The medical museum is a real look back in time.
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00:00There are so many weird and wonderful attractions in London. In a city with so much history,
00:06you're never too far away from something bizarre and interesting. For those getting off the train
00:12at London Bridge, many won't realise how close they are to one of the world's oldest operating
00:19theatres. Hidden away in an attic next to one of the UK's most famous stations is the old
00:26operating theatre and Herb Garrett open to the public. To enter this museum you have to climb up
00:3352 steps on a spiral staircase only big enough for one person to come up or down with a traffic-like
00:39system showing customers when it's safe to enter or exit. Then it's in we go, first to the open Herb
00:48Garrett. In here you'll find lots of old-timey medicines and instruments, from brutal looking
00:54knives to scales and anaesthetics as well. After looking around the Herb Garrett, customers can head
01:01into the actual operating theatre itself and see where people were surgically worked on around 200
01:08years ago. The theatre both stands like a medical coliseum as back then people watched on to examine
01:16the surgery for research purposes. There is little public information about operating theatres at Old
01:23Thomas from its foundation till the 18th century. The church that contains the old operating theatre
01:29museum was built at the end of the 17th century when the hospital and church were largely rebuilt by
01:36Sir Robert Clayton, President of the hospital and a former Lord Mayor of the City of London. In 1822,
01:43part of the Herb Garrett was converted into a purpose-built operating theatre, previous operations
01:49had taken place on the ward. Windows were provided for the Garrett at the same time, suggesting that
01:55its function change from a storage to a working environment. This strange situation was due to the
02:02female surgical wards abutting the Garrett which may have been used as a recovery ward. In fact,
02:08this place is actually the oldest surviving surgical theatre in Europe for female patients.
02:15In 1859, Florence Nightingale became involved with St Thomas', setting up on this site her famous
02:22nursing school. On her advice, the hospital agreed to move to a new site when the Charing Cross Railway
02:29Company offered to buy the hospital's land. In 1862, the hospital began the move to its present site,
02:36at Lambeth, and the operating theatre was closed, lying undiscovered up until 1957.
02:44London is full of collections that spark curiosity, some in big well-known museums, others hidden in
02:50most unexpected places like the old operating theatre. There's no shortage of memorable collection
02:56spots in London, you never know what you'll find next.