The Hospital of St Thomas of Acre was the medieval London headquarters of the Knights of Saint Thomas.
It was founded as a church in 1227 in the parish of St Mary Colechurch, birthplace of the order’s patron saint, Saint Thomas Becket. In the 14th century and after it was the main headquarters of the military order.
In 1512, the Worshipful Company of Mercers bought from the order a site by the church on which to build their hall, and in 1514 they formally became the patron to the order.
In 1538, during the Protestant Reformation, the order was dissolved and the properties were forfeit to the crown, but were subsequently acquired by the Mercers in exchange for various payments, rents, and undertakings.
