OS grid reference SX146733 Country England Post town BODMIN Local time Wednesday 12:33 AM Civil parish Blisland UK parliament constituency North Cornwall | Region South West Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district PL30 Dialling code 01208 Ceremonial county Cornwall | |
 | ||
Weather 11°C, Wind S at 23 km/h, 98% Humidity | ||
Temple (Cornish: Tempel) is a small village in the parish of Blisland on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, UK. The village is bypassed by the A30 road.
Contents
Map of Temple, Bodmin, UK
History and antiquities
Temple derives its name from the hospice founded by Knights Templars who built a refuge for pilgrims and travellers, en route to the Holy Land, in the 12th century. On the suppression of the Templars it passed into the hands of the Knights Hospitallers (in 1314), who held it until the religious houses were suppressed by Henry VIII. In 1934, the parish of Temple was incorporated into Blisland parish.
Church
Temple Church is a Grade II* listed building built c.1120 on land owned by the Knights Templar. It became famous as a place where marriages could be performed without banns or licence (similar to Gretna Green until the early 20th century). This came to an end in 1744 when the church first came under episcopal jurisdiction. By the mid 19th century, it had become a ruin and was rebuilt (by Silvanus Trevail) in 1883. The church is dedicated to St Catherine.
The church contains several references to its links with the Knights Templar, including a cross pattée in the east window and a depiction of a mounted knight in the north window of the church tower.
Crosses
Arthur Langdon (1896) recorded the existence of eight stone crosses in the parish, including two cross slabs, all in the churchyard. Several of these crosses were subsequently incorporated into a stone outbuilding on the south side of the church.