Ring the bell and descend from the brightness of day into the gloomy enclaves of the lower floor of the Association of Anaesthetists. The Anaesthesia Heritage Centre awaits, and it holds one of the strangest, most specific object collections in London.
We have to admit, we’d never come across the Anaesthesia Heritage Centre until we started researching our Unusual London Book. It really is a secret spot even very few Londoners know about.
So, what’s the deal?
A small but genuinely excellent collection in Marylebone showcases the curious and interesting history of anaesthetics, pain relief and resuscitation in medicine. On the face of it, those histories are relatively tame, yet the primitive implements used tell quite a different, and quite gruesome, story.
Hand bellows once used to resuscitate patients, needles as thick as your little finger, the original chloroform inhaler used to knock people out before surgery, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the development of a world we now take for granted.
The collection runs to more than 4,500 objects, spanning the entire history of anaesthesia from the first recorded demonstration of ether inhalation in 1846 right up to the equipment in use today. The earliest object in the collection is a resuscitation set dating to 1774. Look out too for the actual table on which the first operation under ether was performed, and for a genuinely unexpected find: ECG equipment once used on King George VI.
The building itself is worth a moment of attention as well. 21 Portland Place is a Georgian townhouse designed by the Adam Brothers in 1777-78, a fine example of neoclassical interior design, with ornate ceilings in its main rooms. Past residents have included Alexander Macmillan, founder of the Macmillan publishing house, and Sir Arthur Pearson, founder of the charity now known as Blind Veterans UK. The Association of Anaesthetists bought the house in 2002.
There’s usually a temporary exhibition running alongside the permanent collection, worth checking what’s currently on before you visit, past themes have covered everything from the evolution of anaesthesia to AI’s growing role in modern medicine.
The London x London Take: Allow at least an hour if you want to properly take in the displays, the information boards accompanying each case are worth reading in full rather than skimming, and this is genuinely one of those London museums where the story is in the small print. Book ahead if you can, though turning up unannounced on a quiet weekday afternoon has worked for us too.
Anaesthesia Heritage Centre: practical information and map
- Address: 21 Portland Pl, Marylebone, London W1B 1PY
- Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm
- Admission: free
- Accessibility: there are steps at the front entrance, but a lift and disabled toilet are available, and a ramp can be provided on request
- Website: www.aagbi.org
More unusual London guides
- The Unusual London Book
- Time to Discover: The Chelsea Physic Garden
- Time to Discover: The London Transport Museum Depot
