Templar Sites in England

While nt as rich in Templar sites as France, England has many places closely connected to the Order and well worth a visit:

London Temple Church-The Temple Church (above) is a late-12th-century church in London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. In modern times, two Inns of Court (Inner Temple and Middle Temple) both use the church. It is famous for its effigy tombs of Templar knights and for being a round church. It was heavily damaged during the Second World War but has been largely restored. The area around the Temple Church is known as the Temple and nearby is Temple Bar and Temple tube station.

Garway Church in Herefordshire-

The earliest record of a monastery on this remote rural site is in the seventh century, but it is with the arrival of the Knights Templar in 1180 that the history of the church at Garway becomes clearer. The Knights Templar built a stone chapel in honour of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem Garway Church

The excavated foundations of part of the round church can be seen clearly on the north side of the present church, and the original carved chancel arch survives. Most of the current church, which is no longer round, is probably 13th century including the massive defensible tower which was once separate from the main church building. There are numerous carvings both inside and outside the building including a green man, a sword believed to be Templar, a fish and a snake.

Royston Cave Herefordshire-

This is believed by many to have been a secret Templar meeting place after the Templars were placed on the most wanted list by the English and French Crowns.  The cave decorations are believed to have been created by the Templars to tell a tale of their history and knowledge of the ancient mysteries.

The carvings in the Cave include four saints. Below the original entrance is St. Christopher, patron saint of travellers, with the child Jesus on his shoulder and staff in hand. Moving to the left high up on the west part of the wall is St. Katherine. Farther to the left is St. Lawrence who was martyred on a gridiron. Next is the figure with drawn sword which might be St. Michael or possibly St. George, patron saint of England who in symbolic terms saved the lady (the church) from the dragon (the devil or the oppressor). St George’s sword points to what might be the twelve apostles with Judas the small figure at the back towards the right-hand end of the row.

The large panel on the left of St. Christopher represents the Holy Sepulchre having a damaged figure of Christ awaiting the resurrection above the large niche on the left. Mary Magdalene, or an angel on the right-hand side sits on the stone rolled away from the entrance. The dove and the hand above represent the Holy Spirit. The niche below probably held a lamp.

The long row of figures below includes both men and women and although none can be identified those marked with crosses are possibly saints and those with hearts are martyrs. The two small figures below St. Katherine may be (although this is by no means certain) Richard I (Lion Heart) and his Queen Berengaria whose crown is shown floating above her head as she was never actually crowned Queen. The long vertical cross on their left is a branched or floriate cross and represents the high altar. Although currently identified as a cross there is a possibility that it represents a sword.

Beneath St. Lawrence is a figure with upraised arms that has been variously identified as King William of Scotland and King David. Interestingly, a similar figure appears at the head of a 13th century illuminated manuscript of Psalm 69, now in Trinity College Library, Cambridge, where King David is shown rising from the water. Psalm 69 is a plea for help and a lament about being misunderstood.

Elsewhere in the Cave are Calvary scenes with Mary and John and a group believed to show the Holy Family but uncertainty surrounds the remaining figures in the Cave. There are several large niches among the carvings, which may have been for relics or lights.

Templecombe, Somerset

A painting discovered in 1945 by Mrs Molly Drew in the roof of an outhouse of a cottage in Templecombe, England, has been the subject of various speculations. It has been on display in St Mary’s Church in the village since 1956 (the only Templar-related site to have survived there), and has been carbon-dated to 1280 AD.Some people believe that it is a Templar-commissioned image of either Jesus Christ or the decapitated head of John the Baptist,although it is without a Halo. The painting is best known as possibly being a copy of the image on the Turin Shroud, and therefore evidence of the Turin Shroud being in the possession of the Knights Templar during its “hidden years”.

Somerset was also home to other Templar holdings, including the Temple Meads area of Bristol — one of their earliest grants in England, which included a hostelry, church and farm. Textile manufacture and dyeing was a feature of this site. Templecombe, granted in 1185 and the ninth richest Templar holding in England, possessing 400 acres, became the main preceptory in the southwest. Little now survives, though an early photograph shows substantial remains of their chapel. The famous panel painting is now preserved in the parish church.

On the Mendip Hills, Temple Down Farm was an important sheep-rearing centre, with 1,000 sheep and 60 other beasts. Fleeces were taken to the preceptory at Temple Newbury, near Coleford, where three water-powered fulling mills produced white broadcloth. The oldest recorded corn mill in England was here too. Templar estates were also established at Temple Cloud and Cameley, where in the church of St James is preserved a wooden carved head believed to be of Templar origin and possessing a possible relationship to the Templecombe painting and Turin shroud.

Cressing Temple, Essex

Granted to the Knights Templar in 1137, Cressing Temple Barns is of significant historic interest for its unique buildings and garden. Internationally renowned for its impressive and remarkably well preserved medieval carpentry, the barns attract visitors from around the world, providing them with a remarkable insight into the building techniques of the time and a glimpse into the lives of the people who built them. The Grade I listed Barley and Wheat Barns are the oldest known timber framed barns in Europe and amongst the few remaining Templar buildings in England.

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