Royal Berkshire Hospital Medical Museum

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1997 as a small independent general medical museum and registered charity. It is run by volunteers, many of them retired hospital staff, with help from a Friends group. It is housed in the former hospital laundry, built in the early 1880s, in a basement area of the Royal Berkshire Hospital, whose original building opened in 1839.

The displays cover the history of the hospital and many other parts of medical history, including medicine, surgery, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy and dentistry. Many of the exhibits come from the early 19th century to the 1980s, and several show developments that began in Reading. The museum also holds the archives of the hospital and records oral histories of former staff and patients.

The museum was redeveloped in 2008 with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It has appeared in television programmes, including Tony Robinson’s History of Britain, and is accredited by Arts Council England. It has formal links with Reading Museum and the Museum of English Rural Life at the University of Reading. Volunteers show visitors around during opening hours, and groups can visit at other times by arrangement.

Highlights

• A 1939 iron lung and an early anaesthetic machine
• Vintage dental surgery
• Working prototype of a fibre-optic endoscope
• Collection of glass eyes and ear trumpets
• Oral history recordings of former hospital staff and patients

Permanent exhibitions

• History of the Royal Berkshire Hospital – Displays on the hospital, which opened in 1839, and the people who worked and were treated there.
• Medicine, surgery and nursing – Instruments, equipment and photographs from the early 19th century to the 1980s, including an iron lung and a vintage dental surgery.

Founded

1997

Operated by

Volunteer-run registered charity

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free, and donations are welcome.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is in a basement area reached through a corridor with slopes, and one of the routes includes a few steps. Space between the exhibits is limited, so wheelchair access can be difficult; visitors with access needs should contact the museum before visiting.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum entrance is on Level 4 of the main building, reached by following signs to the basement corridor under the North Block; the museum has red double doors. The hospital website gives step-by-step routes from the main entrance, the Main Hospital Corridor, the North Block entrance hall and the Craven Road car park.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Publications by the museum team about local healthcare history are on sale. Toilets and catering are elsewhere on the hospital site, some distance from the museum.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit