Hereditary Order of the Red Dragon

The St. Johns of Highlight:

From Anglo-Norman Origins to Welsh Assimilation

Suzanne St. John

In the mid-16th century, several events triggered by King Henry VIII fundamentally altered the lives of Welsh nobility. Chief among these were the Laws in Wales Acts (1535-1542) and the dissolution of the monasteries (1535-1539), both aimed at unifying Wales under English governance without any democratic mandate. While these reforms brought administrative integration, they also disrupted centuries of Welsh autonomy and traditions. For noble families like the St. Johns of Highlight (Uchelolau), Glamorgan, these changes marked the beginning of a profound cultural and political shift. Even though the St. Johns to the Welsh represented, in 1100 and beyond, Anglo-Norman colonization, they assimilated with the Welsh in Glamorgan by marrying into their clans and adopting their culture. The Welsh rebelled against English rule throughout the following decades culminating in a brief reestablishment of their independence between 1400-1415. It was about this time that the St. Johns acquired the manor and abbey of Highlight and permanently moved into Glamorgan, Wales in 1415, when Sir John St. John, Knight inherited the Castle of Penmarc Place (Odyn's Fee) and the Barony of West Barry and then married his second wife, Lucy Bassett, a descendant of the de Somery and d'Abigny families of Dinas Powys. The St. Johns, through generations of intermarriage within their clan, held this property for over 325 years before the property passed to another family within the clan in 1727.

While official records directly linking the St. Johns of Highlight to the Knights Hospitallers and the dissolution of the monasteries remain elusive, circumstantial evidence suggests their involvement. For example, John St. John's son, Alexander St. John, Knight of Highlight (living in 1429), a descendant of an earlier Alexander St. John of Instow (d. ~ 1345), listed in Devon records as a Knights Templar, is noted to have married the daughter of Sir Richard Craddock (Newton), a documented Knight Hospitaller. Additionally, Christopher St. John, Esquire of Highlight (d. 1616), appears in unspecified charters associated with Margam Abbey, one of the most significant Cistercian monasteries in Wales. Oliver St. John of Highlight (d. 1727), another prominent figure in the family's lineage, served as Temple Commander of Kemeys Commander, a role also tied to the Knights Hospitaller, an order dedicated to protecting pilgrims and managing sacred lands.

Margam Abbey, established in the 12th century, was a powerful landowner and spiritual center in the region. Its influence extended beyond religious matters, encompassing agricultural management, legal disputes, and land grants. Within this context, the St. Johns likely served as stewards or patrons of Highlight, intertwining their noble responsibilities with the abbey's landholdings and operations.

Kemeys Commander, like other Hospitaller establishments, likely managed local lands, supported religious pilgrims, and acted as a center of spiritual and administrative authority. Oliver St. John's leadership within the order underscores the family's commitment to religious and communal service, blending noble responsibilities with spiritual obligations. These connections place the St. Johns within a broader network of medieval religious and military organizations, reinforcing their prominence in both secular and sacred spheres.

The Cistercian values of Margam Abbey-simplicity, community, and a deep connection to the land-aligned with Welsh traditions of clan-based governance and communal inheritance systems like gavelkind. Enshrined in the legal code of Hywel Dda, gavelkind emphasized fairness, mutual responsibility, and the equitable distribution of property among all heirs-male and female. This stood in stark contrast to the English practice of primogeniture, which concentrated wealth and power in the hands of the eldest son. For families like the St. Johns, gavelkind and Hywel Dda reflected deeply held values of equality and community-including the right of a woman to divorce after seven years of marriage and retain her dowry.

The English Crown's imposition of laws and governance disrupted this way of life. The abolition of Welsh customs like Hywel Dda forced noble families to adopt English practices, often at the expense of their cultural identity. The unification laws eroded the autonomy of Welsh clans and introduced tensions as primogeniture replaced cooperative inheritance systems and upended the rights of women.

In response, Christopher St. John (d. 1616) guided his children to seek opportunities beyond Wales. Relocating to London, members of the Welsh nobility, including from the St. John family, secured seats in the Westminster Parliament and joined the four Inns of Court, leveraging their legal and political positions as Anglo-Normans to advocate for policies aligned with their Welsh heritage. Despite these efforts, the broader forces of centralization and assimilation under English rule at this time limited their ability to enact meaningful change. Frustrated but determined, the family turned their attention to new horizons.

Around the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, Highlight Abbey, under the control of Christopher St. John (d. 1616), went defunct, marking the broader disruption of ecclesiastical and communal structures that had shaped life in Glamorgan. Over the next three decades, members of the St. John family began participating in colonization efforts, often in close alignment with the monarchies of Elizabeth I and James I and other famous persons of history who happened to also be their cousins, like Sir Walter Raleigh, Roger Ludlow, the Pophams, and Sir William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. In fact, Christopher's son Oliver was a squire for King James I and his son William served on his council for Jamestown and signed the Virginia Charter. The New World presented an opportunity to recreate the self-governance and community-oriented lifestyle they had cherished in Glamorgan.

Christopher's eldest son, Sir William St. John, Knight (d. 1638), joined the Virginia Company of London, while his younger son, Thomas St. John (d. 1625), joined the Virginia Company of Plymouth. Two other sons Captain Nicholas St. John and Lt. Alexander St. John were both killed in 1605 enroute to the African colony when they got lost and landed at St. Lucia where the natives killed them and allegedly practiced cannibalism with their remains. At the time, Sir William St. John, Knight was the first Governor of the African colony who built the first goldmine there in 1618 and a Knight for the English Royal Navy who ultimately attained the titles of Vice Admiral and convicted pirate. Sir William and Thomas were actively involved in the Jamestown and Popham colonies, respectively. Thomas faced significant hardships, including being captured off the coast of present-day Florida by the Spanish in November 1606, while master of the H.M.S. Richard. He was taken to Spain where he was beaten, starved, and held captive for nearly a year before bribing a guard for his freedom and returning to England. It is probably through these events that the Spanish acquired the map of the Popham colony that was found centuries later in a Spanish archive. While these early colonies struggled to succeed, they laid the groundwork for the next generation's involvement with the Massachusetts Bay Company in the Dorchester Colony where a 15th century copy of the laws of Hywel Dda was found and sold at auction in 2012 to the National Archive of Wales. Political and ideological conflict with other colonists in Dorchester ultimately contributed to Mathias (1601-Oct/Nov 1669) and Mathew St. John's (~1590-Dec 1669) involvement in the founding of the Connecticut Colony with Roger Ludlow, creator of the first codification of Connecticut's legal code that began with a bill of rights. Although Ludlow's name is not as prominent in modern discussions of constitutional development, his work embodied key principles-such as government by consent, representative democracy, and codified governance-that resonate strongly in the American Constitution. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut are often cited as a stepping stone between early colonial governance and the democratic principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution over a century later.

The St. Johns' journey from Highlight to London and eventually to Norwalk, Connecticut reflects a narrative of resilience and reinvention. Rooted in the cultural heritage of Wales, their story highlights the enduring influence of clan-based governance, communal values, and spiritual ties, even as they navigated profound changes under English rule. By carrying these principles across the Atlantic, the St. Johns and their kin preserved a legacy and ideology that continues to resonate in the story of America. As for those that remained in Wales, the Acts of Henry VIII abolished the Welsh legal system and stripped the Welsh language of its official status and role within Wales. Publishing in Welsh was not outright banned, but the dominance of English made it difficult for Welsh literature and culture to thrive. Economic and political factors limited the opportunities for Welsh authors to publish their work. Despite these challenges, the Welsh preserved their language and culture such as in the 1588 publication of the Welsh Bible by William Morgan which was a monumental achievement in Welsh literature. Also, the Eisteddfod, a festival of Welsh literature and music, became a cornerstone of cultural preservation. It wasn't until 1999 that a Welsh legislative body was re-established as the National Assembly of Wales which was renamed in 2020 to Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament). Through resilience and determination, the St. Johns' legacy exemplifies the enduring power of cultural heritage, bridging their Anglo-Norman roots and Welsh traditions through assimilation, and showcasing the strength of identity across centuries and continents.

---

Suzanne St. John is the administrator of the St. John Genealogy and DNA Project, published at www.stjohngenealogy.com. She has spent over 16 years researching the St. John families and their history. Suzanne is a descendant of Mathew St. John of St. Johnstown, Tipperary, Ireland in 1608, a younger son of Sir William St. John, Knight of Highlight, Glamorgan, Wales, by his first or second wife. Mathew has often been conflated with Mathias St. John (1601- Oct/Nov1669), the grandson of Thomas St. John (d. 1625), in numerous publications about the colonial immigrants of Dorchester, Massachusetts who arrived there at different times-Mathias in 1630-1634, following the death of his father, Christopher in June 1629, and Mathew in March 1638, following the death of his father in January 1638.

The St. Johns of Highlight trace their ancestry to John St. John of Stanton-St. John, Oxford, and Emma Harcourt, through their younger son, John St. John of Instow, Devon. This lineage has been historically conflated in genealogical and heraldic publications with the de Port-St. Johns of Basing in Hampshire and Fonmon Castle, Glamorgan, Wales, who descend paternally from Adam de Port and the granddaughter of Roger St. John of Halnaker. Suzanne's research seeks to clarify these distinctions and correct long standing inaccuracies in the study of St. John genealogy.

---

(c) 2025. Suzanne St. John. Published in the Hereditary Order of the Red Dragon's 2024-2026 member directory pages 11-15.