Surrey Dispensary

The Surrey Dispensary is a dispensary built around 1840, located on Falmouth Road in Southwark. The building is constructed of stucco, designed to resemble banded rustication, and is painted. It is a single-storey structure featuring a segmental-arched door on the left with a narrow round-arched light beside it. To the right, there are three round-arched windows, set before a rebated front wall that angles back to connect with No. 42 Trinity Street. Beyond this, there are three additional round-arched openings. Above the entrance, a parapet displays an inscription in 20th-century lettering that marks the foundation date of the Dispensary. Although the interior was not inspected, it is noted that the Surrey Dispensary was founded in 1777 and initially operated from premises in Union Street starting in 1787. An 1840 prospectus described its mission as providing visitations to lying-in women, the sick, and the injured. This establishment was one of several charities active in Victorian Southwark and is believed to be the oldest of its kind in London.