St Bartholomew's Hospital museum

Picture of entrance to St Bartholomew's museum

St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum tells the story of nine centuries of healthcare at the edge of the City of London. 

Please note, the Museum is currently closed for the duration of building works to the North Wing, for the safety and security of visitors and collections. 

Works to the historic North Wing are taking place as part of the part of the Restoring Historic Barts project led by Barts Heritage. Objects and records from our collections, including those formerly on display, are accessible for research at Barts Health NHS Trust Archives. You can search our catalogue online to identify objects of interest and contact us to make an appointment. Find out more about booking appointments here.

We hope to reopen the museum to visitors in 2025. Works to update and improve the museum are expected to take place in the second phase of works, following completion of the most essential restoration works to the exterior and the main public spaces of the building during this first phase of the project. For more information about the Restoring and Sharing Historic Barts programmes, please see the  Barts Heritage website. 

Please note, St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum does not hold specimens. Barts Pathology Museum, also on the hospital site, is part of Barts and The London Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and is not normally open to the public.

Support St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum

Although the museum is currently closed, Barts Health NHS Trust Archives continues to work to preserve and make available our historic collections. Please consider supporting our work - click here to donate.

Historic tours

While the renovation of the North Wing is underway, visitors to the site can fund out about the amazing 900 year story of St Bartholomew's and the surrounding area on a tour led by City Guides.

Meeting at the Henry VIII Gate of the hospital in West Smithfield, the walk will visit the churches of St Bartholomew the Great and St Bartholomew the Less and the hospital's amazing architecture, both ancient and modern, and tell the stories of body snatchers and heroic and pioneering medics and nurses.

Walks take place on Fridays at 2pm and finish close to Farringdon station. Ticket sales help support the work of Barts Heritage. These tours do not include a visit inside the North Wing, which is currently closed for renovation. From July 2024, Barts Heritage will be running conservation tours of the work.