The Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret, London

A review of the Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret, tucked between London Bridge Station and Borough Market. A cosy, grandmother’s attic sort of a museum with a long and interesting history.

What’s This Museum About, Then?

It’s been years since I was last at the Old Operating Theatre & Herb Garret. I came with a friend once, not long after I moved to London. So I thought it was about time I came back to take another look and report on it for my dear readers.

The thing about London is that everything has been around since forever. St Thomas’ Hospital (now Guy’s and St Thomas’) is a bustling modern medical centre. In fact, I got my first Covid vaccine dose there last May. But it dates right back to the 12th Century. Monks from St Mary Overie (now Southwark Cathedral) established an onsite hospital dedicated to St Thomas Becket. It relocated over the road (to the current museum site) in 1212. Henry VIII closed it down as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. It reopened only 12 years later, however, under the management of the City of London. And in a bit of strategic rebranding it was now dedicated to St Thomas Apostle, not Becket.

The building housing the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret dates to a major rebuilding campaign between 1693 and 1702. The hospital tripled in size, and St Thomas’ Church was also built. The attic of the church turned out to be a very practical place to dry and store the herbs needed for remedies and medicines in the hospital. The oak-beamed roof absorbed moisture and also protected against vermin. And the apothecaries worked nearby with external access to the herb garret.

In 1822 the apothecaries’ herb garret was repurposed as an operating theatre for the women’s wards. It was in use until 1862 when railway construction forced St Thomas’ hospital to move to Lambeth. Only the church and south buildings escaped demolition. The old operating theatre was largely forgotten until 1956, when it was rediscovered. It opened to the public in 1962.

A Historic Survivor

So all in all, we’re very lucky to have this historic space to visit today. The hospital, and more specifically this operating theatre and herb garret, has survived fires, religious reformation, redevelopment and neglect. It is now the oldest operating theatre in Europe. Older than anaesthetics. Older than antiseptics. Certainly there are some stories there worth sharing.

The magic of the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret is the dual story it can tell. Or multiple stories really, but what I mean here is the two sides of pre-modern medical history. There is the herb garret to learn about different understandings of illness and herbal treatments (some still in use today, some not). And there is the operating theatre to learn about the brutal process of surgery without antiseptics or anaesthetics. The space evolved very organically as I described above, but the result is a perfect blend of these different branches of medicine.

The experience of visiting the museum is also a reminder of this historic survivor status. The little church sits meekly near the base of The Shard. To access the museum, you walk up a tight spiral staircase. Anyone who has visited a church tower knows the kind of thing I mean. When you enter the museum you come first into the herb garret. It’s full to the brim with exhibits and dried herbs, in a rather charming way. The operating theatre seems quite stark and modern by comparison, although really it’s not. And then you wander back through the herb garret and out via the excellent gift shop.

Highlights Of The Old Operating Theatre Museum And Herb Garret

There were two things which I particularly enjoyed about my visit to this museum. The first was the operating theatre itself. It’s really evocative. The galleries for students and doctors to look on reminded me of the equally historic anatomical theatre I saw in Padua. I know you see on TV those glass boxes where today’s doctors can apparently observe surgeries. But there’s something about having rows of people right there, peering over the surgeon’s shoulder almost, which makes you feel voyeuristic just being there.

The museum does a good job of explaining what surgeries were like back then. Without pain relief and with such a high infection risk, things would have to be pretty bad for you to agree to surgery. Reasons you might end up in here would include amputations, or bladder stones. Some of the surgical instruments on display are absolutely brutal. To soften the blow, the museum has a fun augmented reality experience. You need to download their app first, and then step into the (bloody?) shoes of a medical student learning about a procedure. There are a couple of screenshots below: as you can see I wasn’t very good at making the surgeon Mr Travers stand on the floor and had him on the furniture instead! All part of the fun.

The second aspect I particularly enjoyed were the displays of dried herbs. It’s very low tech – a bowl of dried parsley, rose petals, moss, etc., with a handwritten label explaining its past and present medical uses. But it’s a nice connection between the past and present, and brings the herb garret side of the museum to life. I couldn’t help breathing in a few of the scents and thinking about what a pleasant place this must have been, a calm and fragrant respite from busy Southwark below.

Final Thoughts

The Old Operating Museum Theatre and Herb Garret is a very charming example of London’s small museums. It’s centrally located so easy to include on a day out in London. And it’s somewhere you can either soak in the atmosphere, or get really engrossed in reading labels and looking at objects in depth. The choice is yours.

The museum also has a great programme of events, including evening and weekend talks, theatre and other performances. Whether your interest is the academic or the macabre, I’m sure you can find something to suit.

So the next time you’re heading down from London Bridge Station, pop by the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret and spend a bit of time learning about the history of St Thomas’ Hospital, medicine, and London itself.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5