Temple, Cornwall
| Temple | |
| Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 Temple Church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX146733 |
| Location: | 50°31’49"N, 4°37’4"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Bodmin |
| Postcode: | PL30 |
| Dialling code: | 01208 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Cornwall |
Temple is a small village near Blisland on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. The village is bypassed by the A30 road.
History and antiquities
Temple derives its name from the hospice founded here by Knights Templar: the order built a refuge for pilgrims and travellers, en route to the Holy Land, in the 12th century. On the suppression of the Templars it passed into the hands of the Knights Hospitallers (in 1314), who held it until the religious houses were suppressed by King Henry VIII.[1]
Parish church
Temple Church is a Grade II* listed building built c.1120 on land owned by the Knights Templar. It became famous as a place where marriages could be performed without banns or licence: this came to an end in 1744 when the church first came under episcopal jurisdiction.
By the mid 19th century, the church had become a ruin and was rebuilt (by Silvanus Trevail) in 1883.[2] The church is dedicated to St Catherine.[3]
The church contains several references to its links with the Knights Templar, including a cross pattée in the east window and a depiction of a mounted knight in the north window of the church tower.
Langdon (1896) recorded the existence of eight stone crosses in the parish, including two cross slabs, all in the churchyard. Several of these crosses were subsequently incorporated into a stone outbuilding on the south side of the church.[4]
Pictures
St Catherine's Church and churchyard
Detail of stained glass window in the church tower showing a mounted knight
Stone outbuilding incorporating early stone crosses
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Temple, Cornwall) |
- Information on Temple, Cornwall from GENUKI
- The History of Temple Church (PDF)
- Temple Church (from Church Plans Online)
- About the Church
References
- ↑ Bernardi, Stella: Templar Sites in England: Temple Church, Cornwall
- ↑ Cornish Church Guide (1925). [Parochial history, by Charles Henderson; Temple, p. 202]. Truro: Blackford
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 433953 – Church of St Catherine
- ↑ Temple Church Bodmin Moor, Church Welcome Leaflet
