St Bartholomew's Hospital
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St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a
teaching hospital A teaching hospital or university hospital is a hospital or medical center that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities a ...
located in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by
Barts Health NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. Established in 2012, it runs five hospitals throughout the City of London and East London, and is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. History The trust was established on ...
.


History


Early history

Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died 1144, and entombed in the nearby Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great), a favourite courtier of King Henry I. The dissolution of the monasteries did not affect the running of Barts as a hospital, but left it in a precarious position by removing its income. It was refounded by
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
in December 1546, on the signing of an agreement granting the hospital to the
Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...
.''St Bartholomew's Hospital''
''Old and New London'': Volume 2 (1878), pp. 359–363. Retrieved 30 January 2009
The hospital became legally styled as the "House of the Poore in Farringdon in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation", although the title was never used by the general public. The first superintendent of the hospital was
Thomas Vicary Thomas Vicary (c. 1490–1561) was an early English physician, surgeon and anatomist. Vicary was born in Kent, in about 1490. He was described as "but a meane practiser in Maidstone … that had gained his knowledge by experience, until the Ki ...
, sergeant-surgeon to King Henry, and an early writer on anatomy. It was here that
William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions to anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, pulmonary and systemic circulation ...
conducted his research on the circulatory system in the 17th century, Percivall Pott and John Abernethy developed important principles of modern surgery in the 18th century, and Mrs Bedford Fenwick worked to advance the nursing profession in the late 19th century. From 1839 to 1872, the mortality reports show that surgical trauma and postoperative infection were the greatest causes of death. Tuberculosis, however, remained the most fatal nontraumatic cause of death. Nurses were expected to work 12 hours a day, and sometimes 14, with meal breaks in 1890. They had 2 weeks annual holiday. Upon the creation of the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
in 1948, it officially became known as St Bartholomew's Hospital.


Buildings

Barts is the oldest hospital in Britain still providing medical services which occupies the site it was originally built on, and has an important current role as well as a long history and architecturally important buildings. The Henry VIII entrance to the hospital continues to be the main public entrance and features a statue of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
above the
gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...
. Its main square was designed by
James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...
in the 1730s. Of the four original blocks, three survived; they include the block containing the Great Hall and two flanking blocks that contained wards. The first wing to be built was the North Wing, in 1732, which includes the Great Hall and the
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...
paintings by
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
. The South Wing followed in 1740, the West in 1752 and finally the East Wing in 1769. In 1859, a fountain was placed at the square's centre with a small garden. St Bartholomew's Hospital has existed on the same site since its founding in the 12th century, surviving both the
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...
and
the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...
. Its museum, which is open Tuesdays to Fridays every week, shows how medical care has developed over this time and explains the history of the hospital. Part-way around the exhibition is a door which opens on to the hospital's official entrance hall. On the walls of the staircase are two canvases painted by William Hogarth, ''The Pool of Bethesda'' (1736) and ''The Good Samaritan'' (1737). They can only be seen at close quarters on Friday afternoons. Hogarth was so outraged by the news that the hospital was commissioning art from Italian painters that he insisted on painting the canvases without a fee, as a demonstration that English painting was equal to the task. ''The Pool of Bethesda'' is of particular medical interest, as it depicts a scene in which Christ cures the sick: display material on the first floor speculates in modern medical terms about the ailments from which Christ's patients in the painting are suffering. The canvases are to be restored in 2023, with a grant from the
National Lottery Heritage Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
. The room to which the staircase leads is the hospital's Great Hall, a double-height room in
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style. Although there are a few paintings inside the Great Hall, nearly all are on movable stands: the walls themselves are mostly given over to the display of the very many large, painted plaques which list, in detail, the sums of money given to the hospital by its benefactors. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the hospital precincts of the ancient priory were redesignated as an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
, with
St Bartholomew-the-Less St Bartholomew the Less is an Anglican church in the City of London, associated with St Bartholomew's Hospital, within whose precincts it stands. Once a parish church, it has, since 1 June 2015, been a chapel of ease in the parish of St Barth ...
becoming the
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
– a unique situation amongst English hospital foundations. St Barts-the-Less is the only survivor of five chapels originally within the hospital's estate, the others failing to survive the Reformation. The church has a 15th-century tower and vestry, and its connections with the hospital can be seen not only in its early-20th century
stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
of a nurse, a gift from the Worshipful Company of Glaziers, but also in commemorative plaques adorning its interior. Throughout the whole of the 19th century, the Hardwick family were major benefactors of the hospital.
Thomas Hardwick Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829) was an English architect and a founding member of the Architects' Club in 1791. Early life and career Hardwick was born in Brentford, Middlesex the son of a master mason turned architect also named Thomas Hard ...
Jr. (1752–1825), Philip Hardwick (1792–1870), and Philip Charles Hardwick (1822–1892) were all architects/surveyors to Barts Hospital. Philip Hardwick, a
Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
, was also engaged in the rebuilding of the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Less in 1823 and donated the fountain in the hospital's courtyard. By 1872, Barts contained 676 beds. About 6,000 in-patients were admitted every year, as well as 101,000 out-patients. The average income of the hospital was £40,000 (derived chiefly from rents and funded property) and the number of governors exceeded 300.


Threatened closure

In 1993 the Tomlinson Review of London hospitals concluded that there were too many hospitals in central London and recommended that the service should be delivered closer to where people lived. Barts was identified as a hospital with a catchment area that had a low population and the hospital was threatened with closure. A determined campaign was mounted to save the hospital by the ''Save Barts Campaign'', supported by staff, residents, local MPs and the
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
. Some facilities were retained, but the accident and emergency department closed in 1995,''Major to minor: the closure of Bart's A&E department has overshadowed a parallel development at the London hospital – the opening of a nurse-led minor injuries unit'' Cassidy, Jane ''
Nursing Times ''Nursing Times'' is a website and monthly magazine for nurses, which is published in the United Kingdom. It covers original nursing research and best practice for nurses at all stages in their career, as well as daily news, opinion and other inf ...
'' (1995)
with facilities relocated to the Royal London Hospital (a hospital in the same trust group, but a couple of miles away in
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
). A minor injuries unit was established at Barts for small cases (which often represent a significant part of the workload of A&E services) but urgent and major work goes to other hospitals.


Redevelopment

A plan was formulated for Barts to develop as a centre of excellence in cardiac care and cancer. The plan came under threat when it was announced that the works would be procured under a
private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
contract; the ''Save Barts'' campaign continued to protest. The opposition subsided and a new Barts Heart Centre and new cancer care facilities were created. The Queen Mary Wing was demolished and the façade of the George V building was retained within a new hospital building. A new main entrance was established on King Edward Street. The three James Gibbs blocks were refurbished and car parking was removed from the area. The works, which were designed by HOK and undertaken by Skanska at a cost of circa £500 million, were completed in early 2016. Barts continues to be associated with excellence at its medical school's significant research and teaching facilities on the
Charterhouse Square Charterhouse Square is a garden square, a pentagonal space, in Farringdon, in the London Borough of Islington, and close to the former Smithfield Meat Market. The square is the largest courtyard or yard associated with the London Charterhouse ...
site. Barts, along with the Royal London Hospital and
London Chest Hospital The London Chest Hospital, located in Bethnal Green in London, adjacent to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, Victoria Park, was a hospital with a national reputation for treatment of Heart, cardiac and Lung, pulmonary disease. Since 1999 it had been ...
, was part of Barts and The London NHS Trust. There are 388 beds in Barts and 675 beds in the Royal London. These hospitals amalgamated with Whipps Cross and Newham hospitals on 1 March 2012 to form the
Barts Health NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. Established in 2012, it runs five hospitals throughout the City of London and East London, and is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. History The trust was established on ...
.


Nuffield Health

In 2018, Nuffield Health, a not-for-profit healthcare organisation, was granted planning permission to redevelop the former pathology and residential staff quarters building into a new
private hospital A private hospital is a hospital not owned by the government, including for-profit and non-profit hospitals. Funding is by patients themselves ("self-pay"), by insurers, or by foreign embassies. Private hospitals are commonly part, albeit in var ...
. It is the only private hospital in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, and has 48 beds and 4 operating theatres. It opened in 2022, at a cost of £60 million. It is physically and operationally separate from the rest of the hospital, and known as Nuffield Health at St Bartholomew's Hospital.


Teaching

In 1843, St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College was established to train medics although considered to have been started by John Abernethy when the hospital built a theatre for his lectures at the beginning of the century. In 1995 the college, along with that attached to the Royal London, merged into
Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...
, but maintains a distinctive identity. It is now known as
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical school, medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal ...
. It occupies some space at the Barts site in Farringdon, with a presence a short walk away at
Charterhouse Square Charterhouse Square is a garden square, a pentagonal space, in Farringdon, in the London Borough of Islington, and close to the former Smithfield Meat Market. The square is the largest courtyard or yard associated with the London Charterhouse ...
. The main preclinical teaching domain of the medical school is at
Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...
in the award-winning Blizard Building. The present School of Nursing and Midwifery was formed in 1994 from merging the Schools from St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal London Hospital to become the St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery. In 1995 the new School was incorporated into the City University. Both Schools have a strong and respected history dating back over 120 years and have produced many nurse leaders and educators. The School has since been incorporated into the School of Health Sciences, City University London.


Notable staff

*
Ethel Gordon Fenwick Ethel Gordon Fenwick (née Manson; 26 January 1857 – 13 March 1947) was a British nurse who played a major role in the History of Nursing in the United Kingdom. She campaigned to procure a nationally recognised certificate for nursing, to sa ...
, Matron 1881–1887 * Isla Stewart, Matron 1887–1910 * Rachel Annie Cox Davies CBE, night sister, home sister and sister of Faith Ward (1896-9); first secretary of the League of St. Bartholomew's Nurses and founding member of the
Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...
* Beatrice Cutler Assistant Matron 1907-1920 and founding member of the League of St. Bartholomew's Nurses * Kathleen Halpin (1903–1999), public servant and feminist * Mary Harfield 1879–1970, nurse and archaeologist * Annie Sophia Jane McIntosh, Matron 1910–1927,Rogers, Sarah (2022). 'A Maker of Matrons'? A study of Eva Lückes's influence on a generation of nurse leaders:1880–1919' (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022) trained between 1897 and 1899 at The London Hospital under Matron Eva Luckes. McIntosh then worked as a Sister in Matron's office, and as an Assistant Matron between 1899 and 1910. During the First World War she was a member of the War Office Committee for the Supply of Nurses and Principal Matron, 1st London General Hospital in
Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
. * Pamela Hibbs CBE OBE FRCN DScHon 1935–2021 qualified at St. Bartholomew's in 1958 gaining the finalist gold medal. Hibbs held varied posts and in 1976 was seconded to improve the failing Hackney Hospital. In 1978 she had a key role in planning for the new Homerton Hospital. In 1994 on the merger of Barts and the Royal London Hibbs was appointed as Chief Nurse across the Royal Hospitals Trust, she retired in 1997. * Evelyn Marguerite nown as MargotTurner DBE, RRC (1910–1993), student nurse (1931–1934) then staff nurse (1934–1936), later Matron-in-Chief of
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') was the nursing branch of the British Army Army Medical Services, Medical Services. In November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army Medical Corps and Ro ...
(QARANC) and Director, Army Nursing Services (1964–1968) and was Colonel-Commandant of QARANC from 1969 to 1974.


Hospital museums

St Bartholomew's Hospital museum tells the historical narrative of the hospital and its work in caring for the sick and injured. The museum collections include historic
surgical instrument A surgical instrument is a medical device for performing specific actions or carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access for viewing it. Over time, many different kinds of ...
s, sculptures, medieval archives, and works of art, including paintings by
William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
. The museum is located under the North Wing archway. It closed in September 2023 for renovation works, expected to last through 2024. The collections are searchable on the
Barts Health NHS Trust Barts Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. Established in 2012, it runs five hospitals throughout the City of London and East London, and is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. History The trust was established on ...
online catalogue, which contains information on over 50,000 entries and covering an 800-year span. Also on the site is the Barts Pathology Museum, which has over 4,000 medical specimens on display and has been described by CNN as one of the "world's 10 weirdest medical museums". The museum is open only by appointment and for special events. Both museums are part of the London Museums of Health & Medicine group.


Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson

A chemical laboratory at Barts was the location of the initial meeting of
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
and
Dr. Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...
in
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
's 1887 novel ''
A Study in Scarlet ''A Study in Scarlet'' is an 1887 Detective fiction, detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would go on to become one of the most well-known detective ...
''. Barts was Watson's alma mater. This fictional connection led to a donation by the Tokyo "Sherlock Holmes Appreciation Society" to the Save Barts Campaign in the 1990s. In 2012, the final episode of the second series of the BBC drama '' Sherlock'', " The Reichenbach Fall", had Holmes appearing to have deliberately leapt to his death from the roof of St Bartholomew's as a surrogate for the
waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
of the original story " The Final Problem". The hospital was again used as the location for the resolution to Holmes' faked suicide, in the first series three episode " The Empty Hearse".


Transport

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...
routes 4, 8, 17, 25, 45, 46, 56, 59, 63, 76, 100, 153, 172, 242, N8, N63 and N76 serve the hospital, with bus stops located outside or near the hospital. The nearest Underground stations are Barbican and Farringdon on the
Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...
, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines and St Paul's on the Central line. Farringdon is also served by
Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...
trains.


Patient entertainment

Since 2022 Bedrock Radio (a registered charity) broadcasts to St Bartholomew's Hospital and wider Barts Health Trust. Bedrock replaced Whipps Cross Hospital Radio (WXHR) who formally served the Trust from 1969 to 2022.


Arms


References


Further reading

* Dainton, Courtney. "Bart's Hospital", ''History Today'' (1978) 28#12 pp810–16, popular overview; online * * Waddington, Keir. ''Medical Education at St Bartholomew's Hospital 1123–1995'' (2003) 464pp. * Waddington, Keir. "Mayhem and Medical Students: Image, Conduct, and Control in the Victorian and Edwardian London Teaching Hospital," ''Social History of Medicine'' (2002) 15#1 pp 45–64.


External links

*
''St Bartholomew's Hospital''
on the NHS website
Inspection reports
from the
Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England. It ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Bartholomew's Hospital Barts Health NHS Trust Buildings and structures completed in 1732 Buildings and structures completed in 1740 Buildings and structures completed in 1752 Buildings and structures completed in 1769 Grade I listed buildings in the City of London Hospital buildings completed in the 18th century History of the City of London Hospital museums English medieval hospitals and almshouses 1123 establishments in England Hospitals established in the 12th century Grade I listed hospital buildings Organisations based in London with royal patronage Medical museums in London Museums in the City of London NHS hospitals in London Smithfield, London Voluntary hospitals