Temple Bruer Knights Templar Preceptory Tower

Please note that Heritage Lincolnshire no longer look after this site. Please contact Lincolnshire County Council for any enquiries.

Temple Bruer was once the second wealthiest Templar preceptory in England, after London.

The surviving 13th century tower originally formed part of the Templar church.

The 13th century tower is one of a pair of towers that was once attached to the chancel of the circular-naved Templar church. It is one of the few Templar sites still to have standing remains and its importance is recognised by the fact that it is a Scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.

The interior walls are covered in masons marks and centuries-worth of symbols carved and scratched into the stone. There are many apotropaic symbols such as daisy wheels, pentangles, triquetras, interlocking ‘V’s and ‘M’s. Perhaps these were added by locals after the Templars were arrested and taken to Lincoln Castle, accused of devil worship, infanticide and many other transgressions. It’s worth taking a torch with you if you’d like to take a closer look at the walls and ribs!

If you wish to film at Temple Bruer Tower please get in touch with Lincolnshire County Council first.

Location

Temple-Bruer-Templar-Knight

The early 13th century tower at Temple Bruer is a rare survival of the standing remains of an important Knights Templar preceptory church. The Templars were military monks who established a Europe-wide network of preceptories, which were religious houses from which they administered their estates and raised funds to support their work in the Holy Land.

From poor beginnings they quickly became immensely rich, and Temple Bruer was one of their wealthiest properties. However, their success was closely linked to the Crusades, and by the end of the 13th century their popularity was waning and they were beginning to be viewed with suspicion. They were accused of misconduct and corruption and their arrest was ordered. In January 1308 William de la More, the Preceptor of Temple Bruer and the Grand Prior of all England, was arrested at Temple Bruer along with his knights and imprisoned at Lincoln.

The Order was suppressed in 1312 and their property passed to the Knights Hospitaller. Temple Bruer was held by the Hospitallers until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in about 1540, when Henry VIII granted it to the Duke of Suffolk. From that time it gradually declined until only the present tower was left standing.

Computer-generated images of the Knights Templar preceptory

In 2010 Heritage Lincolnshire was given a Renaissance East Midlands MuBu grant to create new computer-generated reconstructions of the preceptory. The Trust worked with members of Navenby Archaeology Group to research the project and create a series of images and an animated fly-through which bring the medieval preceptory back to life and show what it may have looked like in the 14th century when it was held by the Hospitallers.