Barts North Wing

Marcus Peel

A once-hidden Georgian hospital interior has been carefully conserved, climate-adapted and reopened as a public place of heritage, wellbeing and civic life in the heart of London.

The conservation of Barts North Wing has restored and re-opened one of London’s most significant eighteenth-century interiors, returning the Great Hall and Hogarth Stair to sustained public life.

Designed by James Gibbs and completed in 1732, the Grade I listed North Wing forms the ceremonial centrepiece of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Britain’s oldest working hospital. Its significance lies not only in its architecture, but in the remarkable convergence of art, healthcare, philanthropy and civic life. The Great Hall and Hogarth Stair are spaces of the highest significance, containing Jean-Baptiste St Michele’s plaster ceiling, William Hogarth’s monumental paintings The Good Samaritan and The Pool of Bethesda, historic benefactor boards, the Charter Window and the principal chandelier gifted by surgeon John Freke.

After decades of underinvestment, the building was affected by water ingress, failing rainwater goods, deteriorating stonework and cumulative internal interventions. The project addressed these issues through a conservation-led programme of external repair, specialist decorative conservation and careful re-presentation. The approach prioritised repair over replacement, minimum intervention and retention of historic fabric, supported by detailed investigation, environmental monitoring and specialist craft.

The project has conserved eighteenth-century fabric while improving resilience, access and long-term use. More than 160 sash windows were repaired and retained, deteriorated post-war copper gutters were replaced with historically appropriate lead rainwater goods, and new sumps, additional outlets and improved falls strengthen the building’s capacity to respond to heavier rainfall.

Now re-opened, Barts North Wing supports public visits, tours, cultural events, education, performances, venue hire and a health and wellbeing programme for hospital staff, patients and visitors. The programme also supported volunteer training, apprenticeships and early-career conservation experience, helping build skills and public stewardship around the restored building. It demonstrates how rigorous conservation can secure nationally significant heritage while giving it renewed civic purpose for London.

“The scheme is an exemplar of conservation best practice, married with modern accessibility, reimagining a space that delivers an improved, inclusive cultural offer for visitors.” - City of London Corporation

Project information

Status

Built

Borough

City of London

Estimated completion

October 2025

Location

8 Smithfield St, London EC1A 9LA, UK

Team Credits

Client

Barts Heritage

Lead Consultant and Conservation Architect

Purcell

Project Manager

Glevum Consulting

Quantity Surveyor (RICS Chartered Surveyors)

Huntley Cartwright

Structural Engineer

Arup

Engineering Consultant

The Morton Partnership

Building Services Engineer

QODA

Access Consultant

Jane Earnscliffe

AV and Acoustic Consultant

Sandy Brown

Lighting Consultant

Sutton Vane Associates

Funding Consultant

Magdalen Fisher

Activity and Engagement Consultants

Chloe Bird and Jane Frederick

Interpretation Design

Dot.com

Principal Contractor

Coniston

Paintings Conservation

Paine & Stewart

Decorative Conservation

Hall Conservation

Stained Glass Conservation

Holywell Glass

Building Diagnostics

Hutton + Rostron

Listed by

Purcell

Last updated on

17/08/2026

Barts North Wing

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