London’s hidden surgical museum filled with old equipment

The medical museum is a real look back in time.

Transcript

00:00There are so many weird and wonderful attractions in London. In a city with so much history,

00:06you're never too far away from something bizarre and interesting. For those getting off the train

00:12at London Bridge, many won't realise how close they are to one of the world's oldest operating

00:19theatres. Hidden away in an attic next to one of the UK's most famous stations is the old

00:26operating theatre and Herb Garrett open to the public. To enter this museum you have to climb up

00:3352 steps on a spiral staircase only big enough for one person to come up or down with a traffic-like

00:39system showing customers when it's safe to enter or exit. Then it's in we go, first to the open Herb

00:48Garrett. In here you'll find lots of old-timey medicines and instruments, from brutal looking

00:54knives to scales and anaesthetics as well. After looking around the Herb Garrett, customers can head

01:01into the actual operating theatre itself and see where people were surgically worked on around 200

01:08years ago. The theatre both stands like a medical coliseum as back then people watched on to examine

01:16the surgery for research purposes. There is little public information about operating theatres at Old

01:23Thomas from its foundation till the 18th century. The church that contains the old operating theatre

01:29museum was built at the end of the 17th century when the hospital and church were largely rebuilt by

01:36Sir Robert Clayton, President of the hospital and a former Lord Mayor of the City of London. In 1822,

01:43part of the Herb Garrett was converted into a purpose-built operating theatre, previous operations

01:49had taken place on the ward. Windows were provided for the Garrett at the same time, suggesting that

01:55its function change from a storage to a working environment. This strange situation was due to the

02:02female surgical wards abutting the Garrett which may have been used as a recovery ward. In fact,

02:08this place is actually the oldest surviving surgical theatre in Europe for female patients.

02:15In 1859, Florence Nightingale became involved with St Thomas', setting up on this site her famous

02:22nursing school. On her advice, the hospital agreed to move to a new site when the Charing Cross Railway

02:29Company offered to buy the hospital's land. In 1862, the hospital began the move to its present site,

02:36at Lambeth, and the operating theatre was closed, lying undiscovered up until 1957.

02:44London is full of collections that spark curiosity, some in big well-known museums, others hidden in

02:50most unexpected places like the old operating theatre. There's no shortage of memorable collection

02:56spots in London, you never know what you'll find next.