April 2025

Tucked just beyond the lively streets of modern-day Worcester lies a place steeped in centuries of history: Sidbury. At its heart stands the Commandery, a remarkable building that has witnessed nearly a thousand years of change.

Originally founded in 1085 by the Knights Hospitaller, the Commandery began life as a medieval monastic hospital. It offered shelter and hospitality to weary pilgrims and provided care and comfort to the sick. Overseen by a master, supported by chaplains and lay brothers, this hospital was one of many established by the Knights Hospitaller across Europe and beyond. These hospitals were deliberately built outside city gates, ensuring that pilgrims arriving after dark, when the gates were locked, could still find sanctuary.

Between 1480 and 1540, the Commandery underwent a major transformation, taking on the timber-framed, Tudor appearance that survives today. Two of its most celebrated features — the magnificent Great Hall with its minstrels’ gallery, and the Painted Chamber — date from this period.

The Painted Chamber, thought to have been either a sickroom or a private space for prayer, is particularly evocative. Its medieval wall paintings, created in the late 15th century, served as vivid reminders of the glory of God and were intended to inspire prayer and reflection. Figures such as St. Erasmus (the patron saint of abdominal pain) and St. Thomas à Becket (patron saint of priests) appear alongside scenes of the Crucifixion and Archangel Michael weighing souls — imagery rich in spiritual significance. On the ceiling, a striking depiction of the Holy Trinity offered comfort to those lying in the room below, gazing upward in contemplation and hope.

At the centre of the Commandery, the Great Hall opens off the main courtyard. Once a lively hub of activity, it remains an architectural jewel, evoking the grandeur and purpose of the building’s medieval past.

Today, the Commandery operates as a museum, offering visitors a rare glimpse into the world of the Knights Hospitaller, the lives they touched, and their enduring legacy in Worcester. It stands not just as a building, but as a testament to centuries of hospitality, healing, and faith.

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