St Bartholomew-the-Less
Encyclopedia
St Bartholomew-the-Less is an Anglican church in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. It is the official church of St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...

 and is located within the hospital grounds.

History

The present church is the latest in a series of churches and chapels associated with the hospital over the past 800 years. Its earliest predecessor, known as the Chapel of the Holy Cross, was founded nearby in 1123 before moving to the present site in 1184. At the time of the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

 it became the parish church of the hospital and was given its present name. Its suffix, "the less", was given to distinguish it from its much larger neighbour, St Bartholomew-the-Great
St Bartholomew-the-Great
The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great is an Anglican church located at West Smithfield in the City of London, founded as an Augustinian priory in 1123 -History:...

.

The church's tower and west end are 15th century, with two of its three bells dating from 1380 and 1420. They hang within an original medieval bell frame, believed to be the oldest in the City of London. George Dance the Younger
George Dance the Younger
George Dance the Younger was an English architect and surveyor. The fifth and youngest son of George Dance the Elder, he came from a distinguished family of architects, artists and dramatists...

 created a new octagonal interior in 1793 within the shell of the medieval church. The body of the church was completely rebuilt by Thomas Hardwick
Thomas Hardwick
Thomas Hardwick was a British architect and a founding member of the Architect's Club in 1791.-Early life and career :Hardwick was born in Brentford, the son of a master mason turned architect also named Thomas Hardwick Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829) was a British architect and a founding...

 in 1825, with Dance's plan being retained. The church suffered some bomb damage during the London Blitz of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 but this was repaired and the church reopened by 1951.

St Bartholomew's interior is small but surprisingly light and airy, chiefly due to Dance's addition of high windows in the church's lunette
Lunette
In architecture, a lunette is a half-moon shaped space, either filled with recessed masonry or void. A lunette is formed when a horizontal cornice transects a round-headed arch at the level of the imposts, where the arch springs. If a door is set within a round-headed arch, the space within the...

s. Its form is that of an octagonal Gothic vault fitted into a square by the means of adding open triangular chapels in the corners. The plastered roof is an iron construction, installed by Hardwick after the original timbers rotted.

The church was designated a Grade II* listed building on 4 January 1950.

Notable people associated with the church

  • Inigo Jones
    Inigo Jones
    Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...

    , architect: baptised 1573
  • John Lyly
    John Lyly
    John Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues,The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England. Lyly's linguistic style, originating in his first books, is known as Euphuism.-Biography:John Lyly was born in Kent, England, in 1553/1554...

    , author and playwright: buried November, 1606.
  • Thomas Bodley
    Thomas Bodley
    Sir Thomas Bodley was an English diplomat and scholar, founder of the Bodleian Library, Oxford.-Biography:...

    , founder of Bodleian Library
    Bodleian Library
    The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

    : buried 1613
  • Thomas Monro, Vicar and Hospitaller of St Bartholomew the Less, 1754–65

External links

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