| Summary : The Hospital of St. Bartholomew was originally founded in 1078 by Bishop Gundulph in order to care for the poor and people with leprosy in the district. There are 12th century remains of the original hospital to the east end of the hospital chapel. The present two-storey, red brick hospital was rebuilt in 1863 to designs by R.P.Pope and included a central administrative section with flanking ward wings, a dispensary and outpatient's department to the rear. Between 1900 and 1905 a Pathology Laboratory was added and from 1902 to 1905 a Nurses Home was built to designs by G.E.Bond. It was extended in 1937. St. Bartholomew's Hospital is the oldest in the country, having served as a place of care for the sick for over 884 years.The founder of the hospital, Bishop Gundulph, was born in the diocese of Rouen, France. He arrived in England and was made Bishop of Rochester by William the Conqueror. He set about reforming the church in the period and had many ecclesiastical buildings created as well as the Hospital of St Bartholomew including The White Tower in the Tower of London. |
More information : Further information on the building can be found here. (1)
The Hospital of St. Bartholomew was founded in 1078 by Bishop Gundulph in order to care for the poor and people with leprosy in the district. Presently the only surviving part of the original hospital is its chapel which is situated in Gundulph Road, Rochester. The foundation of the original hospital building came about due to a growing sense of responsibility for the poverty-stricken and ill in England during the last years of Saxon rule. William the Conqueror endorsed Gundulph’s plans for the building of a hospital and bequeathed some money to him upon his death. The hospital had a close relationship with the Priory of St Andrew which also staffed the building; the inhabitants received weekly allowances of provisions from the convent. In 1540 the Priory and Convent of Rochester came under dissolution on the order of Henry VIII and the patronage of St Bartholomew’s came under the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral. During the reign of Elizabeth I the land that the hospital owned came under dispute and a suit was commenced by the Exchequer against the Brethren which was later dropped. In 1627 the lands of the hospital became permanently controlled by the Dean of Rochester as Governor and Patron of the hospital. In the early 1800s, due to a dispute over the payment of the leases by the tenants of the hospital, it was decided that hospital funds must be put to charitable use. As a result of this, money became available for the building of a new hospital. In 1863 a new hospital was opened which formed the centre of the buildings as we see them today in the present St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.
The only existing part of the original hospital, the chapel, was commenced during Gundulph’s lifetime but was not completed until some time after his death between 1115-1124. The chapel was supported by the Priory of St Andrew and came under the Dean in 1541 after the dissolution.
The present day St Bartholomew’s Hospital opened its west wing to patients in 1894 and the number of beds rose from 50 to 72. A new operating theatre was introduced in 1900 along with a children’s ward due to gifts from various benefactors. In 1901 it is recorded that there was a ‘Gift of a horse ambulance; on receipt of a message by telephone it will be despatched promptly to the scene of any accident’. This was possibly the first step in the formation of the ambulance service. St Bartholomew’s Hospital is the oldest in the country having served as a place of care for the sick for over 884 years.
The founder of the hospital, Bishop Gundulph, was born in the diocese of Rouen, France. He arrived in England and was made Bishop of Rochester by William the Conqueror. He set about reforming the church in the period and had many ecclesiastical buildings created as well as the Hospital of St Bartholomew including The White Tower in the Tower of London, St Leonard’s Tower and Malling Abbey. He continued his work under the reign of Henry I and Queen Matilda and died in 1108. (2)
According to English Heritage’s corporate GIS the original site of the hospital and the present building both lie in a Conservation Area. The National Grid Reference for the original site of the hospital is: TQ752678. The National Grid Reference for the present building is: TQ7513267838. (3) |