Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons
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 an automatic door which opens sideways. The reception desk has a portable induction loop. Reception staff are happy to help with any access needs.
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 and two accessible toilets on the fourth floor of the main College building.
Disabled parking on site can be booked by calling 020 7869 6400
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, Science and Technology, Social History
Key artists and exhibits
- Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792
- George Stubbs 1724-1806
- Designated Collection
Exhibition: War, Art and Surgery
- 14 October 2014 — 14 February 2015
With unprecedented access to military facilities, the artist Julia Midgley has created over 150 pieces of reportage artwork representing military surgeons in training and recently wounded soldiers on their road to recovery. Julia's work will be exhibited alongside all 72 of the College's striking pastels of wounded servicemen by surgeon-artist Henry Tonks from 1916-1918.
Generously supported by Arts Council England, the Sir James Knott Trust, the Frances and Augustus Newman Foundation, Liverpool John Moores University and the Fellows and Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
More details can be found on the website: www.rcseng.ac.uk/war-art-and-surgery
Suitable for
- 14-15
- 16-17
- 18+
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/war-art-and-surgery
Lunchtime lecture - Vesalius: 500 years on
- 16 September 2014 1-2pm
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) is the most famous of all anatomists. In his On the fabric of the human body, Basle, 1543, he attacked his great Greek predecessor, Galen, for basing his influential anatomical theories on animal dissection and demanded that future descriptions of the human body should be based on human dissection. His ideas were quickly adopted, although not without some justified protests at his lack of respect for his teachers. His revolutionary ideas were supported by remarkable illustrations of a size and quality previously unknown. This talk will introduce the man and his work in the light of recent discoveries.
Live speech-to-text for deaf and hard of hearing visitors delivered by STAGETEXT.
Suitable for
- 16-17
- 18+
- 14-15
Admission
Tickets: £4. Lectures last approximately 45 minutes with time for questions.
Free entry plus guest to RCS fellows and members, free entry to RCS affiliates, medical students and Hunterian Society members (please call to reserve places). Free place for companions accompanying disabled visitors.
Booking is essential on 020 7869 6568 (text relay: 018001 020 7869 6560)
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/events/lunchtime-lectures-and-evening-talks
The Bone Ship: Poetry and Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons
- 15 October 2014 7-9pm
This event is part of Through the Door, a unique collaborative project which has placed leading UK poets into London Archives, commissioning brand new poetry and celebrating the wealth of stories and heritage which these fascinating archives have to offer.
Multi-award-winning poet and residency frontiersman Mario Petrucci highlights the inherent strangeness and beauty, even in pathology, of the astonishing vessel that bears us through life. This reading presents his provocative yet poignant surgical poems, dealing with subjects as diverse as facial reconstruction in WWI, grave robbers and the near-surrealism of anatomical experiments. Both memorable and potent, Petrucci's sometimes unexpected vision of surgery never loses touch with its essential humanity.
The evening includes an enlightening talk, from the College’s Archivist, regarding the extent and value of the archive holdings.
“Petrucci has a snappy metaphor for every body part… a brilliant strangeness.” Poetry London
The Hunterian Museum will open for a ticketholders late view from 6-7pm.
Running time approximately 90 minutes with no interval.
Suitable for
- 14-15
- 16-17
- 18+
Admission
This event is free but ticketed. Please book online: http://mariopetruccittd.eventbrite.co.uk
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/events/special-events
Rebuilding Lives: Military surgery and rehabilitation
- 21 October 2014 7-9pm
As medical intervention in military combat improves, the number of service men and women surviving devastating incidents with severe ‘life-changing injuries’ increases. The work to rebuild shattered bodies and lives continues from the war zone through to specialist treatment centres in the UK. In this event, speakers representing the initial surgical response, reconstructive plastic surgery and the patient’s own view will speak about their experiences. Following their presentations there will be the opportunity to ask questions to the panel.
The Hunterian Museum will open for a ticketholders view of the exhibition ‘War, Art and Surgery’ from 6-7pm.
This event has been generously supported by the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS).
Suitable for
- 16-17
- 18+
Admission
Free but booking is essential on 020 7869 6568 (text relay: 018001 020 7869 6560)
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/events/special-events
Lunchtime lecture - Between the Lines: drawings of military medicine past and present
- 28 October 2014 1-2pm
With unprecedented access to military medical facilities including the A.M.S. Training Centre, Strensall Camp, D.M.R.C. Headley Court and TMW Brize Norton; artist Julia Midgley has created over 150 reportage sketches showing military surgeons in training and the rehabilitation of servicemen and women after surgery.
Julia will look at examples of the work of official War Artists from the First and Second World Wars as well as reportage artists who have focused on medicine, military and civilian, from 20th – 21st Century. It will then focus on her “War Art & Surgery” drawings featured in the current exhibition, describing the experience of working with recovering service personnel as well as the drawing process.
Live speech-to-text for deaf and hard of hearing visitors delivered by STAGETEXT.
Suitable for
- 14-15
- 16-17
- 18+
Admission
Tickets: £4. Lectures last approximately 45 minutes with time for questions.
Free entry plus guest to RCS fellows and members, free entry to RCS affiliates, medical students and Hunterian Society members (please call to reserve places). Free place for companions accompanying disabled visitors.
Booking is essential on 020 7869 6568 (text relay: 018001 020 7869 6560)
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/events/lunchtime-lectures-and-evening-talks
Lunchtime lecture - Medical Innovations: Blood and Bacteria
- 4 November 2014 1-2pm
Before the First World War we had limited understanding of how to collect and store blood, complete a successful blood transfusion or fight infection. However, as a result of research before and during the war, there were exciting medical innovations in pathology which revolutionised both military and civilian medicine. Join MOD pathologists Dr Heidi Doughty and Dr Emma Hutley as they discuss the challenges and innovations of frontline medicine, both past and present.
Live speech-to-text for deaf and hard of hearing visitors delivered by STAGETEXT.
Event in association with the Royal College of Pathologists www.rcpath.org
Suitable for
- 16-17
- 18+
- 14-15
Admission
£4. Lectures last approximately 45 mins plus time for questions.
Free entry plus guest to RCS fellows and members, free entry to RCS affiliates, medical students and Hunterian Society members (please call to reserve places). Free place for companions accompanying disabled visitors. Booking is essential on 020 7869 6568 (text relay: 018001 020 7869 6560)
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/events/lunchtime-lectures-and-evening-talks
From Hunter to Helmand: Military Medicine Then and Now
- 14 November 2014 9:30am-5:30pm
- 15 November 2014 9:30am-5pm
Bringing together medical and military history experts, as well as current serving military medical staff, this event will span the development of military medicine from the time of John Hunter in the 18th century through to current campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Crimea, the Napoleonic era, both World Wars and the Falklands will all be covered, as will key topics such as military nursing, naval surgery and military psychiatry.
Delegates can choose to attend one or both days. Tickets include refreshments and delegates lunch. Call 020 7869 6568 to book places.
Suitable for
- 18+
Admission
£50.00 per day
£20.00 per day Concessionary* (MRCS, FRCS, RCS Affiliates, students, retired and serving or retired military.)
Website
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/hunterian/war-art-and-surgery/conference-from-hunter-to-helmand/
'A cutting edge career' - surgical skills workshops for Year 11-13 students
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/learning-and-access
Do your students want to go to medical school?
Are they in the process of applying and need something extra for their personal statements?
Would they benefit from some tips for the interview?
You can combine a visit to the museum with an opportunity for your students to learn some basic surgical skills and the chance to find out more about a career in medicine and surgery from medical students, junior doctors and working surgeons.
Maximum numbers: 10-20
More information and dates for sessions can be found on our website.
How to obtain
Booking and further information: call 020 7869 6566
Cost: session is offered free but a voluntary contribution of £3 per student is suggested
GCSE Medicine Through Time Workshop
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/learning-and-access/running-your-own-medicine-through-time-workshop
Working in small groups the students will use original objects from the museum and College library’s handling collections, library and archive source materials together with the objects and specimens on display in the museum to create a personalised tour that focuses on a particular element in the development of surgery, medicine and healthcare.
Class size: 30
Dates and times for these sessions can be found on our website http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/learning-and-access/
A template for a self-guided version of the workshop is also available to download.
How to obtain
Booking and further information: call 020 7869 6566
Sessions are free but voluntary contributions of £3 per student are suggested.
Getting there
By tube: Holborn and Temple are our nearest stations
By train: The museum is not far from several mainline stations including Euston, Charing Cross and Waterloo
By bus: any route via Aldwych or High Holborn runs close to the museum, includes:
1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 38, 55, 76, 98, 139, 172, 176, 242, 341
By cycle: there is a pick-up and drop off point for London's hired bikes behind the college on Portugal Street.
By road: London's congestion charges operate Mon-Fri 07:00-18:00.
The College is centrally located between, Fleet Street, High Holborn and Kingsway. Coaches can pick up and drop off immediately outside the museum.
Parking in Lincoln's Inn Fields is metered, more reasonable parking is at the NCP in Bloomsbury Square.
Disabled parking on site can be arranged by calling 020 7869 6400.
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