Fleming Museum
What Visitors Say
It’s worth persisting at the entrance to wait for a response to the bell. The focus of course is on the discovery and research done at this site and not on the considerable work to turn that into a reality. It’s great that in an area of such pressure for space that the museum remains. The discovery must’ve led to the saving of many millions of lives. The museum is small and spread over several floors, but well worth visiting (it’s free).
Friendly volunteers. You have to ring the bell and they will buzz you in. You can see the actual room where Penicillin was discovered! A must visit for anyone with an interest in Biology, Mycology, Bacteriology, Science, since this was a discovery of great historical value
Free museum displaying the original laboratory where the first trace of the legendary medicine - penicillin - was discovered. The museum is largely ran by local volunteers, who will guide you through the space and share interesting stories about Alexander Fleming and how penicillin became a life-saving medicine from it's initial lab discovery. The museum is also an education centre to promote public awareness of the issue of anti-biotic resistance by explaining the principles of anti-biotic phenomena. Be prepared to climb 3 floors from the ground floor, as the museum does not have a lift or wheel-chair access route.
The Alexandre Fleming Museum is a small but really special place. It tells the story of a doctor and scientist whose work changed the world, in a way that feels personal and easy to connect with. Being located inside a real, working hospital makes the experience even more powerful-you can truly feel the link between his discoveries and everyday medical care. It’s a quiet, thoughtful visit that leaves you with a lot of admiration for both the man and his legacy.
A little gem! Tiny but historically significant museum, 15-20 minute visit. Fleming's small laboratory room, set up as it was when he discovered mould contamination of an agar plate produced a substance that killed bacteria, later to become penicillin working with Oxford University. Also a video and a poster room with more details. Historic and interesting to medical and laboratory workers in particular. When open (currently M-Th, 10am-1pm, staffed by volunteers), press the buzzer to gain entry, the door is a bit stiff!
Highlights
Fleming’s Laboratory
Birthplace of penicillinSee the bench, Petri dishes and simple tools that turned a stray contaminant into the most consequential drug discovery of the 20th century.
Recreated room at St Mary’s Hospital
Discovery Film
From observation to therapyA 10-minute overview links Fleming’s 1928 note to the Oxford group’s proof in 1940 and wartime scale-up.
Small screening nook beside the lab
Poster & Object Room
The path to patientsPeriod photos, notes and apparatus trace early trials and production hurdles that shaped modern antibiotics.
Gallery next to the lab
Opening Hours
Fun Facts
Fleming published penicillin’s antibacterial action in 1929, but therapeutic success arrived a decade later with Florey and Chain’s Oxford experiments.
Early hospitals sometimes recovered scarce penicillin from patients’ urine and reused it during wartime shortages.
Industrial deep-tank fermentation—borrowed from food science—made mass penicillin possible by the mid-1940s.
