Information for record number MWA1928:
Remains of Medieval Hospital of St John, Warwick

Summary The remains of a Medieval chapel associated with the Medieval Hospital of St John. The site is now in use as a museum.
What Is It?  
Type: Hospital, Chapel
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Warwick
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 28 65
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 At the East entrance to town, the Hospital of St John the Baptist. It was founded by Henry, Earl of Warwick, in the time of Henry II (1154-89), for the double purpose of giving lodgement and refreshment to poor wayfarers and for the more permanent help of the local poor and infirm. The Hospital is recorded in 1269 and on a number of later occasions. A survey of 1546 records details of the Hospital. It appears that the chapel was still standing and was of some size.
2 The East or service wall of St John's House is of stone ashlar and may incorporate walls from the Medieval Hospital. A building shown by Hollar as a chapel is in approximately this position.
4 After dissolution of the monasteries (1537-8) the possessions of the Hospital were granted by Henry VIII to Anthony Stoughton. According to Speed's map, elements of the Medieval building were still standing in 1610. Documentary evidence shows that the hospital buildings included: Houses, a chapel, barns, stables, a dovecote and a tan House. There was also a gatehouse. The chapel became a barn before being destroyed circa 1570.
5 Disarticulated human remains were recorded from the northern area of an observation, potentially the mixed grave fills from the cemetery assoicated with the Medieval Hospital.
6 The possible wall of a chapel nave was identified during a watching brief in 2015. The wall was aligned northeast-southwest and was visible as a single course.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 8, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Pugh R B (ed)
Date: 1969
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 8
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 2, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Page W (ed)
Date: 1908
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: The Hospital of St John the Baptist
Author/originator: G White
Date: 1994?
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: Archaeological observation of a cable trench at St John's House, Warwick
Author/originator: C Jones
Date: 2008
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Serial
Title: West Midlands Archaeology Vol 57
Author/originator: CBA West Midlands
Date: 2015
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: No 57
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment of St John's House, Warwick
Author/originator: Coutts, C and Jones, C
Date: 2005
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Reportt No 0446
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: St John's House Musuem, Warwick, Archaeological Watching Brief
Author/originator: Rann C
Date: 2015
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 1516
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument DOVECOTE * A building, or part of a building, used to house doves and pigeons, usually placed at a height above the ground, with openings and provision inside for roosting and breeding. back
monument HOSPITAL BUILDING * A hospital building of uncertain function. Use more specific type if known. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument GRAVE * A place of burial. Use more specific type where known. back
monument GATEHOUSE * A gateway with one or more chambers over the entrance arch; the flanking towers housing stairs and additional rooms. Use with wider site type where known. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. back
monument HOSPITAL * An establishment providing medical or surgical treatment for the ill or wounded. Use narrower term where possible. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BARN * A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their fodder. Use more specific type where known. back
monument HUMAN REMAINS * The unarticulated remains of the body of a human being. If articulated use inhumation. back
monument STABLE * A building in which horses are accommodated. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record