‘Go to Tremletts!’ – Special exhibition will celebrate 100 Years of a much-loved Portsmouth Institution
The spotlight is being shone on much-loved city business Tremletts
An exhibition celebrating the history and legacy of Tremletts Chemists is opening at Portsmouth History Centre as part of the city's centenary celebrations.
For more than 100 years, Tremletts served communities across Portsmouth, becoming one of the city's best-loved family businesses. At its peak, the company operated 11 branches and was often the first place local people turned to for healthcare advice and support.
The exhibition brings together artefacts from the firm's century-long history alongside photographs and personal memories from former staff and customers. Visitors can discover the experiences of the people who made Tremletts such a familiar part of Portsmouth life, including dispensary staff, pharmacists, delivery drivers, sales assistants and managers from across the city's branches.
Former company director Bill Tremlett: “A company like Tremletts couldn’t exist for 100 years without the superb staff that have looked after the company for all those years. This has been a great project for going down memory lane and I am really enjoying connecting with former staff members, whose dedication to their jobs and their sense of fun encapsulates our work in local pharmacy”
The exhibition also explores the history of the Tremlett family itself. The research uncovered a rare photograph of Tremlett’s founder, Percival Gordon Tremlett, together with remarkable stories of his life during some of Portsmouth’s darkest years during the First World War and the devastating ‘Spanish flu’ of 1918 which hit the city especially hard.
The exhibition highlights the contributions of his son, Richard Gordon "Dick" Tremlett, remembered by many for his work with the British Red Cross during the Second World War and his later role as Chairman of St Mary's Hospital. The story continues with Dick's sons, Ian and Bill Tremlett, who expanded the business from the 1960s onwards while maintaining the personal service for which the company was renowned.
Also on display are a number of historic objects that have remained in the family since Victorian times.
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Beyond healthcare, the exhibition reveals the wider story of a Portsmouth family whose lives were closely connected to the city and the sea, showcasing the Tremletts’ achievements in sailing and angling alongside their contributions to community life.
Associate Professor in Social Inclusion at the University of Portsmouth Annabel Tremlett, a former ‘Saturday girl’ at the Highland Road branch in the 1990s as well as being Bill’s daughter, is the lead on this history project.
She said: “Little did I know when Dad suggested we ‘clear out the attic’ that we would find so many boxes of beautiful, interesting, and sometimes unfathomable ancient pharmacy objects! I realised that my family history is impossible to separate from the history of Tremletts Chemist and local pharmacy, which is why the exhibition also features many personal stories from my family which I’ve also been researching.
“But for me the highlight has been connecting with so many former staff members. Their me mories hold so much humour, warmth as well as a lot of hard work and commitment, whether from a delivery driver or someone in the office, a sales assistant or dispensary staff or manager.
“And beyond their roles they are committed to each other – permanent friendships have been formed, and former staff still meet up today. This project has been an absolute pleasure to witness the true community spirit of Portsmouth”.
The project has generated a remarkable response from local residents. A call for memories on the Portsmouth Past and Present Facebook group received more than 250 comments, with many people sharing photographs and stories of the pharmacies and the staff who served generations of local families.
And in 2021 Southsea Model Village opened a miniature Tremletts Chemist based on its Fratton Road branch which has also proved a popular talking point.
Among the memories collected is a phrase familiar to many Portsmouth residents: "Go to Tremletts!". For countless families, the local chemist was the first port of call before visiting a doctor or other healthcare professional.
The exhibition is free to visit and will run until November 2026 after it is launched this weekend. Visitors should check Portsmouth Library Service opening times before travelling.
The project was made possible through funding from the British Society for the History of Pharmacy and has been delivered in partnership with the School of Pharmacy at the University of Portsmouth and the Tremlett family.
Special thanks has been given to researcher Emily Turner for her extensive work collating oral histories and historical records, and to Portsmouth History Centre within Portsmouth Library for their support and for hosting the exhibition.