St Bartholomew's Hospital

St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.

History

Early history

It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or 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 in December 1546, on the signing of an agreement granting the hospital to the City of London, which was reaffirmed in the Letters Patent of January 1547 endowing it with properties and income. The hospital became legally known as the "House of the Poore in West Smithfield 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; sergeant-surgeon to Henry and an early writer on anatomy., Old and New London: Volume 2 (1878), pp. 359-363 accessed: 30 January 2009 Upon the foundation of the National Health Service in 1948, it officially became known as St. Bartholomew's Hospital.

It is the oldest surviving hospital in England and has an important current role as well as a long history and architecturally important buildings. The Henry VIII entrance to the hospital shown in the photograph is still the main public entrance; the statue of Henry...
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