St John's Foundation was founded as St John's Hospital in Bath,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, in 1174, by Bishop

Reginald Fitz Jocelin Reginald Fitz Jocelin (died 26 December 1191) was a medieval Bishop of Bath and an Archbishop of Canterbury-elect in England. A member of an Anglo-Norman noble family, he was the son of a bishop, and was educated in Italy. He was a household ...

and is among the oldest almshouses in England. The current building was erected in 1716 and has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The 'hospital of the baths' was built beside the hot springs of the

Cross Bath The Cross Bath in Bath Street, Bath, Somerset, England is a historic pool for bathing. The surrounding structure of the pool was built, in the style of Robert Adam by Thomas Baldwin by 1784 and remodelled by John Palmer in 1789. It is recorded i ...

, for their health giving properties and to provide shelter for the poor infirm. It was placed under the control of Bath Cathedral Priory which became Bath Abbey. One of the key benefactors was Canon William of

Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north of St Albans. The population of the ward at the 2001 census was 6,058. Included within the parish is the small hamlet of Amwell. History Settlements in this area were ...

, who gave substantial areas of land to support the hospital. Funds were needed for the upkeep of the hospital and, in 1400, the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

encouraged visitors on certain days to make donations in exchange for being granted remission of their sins. It was suggested in 1527 that the hospital be amalgamated with the Priory to provide greater access to its wealth, however this did not happen. In 1535 it was valued at £22 16s. 9d. During the Dissolution of the monasteries it managed to remain independent and attempts by William Crouch to take it into private property were defeated after the city fathers petitioned

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. During the rest of the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

when wealthy visitors came to the spa the almshouse provided lodgings. In 1716 the architect William Killigrew was commissioned to rebuild the hospital. Construction continued after 1727 with John Wood, the Elder undertaking the building, as his first work in Bath, when he was aged 23. He went on to design many of the buildings which created the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

city. Horace Walpole stayed here in 1765. The site now includes Chapel Court, and still operates to provide a home for over 100 of the local elderly poor and make grants to individuals and organisations in and around Bath. The charity is now known as The Hospital of St John the Baptist with the Chapel of St Michael annexed with St Catherine's Hospital.

Architecture

The architecture is

palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

, which is common in Bath. The two-storey Bath stone building has a heavy ground floor

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

of round-headed arches on pillars, and retains its original window mouldings and

sashes Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections. The island is located between Hedsor Water and the present navigation cha ...

References

External links

St John's Foundation Est. 1174 web site
* {{Authority control Residential buildings completed in 1716 Grade I listed buildings in Bath, Somerset Grade I listed almshouses Almshouses in Somerset

History

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading

External links