St Bartholomew the Great
Cloth Fair West Smithfield
London
EC1A 7JQ
T: 020 7606 5171
Visitor Information
The Priory Church is normally open every day at the following times:
8.30am-5.00pm Mon-Fri (4pm from mid-November to mid-February)
10.30am-4.30pm Sat
8.30am-8.00pm Sun
Tourist visits and guided parties are not permitted during services.
There is a charge for tourist visits to St Bartholomew's – please see website for details.
The Smithfield area, which includes St Bartholomew's Hospital and Smithfield Market, is popular because of the large number of restaurants, bars and pubs both north and south of the Market. At the heart of it all is a church built when Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, was King of England. It survived the Great Fire of 1666 and the bombs dropped in Zeppelin raids in World War I and during the Blitz in World War II.
Today the Church has a reputation not only for wonderful architecture, but also for traditional formal worship, marvellous music and intelligent preaching. It has also appeared in a series of award-winning films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, The End of the Affair, Amazing Grace, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The Other Boleyn Girl. It has also appeared in a number of television programmes including Madame Bovary, The Real Sherlock Holmes, Spooks, and The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special.