Hospital of St Thomas of Acre

Hospital of St. Thomas of Acre
Map
LocationCity of London
CountryEngland
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
Founded1227

The Hospital of St Thomas of Acre was the medieval London headquarters of the Knights of Saint Thomas, founded as a church in 1227[1] in the parish of St Mary Colechurch, birthplace of the order's patron saint, Saint Thomas Becket. From the 14th century, it was the main headquarters of the military order.[2]

In 1512, the Worshipful Company of Mercers bought from the order a site by the church on which to build its hall. In 1514, it formally became the order's patron.[3]

In 1538, during the Protestant Reformation, the order was dissolved. The properties were forfeited to the crown and subsequently acquired by the Mercers in exchange for various payments, rents, and undertakings.[4]

  1. ^ "The Churches of the City of London" Reynolds,H: London, The Bodley Head,1922
  2. ^ "The City of London-a history" Borer,M.I.C. : New York,D.McKay Co, 1978 ISBN 0-09-461880-1
  3. ^ "A Dictionary of London" Harben, H.: London, Herbert Jenkins, 1918
  4. ^ "The London Encyclopaedia" Hibbert,C;Weinreb,D;Keay,J: London, Pan Macmillan, 1983 (rev 1993,2008) ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5