THE TEMPLARS

IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

The Knights Templar in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire holds a rich yet often overlooked connection to the legendary Knights Templar. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Templars established a number of preceptories (monastic estates) in the county, These sites served both as spiritual centres and as operational hubs for the Templars’ extensive landholdings, helping to fund their crusading efforts in the Holy Land. Today, traces of their presence remain in place names and local lore, offering a fascinating glimpse into a secretive and influential medieval order.

BULSTRODE

Bulstrode, near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, was an ancient medieval estate set within a wooded landscape of scattered farms, manors and heathland around Chalfont Heath. In the Middle Ages the original manor appears to have been divided into two parts: Bulstrode manor itself, associated with a medieval deer park, and Temple Bulstrode, the western portion of the estate, which became linked with the Knights Templar.

Temple Bulstrode was held by the Knights Templar by the thirteenth century and is believed to have been centred on the moated site now known as Moat Farm, on Hedgerley Lane. The remains of an early fourteenth-century building survive within the moat, and the site is now protected as a Scheduled Monument. This suggests that the Templars’ holding here was not simply farmland, but included a substantial manorial or administrative building within a defended or enclosed moated complex.

The exact donor of Bulstrode to the Templars is uncertain. The surviving records are brief, and the history of the manor is described as confused. What is clear is that the Templars held a small estate in Chalfont St Peter as part of their manor in Hedgerley from the early thirteenth century. Their possessions in Buckinghamshire also included lands at Radnage and High Wycombe.

The preceptory at Bulstrode is known to have existed by 1276, when Brother John, described as preceptor, was accused of taking a bribe of half a mark from a robber in order to let him go free. This is one of the few surviving references to an individual Templar connected with the site, but it confirms that Bulstrode had an organised Templar presence and a local officer in charge.

After the suppression of the Knights Templar in the early fourteenth century, their lands passed to the Knights Hospitaller. An inquisition of 1330 recorded that the manor of Bulstrode had once belonged to the Templars and had then passed to the Hospitallers. It was again listed among Hospitaller lands in 1338, although Bulstrode did not become a Hospitaller commandery. Instead, the manor was leased out on their behalf and valued at 75 marks per year.

At the Dissolution, the former Templar and Hospitaller lands in Chalfont St Peter and Hedgerley passed out of religious ownership and were conveyed to Robert Drury. Today, the most important surviving reminder of the medieval estate is the moated site at Moat Farm, believed to mark the centre of Temple Bulstrode. Although little now remains above ground, the protected earthworks and buried archaeology preserve the memory of a once-important Templar manor in the Buckinghamshire landscape.

Temple Bulstrode therefore offers a rare glimpse into the quieter, rural side of the military orders in medieval England. Away from the crusading frontiers of the Holy Land, estates such as Bulstrode provided income, agricultural produce and local administration, helping to support the wider religious and military work of the Templars and, later, the Hospitallers.

RADNAGE - St. Mary the Virgin Church

The Knights Templar and Radnage, Buckinghamshire

The village of Radnage in Buckinghamshire holds a remarkable connection to the Knights Templar, the famed medieval military order. In 1214–1215, King John granted the manor of Radnage to the Templars of London. This early acquisition suggests it preceded the foundation of their Preceptory at Bulstrode, highlighting Radnage’s significance in the Templars’ local holdings.

Alongside the manor, the Templars held the advowson of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, located further within the village. The parish church, dating from the late 12th or early 13th century, is widely believed to have been constructed during the Templar period and remains the principal medieval structure reflecting their presence in Radnage.

The first recorded rector of the church, Richard Poleworth, was appointed in 1231 by the Knights Templar under their advowson. He served until 1269, when the Templars transferred the advowson to the Knights Hospitallers. The Hospitallers presented William de Fulham in 1269 and continued to present a further 31 rectors over the next three centuries. The last rector presented by the Hospitallers, also known as the Order of St John, was William Grate in 1558.

While detailed records of the manor’s acreage are lacking, the size of Radnage Manor, combined with the construction of the church, indicates the Templars’ substantial investment in the area. Today, the Manor of Radnage survives at Radnage Bottom Farm, preserving a tangible link to this medieval chapter of the village’s history.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin also retains many of its original medieval wall paintings, offering a rare glimpse into its historic past. Among these is a partially covered depiction of St Christopher, which was obscured during the Reformation; only the Christ Child, blessing with the right hand, the orb in the left, and the saint’s head remain. Additionally, two worn crosses on the north tower walls may date from the Templars’ time or could be consecration crosses, further hinting at the church’s deep-rooted medieval heritage.

Radnage’s surviving landmarks—both manor and church—stand as enduring testaments to the Knights Templar’s and Knights Hospitallers’ presence, offering a fascinating window into Buckinghamshire’s medieval history.