Documents

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The legal document available for download below constitutes the formal designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The additional details provided on this page are provided for information purposes only and do not form part of the designation. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within this additional information.

• Type

  Legal Documents

  Title

  SM1191_Legal Doc

  Download(https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600003968)

Summary

Description

The monument comprises the remains of Temple Old Parish Church and claustral remains. The monument was first scheduled in 1920 and rescheduled in 1971. On each occasion an inadequate area was included to protect all of the archaeological remains: the present rescheduling rectifies this.

The site of the church (originally known as Balantrodoch) was the principal preceptory of the Templars in Scotland. Its foundation is attributed to David I, although the first documentary evidence for the house is from 1175-1199. At the suppression of the Templars in 1312, their lands at Temple were transferred to the Hospitallers, after which time the church became a parish church, in use until the present church was built in 1832

The remains of the upstanding church consist of a single chambered oblong structure measuring about 17m by 5.5m internally. The medieval fabric is remarkably intact although the west end of the church was rebuilt and perhaps extended after the Reformation. This area of the church contained a gallery or loft, and other 17th-century alterations included the addition of a simple bellcote to the east gable.

The medieval fabric was laid out symmetrically with buttress at each end of the east gable and along the lateral walls: those on the northern wall are missing. The lateral walls each had three windows, with a small pointed lancet at the west end and two large windows at the east end, each of three lights infilled with intersecting geometric tracery.

However, the westernmost traceried window in the north wall has been blocked up. The east gable is almost filled with a very large window, again of three lights with intersecting geometric tracery. The eastern entry to the church was through a pointed trefoil headed doorway in the north wall. Within the interior of the church several medieval features survive, two sedilia, a piscina, and a tomb recess.

The form of the tracery in the windows suggests a 14th-century date for the majority of the church, although it may contain fragments of older masonry which relate to the Templar occupation of the site.

The area to be scheduled includes the church itself and an area around it, in which associated claustral remains can be expected to be found. The area is irregular in shape defined to the S and W by the boundary wall of the burial ground. Any active burial lairs are excluded from the scheduled area. The area has maximum dimensions of 46m NW-SE and 48m NE-SW as marked in red on the attached map.

Statement of National Importance

The monument is of national importance as a rare example of a well-preserved 14th-century parish church; as such it contributes to an understanding of medieval art, architecture, religious practices and material culture. Its importance is enhanced by the well-documented association of the site with the Hospitallers and, before them, with the Templars, and is further enhanced by its potential for adding to our knowledge of the Templar's principal preceptory in Scotland.

References

Bibliography

About Scheduled Monuments

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Scheduling is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for monuments and archaeological sites of national importance as set out in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

We schedule sites and monuments that are found to be of national importance using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Scheduled monument records provide an indication of the national importance of the scheduled monument which has been identified by the description and map. The description and map (see ‘legal documents’ above) showing the scheduled area is the designation of the monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The statement of national importance and additional information provided are supplementary and provided for general information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland accepts no liability for any loss or damages arising from reliance on any inaccuracies within the statement of national importance or additional information. These records are not definitive historical or archaeological accounts or a complete description of the monument(s).

The format of scheduled monument records has changed over time. Earlier records will usually be brief. Some information will not have been recorded and the map will not be to current standards. Even if what is described and what is mapped has changed, the monument is still scheduled.

Scheduled monument consent is required to carry out certain work, including repairs, to scheduled monuments. Applications for scheduled monument consent are made to us. We are happy to discuss your proposals with you before you apply and we do not charge for advice or consent. More information about consent and how to apply for it can be found on our website at www.historicenvironment.scot.

Find out more about scheduling and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.