Brief history of St. John’s House
St John’s House is owned by the St. John’s Winchester Charity. Its roots are believed to be in the 10th Century when the site on which St. John’s House now stands was thought to have been used as a hospital.
The main structure of St. John’s House was added on to the western side of St. John’s Hospital in the 14th Century. A series of large rectangular recesses probably used as cupboards for personal belongings, have been identified. These suggest the hospital would have accommodated about 20 people in the late medieval period.
The first floor hall was where the town assembly met, where civic meetings and feasts were held, and where deeds and the “City Seal” were kept.
In the late 18th Century the first floor of St. John’s House was dramatically altered when the roof was raised by about 7 feet, and the interior completely refurbished to provide an elegant Assembly Room where the wealthy citizens of the day attended balls, dinners and concerts by prominent musicians including Niccolo Paganini and Franz Liszt. Much of the original 18th Century stucco plasterwork still remains and is a fine example of Regency craftsmanship.
At the end of the 18th Century St. John’s House was used as the city’s law courts with prison cells. It was at that time that the back stairs were built to enable the prisoners to be moved from the court in the Assembly Room to the cells in the Undercroft for safekeeping!
From 1910-14 the St. John’s House Assembly Room became ”The Palace Picture House” (the projection holes are still a feature in the East wall). All the latest pictures in those days were shown on the bioscope.
From 1922-1973 the Undercroft area was leased by the King Alfred Motor Services and was used as passenger waiting rooms, a cafe and staff rest rooms; prior to that the Hants Dorset Bus Company also used the Undercroft for similar purposes. This was, of course, before the ”new” bus depot was built nearby.
In the 1970’s the Assembly Room was again utilised as a magistrates court whilst the new law courts were being built next to the Great Hall, after which the Attic Theatre Group made their home here temporarily.
In 1981 St. John’s House was leased for use as a bar and restaurant until shortly before Leading Leisure took over the building in order to create the multi-media Crusades Experience which ceased trading in 1990 when Leading Leisure went bankrupt.
The entire building was left vacant until 1993 when Immanuel Church leased it from St. John’s Winchester Charity. During this period St. John’s House was restored to its former splendour and as well as being a thriving church centre, was available for hire to the community and was regularly used for conferences, receptions, concerts, exhibitions, training courses etc. Immanuel Church ceased using the building in March 2008.
The building was then left vacant until February 2009 when the Winchester YMCA took on the lease and are turning the Undercroft into a quality youth venue for the young people of Winchester and beyond.
