Hunterian Museum
- Medical history enthusiasts
- Science enthusiasts
- Families with children
What Visitors Say
The Hunterian Museum is a fascinating place with a truly unique collection. There are countless preserved specimens of both animals and humans, offering incredible insights into anatomy, medicine, and natural history. Some exhibits are quite graphic, so they may not be suitable for everyone or those who are more sensitive. The museum is free to enter, which is a great bonus, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. After exploring the collection, we enjoyed taking a break at the small café, which offers drinks and light snacks. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in London! Just remember to reserve a time slot in advance!
The museum cover the history of surgery from 1600s onwards. With a lot of body parts preserved, human and animals. Free to enter but book on line. Closest tube Holborn 3m walk. When you get here puts any bags into the free lockers, you enter the second double doors on the turn left. The toilets are clean and adjacent to the lockers.
It was a unique experience, a rather unique museum too. It's free, you don't have to pay any tickets. It was interesting to see all those fetuses in jars. Never have I ever seen a baby in a jar. Unfortunately, I was hurried by their staff as it was near closing time, understandably so. So I couldn't enjoy all the deranged stuff in there. It's also quite an amazing feeling ti have been born now and not have to go through all those old medical procedures and tools, otherwise I'd have to get lobotomized 3 times a year.
What an amazing place to visit - as a healthcare professional I found the Hunterian Museum truly fascinating as did my 17yr old daughter. She is studying biology A Level and found it helped her studies to see specimens up close. So much to look at and take in. I’ve wanted to visit for a few years and it was worth the wait! Small line of people waiting to get in, although I’d booked tickets there was no need. We were given a guide booklet and took our time to walk through the Museum. Although it’s not a huge space with floors and floors to see there is more than enough to take in what’s on display.
Recently visited the Hunterian Museum and was very impressed. It brings together medical history and science in a clear, engaging way, with well-curated displays, interactive touch screens, and an excellent 3D human anatomy screen. The staff were welcoming, and although entry is free, it’s best to pre-book. A truly unique and memorable place to visit in London.
Highlights
Specimen Gallery, Reimagined
From cabinets of wonder to evidenceThousands of preparations—human and animal—arranged to teach pathology rather than merely astonish.
Main hall vitrines
Tools of the Trade
Surgery before anaesthesia & antisepsisBone saws, tourniquets and bullet extractors reveal why speed once trumped subtlety.
Introductory galleries
Learning to See
When microscopes changed diagnosisTiny lenses turned surgeons into historians of tissue—suddenly disease had a timeline.
Microscopy & teaching section
Human Stories
Patients as partners, not propsLetters, sketches and consent histories shift the focus from specimen to person.
Case notes & portraits
Opening Hours
Fun Facts
The famous skeleton of Charles Byrne—the 7’7” ‘Irish Giant’ purchased by John Hunter in 1783—is no longer on display; after the 2023 reopening it’s retained for research, reflecting modern ethics around consent.
Much of Hunter’s original collection was damaged in the Blitz (1941); meticulous catalogues and surviving preparations allowed a post-war reconstruction of the museum.
John Hunter’s private school trained a generation of surgeons who spread his specimen-based teaching across Britain and beyond—an early ‘open source’ of medical technique (minus the open licensing).
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