The Priory of St John was just one of several monastic institutions which dominated the Clerkenwell and Smithfield area during the medieval period.
The monasteries were all closed in the few years between 1536 and 1540 when Henry VIII broke with the Church of Rome, but the legacy of these institutions lives on in Clerkenwell and Smithfield. In the buildings that have survived, the philanthropic and caring work is still a major feature of daily life at these landmark sites.
To find out about other local landmarks with a monastic heritage or to join our friends at Islington Guided Walks on a Clerkenwell’s Lost Monasteries guided walk, click on an image below.
Alternatively you may like to explore the area using an audio tour created by GeoTourist as part of their Epic England series. You can download the GeoTourist app onto your smartphone and listen to the tour at https://geotourist.com/tours/2364. The tour was created by The Ring, a consortium of cultural organisations clustered around Farringdon station and includes the Charterhouse, the Museum of the Order of St John, St Bartholomew’s Hospital Museum, Smithfield Market, and the churches of St Bartholomew the Great and St Bartholomew the Less.
