If you’re a neighbour of the museum, this one’s for you.
From what was once the Leeds Union Workhouse which housed the poor and homeless of the city, to now being an award-winning museum of modern medicine.
And if you live or work in the area, entry is completely free of charge.
Every Monday, the Thackray Museum of Medicine opens its doors free of charge to locals. All you need to do is book a time slot online in advance, and show something with your address on – be it a letter addressed to you, driving licence or a St James’s Hospital pass.
Thackray Museum of Medicine says “We want everyone to feel like they can come to the museum and enjoy the story of medicine, after all, it affects every one of us! As part of that commitment, every Monday we offer free entry to anyone who either works and/or lives in Harehills.”
As the biggest medical museum in the UK, there’s so much to explore across the two floors.
The building is packed with history too. Having first opened in 1861 as the Leeds Union Workhouse, it later incorporated an infirmary for the sick before then later becoming a fully-fledged hospital in 1925.
In the 1990s it was deemed to be no longer fit for modern medicine and converted into a museum by Paul Thackray, grandson of Charles Thackray who had grown a small family-run chemist shop on Great George Street during the 1900s into a major medical supply firm, supplying drugs and medical instruments and equipment across the world.
Today, the Thackray Medical Museum provides visitors with a fascinating account of the history of medicine and healthcare through its huge programme of exhibitions, talks, workshops, and objects selected from the collection of 47,000 items of historical medical equipment that it holds.
Following a £4.1million redevelopment to the museum in 2021, the 11 new galleries reveal the medical innovations that have changed our lives.
Whether you want your little ones to learn all about the NHS or you want to find out more about sports injuries yourself, it’s well worth hopping on a bus to Harehills to visit.
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For more information on Harehills Monday entry or just to find out more about the museum, visit the Thackray Museum of Medicine website here.
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