health
James Gibbs, 1732
St Bartholomew's Hospital, West Smithfield, EC1A 7BE
The Grade I listed North Wing at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London houses two of England’s most important interiors, the Great Hall, and the Hogarth Stair with its large paintings by William Hogarth. The hospital was designed by architect James Gibbs and construction of the North Wing was completed in 1732.
Barbican, Farringdon, St. Paul's
Euston, Farringdon, King's Cross
100, 133, 25, 48, 56, 59, 76
Cycling The hospital has bike racks (near the Henry VIII Gatehouse). Santander Cycles has docking stations near us.
There is a lift you can take to the first floor. The site is not wheelchair accessible. No under 18s allowed.
The North Wing is a building site, so it might be noisy when you visit. We will have some folding stools if people need to sit.
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, affectionately known as Barts, has provided continuous care to patients for over 900 years on its original site, longer than any other hospital in the United Kingdom.
The hospital was founded in 1123 by a man called Rahere, a courtier to Henry I, who fell sick whilst on a religious pilgrimage to Rome. Following his miraculous recovery, St Bartholomew appeared to him in a vision and instructed Rahere to build a priory and hospital for the ‘sick poor’ in West Smithfield.
During the English Reformation of the 1530s, when King Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church of Rome, the priory was shut down. The hospital could not admit any more patients and its very future was at risk. Continuous appeals by the lord mayor of London saw Henry re-found the hospital to provide ‘shelter to the poor, visitation to the sick, and food to the hungry’. From this point on, the hospital was funded by donations.
By the 1700s, the hospital’s remaining medieval buildings were outdated, worn, and too small to cope with the needs of London’s rising population.
James Gibbs was appointed architect for the new hospital. His training in Rome would heavily influence its design, and just as a spacious Italian piazza is a tranquil escape from the busy city streets, the layout of the hospital was designed as a sanctuary from the busy meat-markets of West Smithfield.
The hospital was built around a courtyard in four separate blocks. These grand buildings were described as ‘magnificent’, but were criticised for being hidden from the public. The North Wing was an administrative building, the heart of which was, and still is, the Great Hall. Amongst floral wood carvings, the names of donors, and the amount they gave to the hospital, are proudly displayed on donor boards.
The ceiling of the Great Hall is the work of John Baptiste St. Michell, an Italian master plasterer or stuccoist. The flowing designs of the ceiling feature the initials of the hospital, palm leaves, oak wreaths and rosettes.
For the staircase leading to the great hall, the hospital governors wanted something truly impressive. The famous painter and engraver William Hogarth donated both his skills and time to decorate the grand staircase, and in return was made a governor of the hospital. The first of Hogarth’s vast canvases depicts a scene from the parable The Good Samaritan, with the second, larger painting depicting Jesus’s Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda. The message in these visually powerful Christian themed artworks is that everybody is deserving of healthcare.
The hospital continued to be supported through donations until the National Health Service was founded in 1948. After this, the Great Hall continued to be used for a variety of events, but the condition of the building slowly deteriorated. Following a long campaign, a new charity, Barts Heritage, was established in 2017 to take on the North Wing and to conserve and repair the fabric of the building.
Working in partnership with Barts Health NHS Trust, Barts Heritage will make the Great Hall and Hogarth staircase available for patients, staff, and the public, with a special focus on how these unique and beautiful spaces can promote physical and mental well-being well into the 21st Century.
To attend the tour, visitors must wear full PPE – hard hat, steel toe capped boots, high visibility jacket.
You must sign a disclaimer form before entering the Great Hall and accessing the scaffolding viewing deck.
You will be required to remove loose clothing (coats, jumpers tied around waists) which could be slip or trip hazards, and leave bags, loose clothing, and shoes in lockers provided.
There is a lift to the Great Hall, but unfortunately there is no lift access to the scaffold viewing deck, it can only be accessed by climbing stairs.
The tour is unfortunately not accessible to wheelchair users.
We are unable to provide access to the site for anyone under the age of 18.
We will provide folding stools to anyone who would like one.
A Visual Story will be available on our website, you can use this to familiarise yourself with the building before your visit.
https://bartsheritage.org.uk/restoring-historic-barts/learning/conservation/
On arrival, please make your way to the fountain in the hospital square and wait for your tour guide there. They will be wearing an orange high visibility jacket.
We will have your name on a list, you do not need to print off your ticket.
