Test Your Knowledge: July 2023

This year marks the 900th Anniversary of Barts Hospital, how well do you know this world-class medical institution? As before the correct answer will turn green when it’s clicked upon and expanded to give more information. The incorrect answers will turn red giving the correct explanation.

1. Founded in 1123 by a monk called Rahere, what other job did Rahere perform?
Master of the Stools to Henry I
WRONG Depicted in a stained-glass window in St Bartholomew the Less Church shows Rahere in monk’s robes but with the multicoloured leggings of a jester.
Jester and Courtier to Henry I
CORRECT Depicted in a stained-glass window in St Bartholomew the Less Church shows Rahere in monk’s robes but with the multicoloured leggings of a jester.
Keeper of the Keys
WRONG Depicted in a stained-glass window in St Bartholomew the Less Church shows Rahere in monk’s robes but with the multicoloured leggings of a jester.
2. In A Study in Scarlet Sherlock Holmes first meets Dr John Watson at Bart’s Hospital, as recorded on a plaque in the hospital’s museum, what are Holmes’s first words to his future housemate?
Dr Watson, I presume
WRONG Upon their first fictional encounter on 1st January 1881, Holmes is using the hospital laboratory for experiments with blood stains when Watson, who had served in the Afghan theatre of war and was wounded at the Battle of Maiwand, is shown in by a mutual acquaintance called Stamford. Both looking for accommodation, the famous duo agree to take rooms in Baker Street.
You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive
CORRECT Upon their first fictional encounter on 1st January 1881, Holmes is using the hospital laboratory for experiments with blood stains when Watson, who had served in the Afghan theatre of war and was wounded at the Battle of Maiwand, is shown in by a mutual acquaintance called Stamford. Both looking for accommodation, the famous duo agree to take rooms in Baker Street.
Do you know the way to Amarillo?
WRONG Upon their first fictional encounter on 1st January 1881, Holmes is using the hospital laboratory for experiments with blood stains when Watson, who had served in the Afghan theatre of war and was wounded at the Battle of Maiwand, is shown in by a mutual acquaintance called Stamford. Both looking for accommodation, the famous duo agree to take rooms in Baker Street.
3. Which artist painted the vast canvases that decorate the stairs of the hospital’s great hall?
William Hogarth
CORRECT William Hogarth who was born just yards away from Barts in Bartholomew Close is said to have taken the commission for no pay, rather than let it go to Italian artists.
William Kent
WRONG William Hogarth who was born just yards away from Barts in Bartholomew Close is said to have taken the commission for no pay, rather than let it go to Italian artists.
William Blake
WRONG William Hogarth who was born just yards away from Barts in Bartholomew Close is said to have taken the commission for no pay, rather than let it go to Italian artists.
4. Named after St Bartholomew, one of the Twelve Apostles, how was it said that Bartholomew was martyred?
Flayed
CORRECT The apostle is said to have been martyred by flaying and beheading at the command of the Armenian king Astyages. His relics were supposedly taken to the Church of St. Bartholomew-in-the-Tiber.
Crucified
WRONG The apostle is said to have been martyred by flaying and beheading at the command of the Armenian king Astyages. His relics were supposedly taken to the Church of St. Bartholomew-in-the-Tiber.
Garotted
WRONG The apostle is said to have been martyred by flaying and beheading at the command of the Armenian king Astyages. His relics were supposedly taken to the Church of St. Bartholomew-in-the-Tiber.
5. Whose statue stands above the gatehouse of Bart’s, said to be the only one in London to depict this person?
Henry VIII
CORRECT A favourite with Knowledge examiners, this rather tiny statue commemorates Henry VIII saving the hospital. Another steel structure of Henry stands in Central Park, Havering. We locals insist that the London Borough of Havering is in Essex, unfortunately, Sadiq disagrees.
Henry Mayhew
WRONG A favourite with Knowledge examiners, this rather tiny statue commemorates Henry VIII saving the hospital. Another steel structure of Henry stands in Central Park, Havering. We locals insist that the London Borough of Havering is in Essex, unfortunately, Sadiq disagrees.
Henry Cooper
WRONG A favourite with Knowledge examiners, this rather tiny statue commemorates Henry VIII saving the hospital. Another steel structure of Henry stands in Central Park, Havering. We locals insist that the London Borough of Havering is in Essex, unfortunately, Sadiq disagrees.
6. In 1954 Barts became the first hospital in the country to offer which ground-breaking treatment for cancer?
Chemotherapy
WRONG Megavoltage radiotherapy (MRT) is now commonly used to deliver doses of radiation to patients with cancer.
Radiotherapy
CORRECT Megavoltage radiotherapy (MRT) is now commonly used to deliver doses of radiation to patients with cancer.
Hyperthermia
WRONG Megavoltage radiotherapy (MRT) is now commonly used to deliver doses of radiation to patients with cancer.
7. The grand staircase leading up to the Great Hall is home to two murals The Pool of Bethesda (1736) and The Good Samaritan (1737). Why is one a lesser quality?
The artist ran out of paint
WRONG Due to William Hogarth’s fear of heights, the more intricate of the two murals, The Pool of Bethesda, was painted in a different location, whilst The Good Samaritan was painted in situ but with far less detail.
The artist was ill
WRONG Due to William Hogarth’s fear of heights, the more intricate of the two murals, The Pool of Bethesda, was painted in a different location, whilst The Good Samaritan was painted in situ but with far less detail.
The artist suffered from vertigo
CORRECT Due to William Hogarth’s fear of heights, the more intricate of the two murals, The Pool of Bethesda, was painted in a different location, whilst The Good Samaritan was painted in situ but with far less detail.
8. Which Scottish freedom fighter has their memorial on the north-western wall of Barts Hospital?
Robert the Bruce
WRONG On 5th August 1305, Wallace was captured near Glasgow, possibly by treachery and taken to London, where he was hung, drawn and quartered outside Barts Hospital on 23rd August 1305.
James Douglas
WRONG On 5th August 1305, Wallace was captured near Glasgow, possibly by treachery and taken to London, where he was hung, drawn and quartered outside Barts Hospital on 23rd August 1305.
William Wallace
CORRECT On 5th August 1305, Wallace was captured near Glasgow, possibly by treachery and taken to London, where he was hung, drawn and quartered outside Barts Hospital on 23rd August 1305.
9. A memorial was installed in 2015 on Barts’s north-western wall, commemorating the murder of which famous Kentish rebel?
Wat Tyler
CORRECT William Walworth, London’s mayor stabbed Tyler who was negotiating terms with King John who had introduced a poll tax which was a fixed rate regardless of an individual’s earnings.
Jack Cade
WRONG William Walworth, London’s mayor stabbed Tyler who was negotiating terms with King John who had introduced a poll tax which was a fixed rate regardless of an individual’s earnings.
John Lincoln
WRONG William Walworth, London’s mayor stabbed Tyler who was negotiating terms with King John who had introduced a poll tax which was a fixed rate regardless of an individual’s earnings.
10. Sairey Gamp’s friend, Betsy Prig, is a nurse at St. Barts in which Dickensian novel?
Bleak House
WRONG Betsy Prig, features as a Barts nurse in Martin Chuzzlewit, also in Dickens’ Little Dorrit, John Baptist Cavalletto is taken to the hospital after being hit by the mail coach.
Martin Chuzzlewit
CORRECT Betsy Prig, features as a Barts nurse in Martin Chuzzlewit, also in Dickens’ Little Dorrit, John Baptist Cavalletto is taken to the hospital after being hit by the mail coach.
Oliver Twist
WRONG Betsy Prig, features as a Barts nurse in Martin Chuzzlewit, also in Dickens’ Little Dorrit, John Baptist Cavalletto is taken to the hospital after being hit by the mail coach.

No friend of London’s cabbies

London Mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski was a key figure in David Cameron’s attempts to protect Uber from tough regulation in the capital proposed by then-mayor, Boris Johnson. According to the Guardian’s Uber Files investigation, after the largely unregulated growth of Uber in London, Johnson was considering new rules for the taxi app. Uber was riding high at the time, having eaten into the business of black cabs and ruining many private hire offices, but the company faced accusations from critics that it was operating on the edges of the law. In September 2015 TfL launched a consultation document on some possible new restrictions on the company, like capping driver numbers or asking customers to wait five minutes between booking and getting in the vehicle.

Amid a flurry of lobbying by Uber to stop the changes it appears Korski, who, in his capacity as a Downing Street digital advisor, sent emails to TfL, the mayor’s office and Uber discussing the consultation. The emails didn’t come to light easily — at one point Downing Street faced accusations of a ‘cover-up’ when it denied Korski’s correspondence existed, only for TfL to then publish the emails anyway. But they eventually revealed that Korski was making the case in favour of Uber, accusing TfL of attempting “insane and luddite things” concerning the consultation.

Thanks to London Spy on Substack for much of this inside information.

Johnson’s London Dictionary: Leinster Gardens

LEINSTER GARDENS (n.) Bayswater bridleway where numbers 23 and 24 were pulled down to allow room for the construction of the steam stagecoach, and only their fronts replaced.

Dr. Johnson’s London Dictionary for publick consumption in the twenty-first century avail yourself on Twitter @JohnsonsLondon

The London Grill: Maxine Morse

We challenge our contributors to reply to ten devilishly probing questions about their London and we don’t take “Sorry Gov” for an answer. Everyone sitting in the hot seat they will face the same questions ranging from their favourite way to spend a day out in the capital to their most hated building on London’s skyline to find out what Londoners think about their city. The questions are the same but the answers vary wildly.

Maxine Morse is a born and bred Londoner. Her childhood was spent, clutching a 50p Red Rover pass and exploring every nook and cranny of this great city from the top of a double decker bus. After a fast-paced career in television and e-learning, she is back to doing what she enjoys best, observing, strolling and flaneuring her way round London. She sniffs out new restaurants and watches mixologists juggle and pour from height. Most evenings she is at a West End show or reviewing an opera. She blogs about London life at www.londonology.co.uk.

What’s your secret London tip?

London is the capital of FREE. Before you go anywhere, or do anything, Google how to do it for cheap or (better still) for free. There’s free food, free museums, free walks, free movies, free art…but know when to tip (generously) and when to splurge. You won’t want to miss an amazing afternoon tea at a luxury hotel or an evening in your finest gear at the Royal Opera House.

What’s your secret London place?

My vote goes to the Phoenix Arts Club in the bowels of the Phoenix Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. Famed for being the dressing rooms for John Gielgud, it is now home to an eclectic mix of entertainment. Here, I met the dazzling jazz piano player Dom Pipkin who makes the Junco Partner Blues sound like five instruments, while playing with one hand and holding a beer in the other.

What’s your biggest gripe about London?

This sounds a bit bad tempered but its tourists pointing in the street and nearly removing someone’s eye, rummaging for their Oyster card after they’ve arrived at the ticket barrier, stopping suddenly when they are walking along the pavement causing a pile-up or giving me heart failure by stepping over the yellow line on the tube platform train.

What’s your favourite building?

Definitely, it is Chiswick House, the 18th Century party house of Lord Burlington. This is a diminutive, perfectly proportioned Neo Palladian Mansion designed by the eccentric, turbaned William Kent and contains the purchases from Lord Burlington’s Grand Tour. You can just imagine costumed guests with powdered wigs arriving by river for his evening soirees. The lead sphinx in the Lower Tribuna epitomise its mystery and decadence.

What’s your most hated building?

This is a bit of a toss-up between the Barbican and the Post Office Tower. The Barbican with its ugly Brutalist architecture seems to have been plonked at a ridiculously long distance from the nearest tube which means too much walking for those of a certain age or in challenging footwear! While the Barbican has nil points for architecture, its performances, gardens and bars are superlative. The Post Office Tower used to have a buzz about it in the Swinging Sixties with its revolving restaurant and avant-garde architecture. Now, whenever I see it, I’m surprised that a savvy urban planner hasn’t earmarked it for redevelopment.

What’s the best view in London?

The 6th floor café of the Tate Modern, where for a price of a cup of coffee, you can sit on a bar stool and watch the boats on the Thames and the majesty of St Paul’s. And in a similar vein, the view from the Millennium Bridge towards the Shard, the Globe and the Tate Modern is not bad either.

What’s your personal London landmark?

My dad had a Victorian pharmacy at 39 Grosvenor Gardens in Victoria. We spent our childhood there “helping him serve the customers”, rummaging in those small wooden medicine drawers and trying out all the lipstick and perfume testers. He was just round the corner from Buckingham Palace and we often had VIP customers. He was always saying to some suited gent, “Lord X, your prescription will be ready on Wednesday”. We’d look after the shop while he dropped off toiletries, or medicines, for the Queen, Prince Charles or Princess Diana. Sadly, his pharmacy is now a café but the mahogany interior is still intact. As one of only two listed shop interiors in Westminster, it was blessed with a special preservation order.

What’s London’s best film, book or documentary?

White Teeth by Zadie Smith (TV series based on the novel) made me howl with laughter…it took me back to my childhood growing up in a North West London suburb sandwiched in between Wembley and Harrow with its multi-cultural diversity, 70s fashions, great music and London accents.

What’s your favourite restaurant?

I’m a big fan of Corbin and King restaurants…I love the Delaunay in Aldwych with its Modern European vibe, the grand, monochromatic Wolseley on Piccadilly and the Brasserie Zedel with its good value French bistro set menus. In fact, I love the Brasserie Zedel so much that I cried on my first visit back there after the Covid lockdown.

How would you spend your ideal day off in London?

Let’s imagine this ideal day (no matter how unrealistic) is in the heat of summer and the sky is blue and cloudless. I would take a Thames Clipper boat from Westminster Bridge and sit at the back, enjoying a gin and tonic with the breeze in my hair. I’d get off at the Tower of London. Even after many visits, I still get a thrill from seeing the armour of Henry VIII and I am overwhelmed with patriotic fervour when I see the Crown Jewels. My love is seriously large gem stones! And if it’s raining, I can be found with my nose pressed to the glass cabinets of the V&A jewellery room.

London in Quotations: Samuel Pepys

We saw the fire grow; and, as it grew darker, appeared more and more, and in corners and upon steeples, and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the City, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame . . . It made me weep to see it.

Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), Diary 2nd September 1666

Taxi Talk Without Tipping