St Bartholomew's Hospital is the site of a medieval monastery hospital at the bottom of Christmas Steps, in Lewin's Mead,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. It has been designated as a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The building incorporates an arcade of arches from a 12th-century town house. The round piers predate the hospital, and may come from an aisled hall, the earliest remains of domestic architecture in the city, which was then adapted to form the hospital chapel. It was incorporated into a monastery hospital, similar to an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

, founded in 1240 by Sir John la Warr, 2nd Baron De La Warr (c. 1277–1347) who gave land in

Horfield Horfield is a suburb of the city of Bristol, in southwest England. It lies on Bristol's northern edge, its border with Filton marking part of the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Bishopston lies directly to the south. Monk ...

for the upkeep of the hospital. In 1291 he made a bequest of one hundred

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

for the monks to chart in his memory and that of his relatives. The hospital served the poor of the city and travellers including seamen from

Bristol Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

. Separate male and female dormitories existed by the early 14th century but males were evicted by Eleanor the Prioress in 1330. The decision were reverted by the

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

is 1386. The Fraternity of St. Clement was established at the hospital in 1445, funded by a levy on ships in the harbour, with a specific responsibility for 12 sailors. Masters of the Hospital of St Bartholomew 1403: Bautre, John After the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was bought by Robert Thorne, the local

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and became

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

from 1532 to 1767, with the current front of the building being constructed in the 17th century. It has a

jettied Jettying (jetty, jutty, from Old French ''getee, jette'') is a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the availa ...

first floor. It was used as

Queen Elizabeth's Hospital Queen Elizabeth's Hospital (also known as QEH) is an independent day school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1586. QEH is named after its original patron, Queen Elizabeth I. Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hos ...

from 1767 to 1847. Three 17th-century town houses were then incorporated into model workers' flats around a courtyard in 1865, and converted to offices in 1978. In the 1970s an archaeological excavation and search of documentary evidence of the site was carried out. 30 skeletons were uncovered which showed a range of fractures and infections indicating the sorts of conditions the hospital is likely to have treated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bartholomews Hospital, Bristol Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Grade II* listed buildings in Bristol Bristol Grammar School

See also

References