On 12th May 2023 St Bartholomew`s Hospital will be 900 years old. It is possibly the oldest hospital in the Country and certainly the oldest hospital to remain on its original site throughout its 900 years of existence.
It was therefore a privilege to be able to represent our Company by attending on zoom, a programme covering the history of this amazing institution, its plans for the future; to meet on screen some of its dedicated personnel and to learn more about the unique character of a hospital serving a very diverse community on the edge of our City.
In 1123 Rahere, a favourite courtier of Henry 1st swore that, should he recover from a serious illness, he would found a hospital, next to the priory of St Bartholomew the Great, in the City of London. And so in 2021 Prof Charles Knight, CBE, explained that the hospital, in spite of the continuing challenges of COVID, was launching a two year appeal to raise funds, in order that its ambitious plans for development and progress might come to fruition in 2023 being its 900th year.
Looking back at that history, they hold a Book of Foundation from 1180, naming specific patients and in addition to the hospital church, they still have a Great Hall (see above), originally built to hold important meetings and to entertain wealthy benefactors, whose donations from earliest times were vital to the continuation of the hospital and its work.
Having survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, the damage of the Second World War and the threat of closure in 1992, this hospital is now a leading Heart Centre, perhaps the largest in Europe, and a specialist Cancer Centre; the second largest in London.
Prof Charles Knight and the other speakers all referred to the quality and dedication of the staff but what really impressed me was the many comments on the chat board from around the world by those whose lives had been touched by a family spirit which this ancient yet completely modern, hospital continues to generate. So impressed indeed that I intend to make a donation on behalf of our Company from my Master`s Discretionary Fund.
It was an honour to attend this event and a privilege to be able to support a City institution that can trace its origins back even further than ours!
Furthermore, should you so wish, you can see the programme for yourself on Youtube after visiting www.barts900.org.
Richard Morris Master
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