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If you’ve still never been to the Hunterian Museum, you better get planning your visit ASAP.
The doors of the institution, which houses thousands of human and non-human anatomical and pathological specimens, models and instruments, will be closing this May and won’t be reopening until 2020.
The good news is that the temporary closure is down to a major redevelopment of all the Royal College of Surgeon’s museums, meaning that swanky new spaces will be created for the jars of preserved body parts on display.
Be warned: it’s definitely not a destination for the faint-hearted. Surgeon and anatomist John Hunter’s collection was purchased in 1799 by the government and placed in the care of the Company (later the Royal College) of Surgeons. It includes a mutilated Ancient Egyptian mummy’s foot from 1763 and a section of a cockerel’s head with a human tooth transplanted into the comb from 1760-93.
The Hunterian Museum will be the last of the buildings to close, with permanent collections in the main galleries remaining opening to the public until Sat May 20. A series of goodbye, late night openings are scheduled across April and May. See the event page for details.
Check out the seven wonders of the Hunterian Museum or discover more of London’s weird and wonderful museums.