The following is a list of the Lord Priors of Saint John of Jerusalem in England, the Knights Hospitallers, until the Order was stripped of its properties and income by Henry VIII, during the brief restoration of the Grand Priory under Queen Mary I, and from the restoration of the Grand Priory of England in 1993.[1] For Lord Priors and Grand Priors of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem see the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Since foundation
Gabnabius, (or Gabnebius) of Naples the first prior (died 31 August 1192). He was prior in the time of Richard de Balmeis II, Bishop of London (who died 1162), and also when Richard FitzNeal held the same see, from 1189 to 1198. Died the last day of August. At the time there was a sister house at Buckland, Somerset (during the reign of Henry II), which had a prioress for 60 years.[2]
John Paveley prior 1355/8 – 1371.[5] Lieutenant Prior and Turcopolier, named Grand Prior of England in a bull of Roger de Pins, Grand Master, dated Rhodes, 14 October 1358.[6] He served as Admiral of an English fleet in 1360.[7] Died 1371. Arms of John Paveley: Azure, a cross patoncée or. See also the Paveley Rudder, a heraldic badge used by the Paveley family.
Robert Hales prior 1372. On 1 February 1380 he was appointed Treasurer of the Exchequer by King Richard II and was beheaded on Tower Hill by the insurgents under Wat Tyler, 1381.[5]
Thomas Tresham I, prior 1557-1559 (the first restoration of the Grand Priory of England under Queen Mary I).[11]
Richard Shelley was the last grand prior of the knights of St. John in England. He did not take up the title in deference to the wishes of Queen Elizabeth I.[12]
Titular English priors, in most cases Italians by birth, continued to be appointed until the dissolution of the order in 1798:[10]
Following the second restoration Sovereign Order of Malta
In 1970 a Sub-Priory of the Blessed Adrian Fortescue (Adrian Fortescue (martyr) was a knight of the Order at time of King Henry VIII) was founded and renamed in 1993 as Grand Priory of England.
Bostock, Tony (2009). Sir Oliver Starkey, Knight of Malta. Vol. 49. Chester: Cheshire Local History Association. ISSN0141-8696. {{cite book}}: |periodical= ignored (help)
Nelson, John (1811). The history, topography, and antiquities of the Parish of St. Mary Islington, in the County of Middlesex ... Printed for the author by John Nichols and Son. pp. 58–59.
Wall, J. Charles (2018) [1910]. Relics from the Crucifixion : where they went and how they got there. Bengaluru, India: ATC Publishers. ISBN978-93-86516-63-3. OCLC1090996125.