Inside St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield

I was walking through Smithfield the other day and took shelter from the sun in the churchyard of St Bartholomew the Great. I noticed that the church was open so decided to pop inside for a look around this majestic historic building.

St Bartholomew the Great was founded in 1123 by a courtier of Henry I called Rahere. Depending on how you judge such things it’s the oldest church in London that has held continuous services. All Hallows by the Tower is built on the site of a 7th Century Saxon church and there was a church of similar age where St Paul’s Cathedral stands today. 

Rahere was an intriguing character being listed as variously a jester, minstrel, and a cleric. He was listed as a canon of St Paul’s cathedral in 1115. He embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome following the White Ship disaster in 1120 when the heir to the throne of England sank on a ship along with 300 nobles, barons, and sailors. The only survivor was said to be a butcher from Rouen. There’s a great novel about this incident called, The White Ship.

Rahere developed a fever during his pilgrimage and in the grip of his illness vowed to build a church for a poor in London if he recovered. On his journey back to London he had a vision of the Apostle Bartholomew who commanded him to build a church upon the ’Smooth field’, Smithfield.

You can see a gold statue of St Bartholomew called Exquisite Pain, created by the artist Damien Hirst, that is currently on loan to the church. 

Exquisite Pain by Damin Hirst, St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield

King Henry I supported the building of the St Bartholomew the Great church, priory and hospital (which includes the chapel, St Bartholomew-the-Less) which started in 1123. The church was only partially complete at the time of Rahere’s death in 1145. He still resides in the church in a tomb that was rebuilt in 1405.

The Priory was dissolved in 1539, and the nave of the church was demolished. The rest of the church and priory were mostly preserved. The Elizabethan style timbered porch was the main entrance to the priory. The 17th century tower contains 5 medieval bells.

St Bartholomew the Great is famous for its appearances in a number of films – most notably Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shakespeare in Love.

This is part of my ongoing YouTube series on the Churches of the City of London

Walking the lost churches of the City of London

The latest episode of my series walking the churches of the City of London, sees me go in search of the remains and sites of some of the lost churches of the City of London. Featuring: St Mildred’s, St Mary Cole, St Olave Jewry, The Great Synagogue, St Benet Sherehog, St Stephen Walbrook, and St Martin Orgar.
The route goes from Poultry near Bank Station then in a loop round Old Jewry, St Olave’s Court, and Ironmonger Lane. Then Pancras Lane, St Stephen’s Row, St Swithin’s Lane, Cannon Street, Laurence Pountney Hill, Upper Thames Street, Allhallows Lane, Hanseatic Walk, Arthur Street and Martin Lane.

Allhallows Lane, EC4 - lost churches of the City of London walk
Allhallows Lane
Site of Laurence Pountney Church - lost churches of the City of London walk
St Martin Orgar, Martin Lane - lost churches of the city of London
St Martin Orgar, Martin Lane

Many of the sites of the lost churches only survive as a blue plaque on a wall. Some as tranquil gardens and churchyards popular as lunchtime haunts. Others live on as towers embedded in the streetscape. I’m endlessly fascinated by the City of London. Each step in the City feels like a step through time, and if we listen closely, we can hear the whispers of those who walked before us, the echoes of the choirsong, the vibrations of the organs.

You can watch the whole series here

Walking the Churches of the City of London


The City of London once had 108 churches – today only 39 of them remain. In 2021, I embarked on a YouTube series to walk between these remaining churches and pick up traces of the numerous lost churches of the City of London, and the few that exist as partial ruins or churchyards. It’s been a magical experience.

Some of the churches date back to the Middle Ages, others contain much older secrets in their foundations and crypts. They link us back into the deep history of London. They link us from the earliest Christian communities in the City through the Anglo-Saxon period, the Norman Conquest to the Great Fire of London when a number of Churches were destroyed. However from the ashes arose the majestic architecture of Sir Christopher Wren who wrote his name across the City.

the spire of St Botolph Bishopsgate - City of London Churches walk
Tower of St Dunstan in the East - City of London Churches walk

My most recent episode in the series picked up the trail at St Margaret Pattens (first documented in 1067) with its magnificent Wren spire. Close by we encounter St Mary at Hill ‘London’s best kept secret’ before walking a cobbled lane to the serene garden in the shell of St Dunstan in the East, destroyed in the 1941 during the Blitz. Our walk then takes us past the Monument to the Great Fire which points the way to our final church, St Magnus the Martyr which once occupied one of the most prominent positions in medieval London, aligned with the old London Bridge, linking Southwark to the City.

St Dunstan in the East - City of London Churches walk

I’ve now walked 37 of the 39 churches of the City but my church crawling won’t end here. I’ll continue haunting the sites of those lost churches and the indelible mark they’ve left on the streets of the Square Mile.

You can watch the whole series here

Watch my walk along the City of London’s lost river Walbrook.