Inside the only visible remnant of a Knights Templar preceptory, the 12th century south stone tower to find a sedilia. The preceptory flourished and was recorded as the second richest in England by 1308. Following the suppression of the Knights Templar, the site was taken over by the Hospitallers in 1338 for a new commandery. Initially, the Hospitallers flourished, but falling recruitment meant that the commandery was recorded as being ruinous in 1534. Enough buildings remained for Henry VIII to stay there on a Royal progress through Lincolnshire in 1540. The order was eventually dissolved in 1541. The estate was bought by Richard Brownlow of Belton in the 1600s. A more in depth description about the rise and fall of the Knights Templar and a fly though of a digital reconstruction.
Comments