Europe’s oldest surviving surgical theatre to reopen with new art exhibition

Europe’s oldest surviving surgical theatre will reopen with a new window into the 200 year old medical history of London.

The Old Operating Theatre Museum, in St Thomas Street, London Bridge, will reopen on April 21 after it closed down in December for the replacement of its pyramid skylight.

The skylight looks down on the original wooden operating table, the scene of lifesaving surgical procedures between 1822 and 1862.

To celebrate the grand re-opening of the Museum, admission will be free to all on re-opening day. It will also launch a new exhibition featuring twenty original artworks from innovative artists, displayed among the Museum’s historical collection. 

The Museum is tucked away in the attic space of the 320-year-old St Thomas’s Church, next to London Bridge Station. 

When the operating theatre opened, electricity was not yet in use and operations took place in the hour between noon and 1pm, with the sun at its height.

As this was also before anaesthetics and antiseptics, operations were swift and the skylight was crucial in aiding the surgeons, as they performed amputations before an audience of medical students, packed five tiers high.

In 1962, when the Museum opened, a metal-framed pyramid skylight window was introduced where the original had been. This became completely outdated, and by last year, had suffered cracks in its glass, with thick foliage growing across too, reducing the daylight. 

Now, the light will flood into the Museum once again, with the introduction of a steel and aluminium hipped roof lantern skylight.

The work was made possible by a grant of £157,230 from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, via the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND).

Pictured Top: The Old Operating Theatre room where students would sit to watch medical procedures 200 years ago (Picture: Old Operating Theatre Museum)