Visiting Times
St Bartholomew the Great
Monday-Saturday 10am - 5pm
& Sundays between services
St Bartholomew the Less
Every day, 8am - 10pm
Free Admission
There is no admission charge for visiting either of our beautiful churches. We hope, however, that you will consider leaving a donation, to support our historic buildings and our parish worship.
Keeping our churches up and running is very expensive, particularly given the age of our ancient buildings. We receive nothing from the Church of England, nor the government, and so rely on solely on your generous donations. Thank you.
Guided Tours
Our Verger, Gordon Fury, runs regular tours of St Bartholomew the Great. Join him to find out more about this ancient priory church and its history of over 900 years.
Accessibility
St Bartholomew the Great: for step-free access, please use the path to the west door of the church from the Tudor Gatehouse on West Smithfield.
St Bartholomew the Less: there is step-free access at the back of the church opposite the Maggie Centre.
The Cloister
The Cloister can be found on the right after you enter the Church. In here you can appreciate the beautiful vaulted ceiling or read about the history of the Church on the information panels attached to the walls.
Medieval Baptismal Font
St Bartholomew the Great is home to one of two of the City of London’s Medieval Fonts. Countless have been Christened in this Font that dates back to the 1400s, including the painter Hogarth who lived in the Parish.
Exquisite Pain by Damien Hirst
This Statue depicts St. Bartholomew having been flayed (skinned alive) for his faith. He is holding a scalpel, as a tribute to St Barts Hospital. This can be found in the North Transept of the Great.
Oriel Window
This 500-year-old window was built on the orders of Prior Bolton so he could keep an eye on the monks below. Bolton had his name recorded on the window in the form of a barrel or ‘tun’ pierced by a crossbow bolt (ie bolt-tun).
The Tomb of Prior Rahere
The Tomb of our founder (and the founder of the Hospital) can be found next to the High Altar. The Tomb has been here since his death in the 12th Century. In the 19th century, the tomb was opened by workmen, who removed his sandal and his ghost has been appearing in the Church ever since.
The Lady Chapel
The Lady Chapel can be found behind the High Altar. Built after an apparition of the Virgin Mary complained of poor prayer in the priory, the Lady Chapel remains a place of worship today (despite a period of time as the workplace of Benjamin Franklin).
St Bartholomew the Great
St Bartholomew the Great, the ancient priory church, can be found through the Tudor Gatehouse on the Smithfield Rotunda.
The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great,
West Smithfield,
London. EC1A 9DS
St Bartholomew the Less
St Bartholomew the Less is found in the grounds of Bart’s Hospital, just inside the Henry VIII gate, also on the Smithfield Rotunda.
The Hospital Church of St Bartholomew the Less,
West Smithfield,
London. EC1A 7BE