Annunciation of Our Lady, Rabat

This chapel in St Paul Street, Rabat is dedicated to St Mary and to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, hence its' popular name, ta' Duna, that means 'the gifts' in Maltese.

The chapel was rebuilt by Canon Gio. Batt. Zahra between 1662 and 1666, on the site of an earlier building dedicated to St John the Baptist. Such was the popularity of this chapel that as early as 1575 Mass had been heard here on Saturdays and on the feast day.

The chapel has one altar and a sacristy. It is decorated through out with beautiful frescoes covering the walls and the ceiling.

In 1658 Canon Antonio Famicelli donated a marble statue of St Mary to the chapel, to be celebrated on the feast every 18th January, since held on  the 15th August.

In 1774 the chapel procurator (who was also vicar general of the Bishop) gave a forty day indulgence for those who visited the chapel.

Dinmore Commandery

Dinmore was the third richest commandery belonging to the Order of St John in the Priory of England. (Wales and Scotland formed part of the English priory). Its estates stretched from Shropshire  through the Welsh marches to the Severn and west into Gwent and Glamorgan.

Dinmore was founded before 1170 by a brother of the Order named Thomas in the reign of Henry II. A brother William was the first commander. The gift was confirmed in 1190 by a charter granted by Richard 1 ( the Lionheart) who added a further gift of his own and conceding the privilege that any disputes concerning the property could be tried by a royal court and before a royal justice. The charter was witnessed by Archbishop Baldwin an ardent protagonist of he Crusades. King John prohibited the sheriff of Hereford from disturbing the brethren or their tenant sin the county. On 9 September 1251 Henry III granted the Hospitallers hunting privileges and free warren on their estates at Dinmore.

Dinmore is six miles north of the city of Hereford on a commanding site almost on the summit of Dinmore Hill with extensive views aver the country to the southeast. Little is known about the plan of the original domestic buildings as the house on the site has been almost entirely rebuilt.

The only building on the site to date from the Knight's occupation is the commandery chapel, to the south of the manor house. This small building, of considerable beauty is of Norman origin that appears to have been reconstructed in the 14th century when the east end of the building was extended and the tower built at the west end. The chapel consists of a nave with a north porch and a west tower with a tall spire. At the apex of the west end of the chapel is the patriarchal cross of Jerusalem.

Halston Commandery

The commandery of Halston in Shropshire was founded between 1165 and 1187 when Roger de Powis, lord of Whittington granted the hospital part of his demesne. The grant was later confirmed in a charter given to the Hospitallers by King John. An early gift to Halston was the Hospital of Oswestry which was transferred to the Order in 1217-18. The commandery also owned the church of Kinnerley which came into their ownership before 1248.

Following the conquest of Wales by the Edward I, the commandery of Dogynwal (Yspytty Ifan in Denbighshire) was joined to Halston, by 1294. Halston  then became the administrative centre for all the Hospitaller estates in North Wales. It also included property in the neighbouring lordship of Ellesmere which included the church and its parochial rights which had been granted to the Order by Llewellyn the Great sometime before 1225.

A fascinating insight into life on the Commandery of Halston was given by the report of Prior de Thame into the state of the Order in 1338. In charge was the commander, Fra' Phillipe de Lude and his colleague, Fra' Alban de Nevill both of whom were serving brothers and full members of  the Order. As was the usual practice the management of the estates and the administration of its courts was in the hands of a professional seneschal. The running of the household was the responsibility of a chamberlain. Both these officers were in receipt of a salary paid in addition to their maintenance.

The household staff also included a porter, a baker, two pages, a cook and his assistant, and the commander's two servants. There were  two farm bailiffs whose job was to supervise the serfs working in the fields. Two chaplains also lived at Halston, one who looked after the commandery chapel and the other who ministered at the chapel of the Whittington Castle. Both had their board at the high table and were each in receipt of a salary of £2. A retired priest also had his board and lodging, by virtue of holding a corrody at Halston. There were also the two clerks whose job it was to collect the frary. who  resided at Halston. One seventh of the annual income of the commandery at Halston came from these frary collections made in neighbouring churches from voluntary contributions from the faithful.

The only building at Halston which dates from the era of Order of St. John is the commandery chapel. The timber framed building is now the private chapel belonging to Halston Hall. It is one of only two timber framed ecclesiastical buildings in Shropshire and never became a parish church. The chapel now stands in splendid isolation, surrounded by ancient yew trees in the parkland to the south of the mansion.

The pattern of the timber framing is close studding divided by a mid-rail. At the east end a framed chancel forms a rectangular extension. The corner posts of the chancel and the east end of the main body of the chapel have beautiful jeweled feet.  The side windows have moulded window frames and mullions with ogee mouldings matching those on the rafters. At the west end, the entrance to the chapel is through an added on brick tower.

The chapel was refitted in the 18th century with  wonderful carvings in the  interior. However the original roof was covered over but was retained; it has three main trusses each of tie-and-collar beam construction with v-struts. These timbers have been carbon dated to a felling in the winter of 1437-8. Halston Chapel is one of the least visited and most atmospheric monuments of the Order of St. John left in England.