Temple

A tiny, windswept hamlet on Bodmin Moor, bypassed by the A30 and seemingly bypassed by time. Temple exists as a footnote to pilgrimage history, its few buildings and church standing in splendid isolation on the moor. History: Temple takes its name from the Knights Templar, who established a hospice and chapel here in the 12th century to shelter pilgrims traveling from Ireland to the Holy Land via the overland route between Padstow and Fowey. Legend holds that pilgrims avoided sailing around Land's End by traveling up the Padstow estuary to Wadebridge, then crossing this wild stretch of moorland to reach Fowey harbor, the busiest on the south coast. After the suppression of the Templars in 1314, the property passed to the Knights Hospitaller, who held it until Henry VIII dissolved the religious houses. St Catherine's Church, rebuilt in the late 19th century on the site of the original Templar chapel, became famous as a place where marriages could be performed without banns or license (similar to Gretna Green) from the 16th century until such marriages became illegal in 1753. After losing its congregation, the church fell into serious disrepair and no services were held for nearly a century. The hamlet was a civil parish until 1934, when it was incorporated into Blisland. In 1931, Temple had a population of just 29.