The Old Operating Theatre

Britain's oldest surviving operating theatre, hidden in a church roof near Borough Market

The Old Operating Theatre is one of London's stranger small museums: a 19th-century surgical theatre preserved in the roof space of St Thomas' Church, beside the herb garret once used by the hospital apothecary.

The steep wooden tiers, old instruments, and cramped attic setting make the history of surgery feel uncomfortably close. It combines well with Borough Market or a walk along Bankside.

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