We are delighted the one of a kind Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret is reopening. Get ready to step inside this fascinating museum.
Housed in the attic of the early eighteenth-century church of the old St Thomas’ Hospital, this atmospheric museum offers a unique insight into the history of medicine and surgery. The original timber framed Herb Garret was once used to dry and store herbs for patients’ medicines and in 1822 an operating theatre was included. Predating anaesthetics and antiseptics, it is the oldest surviving surgical theatre in Europe. Access to the attic is through a narrow 52-step spiral staircase.
Open every Friday and Saturday, from 10.30am until 5pm with staggered entry at 15 minute intervals.