St Bartholomew the Great
Read More
Saint Bartholomew the Great Nave and Chancel
Saint Bartholomew the Great is an Anglican church located in the Smithfield section of London. It is one of the oldest churches in London, established in 1123 by Rahere, a courtier and favorite of King Henry I. It is said that that he erected the church in gratitude of recovering from a fever.
The church has one of the most significant Norman interiors in London. The church was not damaged by the Great Fire of 1666, but fell into disrepair in the 1700s. Various parts of the building were damaged or destroyed through the centuries until the restoration began in the late 1800s.
The church is one of two churches in the area dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. The other is Saint Bartholomew the Less and both are linked with Saint Bartholomew Hospital.
The church was the location of the fourth wedding in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and of scenes from Robin Hood: prince of Thieves, Shakespeare in Love, Amazing Grace (2006), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), and Sherlock Holmes (2009). It was used by T-Mobile as a stand-in for Westminster Abbey in its Royal Wedding ad from 2011. For more information, see Wikipedia and Saint Bartholomew.
