London Art & Culture London Museums Wellcome CollectionThe Wellcome Collection
The Wellcome Collection is north of the city centre, along the bustling and pedestrian unfriendly 
Euston Road (the fumes - it does have pavements). One of those segments of London, like Aldersgate or Clerkenwell, that you're unlikely to chance upon, if you're a visitor to town.
The building is on the northern tip of the University College London Campus, (it's part of the university) and houses several permanent collections as well as rotating exhibitions. Medicine Man and Medicine Now, are permanent and there was one other exhibition during my visit - 'Skin'.
Pitched somewhere between a modern art gallery and a museum of medical paraphernalia, the Wellcome Collection stands alone and apart from peer comparison. Much of the collection is grisly, but in an absorbing way. I'm thinking of a long line of surgical amputation saws through the ages (35, according to the leaflet). The one which caught my interest, resembled a carpenter's saw in design - but on an Action Man scale. 
My mind reeling at the prospect of which part of the body it was destined for. Lining the opposite wall was a series of paintings (including a 16th century Hieronymus Bosch copy of the Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych) with a helpful booklet to borrow, filling you in on the paintings' background. I should add there are numerous guides and curators available to help with your questions. A strong sense of the altruistic nature of the Wellcome Trust emerges, as you wander.
The Skin exhibition contains stomach clenching moments too, with an interesting section on the origins of tribal tattoos, including examples. Yep, the original skin of the long-deceased tattoo owners.
Henry Wellcome - avid collector and industrially-moustached philanthropist, was an American who founded a pharmaceutical empire (it's one of the 4 constituent companies of 'GlaxoSmithKline'), via his novelty approach to producing medicine in 'tablet' form (previously powders and tinctures were the norm). He became a British citizen in 1910 and after his death in 1936, left the bulk of his wealth to 
the 'Wellcome Trust' - one of the world's largest medical charities. The trust created a permanent space for the Wellcome Collection, as recently as 2007. The collection and library are open to the public free of charge. (If you're interested in early medicines and horticulture , you might like to try the Chelsea Physic Garden, where early medicinal plants were grown.)
There is an excellent Peyton & Byrne cafe serving hot food and a Blackwell's bookshop in the spacious mezzanine, near the entrance. The leaflets are also printed on the finest paper money can buy (recycled) - a minor point perhaps, but quality does tend to be an accumulation of the small detail.
Opening Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday: 10.00-1800 (except Thursday open late until 22.00)
Sunday: 11.00-18.00
Monday: Galleries closed (except public holidays, 12.00-18.00)
Call: +44 (0)20 7611 2222
Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Tube: Euston, or Euston Square.
