Information for record number MWA1960:
Site of Preceptory of Knights Templars, Castle Park

Summary The site of a preceptory of the Knight Templar during the Medieval period. Documentary evidence notes that a manor house surrounded by a moat was given to the Order in the 1100s. The house had been demolished by 1786 and it stood in Castle Park, Warwick.
What Is It?  
Type: Manor House, Preceptory, House
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Warwick
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 28 64
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  

1 Roger, Earl of Warwick (1119-53) granted a small manor beyond the bridge on the S side of Warwick to the Knights Templars. This was eventually transferred to the Knights Hospitallers in 1314. In 1549 it was reunited with the Castle estates. The buildings of Temple Farm stood on the outskirts of bridge End beside the old Banbury Road and within a moat (PRN 5521). In 1585 they consisted of fourteen bays of buildings, but four of them were burnt down around 1590. The remainder of the farmhouse stood until 1744 and the house is known to have gone by 1786.
2 Remains of a moat are shown at the above grid reference on a map of 1695. This may be the site of the preceptory. site now Castle Park. No surface indications.
4 Aerial photographs indicate location of a rectangular moat and other enclosures which probably indicate the site of the preceptory. The moat and traces of possible buildings lie to the W of the old Banbury Road (PRN 4615), the side ditches of which show on Aerial photographs. In the vicinity of the moat and Road and to the W are a series of rectangular enclosures which may be contemporary.
5 A small town manor, given to the Order by Roger, the first Earl of Warwick, before his death in 1153. It was in the area now called bridgend, with adjoining land on its S side, W of the later Banbury Road, a small-scale property with 29 tenants, 7 of them trademen, plus one ale-wife. It was probably one of the earliest Templar possessions in the county.
 
Sources

Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title:
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1962
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4489 C/D/E/X
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Temple Balsall. The Warwickshire Preceptory of the Templars and Their Fate.
Author/originator: Gooder E
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 8, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Pugh R B (ed)
Date: 1969
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 8
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1989
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3139
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument PARK * An enclosed piece of land, generally large in area, used for hunting, the cultivation of trees, for grazing sheep and cattle or visual enjoyment. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FARMHOUSE * The main dwelling-house of a farm, it can be either detached from or attached to the working buildings. back
monument RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE * A rectangular shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. back
monument MOAT * A wide ditch surrounding a building, usually filled with water. Use for moated sites, not defensive moats. Use with relevant site type where known, eg. MANOR HOUSE, GARDEN, etc. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument CASTLE * A fortress and dwelling, usually medieval in origin, and often consisting of a keep, curtain wall and towers etc. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument MANOR * An area of land consisting of the lord's demesne and of lands from whose holders he may exact certain fees, etc. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument PRECEPTORY * A manor or estate owned and run by an order of knights and governed by a preceptor. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument TEMPLE * Use for places of worship. For later landscape features use, eg. GARDEN TEMPLE. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record