St. John Abchurch

St. John Abchurch, properly the Church of St. Augustine with St. John, is a large Gothic church located on the eastern side of Parliament Square in the City of Alain. It faces the Houses of Parliament and borders the Spanish Quarter to its northern side. The Church is so named as it once stood on a hill, now encased by the massive foundations.

It is prominent for being the church where Parliament worships before its meetings, and is known for its Anglo-Catholic worship. It was the home of a makeshift lepers hospital from 1195 until 1490.

History
The Priory and Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem was founded in 1195 by Aelred the Palmer, a nobleman, as thanks for a safe return from the Holy Land. Until 1359 it stood outside the City walls, meaning that any larger structures could not be safely erected, as the south was the most-often attacked by rebel forces.

In 1359 the southern wall of the City was expanded (partly due to a lack of space to build the new Parliament buildings) to include the hospital and its surrounds. After the wall was fully completed in 1362, the church was rebuilt in a magnificent Gothic cathedral-style, being mostly complete by 1370 but not fully completed until 1395.

The hospital buildings were demolished in the 1490's to allow space for the Spanish Quarter, and the hospital was merged with the Mater Hospital at the eastern end of the City. The Priory (now managed by the Augustinian Order) still exists and is still in use, although smaller, within the mammoth foundations of the church.

Bells
The tower holds a peal of 10 bells, the fourth heaviest peal of change-ringing bells in the City, with the tenor weighing 24 hundredweight (~1230kg).

The heaviest eight bells were cast by Johannes Murphy of Kilmore (a rather rare founder) in 1372, with the two lighter bells dating from 1395 (cast by the Purdue's) when the church was completed.

The tenor bell is rung to mark executions in Parliament Square, and is inscribed:"I + CALL + THE + RIGHTEOVS + TO + GOD + AND + THE + WICKED + TO + DEATH"