The History Of The Order Of St John In Clerkenwell

Walk down St John’s Lane in Clerkenwell and at the end of the street you will see a impressive gatehouse. Incongruous to its surroundings, it looks almost as if it has been transported out of a medieval world. 

This was once the Southern entranceway to the Clerkenwell Priory, the English Headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller. In the 19th century it became the home of the revived Order of St John, best known for setting up the St John Ambulance. 

It contains a free museum that is available to visit today and they also run brilliant tours of the spaces usually out of bounds to the public. 

The Knights Hospitaller and the Clerkenwell Priory

In around 1080 a hospital was established in Jerusalem by a group of monks to look after and care for pilgrims who had arrived in the city. 

After the crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they also took on a military role and became known as the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, or the Knights Hospitaller. 

The Clerkenwell Priory was established in the 1140s as the English headquarters of the order. 

The other major military monastic order was the Knights Templar, based over South of Fleet Street. They built Temple Church, a wonderful church that I have written a blog post about before here. 

The gatehouse was constructed in 1504 as a new dramatic southern entranceway to the inner precinct of the priory.

The Priory Dissolved

The Clerkenwell Priory and the English order was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1540 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and their land was seized by the crown.

Many of the knights went to their stronghold on Malta, where they had eventually settled after being pushed out of Jerusalem. Today, the original Roman Catholic order is based in Rome and its official title is the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. It remains a sovereign entity in international law and carries out charitable works across the world.

When Mary I returned to the throne, the Clerkenwell Priory and the Order was briefly restored but Elizabeth I dissolved it again for good. 

The Gate Through The Centuries

St John’s Gate went then through various different uses. 

It was for a period from the year 1704 a coffee house run by Richard Hogarth, the father of William Hogarth, the famous 18th century artist.

The family lived there as well, so William Hogarth partly grew up in the gate. Richard Hogarth was keen to revive latin as a language and so turned his coffeehouse into a meeting place for ‘learned gentlemen, who speak Latin readily’ or those who wanted to learn. It wasn’t a great business decision and in fact bankrupted the family fairly swiftly. 

In 1731, the Gentleman’s Magazine, was founded and published here by Edward Cave.

It was in fact Cave who coined the term ‘magazine’ to describe a periodical of this kind and it covered a range of areas from science to medicine to politics and domestic news. Samuel Johnson, best known for writing the Dictionary in the English Language in 1755, worked here for a time. 

At the end of the 18th century the gatehouse was used as a pub, called the Old Jerusalem Tavern. 

The New Order of St John

In 1888 the new Order of St John in England was given a royal charter.

They are officially a separate institution to the original order, however they were inspired by the work of the Hospitallers in looking after people.

They are best known for setting up the St John Ambulance. 

The building by the gate, where the museum is today, was the first St John Ambulance station in London. The large doors below were for the ambulances to come in and out of, originally horses and carriages. 

Today, the museum is free to visit and you can learn all about the history of the Knights Hospitaller and the revived Order. 

Inside the Gatehouse

On one of their brilliant guided tours you can go inside the gate and Chapter Hall. 

This is the council chamber, directly over the gate itself.

It was created in the 1880s and 1890s in its current form for council meetings of the order. The outside of the gate was also refaced and restored in this period.

Leading up to it is, what is possibly, the oldest solid spiral oak staircase in the country, dating from the 16th century. 

There a few coats of arms in the stained glass of the window. Below for example are the coats of arms of Thomas Docwra, who was the prior when the gate was constructed.

You will also see various gold plaques, honouring previous members of the order.

The Chapter Hall 

The impressive Chapter Hall was a 1903 extension. Today it is used for ceremonies and can be hired out for weddings and other events. 

Over the end of the hall is a painting of the monarch, as the monarch is the Sovereign head of the Order. They are waiting for a new one of Charles currently (apparently there is quite high demand). 

There are various other paintings of Grand Priors of the Order, the current one being the Duke of Gloucester. 

There are also the coats of arms of the Grand Priors through the centuries, including those going back to the original order. This is to create a visual link between the old order and the new.  

In here they also have a 17th century Spanish ebony cabinet.

It sadly is very rarely opened today to preserve it but the interior looks like this. 

Old Chancery Room 

This is the Old Chancery Room.

This is where nurses were recruited during World War One. 

On the walls today are a couple of paintings of nurses. Below, for example, is Dora Little who was a Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse (VAD) in the First World War. She was recruited as a nurse through the Order. 

The Priory Church 

Through the gatehouse, into the old inner precinct of the priory, you will find St John Priory Church. 

The priory church was originally constructed with a round nave, similar to Temple Church, based on the design of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The outline of that original church is marked out by cobble stones in the yard today but the church has been through a number of different iterations since. 

The only surviving part from the original 12th century church is the crypt, more on that below, and the bases of the columns either side of the altar. 

The church was partially demolished after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was remodelled in the 18th century to use as a parish church and then gutted by incendiary bombs during the Blitz and subsequently restored. 

The Crypt

The 12th century crypt below remarkably still survives and is one of the oldest in London. 

Parts of it would have probably once been used for ceremonies and prayer, but went on to be used as a crypt for coffins. 

Down in the crypt today, you can see the skeletal and rather unsettling effigy from the tomb of William Weston.

William Weston was the Prior of the Order when it was dissolved by Henry VIII. He was offered a generous pension by Henry but he died that same year, it is said of a broken heart. There is a theory however that Weston was much more on the side of the King, possibly a sort of royal spy. 

He was buried at the nearby St James Clerkenwell, but this part of his tomb has been here since 1931. 

They also have a couple of other interesting details, such as this incredibly detailed alabaster effigy of a Spanish knight who died in 1575. 

Around 150 ‘X’ symbols have been found carved into the walls of the crypt.

Their meaning is not certain but they were possibly put there by people hoping to ward off evil spirits. 

They also have a couple of old stretcher carriers that the St John Ambulance would have used over the centuries. 

The crypt was emptied of coffins in the late 19th century due to health and hygiene and the bodies buried at larger cemeteries further out of central London. 

The Garden 

Both the church and the crypt can be visited on the museum’s guided tours. However, their beautiful cloister garden can be visited for free. 

It was laid out in its current form in 2011, as a monastic-style garden. Paths around the garden are meant to be conducive to contemplation and many herbs and plants that would have once been used to heal people have been planted such as rosemary, St John’s Wort, lavender and sage.

It all centres on a 200 year old olive tree brought over from Jerusalem and planted at the centre. 

The garden provides a wonderful, tranquil escape from the tumult of London. 

Visiting 

The Museum galleries are through the shop on the ground floor of St John’s Gate. The galleries and shop are open Wednesday – Saturday, 9:30am – 5pm. 

The Museum offers three different guided tours covering different aspects of our fascinating history. Tours last 45 minutes to an hour and cost £12pp and £9 for Art Pass holders. 

Find out more here. 

More of London’s hidden historical spots below!