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| Henry VIII Gate, St Barts Hospital, London |
St Barts Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in the world. It's certainly the oldest hospital in Britain.
St Barts Hospital was founded in 1123 and has continued to care for the sick and injured and is now one of the leading hospitals in the world. Amazingly it still occupies its original site having survived the Dissolution of 1539, the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Blitz 1940-1941.
The Henry VIII gate (in picture above) is the main public entrance to the hospital and is the only known public statue of Henry VIII in London.
William Hogarth, the painter, printmaker, satirist and social critic was also a big supporter of British artistic talent. When the commission for two new paintings for the staircase of St Barts Hospital was available in order to prevent an Italian artist from taking the work he produced two large murals free of charge to prove that home grown talent was equal to that of Italy. It was also a perfect opportunity to show off his talent to well off potential patrons.
The murals The Pool of Bethesda (1736) and The Good Samaritan (1737) are still hanging in the stairwell. The Pool of Bethesda is of particular medical interest, as it shows the scene where Christ cures the sick.
St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum and Archives website
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