Stained Glass windows in St Catherine's Church, Temple, Cornwall
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Sir Lose-a-lot
N 50° 31.774 W 004° 37.022
30U E 385392 N 5598761
There are several stained glass windows in this small country church. These windows date from after the restoration of the church which re-open on 30th May 1883. Prior to this date the church was a ruin.
Waymark Code: WM4WH9
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/06/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member TheBeanTeam
Views: 14

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 rebuilt church was opened and consecrated on 30th May 1883 by the Bishop of Truro, Dr. Benson, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Type of building where window is located: Church

Address:
St Catherine's Church
Temple
Bodmin, Cornwall United Kingdom
PL30 4HW


Days of Operation: Open every day

Hours of Operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM

Admission Charge: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Please include additional photos of the window or windows at this location. Provide additional information regarding the window/s if you are able.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Stained Glass Windows
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
Gribbin visited Stained Glass windows in St Catherine's Church, Temple, Cornwall 08/27/2022 Gribbin visited it
SMacB visited Stained Glass windows in St Catherine's Church, Temple, Cornwall 03/24/2012 SMacB visited it
Sir Lose-a-lot visited Stained Glass windows in St Catherine's Church, Temple, Cornwall 10/06/2008 Sir Lose-a-lot visited it

View all visits/logs