Wilton is a civil parish about 3 miles NW of Salisbury standing at confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder. Incorporated into the buildings around St John’s Square are the remains of a hospital founded in the late 12thc. Although several alterations and restorations were carried out from the 16thc, some remains of the medieval structures have survived. These includes a circular pier with what may be the remains of a scalloped capital.

The Domesday Book records that in 1086 the manor was held by Hervey. By the end of the 12thc it was a possession of Queen Berengaria but in 1204 its ownership passed to Hugh V of La Marche and his wife Isabella of Angoulême.

The hospital was first mentioned in 1195 when its prior Hubert Claud was recorded as the tenant of some lands in Ditchampton and Bemerton. A chapel in the hospital complex was probably dedicated in 1217. In 1388 the ruinous conditions of the building led John Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury, to announce a 40-days indulgence in favour of the hospital.

In 1825 the hospital was 'unused and going to decay', though it was rebuilt only in 1851. The chapel was restored in 1868 and repaired again in 1902. The last restoration was carried out in 2003.