Qualla: St Bartholomew-the-Great

St Bartholomew-the-Great: Introduction

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0. Rahere was a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral and a man of the court when he made his pilgrimage to Rome. On the way back, he fell ill with malaria and made a vow: if he recovered, he would build a hospital for the sick poor. He did recover. But then came the dream. A winged beast transported him to a high place, where he received a message from "the High Trinity and the court of Heaven" directing him to build a church in London's Smithfield. He returned to England, discovered that the land in his vision was royal property, and persuaded Henry I to grant it to him on the strength of the divine instruction. In 1123, the priory church and hospital of St Bartholomew rose from what had been a small cemetery at Smithfield.

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Image: Diliff | CC BY-SA 3.0

St Bartholomew-the-Great: Nine Centuries in Smithfield

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Paul The Archivist, CC BY-SA 2.0. St Bartholomew-the-Great is the oldest surviving church fabric in London. The Norman crossing arches and choir date to the 12th century, visible in the rounded arches and thick stone columns that characterize Romanesque architecture before the pointed arch arrived. The nave was d...

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Image: Paul The Archivist | CC BY-SA 2.0

St Bartholomew-the-Great: Benjamin Franklin's Year as a Printer

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1724, a young Benjamin Franklin arrived in London — sent by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, ostensibly to buy printing equipment. Keith's promises of financial support evaporated on arrival, and Franklin found himself stranded, needing work. By 1725 he found i...

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Image: Mike Quinn | CC BY-SA 2.0

St Bartholomew-the-Great: A Church That Films Love

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0. The visual weight of the Norman interior — the massive columns, the rounded arches, the dim light filtering through small windows — has made St Bartholomew-the-Great one of London's most filmed churches. The fourth wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral was filmed here in 1994. S...

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Image: Mike Quinn | CC BY-SA 2.0

St Bartholomew-the-Great: Rahere's Ghost and Rahere's Garden

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The tomb of Rahere, founder of the church, stands immediately to the north of the high altar. It was constructed about 250 years after his death in 1144, so the painted effigy lying beneath its elaborate canopy is a medieval interpretation of a man already long gone. Whether his ...

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Image: Public domain