Barts and The London represents two historical London hospitals which merged in 1991; St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School (the oldest hospital in the UK, est. 1123, based on the Charterhouse Square campus) and The Royal London Hospital's medical and dental colleges (the first medical school in the UK).
In 1995, this joint institution then merged further, to become an institute of Queen Mary, University of London. From the well-established and highly active Students’ Unions of both colleges, Barts and The London Students' Association (BLSA) was also formed to look after the interests and provide activities for students studying in the school.