association for the History of Veterinary Medicine, hosted by the Veterinary History Society at Imperial College, London from 10-13 September 2014.

This event, which is being held in Britain for the first time, will welcome speakers from 30 countries to discuss the twin themes of ‘History of One Health‘ and ‘War, animals and the veterinary profession.‘ There will also be sessions on veterinary collections, general veterinary history and oral history.

The key note speakers are:

Professor Donald Smith, Professor of Surgery and Dean Emeritus, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. – ‘The Three Parts of One Health: Zoonosis, Comparative Medicine and Zoeyia’

Dr Hilda Kean, Ruskin College, Oxford. – ‘Animals in wartime Britain: The Home Front’

To find out more and to register visit www.veterinaryhistorylondon.com

Robert Stordy’s extraordinary journey

16th June 2014/1 Comment/in Archives, News (HC) /by Clare Boulton

We are delighted to announce the publication of a new book: Robert Stordy in Abyssinia: an extraordinary veterinary surgeon

The main body of book is an account of an extraordinary journey made by Robert Stordy which is held in our archives.

Stordy worked for the colonial veterinary service in British East Africa; in 1911 he decided to take a different route back to Britain for his home leave. He travelled from Nairobi, walking most of the way, across Northern Kenya and Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) to Addis Ababa and on to the Red Sea. A journey of close to 1,500 miles. Arriving in Djibouti four months later Stordy and his companion Lord Cranworth crossed to Aden and boarded a P&O liner for England.

The journal he kept along the way gives a unique record – in both words and photographs – of the places he visited, the people he met and the countryside through which he passed.

Robert Stordy in Abyssinia: an extraordinary veterinary surgeon is published by Granville Penn Press and available from the Veterinary History Society.

10th International Veterinary Congress: a case of unfortunate timing

4th August 2014/0 Comments/in Archives, Events (HC) /by Clare Boulton

At 11pm on 4^th August 1914 Britain declared war on Germany. That same evening at the Natural History Museum 300 guests were gathered for the conversazione and reception of the 10th International Veterinary Congress. A Congress that had been many years in the planning ….

Programme of music at the reception

London had been chosen as the venue for the 10th meeting of the International VeterinaryCongress (IVC) at the previous meeting in 1909. The original plan had been to hold the 10^th IVC in 1913 but as there was already an international medical congress in London that year the date was moved to the summer 1914,

The organising committee consisted of Sir John McFadyean, Principal of the Royal Veterinary College, his son-in-law Stewart Stockman plus 28 others including the RCVS Registrar Fred Bullock. In July 1911 the Committee met for the first time – the main topic of discussion was how the estimated £3,500 needed to run the Congress would be found.

By October 1912 good progress was reported to have been made with the scientific and social programmes but only £300 had been raised. Planning continued throughout 1913 – the RCVS voted to make distinguished foreign visitors Honorary Associates and the ‘coffers’ increased to £3,180.

In early 1914 it was announced that: the money had been raised; places at the commercial exhibition were selling well, and the papers to be presented had been translated into English, French and German ready for printing.

By June some 1300 delegates had registered and the stage was set for a successful congress and then … on the 28th Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo and everything changed.

Over the coming weeks as the threat of war grew McFadyean and his committee considered postponing the congress but in the end, with so much at stake, they decided to carry on.

Congress badge

The first event, an evening reception at the Hotel Cecil on the Strand, took place on the 2nd August with far fewer attendees than had been expected

The following morning McFadyean officially opened the congress. There was good representation from the USA, Canada, China, Brazil and South Africa but representation from Germany, France, Austria, Serbia, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy was practically none existent.

After the opening addresses and the election of officers for the meeting, McFadyean announced the scientific programme would start the following day.

At 11am on the 4th August McFadyean again mounted the podium and uttered the following words “Yesterday we felt the cloud of anxiety… and today the cloud has become much darker”. He then proposed that the meeting should adjourn and reassemble at 3pm to transact the “business necessary to bring the Congress to a close”. This they did with all activities cancelled except for the conversazione that evening.

Thus 300 delegates were at the Natural History Museum, listening to the String Band of the Royal Artillery and studying the specially selected exhibits, as Britain officially entered the war.

Boxes of unused badges

It would appear that much of the winding up activities were left to the RCVS registrar Fred Bullock. This is probably why the records (letters, receipts, minute book, accounts etc) are in our archives. Perhaps the most poignant memento we have of the congress that never was are the boxes of pristine congress badges whose intended recipients never even made it to London

For a fuller account of the 10^th IVC see Bruce Vivash Jones (2014) Unfortunate timing Veterinary Record 174(25) pp 627-629

A time for reflection: Lieutenant Vincent Fox

25th August 2014/0 Comments/in Archives, News (HC) /by Clare Boulton

Last Friday the Royal College was delighted to accept a portrait of Lieutenant Vincent Fox from his great grand-nephew. Vincent Fox was killed in action on the 26 August 1914: the first member of the RCVS to die during World War 1. His obituary in the Veterinary Record 3 October 1914, simply read:

Vincent Fox, MRCVS, Lieut AVC, Dublin: December 1911

Vincent Fox

Vincent Richard James Fox (1889-1914) was born at Hacksballscross, Carrickastuck, County Louth. The youngest of 10 children, his father died in 1890, his mother in 1908. The 1911 census shows the family, headed by the eldest son, Patrick, living at 25 Quay Street, Dundalk.

Fox entered the Royal Veterinary College in Ireland in 1907, and graduated MRCVS in December 1911. He initially worked in Dundalk, then in May 1912 he sailed to Calcutta. Here he worked for RS Hart Bros, described as a ‘Royal Horse Repository and Veterinary Infirmary’ by its owner Robert Spooner-Hart MRCVS. The work was varied, ranging from veterinary surgery to horse breeding and dealing; the company also acted as consulting veterinary surgeons to the Calcutta Turf Club. Spooner-Hart died in March 1914, and about that time Fox returned to Ireland, keen to pursue a military career.

Fox received his commission, in the rank of Lieutenant, on probation, in the Army Veterinary Corps, on 31 July 1914. His entrance into the army had obviously moved at quite a pace, since by 22 July he had already obtained his uniform from W T Castle, Military Outfitters of 23 Saville Row, London, for which he was invoiced a total of £22 18/-.

Fox was one of the first veterinary surgeons to depart for France. Serving as Brigade Veterinary Officer to 8 Infantry Brigade he arrived in Boulogne on 14 August. The Brigade were deployed north into Belgium, and by 22 August were at Mons, facing the advancing German army. The position of the British troops meant there was a real risk of their being cut off and on 22 August the order was given to retreat. By 25 August 8 Brigade were positioned in the town of Audencourt, to the east of Le Cateau.

Here the commanding officer deployed the bulk of his troops around Le Cateau to provide support for the men of I Corps as they retreated on his eastern flank. He was ‘advised’ to withdraw but informed the Commander in Chief that he was unable to move any men, and that he had decided to stand and fight.

The Battle of Le Cateau took place on Wednesday 26 August. The headquarters of 8 Brigade were initially sited in a farm in Audencourt, The brigade diary reported that:

No field ambulance and no medical officers being available,
the wounded were taken into the church, a very solid stone structure
and here Lieut V Fox AVC took charge and dressed the wounded.

At about noon the brigade came under a sustained artillery barrage and it was decided to move south. The horses were taken to a nearby orchard; the wounded, being treated by Fox, were to be left in the church, since it was considered strong enough to withstand shell fire. At 2.30pm the Germans commenced a bombardment of Audencourt, with disastrous consequences. Shelling of the orchard led to the death of all the horses and in the late afternoon the church was hit. Witnesses described how the spire was struck, followed by an explosion and the building caught fire. At least one high explosive shell entered the building, causing substantial damage and destruction, resulting in the death of Lieutenant Fox. His family were later to receive reports that his dead body was found, ‘without a mark or scar on it’.

RCVS World War 1 memorial

Fox was buried in the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery at Caudry (British Cemetery) and is commemorated on the RCVS Memorial alongside 66 other MRCVS who died in World War 1

Vincent Fox died whilst treating human, not animal, patients, and in doing so clearly demonstrated his commitment to the treatment of the sick, regardless of species. Although so little was written about his actions at the time in the veterinary press, an obituary in his local paper, the Dundalk Democrat, said that he was:

Killed whilst in pursuit of his humane duty behind the British firing line.
A man could not well die a nobler death.

For more information on the Battle of Le Cateau see The Battle of Le Cateau and subsequent actions via “The Long, Long Trail: the British Army in the Great War (accessed 20/8/2014)

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Paul Watkins MRCVS for his help in compiling this post.

The 1881 list of ‘Existing Practitioners’

13th November 2014/2 Comments/in Archives /by Clare Boulton

In the summer, with the help of our intern Josh, we were able to sort the bundles of applications for entry on the List of Existing Practitioners which were submitted to the RCVS in 1882.

The List of Existing Practitioners came into being as a result of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1881. The introduction to the Act talks of the need to help the public distinguish between qualified and unqualified practitioners. As part of this the Act required the RCVS to maintain and publish two documents:

a register of its (qualified) members; and
a list of unqualified ‘existing practitioners’ who had practised veterinary surgery for the previous five years.

The 1882/83 RCVS Annual Report states that around 1,000 applications were made for entry on the Existing Practitioner list. A committee, consisting of the President and 8 Council members (3 professors and 5 practitioners) was formed to consider the applications. At the end of their task 863 applicants were deemed eligible for the list, those rejected having right of appeal to the Privy Council.

During the summer we found 859 applications. In most cases we have three documents:

a statutory declaration, witnessed by a magistrate or Justice of the Peace, by which the applicant declared that they had continuously practised veterinary surgery since August 27^th 1876;
a testimony as to moral character, usually given on the form supplied by the RCVS for this purpose,
an accompanying letter which explains how the fee for inclusion on the list (£3 3s for applications made before 1^st April 1882 and £6 6s after that date) would be paid.

The testimonies of moral character were supplied by a cross section of society: ‘pillars of the community’ – doctors, vicars, solicitors, councillors, magistrates etc; those who made use of the services of these unqualified practitioners – farmers, businessmen (particularly those involved in the transportation of goods using horses) etc, and of course members of the RCVS.

List of names in support of John Oddy’s application

In a few cases we have more documents. For example John Oddy of Cleckheaton sent a 1m long document containing 35 names who would testify he was of ‘good moral character and integrity’. Whilst Edward Allcock of Dublin supplied a copy of his indenture of apprenticeship, dated August 1835, to Joseph Bretherton MRCVS.

In most cases though the additional documents are because the validity of the application has been called into question – they are ‘letters of protest’.

These ‘protests’ are nearly all from MRCVS, and they reveal something of the tension that existed between some qualified and unqualified practitioners. For example an MRCVS writes that John Lloyd of Montgomeryshire was “up to within 3 years ago … a Blacksmith and since that date he has been nothing more than a travelling quack. He is an illiterate person … a common blacksmith”. In spite of this Lloyd’s application was successful.

Letter of ‘protest’ against John Lloyd’s application

We only found two applications that are clearly marked as having been rejected at the first stage.

One is from Edward Drew of Oldham. From the documents we can see that his application was initially rejected because he hadn’t practised veterinary surgery continuously for the previous 5 years. Drew persuaded the Committee to reconsider his application explaining that he had been forced to give up his practice and take up other employment due to “being connected with another business … by which I lost a considerable sum of money”. He also sends a document containing 27 names in support – top of the list was Thomas Greaves FRCVS, former RCVS President and current Council member – which can’t have done any harm as his application was eventually successful.

Wragg’s letter of protest

The other rejected application is from William Robertson of Commercial Road, London. Those appealing against his application included Francis Whitfield Wragg, who was serving on Council and the Committee considering the applications at the time. (I wonder if he declared a conflict of interest?) It seems that Robertson had worked in Wragg’s forge in Whitechapel as – in Wragg’s words – a ‘foreman shoeing smith’. There are 9 other ‘protests’ all but one of them from people related to Wragg’s practice.

Documents show that Robertson took his appeal to the Privy Council where it was dismissed – alongside an appeal by Stephen Pettifer, whose application we have not found.

The Annual Report concludes it section on the listing of Existing Practitioners thus:

‘the labours of the Committee in accomplishing their task of selection have been extremely onerous and full of anxiety … At no time in the history of the Royal College has a Committee had imposed on it such a heavy and anxious task … with the conclusion of this registration the most embarrassing portion of the responsibility thrown upon the Royal College by the Act has been disposed of.’

Shining a light on veterinary artists

20th February 2015/1 Comment/in Archives, Horses /by Clare Boulton

The Lightbox in Woking, is currently showing an exhibition describing the role of horse and mules in World War 1. The Horse at War: 1914-18 has a wide ranging display of artwork both from the war itself as well as more recent works, most noticeably ‘Joey’ the life size puppet from the National Theatre’s stage production of War Horse. Amongst the many paintings on display are works by a number of official war artists including Sir Alfred Munnings, CRW Nevinson and Lucy Kemp Welch.

There are a number of interesting veterinary connections amongst the paintings. We have loaned two paintings by Lionel Edwards . Born in Bristol in 1878, Edwards was one of the most popular illustrators of hunting and sporting subjects of the twentieth century. His artistic talents were apparent early in life, drawing horses from the age of six. He studied in London at Heatherly’s School of Art, before pursuing a professional career as an artist. At the outbreak of war he enlisted and served as a Remount Purchasing Officer, responsible for purchasing horses, an experience he described as ’four solid years of nothing but horse.’

Also on display are a number of works by official war artist Edwin Noble. Noble studied at the Slade School of Art and the Royal Academy and became an established illustrator prior to the war. He served with the Army Veterinary Corps, rising to the rank of sergeant, spending much of the war at No 8 Veterinary Hospital in France. Here he recorded in great detail the diseases affecting horses, ranging from mange through to the effects of mustard gas. His pictures were described as providing an ‘almost veterinary eye view of the misfortunes of horses on active service.’

A Horse Ambulance Pulling a Sick Horse out of a Field by Edwin Noble

There are three works of art on display produced by a veterinary surgeon, but one who was serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps during the conflict.

Herbert Lake was born in 1883, at 33 High Street Camden, London, where his father owned a jewellers shop. Qualifying from the Royal Veterinary College in 1905, he initially worked in London passing the examinations for an Inspector of Meat and other Foods, in December 1908. Soon after he entered University College London to read medicine, gaining MRCS, LRCP in 1913 and MB in 1915. On graduation from UCL Lake joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and was posted to northern France in October 1915, to serve as medical officer to 2 Cavalry Field Ambulance (2CFA) (part of 2^nd Cavalry Division). War diaries show how he used both his medical and veterinary knowledge.

Herbert Lake 1883-1969

Soon after his arrival, responding to the cold and wet conditions, Lake noted that horses had been standing out all the time and though there had been no sickness among them, they had generally fallen off in condition. To provide protection he moved horses into the trenches. It was recorded that ‘it has not been entirely successful owing to the heavy mud, but they have been sheltered in this way from the cold winds.’ Two months later his veterinary skills were again to the fore, when he was asked to give a course of lectures in horse mastership and stable management to each field ambulance.

However it was his medical work that was to be recognised when on 8 October 1916 he led a digging party in the Ginchy area of the Somme. The party dug out three men; one was dead, the other two wounded. Lake would later be mentioned in dispatches for his actions.

Herbert Lake was also an accomplished artist, although unlike many of his contemporaries, he appears not to have had any formal training. Making use of a number of media, he portrayed his experiences in war, and invariably horses are at the centre of his work. He graphically depicted the role of the field ambulance in a number of sketches.

Horse pulled ambulance by Herbert Lake 1917

In March 1917, Lake witnessed the cavalry charge at Arras, the last cavalry charge by British troops in Europe. His painting ‘Cavalry Before Arras’ portrays the intensity of the preparations for battle amongst both horse and rider. Later Lake would treat many of those injured in the battle,

Cavalry before Arras by Herbert Lake

After the war Herbert Lake settled in Beaminster, Dorset where he established a general medical practice. However, he remained on the register of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons until 1958, and treated patients, both human and animal, for many years.

The exhibition runs until 1 March.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Paul Watkins MRCVS for his help in compiling this post.

Images

A Horse Ambulance Pulling a Sick Horse out of a Field by Edwin Noble © IWM (Art.IWM ART 2922) reproduced under the IWM Non-commercial Licence

Photograph of Herbert Lake and the paintings by him are reproduced with the permission of the Lake family.

The RCVS stained glass

29th May 2015/0 Comments/in Archives /by Clare Boulton

Display of Coat of Arms in reception

The addition of the Coat of Arms of the University of Nottingham to the display of stained glass in the reception at Belgravia House, the RCVS HQ, has awakened interest in the history of the glass in this display and elsewhere in the building. As a result I spent several days pouring over 170 years of Council minutes to see what I could find out.

The story begins in 1884 when the College decided to knock down its existing building in Red Lion Square and erect a new home on the same site. This new building was to be ‘fitting for the home of the veterinary profession’ and tenders were invited for three stained glass windows in the Council Chamber facing on to Red Lion Square. Money was tight though and Council decided they couldn’t justify the extra expense.

The idea of having ‘coloured’ windows must have appealed to sections of the profession as the Central Veterinary Medical Society offered to pay for stained glass in the middle window. Practitioners HL Simpson and JF Simpson (prominent members of the Royal Counties Veterinary Medical Association) jointly offered another. So, whilst the building opened on 6 April 1886 with plain windows, stained glass was installed in two of them in time for the AGM a month later.

In an editorial about the new building in May 1886 The Veterinary Journal reminded ‘societies and individuals that there is much yet to be done in the way of furnishing, fitting and embellishment of their building, and that now is a good opportunity for their assistance’. Perhaps this plea was aimed at the remaining plain window in the Council Chamber?

If so it seems to have worked as the following year the Norfolk and Eastern Counties, the Western Counties and the Lincolnshire Veterinary Medical Associations agreed to jointly fund the final stained glass window. They presented the design to Council on 3 April 1888. The window would show:

‘a veterinary surgeon examining a horse, which was made to appear as jaded as possible, to carry out the idea of a sick animal. After the stable-master’s explanation about the animal, the veterinary surgeon appears to be cautioning him for the future, telling him never to leave till to-morrow what might be done to-day. There was a Latin inscription under the subject to that effect. In the background a shepherd was seen driving a flock of sheep for the veterinary surgeon to examine. The subject was surrounded by an oval interlaced with the monograms of the counties by which the window was presented’.

Finally the three windows were complete and they disappear from the records until 1941 when they are mentioned in reports of the damage caused by the bombing of Red Lion Square in the final month of the Blitz. The damage was so serious that they had to be removed and replaced by plain glass.

It was not until 1953, following payment of war damage compensation, that the windows were repaired and returned to their original position. Or were they? Photographic evidence (see below) seems to show that, for some unknown reason, the two outer windows switched sides.

The three windows as they looked when first installed. The window depicting the sick horse is on the right.

Photograph of Council from 1927 again showing the window with the horse on the right

Last RCVS Council Meeting in Red Lion Square September 1960

Last Council meeting in Red Lion Square September 1960 – the horse is now on the left

The 1953 Annual Report also records that the idea of adding the ‘armorial bearings of the universities having veterinary schools and of the veterinary colleges which have their own bearings’ in the windows at the opposite end of the building was being considered. It was hoped that these would be paid for by ‘the universities and colleges concerned or by the alumni thereof’.

There is no record of when this happened but the six university coats of arms must have been added before 1960, when the College moved out of Red Lion Square and put the stained glass in storage, as they are mentioned in discussions about which items from Red Lion Square could be incorporated in to the new building in Belgrave Square.

In March 1962 a representative from Goddard and Gibbs (the stained glass studio where the windows were being stored) reports that it was not practicable to include the main windows in the new building but it would be possible to ‘incorporate one panel of the Royal College coat of arms [from the middle one of the three windows] and the six existing panels of the coats of arms … in the window at the garden end of the large room on the first floor’.

This was agreed and these panels, with the addition of new stained glass representations of the coats of arms of ‘the veterinary schools under the old one portal system’ (Royal Veterinary College, Royal (Dick) Veterinary School, Glasgow Veterinary College and the Veterinary College of Ireland) plus Trinity College, Dublin and University College, Dublin were installed in the Historical Library in Belgrave Square.

Window containing the Coats of Arms in Belgrave Square

The coats of arms from the universities and veterinary schools as well as the RCVS Coat of Arms from the original middle window installed in Belgrave Square

It is the stained glass from this window that can now be seen in Belgravia House – the university coats of arms in reception and the RCVS Coat of Arms in the Members’ room.

The question of what happened to the rest of the three larger windows remains a mystery. Minutes of 1962/63 record discussions of possible homes, including a new student hostel at RVC’s Hawkshead Campus. These all fell through. The final mention of them in the official records is in October 1963 when Registrar WGR Oates reports that he has written again to the associations who presented the windows to see if they have views on their future.

You can see glimpses of the windows in Red Lion Square in a film produced by Paul Greenough MRCVS in 1960 (3.07 mins and 4.42 mins)

RCVS Coat of arms – all that remains of the original three windows