ABSTRACT
After the loss of Malta in 1798, there were decades of uncertainty for the Order of St. John. The Catholic Sovereign Order found a permanent headquarters in Rome in 1834 and in 1875 the British Association was established. The revival of the English langue in Protestant Britain was more complicated and controversial, with a bitter break with the Sovereign Order and persistent challenges about its authenticity. By the 1870s, however, it was on firmer ground, confident in asserting its historic origins and established not only at Clerkenwell, but also in its first aid and humanitarian work in peace and war. The ‘afterlife’ of the Templars is even more colourful, with a short-lived revival in the 1820s involving an interesting cast of characters and links with the Masonic Order.
