- St Bartholomew-the-Less
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name = St. Bartholomew-the-Less
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caption = Exterior of St. Bartholomew-the-Less
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denomination =Anglican , earlierRoman Catholic
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address =City of London
country =United Kingdom
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website =St Bartholomew-the-Less is an
Anglican church in theCity of London . It is the official church ofSt Bartholomew's Hospital [ "The City of London Churches" Betjeman,J Andover, Pikin, 1967 ISBN 0853721122] and is located within the hospital grounds.The present church is the latest in a series of churches and chapels associated with the hospital over the past 800 years. Its earliest predecessor, known as the Chapel of the Holy Cross, was founded nearby in
1123 before moving to the present site in1184 . At the time of theReformation it became the parish church of the hospital and was given its present name. Its suffix, "the less", was given to distinguish it from its much larger neighbour,St Bartholomew-the-Great .The church's tower and west end are
15th century , with two of its three bells dating from1380 and1420 . They reside within an original medieval bell frame, believed to be the oldest in the City of London.George Dance the Younger created a new octagonal interior in1793 ["London:the City" Churches Pevsner,N/Bradley,S : New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0300096550] within the shell of the medieval church. The body of the church was completely rebuilt byThomas Hardwick in1825 , with Dance's plan being retained ["The Visitors Guide to the City of London Churches" Tucker,T: London, Friends of the City Churches, 2006 ISBN 0955394503] . The church suffered some bomb damage duringWorld War II but this was repaired and the church reopened by1951 .St Bartholomew's interior is small but surprisingly light and airy, chiefly due to Dance's addition of high windows in the church's
lunette s. Its form is that of an octagonal Gothic vault fitted into a square by the means of adding open triangular chapels in the corners ["The Old Churches of London" Cobb,G: London, Batsford,1942] . The plastered roof is an iron construction, installed by Hardwick after the original timbers rotted.Famous people associated with the church
*
Inigo Jones , architect: "baptised1573 "
*Thomas Bodley , founder ofBodleian Library : "buried1613 "
*John Lyly , author and playwright: "buriedNovember, 1606. "Notes
*
List of churches and cathedrals of London
* Thomas Monro, Vicar and Hospitaller of St Bartholomew the Less, 1754-65 - see underDr James Monro .
* [http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=5163&inst_id=51 AIM25 Archive page for St Bartholomew the Less parish]
* [http://www.shaw-hardwick.co.uk Website in memory of the Hardwicks]External links
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