THE OLD OPERATING THEATRE MUSEUM & HERB GARRET
Shard Quarter
The Old Operating Theatre Museum is the oldest surgical theatre still in existance in Europe.
Hidden away in an attic of the 1703 St Thomas' Church, just minutes from The Shard, it is one of our favourite hidden gems in the London Bridge neighbourhood.
Accessible by an ancient spiral staircase, it dates back to 1822. Amazingly, it has survived hundreds of years to tell the gruesome tale of surgery before anaesthetic and antiseptics.
Steeped in so much history, the Herb Garret and the actual operating theatre contain artefacts, tools and specimens used by surgeons and staff St Thomas' Hospital. The museum is certainly one of London's most unusua!
For more info, visit their website here.
