Temple Newsam Preceptory

Last updated

Temple Newsam Preceptory (grid reference SE353309 ) was a Templar farmstead, just east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. The term "preceptory" may be paraphrased as a "school of principles", and was the generic term for Templar communities.

Contents

Geography and archaeology

The site was south of the current Temple Newsam House, between Pontefract Lane and the River Aire. The site may be found on pre-1991 maps as Temple Thorpe Farm, which it overlapped to the south, and is now a few yards to the south-east of junction 45 on the M1 motorway. Any archaeological remains are now entirely destroyed by open cast mining. Excavations in 1903 found human remains, stone coffins and a possible chapel. [1] A rescue dig in 1989-1991 failed to find the chapel, which was surmised to be under an industrial spoil heap to the south. The remains of a large cruciform barn, 50.5 by 13 metres (166 by 43 ft), were discovered, a possible dovecote, barrel pits, and part of a moat. [2]

History

The Templars acquired the site sometime before 1181, being the death date of the Archbishop of York to whom the charter of confirmation was addressed, and lost the land shortly after the Order was dissolved in 1307. The land controlled by the preceptory would have taken in much of the present estate, and extended to the Aire in the south, which may have been used to export wool via the Cistercian port at Hull. [3]

The main purpose of the preceptory seems to have been sheep-farming, and therefore the production of wool, although it also maintained the church at Whitkirk, a mile to the North-East of the present house. [3]

The excavated part of the site is presumed to have fallen into disrepair by 1347, when Colton Beck was diverted through the dovecote. The cause of the diversion may have been provision for a mill, which implies continued use, possibly further south towards the river. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Newsam</span> Tudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Temple Newsam is a Tudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Templecombe</span> Human settlement in England

Templecombe is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A357 road five miles south of Wincanton, 12 miles (19 km) east of Yeovil, and 30 miles (48 km) west of Salisbury. The village has a population of 1,560. Along with the hamlet of Combe Throop, it forms the parish of Abbas and Templecombe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Bruer Preceptory</span> Historic building in Lincolnshire, England

Temple Bruer Preceptory is a historic building in the civil parish of Temple Bruer with Temple High Grange, North Kesteven, Lincolnshire, England. It is one of the few Knights Templar sites left in England where any ruins remain standing. Its name comes from its Templar ownership and its position in the middle of the Lincoln Heath, bruyère (heather) from the French language current at the time. It was founded in the period 1150 to 1160 and the order was dissolved in 1312. The site is located between the A15 and A607 roads, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north from Cranwell. The site has been excavated twice, firstly by the Rev Dr. G. Oliver, the rector of Scopwick in 1832–3, and in 1908 by Sir William St John Hope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bottesford Preceptory</span> Community of the Knights Templar in Lindsey, England

Bottesford Preceptory was sited at Bottesford, just to the south of Scunthorpe, in Lindsey, England. It was on low-lying land, near the Bottesford Beck, about 3 miles (5 km) to the west of the escarpment of the Lincoln Cliff limestone upland, and about the same distance to the east of the River Trent. A preceptory was a community of the Knights Templar who lived on one of that order's estates in the charge of its preceptor. A preceptory also referred to the estate and its buildings. The present Bottesford Manor is believed to have been the gatehouse to the preceptory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aslackby Preceptory</span> Historic site in The Temple Farm

Aslackby Preceptory in Lincolnshire lay to the south-east of Aslackby Church. Until about 1891 a tower, possibly of the preceptory church, together with a vaulted undercroft, survived as part the Temple farmhouse. Temple farmhouse was subsequently rebuilt and a 15th-century window and a stone pinnacle remain in the garden

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rothley Temple</span> Preceptory in Leicestershire, England

Rothley Temple, or more correctly Rothley Preceptory, was a preceptory in the village of Rothley, Leicestershire, England, associated with both the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westerdale</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Westerdale is a village, civil parish and dale within the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. The Esk Valley Walk runs through part of the village. The village is at the confluence of three streams (Esklets) which combine as the head of the River Esk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cressing Temple</span>

Cressing Temple is a medieval site situated between Witham and Braintree in Essex, close to the villages of Cressing and White Notley. It was amongst the very earliest and largest of the possessions of the Knights Templar in England, and is currently open to the public as a visitor attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Church, Bristol</span> Building in Bristol, England

Temple Church, also known as Holy Cross Church, is a ruined church in Redcliffe, Bristol, England. It is on the site of a previous, round church of the Knights Templar, which they built on land granted to them in the second quarter of the 12th century by Robert of Gloucester. In 1313 the Knights Hospitaller acquired the church, following the suppression of the Templars, only to lose it in 1540 at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. By the early 14th century, the church served as the parish church for the area known as Temple Fee. From around the same time, the rebuilding of the church on a rectangular plan started. This was completed by 1460, with the construction of a leaning west tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple, Midlothian</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Temple is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland. Situated to the south of Edinburgh, the village lies on the east bank of the river South Esk.

Templecombe Preceptory was established in 1185 in Templecombe, Somerset, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ribston Preceptory</span>

Ribston Preceptory was a priory just east of the village of Little Ribston, in North Yorkshire, England on the east bank of the River Nidd. The preceptory at Ribston was founded in 1217, when Robert de Ros donated the land and advowson of Ribston to the Knights Templar.

Westerdale Preceptory was a priory in Westerdale, North Yorkshire, England. The land was donated to the Knights Templar by Guido de Bovingcourt in 1203, and was one of ten preceptories owned by the Knights Templar in Yorkshire. The Templars worked the land and farmed at Westerdale until their suppression for heresy in 1307–1308.

Whitley Preceptory was a priory in North Yorkshire, England. The site of the priory is thought to have been located 0.62 miles (1 km) south west of the village of Whitley and was one of twelve run by the Knights Templar in Yorkshire alone. Whilst the exact location of the manor house is unknown, the presence of a moat at grid reference SE555205, is thought to indicate the possible location of the priory.

Temple Hirst Preceptory was a priory in North Yorkshire, England.

The history of the Knights Templar in England began when the French nobleman Hughes de Payens, the founder and Grand Master of the order of the Knights Templar, visited the country in 1128 to raise men and money for the Crusades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Manor</span> Grade I listed historic house museum in Strood, England

Temple Manor is a scheduled ancient monument and grade I listed building in Strood, Kent. The Manor has been owned by various religious, national and farming owners over 600 years. The building has been added to and adapted over the centuries, but the basic structure is now clearly visible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witham Preceptory</span> Historic site in Temple Hill

Withham Preceptory, one of the smallest Knights Templar preceptories in England, was founded, before 1164, at Temple Hill, near South Witham, Lincolnshire, and was abandoned in the early 14th century. The site of the former preceptory at Temple Hill, South Witham. It 'has been largely under pasture' since the Knights Templar left in 1308.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Hirst</span> Village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England

Temple Hirst is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It was formerly in the wapentake of Barkston Ash in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The village is located on the north bank of the River Aire. In the 2011 census the population was 117.

References

  1. W. Braithwaite, Discovery of Ancient Foundations and Human Remains at Temple Newsam. Publications of the Thoresby Society, Vol XV, Miscellania, 1909, pp 174-182
  2. 1 2 Gaimster, David R M; Margeson, Sue; Hurley, Maurice (1990), "Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1989" (PDF), Medieval Archaeology , 34: 223, doi:10.1080/00766097.1990.11735532 Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. 1 2 W. Wheater, Temple Newsam: Its History and Antiquities. Goodall and Suddick. Third edition, 1889
53°46′25″N1°28′01″W / 53.77369°N 1.46696°W / 53.77369; -1.46696