Skip to main content
Hunterian Museum
Visit

Free entry - booking recommended

Tuesday to Saturday: 10am – 5pm

Closed Tuesday 9 September - Tuesday 7 October for essential maintenance

In this section

Oil painting depicting a fictional examination scene incorporating portraits of several senior members of the Court of Examiners from the late 1800s. Three viva voce interviews are taking place in the room: in each, a young candidate sits at a table covered in anatomical and pathological specimens, and is being quizzed by a pair of examiners. In the background on the left of the painting the examiners are Edward Lund (1823-1898) and Sir William MacCormac (1825-1901): Lund is writing notes while MacCormac sits with his left hand on his ear as the candidate studies the pot in front of him. In the centre and foreground of the painting a second candidate is being examined by John Wood (1825-1891) and Sir Jonathan Hutchinson (1828-1913). The candidate - a young man with short dark hair and a dark moustache - is holding a specimen up to the light and regarding it quizzically. Wood, seated behind the table and positioned in the centre of the scene, is leaning forward with his head resting on his right hand and his elbow on the table: he is staring at the candidate intently, but his face and his posture convey a sense of weariness and exasperation. To Wood's left (and the viewer's right) Hutchinson is sitting back and regarding the candidate more dispassionately. Behind Wood and Hutchinson, in the background on the right of the painting, John Marshall (1818-1891) and Frederick Le Gros Clark (1811-1892) are examining a third candidate. On the wall of the room behind this scene is a central fireplace, above which the lower part of the portrait of John Hunter is visible. To the left, part of the portrait of Anthony Carlisle can be seen, while to the right the lower portion of the portrait of Astley Cooper is visible.

The Viva by Henry Jamyn Brooks, 1894

Visit

Share this page

Museum Hire

The Hunterian Museum is available to hire out-of-hours for private tours, for filming or as an add on to an event you are holding at RCS England. 

Private tours of the Hunterian Museum

Fee on application

Private tours are only available outside of museum open hours, after 17:30. You will need to make a request using the form below to hire the museum out-of-hours. The hire begins at 5:30pm until 7:00pm, additional time charged per hour. 

The maximum number of people per tour is 20. If your party is larger than 20 you may wish to have longer time for a second tour to begin.

A discount is available for current Members and Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The discount is non-transferrable and the booker must have a fully paid up subscription. Please see the RCS England website for applicable membership categories https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/about-the-rcs/membership/membership-fees/

Filming at the Hunterian Museum

Fee on application

If you would like to film at the Hunterian Museum please contact the museum. Filming is normally only possible on Mondays, when the museum is closed, or after 17:30 on Tuesdays-Saturdays.

Please provide the following then you email:

  • An outline of the project and the relevance to the themes or activities of Hunterian and the Royal College of Surgeons of England
  • Which objects or sections of the museum will be in frame
  • The number of crew who will be attending
  • Details of the production company and examples of other filming

If your hire is confirmed, you will need to provide;

  • RAMS
  • Insurance details 

Meetings, parties, or lectures

The Hunterian Museum does not have spaces for meetings, parties, or lectures. 

Please contact the Royal College of Surgeons of England's venue hire team to book a space, and they will be happy to help find a space at the college. 

However, if you would like a private tour as an add on to a room booking please see above.

Availability

You are welcome to contact the museum before filling in the form to check availability for the dates you want, however you will need to use the form to make an official request.

Payment

Quotes are only available via email. Museum staff are unable to give quotes over the phone. 

Invoices are payable by BACS and must be settled prior to the hire.