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Johanna Saint John

Johanna Saint John was born in 1631 and died in 1705. Johanna Saint John was the eldest daughter of a notable Parliamentarian. Her father's name was Oliver St. John. Johanna married Sir Walter St. John, her distant relative. Throughout her life, Johanna Saint John constructed two recipes books containing culinary and medicinal recipes. She was the grandmother to the first Viscount of Bolingbroke, Henry St. John.

Early Life

With a father as a leading Parliamentarian and supporter of Oliver Cromwell - Johanna Saint John's upbringing was filled with obstacles. She was raised during the time of the English Civil War. In the early months of her life, Johanna was brought to her step father, Sir William Masham's, home in High Laver, Essex by her mother. She was baptized January 27th, 1631.

In 1649, she married her distant cousin and later had thirteen children.

Housewife of Lydiard House

Lydiard Park is a 260-acre country park at Lydiard Tregoze, nearly 4 miles west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, England once owned by the Viscount of Bolingbroke, Johanna St. John's grandson. A set of letters between Johanna Saint John and her steward, Thomas Hardyman, give insight into how she learned to construct her recipe books. At her summer home estate, Lydiard House, a plethora of materials and ingredients including food, herbs, and livestock gave her the raw materials she needed to craft her recipe books. Johanna Saint John's usage of these materials ranged from food to distilled medicines. From the letters, there is an understanding that Johanna herself did not concoct the recipes at Lydiard House, but gave "exact details to a team of distillers and herbgatherers" often collaborating with other recipe-makers in London. Some people who Johanna Saint John collaborated with were Sir Edward Spencer, Lady Manchester and Lady Peterburough who all had remedies for sore eyes, and Sr. Phillip Warwick who had a remedy for cramps.

Recipes

Banister's Powder

Banister's powder does not have a clear intended purpose or use. However, the first three ingredients: unicorn horn, bezoar stone, and bones of stag heart indicate that the intended use was to treat poison. This recipe is significant because it shows how the Early Modern Period still accepted the idea of magic in their remedies.

To Make Hands White

While many of Johanna Saint John's recipes were prepared to cure ailments some of her recipes were meant to be cosmetic. In her recipe to make Hands White, Johanna St. John focused on a concoction of herbs and seeds to cleanse her hands and make them white. This was important to a woman of status who hosted parties.