medieval meditation at The Cloister Garden

If you know wonder | wander | women, you know that we are fascinated with the medieval period of Europe. Whether it's the incorrectly named "Dark Ages" of England that everyone pictures at the word medieval, the golden years of tapestry in France, or the intellectual and diverse Islamic period of Spain, we are willing devotees of the art, architecture and history of the period.

Entrance to the Priory of St. John and its Cloister Garden

So we were thrilled to discover the Museum of the Order of St. John, the 900-year-old charity still existing in London. The Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem originated with the Knights Hospitaller, formed in the 12th century during the Crusades. The mission of the order is "to prevent and relieve sickness and injury, and to act to enhance the health and well-being of people anywhere in the world."

The Memorial Gallery seen from the garden

The Museum has two locations close to each other in the Clerkenwell area of London: the main museum and charity at St. John's Gate, and the Priory Church and Galleries in a quiet intersection nearby, built around the peaceful oasis that is the Cloister Garden.

The Priory Church

The Cloister Garden is modelled, as many medieval church gardens were, after the Persian chahār-bāgh or "fourfold garden"; also called the paradise garden. It is laid out in four parts, bisected and circled with stone or gravel paths, with a fountain or tree in the middle. This structure is intended to encourage introspection as one sits and contemplates the scenery, walks along the paths, or converses with companions.

Unlike St. John's Gate, though, the Cloister Garden is a recent addition. The church was largely destroyed in World War II (although the 12th century crypt survived) and not fully restored till 1959. The garden was a simple lawn with flower beds and a fountain until 2011 when garden designer Alison Wear was commissioned to create a new Priory Garden.

Historic sign in the covered walk noting the history of the Order of St. John,
and a cannonball from the Ottoman Empire period, c. 1480.

Alison and the Order decided on medicinal herb plantings to populate the garden. Most of the plants in this garden would have been used in medieval times for medicine and home remedies, notably the flower named after the healing saint, St. John's wort.

Hypericum calycinum, St, John's wort

The olive tree in the centre is two hundred years old, brought from Jerusalem, according to its former caretaker Sian Rees in her Planting Diaries blog. It's a fitting guardian for a contemplative church garden.

Two myrtles stand at the back stairs to the priory. Similar aromatic trees and plants, like citrus, daphne, bay and roses grow around the walks, casting a soothing atmosphere on the place.

Rosa chinensis, Bengal rose

Because a chahar-bagh is not complete without water, a paved fountain stands against one wall, adding its small voice and cooling air to the peace and silence. In desert climates, this feature was usually as practical as it was beautiful, providing irrigation to the lush beds of green, but in rainy London it could be simply decorative.

Tucked away in a cul-de-sac away from the main roads, the Cloister Garden is another hidden gem that we hope to visit often in the years to come.