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The Templars of Temple
(click for map)
Temple Through the Seasons.
(click for larger image, opens in new window)
1. Window
2. Window
3. Window
4. Relics
5. Cross
6. Font Base
7. Purple Orchids
8. Old Road
9. Old Bridge
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I am really in a quandary about this page, firstly it is not to do with Dartmoor and secondly I have always selfishly regarded this place as 'my secret refuge in times of strife'. Therefore by including it here the whole ethos of a Dartmoor website has gone and my 'secret refuge' isn't so secret. You may think that statement a bit assumptive but on the many occasions I have visited there I have never seen a soul, maybe I've just been lucky but it seems 'secret'?
I wonder how many people have frantically driven across Bodmin Moor on their way to the Cornish resorts with the promise of a relaxing holiday ahead. If you are one of those people, have you ever noticed as you drive down through the stretch of road that has been cut through the granite a small, very insignificant sign simply saying 'Temple'? For a good 15 years I had on a monthly basis driven straight past it without even noticing. Some, 8 or 9 years ago I developed an interest in the Order of the Knights Templar and on reading several books the mention of 'Temple' came up, so I decided to investigate. What a treasure it turned out to be, and one that when time is allowing I return to again and again.
The hamlet of Temple consists of about three farms, a few houses, and the church so it's not what you would call 'urban'. Just on the outskirts is a small granite outcrop called 'Temple Tor' and I would suggest that it took its name from the church as opposed to the hamlet taking its name from the tor. The old bridge to the north-east of the hamlet gives a hint that at one time the road might have been a bit busier than it is today - see ills. 8 & 9. There is clear evidence of both and old bridge and a ford crossing the small stream. It is thought that at one time this trans-moor route would have been used by travellers going north and east, hence the reason for the small settlement. To the south of the centre of Temple is a small church nestled in a shallow valley, there are very few mod-cons in the building including electricity, and at first glances there are no gems of church architecture it just a small functional church. Inside the church the first thing you notice is the calm and tranquil atmosphere, it's as if by shutting the door you are closing out all the 'race and pace' of this modern age. Then if you walk towards the tower you will see on the left a magnificent stained glass window - see ill 1. However, if you turn around and look at the opposite window you will get a hint that maybe there is more to this tiny church than meets the eye. For there is another, obviously much older and smaller window that depicts a knight on horseback who is carrying a shield emblazed with a cross - see ill. 2. There are several symbols in the main window that suggest a link to the order of fighting monks known as the 'Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon' or the Knights Templar - see ill. 3. A walk around the exterior of the church will further indicate that what stands today overlies a much, much older structure. To the right of the church porch stand a small outhouse and into its wall have been built several old crosses and gravestones. These were items found when the church was restored and have subsequently been preserved in this wall - see ill. 4. One of these crosses is what appears to be an incised Patriarchal Cross, in AD 451 the Archbishop of Jerusalem was made a Patriarch and its use was later granted to the Knights Templar. The Duke of Lorraine, Godefroy Boullion used the Patriarchal Cross on his standard during the capture of Jerusalem which lead to its alternative name - the Cross of Lorraine see ill. 5. Set into the inner wall over the church door is the base of the old Norman font, this was discovered after the font had been restored and therefore was placed where it sits today - see ill. 6. So there we have the clues, the place-name 'Temple', stained glass windows with Templar symbols and a Templar cross and it doesn't take a lot of working out what once stood on the site. Today the church is dedicated to St. Catherine but at one time it stood on the old packhorse route from Camelford to Liskeard. There is no doubt that Temple was once the site of a Templar preceptory and it has been suggested that here the Templars were involved in the tin industry as tin-streaming was practiced in the valley. If this is the case this would make Temple unique amongst the other preceptories. The earliest record of the site is in the Domesday Book when it was taxed under the jurisdiction of Nietstou. The earliest ecclesiastical record appears in Pope Nicholas's valuation of 1288 -1291 where 'Cappella de Templo' was rated at 10s. In 1249 it was once again similarly valued but with the addition of the word 'hospital'. In 1185 the estate was described as, "one land on Fawimore", that being Fowey or Bodmin moor. On the 26th of August 1335, Bishop Grandisson certified to King Edward III that the Prior and Brethren of St. John of Jerusalem held 'Campellam de Templo' which would indicate that after the dissolution of the Knights Templar order in 1307, Temple and its lands were given to the Order of the Knights Hospitaller. The church then went to the crown on the dissolution of the Knights Hospitaller in the mid 1500's.
It then appears that the church fell into disrepute as there is record of the following remarks: "lying in a wild wastrell, exempted from the Bishop's jurisdiction where many a bad marriage bargain is yearly slubbered up", which basically meant that the curates claimed and exercised the right to marry couples without the banns being read or a wedding licence obtained. In effect Temple became the equivalent of a latter-day Gretna Green. In 1584 another writer remarked that Temple was, "a lawless church... where are wonte to be buried such as wrowght violent deaths on themselves", this suggests that contrary to ecclesiastical law they were burying suicides in consecrated ground.
There is a tradition which illustrates the 'lawlessness' of Temple as it is said the the whole of the male inhabitants were hung for sheep stealing. This conjures up images of a massive scaffold from which dozens of corpses hung swinging in the moorland wind. Actually, at the time there were only two males living at Temple and it was these that were hung.
After 1744 the church accepted a grant of £200 from Queen Anne's Bounty which effectively placed it under the, "visitation and jurisdiction of the Bishop. In 1753 unlicensed marriages became illegal and this led to the church falling into disuse. The next 100 years saw the structure fall into dis-repair and dereliction but in 1850 a service was held amongst its ruins, after which it was decided to rebuilt the church on its original foundations. The original archway, portions of the windows, and the Norman font were all restored to their former glory. A huge ash tree was growing in the church's nave and when this was removed a skeleton was found amongst its roots. It was lying in a, "rude vault", and at the time thought to be that of a Crusader Knight. It appears that the remains were left in-situ and presumably still lie there today? On the May Day of 1883 the single bell had its rope attached and once again rung out across the small valley. Wednesday 30th May saw re-opening and consecration of the church by the Bishop of Truro, it is said that 2,000 people attended the re-opening.
Today the church is still in use with a monthly afternoon service where in 2002 the average attendance was said to be about, "10 humans, 2 dogs, and a cat". The churchyard is deemed a, 'living churchyard' whereby under a national imitative the native moorland flora and fauna are preserved. I could be wrong but by looking at some of the gravestones there appears to be some evidence that the place still has many links to the modern day Templars ie the Masons, the visitors book also leads to the same conclusion. When I visited recently the surrounding fields had just be cut for hay and the whole valley was filled with the heady aroma of dry grass, the sun was blazing and the churchyard full of early purple orchids - see ill. 7, truly amazing!
I once read a theory in a book called 'Needles of Stone' that stone walls have the ability to absorb the events of everyday life and that they then replay back the happenings. It is not a notion that I readily adhere to but over the years I have noticed, especially with old monastic buildings that there always seems to be an atmosphere of peace and calm. Whether this emanates from the centuries of prayer and devotion that has been absorbed into the structure I do not know. What I do know is that Temple is such a place where you can sit in total peace and quiet. If it is a hot summer's day the thick granite walls provide a cool sanctuary from the searing heat, or if its a stormy winter's day you can take refuge from the icy blast. You can literally sit in the church and imagine all the history of the place, it would not be a surprise if a templar knight strode across the nave in his white habit emblazoned with its crimson cross, his sword sheathed to his side and helm under his arm. You can almost hear the Latin chants of the brothers as they attend to their daily devotions or the triumphant 'tang' of the new bell as it peals out the restoration of the church. I could bang on for hours about the place but to put it in a nutshell if you are ever driving down the A30, take 5 and stop off at Temple, you won't regret it. One word of caution, if you are not accustomed to doing a three point turn in a narrow lane lined with bogs, leave the car at the top of the lane and walk down.
Reading List.
Temple Association, 2002 History of Temple Church, Temple. Tull, G. F., 2000 Traces of the Templars, The King's England Press, Rotherham.
23/11/2007 |
