Information for record number MWA1929:
St. John's House, Warwick

Summary St John's House was originally a family House built in the Post Medieval period. It has subsequently been used as a school room, military record and pay office and the headquarters of the Warwickshire yeomanry. It is now a museum and is situated in St Johns Street, Warwick.
What Is It?  
Type: House
Period: Post-medieval (1540 AD - 1750 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: )
Listed Building (Grade: I)
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 Built in 1626 for the Stoughton family on site of St John's Hospital. The Stoughtons remained in possession until the 18th century, it was retained by the Earl of Warwick's family from 1788-1960. It was used as a private school from 1791-1881, by 1924 it was a military record and pay office. In 1932 it was the HQ of the Warwickshire Yeomanry. The building is set back behind a forecourt. It has a front range of five bays with two bays extending to the rear. In the latter 17th century, part of the house was rebuilt. The north elevation has five attic gables, two with straight sides and three ogee heads. The end bays have stone bay windows. Two storeys with mullions and transoms. A central projecting porch also has two storeys and a round headed entrance. Small horizontally set oval windows in the end gables typically c.1670. Since 1961 it has been occupied by the County Museum.
2 In August 1995 observation of a service trench east of the house revealed an E-W aligned sandstone wall beneath the brick rubble make up for the car park. Further observation in March 1996 of the construction of lavatories to the rear of the house exposed the rear, stone wall of the kitchen sitting on brick foundations. A stone archway, probably part of the foundations for the cellars was also revealed along with two undated pits and modern drains and services. Pottery dated to the 17th - 19th century came from the topsoil.
4 A piece of stone removed from a dormer window was identified as a finial. It was dated to the 19th or 20th century, and therefore not original to the building.
8 Early scheduling form for St John's and given the no 81, although the site is not in fact scheduled.
9 Monitoring of refurbishment work in the Grade I Listed, later 17th-century mansion house. An earlier stone-slabbed floor was recorded in the main hall set parallel to the walls (not diagonally as suggested by a 19th-century drawing) and metal fixing rods in the hall fireplace, probably for an early fireback.
 
Sources

Source No: 1
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: 4
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: St. John's Warwick
Author/originator: Ed Wilson
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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: 7
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: St John's House, Warwick
Author/originator:
Date: 1970
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Photograph
Title: St John's House Warwick
Author/originator: Ed Wilson
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA (West Midlands Archaeology) vol 50
Author/originator: CBA West Midlands
Date: 2007
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 39 (1996)
Author/originator: Mould, C & White, R (eds)
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 39
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: St John's House, Warwick
Author/originator: Ministry of Works
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
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
   
Images:  
St. John's House, Warwick
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
A view of St. John's House, Warwick
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1910s
Click here for larger image  
 
St. John's House, Warwick
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 2000
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
designation Listed Building Buildings and structures, such as bridges, that are of architectural or historical importance are placed on a statutory list. These buildings are protected by planning and conservation acts that ensure that their special features of interest are considered before any alterations are made to them.

Depending on how important the buildings are they are classed as Grade I, Grade II* or Grade II. Grade I buildings are those of exceptional interest. Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Those listed as Grade II are those buildings that are regarded of special interest.
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source WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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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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period Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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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 SCHOOL * An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught. 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 FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument KITCHEN * A building or room where food is prepared and cooked. back
monument CELLAR * A room or group of rooms usually below the ground level and usually under a building, often used for storing fuel, provisions or wines. back
monument DRAIN * An artificial channel for draining water or carrying it off. back
monument FORECOURT * The court or enclosed space at the front of a building or structure. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific 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 PRIVATE SCHOOL * A school that is established, run and supported by a private, non-governmental body. back
monument HOSPITAL * An establishment providing medical or surgical treatment for the ill or wounded. Use narrower term where possible. back
monument CAR PARK * A place where cars and other road vehicles may be parked and left. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument MANSION HOUSE * Traditionally the chief residence of a land owner. Now used specifically to describe the residence of the Lord Mayor of London. back
monument ROUND * A small, Iron Age/Romano-British enclosed settlement found in South West England. back
monument PAY OFFICE * An office for the payment of wages, especially in industrial or commercial complexes. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record