St. Bartholomew's Hospital and Museum, London

Founded in 1123, St. Bart's is the oldest hospital in London, and the oldest in the UK still to occupy its original site. Over one gate stands London's only statue of Henry VIII, who rescued the hospital in 1547 when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Its name legally became: "House of the Poore in West Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation".

The museum in the grounds traces the development of medical care since the hospital's origins, and its varied history, through medical archives, art and surgical instruments. Two Hogarth murals decorate one staircase, a result of the artist's anger at the commissioning of Italian painters for the job. Just outside the walls, a plaque honours William Wallace at the site of his execution in 1305 (visitors may remember Mel Gibson playing this Scottish revolutionary in the hit film 'Braveheart').

Saint Batholomew's Hospital

W Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE

Opening Times

Tuesday-Friday, 10.00-16.00.

Closed on public holidays, Christmas, New Year, Easter.