In the context of this artwork, explore the St Thomas' Hospital of the History.

The origin of St Thomas' Hospital was the sick house attached to the Church of St Mary Overie in Southwark, founded in the 12th century. By the late 17th century, the hospital was in a dilapidated state and Sir Robert Clayton, the hospital's President, employed Thomas Cartwright, a master mason and a governor of St Thomas', to undertake complete rebuilding. Cartwright had worked as a mason for Christopher Wren at St Paul's Cathedral. The new buildings, of red brick and in a classical style, were completed just after Clayton's death, in 1709. The statue of Edward, along with its accompanying figures, decorated a gateway in the new complex. In 1872, following the complete reconstruction of the hospital on land further up the River Thames at Lambeth, the statue was moved to the new site and has been repositioned subsequently.
Sir Robert Clayton classical Southwark Thomas Cartwright master mason St Thomas' Hospital Christopher Wren Church of St Mary Overie River Thames St Paul's Cathedral Lambeth