The Old Operating Theatre
The Old Operating Theatre
9a St Thomas' Street, Southwark,
London SE1 9RY
Tel: 020 7188 2679
About The Old Operating Theatre
The Old Operating Theatre on St. Thomas' Street, Southwark, is a unique British family attraction and a most unusual family day out. A ticket to The Old Operating Theatre takes the visitor on a fascinating if sometimes jarring journey into the medical practices of yesteryear, before anaesthetics and antiseptic surgery.
Hidden for a century in the garret of the baroque St. Thomas' Church, the semi-circular Old Operating Theatre was rediscovered in 1956 and is accessed via a narrow spiral staircase. Following the 1815 Apothecary's Act, apprentices were required to practice in public hospitals, and therefore sought operations to study. Originally part of St. Thomas’ Hospital, The Old Operating Theatre was constructed in 1822 on the 'aisled-barn' pattern in the oak-beamed Herb Garret adjoining the female surgical ward, being fitted with wooden storage racks and windows. The 300 year old garret had been used by the hospital apothecary to store and cure medicinal herbs, and heads of dry opium were lodged in its rafters.
The patients were mainly female paupers who were expected to contribute to the cost of their care and the upkeep of a facility equipped with a wooden operating table and tiered seating and observation stands, where up to 150 male students watched operations. The Old Operating Theatre was not heated or ventilated, but it boasted a skylight, a false floor packed with sawdust to soak up blood, and it was at least separate from the wards and fairly sound-proofed - just as well given the procedures undertaken without anaesthetic other than alcohol or opiates.
Other artefacts at The Old Operating Theatre include instruments for cupping, bleeding, trepanning, obstetrics and anaesthesia, as well as amputation saws, sputum cups, nipple shields, suppositories and stomach pumps. Even more grisly are specimen jars containing a kidney, heart, lung tissue, brain, and even a hernia. Not something you see at your everyday family attraction!
A ticket to this mind-boggling family day out is not all stomach-churning, one display containing a beer bell that signalled the distribution of bread and beer to patients, with between two and eight pints of ale dispensed individually each day! One of the advantages of having unsanitary water, and just the ticket for blanking out reality!
In 1859, Florence Nightingale founded her nursing school at St. Thomas’ and recommended relocation to Lambeth, which occurred in 1862. The Old Operating Theatre was then abandoned and forgotten. All the plaster work of The Old Operating Theatre walls and ceiling remained untouched for 100 years, as did most of the flooring. However, when wiring for electric light was installed in the Chapter House in 1906, dry rot damaged some areas of The Old Operating Theatre, and refurbishment was required to make the amazing family attraction of today.
The Old Operating Theatre now seats 60 and can be booked for meetings, presentations and performances, which can be held in the amphitheatre, the adjoining ante-chamber or the Belfry, where the small shop can be used as a reception. 'After Hours' Reception Talks with a glass of wine can be arranged for clubs and societies, while schools are catered for with the mock staging of operations, while curatorial staff present a history of herbal medicine, with grinding using a mortar and pestle, pill-making and poultices. Walking tours are also available with details at The Old Operating Theatre website.