Museum of the Order of St John
/ About
St John's Gate has stood over St John's Lane since 1504, when it was built as the south entrance to the Priory of Clerkenwell. The Order of St John still occupies it, and the museum inside tells the Order's history from the Crusades to the ambulance service that carries its name. Across St John's Square sit the Priory Church and, beneath it, a Norman crypt that is one of the oldest surviving interiors in London. Eight of these rooms are let for private events.
The Priory Church is the largest, a tall stone room hung with the banners of the Order and lit by chandeliers; it takes 200 for dinner and 250 standing. The Chapter Hall is the ceremonial room, panelled, armorial and lit by a chandelier brought from the Farnese Palace in Rome. The Council Chamber, which dates from the Gate itself, has Whitefriars glass in its windows and the memorial plaques of Knights and Dames on its walls, with a sixteenth-century spiral stair in the tower beside it that survived the Great Fire. The museum galleries run under a glass roof against the Tudor stonework, and the Cloister Garden is a walled herb garden built around a 200-year-old olive tree.
Several of the rooms connect. The Chapter Hall opens onto the Old Chancery and can be joined to the Council Chamber beyond, extending one reception across all three. Catering comes from the museum's own accredited list rather than an in-house kitchen, there is no corkage charge, and a member of the events team stays on site from set-up to clear-down. Two conditions are worth knowing before a party is planned around them: nothing may be fixed to the floors or walls of a listed interior, and only acoustic music is permitted in the garden, which backs onto neighbouring houses.
/ Rooms Available
The Priory Church
PrivateThe Order's own church, and the largest room on the site. Stone walls, tall traceried windows and the banners of the Order overhead, with an acoustic that has made it a concert room as much as a dining one. It seats 200 for dinner, 230 theatre-style and holds 250 standing.
The Chapter Hall
PrivateThe ceremonial room of the Order, carrying the arms of its medieval and modern Priors, sixteenth-century furniture, portraits of British monarchs and a chandelier from the Farnese Palace in Rome. It opens directly onto the Old Chancery, and the two rooms plus the Council Chamber beyond can be taken together for a reception of 150.
The Cloister Garden
PrivateA walled garden of flowers and medicinal herbs behind the Gate, planted around a 200-year-old olive tree and used for summer parties and receptions after ceremonies. Only acoustic music is permitted, as neighbouring houses back onto it, and the Priory Gallery next door takes the party in if the weather turns.
The Galleries
PrivateThe museum's display floor, where the Tudor walls of the Gate meet modern casework under a glass roof. Daylight by day; at night the stonework is lit for receptions and lectures. Step-free throughout.
The Council Chamber
PrivateDating from 1504, with Whitefriars glass in the windows and walls panelled with plaques to Knights and Dames of the Order. The Gate's towers on either side hold a sixteenth-century spiral stair, the Library and the Malta Room, and a hire can include a private tour of them. Combined with the Old Chancery it takes 50 standing.
The Old Chancery
PrivateAn anteroom to both the Chapter Hall and the Council Chamber, dominated by an Elizabethan fireplace carved with serpents and beasts, with a window seat to one side and part of the museum's silver collection on display. Used for arrivals, registration and drinks before the room next door opens.
The Prior's Dining Room
PrivateThe smallest room on the site and the quietest, holding some of the museum's most important paintings. It takes ten for a lunch, a dinner, a meeting or an intimate ceremony. There is no step-free access.
The Crypt
PrivateThe Norman crypt beneath the Priory Church, and the oldest surviving part of the priory. Romanesque and Gothic arches, tomb effigies and memorial plaques, kept for recitals, lectures and meetings rather than parties. There is no step-free access.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
Catering
- – External Catering Allowed
Venue Specs
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Wi-Fi
- – Outdoor Terrace
- – Wheelchair Accessible
/ Getting Here
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