Johanna St John (1631-1705), wife of Sir Walter St John, 3rd Bt by John Michael Wright
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Lady Johanna St. John
“Bid them have a care of the children and not to let them pick ther noses nor doe any other thing for which I use to chide them,” Lady Johanna St John wrote to Thomas Hardyman, her steward at Lydiard House. Like any other mother, Lady Johanna was anxious that her children behaved themselves – all thirteen of them.
Born in 1630, Johanna was the eldest of four children born to Oliver St. John, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and his first wife, Johanna Altham.
In 1649, not yet out of her teens, Johanna married her distant cousin Walter. The newlyweds made the Old Manor House at Battersea their main home, closer to parliament where Sir Walter served as Member for Wootton Bassett between 1661-1679 and for Wiltshire in 1656-1659, 1679-1685 and again in 1690-1695.
Johanna, with the help of Thomas Hardyman, kept a tight rein on Lydiard affairs, juggling the domestic arrangements of the Wiltshire household along with her Battersea home. In her letters to Hardyman Lady Johanna makes references not only to friends and family but neighbours and noble men, including the king who occasionally dined at Battersea.
Johanna is probably best remembered for her knowledge of plants and herbs and their healing properties. She made a record of the poultices, purges and potions she made and her Booke dated 1680 is now held at the Wellcome Library, a repository of books, manuscripts and archives recording the history of medicine
Johanna died at her Battersea home aged 75. The memorial plate on her coffin declared, ‘Here lies the body of the Honble lady Johanna St. John late pious prudent Consort of Sr Walter St. John who exchanged this life for an immortal crown Jan 15th 1704 in the 56th year of her marriage.’
She was buried in St. Mary’s, Battersea in a coffin ‘quilt wth silk’ at a time when it was compulsory to be buried in wool. The family had to pay a 50s fine for this privilege.
About the Portrait
Medium - oil on canvas
Measurements - H 73.5 W 57 cm
Purchased in 1965 from Vernon St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke
- Year:
- c. 1665
- Artist:
- John Michael Wright (1617-1694)
- Type:
- Portrait
- Location:
- Drawing Room, Lydiard House
- Owner:
- Swindon Borough Council
- Reference:
- Lyd 1992/019
- Copyright:
- Lydiard House
- Last updated on:
- Wednesday 1st April 2026
