The Old Operating Theatre is located at the top floor of Saint Thomas’ Church in London. The theater displays old surgery techniques, as well as the instruments used to do surgery in the 19th century. Saint Thomas’ Church used to be reserved primarily for open rooms for the care of the poor and sick in the 18th century. Monks used to live here, caring for those who couldn’t afford sustinance or treatment themselves. The church, or monastery rather, was closed down in the 15th century, but was re-opened soon after in 1551.
In 1822, the top floor of the hospital was converted into the first operation theater in Britain. Dangerous surgical operations took place here, done by doctors who knew very little and who had little experience, so they practically conducted experiments. The patients were mostly poor people who couldn’t afford paying for their own surgery, deciding instead to agree to be experimented on in exchange for free medical treatment. The theater was a kind of theater as there were a lot of participants, or doctors and medical staff, as well as medical students, who wanted to witness the operations. At the time, surgery on the rich was done in their homes, mostly on their kitchen table, without any audience. The theater had galleries at its top where medical students would usually gather.
Between 1822 and 1847, patients were operated on without anesthesia, mostly being relieved of pain with opium and alcohol. The sanitary conditions weren’t up to standard, mostly due to lack of funding. The same surgical clothes were worn time and again, and the floor of the theater was usually covered with hay, which was supposed to gather the blood that trickled from the operating table.
In the 1860s, the hospital was relocated away from the church, which resulted in the closing of the operating theater. Today, the venue is a museum where visitors can see the instruments once used to conduct surgery, as well as to experience a unique “medicine“ from two centuries ago and the procedures practiced at the time.
Ticket price for the old operating room
Regular ticket price: £ 6.5
Reduced ticket price: £ 5 - for students
Reduced ticket price: £ 3.5 - for young people under 16
Opening hours of the old operating room
The old operating room is open for visits from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm
photo credit: the Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret
