St. John's Gate

St John's Gate, in the Clerkenwell area of London, is one of the few tangible remains from Clerkenwell's monastic past. It was built in 1504 by Prior Thomas Docwra as the south entrance to the inner precinct of Clerkenwell Priory, the priory of the Knights of Saint John (known as the Knights Hospitaller).

The substructure is of brick, while the north and south façades are of stone. After centuries of decay and much rebuilding, very little of the stone facing is original. Heavily restored in the 19th century, the Gate today is in large part a Victorian recreation, the handiwork of a succession of architects — William P. Griffiths, R. Norman Shaw, and J. Oldrid Scott.

The building has many historical associations, most notably as the original printing-house for Edward Cave's pioneering monthly, The Gentleman's Magazine, and sometime workplace of Samuel Johnson. From 1701 to 1709, it was the childhood home of the painter William Hogarth. In 1703, his father Richard opened a coffee house there, 'Hogarth's Coffee House', offering Latin lessons together with the coffee. For many years, the building was used as a tavern.

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