The Faxfleet Preceptory is a former community of 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 ...

located in what is now the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...

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 ...

. It stood on lands which are now part of Thorpe Grange Farm and are largely buried under a field to the west of the farm known today as Temple Garth. The location is west of

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from ...

, approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of

Youlthorpe Youlthorpe is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bishop Wilton. It is situated approximately east of York, north-west of Pocklington and just south of the main A166 road from York to Bridlin ...

and 25 miles (40 km) south-west of Beswick.

History

Faxfleet was one of Yorkshire's greatest preceptories, originally built upon land provided in 1185 by the Crusader knight, Roger de Mowbray, Lord of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

. De Mowbray had been ransomed by the Templars from the

Turk Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

s who were holding him prisoner. In that year it is recorded that Odo, Serlo, Gille, Stephen, Harvat and Ucca were Templars tenants, each farming of land under the

strip farming Strip cropping is a method of farming which involves cultivating a field partitioned into long, narrow strips which are alternated in a crop rotation system. It is used when a slope is too steep or when there is no alternative method of preventin ...

system. In 1290 Geoffrey Jolif was preceptor, or commander, of the Knights Templar at Faxfleet (until 1301) and Robert de Halton was master of the bailiwick of the Temple in the same county. In 1308, several persons, although not Jolif, were arrested at Faxfleet, were sent to York, and were eventually sentenced to do penitence in the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Sain ...

. The preceptory was closed in 1308 and was valued at that time at over £290 ().

References

{{Reflist Knights Templar History of the East Riding of Yorkshire Archaeological sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire 1185 establishments in England 1300s disestablishments