A Warm Welcome

The Priory of England and the Islands is a part of the Order of St John, the international humanitarian charity. It is responsible for the delivery of the Order’s charitable mission in England and it oversees the semi-autonomous Commanderies in Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.

The Priory’s main role is to support its well-known subsidiary – the charity St John Ambulance – in its first aid and caring work in the community.

The Order of St John today is an Order of Chivalry of the British Crown. Its care-giving mission is inspired by the medieval Knights Hospitaller, who established a hospital in Jerusalem in the 11th century to provide aid to sick pilgrims who had made the long journey to the Holy City.

Since that time the Order has developed and flourished and it is now a leading international humanitarian charity, recognised at the United Nations, with around 400,000 volunteers and staff in 40 countries.