THE TEMPLARS

IN LEICESTERSHIRE

PRECEPTORY OF ROTHLEY

The Knights Templars already possessed land at Rothley in 1203, when King John confirmed to them 5 librates of land there, given by John de Harecurt. A further 10 librates of land at Rothley were given to the Templars by John de Harecurt some years later, probably in 1218-19, but it is unlikely that a preceptory of the Order of the Temple was established at Rothley until Henry III, in 1231, granted the manor and advowson of Rothley to the Templars in free alms. The church of Rothley, a large parish with five dependent chapels, was appropriated in. 1240. A rental of c. 1250 gives the yearly revenue of Rothley Bailwick as £62. 10s. 5d., besides a rent of 5 marks from the Rothley mills. The revenue from Rothley was used to furnish a pittance for the Templars at Acre. Early in the 14th century the Templars had granges at Baggrave and Gaddesby, where they themselves carried on farming.

In 1308 Rothley was seized by the Crown, together with the Templars' other possessions in England. An inventory of the Templars' goods at Rothley, drawn up in 1309, mentions the hall and chapel of the preceptory, and lists the livestock, including more than 350 sheep and lambs, belonging to it. The preceptory of Rothley thus came to an end, though its lands were later transferred to the Hospitallers

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WYMONDHAM

In Wimundeham ex dono Acardi monachi,¹º ij. tofta, et ij. acre terre que 11 Thomas et quedam vidua tenent pro xxx.d. et predicto seruicio.

“In Wymondham, from the gift of Acard the monk, two tofts and two acres of land, which Thomas and a certain widow hold for 30 pence and the aforesaid service.

MELTON MOWBRAY

STONNESBY

BABBEGRAVE (Baggrave) - Manor & Church

The deserted village of Baggrave lies seven miles north-east of Leicester in the parish of Hungarton. The village earthworks are clearly identifiable in Baggrave Park, south of the Hall, and consist of a pronounced holloway, representing the main street, flanked by building platforms and enclosures and a back lane, shown by another holloway to the east. House-plots (tofts) and yards or gardens (crofts) are represented by some of the earthwork platforms and ditched and banked enclosures, but others show the positions of outbuildings and other ancillary features such as a bakehouse, barns, granaries and the chapel, which is known to have existed at Baggrave

STOKE DRY (Dri-Stoke) - St Andrews Church

Drystoke is the medieval name for what is now Stoke Dry (Drystoke) in Rutland. The advowson (“right of the church”) of Drystoke is recorded as having been given by Gilbert de Dristoke to the Templars (it appears among the possessions of the Temple Bruer preceptory). After the suppression of the Templars their English possessions largely passed to the Hospitallers

The Hidden History of St Andrew’s Church, Stoke Dry

Nestled in the Rutland countryside, St Andrew’s Church in Stoke Dry is a small parish church with a surprisingly rich medieval past. Beyond its tranquil appearance, the church holds connections to the famed Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and some remarkable medieval stone carvings that hint at centuries of ecclesiastical and local life.

A Templar and Hospitaller Legacy

The story begins in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the advowson of the church — the right to appoint the parish priest — was granted to the Knights Templar. Local records suggest that a landowner named Gilbert de Dristoke passed these rights to the Templars, linking Stoke Dry to one of the most famous medieval military orders.

After the Templars were suppressed in the early 14th century, their rights and lands, including the advowson of St Andrew’s, were transferred to the Knights Hospitaller. The Hospitallers continued to manage the church’s appointments and the surrounding estate, integrating Stoke Dry into their regional network of properties and farms. While no Templar buildings survive here, the legal and economic influence of these orders shaped the parish for generations.

Medieval Stone Carvings: Echoes of the Romanesque

Inside St Andrew’s, visitors are greeted by a wealth of medieval stonework that survives from the church’s Norman and early Gothic phases:

Chancel Arch (c. 1120): Richly carved capitals and shafts feature foliage, mythical beasts, and a unique figure of a man pulling a bell rope, possibly the earliest depiction of a church bell in England.
South Porch Tympanum: Above the doorway, winged creatures flank a circular wheel motif, with additional carved heads and foliage decorating the arch.
Nave Arcades: Early Gothic capitals show delicate foliate patterns on circular piers, reflecting the skill of 12th- and 13th-century masons.
Other Medieval Remains: Fragments of 15th-century memorials and traces of wall paintings depict saints such as St Christopher and St Edmund, hinting at a once vividly decorated interior.

A Living Link to History

While later monuments, including the alabaster effigy of Sir Everard Digby (d. 1540), reflect Stoke Dry’s Tudor gentry, the medieval carvings and the church’s Templar/Hospitaller connections root St Andrew’s firmly in England’s medieval religious and social history. It is a place where the quiet countryside conceals centuries of knightly patronage, artistry, and devotion, waiting to be explored by the curious visitor.

ISLEY WALTON - All Saints Church

Knights Templar and St Michael’s Church, Isley Walton

The ancient manor and lands of Isley Walton were granted in the 12th century to the Knights Templar by Lettice de Ferrariis and Robert Fitz-Nigel of the Ferrers family. Once part of the parish of Breedon, Isley Walton later became a parish in its own right and in medieval times was nearly twice its present size, before losing territory to Castle Donington.

As part of the Templars’ Leicestershire estate network centred on Rothley Preceptory, Isley Walton provided agricultural income to support the order’s religious and military work. After the suppression of the Templars in 1312, their lands passed to the Knights Hospitaller.

Hidden within the hamlet today is the small parish church, tucked at the foot of the Manor House garden. Rebuilt in 1720 on the site of the original 12th-century Knights Templar chapel, it preserves a tangible link to this medieval past. The church still retains its historic bells — one dating from the 14th century and another cast in 1405 — rare survivals from the village’s Templar heritage.

MARKET BOSWORTH - Temple Hall

STRETTON - Church St Nicholas

Ecclesia de Strattone in dominio que est donum Roberti de Bruis

“The church of Stratton in demesne, which is the gift of Robert de Brus

HORNINGHOLD - St Peters Church

There isn’t evidence that Horninghold was a Templar base, preceptory, or estate like those established elsewhere in the county - The village doesn’t appear in the main medieval lists of Templar holdings or lands, and local histories only record the burial artefact, not other Templar infrastructure or land ownership

Howeverr In 1951, during work inside St Peter’s Church in Horninghold, a medieval coffin lid was unearthed. The carvings on this stone indicate that it likely belonged to a Cross Bearer of the Order of the Knights Templar — i.e., a member of that medieval military religious order. The slab is now displayed inside the church, along with Medieval carvings, including an upside down Agnus Dei on a Norman Door to the South of the Church, where the Templars slab was found,

Horninghold itself may have been influenced indirectly through regional ecclesiastical and agricultural networks around Rothley, but there’s no direct documentary record tying the order to Horninghold beyond the one burial slab

SNARESTONE - 1 Messuage

"De Snarkestona 18 Ailbrit, pro masuagio et iiij. acris xviij.d"
"From Snarkestone.Ailbrit, for a messuage and four acres, 18 pence"

TEMPLAR FIGURES AT LEICESTERSHIRE

Knights Templar at Leicestershire

In 1308 Rothley was seized by the Crown, together with the Templars' other possessions in England. An inventory of the Templars' goods at Rothley, drawn up in 1309, mentions the hall and chapel of the preceptory, and lists the livestock, including more than 350 sheep and lambs, belonging to it. The preceptory of Rothley thus came to an end, though its lands were later transferred to the Hospitallers.

Knight Templar Preceptors of Rothley

Stephen of Todmershe.
John Feversham.
Walter of Ewenightewith.
William of Wald.
Alexander blundus.
William of Colewell, occurs 1271.