Hunterian Museum, Medical museum at Royal College of Surgeons, London, United Kingdom
The Hunterian Museum is a medical museum within the Royal College of Surgeons displaying thousands of anatomical specimens, historical surgical instruments, and related medical artifacts. These objects are arranged across several gallery spaces and span different fields of medical study and practice.
John Hunter, a prominent surgeon of the 18th century, began gathering this collection through his medical research and careful preservation of specimens. His work established the foundation for what grew into this institution dedicated to teaching medicine through examination of preserved materials.
A drawing club meets regularly at the museum where participants sketch anatomical specimens to study how the human body works. This hands-on practice keeps alive a centuries-old tradition of learning medicine through careful observation and artistic illustration.
Admission is free and the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, with advance booking strongly recommended. Allow enough time to move through the galleries at a comfortable pace, as the collections contain detailed information and extensive display materials.
The collection includes preserved specimens of rare medical conditions and anatomical variations that are seldom encountered today. These unusual examples show how physicians historically studied and documented cases that puzzled the medical profession.
Location: London Borough of Camden
Part of: Royal College of Surgeons of England
Address: The Royal College of Surgeons of England, 35-43 Lincolns Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-17:00
Phone: +442074053474
Email: museums@rcseng.ac.uk
Website: https://rcseng.ac.uk/museums-and-archives/hunterian-museum
GPS coordinates: 51.51528,-0.11587
Latest update: December 6, 2025 16:03
London offers far more than Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace. Away from the main attractions, numerous sites remain unfamiliar even to many locals. This selection includes the ruins of St Dunstan-in-the-East, where a medieval church has been transformed into a public garden, the Sir John Soane's Museum with its antiquities and architectural fragments, and Dennis Severs' House, a Georgian townhouse preserved as a lived-in time capsule. The collection features gardens such as Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park and Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, historic buildings like the 14th-century Charterhouse and St Bartholomew the Great, London's oldest parish church. It also covers unusual museums including the Old Operating Theatre, Europe's oldest surviving surgical theater, and industrial monuments like Crossness Pumping Station with its Victorian steam engines. Leadenhall Market displays Victorian architecture in the financial district, while God's Own Junkyard in Walthamstow exhibits thousands of neon signs. Other sites range from the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Neasden to Wilton's Music Hall, London's oldest music hall, and the Victorian dinosaur sculptures at Crystal Palace Park. Little Venice presents canals lined with houseboats, the Freud Museum preserves the psychoanalyst's London home, and Keats House commemorates the Romantic poet. These locations provide insights into history, architecture, and culture beyond the standard tourist circuit.
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