| Summary : Site of Templars and Hospitallers Preceptory at the 17th century Manor House. A long non-domestic wing may incorporate medieval fragments. Site held as a Preceptory by the Knights Templars until 1300. From then until 1540 it was owned by the Knights Hospitallers; after that various lay owners modified it. The remains of a chapel of circa 1200 survived until circa 1980 just East of the return wing. The Manor House and Manor Farm were investigated by a multi-disciplinary research team to provide information for the `Time Team' TV programme. The previous recording for the site may be summarised as follows: the Manor House and the area adjacent to Manor Farm have been previously recorded as the site of a Knights Templars Preceptory founded in 1185, which passed to the Knights Hospitallers in the early 14th century and was finally dissolved in 1540. The Manor House is recorded as being essentially 17th century in date but incorporating remains of the earlier preceptory: to the east, ruins of a 13th-century Templar chapel survived until the 1980s before being demolished. Earthworks have been previously recorded close to the site, immediately east of the chapel, and have been variously described as fishponds, moated enclosure or `cockpit' (these appear on 19th-century 1:2500 scale OS maps and OS Archaeology Division records). Earthworks have also been noted in the field immediately north. A further probable fishpond has been recorded some 90m to the east. Following the Time Team's archaeological field survey, it is possible that the area of the preceptory extends 100m to the north of the site of the chapel into an area occupied by a redundant Works which is now abandoned and overgrown, as well as 20m south of the chapel under the farm and farmhouse. This may indicate an area for the preceptory some 130m approximately north-south by 70m east-west. |
More information : [Centred ST 7095 2206]
Manor Farm [TI] Remains of Preceptory [GT]
Chapel [GT] (remains of). (1)
A house of the Knights Templars at Templecombe, Somerset, was founded
c 1185. It was passed to the Hospitallers (1308-12), and was
dissolved in 1540. (2-4)
The 17th century (auth 4 says 16th century) Manor Farm on the site of
this establishment contains the scanty remains of the Preceptory.
Further east are the ruins of the 13th century Templars Chapel,
consisting of walls, window and doorway (see
AO/64/275/8).
A deep excavation in an adjoining orchard, at ST 7099 2211, with a
central mound was the site of the fishpond. (5-6)
All that remains of the chapel at ST 7097 2210 are ivy-covered walls
up to 6ft high. The windows and doorways have collapsed. A doorway
of Manor Farm may be part of the Preceptory (see AO/66/104/1).
The fishpond is water-filled with a small central island; another
probable fishpond is at ST 7109 2211.
Surveyed at 1:2500. (7)
The fishpond at ST 7099 2211 was infilled in 1971 (8a), and the small
pond (ST 7109 2211) is silted up. (8)
Remains of Chapel wall - the old wall has a modern top and has been
extended eastwards 2.5m. (9)
Manor Farm, Abbas and Templecombe, ST 710 221. There are no remains
of the Preceptory at Manor Farm; the last remnants of a Medieval
chapel were removed some years ago when a new house was built on
part of the site. Earthworks remain of a moated enclosure which was
formerly fishponds. (10)
Manor House (formerly known as Manor Farm House) is 17th century and
later on a medieval site. A long non-domestic wing may incorporate
medieval fragments; one ovolo mould window and a moulded door
surround may be reused. Site held as a preceptory by the Knights
Templars until 1300. From then until 1540 it was owned by the Knights
Hospitallers; after that various lay owners modified it, especially
Charles Brooke before he died in 1610. The remains of a chapel of
c1200 survived until c1980 just East of the return wing (VAG Report,
SRO unpublished, July 1983; D.M. Clarke-Irons, A Short Record of
Abbas and Templecombe, 1974). (11)
Centred ST 7097 2211. Manor House and Manor Farm, Templecombe, were
recently investigated by a multi-disciplinary research team to
provide information for the `Time Team' - a TV programme for Channel
Four.
The previous recording for the site may be summarised as follows: the
Manor House and the area adjacent to Manor Farm (centred ST 7095
2206) have been previously recorded as the site of a Knights Templars
preceptory founded in 1185, which passed to the Knights Hospitallers
in the early 14th century and was finally dissolved in 1540. The
Manor House (ST 72 SW **; listed Grade II*) is recorded as being
essentially 17th century in date but incorporating remains of the
earlier preceptory: to the east, ruins of a c 13th-century Templar
chapel (at ST 7097 2211) survived until the 1960s before being
demolished. Earthworks have been previously recorded close to
the site at ST 7100 2211, immediately east of the chapel, and have
been variously described as fishponds, moated enclosure or `cockpit'
(these appear on 19th-century 1:2500 scale OS maps and OS Archaeology
Division records). Earthworks have also been noted in the field
immediately north. A further probable fishpond has been recorded some
90m to the east at ST 7109 2211.
The results of the Time Team's archaeological field survey team (12a)
may be summarised as follows: a series of earthworks and walls
previously unrecognised for their significance in relation to the
possible extent of the Templar site were identified and surveyed
during the course of the Time Team's investigations. In summary, the
evidence of a limited and fragmented number of earthworks and other
surface features suggests that it is possible that the area of the
preceptory extends c 100m to the north of the site of the chapel into
an area occupied by a redundant Works which is now abandoned and
overgrown, as well as c 20m south of the chapel under the farm and
farmhouse. This may indicate an area for the preceptory some 130m
approximately north-south by 70m east-west with an extended area of
associated features to the east and north of the modern farm complex.
Manor House. This building (ST 72 SW **) was the subject of a
separate specialist investigation during the course of the Time Team
weekend.
Chapel. It has been alleged that the last remains of the medieval
chapel were removed in the 1960s when the house 20m to the south was
built (SMR records), although it was suggested by the OS surveyor in
1977 (auth 9) that the remains of the chapel wall (presumably the
north wall) still survived beneath a modern top. Using old
photographs taken before it was demolished, and depiction on
historical maps, it is possible to confirm that the lower courses of
the stone wall to the north of the modern house are the remnants of
the north wall of the supposed chapel. Excavations conducted by the
Time Team confirmed this siting. When surveyed in 1966 by the OS
(auth 7), 14m of the north wall was extant with 8m of the east gable
surviving; the orientation of this building is not true east-west but
north-north-east by south-south-west.
Earthworks recorded by others before the current survey can be
summarised and re-interpreted as follows:
a) Centred ST 7100 2211. An earthwork at this position is recorded on
OS County Series 1:2500 mapping and appears to indicate an area 40m x
40m, possibly a square depression with a raised terrace around the
edge; a probable wall bounds the west, south and east sides. This is
obviously the same feature surveyed by the OS Archaeology Division
investigator in 1966 (auth 7) within which a central island
surrounded by water is depicted; the whole has been interpreted as a
fishpond. The detail of the earthwork no longer exists in the form
described above, although its limits are still discernible as high
outward-facing scarps max 2m high on the north and east sides. The
area of the `pond' has been totally infilled for the construction of
a barn and modern domestic gardens, although it seems likely that the
infilling will have preserved the archaeology of this feature below
the present surface. The evidence from the documentary and
cartographic sources would indicate that this former earthwork was an
ornamental garden, possibly containing a dovecote on the island
within a decorative water feature. On stylistic grounds, it is
probably contemporary and associated with the c 17th century Manor
House, although its north and east and west boundaries may be
remnants of the earlier Templar complex.
b) ST 7109 2211. A pond (c 20m x 12m) at this location has been
depicted on mapping since the 19th century. It is now subsumed within
a large modern slurry pit. There is no reason to believe that this
was anything other than a field pond, numerous examples of which
exist in the fields in the wider landscape around Templecombe. (12)
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