Temple Bruer (Temple Brewer)
- The parish was in the Sleaford sub-district of the Sleaford Registration District.
- Check our Census Resource page for county-wide resources.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1841 |
H.O. 107 / 623 |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2342 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3349 |
- The order of the Knights Templer was established in 1118 by Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem.
- Prior to 1174 the Lady de CAUX founded a Knights Templer site here.
- In 1185 the Knights Templar established a large Preceptory here. Eventually their holdings grew to over 10,000 acres and included land in 28 different parishes. Most was used for grazing sheep. The Preceptory temple was reserved for the Knights and the common people could not enter.
- It is presumed that there was a separate church for commoners in the old Knights Templars parish, but no records from it have been found.
- In 1311, the Knights Templar order was suppressed by the Council of Vienna and Temple Bruer was awarded to the Knights Hospitallers who converted the Preceptory into a Commandery (more a change of name than in function). But during this century the local village was deserted.
- When the monasteries were dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538, Temple Bruer was valued at £184, six shillings and 8 pence. The King granted it to Charles BRANDON, Duke of Suffolk. The King visited here in 1541.
- A 1726 engraving shows much of the Temple still standing, but 50 years later only the tower remained.
- Pick up a copy of the booklet "The Knights Templar in Kesteven," by Dr Dennis MILLS (price 2.00 + 36p postage) - available from: Northern Kesteven District Council, Sleaford Tourist Information Centre, Moneys Yard, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 7TW. Tel: 01529 414294.
- Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Preceptory tower on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2009.
- Here is a photo of the temple remains taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The modern Anglican church was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
- The church was erected in 1873.
- The church seats 120.
- Here is a photo of St. John's Church taken by Ron COLE (who retains the copyright):
- The parish register dates from 1872.
- The LFHS has published several marriage and burial indexes for the Graffoe Deanery to make your search easier.
- Check our Church Records page for county-wide resources.
- The parish was in the Sleaford sub-district of the Sleaford Registration District.
- Check our Civil Registration page for sources and background on Civil Registration which began in July, 1837.
Temple Bruer is both a "modern" parish and very ancient one, but it is not listed as a parish in most pre-19th century records. The reason for this is that it was a parish in Norman times, fell into disuse and was considered an extra-parochial portion of Wellingore parish. A population "explosion" in the 19th century caused it to be incorporated as a modern parish. A decline in the late 19th and early 20th century has caused the parish to be amalgamated again with Wellingore.
Temple Bruer parish was reconstituted on 7 March, 1879 from five contiguous farms. Its center lies 10 miles south-east of Lincoln, 4 miles south-east of Lavenby and 6 miles north-west of Sleaford. Wellingore and Welbourn parishes lie to the west and Brauncewell parish to the south. The old Roman Road, Ermine Street, passes through the western edge of the parish, but at this point is a walkway, not a modern road. Temple High Grange is part of the parish. The parish covered about 3,900 acres.
There was never a "village" of Temple Bruer, just scattered houses. The Temple of Temple Bruer is on PRIVATE property belonging to Temple Farm and the Temple can be found in the farmyard. Access to the Temple is through the farmyard to a car park at the rear. If you are planning a visit:
- Take the A607 trunk road north out of Grantham or south out of Lincoln and turn east at Welbourne. The A15 trunk road also passes just east of the parish - take the Welbourne Road west.
- Pick up a copy of the booklet "Days Out in the Heart of Lincolnshire; Stepping Out - Walks (Wellingore and Temple Bruer); North Kesteven Airfield Trail" - available from: Northern Kesteven District Council, Sleaford Tourist Information Centre, Moneys Yard, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 7TW. Tel: 01529 414294.
- Heritage Lincolnshire holds tours of the Templar Tower on Sunday afternoons in good weather.
- Visit our touring page for more sources.
- Some descendants of Temple Bruer families settled in Australia. Visit the Temple Bruer Winery website for more information.
- In 1871, the principal landowner was Henry CHAPLAIN, M.P.
- In 1913, the principal landowner was the Earl of Londesborough (also Lonsborough). He split up and sold his holdings in 1935.
- The national grid reference is TF 0053.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for resources.
- Temple Bruer derives from two words. The first is the Old English temple, denoting the Knights Templar church. The second is from the Latin bruera for "heath". It does not appear in the 1086 Domesday Book. In many records the name is misrecorded as Temple Brewer.
Derived from entries in [A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]
- White's 1842 Directory lists the following surnames: BLACKBURN, BURNBY, FRANKISH, MAW and PIERCE.
- White's 1872 Directory lists the following surnames: BARTHOLOMEW, GODSON, GRIFFIN, HOWARD and MORLEY.
- Kelley's 1913 Directory lists the following surnames: CARTWRIGHT, GODSON, GRAVES, LAW, MORLEY, POWELL and WATSON.
- This place was an extra parochial area until 1858, when it was incorporated as a modern Civil Parish.
- The parish was in the ancient Flaxwell Wapentake in the North Kesteven division of the county, in the parts of Kesteven.
- For today's district governance, see the North Kesteven District Council.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Sleaford petty session hearings every Monday.
- There appears to be no record of any specific aid to the poor prior to the parish forming.
- After the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act reforms, the parish became part of the Sleaford Poor Law Union in 1836.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
49 |
| 1841 |
73 |
| 1871 |
149 |
| 1881 |
201 |
| 1891 |
192 |
| 1911 |
208 |
- A Public Elementary School was built here in 1873. It was enlarged in 1908 to hold 130 children, but average attendance was about 25 in 1911.
- For more on researching school records, see our Schools Research page.
Last updated on 12-March-2015
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