2-703-813 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Main Gate of St. Bartholomew's, London's Eldest Hospital', c1935. The Henry VIII gate of St Bartholomew's Hospital (known as Bart's) at Smithfield in the City of London. The hospital was founded in 1123 by Rahere. This gatehouse, designed by John Strong, was built in the early 18th century to commemorate the fact that King Henry VIII did not abolish Bart's along with the priories during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. The sculpture of Henry in the niche above the gate is the only outdoor statue of him in the whole of London. The hospital is still operating today. From "Wonderful London, Volume 3", edited by Arthur St John Adcock. [The Fleetway House, London, c1935]