Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, Medical history museum in Southwark, England.
The Old Operating Theatre Museum occupies an attic space within St Thomas' Church and contains an intact operating theatre from the 1800s with original surgical instruments and medical tools. Adjacent to the theatre lies the Herb Garret, a storage space that housed medicinal plants and preserved healing herbs.
The operating theatre was constructed in 1822 and functioned for four decades as a teaching facility for medical students before closing in 1862. It remained closely connected to St Thomas Hospital below, which provided patients for treatment and instruction.
The operating theatre served as a public learning space where medical students watched surgeries from tiered seats, turning medical procedures into teaching moments. This practice reveals how medicine was learned through direct observation rather than textbooks during that era.
Visitors must climb a narrow spiral staircase of around 50 steps to reach the exhibits, which can be challenging for those with mobility issues. Comfortable footwear is recommended, and allowing extra time helps you explore the spaces at your own pace.
Dried poppy seeds were discovered in the rafters during restoration work, providing direct evidence of the herbs once stored there. This finding reveals what natural materials were used to create pain relief medicines before modern pharmaceuticals became available.
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