St Catherine's Church, Temple, Cornwall
N 50° 31.774 W 004° 37.022
30U E 385392 N 5598761
This lovely little medieval Church is well worth a visit. It is quiet retreat from the noise of the nearby A30 trunk road. The Church is open to visitor at all times. There are only a few scattered farm buildings near the church today.
Waymark Code: WM4VYC
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/03/2008
Views: 13
St. Catherine's Church is located near the tiny hamlet of Temple, on Bodmin Moor, and stands on the site of what was the earlier Templar chapel. It formed part of the medieval Preceptory of Trebeigh and was a lonely, remote church on desolate Bodmin Moor, far away from other Templar Preceptories.
It is not known exactly in what year the 12th c. church, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, was built. It stands today on the site of the earlier Templar chapel; and after 1312, the Templars were no longer on the property, as it was turned over to the Hospitallers.
Later, particularily in the 16th c., this church became famous as a place where marriages could be performed without banns or license, e.g., similar to Gretna Green today. Many runaway couples must have eloped across the moor before an act was passed in 1753 declaring such marriages to be illegal . After this point, the Temple church lost its congregation and fell into serious disrepair; no services were held for nearly a century. The roof finally caved in, killing a tramp who was sheltering inside.
The church remained under the care of vicars of the neighbouring parishes- Warleggan, St. Neot and Helland- and then in 1850 the Revd. Edward Steele of St. Neot held a service in the ruins, and started a fund for its restoration. The new plans followed as closely as possible those of the original Templar church that formerly stood there. The ancient tower arch was kept and wherever possible, relics and other stones were used. The base of the old Norman font is preserved in the inner doorway, and various stones bearing the engraved crosses of the Templars and the Hospitallers can be discovered in the fabric of the building. The ancient silver communion cup and plate, dated 1577, which had been removed to nearby Blisland for safekeeping before 1764, were finally returned. Many other gifts were made by local people to assist in the restoration of this important church.
The rebuilt church was opened and consecrated on 30th May 1883 by the Bishop of Truro, Dr. Benson, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Church Name: St Catherine's Church
Building Materials: Stone
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Visit Instructions:
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