The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh(RCSEd), the UK’s oldest surgical Royal College, has recently announced that it has been awarded a grant to extend and redevelop its Surgeons’ Hall Museum.

Originally developed as a teaching museum for students of medicine, it has been open to the general public since 1832, making it Scotland’s oldest medical museum. It contains the UK’s largest and most historic collection of surgical pathology artefacts, including anatomical specimens and surgical instruments.

The Museum charts the transition of medicine from perceived ‘witchcraft’ through to recognised science. The collection includes a letter from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle crediting Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Fellow, Dr Joseph Bell, as the main inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes.

The Lister Project will transform Surgeons’ Hall Museum into a modern, public museum by using its internationally important collections, amassed since the 15th century, to tell the history of medicine.

It will be the first time that the building has been radically altered since 1908. The funding will allow redevelopment work to create new displays and galleries, thus doubling the number of items which can be put on display.

The enhanced Museum will also boast a 17th century dissecting theatre, and a dedicated education suite will increase opportunities for learning for schools, families and special interest groups.