Somewhere – Old Operating Theatre

Looking for something a little bit stomach-churning? If you’re brave why not visit the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St. Thomas Street (SE1 9RY). The museum, built into an old church offers talks and demonstrations every weekend. On Saturday (2pm) you can see a surgical demonstration called “Speed Surgery” where you see how fast a pre-1800 surgeon would have worked on a a patient using no anaesthetic of any kind. Sunday (2pm also) you can attend the talk “Herbs, the Garret and The Old Operating Theatre’ which will let you get up close and personal with the “drugs” that would have been used back in the days of the theatre.

The Museum is also holding an exhibition currently (but hurry, it ends on September 1st, tomorrow!) named the Fringe Zoology exhibition which is showcasing some of the specimens of Alex CF. These specimens are mostly 19th century biological pieces and specimens of things thought to only exist in legend (vampires, dragons etc.), you can find out more about them at Alex CF’s website www.alexcf.com The show also features some taxidermy animals which fits in perfectly with our current blog theme! Go and check them out!

You can take a virtual tour of the theatre at their website www.thegarret.org.uk and find out more about booking. We strongly advise booking in advance as the theatre can hold a maximum of 60 people!