H IS T O R Y
OF
TEMPLE CHURCH,
NEAR BODMIN,
CORNWALL.
BUILT BY THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
BY
J . R . B R O W N
.Rector o f Hclland with Temple
(now Rector o f Lyons, Net ton Ic Hole, Durham).
W ith Illu s tra tio n s by tlic R ev. W . I a g o , C h a p la in o f th e A sy lu m , B odiuiiw
FOU RTH ED IT IO N .—P R IC E S IX P E N C E .
1905.
P . K , SA C M , P R I N T E I l, P L Y M O U T H .
[IoRC(IJORd
Used by locals regularly for worship and prayer, visited by
hundreds every year, surrounded by rolling moorland,
Temple Church is a special place.
A s you will discover from this little book, reprinted from an
original of rhe late C 19 , lem ple has an interesting history,
n collaboration, rhe Rev. J.R . Brown (Rector of I lelland &
Temple) and the Rev. W.Jago , Chaplain of the Asylum , Bodmin produced the original book to mark the restoration
of the church.
It is now more than a hundred years since that restoration
and these days it is as much a place o| pilgrimage as it was
in the days of rhe Templars. It represents both |or locals and
visirors a point in their spiritual journey. Every month a
service is held in the late afremoon, alw ays m o p.m. C M 'I
(4 30 p.m. B ST !). Every day the church is visired if not by
humans then by bats, birds and sometimes sheep, if the
gate is inadvertently left open. The door is never locked.
Temple is a living church, part of the little settlement of Temple. It was a larger place at one time, now it has 26 souls. We who live nearby love our church and love people
to visit. We arc proud of our living church surrounded by a " living churchyard ", an attempt to preserve flora and fauna native ro the moors.
There is simplicity abour the church in its moorland setting,
a reminder of the simple origins of Christianity. Especially
at Christm asride many have testified to rediscovering this
simplicity. Journeying ro rhis remote comer of Bodmin Moor, finding a candlelit place, hearing the .singing of carols, one indeed feels that one is entering rhe Christmas
Stable for the first time.
You are, of course, welcome to visit any time 14 hour opening, 365 days of che year! A nd animals are welcome. Our average attendance or worship is about 10 humans, 1 dogs
and a cat !
So make sure you come and visit rhis special place and we would love to see you at one our services.
November 1002
D E R E K C A R R I V I C K
Priest-
PREFACE.
( X / N issuing a reprint of the History of Temple Church,
it has been thought advisable that the present Vicar
(X.” should w rite a few words by way of preface, continuing th e H istory to th e presen t tim e.
On th e resignation of th e Rev. J. K. Brown in 1890,
Temple w as taken over by his successor, the Rev. K. G. Hutt,
but only for a short period, when it was transferred to the
Rev. C. OLIVE, C urate in charge of Warleggan, rill th e year
1893, when the Rev. E. VERNON Coi.IJNS, Rector of Rlislanri,
undertook the duties for the space of tw o years. At the end
of that tim e, it was again transferred to Warleggan, and the
Incumbency was accepted by th e Rev. C. E. Lambert, who
held it till his death in January. 1901.
Mr. L a m k k k t ’s death, which took place un d er sad circum stances, will ev er be associated w ith Temple. A fter
officiating at Evensong on Sunday, January 13th, 1901, M r
Lambert started to walk home to Warleggan. When he had proceeded only a short distance, he was overcome by some
sudden seizure, and fell dead. Although only about half-
houses; and th u s his body remained for three days undiscovered. It is worthy of note that during the whole of that tim e, his dog, an Irish terrier, rem ained by his dead m aster.
Mr. Lambert w as buried in Tem ple C hurchyard, and his
grave is marked by a granite Cross.
Since then th e parish of Temple has passed with th e parish
of Bolventor; and the w riter of this preface has now served
it for over four years.
PREFACE.
The last event of interest connected with the parish is
the presentation, by Dr. T. G. Vawdrey, a native of the
County, of a stained-
completes the windows of the Tower. too of them represent St. Catherine, and a Knight Templar, respectively ; and the subject of the third, agreed upon by Dr. Vawdrey and the Vicak . is "Luke, the beloved Physician,” the choice
of this subject being prompted by the tradition that the
Knights Templar had a Chapel dedicated to St. LUKE, in the
neighbouring parish of Bolventor.
The ancient stones, some having formed part of the old
Church and others haring been monuments in the Graveyard,
are now placed against the Churchyard wall, opposite the
South Porch; and amongst them will be found much to interest the archaeologist.
In closing this preface, the VICAR must mention that it is
largely through the kind help of Dr. T. G. VAWDREY that this
reprint has become possible, and that the money arising from
its sale will be devoted to the maintenance of the Church.
June. 1905.
J. H. DICKINSON.
Vicar o f Temple
tom jilar.
C
HE Knights Templar were a religious military
Order, founded at Jerusalem in the year 1118.
This Order, the first military one in the world,
was formed on the instigation of Hugh de
Pagans and Godfrey de St Homer, who, with several
other pious and noble men, offered their services to
Baldwin King of Jerusalem, to defend all persons,
pilgrims and strangers, travelling thither to the Holy
Sepulchre, from robbery and violence.
Their vows were chastity, obedience, and poverty,
and at firsi. these were strictly carried out. They professed 1 . 0 observe the rules of St. Augustine, and were
so poor that they represented themselves as having
only one horse to carry two or three knights, and their
seal was “two men on one horse." Baldwin bestowed
on them an apartment in his Palace, adjacent to the
holy Temple; hence they were called “Knights Templar." Afterwards, the Canons of the Temple gave
them a piece of ground on which to build; and the
King, Inrds, and Prelates gave them moneys out of
their own revenues. Their rules now stated that they
were to guard the highway against robbers, to hear the
Holy Office every day, or, if prevented so doing by
their military duties, to say a certain number of Paternosters instead. They were to abstain from flesh four
days a week, and on Friday from eggs and milk meats.
Each knight should have three horses and one esquire, but should neither hunt nor fowl.
The dress prescribed for them by Pope Honorious, who confirmed their
Order, was plain white, to which Eugenius 111. added
a red Cross on the breast.
In a short time, they increased to 300 knights, besides a considerable number of brethren. They seem
THE M IG H T S TEMPIAR. II
to have gained very early settlements in England, a$
in other kingdoms, l.heir Churches being in every case
exempted from the jurisdiction of Prelates not of their
Order; as proved by the Church at Temple, which
anciently was never visited by the Bishop of the
Diocese or his subordinate officials. It is said that in
the course of years the gallant knights established preceptories in desert and uncultivated places, with the
view of introducing inhabitants, or of civilizing the
few scattered over the wilderness. Whether this was
the case at Temple, or whether it was as local tradition states -
Crusaders, we cannot tell now.
In the year 1218, the Order of Knights Templar was confirmed at the Council of Troyes, and subject to a rule of discipline drawn up by St Bernard.
In every
nation (for they soon spread all over Europe) the Orderhad a particular Governor, called "Master of the
Temple." Their Grand Master had his residence in
Paris. As time went on, the vow of poverty became a
thing of the past. The Order accumulated vast riches,
ami the knights became men of military renown.
The part they took in the wars of the Crusades is
well known, and great numbers of them fell fighting
for the cause. Nineteen years after the Crusades the
whole Order was suppressed through the machinations
of the vindictive Philip IV. of France, the enemy of
the Church, through whose instrumentality, in 1307, a
series of charges was brought against, the Knights by
two members of their Order, who had been degraded
for their crimes and who were then in prison for their
offences Thp Knights were accused of having sold
Crusaders in the Holy War into the hands of the Turks,
of sacrificing human beings to an idol they worshipped,
of spitting upon the Cross of Christ, of worshipping a
cat, or a wooden head crowned with gold, and of un
natural crimes. Doubtless among many of them rices
had multiplied: many were proud, haughty and
vicious; arrogance, luxury, and cruelty existed. Rut
12 THE M IG H T S TEMPLAR.
the real cause of their ruin lay in the foul act. of Philip
the Fair, King of France, who coveted their rich lands,
and of Pope Clement V., who had long sojourned in
France and wished to do a favour to the King, their
great wealth was the real cause. As a quaint old historian says, “The King could not get the honey without he burnt the bees.” It was also partly the result
of hatred against their Grand Master at Paris, who had
offended Philip in several matters; and also in the
action taken by the Order in his quarrel with Pope
Boniface VIII. In this the Knights Templar had taken
the Pope’s side against the King, and had furnished
him with money to carry on the war. Philip asked the
Pope that all the lands of the Knights Templar in
France might be forfeited “by reason of their horrible
heresies and licentious lives,” and all put in prison and
their lands given to bis youngest son. But he was
terribly disappointed, for the Council of Vienne ordered
all their lands to be given to the Knights Hospitaler.
The cruel order was carried out: the whole body was
suppressed, the Knights were cast into prison, they
were put on the rack, they were burned at the stake.
They solemnly avowed their innocence while languishing under the severest tortures, and even with their
dying breath denied the crimes with which they were
charged. But nothing saved them. A Knight Tern
plar burned at Bordeaux, on his way to the stake, saw
the Pope and the King looking secretly from a window,
and loudly denounced them for their treachery and
cruelty. Edward II. of England was reluctantly
drawn into the persecution, and in 1308 an inquisition
was made of all the possessions of the fraternity in
England, both in lands and goods. The result of this
inquisition is preserved in what are called the Templars’ Rolls (2 & 3 Edward II.) in the Public Record
Office. These Rolls enter into very minute details,
showing even the number of poultry on each estate.
Though the Kings both of France and England
seized all the property of the Knights and kept the
movable goods, it was found they could not retain the
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
landed possessions of the Order, which in England and
France were transferred to the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem, or Hospitalers. Great, difficulties were
found, however, in getting possession. In many oases
the lords of the fees had seized the estates, and it. was
only by process of law they could be recovered; and
even as late as 1338 some of the most valuable of the
Templars’ manors had not been surrendered.
Before the last mentioned dale, they possessed the
preceptory and manor of Trehighe in Cornwall, as appears from an extent, of their lands preserved in the
Public Library' at Malta. The manors of Trehighe
and Temple seem from this time to have gone together.
We find when the Order of Knights Hospitaler was
suppressed, their lands were transferred to the King
(Henry VIII.). Then we have an interesting lease by
Edward VI. Philip and Mary, however, upon consultation with Cardinal Pole, decided to restore the Order
of Knights Hospitaler, and did so; but Queen Eliza
both again dissolved them and seized all their lands.
After several interesting changes in ownership, which
arc detailed in Sir John Maclean's admirable work on Trigg Minor (to which this pamphlet, is largely indebted) the manors of Trebighe and Temple passed
into the Wrey family.
Since 1632, Temple Church, once the resting-
of the Crusades, has been in the gift and has pertairied to the baronetcy of the Wrey family.
