A Spine-Chilling Visit: The World’s First Public Operating Theatre 🏥⚡

Step into London's most macabre medical relic - the Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret, where Europe's surgical past comes alive in all its gruesome glory. To reach this hidden chamber, you must ascend a claustrophobic 52-step spiral staircase, emerging into what was once St. Thomas' Hospital's surgical amphitheater. This extraordinary space reveals two faces of early medicine: ⚔️ The Brutality of Surgery - witness where patients endured operations without anesthesia, their screams echoing through the wooden rafters 🌿 The Mystery of Herbalism - discover how physicians experimented with everything from snail slime to mercury in their quest for cures Essential Visitor Information 📍 Location: 9a St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY ⏰ Opening Hours: Open daily (verify times on official website) 🎟️ Admission: Ticket required (concessions available) 🚇 Nearest Tube: London Bridge Station (3 minute walk) Museum Highlights The Operating Theatre Europe's oldest surviving surgical theater (1822) Stand where medical students watched amputations performed in minutes See original blood-stained operating table and surgical tools #LondonHistory #MedicalMuseum #DarkTourism #SurgicalHistory #HiddenLondon