Hope Winch was born in North Yorkshire but travelled to Newcastle after finishing her secondary education, training at the Royal Victoria Infirmary. It was there that she studied the subject and practice of pharmacy, and in 1913 she passed the ‘Apothecaries’ Assistant’s Examination’ with the highest marks in her class.
After spending a few years in the North East, where her role is unclear but most likely involved continuing at the RVI, Hope moved to London. She studied at the School of Pharmacy at the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, where she qualified as a Chemist and Druggist in 1917. She won the Hewlett Exhibition, which allowed her to undertake the Major course of her studies. She passed the Major examination and became a registered Pharmaceutical Chemist in 1918. Additionally, she became a registered Associate of the Institute of Chemistry.
Hope returned to the North East after her incredible achievements in London and became a lecturer in pharmacy at Rutherford College in Newcastle in 1920. In 1921, she moved to Sunderland Technical College, becoming the first full-time lecturer in pharmacy. The department grew by two lecturers in 1926, and in the same year, Winch opened a dispensary. However, in 1928, Hope’s ambitions were truly realised: she opened a laboratory dedicated to drug preparation and was appointed head of the newly established, independent Department of Pharmacy. Here, her dream of creating the best pharmacy department in the North East came true, and in 1930, the department was recognised by the University of London. For over 20 years, Winch served as the secretary of the local Pharmaceutical Society and later as chairman. Tragically, in 1944, she died in a climbing accident in the Lake District.
Hope Winch was a truly inspirational woman who broke into a field that, at the time, was dominated by men, and became one of the top pharmacists of her era. She was a trailblazer in the field of pharmacy, teaching her craft to hundreds, and her contributions are widely commemorated in Sunderland by the academics whose lives she impacted. Winch showed that women can break into these male-dominated industries and flourish, and her legacy is now immortalised in the blue plaque at her home in Sunderland. A pharmacist and academic, but more importantly, a pioneer and role model to people everywhere.
-Ruby
Work experience student, The Common Room
