Garden Details
Cloth Fair Hidden Garden NEW
The Garden
At the rear of the 900-year-old Church of St Bartholomew the Great is a piece of land which has had many guises over the centuries, including farmland, Priory Garden, school building, bombed-out school building, manicured garden and completely neglected garden. In 2017 it was a wasteland again, but local volunteers have since given it the love it deserves. The garden is planted to attract pollinators and to stimulate all five senses of passers-by.The main gate is off historic Cloth Fair. If you are walking by, look up: you will see the 900-year-old Priory Church. Look down, and see the hidden garden.
Lead Gardening Volunteer: Bernadette Skehan
Further information on London Parks & Gardens Inventory
Visitor Information
- Open
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Saturday 10:00–17:00
Sunday 10:00–17:00 - Activities
- Mulberries and other fruit tasting. Local musicians will play at intervals during the afternoons. Refreshments will be available - tea and cakes or strawberries and cream.
Take the opportunity to visit the oldest church in London, St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield (established 1123), and the nearby courtyard of the also 900-year-old Barts Hospital. The Church is open from 10am - 5pm on Saturdays and on Sundays from about 12.30, after services, till 5pm. On Saturdays, tours of the inside of the Church led by an expert on its history can be booked via their website: www.greatstbarts.com
The area is rich in history - Cloth Fair and Bartholomew Close (birthplace of Hogarth), and Little Britain, mentioned by Dickens, are all very close by. - Entrance
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Beside No 43 Bartholomew Close
Nearest postcode: EC1A 7JN - Buses
- Map of nearby bus stops
- Station
- Farringdon or Barbican
- Cycle hire station
- West Smithfield Rotunda (Map)
- Public toilets
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Smithfield (Map)
Open Saturday 09:00-17:00
Open Sunday 09:00-17:00 - Access
- Access into the garden is by 12 steps down from Bartholomew Close and the exit is 13 steps up to Cloth Fair. There is no wheelchair access. Prams or pushchairs can be carried down and up the entrance and exit steps.
- Dogs
- Dogs on leads
- Conditions
- Please read and take note of signage which will point out uneven footways.
