The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
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The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
9A St Thomas St, London, SE1 9RY
Housed in the attic of the early eighteenth-century church of the old St Thomas' Hospital, this atmospheric museum offers a unique insight into the history of medicine and surgery.
The original timber framed Herb Garret was once used to dry and store herbs for patients' medicines and in 1822 an operating theatre was included.
Predating anaesthetics and antiseptics, it is the oldest surviving surgical theatre in Europe. The museum is dedicated to history of medicine and surgery from the Georgian and Victorian period but tells the broader story of Old St Thomas’ Hospital which was once located in London Bridge, Southwark. The church that houses the museum is the oldest surviving part of the hospital which has strong links and connections to our local area. Access to the attic is through a narrow 52-step spiral staircase (but this is not how they got the patients into the theatre – visit us to discover the answer).
The museum is run by the Lord Brock Trust, a registered charity (Charity Number 1155078). There are a variety of ways you can support the charity to continue its essential work in maintaining this significant and unique slice of history here in London Bridge.
How you can help
Donations
As a registered charity, the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret generates income from museum admissions, events, and our museum shop, all of which is invested back into the upkeep of this historic space, its collection and exciting programming. But since reopening after the Covid Pandemic, this has been slow to return. We welcome donations of any size and frequency to help us with our ongoing operations. Donate here: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/12547#!/DonationDetails
Sponsorship
We would like to hear from anyone whose values align with ours (see https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/about-us/) about how they could sponsor an area of our work. This would enable us to fund more staff to share the history of old St Thomas’ Hospital, from taking our collection out to the local community, through to raising awareness internationally about the importance of the history of medicine to our lives today. Please email Sarah at director@oldoperatingtheatre.com for a chat about how you might be able to support us.
Fundraising
We are always looking for enthusiastic and supportive individuals to act as ambassadors and be special guests at fundraising events. Or would your business considering gifting a donation as a part of our fundraising initiatives – for example, if you have a service, product or experience that would make a good lot for an auction or raffle prize, please email Sarah at director@oldoperatingtheatre.com.
Friends of the Museum
Do you enjoy the work that we do? Then we have an exciting new Friends scheme for you. For a set amount of money each year, not only will you be supporting the museum, but you will also receive exclusive benefits. Find out more here https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/friends/.
Ad-hoc and Pro Bono
We welcome pro bono services such as campaigning and lobbying, legal, architectural, planning and advocacy. These are often time-specific and relate to planned or upcoming projects. Keep an eye on our website for details and calls-to-action.
Free Meeting Rooms
Sometimes access to meeting rooms or larger rooms are required for our own team meetings, so please let us know if you have any availability by emailing Sarah at director@oldoperatingtheatre.com.
Volunteer
Become part of the Old Op Team and help ensure the long-term future of the oldest operating theatre in Europe. From fulfilling Trustee responsibilities, through to working with the collection, helping with social media, researching blogs for the website, or welcoming and engaging with our visitors, volunteers deliver an extremely valuable role within the team. Please take a look at our current volunteering opportunities: https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/volunteer/
Venue Hire
You can always help us out by hiring our venue for a corporate evening event. We offer a range of packages at different prices which can be viewed here https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/venue-hire/. By hiring the museum, you will be supporting our ongoing work.
Newsletter
Why not keep in touch via our monthly e-newsletter? You will receive one e-mail per month. In it you will find information about our full programme of events for the month, links to our blogs or videos, and even special offers only available to our subscribers. Subscribe here https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/newsletter/.
Visit Us
We are open every Thursday-Sunday from 10.30am until 5pm, with last admission at 4.15pm. There is a charge for admission, and we use this income to cover essential operating costs. An average length of visit is about 45 minutes, although visitors are welcome to stay for longer. Find out more here https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/visiting-us/.