A brief history of
St. John's House Winchester

St. John's House is a Grade 1 listed building which is owned by the St John's Winchester Charity. Its roots are believed to be in the 10th Century when the site on which St. John's House now stands is thought to have been used as a hospital.

Its more recent history is more verifiable and there are clear references to St. John's Hospital from the early 13th Century. The chapel next door dates from this period and the "sick and lame soldiers, poor pilgrims and wayfaring men" the hospital is said to have served must originally have been accommodated within its nave. By 1332 a second chapel dedicated to St. Mary was built and part of the Western Wall of this chapel, with original windows and doorway, still survive in the Undercroft.

The main structure of St. John's House was added on to the western side of St. John's Hospital in the 14th Century. A right of way was incorporated which ran back from the Broadway past the front of the two chapels. The rest of the ground floor consisted of twin infirmaries separated by a spinal wall, with one connecting door near the West end.

During building renovation in 1981, details of the infirmaries were revealed and recorded by the Archaeology section of the Winchester Museums Service. A series of large rectangular recesses were identified, probably used as cupboards for personal belongings. These suggest the hospital would have accommodated about twenty patients in the late mediaeval period. The original floor was found to have been about 20 inches below the modern surface; it had been raised in the 19th Century, probably because of dampness.

The first floor hall was where the burghmote or town assembly met, where civic meetings and feasts were held, and where deeds and other city muniments were kept, including the City Seal.

In the late 18th Century the first floor of St. John's House was dramatically altered when the roof was raised by about 7 feet and the interior completely refurbished to provide an elegant Assembly Room where the wealthy citizens of the day attended balls, dinners and concerts by prominent musicians, including Niccolo Paganini and Franz Liszt. Much of the original 18th Century stucco plasterwork still remains and is a fine example of Regency craftmanship.

At the end of the 18th Century St. John's House was used as the city's law courts with prison cells. It was at that time that the back stairs were built to enable the prisoners to be moved from the court in the Assembly Room to the cells in the Undercroft for safe keeping!

In the 19th Century the first floor accommodated a temporary museum of stuffed birds (!) which was open to the public free of charge. The Assembly Room was also still used at that time for occasional lectures and public meetings.

From 1910 to 1914 the St. John's House Assembly Room became The Palace Picture House (notice the projection holes which are still a feature in the East wall). All the latest pictures in those days were shown on the bioscope.

From 1922 to 1973 the Undercroft area was leased by King Alfred Motor Services and was used as passenger waiting rooms, a café and staff rest rooms. Prior to that the Hants & Dorset Bus Company had also used the Undercroft for similar purposes. This was, of course, before the "new" bus depot was built nearby.

In the 1970s the Assembly Room was again used as a magistrates court whilst the new law courts were being built next to the Great Hall, after which the Attic Theatre Group made their home here temporarily.

In 1981 St. John's House was leased for use as a bar and restaurant until shortly before Leading Leisure took over the building in order to create the multi-media Crusades Experience, which ceased trading in 1990 when Leading Leisure went bankrupt.

The entire building was left vacant until 1993 when Immanuel Church leased it from St. John's Winchester Charity. St. John’s House became the home of Immanuel Church who restored it to its former splendour and maintained its use as a church and community centre for 15 years until finally the church relinquished the lease in March 2008.

The Winchester YMCA has now (from February 2009) leased the grade 1 listed building for use as a Youth Centre but is also looking to rent out rooms to the community. These are available for hire for conferences, receptions, concerts, exhibitions, training courses, etc.

Some of the rooms have been named after local dignitaries to commemorate their connection with St. John's House.

The De Winton Room was named after Sir Simon of Winchester, or Simon De Winton, who was Mayor of Winchester in 1268. He was a city draper, and a prominent and wealthy merchant. He also supported a "brother" of St. John's and supplied straw to the poor.

The Bevero Room was named after Peter Bevero who was a life Master of St. John's from 1397 to 1441.

The Brydges Room was named after George Brydges who bequeathed a legacy to St. John's house which resulted in the "raising of the roof" to form the St. John's Assembly Room in the late 18th Century.