These stunning pictures show the inside of a “time capsule” Victorian pharmacy that was uncovered after being boarded up more than 100 years ago.
William White’s Chemist Shop operated from 1880 until his death in 1909 but lay untouched and unknown for decades. William White’s son Charles was unqualified to dispense drugs so boarded up the store when his father died.
The presence of the sealed room was only revealed after the death of the last of Mr. White’s granddaughters, Margaret, and the subsequent sale of the property in South Petherton, Somerset, England, in 1987. At that time, it had been entombed for 80 years.
As the 107-year occupancy by the White family came to an end, the locked door was opened to reveal the hidden store, frozen in time exactly as Mr. White had left it.
Upon hearing of the incredible discovery, Flambards Theme Park in Cornwall rescued the shop and began the painstaking task of numbering and charting thousands of artifacts.
Flambards said they have since fully rebuilt the store in its new home inside the theme park, and “reassembled every medicine bottle, apothecary jar, quartz carboy, demijohn, and pill dispenser in exactly the same positions they were found in—cobwebs and all.”
A spokesperson said: “After examining the contents of the store, it was discovered that William White, though primarily a chemist, also dealt to some degree in groceries—especially teas and tobacco, wines and spirits. Not at all unusual in a village environment in Victorian times.”
The shop’s last owner, Margaret White, closed the store in 1971. But when the auctioneer went to have a look around, ahead of the sale, they discovered the back half of the shop entirely sealed off.
The contents of the shop were put up for sale separately from the building itself and bought by Flambards. While Flambards has utilized nearly all of the original stock that was sealed away, some of it was confiscated by the Home Office as it contained dangerous compounds and poisons.
Pictures taken inside the recreated store now show various shelves, work surfaces, and a bright overhead light without a lampshade. There is a white box on a cobwebbed shelf while boxes of herbs, which would have been used as medicine, are also on display.
Mr. White’s name is still honored on the front of the shop, which also features a Victorian “prescriptions accurately prepared” sign hanging in the window.
Old red boxes of oxo stock cubes are also on display as well as other familiar brand names.
There is a display of large jars containing liquid herbal medicines that were common in the Victorian period while weighing scales lie covered in cobwebs.
A dusty old typewriter, used to create prescriptions and labels, is featured while Spey Royal Whisky is written on a shelf filled with bottles and jars, highlighting the use of alcohol for medical purposes at the time.
