THIS YEAR ST BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL celebrates its nonacentennial. At 900 years old, Barts, as it is affectionally known, has no seniors in the world of hospitals, having dispensed care on the same site in the City of London without interruption since the reign of King Henry I.
Today, Barts (now part of the Barts Health NHS Trust) enjoys a reputation for excellence as a specialist cardiac and cancer hospital. On its creation, however, it was intended not as a place where patients were treated for illness and disease but as a place of restorative care, where the cold, sick and hungry were fed and given sleeping quarters.
The hospital and its neighbouring priory were founded together in 1123 by Rahere, an enigmatic English priest who had enjoyed favour in Henry I’s court. Shortlyheir to the throne William Adelin) drowned, Rahere embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome.
