THE EXTERIOR
The church lies in a general east and west direction, and, at the
present day, consists of the Choir and encircling Ambulatory, Lady
Chapel, north and south Transepts, with the lower stage of the central
Tower, one bay of the ancient Nave, three bays of the Cloister, and a
seventeenth-century brick Tower--the whole hidden behind the houses, in
an obscure corner of West Smithfield, by no means easy for a stranger to
discover. It will be well for him, therefore, in the first place, to
make his way to the better known buildings of St. Bartholomew's
Hospital, and then walk across the open square, between them and
Smithfield Market, to its eastern side, where he will find the entrance
close to the narrow street called Cloth Fair.
#The Gateway# is interesting, as a surviving fragment of the Early-English
period, supposed by some authorities to mark the site of the original
west front, of which they regard it as having formed part--the entrance
to the south aisle--which was allowed to stand, after the grand central
porch, and a corresponding doorway on the northern side, were destroyed
with the nave. More probable is the conjecture that it was merely the
entrance to the monastic enclosure, turned to account as a ready-made
structure when the work at the church was the reverse of constructive,
as it seems too large and too high for a mere doorway at the end of an
aisle, besides being rather too far from the church to agree with its
supposed dimensions. The modern iron gate is surmounted by a gilded
cross and the name of the church on a framework in the tympanum. The
arch is acutely pointed, and moulded in four orders, with a tooth
ornament in the hollows, and is in tolerably good condition; but the
supporting shafts have been superseded by a wall on each side, with the
circular moulded capitals (much decayed) above it, the bases either
being destroyed or buried in the earth beneath. The gateway is in a line
with the houses facing the public square, which touch it on both sides,
and are carried on without interruption above the opening.
When the floor of the church was lowered to its original level in
1863-6, the present approach to it was made by an excavation through the
churchyard, which covered the site of the nave, and is now walled off on
the northern side of the passage.
The gravestones are of comparatively modern date, and of no special
interest. A few of them have been left against the wall on the right,
where there is something of more antiquarian value in a collection of
_débris_ from the old building, containing the bases of some of the
Early-English columns in their original place, but hopelessly mutilated.
The existing #West Front# dates from the time when the nave was
destroyed. In 1893 a great improvement was made in its appearance by
refacing the wall with flint and stone, and otherwise ornamenting the
surface, to bring it into uniformity with the porch which was then built
at that end of the church. There are now three round-headed recesses in
the central portion of the wall, those at the extremities containing
narrow windows; a band of chequered stonework is carried across the
space beneath them, and a small circular window inserted above. It may
be mentioned here that the pointed arch has generally been adopted in
the new work, to distinguish it from the old, but the characteristic
massiveness and predominant scale of the original has been preserved
throughout the restoration. A practical illustration of these principles
will be seen in #The Porch#, as an ingenious compromise between the older
and newer types of architecture which are brought together in the main
fabric. It is built of a combination of flint and Portland stone, like
the wall-front just described, with which it is connected by a small
circular tower and an oblong extension on the northern side. The two
storeys of which it consists are divided externally by a band of
chequered diaper. The shallow arch of the doorway is simply moulded and
very slightly pointed, suggesting a transition from the Romanesque to
the Early-English style, while the Perpendicular is represented in the
battlements on the roof and the octagonal turret on the southern side.
In a niche above the apex of the arch, and on a bracket displaying the
Priory arms, upheld by two angels, stands a figure of Rahere, the
founder, with his left hand raised in benediction, and in his right a
model of the church. The design of this little edifice is taken from one
of the ancient seals (see Illustration in the Appendix), and shows the
central tower, with a round turret at each end, and a small building
(probably the original Lady Chapel) projecting from the east. Rahere's
features are copied from the effigy on his tomb, which is believed to be
an authentic portrait. The figure occupies the central position in the
higher storey, with three arched recesses on either side (the middle one
in each case containing a window), diminishing in height outwards, in
harmony with the lines of the roof. The ceiling within the porch is
groined in four divisions; and the "priest's chamber" above it makes a
convenient private room for the rector of the parish. This new porch
bears its own date (1893), and the date of the foundation, seven hundred
and seventy years earlier.[1]
#The Brick Tower#, built in 1628, is said to have been altered to some
extent in subsequent repairs, which have not improved its appearance. So
at least say the admirers of King Charles I, who argue that nothing
quite so hideous could have been erected in his reign. It is a plain
square structure, seventy-five feet in height, in four stages, gradually
diminishing in area upwards, the lower part supported by buttresses, and
the summit crowned by battlements, with a small bell-turret and vane.
More interesting than the tower itself--which is, in fact, an
incongruous addition to the church--are the #Bells# which it contains, a
precious inheritance from the Augustinian Canons, and in some respects
the most remarkable in London. The foundry stamp shows them to have been
cast by Thomas Bullisdon, who died about 1510. They are the smaller five
of a ring of twelve, six of which were sold at the Dissolution to the
Church of St. Sepulchre, Holborn, where they have since been re-cast,
and one has disappeared from history.
The measurements and inscriptions are as follows:
1. #SANCTE BARTHOLEMEO: ORA PRO NOBIS.# Diameter 22 in.
2. #SANCTA KATERINA: ORA PRO NOBIS.# Diameter 24 in.
3. #SANCTA ANNA: ORA PRO NOBIS.# Diameter 26¾ in.
4. #SANCTE JOHANNES BAPTISTE: ORA PRO NOBIS.# Diameter 29¼ in.
5. #SANCTE PETRE: ORA PRO NOBIS.# Diameter 31 in.
The clock-bell, in the cage on the top, is inscribed, "<sc>T. Mears of
London Fecit</sc> 1814." Diameter about 25 inches.
The churchyard is overlooked on its northern side by the back windows
of some rickety old wooden houses, suggestive of an easy conflagration,
and dangerously near the church. They date from the time of Queen
Elizabeth, and stand on a piece of the ground formerly devoted to
Bartholomew Fair, the memory of which is perpetuated in the adjoining
street (Cloth Fair), where the humble shops in front of the same houses
are said to be a survival of the ancient booths. They run close up to
the #North Porch#, which projects into the street from the transept. It
was erected in 1893, at the same time that the transept was restored.
The porch is similar in material and character to that on the west, with
some differences in detail, the chief of which are that the figure over
the door represents St. Bartholomew, with only one window on each side
of it--in this case square-headed, with a label-moulding--and the
chequered diaper covers the whole wall-surface of the upper storey. The
Saint is raising his right hand in the act of blessing, and holds in the
left a knife, which has become his emblem, as the instrument of his
passion. A scroll entwined about the effigy bears the appropriate words
(in English) from Rahere's vision: _Almighty God this spiritual house
shall inhabit and hallow it._ The upper chamber here is reserved for the
mission-lady working in the district.
[Illustration: THE NORTH PORCH
_E. Scamell. Photo._]
The face of the transept visible above displays three lancet-headed
windows of the clerestory; the spaces are laid out in ornamental panels;
and there is an octagonal turret on the right, with battlements and a
pointed roof.
The rest of the church is hemmed in, and for the most part concealed, by
tumble-down houses, forming a labyrinth of narrow winding passages about
the walls, and even encroaching upon them--a bit of old London which has
escaped the modern spirit of improvement, and would appear to be full of
suggestive material for the writer of romance. As we thread our way
through this network round the east end and south side, to reach the
entrance once more, we get an occasional glimpse of the choir and Lady
Chapel through a gap in the surrounding buildings; but are far more
impressed with the sense of poverty and ruin than by anything in the way
of architecture, which can be much better seen and described from
within. The new schools in the south-east corner (built to supersede the
old structure which still remains attached to the north triforium) are
worth a visit _en route_: and so, perhaps, is the abandoned
burial-ground outside the south transept, if only as a melancholy
souvenir of the past.
The church is open every day, and the services are as follows:
SUNDAYS
8.15 a.m. Holy Communion.
11 a.m. Mattins.
11.45 a.m. Holy Communion (choral) and Sermon.
4 p.m. Children's Service and Catechizing.
7 p.m. Evensong and Sermon.
SAINTS' DAYS
8.15 a.m. Holy Communion.
11 a.m. Mattins.
8.30 p.m. Evensong and Sermon.
ORDINARY DAYS
11 a.m. Mattins.
4 p.m. Evensong, except on Wednesdays, when the arrangement
is the same as for Saints' Days.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Within the porch a tablet on the south wall gives a list of
the Priors and Rectors. On the opposite wall another tablet,
recording some of the restorative work, forms part of the
memorial to Sir Borradaile Savory. For the rest of the memorial
see notes on pp. 48 and 57.
* * * * *
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE CROSSING FROM THE TRIFORIUM
_E. Scamell. Photo._]