St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London is reopening its North Wing to visitors for the first time in what organisers describe as a 300-year history. The 1732-built section is Grade I listed and features a Great Hall and a staircase decorated by Hogarth, with works including The Pool of Bethesda and The Good Samaritan. The wing will be accessible to the public on two days each week.

Barts Heritage oversaw a £9.5 million restoration, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, following years of decline. The charity, set up to repair St Bartholomew’s historic buildings in central London, carried out exterior works on the roof, stonework, railings and more than 160 sash windows, while conserving Hogarth paintings and decorative plasterwork inside.

Will Palin, chief executive of Barts Heritage, said the project brought together leading craftspeople to restore the building and its interiors, and that funding from the Heritage Fund, the City of London and donors has safeguarded the Hogarth Stair and Great Hall for future generations. Professor Charles Knight, the hospital’s chief executive, welcomed the reopening as a jewel of the community that links centuries of medical excellence with the institution’s heritage.