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900 Years of St Bartholomew the Great

The History, Art and Architecture of London’s Oldest Parish Church

Distributed for Ad Ilissvm

900 Years of St Bartholomew the Great

The History, Art and Architecture of London’s Oldest Parish Church

The most comprehensive, updated history of St. Bartholomew the Great, the oldest parish church in London, as it celebrates its nine-hundred-year anniversary.

At the heart of the Smithfield area, with its pubs, restaurants, and market, is a church built when Henry I was King of England. Overlooking the fields where kings confronted rebellions, knights jousted, and heretics were burnt, St. Bartholomew’s Priory and Hospital played a central role in the history of medieval London.

The tale of St. Bartholomew’s is one of survival and renewal. Not only has the priory hosted many of London’s most famous (such as a young Benjamin Franklin), but it has also miraculously survived the tumults of the Reformation, the Civil War, the Great Fire of 1666, and the bomb raids of World Wars I and II.

Richly illustrated, 900 Years of St Bartholomew’s surveys the art, architecture, and deep historical significance of this enduring landmark.


304 pages | 100 color plates | 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 | © 2022

Architecture: History of Architecture

Art: British Art

History: British and Irish History


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Reviews

"A new volume, edited by Charlotte Gautier of the University of London, will introduce readers to 'London’s oldest parish church' with essays on the church’s history, stretching from the time of Henry I to today."

The New Criterion

"Overall, this is a well-presented and scrupulously researched volume, which tells the story of St Bartholomew’s afresh in the light of modern research. That’s a very considerable and welcome achievement. [...] Hopefully it will not only encourage further research into this extraordinary medieval survival in the heart of modern London but raise its popular profile as well.

The Art Newspaper

"This ambitious, well-illustrated book, containing much new research, consists of a series of essays on the architecture of the priory church and its furnishings, monuments, music, and art, from the foundation to the present day."

London Topographical Society Newsletter

"The priory's story is told in this fine new collaborative history, published to mark the nine-hundredth anniversary of its foundation by Rahere (d. 1144)... The book is richly illustrated, and it concludes with useful appendices..."

Church Monuments

"a coherent and wide-ranging survey that does justice to this important church ... an attractive book that is pleasing to read, not least because it is well and generously illustrated with colour images throughout."

The Local Historian

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