Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
Greater London
WC2A 3PE
England
Website
General information
Information and bookings
Telephone
Information and bookings
020 7869 6560
Textphone/Typetalk users
18001 020 7869 6560
Fax
Museum office
020 7869 6564
The Hunterian Museum collections, brought together over four centuries by a cast of colourful characters including John Hunter (1728-1793), are a fascinating mix of comparative anatomy and pathology specimens; complete skeletons, bones, skulls and teeth; dried preparations, corrosion casts and wax teaching models; historical surgical and dental instruments together with modern surgical instruments and technologies; as well as paintings, drawings and sculpture.
The Hunterian Museum has undergone a £3.2 million refurbishment to create a publicly accessible museum that encourages visitors to explore the scientific, cultural and historical importance of the museum collections. The new Hunterian Museum enables visitors to share the wealth of material that has been a source of inspiration to surgeons, scientists and artists for over two hundred years. Come and be inspired!
This museum has a Designated Collection of national importance.
Venue Type:
Museum
Additional info
Further information for disabled visitors
Access to the museum is via the two College entrances:
The main College entrance:
This entrance has six shallow steps up to the doors. There is a revolving door with two doors either side. The side doors open outwards from the inside. A member of the College staff will assist with entry through these doors. The reception desk has a portable induction loop.
The Nuffield College of Surgical Sciences entrance:
This entrance is for visitors who are wheelchair users, have mobility problems or are unable to use steps. Entry is provided via an external access lift. Please use the call button in the lift and a porter will provide entry into the building.
There is level access throughout the museum spaces. The upper galleries can be reached by using a platform lift within the museum. Our staff are happy to provide assistance if you require it, please ask.
Guide dogs, hearing dogs and other assistance dogs are welcome in the Museum.
There is an accessible toilet on the ground floor of the main College building.
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
Greater London
WC2A 3PE
England
Website
General information
Information and bookings
Telephone
Information and bookings
020 7869 6560
Textphone/Typetalk users
18001 020 7869 6560
Fax
Museum office
020 7869 6564
The Hunterian Collection is a Designated Collection of national importance.
At the heart of the Hunterian Museum is an astonishing 18th century medical collection. It is the legacy of the anatomist and surgeon John Hunter FRS (1728-1793), who built up an extensive museum which he used for teaching and for research on topics as diverse as the transplantation of teeth and the breeding of bees.
The collection reflects Hunter's wide-ranging network of correspondents, students and patrons - including Joseph Banks, Edward Jenner and Queen Charlotte - and contains paintings by artists such as George Stubbs and Benjamin West. After Hunter's death his collection was given to The Royal College of Surgeons, where over 3,500 Hunterian preparations are still displayed alongside many more gathered over the course of the last two centuries.
Collection details
Natural Sciences, Medicine, Fine Art
Key artists and exhibits
- Designated Collection
Collections services
- Object identification and/or written enquiry service
- Public access available to collections information
- Object study facilities available (enquire in advance)
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
Greater London
WC2A 3PE
England
Website
General information
Information and bookings
Telephone
Information and bookings
020 7869 6560
Textphone/Typetalk users
18001 020 7869 6560
Fax
Museum office
020 7869 6564
Exhibition - The Dreadful and the Divine: A visual exploration of the surgical instrument
There is something fascinating about the tools which surgeons wield, they can invoke powerful associations: they inspire fear and awe, carry connotations of butchery as well as healing, and are synonymous with intricacy and skill – in manufacture as well as in use. They are the means to open the body and put it back together – instruments of a power simultaneously dreadful and divine.
Using photography, Artist in Residence Elaine Duigenan has explored instruments’ contradictory status as the therapeutic extension of the surgeon’s hands and as objects designed to destroy living tissue.
Funded by a Wellcome Trust Arts Award.
Suitable for
- All ages
When
10am-5pm
Where
Qvist Gallery, 1st Floor Hunterian Museum
Admission
Free
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
Greater London
WC2A 3PE
England
Website
General information
Information and bookings
Telephone
Information and bookings
020 7869 6560
Textphone/Typetalk users
18001 020 7869 6560
Fax
Museum office
020 7869 6564
Dr Thomas Willis FRS: Pioneer of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Brain
Left out in the cold in 17th century Puritan Oxford by his High Church Royalist views, Thomas Willis was obliged to earn his living as a working doctor. This turned out to be his making as a great clinician, especially when combined with his passion for anatomical dissection, leading to his discovery of the ‘Circle of Willis’ which paved the way towards our modern understanding of the brain’s blood supply and local functions.
Suitable for
- Not suitable for children
When
1-2pm
Where
College Library
Admission
Tickets £3, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
Story of London: Surgical Futures
Find out what the future holds for patients undergoing surgery in the next decade. Three experts in their field present the cutting edge research that they are doing to solve some of the most common age-related health issues: stroke, cancer and osteoarthritis.
BBC Science correspondent, Richard Hollingham chairs this event and gives the chance to ask them where they see the nation’s wellbeing in the years to come.
The Museum will be open on the night for visitors from 6-7pm
There will be special public tours of the museum on 6th, 7th and 8th October at 1pm
When
7-9pm
Where
Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons
Admission
Free event, but booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
The Big Draw: Illustrating the body (inside and out!)
The Hunterian Museum is teaming up with the Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain and the House of Illustration to put on its first ever Big Draw event. Specialist medical illustrators will demonstrate their expertise and be on hand to give tips and advice, while illustrator-led workshops will inspire visitors to try out their skills, inspired by the wondrous specimens in the museum’s collections.
Event in partnership with the House of Illustration and the Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain www.maa.org.uk
When
12-4pm
Where
Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons
Admission
Free, drop-in event. All materials provided. Suitable for all
An Unsung Hero? Joseph Naples, Resurrectionist
In early 19th century London there were more opportunities to dissect than ever, but access to bodies was limited by the law and body donation was a rarity. Could the surgeons have worked without their resurrection men, supplying them with subjects from the burial grounds of the city?
Kirsty Chilton tells the story of the life of bodysnatcher and diarist Joseph Naples, and the circumstances that made it necessary to rob graves for the progression of medical science.
Suitable for
- Not suitable for children
When
1-2pm
Where
College Library
Admission
Tickets £3, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
Barber Surgeon: leeches, lancets and blood-letting
Meet Rory McCreadie, a Barber-Surgeon from the 17th century, and his pet leech! From trephining to blood-letting, Rory reveals the gory secrets of surgery from centuries past.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
- All ages
When
2-3pm
Where
MacRae Gallery, Hunterian Museum
Admission
Tickets £5 per group of 4/£2.50 per person, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
Barber Surgeon: leeches, lancets and blood-letting
Meet Rory McCreadie, a Barber-Surgeon from the 17th century, and his pet leech! From trephining to blood-letting, Rory reveals the gory secrets of surgery from centuries past.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
- All ages
When
11am-12pm
Where
MacRae Gallery, Hunterian Museum
Admission
Tickets £5 per group of 4/£2.50 per person, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
Wellington's Combat Surgeon: George Guthrie
As Great Britain commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Peninsular War (1808-1814), she needs reminding of the sterling efforts made by the surgeons serving under Lord Wellington.
George Guthrie was a polymath and also a robust and extremely talented military surgeon, successfully treating many thousands of wounded and sick soldiers.
Three times president of the College, Michael Crumlin FRCS highlights the life and adventures of this great British doctor.
Suitable for
- Not suitable for children
When
1-2pm
Where
College Library
Admission
Tickets £3, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
The Dreadful and the Divine: artist’s talk and tour
Join artist in residence Elaine Duigenan and surgeon Donald Sammut as they talk about the Armamentaria project that led up to the creation of the current exhibition and discuss the parallels between the practical and the metaphorical nature of surgical instruments. Afterwards ticketholders will get the chance to see other works by Elaine on display in the College’s surgical training centre.
Suitable for
- Not suitable for children
When
1-2pm
Where
Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons
Admission
£3, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
Behind the Scenes at the Royal College of Surgeons
A rare late-night opening of the museum and a chance to find out about the role of the College in modern surgical training. Enjoy a drink among the historical specimens collected by John Hunter and other eminent surgeons of the 18th and 19th centuries. There is an opportunity to tour the new surgical training centre, find out about dissection at the College and try your hand at ‘keyhole’ surgery techniques and surgical suturing.
Suitable for
- All ages
When
6-9pm
Where
Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons
Admission
Entry to the museum and exhibition is free. £5 charge applies to workshops and tour, booking essential on 020 7869 6560.
Gorgets and Bistouries: an evening encounter
Artist and musician Matthew Robins and photographic artist, Elaine Duigenan collaborate to bring you a magical encounter with ‘instruments’ – both the musical and surgical. Through words, song, live animation and shadow play they will bring you an unforgettable performance in the realm of ‘The Dreadful and The Divine’.
Enjoy an atmospheric late view of the Hunterian Museum and the exhibition and following in the vein of the moving image, create your own zoetrope inspired by Matthew’s unique art.
Suitable for
- Not suitable for children
When
7-9pm
Where
Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons
Admission
£8, includes a glass of wine or soft drink.
Numbers are limited so booking is essential on 020 7869 6560.
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
Greater London
WC2A 3PE
England
Website
General information
Information and bookings
Telephone
Information and bookings
020 7869 6560
Textphone/Typetalk users
18001 020 7869 6560
Fax
Museum office
020 7869 6564
Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
Greater London
WC2A 3PE
England
Website
General information
Information and bookings
Telephone
Information and bookings
020 7869 6560
Textphone/Typetalk users
18001 020 7869 6560
Fax
Museum office
020 7869 6564
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