St Bartholomew-the-Great

St Bartholomew-the-Great stands in Smithfield, in the City of London. It is a medieval priory church built in 1123 by Rahere, an Augustinian canon. The church once formed part of a larger Augustinian priory and still adjoins St Bartholomew’s Hospital, founded at the same time. The surviving parts include the crossing arches, choir and Lady chapel, while half the original nave was demolished in the 16th century. A fragment of the west entrance survives on West Smithfield, built on a 13th-century archway with a Tudor frontage. The church escaped the Great Fire of London and later served briefly as a Dominican friary under Queen Mary I. The church is notable for its long history of healing and charity. Rahere claimed to have received a divine vision directing him to build the church, and it soon gained a reputation for miraculous cures. Many sick people gathered there, especially on St Bartholomew’s Day, and the adjacent hospital continued this tradition. Benjamin Franklin worked as a typesetter in the Lady chapel in the early 1720s, when it was used for commercial purposes. The church also houses a monument to Rahere and an oriel window installed by Prior William Bolton, featuring a rebus of his name. Visitors find a tranquil parish church with medieval architecture and later additions. The brick clock tower, built in 1628, contains pre-Reformation bells. The crossing arches and choir remain largely intact from the Norman and later medieval periods. The Lady chapel and restored transepts show the work of Sir Aston Webb in the late 19th century. The churchyard still follows old traditions, with hot cross buns distributed on Good Friday. The churchyard’s Grade I listing reflects its historical significance.