Balsall Preceptory in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

was a manor that was given to the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

s in recognition of their service in the Crusades. The

donor A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...

, according to a survey of the Templars' possessions in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1185, was Roger de Mowbray, son of

Nigel d'Aubigny Nigel d'Aubigny (''Neel d'Aubigny'' or ''Nigel de Albini'', died 1129), was a Norman Lord and English baron who was the son of Roger d'Aubigny and Amice or Avice de Mowbray. His paternal uncle William was lord of Aubigny, while his father was an ...

. The

preceptory A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

also governed other Templar lands, similarly donated for services in the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Ho ...

. These included: * Chilverscoton * Cubbington * Fletchampstead Hermitage * Herdwicke Harbury * Sherbourne * Studley *

Temple Tysoe A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

; and *

Wolvey Wolvey is a village and parish in Warwickshire, England. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 1,942, which increased to 2,121 at the 2021 census. The village is located on the Warwickshire/Leicestershire border in an outlying pa ...

. Old Hall, though much restored, dates from the time of the Templars occupation. At the time of the suppression of the Order, eight Ballsall resident Templars were arrested, namely: * John de Coningeston * Thomas le Chamberlayn * William de Burton * William de Warewyk (

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

) * Robert de Sautre * Roger de Dalton; and * John de Euleye.

References

* Preceptories of the Knights Hospitaller in England Knights Templar Buildings and structures in Warwickshire {{Christianity-stub

See also

References