The Fascinating History Of St Bartholomew’s Hospital
St Bartholomew’s Hospital, known colloquially as Barts, is the oldest functioning hospital in Britain. It was founded an astonishing 900 years ago in 1123 by a courtier of King Henry I, and has been the site of many important medical discoveries. It is also a building of architectural merit, and has undergone some extensive renovation works.
The hospital still stands at its original site in West Smithfield, London, having survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, and later on the Blitz during the Second World War. The hospital was originally part of a Priory that was closed during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, although fortunately the hospital was permitted to continue.
All of the mediaeval buildings of the monastery were demolished in the eighteenth century, and the architect James Gibbs rebuilt it around a main square with four wings in the 1730s. Today, the North Wing that includes the Great Hall still survives, along with the East and West Wing.
Further buildings were added throughout the years, including a purpose built lecture theatre in 1791. Since then, the hospital has remained an important centre for medical teaching and training, and a School of Nursing was added in 1877. In 1948, the hospital was incorporated into the NHS, and today it is a specialist cancer and cardiac care centre.
This March, the hospital celebrated its 900th birthday, and to mark the occasion it has launched fundraising campaigns for the heritage, health care and research of the hospital.
The Grade I listed North Wing of the hospital houses an extensive range of paintings by the artist William Hogarth, as well as a large collection of other artworks and hospital archives. The Great Hall contains one of the most important interiors in the UK. The astonishingly ornate plasterwork ceiling is decorated in gold leaf by Jean Baptiste Michel.
The walls are adorned with portraits of donors among other artworks, and the Hall has always been used for social and cultural purposes rather than to care for patients.
In January, the Barts Heritage charity celebrated the funding award of £4.9m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Match funding has been achieved from other donors to take the total to £9.5m. The money will be spent on repairing the famous Hogarth Stair and the Great Hall, plus educational and cultural schemes.
St Bartholomew’s Hospital chief executive Professor Charles Knight OBE said: “The North Wing has been at the heart of our hospital for hundreds of years – most recently as a wellbeing hub for our busy NHS teams.”
He added: “Sharing Historic Barts will secure the future of this beautiful building into the next century and beyond so that future generations can continue to be inspired by the magnificent ambition, art and architecture that is St Bartholomew’s heritage.”
The Hogarth Stair adorns the walls of the grand staircase and depicts Biblical stories at an impressively large scale.
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