Inside One of London's Oldest Medieval Crypts

If you imagine a Catholic military order from the Middle Ages, it’s likely to be the Knights Templar - popularised by Dan Brown’s fictional thriller, The Da Vinci Code
But in Medieval Europe, there was another, equally powerful religious society, which also had its English headquarters here in London. It was the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Better known, as the Knights Hospitaller.
In this episode of Hidden London, London tour guide Katie Wignall explores the history of the Order of St John, visiting their base of operations here in Clerkenwell, London. The priory is one of the city’s hidden gems, with surprises around every corner.
Formed in Jerusalem in the 11th century to care for pilgrims, the order went on to become an ambitious military organisation, owning lands and wielding influence across Europe.
Join Katie as she uncovers the story of the Hospitallers’ rise to power, dramatic fall, and rebirth in the modern era…
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#historyhit #medievallondon #knightstemplar #knightshospitaller

[@durthacht]

Katie Wignall is an excellent presenter.

[@LookUpLondon]

Thank you! So kind 🥰

[@BoogaBoy-wq3ye]

​@LookUpLondon cute aswell 😍

[@colinfew6570]

Her voice is so fantastic and calming

[@chrisschepper9312]

Indeed.

[@Oooo-bi7bi]

She certainly is. I can’t help falling in love with her. She’s so cute and her voice soothing.

[@resh..]

Big, big fan of Katie! Her knowledge is phenomenal and her natural ability to present + her mellifluent voice makes her a huge History Hit asset.

[@LookUpLondon]

Ah thank you so much! Love making these videos 🙂

[@monicacall7532]

Please give us more of Katie’s videos about London’s history. She’s both knowledgeable personable.

[@gavindownham9737]

Katie's knowledge and enthusiasm for history makes her a fantastic presenter we are lucky to have on History Hit

[@LookUpLondon]

Thank you so much 🥰

[@Oooo-bi7bi]

What brilliant professional presenter. Effortlessly translating into layman’s terms making history entertaining and accessible to all. I do hope teachers use it .Thanks Katie Wignall and all of the team involved.

[@jamieknight326]

Absolutely love Kate’s presenting style. Clear, concise and with a wealth of knowledge on the topics she’s talking about. Thanks for making these. Can’t wait to see more :)

[@shehansenanayaka3046]

History hit tv one of my fav. Brilliant as alwys. Huge fan from Sri Lanka ❤️🔥.

[@HistoryHit]

Thanks for the support!

[@theeutecticpoint]

An excellent new host and an excellent show, if she still does tours of London I'm sure it a great treat for any tourist who gets her as a guide!

[@TracyD2]

I’m going to seek her out when I go abroad to London. 🤞🏼

[@treeliniusmaximus8412]

Last year my wife and I went to Malta. It was amazing to see the history of the Order of St John in the Cathedral in Valetta and across the island.

[@Bloomcycle]

You're so lucky. I could spend the rest of my life time exploring everything about London

[@pjaybasmaignee]

I don’t know who I love more Katie, Alice Loxton or Dan Snow. All amazing presenters. 😊🎉❤ There’s another guy too I just can’t remember his name. 😅

[@keithfowler2013]

Excellent. Really enjoyed that. Some documentaries blur the line between Hospitallers and Templars, but that seem to be clear, they're definitely two different orders.

[@georgeousgrant]

Really enjoy Katie’s channel, an excellent presenter with exceptional knowledge. Something about that voice too, very soothing 😁👌🏻

[@HistoryHit]

We like her too!

[@kimberlypatton205]

She has such a lovely voice! Always continually keeping your interest and you can feel her love and passion for history!

[@SotonSam]

Great video, I love the camera work and lovely presenting Katie

[@davidcreager1945]

Excellent video ! Katie's love and enthusiasm for history really shows ! It's also nice to see the Hospitalers get their due !

[@hillerymcdonald2303]

I love this presenter!! Her voice and demeanor are so lovely and her passion for the subject is contagious!!! Amazing video, love love.

[@wendellfugate4225]

Brilliant piece of work. I'm looking forward to the next one. Cheers!

[@andrewruddy962]

Wonderful, and Katie's enthusiasm is infectious. Thank you for making and sharing.

[@robynneblissett6510]

I live near Barletta in Italy and now I'm addicted to this period of history. Katie is also an asset for this channel, with her vibrant enthusiasm! Thank you!

[@ray7419]

Wonderful video. Katie is a great presenter. 👍

[@ellafay_]

So informative! Brilliant knowledge from all involved

[@HistoryHit]

Glad it was helpful!

[@peterb3772]

Excellent video. Love the history. Katie does a fantastic job of presenting this series 👍👌

[@trevorward722]

I’m going to watch this multiple times just to hear your delightful voice.

[@mark703]

I am proud to be a modern member of the "Order of St John" with such a long history.

[@pecelirovucago7149]

Hello from Fiji Island, thanks for sharing this amazing video! Very informative, and interesting to watch your presentation of the Knights Templar history, well done .

[@kvcb90]

What a great episode - Katie is a fantastic storyteller! I hope you have more episodes with her.

[@williamrobinson7435]

Very good! I had 4gotten about Hogarth snr and his coffee shop. Nice one Katie! ⭐👍

[@alisonredaif5839]

What an amazing and interesting presenter! Keep it up Katie

[@jimhislop2979]

Fascinating and excellently presented. Thank you

[@leohickey4953]

So much history in Clerkenwell. I used to work around the corner from this building and loved visiting. Great video as usual, Katie.

[@54mgtf22]

The Order of St John also gave the world the Maltese cross as the international symbol of medical assistance. Hey Katie. Love your work 👍

[@suzannechapman4302]

Thank you Katie. I had no idea that the hospitaller knights still excisted. Well, at least in some form.

[@nancyM1313]

👍🏻😎❤love the tours Tyvmuch Katie

[@thormusique]

Truly a fascinating episode. There's nothing quite like History Hit, and the breadth and depth of topics covered. Cheers!

[@Jay-ql4gp]

I really enjoyed this, thank you very much!

[@awatts8980]

Katie needs a louder volume on location, otherwise very enjoyable presentation

[@117Pinkyflower]

They need to make a movie about the Hospitalers.

[@Wolfiechrm]

It makes me happy to see so many videos now coming out about St. John Ambulance

[@legionnairegonk4425]

Fantastic! Helping to join the dots... So that is where St John's Ambulance originated - with the Maltese cross that now makes sense. I always wondered... You learn something new every HH video.

[@user-bl6vb3vk5q]

Yes she brings you right into the story❤

[@hugelavalava]

Another awesome video guys, love it 🤩👍

[@janeaustenist]

She’s well worth listening to. I really enjoy her presentations.

[@gunnarelisigurjonsson2587]

. More please ❤ Fascinating and brilliant presentation

[@desafrique53]

So many great female historians around at the moment bringing new perspectives to our understanding of the past. Katie is great!

[@charc9009]

Love Katie’s videos!

[@sharonsimcic4676]

Outstanding video!

[@mariadange06]

Thoroughly enjoyed this episode.

[@kinderblutsaufenderreptiloide]

Soooo interesting! Thank you!

[@priest8377]

Love this series 😊

[@timothywebb5100]

Brilliant,more of this would be very welcome

[@Kimmy-pw8tm]

So interesting. Well done Katie

[@cijmo]

Excellent tour. I usually go to London at Christmas so this is one of the ones that closes for the season. This year I'm going in Sept. so maybe I'll see it. One thing for certain is that...if I miss it THIS year, it'll still be there waiting for me!

[@annewillis4673]

It’s well worth a visit if you are able

[@TCW838]

Fantastic history by an absolutely amazing presenter.

[@HistoryHit]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@andrearoyd2942]

Thanks - interesting & calming :)

[@rebeccarussell939]

Learning history always interested me

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Absolutely 💯 love Kate's presenting style....it was informative and enjoyable watching video about British Knights in Medieval periods....thank You ( Hit history)channel

[@pitdog75]

Great presenter, great narrator. Cheers.

[@Mrtomtien]

Very interesting documentary

[@jimjohandes]

Nicely done!!! Jim in California

[@leechumbley5440]

Thank you Katie for a very interesting video with fascinating details of the Clerkenwell Priory of the Order of St. John from the 11th century to the present. I learned a lot. On the Turkish shore of the eastern Aegean Sea the Knights of St. John built a huge castle dominating the entrance to the harbour of Halicarnassus (Bodrun). The English Tower there is emblazoned with the arms of English king Henry IV. In Rhodes itself, the Inn (Auberge) of the English Knights of St. John, which stands opposite the entrance to the mediaeval Hospital of St. John, is emblazoned with the arms of English king Edward IV and of Sir John Kendall, commander of the cavalry (Turkpolier) of the Knights of St. John during their successful defense of the Ottoman siege by Mehmet II in 1480.

[@leechumbley5440]

Kendal with one L, not Kendall :)

[@katherinecollins4685]

Very interesting

[@alexshapley8331]

👍 very interesting, thanks... and now I know where St John's Ambulance came from!

[@johnshields6852]

Very cool. 🙏

[@jamesleyda365]

Right on......👍

[@hazeluzzell]

Sound is a bit iffy, but very interesting.

[@user-kc4rl6gt9t]

Fabulous, interesting contect - really interesting but please stop waving your arms about!! x

[@robnewman6101]

Wow.

[@spalmer4609]

Didn't read through all the comments so hope this isn't a duplicate. Katie has an excellent blog where she frequently posts: Look Up London

[@MichaelGuerra-ew7uu]

Really enjoyed the video Katie (and your others). However, next time you try saying Valladolid, say Vaya-do-leeth. It's just a Castellano thing. Well done.

[@LookUpLondon]

Haha noted!

[@SophieeXw]

yes thanks, nice voice too

Thank you very much dear Katie, you're really so beautiful by the way, now as an alternate for the Saint john's order ı kindly would like to suggest Saint Alien's disorder, we dream a new world disorder consisting of full anarchy, wisdom and freedom, how about that? Fantastic idea isn't it? So as a matter of fact consequently we are the defenders of the new world disorder which is a big idea. Please listen to heavy metal music dear Katie.

[@lorrainecasey749]

This girl is really good 👍🏼

[@janetbaggi-biotelli9352]

Who is the girl in the musuem? She knows how to join the complex dots

[@Elysian777]

Wonderful presentation. Very well done. Good to see some of the history well preserved and appreciated. Shame that London bought into modernization and replaced much of their amazing historic architecture with ugly industrial cement and glass. So much less interesting than some other European capitals.

[@kingkal81]

Can Dan Snow & your Channel do a collaboration with the go to Geography KZbin channel Geography Now by Paul B. History & Geography are my favourite things both go hand in hand. This and Geography Now are my favourite educational channels. In the video I was thinking of doing a special video about the history of the world using both history (From empires to Revolution & historic moments) & Geography (map's & demographic changes over time). It could be a series if popular I would love to see the great minds of Dan & Paul together 😄

[@Lora-G]

Love this idea❣️

[@kyleanuar9090]

Wish Waldemar Janusczak covered this

[@SECRETORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR]

🙂👍

[@AlwaysForwardRunning]

I love you... A great presenster..... :)

[@gilong81]

Content was great, but what's up with the sound?

[@dm607]

Did I miss the crypts?

[@ianevans2917]

Isn't the Venerable Order of St John a Victorian construct? The original and extant Order of St John is the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta which has continued in existence since its foundation. The English Venerable Order are fortunate to have inherited what remains of the London buildings of the original Order.

[@Wolfiechrm]

We became a recognised order during the Victorian period after Queen Victoria gave us the royal charter allowing us to put the lion and unicorn on our uniforms. In recent years we have taken the unicorn and lion off of our uniform when we created our new uniform the green shirts and black cargo trousers you see us wearing today.

[@BELLA_AND_RUBY]

think templers go back to the 10th century as archbishop odo was the head and he was william the conquerors brother you have to do some digging but its well worth it

[@jamesgomez9074]

For being Scottish Kate is AWESOME on British history......

[@jensonthebastard]

gotta love that northern mexican humour

[@thewaryears]

Queen Victoria would have been disappointed

[@MariMoore-nc2cg]

London is the first

[@paulvallance4970]

I think you’ll find its knights “hospitalier” as in the French origin of the word, not “hospitaller”

[@richardparker1490]

Well they still exist and it's the 'Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller'

[@arjunsandhar578]

W

[@MissMentats]

Katie Wignall knows kung fu.

[@joyful]

having a hard time with the sound quality.

[@murrayscott9546]

Blown up with gun-powder ? Çlassy.! Might try that m'self somday, sometime .

[@mrbearbear83]

There's artefacts in the Vatican

[@WhatsCookingTime]

Great presenter cute as well.

[@MariMoore-nc2cg]

Katie isn’t London the first city

[@dondevice8182]

What a pleasure to see two women - - perfectly lovely - - but presenting a program because they know what they’re talking about, without retention and talking enthusiastically between themselves… Not just because they’re a pretty face to be on television. I have nothing against simply pretty faces when they know what they’re talking about, but to see two women, so intelligent, so unpretentious- And yes, also not disagreeable to look at :-), is a breath of fresh air. Thank you.

[@cleverusername9369]

Here's your trophy for weirdest, creepiest comment of the day 🏆

[@dondevice8182]

@@cleverusername9369 Ha! Yeah, I can see how it comes off like,that. :-/

[@eivorthewolfkissed7672]

Who else is here because of Assassin's creed 1

[@badbiker666]

How many knights took a vow of poverty and yet could afford some extraordinary and expensive accoutrements. Horses, armor, weapons, and shields were not cheap. Alabaster effigies, such as the one of the Spanish knight, were very costly. Perhaps they defined poverty differently than we do in our own era.

[@tracyanne8616]

I think the reason is that like The Templars, the Hospitaller knights were generally found in wealthy households, but were second sons with no expectation of inheritance. They needed to either marry well or become soldiers. So what more esteemed soldier to become than a knight of the order of the Hospitallers. Being the army de jour and highly regarded.

[@mrpink8951]

I hate to be a pedant, but St John’s Ambulance is a secular non-profit that borrowed the name. It isn’t a successor to the Order. There are a lot of different groups that borrowed the name. Some are non-profits like the one mentioned in the video, while others are little more than social clubs. All of them seek to honor on the legacy of the name some way or another (though, I think we can agree the Ambulance and others like it are doing it best 🙂). Only a handful were ever actually affiliated with the order, and all of those are tied to surviving royal families and aristocrats in mainland Europe; Sweden, Portugal, the Netherlands, and a couple others. The actual original Order of St. John never ever went away, and is currently recognized as a sovereign stare by most of the modern world. Currently headquartered in Rome, they go by the exhaustingly long name of “The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta”. They are currently involved in philanthropic work, focused on medicine and emergency relief. Last I checked, they even operate a hospital train.

[@piratecove3323]

The execution is Drawn, Hung, and Quartered, not Hung, Drawn, and Quartered. They were drawn to their place of execution behind a horse/oxen cart.

[@simplyme2299]

It’s not. They were hanged (not hung) then their innards were drawn from their living body, then they were quartered.

[@piratecove3323]

Hung is singular, not plural. Try reading history, diction, and grammar. Putz.

[@KenDelloSandro7565]

*+DEVS VVLT*