GoSee London Tip: The Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret. From enchanted herbs to taxidermy crocodiles - through the looking glass of a hidden gem

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret is located a stone’s throw away from London Bridge and the popular London Dungeon attraction, however, unlike the Dungeon, which has little site accurate authenticity, the museum is stooped in genuine local history.

Indeed, the Operating Theatre and Herb Garret is built on the site of St. Thomas's Hospital, first established in 1215. It was abandoned in 1862 during the hospital’s relocation to Lambeth, London and was only rediscovered in 1956.

Nestled under the rafters of the hospital’s church St. Thomas’s, the operating theatre was used to apprentice apothecaries before they would perform surgeries themselves. The location may seem an unusual choice, as it was set apart from the hospital’s main wing, but it provided ample soundproofing for a time when operations were not anaesthetised. The majority of operations performed were amputations.

Today the space is used as a lecturing theatre, programmes include a daily introduction to the operations that would have taken place (with a live demonstration – but don’t worry – no blood is shed) for intrigued museum visitors, as well as after hours talks on subjects such as ‘Vampires and Werewolves Among Us? Legends and Scientific Reality’ or ‘The Herbs of the Dark Art – Herbs & Witchcraft’.

The Garret is an amazing location and a refreshing step back into another, more mysterious time, away from the busy, rush hour streets of London. A true insider tip, the museum offers plenty of dark inspirations for creatives such as taxidermy crocodiles, a vast collection of gorgeous coloured glass medicine jars, cabinets oozing with curiosities and even a human skeleton.

'Barbers, Blood & Bandages', an interactive workshop for kids to discover medicine in the 18th and 19th Centuries, is currently on every Saturday at 11:30. Advance booking required. Enjoy!

The Old Operating Theatre
Museum & Herb Garret
9a St. Thomas’s Street
London

open daily 10:30 – 17:00
except over the Christmas holidays
various evening events!