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 Anderson's Pharmacy has been a constant feature in the changing face of Portadown since 1952. A husband and wife team of qualified pharmacists, Noel and Muriel started the pharmacy together.
Muriel was the daughter of a Methodist minister, Noel was from Cookstown. Both trained in Belfast and Muriel was a gold medallist, coming top of her year in college.
While Muriel managed the Killicomain premises, her husband Noel ran the counterpart on the High Street, beside what was the old Imperial Hotel.
The Hotel was sold to a supermarket chain in the late 1950s and sadly Noel died in 1972. However with the help of the late Mr Alfie Stevenson, Muriel managed to carry on the business until her son Raymond qualified in 1980.
» Moving premises In 1985 the High Street Pharmacy moved to Thomas Street, where it still is today.
In 1995 the Killicomain premises were knocked down and a new pharmacy was built. The family thought long and hard before deciding to move to the new Gilford Road site in 2001.
While the first pharmacy was purchased in 1952 the family appreciate that even today some of Noel's original customers still use its services
» Family businessRaymond now runs Anderson's Pharmacy together with his mother. Always wanting to be a pharmacist, he proceeded through Portadown College and Queens University Belfast, graduating in 1979.
After completing a pre-registration year at Northern Pharmacies in Craigavon he returned to the family business in 1980.
» The pharmacy today The profession of pharmacy has changed much in the 50+ years since Noel and Muriel set up business. Nowadays there is a lot more emphasis on helping people get the most out of their medicines. As more people live longer and take more medicines the possibility of interactions and adverse affects increases. So the role of the pharmacist has changed from compounding medicines in the dispensary to being available to help clients manage their medication.
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