Adam climbs a narrow spiral staircase, fifty-two steps of it, into the roof of an old church by London Bridge. Up there is the oldest surviving operating theatre in Europe...

It was built in 1822, in the attic where the hospital apothecaries had been drying their herbs, because the space sat right next to the women's ward and had a big skylight to operate under. It closed in 1862 when the hospital moved, was boarded up, and nobody set foot in it again until a researcher found it in 1956. Adam meets Dr Monica Walker for a look at how surgery worked before anaesthetic and before anyone knew about germs, which is not for the faint-hearted. Next door the Herb Garret is still full of the plants they used as medicine.

It is open Thursday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.15pm. The spiral staircase is the usual way in, but there is an accessible entrance if you ring ahead.

Find out more by searching for the Old Operating Theatre Museum.

Adam climbs a narrow spiral staircase, fifty-two steps of it, into the roof of an old church by London Bridge. Up there is the oldest surviving operating theatre in Europe...It was built in 1822, in the attic where the hospital apothecaries had been drying their herbs, because the space sat right next to the women's ward and had a big skylight to operate under. It closed in 1862 when the hospital moved, was boarded up, and nobody set foot in it again until a researcher found it in 1956. Adam meets Dr Monica Walker for a look at how surgery worked before anaesthetic and before anyone knew about germs, which is not for the faint-hearted. Next door the Herb Garret is still full of the plants they used as medicine.It is open Thursday to Sunday, 10.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4.15pm. The spiral staircase is the usual way in, but there is an accessible entrance if you ring ahead.Find out more by searching for the Old Operating Theatre Museum.

Join our presenters from across the UK as they give you interesting and fun things to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. It's the weekly kids entertainment show from the UK’s children’s radio station Fun Kids.

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Join our presenters from across the UK as they give you interesting and fun things to keep you busy out-and-about and at home. It's the weekly kids entertainment show from the UK’s children’s radio station Fun Kids.
Plus, when you become a Fun Kids Podcasts Plus subscriber, you get this show – and 30 others! – ad-free and support the work Fun Kids does in bringing you high-quality, entertaining, and safe content for your family. Find out more at <a href="https://FunKidsLive.com/plus">FunKidsLive.com/plus</a>

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