The Museum of the Order of St John

The unique and fascinating story of an ancient religious military Order, from its origins caring for sick pilgrims in eleventh century Jerusalem, through to its modern-day role with St John Ambulance, the international first aid charity.

What our visitors say

  • "Lovely visit, my 5 year old son enjoyed the children's activity trail which we did together - very engaging, thank you!"
  • "Thank you to the kind man at reception who helped with Dad’s wheelchair! Great museum!"
  • "St John Ambulance saved my life on 1st March 2015 so I came here to learn more. Keep up the good work!"

News and events

Opening Updates

Following the government guidance issued on 16th March, the Museum buildings will be closed for the foreseeable future.  However, our virtual channels will be even more active than usual –  providing lots of engaging content on social media and on our website, so please do visit us online.   Staff will still be working, so if you do need to get in contact please email the museum@sja.org.uk address, or get in contact via social media and the team will respond.  Thank you for your support for the work of the Museum of the Order of St John, this decision has not been taken lightly.  Please do all take care of yourselves, and we look forward to seeing you all again when we are in more settled times.

READ MORE ABOUT HIRING OUR VENUES
  • View of the interior of the Priory Church of the Order of St John The Priory Church of the Order of St John. Photography by Shaun Le Gassick
  • View of the interior of the Crypt of the Priory Church of the Order of St John The Crypt. Photography by Shaun Le Gassick
  • View of the Link Gallery of the Museum of the Order of St John The Link Gallery. © MOSJ
  • ALT= The Cloister Garden. © MOSJ
  • ALT= The Chapter Hall. © MOSJ

Blog

Isole di Malta, olim Melita c.1689, CORONELLI. From the Museum's Collection.
Watercolours

The Watercolour World

Posted 2 April 2020
Museum of the Order of St John

In 2017 the Museum of the Order of St John, with public and private collections around the world, was invited to contribute to a new online resource of watercolours from before 1900. The Watercolour World would create a visual history of the... Read more

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Becoming an autism-friendly museum

Posted 30 March 2020
Museum of the Order of St John Rachel Job, museum assistant

At least 1 in 100 people have autism. Over the past few months, we have been working to make our museum more autism friendly. We have invested in new resources, run our first autism-friendly family activity, created visual stories, had autism... Read more

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Current and former Cadets – can you help? 

Posted 27 March 2020
Museum of the Order of St John Rachel Job, museum assistant

The Museum will soon be unveiling a new display about St John Ambulance Badgers and Cadets to mark the centenary of the establishment of the Cadets in 2022. As part of this we will be including current and former Cadets’ memories of providing... Read more

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We're virtually open

Posted 26 March 2020
Museum of the Order of St John Rachel Job, museum assistant

Our physical Museum may be closed for the time being, but we are still very much open virtually. Here are all the ways you can visit us from home. Hear the story The story of the Order of St John is told in under 7 minutes in this video by St... Read more

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Painting of Edward VII
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The philanderer philanthropist: Edward VII's charitable contributions to health and medicine

Posted 24 March 2020
Museum of the Order of St John

  The Order of St John has unique connections to Royalty, from the founding of the Clerkenwell Priory under King Henry II in the 1100s, through to the modern Royal Family's role today as patrons of the charity.  Edward VII was a... Read more

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Sponsors

The Museum of the Order of St John would like to thank all those who have supported and continue to support its work. In particular, the Museum would like to thank the following for their generosity: