Religion and the Arts, Churches and Cathedrals - Buildings and Beliefs Essay

Religion and the Arts, Churches and Cathedrals - Buildings and Beliefs - Essay Example The medieval priory church has an interesting history, architectural features, and other unique elements The purpose of this paper is to investigate the history of the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew focusing on the period of its construction, analyse the architectural features characteristic of the period, and discuss other interesting aspects of the building. Smithfield was originally a flat grassy area of high ground to the north-west of the City of London, outside the city walls. During the Roman occupation, Smithfield was used as a cemetery and cremation grounds, since these were not permitted by Roman law within the walled City. During the Norman invasions, the Smithfield area reverted to agricultural use (Rees, 1996: 6). Before the founding of the priory, Smithfield was notorious as a place of public execution. However, the area was also used for more festive purposes such as tournaments, pageants and plays, and was well known throughout the mediaeval period for horse trading. From 1133 the monastery established the Bartholomew Fair, an annual three-day event on the eve of St. Bartholomew’s Day. The area designated for the Fair was extended over the years, and the event continued annually for over seven hundred years, sometimes lasting two weeks, until it was stopped in 1855. The cloth fair was known throughout Europe and the priory received large profits from the fair, through the centuries. With the ban on slaughtering within the city walls from 1381, there was development of meat and livestock trade at Smithfield (Rees, 1996:8, 7). According to Shepherd & Elmes (1929: 114), on the east side of Smithfield stands the parish church of St. Bartholomew the Great which originally adjoined the priory of St. Bartholomew. When the latter was pulled down to the choir, that part was used by the King’s order for the enlargement of the old Church. Later, when Queen Mary gave the