Description
St Bartholomew's Medical College was established in 1843, attached to St Bartholomew's Hospital at West Smithfield, the oldest hospital in London, where records of medical students date back to 1662. It became a college of the University of London in 1900 and in the 1930s established a residential college with premises at Charterhouse Square. St Bartholomew's Medical College Green was once part of the Great Cloister and grounds of The Charterhouse, a C14th Carthusian Monastery. The site was later the bowling green and garden of Howard House, and then a school set up by the Merchant Taylors' Company. It was acquired in 1933 and partly built over in the 1940s for the Medical School although a fragment of the East Cloister walk remains. There are a number of green spaces within the Charterhouse Square Campus.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Great Cloister of The Charterhouse |
|---|---|
| Site location | Charterhouse Square/Rutland Place |
| Postcode | EC1M 6BQ |
| What3Words | ///bowls.flame.perky |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Islington |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, use of college/local residents only |
| Public Transport | Rail/Tube: Barbican (Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City). Bus: 4, 56, 55, 153. |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2013 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
St Bartholomew's Hospital (q.v.) is the oldest hospital in London, founded in 1123 by Rahere, an Augustinian monk of Frankish descent who, having recovered from malaria while on a pilgrimage to Rome, built the hospital and priory on his return, having been given land in Smithfield by Henry I. Medical students have been documented at St Bartholomew's since 1662. The current site of St Bartholomew's Medical College at The Charterhouse had actually been given to the hospital by St Mary's Prioress in 1187 but it was then sold in 1370 to Sir Walter de Manny for use as a place for plague burials following the Black Death. In 1371 Sir Walter founded The Charterhouse (q.v.), a Carthusian monastery, to commemorate the Great Pestilence. The monastery flourished until its suppression in 1537 after which the site was first granted to Sir Edward North and then from 1545 had several owners most notably the Duke of Norfolk who greatly embellished it, building a substantial Tudor mansion. It was eventually endowed in 1614 by Thomas Sutton as a home for poor gentlemen and a school, becoming known as Sutton's Hospital in the Charterhouse.
What is now St Bartholomew's Medical College Green was formerly part of the Great Cloister and a garden in The Charterhouse. The land was acquired in 1933 and the medical college was built between 1947-57, designed by Easton and Robertson. It was partly built over the Great Cloister, although a fragment of the East Cloister walk remains. One of several garden areas of The Charterhouse precinct, this had become the bowling green and garden of Howard House in the early C17th. It was later sold to the Merchant Taylors' Company in the early C19th who built a school on the site c.1805. The current Dean's House is the former Headmaster's House built in 1894, which still carries motifs of the Merchant Taylors. Opposite this is the former Lodge built in 1873/4.
In 1808 the site of the Green was described as 'a square piece of ground, bordered by the cloister . . One of which is the Terrace . . It contains about three acres, and is appropriated to the amusement of scholars'. A view of this area was published in Ackerman's Repository in July 1816. Until the mid-C19th the Green had uniform rows of trees running around its periphery as can be seen in a view of 1756 published in W Maitland's 'History and Survey of London', which corresponds with John Rocque's Map of 1746 and Horwood's plan of 1807.
St Bartholomew's Medical College became a college of the University of London in 1900. In 1995, St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College merged with Queen Mary and Westfield to create Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. It is now part of the Charterhouse Square campus and houses the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, John Vane Science Centre, Joseph Rotblat Building and The William Harvey Heart Centre, as well as Dawson Hall, a hall of residence. An inscribed panel set into the grass on the College Green charts the site's history from the Great Cloister of the London Charterhouse to its establishment as the Medical College in 1933 and the merge in 199, followed by the words: 'Remember those who lived, studied and taught here, especially Saint John Houghton, Prior of The London Charterhouse, who was martyred on 4 May 1535, and the Monks and Lay Brothers who, soon after him, suffered death and persecution. May the cause of healing inspire all who study and teach here today.'
What is now St Bartholomew's Medical College Green was formerly part of the Great Cloister and a garden in The Charterhouse. The land was acquired in 1933 and the medical college was built between 1947-57, designed by Easton and Robertson. It was partly built over the Great Cloister, although a fragment of the East Cloister walk remains. One of several garden areas of The Charterhouse precinct, this had become the bowling green and garden of Howard House in the early C17th. It was later sold to the Merchant Taylors' Company in the early C19th who built a school on the site c.1805. The current Dean's House is the former Headmaster's House built in 1894, which still carries motifs of the Merchant Taylors. Opposite this is the former Lodge built in 1873/4.
In 1808 the site of the Green was described as 'a square piece of ground, bordered by the cloister . . One of which is the Terrace . . It contains about three acres, and is appropriated to the amusement of scholars'. A view of this area was published in Ackerman's Repository in July 1816. Until the mid-C19th the Green had uniform rows of trees running around its periphery as can be seen in a view of 1756 published in W Maitland's 'History and Survey of London', which corresponds with John Rocque's Map of 1746 and Horwood's plan of 1807.
St Bartholomew's Medical College became a college of the University of London in 1900. In 1995, St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College merged with Queen Mary and Westfield to create Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. It is now part of the Charterhouse Square campus and houses the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, John Vane Science Centre, Joseph Rotblat Building and The William Harvey Heart Centre, as well as Dawson Hall, a hall of residence. An inscribed panel set into the grass on the College Green charts the site's history from the Great Cloister of the London Charterhouse to its establishment as the Medical College in 1933 and the merge in 199, followed by the words: 'Remember those who lived, studied and taught here, especially Saint John Houghton, Prior of The London Charterhouse, who was martyred on 4 May 1535, and the Monks and Lay Brothers who, soon after him, suffered death and persecution. May the cause of healing inspire all who study and teach here today.'
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ319819 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Queen Mary, University of London |
| Dates | C14th onwards; 1940s |
| Listed Structures | LB: 4 buildings in Rutland Place |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Islington |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Charterhouse Square |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character; Archaeological Priority Area |
| Other LA Designation | Local/Strategic View |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
In 1371 Charterhouse was founded by Sir Walter de Manny (1310-1372) as a Carthusian priory on Spital Croft to commemorate the 'Great Pestilence'; today a series of enclosed gardens within the Charterhouse Precincts form the setting for the remains of the priory. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries a Tudor mansion was built here in 1545. In 1614, under the will of the owner Thomas Sutton, it was endowed as an almshouse and school, Sutton's Hospital in the Charterhouse. The almshouse remains but the school moved in 1872. The largest of the enclosed gardens is Preachers Court Garden. Charterhouse Square did not take shape as a formal residential square until the C17th when the pentagonal garden was laid out with walks lined with mature lime trees, bordered on three sides by mansions and on the north by the old priory buildings. Charterhouse Square Gardens, formerly only open to key-holders, is now open to the public on a regular basis following re-landscaping works that respected the historic character.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Golden Lane Estate was built for the Corporation of London from 1953-62 after the area had been badly bombed in WWII. Architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon won the competition and their design of both architecture and landscaping is formal and geometric. Designed to be traffic-free, the estate was for people working in the City, with 10 blocks of different sizes around 4 landscaped courtyards. Hard landscaping predominates in the communal spaces although there is some green space and tree planting. Social facilities included a swimming pool, a bowling green (now tennis courts), a nursery school and community centre. The first part was completed by 1957 and represented the first phase of the replanning / rebuilding of the Barbican/London Wall area; a later phase was completed by 1962 along Goswell Road. In 2010 a group of residents set up The Golden Baggers, a food-growing project on the unused nursery playground, which has expanded considerably since then.
Golden Lane Estate was built for the Corporation of London from 1953-62 after the area had been badly bombed in WWII. Architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon won the competition and their design of both architecture and landscaping is formal and geometric. Designed to be traffic-free, the estate was for people working in the City, with 10 blocks of different sizes around 4 landscaped courtyards. Hard landscaping predominates in the communal spaces although there is some green space and tree planting. Social facilities included a swimming pool, a bowling green (now tennis courts), a nursery school and community centre. The first part was completed by 1957 and represented the first phase of the replanning / rebuilding of the Barbican/London Wall area; a later phase was completed by 1962 along Goswell Road. In 2010 a group of residents set up The Golden Baggers, a food-growing project on the unused nursery playground, which has expanded considerably since then.
St John's Churchyard was once within the Priory of St John of Jerusalem founded in 1144 by the Knights Hospitallers. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in c.1540, the Priory and its church were used for other purposes including a private chapel and library, a tavern, and later became a parish church of St John's Clerkenwell. Jerusalem Passage was the site of the Priory's postern gate, demolished in 1780. In 1931 the church was acquired by the modern Order of St John as their Priory Church. After it closed to burial, St John's Churchyard was laid out by the MPGA as a small enclosed public garden with a few headstones remaining and a fine plane tree.
