... Then walk down to the Old Operating Theatre and walk up those steep steps and step back in time to the early days of medicine. The days of no anaesthetic, just a bottle of whisky. Where the blood splattered operating theatre would have straw put down on it for the next patient. Hygiene ... Read review
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...Guy's Hospital which is on the same road on the opposite side (St. Thomas Street). Walk through the dingy corridors and the minor injuries unit - it's a great hospital but the peeling paint doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Then walk down to the Old Operating Theatre and walk up those steep steps and step back in time to the early days of medicine. The days of no anaesthetic, just a bottle of whisky. Where the blood splattered operating theatre ... ...much we have achieved in the past 2 centuries.
You can stand in the Operating theatre - and you can imagine what it would be like to look on at a man's leg being amputated. There are loads of observers in the rows around you and watch the man being strapped down and the saw being taken out. He's given some alcohol to ease the pain, but there is a lot of blood and gore - this is not a place for the squemish!
Before you visit here - why not walk through Guy's Hospital which is on the same road on the opposite side (St. Thomas Street). Walk through the dingy corridors and the minor injuries unit - it's a great hospital but the peeling paint doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Then walk down to the Old Operating Theatre and walk up those steep steps and step back in time to the early days of medicine. The days of no anaesthetic, just a bottle of whisky. Where the blood splattered operating theatre would have straw put down on it for the next patient. Hygiene wasn't even known about. Then you think how great modern medicine is and how much we have achieved in the past 2 centuries.
You can stand in the Operating theatre - and you can imagine what it would be like to look on at a man's leg being amputated. There are loads of observers in the rows around you and watch the man being strapped down and the saw being taken out. He's given some alcohol to ease the pain, but there is a lot of blood and gore - this is not a place for the squemish!
When you come out of the operating theatre, look around all the cabinets and see the instruments of torture (oops, that was supposed to say medicine). Then go into the herb garrett and you'll think there were some advantages back then - it would have smelt great!
This is a great place to visit - I really enjoyed seeing how life has changed. It reminded me of the BBC production called "Bramwell", so if you watched that and enjoyed it, you will want to visit this museum.
It's easy to find - it's very close to London Bridge Station - if you come out of the Borough High Street entrance of the Jubilee line you will find it just round the corner (the Grapes pub is on the corner). The buses 21 and 133 will bring you down from Moorgate and Liverpool Street respectively.
It's location in Borough used to be unwelcoming and a little bit threatening. But life has changed. Borough is now an up and coming area of London - penthouses are being built and restaurants such as "Fish!" located in Borough Market are enhancing the area.
northern_lights 26.04.2002
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Review of The Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret (London)
Advantages: Throws you back in old times and lets you experience the atmosphere Disadvantages: Hard to get up there if you have infants or special needs
...hours just standing and breathing the smell of all the medicinal herbs and being bizzarely fascinated by ancient jars with still identifiable internal organs and surgical instruments that look more like torture weapons.
The museum is situated on the original site of St Thomas' Hospital. The latter was founded in 13th century and was a mixed order of Augustinian monks and nuns, dedicated to Thomas Becket which provided shelter and treatment for the ... ...of much:
The operating theatre - the oldest surviving in the country and The herb garret - used by hospital's apothecary
Thats it, two rooms connected by a short corridor... but what a character.
The museum collection is mostly of the 19th century and contains medicinal instruments used for amputations , trephinations, bleeding and childbirth.
The operating theatre itself is a scary witness of amputations without anaesthetics and antiseptics ...
gogaTSV 22.01.2001 (19.01.2001)
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Advantages: very nice place to take small children, as they can touch things withough fear of being shouted at. Disadvantages: lots of stairs!
...place to go.
It is the only surviving operating theatre of it's time, and although I wondered how the patients got it and out - you have to walk up a very small, wodden spiral staircase to get it as it is above a church - it is very good. It has lots of old instruments on show, including a trepanning kit, hacksaws for amputations, and midwivery equipment. It explains the history of surgery, and charts it through learning about anesthetics, rather ... ...imagination. As you can guess, the artists of the time did not want to scare patients off, so in most of the pictures the patient is looking very serene, while frantic activity goes on all around him. Most unbelievable when you consider they are amputating limbs with no anesthetic!
The herb garret was the jewel on the crown for me, it was lovely seeing all the herbs I have only read about in books, although I resented my lack of a sense of smell! ...
Mina 05.09.2001
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