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Surgeons' Hall Museums

We are open from 10am-5pm, 7 days a week. Booking is not required to visit. If you are looking to bring a large group, please get in touch. 

 

The award winning Museums are open to the public 7 days a week, 10am to 5pm and are home to one of the largest and most historic pathology collections in the United Kingdom.

Surgeons’ Hall Museums reopened in 2015 after a major £4.4 million Heritage Lottery Funded redevelopment project. As one of the oldest Museums in Scotland, the collections grew from 1699 after 'natural and artificial curiosities' were publicly sought, with the Playfair Building opening in 1832 to house the Barclay and Bell collections. Whilst the Museums were initially established as a medical teaching resource, all are now welcome to visit. 

Click to view our virtual tour of the museums Museum Shop website

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latest news

Online Shop Final Christmas Shipping Dates

Our Museum will remain closed during Christmas time from the 22nd of December to the 3rd of January.Any orders placed via our online shop durimg that time will be fulfilled after our return on the 3rd… read more >>

2023 School Christmas Lecture

The 2023 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh School Christmas Lecture will take place on Wednesday the 29th of November at 2pm. This is a free event aimed at S4+. This year we will be joined by the… read more >>

An Evening with Surgeons' Hall Museum and more!

We've got a brilliant events programme lined up to take us through to Christmas! We have 2 online events- "V" with Florence Schechter and an online talk looking at the history of corrosion casts deliv… read more >>


Hand Head Legs Torso

forthcoming talks, workshops and performances

Blood and Guts: The Twists and Turns of Edinburgh's Medical History walking tour

Blood and Guts: The Twists and Turns of Edinburgh's Medical History walking tour. Join Surgeons Hall Museums on their 5* walking tour through Edinburgh’s old town. We will take you through the highs and lows of Edinburgh’s world renowned medical history. Discover the intrigues, rivalries and dedication to the cause as our guide leads you through the sites where anatomists, surgeons and physicians worked, operated and squabbled in the quest for medical advancement. Drawn from the archives at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh you will hear little known accounts of iconic writers, chloroform tea parties, pioneering women, grave robbing and of course Britain’s first serial killers the infamous Burke and Hare.

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