THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS
IN LINCOLNSHIRE
The Knights Hospitallers in Lincolnshire
Following the dissolution of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century, the Knights Hospitallers inherited a vast network of Templar lands and estates across Lincolnshire. This transfer marked a significant expansion of Hospitaller influence in the region, as Lincolnshire had become one of the most important strongholds of Templar activity in England.
By 1190, the Knights Templar had amassed nearly 10,000 acres across the county. The expansive Lincolnshire heathlands were ideally suited to both sheep grazing—which fuelled the highly lucrative medieval wool trade—and to the rigorous training of knights and horses preparing for campaigns in the Holy Land.
The Templars established four major preceptories in the region:
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Temple Bruer
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Willoughton – the largest Templar preceptory ever built in England
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South Witham
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Aslackby
In addition, they held manorial estates such as Eagle and Mere, which supported their agricultural and military operations.
After the Templar order was suppressed, these extensive estates and preceptories were passed to the Knights Hospitallers, who already had a presence in Lincolnshire with their own commanderies at Maltby-le-Marsh and Skirbeck. The Hospitallers continued to manage these lands, maintaining the legacy of military-religious service while adapting to the shifting political and economic landscape of medieval England.
TEMPLE BRUER -
The commandery at Temple Bruer was originally founded late in the reign of King Stephen, following a land donation from William of Ashby, who later joined the Order himself. Initially established by the Knights Templar, the site grew into one of the most significant Templar commanderies in England, both strategically and spiritually.
Following the dissolution of the Templars in the early 14th century, the commandery was passed to the Knights Hospitaller, who continued to administer and utilise the estate. At its height, Temple Bruer commanded over 1,000 acres of land—supporting agriculture, military training, and the religious life of the Order.
Today, the most striking survivor of this once-grand site is the tower of the round church, which stands prominently on the Lincolnshire heath. Archaeological investigations to the north of the tower have uncovered the foundations of a matching twin tower, and evidence of the original round nave has been discovered where the modern car park now sits.
Stepping inside the surviving tower, visitors are transported back in time. Much of the interior remains remarkably unaltered, preserving the solemn atmosphere once known to both Templars and Hospitallers alike.
A particularly moving feature is the stone effigy of a knight or priest, believed to be a member of the Order, which was uncovered near the site of the former nave. It now resides within the tower, offering a poignant reminder of the men who lived, worshipped, and served here centuries ago.
Temple Bruer remains one of the most evocative and historically rich Templar—and later Hospitaller—sites in England, bearing witness to the legacy of two of the medieval world’s most powerful military-religious orders.
The South Tower Still Standing
The Chapel inside the Tower Facing the Alter
The Knights Effigy at Temple Bruer
The Knights Seating
WILLOUGHTON
SOUTH WITHAM -
Just north of the village of South Witham, in a quiet field known as Temple Hill, lies the site of one of England’s most intriguing Templar preceptories. Though nothing remains above ground today, this location holds a rare distinction — it is the only known Templar site in the country to have been fully excavated.
Founded before 1164, the South Witham Preceptory began as a modest commandery with around 240 acres of land. Despite its small size, the site has offered historians and archaeologists unparalleled insight into how a Templar preceptory developed over time.
A Preceptory in Three Phases
Excavations carried out between 1965 and 1967 revealed that the site evolved in three distinct building phases:
-
The Early Foundation
The first phase included a simple farmstead granted to the Templars, featuring a small aisled hall, two auxiliary buildings, and a watermill on the River Witham. -
Expansion and Prestige
In the next stage, the original buildings were replaced by three large barns, similar in style to those found at Cressing Temple, as well as a gatehouse, guesthouse, chapel, and domestic quarters. This transformation reflects the Templars' growing wealth and strategic importance in the region. -
Final Developments
In the final phase, the original watermill — likely no longer functional — was replaced by a windmill, and the early hall was substituted with a larger, more elaborate hall. Additional features such as fishponds and kilns for smelting iron and lead were also discovered, highlighting the site's self-sufficiency and industrial capacity.
Decline and Merger
By the time the Knights Hospitaller took over following the Templars’ dissolution in 1312, the buildings were reportedly in disrepair and likely uninhabitable. Eventually, the preceptory was merged with nearby Temple Bruer in the 14th century.
Both the Templars and Hospitallers also held the advowson (the right to appoint the parish priest) of the nearby 12th-century Church of St John the Baptist.
Unearthed Legacy
Among the most remarkable finds during the 1960s excavation was a lidless stone coffin, discovered in what would have been the chapel. Separately, a carved coffin lid — once repurposed as a footbridge over the River Witham — was recovered and matched to the tomb. Both now reside in the church.
The grave slab is particularly unique: it features a floriated cross, a style often linked to Templar graves. What sets it apart is the striking image of a long-haired male figure, carved as if emerging from or sitting upon the cross, as though it were part of his body — a powerful and mysterious symbol, echoing the spiritual and martial legacy of the Templars.
ASLACKBY
MERE -
ASBHY-DE-LA-LAUNDE
Ashby de la Launde sits on the Lincolnshire heath, in a landscape whose open character still reflects its medieval organisation. Within a few miles stands Temple Bruer, the preceptory that structured the surrounding estates. Between them lies a documentary sequence—charters, surveys, and rentals—that allows an unusually continuous reconstruction of landholding from the mid-12th to the late 14th century.
The estate emerges in the second quarter of the 12th century, with the grant of land at Ashby and its appurtenances to the Templars by
Simon Tushet and the Ashby lords.
The Tushet charter is typical in form but expansive in scope:
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it conveys all the donor’s interest in Ashby
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including woodland, arable, pasture, and “all commodities and opportunities”
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held in perpetuam eleemosinam, free from secular service
This was not a marginal gift: it transferred manorial substance, not merely parcels of land.
Parallel to this, the Templars consolidated their holdings through:
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exchanges with ecclesiastical neighbours (notably Kirkstead Abbey)
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purchases and confirmations
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litigation in royal courts (under Henry II of England)
The result by c. 1160–1180 was a coherent estate block centred on
Temple Bruer, with Ashby as a principal component.
The church at Ashby (later St Hybald’s) formed part of the estate economy.
Unlike most appropriated churches in the 1185 survey, Ashby stands out:
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it was not in clerical hands
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but held by a lay life-tenant,
Robert de Nouilla,
rendering ½ mark annually nomine ecclesie
This arrangement—lay farming of a benefice—sits awkwardly with later canonical norms but is entirely consistent with pre-1200 practice in appropriated churches.
By the early 13th century, however, the structure shifts:
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William de Oustorp
holds the altaragium and a toft -
pays 2 marks annually for life
A settlement then regularises the position:
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after his death, successors hold nomine vicarie
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no further rent is due
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the vicarage is endowed at 5 marks annually
This is a classic transitional arrangement: the commutation of a life-farm into a permanent vicarage endowment, while preserving Templar control over the greater revenues.
The 1185 survey presents a recognisably high-medieval manorial economy:
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holdings measured in bovates and acres
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tenants with tofts and strips
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obligations comprising:
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cash rents (typically 2–6 shillings per bovate)
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gallinae (hens as renders)
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opera (labour services, often 2–4 days)
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The repetition of standardised rents (e.g. 3s + services) suggests:
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deliberate estate management
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an attempt to normalise tenurial obligations across holdings
Yet labour remains central—this is not a rent-dominated economy.
The charters show the Templars operating with notable legal precision:
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use of chirographs
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reliance on charter evidence in royal courts
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explicit reservation of common rights (e.g. marsh usage in the soke of
Bolingbroke)
Land exchanges (e.g. with Kirkstead) emphasise:
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mutual warranty clauses
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land held free from all secular exaction
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the importance of jurisdictional clarity as much as economic value
The estate centred on Temple Bruer and Ashby comprised:
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arable land under peasant tenure
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extensive pasture (notably for sheep)
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meadows and marsh rights
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manorial income streams:
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rents
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court perquisites
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mills
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church revenues
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By the later 13th century, it functioned as a large-scale, integrated agricultural unit, supplying both local needs and wider Templar networks.
Transfer to the Hospitallers and Late Medieval Change
After the suppression of the Templars (1308–1312), the estate passed to the
Knights Hospitaller.
The 1388 survey shows a markedly different system:
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labour services largely absent
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income expressed overwhelmingly in cash valuations
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detailed accounting of:
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rents
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pasture values
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court income
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ecclesiastical revenues
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Ashby’s church, along with others (Rowston, etc.), contributes fixed sums, reflecting a fully monetised ecclesiastical economy.
This is not simply administrative change—it reflects the broader post-Black Death restructuring of labour and landholding.
Following the Dissolution, the estate passed into secular hands:
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the de la Launde family
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later the King family, who constructed Ashby Hall (1595)
The medieval estate framework, however, continued to shape:
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field systems
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settlement layout
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parish structure
Survival and Material Legacy - Ashby de la Launde
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St Hybald’s Church, with medieval fabric
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village morphology still reflecting:
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manorial centre
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dependent agricultural landscape
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Conclusion
Ashby de la Launde offers a rare longitudinal view of:
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initial endowment and consolidation (mid-12th century)
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structured manorial economy (1185)
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ecclesiastical regularisation (early 13th century)
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post-Templar monetised estate (1388)
The sequence—from Tushet’s grant, through Neville’s lay tenancy, to Oustorp’s vicarage, and finally the Hospitaller accounts—captures the institutional evolution of land, church, and economy with unusual clarity.
It is not simply a local history: it is a compact case study in the transformation of lordship, tenure, and ecclesiastical organisation in medieval England.
EAGLE -
The village of Eagle, near Lincoln, was once home to a significant commandery of the Knights Templar, established through a royal gift of over 900 acres of land from King Stephen. The site served a vital function within the Templar network—not only as a center for agricultural management but also as an infirmary, offering care and rest for members of the Order, much like the facilities at Denny Abbey.
Following the suppression of the Knights Templar in 1312, the estate at Eagle was transferred to the Knights Hospitaller, who went on to develop it into one of their wealthiest commanderies in the region. The Hospitallers continued the site's tradition of care and religious service, while also managing its highly productive lands.
Today, little remains of the original commandery buildings, as the area is now occupied by modern-day Eagle Hall. However, traces of the past still linger in the landscape—earthworks and medieval ponds mark the layout of what once was a thriving monastic-military estate.
In addition to the commandery itself, the Knights Hospitallers held the advowson (the right to appoint clergy) of the nearby Church of All Saints, further extending their religious and administrative influence in the area.
Though the physical structures may have faded, the legacy of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller at Eagle endures in the land, the records, and the enduring memory of this once-prominent Lincolnshire commandery.
The 1388 Report of the Hospitallers Accounts the below for Eagle: accounts of the Bailiwick of Eagle with its members.
Income.
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A manor house with garden worth per annum 20 shillings.
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Two dovecotes 10 shillings.
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Rent of assize — without-rent 53 marks2 17 pence.
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Rent of hens 50 shillings.
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Works and customs worth £4. 2s. 2d.
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Two windmills and one watermill .... 30 shillings.
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Four carucates of land containing 500 acres ;
and at Wodehouse three carucates containing 300, at 6d. an acre ;£2° os. od.
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At Wysseby 54 acres at 4^. an acre in all . 18 shillings.
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At Eycle (Eagle) 50 acres of meadow at 2s. an acre in all 100 shillings.
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Of profit of underwood 100 shillings.
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Pleas and perquisites of the courts . . . 100 shillings.
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The church of Eagle, appropriated, worth . 2 2 marks.
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The church of Swynderby, appropriated, worth 22 marks.
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Rent of Sybbethorp, worth 10 marks.
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Twenty acres of meadow at Wysseby, worth 40 shillings.
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Pasture for 20 cows, worth 40 shillings.
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Pasture for 400 sheep, worth 33s. qd.
Sum total of Receipt and Profit of the said Bailiwick £122, 11s, 10d
EAGLE HALL ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER PRECEPTORY
THE ORIGINAL POND AT THE FRONT OF THE PRECEPTORY
THE POND AT THE REAR OF THE PRECEPTORY
THE EARTHWORKS OF THE FORMER PRECEPTORY
MALTBY-LE-MARSH
ALTHORPE
The Templars arrive (12th century)
In the mid-1100s, lands around Althorpe were granted to the Knights Templar by the Anglo-Norman baron Roger de Mowbray.
These grants were extensive and carefully defined. They included:
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Farmland (measured in bovates)
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Meadow and marshland — including the “moor of Althorpe”
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Woodland such as Mosewood and Belwood
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A cattle farm (vaccary)
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Fisheries in the River Trent
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Roads, waterways, and drainage channels
The charters also refer to “the mills of Althorpe”, showing that milling — probably water-powered — was already established in the 12th century.
The estate was not just land: it included tenants and their services, forming a fully functioning economic unit.
The Templars arrive (12th century)
In the mid-1100s, lands around Althorpe were granted to the Knights Templar by the Anglo-Norman baron Roger de Mowbray.
These grants were extensive and carefully defined. They included:
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Farmland (measured in bovates)
-
Meadow and marshland — including the “moor of Althorpe”
-
Woodland such as Mosewood and Belwood
-
A cattle farm (vaccary)
-
Fisheries in the River Trent
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Roads, waterways, and drainage channels
The charters also refer to “the mills of Althorpe”, showing that milling — probably water-powered — was already established in the 12th century.
The estate was not just land: it included tenants and their services, forming a fully functioning economic unit.
The church and the Hospitallers
Althorpe’s parish church, St Oswald’s Church, Althorpe, has medieval origins and was rebuilt in 1483.
By the 14th century, the Knights Hospitaller held the advowson (right to appoint the priest), demonstrating their continued influence in the village after inheriting Templar lands.
The church and the Hospitallers
Althorpe’s parish church, St Oswald’s Church, Althorpe, has medieval origins and was rebuilt in 1483.
By the 14th century, the Knights Hospitaller held the advowson (right to appoint the priest), demonstrating their continued influence in the village after inheriting Templar lands.
Medieval Althorpe was never a large settlement, but it was part of a strategic and economically valuable estate. Under the Templars and later the Hospitallers, its marshes, fields, and waterways were carefully managed to support agriculture, milling, and trade.
Today, Althorpe’s quiet rural setting still reflects a landscape first organised by these powerful medieval orders nearly 900 years ago.
BOTOLPH GREEN (St Botolphs Bridge / Botilbrigg)
BOTTESFORD
CAYTHORPE - St Vincents Church
In the 12th century, the village of Caythorpe formed part of a wider network of ecclesiastical and military landholdings associated with the Knights Templar. Evidence from the Templars’ Report of 1185 shows that the order held land and income from the church here, granted by the local lord, William de Vesci.
By this date, the Templars controlled approximately 75 acres of land (five bovates) and several tofts (dwelling plots) in Caythorpe. These lands were worked by local tenants, who paid a fixed annual rent of 20 shillings “for all services,”reflecting the shift from traditional labour obligations to a cash-based economy. The church itself also generated income for the order, with a clerk receiving a life pension funded from its revenues.
Following the suppression of the Templars in the early 14th century, their properties were transferred to the Knights Hospitaller. At Caythorpe, this included not only the former Templar lands but also the advowson of the church—the right to appoint the parish priest—giving the Hospitallers both economic and spiritual influence within the village.
This continuity of ownership illustrates how Caythorpe was integrated into the broader system of medieval religious-military estates. Through these holdings, both the Templars and Hospitallers played a lasting role in shaping the village’s agricultural economy, land tenure, and ecclesiastical life.
DONINGTON
GREAT LIMBER - Limber (a member estate).
There is there one ruined messuage (dwelling house) with a dovecote and garden, worth per year 11 shillings 8 pence.
And 300 acres of land, the price of each acre 4 pence — total 100 shillings.
And 10 acres of salt meadow, in the meadows of Stallingborough, worth 6 shillings 8 pence.
And 3 acres of fresh meadow, worth 6 shillings.
And one windmill, worth 20 shillings.
And from assized rent (fixed tenants’ rents) £10 3s. 1½d.
And 2 pounds of pepper from rent, worth 2 shillings 2 pence
Great Limber and the Military Orders: Templars and Hospitallers in Lincolnshire
Great Limber was, in the Middle Ages, a substantial and prosperous rural settlement, later shaped in important ways by the arrival of two powerful religious-military orders: the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller.
A thriving medieval village
By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Great Limber was already a large settlement, with around 87 households—likely 300–500 people. Unlike many English villages, it had a notably high number of freemen, indicating a relatively prosperous and less tightly controlled rural
The manor included:
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Extensive arable land (hundreds of acres)
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Meadows (both fresh and salt marsh)
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A windmill for grinding grain
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Houses, gardens, and agricultural buildings
A later medieval survey (like the one you provided) records:
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A ruined dwelling (messuage) with dovecote and garden
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Around 300 acres of land
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Meadows and pasture
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A windmill valued at 20 shillings
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Income from rents, including even pepper, a valuable imported commodity
Together, these show a diverse and economically active estate.
After the suppression of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century, their lands passed to the Knights Hospitaller.
At Great Limber:
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The estate became a camera (administrative farm) of the Hospitallers
-
It was placed under the control of the nearby Willoughton preceptory
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Managed by a steward, rather than resident knights
By 1338, records describe a well-developed estate including:
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A large house
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A dovecote
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A garden
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Agricultural buildings and enclosed land
This was not a fortress, but a working agricultural estate with administrative functions.
Today, the site survives as a scheduled monument, preserving remarkable archaeological remains.
The Hospitaller enclosure
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A large rectangular enclosure (about 80m × 90m)
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Surrounded by banks up to 2m high
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Contained:
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The main house
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A barn and outbuildings
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Likely a chapel and garden
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The visible ruins mainly date from the 16th–17th centuries, but they sit atop earlier medieval structures from the Templar and Hospitaller periods.
Earlier Templar landscape
To the north-west:
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Rectangular closes (fields) aligned with the enclosure
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Boundaries and banks marking earlier land divisions
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These likely represent the original Templar estate layout
The medieval village
Adjacent earthworks preserve part of the lost village:
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House platforms and plot boundaries
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Hollow ways (sunken roads), including part of the former high street
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Evidence of yards and domestic buildings
This area was gradually abandoned:
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By 1676, only two houses remained
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By the early 19th century, it was completely deserted
Beneath and around the settlement lie clear traces of medieval agriculture:
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Ridge-and-furrow cultivation (strip farming)
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Field systems predating both the Templars and Hospitallers
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Later fields such as Stone Pit Furlong
These remains show how the military orders adapted and overlaid an existing farming landscape, rather than creating one from scratch.
Across its history, Great Limber was home to:
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Peasant farmers and freemen (the main population)
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Tenants of the Templars and Hospitallers
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A steward or estate manager in the later medieval period
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Agricultural labourers working the demesne land
The knights themselves were rarely resident; this was an economic estate, not a religious house in the usual sense.
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries:
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The estate was dissolved in 1540
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Occupied by Thomas Smyth
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Then sold to the Pelham family
The site was:
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Rebuilt and adapted as a secular house
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Let to tenants
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Finally abandoned in the 17th century
Later, a new house (Limber House) was built nearby but was destroyed in the 20th century.
Great Limber is particularly valuable because:
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Its earthworks remain largely undisturbed
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It preserves the relationship between:
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A pre-existing medieval village
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Its open-field agricultural system
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The overlay of Templar and Hospitaller estates
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It offers a rare, well-preserved example of how international military orders integrated into—and reshaped—local English landscapes.
In summary
Medieval Great Limber was:
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A large and prosperous rural community
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Partly transformed into a Templar estate in the 12th century
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Reorganised as a Hospitaller agricultural centre (camera) in the 14th–16th centuries
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Later converted into a post-medieval manor house and farm
Today, its surviving earthworks provide a remarkably complete picture of continuity and change, from Anglo-Saxon village to crusading estate to early modern farmland.
HORKSTOW
ROWSTON
SKIRBECK - Hospital of St Leonard
KETSBY
UPTON
CAWKWELL
Thorpe-In-The-Fallows - St Peters Church
GAINSBOROUGH. - All Saints Church
GOULCEBY - All Saints Church
The Knights Templar and Hospitaller Lands at Goulceby (Golkesby), Lincolnshire
Medieval records reveal that the village of Goulceby (recorded as Golkesby or Goulceby) formed part of the rural estate network of the Knights Templar in Lincolnshire. Although not the site of a preceptory, Goulceby contributed to the Order’s agricultural and ecclesiastical revenues in the region.
Templar Holdings
The Templars held in Goulceby:
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A messuage with a croft
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Approximately 59 acres of arable land
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3 acres of meadow
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A share in the village mill
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Income connected to the local church
The estate was leased at farm at the will of the preceptor and generated annual income in both cash and kind. Rents from tenants included payments of 12 pence for tofts (house plots), alongside customary obligations such as four hens and four days of labour service per year. Larger holdings were measured in bovates (oxgangs), reflecting the agricultural basis of the estate.
The Templars also derived ecclesiastical income. The priest of Golkesby rendered 30 shillings annually during his lifetime, and the Order received revenues from church rights and tithes. Such appropriated church income formed an important component of Templar finance.
In addition, a half share of the mill at Golkesby rendered 5 shillings annually. Milling rights were a valuable and dependable source of income in medieval rural society.
Transition to the Knights Hospitaller
Following the suppression of the Knights Templar in the early fourteenth century (1308–1312), their English estates were transferred to the Knights Hospitaller. The Hospitallers inherited the lands and rights at Goulceby and continued to administer them within their wider Lincolnshire bailiwick.
Records from the Hospitaller period confirm the continuation of rents, poultry payments, labour services, mill income, and church revenues. The structure of tenure — small customary holdings, life interests in church lands, and demesne management — remained consistent.
Significance
Goulceby illustrates the character of many Templar and Hospitaller rural properties in England. Rather than serving as fortified centres, such villages formed part of a dispersed economic network. Through modest but reliable agricultural rents, ecclesiastical income, and milling rights, these estates contributed to the financial resources that sustained the military-religious orders.
The surviving records provide valuable insight into the operation of monastic-military landholding in medieval Lincolnshire and the integration of local agrarian communities into international religious institutions.
SAXBY - Member
TEMPLE BELWOOD - Member
RAUCEBY - St Peters Church
NORTH KIRKBY - Manor (St Denys Church)
LOBTHORP -
MARNHAM - St Wilifreds church
The church of St Wilfrid's Church, Low Marnham offers a concise example of how a small English parish could be absorbed into the administrative and economic structures of the military orders. By the early 13th century, Marnham was already functioning as part of the estate system of the Knights Templar, and after their suppression it passed, with little interruption in practice, to the Knights Hospitaller.
This was not a matter of symbolic patronage. The church was appropriated, and its revenues—rather than merely its advowson—were integrated into the fiscal machinery of the order.
By 1300 the church had been in Templar hands for over a century, placing its acquisition plausibly in the later 12th century. The original donor is not recorded, but the pattern is entirely typical: a local lord grants a parish church, often with associated lands or tithes, in return for spiritual benefits and alignment with the order’s religious-military mission.
In 1300, papal confirmation (under Pope Boniface VIII) formalised what had long been the reality:
-
the church of Marnham was appropriated to the Templars
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they held its revenues outright
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a vicar would serve the cure of souls in their place
At this point, the Templars were not simply patrons—they were the effective economic proprietors of the parish.
The surviving record you supplied—part of a wider Templar survey—shows the kind of income structure attached to such churches. From Marnham itself:
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an annual pension of 2 shillings was payable to the order
-
More revealing is the wider pattern of income listed alongside it, which reflects the sort of assets typically attached to a Templar ecclesiastical holding:
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tithes of sheaves (decimae garbarum) from demesne land
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fixed payments in shillings and marks
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income derived from mills (often fractional shares: thirds, halves, or fixed rents)
This is important. A church like Marnham was not an isolated revenue stream—it sat within a network of agricultural and industrial income, especially mills, which were among the most reliable cash-generating assets in a rural economy.
In effect, the church’s value lay less in offerings than in its integration into a landed estate complex.
Suppression and transition
The suppression of the Templars (1308–1312) interrupted this arrangement only briefly.
At Marnham:
-
the church’s income was taken into royal custody
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officials were appointed to collect its “fruits and obventions”
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there was a short period of lay occupation or interference
But structurally, nothing fundamental changed.
By the 1320s, the church had passed—by papal and royal authority—to the Knights Hospitaller. By 1338 it is clearly recorded as:
-
appropriated to the Hospitallers
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valued at 30 marks annually
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leased out to a lay knight (Sir Robert de Silkeston)
This last point is particularly telling. The Hospitallers, like the Templars before them, were not directly managing every parish asset. Instead, they:
-
treated churches as revenue-producing units
-
leased them where convenient
-
retained ultimate control over income and patronage
Thus, while the institutional owner changed, the economic logic remained continuous.
By the mid-14th century, Marnham fits the familiar pattern of an appropriated church:
-
the order received the income
-
a secular vicar served the parish
-
local religious life continued largely unchanged
In 1359, the church is explicitly listed among those held by the Hospitallers but served by non-member clergy—standard practice across both orders.
One unresolved point is the identity of the original donor. The absence of a surviving name is not unusual, but the timeframe suggests:
-
a grant in the later 12th century
-
likely from a local lord of Marnham or a regional magnate
-
possibly tied to broader patterns of patronage linked to Nottinghamshire estates
While speculative, this fits closely with other documented Templar acquisitions in the region.
Continuity rather than rupture
The history of Low Marnham’s church is best understood not as two separate phases, but as a single institutional continuum:
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Templar appropriation (late 12th century – 1312)
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brief royal custody
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Hospitaller control (1320s onward)
In both phases:
-
the church’s income was extracted into a wider system
-
the cure of souls was delegated
-
and the parish functioned as part of a trans-regional financial network
Conclusion
For those familiar with the operations of the military orders, Low Marnham presents a recognisable case:
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a modest parish church
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appropriated early
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valued primarily for its income streams
-
smoothly transferred between orders after 1312
Its surviving records—especially the income listings—offer a rare, granular glimpse into how even small rural churches contributed to the larger economic infrastructure underpinning crusading orders.
FLAWFORD (FFAUFLOUR)
STRETTON - Church of St Nicholas
