15. St Bartholomew the Great

St Bartholomew the Great built-in 1123 by an Anglo Norman monk, Rahere, a courtier and a favourite of Henry I. Rahere built London’s oldest surviving church in Smithfield, the City of London to serve the parishioners of St Bartholomew’s hospital. In 2012 it merged with St Bartholomew the Less under one church.

Rahere started construction on the building with the use of servants and child labourers, who collected stones from all over London. The distinguishing oriel window was built in the 16th Century allegedly to keep an eye on the monks below.

Having survived the great Fire of 1666, Zeppelin raids of WW1, and the Blitz of WW2, today the grade I listed church acts as a calm respite to the bustling market, restaurants and clubs that surround it. The medieval romanesque architecture continues to serve a modern, transient community of Smithfield.