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Welcome to the website of the Priory Church of Saint Bartholomew the Great
Saint Bartholomew the Great is one of London's oldest churches. Founded in 1123 as an Augustinian Priory, it has been in continuous use since 1143. It is an active Anglican/Episcopal Church in that part of London known as the City.
The Smithfield area, which includes St Bartholomew's Hospital and Smithfield Market, is popular because of its large number of restaurants, bars & pubs. At the heart of it all is a church built when Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, was King. It survived the Great Fire of 1666 and both World Wars unscathed.
Today the Church is noted for its wonderful architecture, traditional formal worship, marvellous music and intelligent preaching. It has also appeared in numerous films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, Amazing Grace, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The Other Boleyn Girl, as well as in numerous television programmes, including The Hollow Crown.
The Reverend Martin Dudley BD MSc MTh PhD FSA FRHistS AKC is the 25th Rector of the Priory Church since the Reformation.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Cloister Café Open for Breakfast
The Cloister Café is open on weekdays from 8:30am for a delicious breakfast. Food is served throughout the day until "last orders" at 4:30pm. Details of opening hours, including any variations caused by filming or other activities, are always available here on the website.
Orchestral Music at Evensong
Evensong on Sunday, 23rd June, 2013 at 6.30pm will be slightly different. At last year's Remembrance Sunday, the conductor Tom Seligman (Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, English National Ballet, and numerous other organizations – click here for more information about Tom) brought a group of string players to perform Metamorphosen by Richard Strauss at the end of Evensong. Tom will be returning on June 23rd to lead his players in the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams at the same point in Evensong. As before, there will be no sermon at this service. Nigel Short has arranged a programme of complementary repertoire for Evensong. These are magical occasions, when wordless music replaces speech and allows us all a space for personal reflection.
City of London Festival at the Priory Church
The City of London Festival will be coming to the Priory Church once again in June and July this year. Please note, the church will be closed all day on June 24th while the building is prepared and rehearsals take place.
The programme of events in the church this year will be as follows:
How Like An Angel: Circa & I Fagiolini – The brochure says: "Circa's exhilerating brand of contemporary circus meets the exquisite sound of I Fagiolini in an event designed to celebrate the atmosphere of St Bartholomew the Great." Performances will take place as follows:
Tue 25th June at 9pm, Wed 26th June at 8pm and 10pm, Thu 27th June at 9pm, Fri 28th June at 8pm and 10pm.
Philip Higham: Cello Suite no 3 BWV 1009 – J.S. Bach and Suite No 3 for solo cello Op. 87 – Britten
Performance: Fri 5th July at 6pm
To book online for these events please visit colf.org (reduced booking fee applies).
To book by phone please call the Barbican box office on 0845 120 7502.
More information and online booking can be found by clicking on this link to go to http://www.colf.org/
Medieval Liturgy Eucharist
On Saturday, 29th June, 2013 at 7pm we will be holding a special Medieval Liturgy Eucharist for the Feast of S. Peter the Apostle. The church will be rearranged to provide an appropriate physical layout, and the liturgy will reflect the way that a Mass would have been celebrated on this day in 1539, just a few months before the dissolution of the Priory in October that year. The music is also being selected from works that could have been used on that day.
All are most welcome to attend.
Patronal Festival and Feast of Dedication
On Sunday, 25th August, 2013 we will be celebrating the Priory Church's annual Patronal Festival. S.Bartholomew's Day is the previous day, and we mark the occasion on the most convenient Sunday. The 11:00am service on the 25th will be a Solemn Pontifical Eaucharist – i.e. celebrated by a Bishop. This day also marks the end of our summer programme, when full scale music resumes after a month of comparatively reduced repertoire. The following Sunday, September 1st, 2013 we will be celebrating the Feast of Dedication, in which we particularly think of the founding of the church, 890 years ago this year. We can count on some especially exciting music on both Sundays.
More details to follow.
Founder's Dinner
This year, one of the ways that we will be celebrating 890 years of the Priory Church is by reviving the tradition of an annual Founder's Dinner held at the convenient and coincidentally appropriately named Founders' Hall, the building just beyond the east end our Lady Chapel. This will be held on Friday, 20th September, 2013 at 7:00pm.
Further details, including price & ticket arrangements, will be posted soon.
Click the links below to view
Music Notes Archive 2012/2013
| Church Diary 17th June to 22nd June 2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mon 17th June | S. Botolph, Abbott, Seventh Century | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| Evening | We welcome the Farringdon Ward Club to the Cloister Café | |
| Tue 18th June | 7:00am–10:00am | Filming outside the Church |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 2:00pm | Marriage Blessing Matsui & Kodera |
|
| Wed 19th June | 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 1:00pm | Marriage Blessing Tsumura & Oguri |
|
| 2:00pm | Wedding Reception in Cloister NB The Cloister Café will remain open to the public throughout | |
| Thu 20th June | 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open |
| 8:30am | Holy Communion (in the Lady Chapel) A modestly priced breakfast is available after the service in the Cloister Café | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 6:30pm | Bell ringers | |
| Fri 21st June | 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 2:00pm | Marriage Blessing Kondo & Morita |
|
| Sat 22nd June | S. Alban, Protomartyr, c.304 | |
| 10:30am–4:00pm | Church open – Cloister Café closed all day | |
| 1:30pm | Wedding Atkins & Murdoch |
|
| 2:30pm | Wedding Reception in Cloister | |
|
Sunday, 23rd June 2013, The Fourth Sunday after Trinity The church is open 8:30am–8:00pm 9:00am |
Holy Communion | Preacher: The Revd Dr Martin Dudley, The Rector 9:30am–1:30pm |
Cloister Café open |
10:00am |
Family Eucharist with hymns (at S. Bartholomew the Less) | Preacher: The Revd Mark Young, The Pastor 11:00am |
Solemn Eucharist & Holy Baptism of Raphael James Santos-Stephens |
Setting: Missa Philippus II – Rogier Preacher: The Revd Martin Dudley, The Rector At the Offertory: Exultate Deo – Palestrina Voluntary: Rhapsody No.3 in C# minor – Howells 12:30am |
Holy Baptism of Henrietta Raphael Norfolk-Thompson |
5:00pm–6:30pm |
Cloister Café open |
6:30pm |
Choral Evensong with Orchestral Music |
Introit: Te lucis ante terminum – Tallis Canticles: Great Service – Byrd Anthem: Sancte Deus – Tallis Orchestral Music: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis – Vaughan Williams Orchestra directed by Tom Seligman (click here for more details about Tom) For more information about this service click here |
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| Church Diary 24th June to 29th June 2013 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mon 24th June | The Nativity of John the Baptist | |
| All Day | After Holy Communion this morning, the church will be closed all day to allow preparations for the City of London Festival Circa & I Fagiolini events this week The Cloister Café will, however, remain open as usual | |
| 8:30am | Holy Communion (in the Lady Chapel) A modestly priced breakfast is available after the service in the Cloister Café | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| Tue 25th June | 7:00am–10:00am | Filming outside the Church |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 1:30pm–2:30pm | I Fagiolini rehearsal | |
| 2:30pm–5:00pm | Rehearsal for evening event | |
| 9:00pm | City of London Festival Performance: Circa & I Fagiolini For more information, please click here | |
| Wed 26th June | 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 8:00pm | City of London Festival Performance: Circa & I Fagiolini For more information, please click here | |
| 10:00pm | City of London Festival Performance: Circa & I Fagiolini For more information, please click here | |
| Thu 27th June | 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open |
| 8:30am | Holy Communion (in the Lady Chapel) A modestly priced breakfast is available after the service in the Cloister Café | |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 6:30pm | Bell ringers | |
| 9:00pm | City of London Festival Performance: Circa & I Fagiolini For more information, please click here | |
| Fri 28th June | 8:30am–5:00pm | Church open |
| 8:30am–5:00pm | Cloister Café open (breakfast from 8:30am; food available all day until 4:30pm) | |
| 8:00pm | City of London Festival Performance: Circa & I FagioliniFor more information, please click here | |
| 10:00pm | City of London Festival Performance: Circa & I Fagiolini For more information, please click here | |
| Sat 29th June | S. Peter, Apostle | |
| 10:30am–4:00pm | Church open – Cloister Café closed all day | |
| 7:00pm | Medieval Mass for the Feast of S. Peter 1539 For more information, please click here All are most welcome at this service | |
|
Sunday, 30th June 2013, The Fifth Sunday after Trinity The church is open 8:30am–8:00pm 9:00am |
Holy Communion | Preacher: The Revd Dr Martin Dudley, The Rector 9:30am–1:30pm |
Cloister Café open |
10:00am |
Family Eucharist with hymns (at S. Bartholomew the Less) | Preacher: The Revd Mark Young, The Pastor 11:00am |
Solemn Eucharist |
Setting: Spatzenmesse – Mozart Preacher: The Revd Martin Dudley, The Rector At the Offertory: Panis Angelicus – Franck Voluntary: Fanfare – Lemmens 12:30am |
Holy Baptism of John Henry Cowley |
5:00pm–6:30pm |
Cloister Café open |
6:30pm |
Choral Evensong with Sermon |
Canticles: Setting in Bb – Purcell Anthem: Lift up your heads – Gibbons Preacher: The Revd Martin Dudley, The Rector Voluntary: Allegro (From Organ Concerto in F) – Händel |
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