Temple Church, Bristol
We drove all the way to Bristol from Goodrich Castle which turns out is actually quite far and the transition from country roads and small villages to the brash urbaneness of Bristol was a bit of a culture shock. Especially when you go to look up this historical site and find there's a danger to your lives in broad daylight due to what is taking place with a handful of people lurking in the little graveyard out of site. We'll talk more on our experience later.
But this site which survives within the loud and brash surroundings within Bristol is brimming with history. Temple Church, sometimes known as Holy Cross Church is a 12th century church which is built on land granted to the Knights Templar by Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. It is safe to say that during this time the locals weren't too keen as the Templars in this area were beyond jurisdiction of the law and answered only to the Pope. As such they made their own laws, took a third of any estate upon a death, and managed to abscond blame when a young boy died because of them. This area became known as Temple Fee and was pretty significant to the order as was Bristol as a whole.
As soon as 1313 the church changed hands following the suppression of the Templars by the Knights Hospitaller, but this wasn't straight away as there were some issues following the Templars arrest. Bristol was plundered and King Edward II seized the largest assets to offset his debts that were incurred during his Scottish military campaigns. What he didn't take the locals did and the estate had lost a large amount of value by the time the Hospitallers got their hands on it. and then come the 14th century it became the parish church for the Temple Fee area which enabled the church to be rebuilt. The Hospitallers then lost ownership in 1540 when the big bully king dissolved the monasteries.
The church went on to become a Parish Church to those living within the Temple Fee parish and then there was some debate about jurisdiction between Bristol and Somerset that was eventually settled and the church remained just fine for several years until another bully caused trouble.
Somewhere in the hours between the 24th and 25th of November 1940, a bomb fell during the Bristol Blitz and destroyed Temple Church. It rendered the building a shell and what remained was removed due to safety concerns and sent elsewhere leaving just what stands today. Even the records stored within the church were destroyed, thanks to WWII there was nothing but the outer walls left.
After the remains were made safe, Temple Church ended up being the first English parish church to be taken on by the Ministry of Works. It became protected under two heritage listings and is now in the care of English Heritage with its gateway nearby having its own listing. Thanks to EH restoring the site we were able to (sort of) visit it as no one could enter for 30 years due to damage, it now holds events which allows us to segway into why we couldn't go in.
Despite having checked the website almost obsessively as we needed directions to park nearby, nowhere was it mentioned that the site was due to be closed on the day we were visiting because of an event practice within. What was worse was the fact no one was to be seen within the ruins doing anything of the sort, so it was closed for no reason and meant that the gang of people doing something suspicious within the graves were able. Sadly the site not being manned means it is used and abused and it spoilt the visit of those trying to savour and save these sites.
In terms of hauntings, we'd go as far to say that this unfortunate site does indeed have a few visits from 'the other side'. The fact that it was the location of the exorcism of George Lukins in 1788 hints at that, not to mention the bomb which likely would have caused casualties in 1940, but overall the site just has this odd feeling to it. It is on a bit of a lean as well and the whole place just has an uneasy feel to it, perhaps that is why it attracts bad luck and druggies.
We'd very much like to visit the site when it is open and have a proper look around, but with our safety concerns now and the fact it is a long way to go for very little and no guarantee of being open, we doubt that will happen any time soon.
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images are ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
If you have any recommendations on places to visit or somewhere you would like to see on the blog, please feel free to drop us a message on instagram under @phantomadventuresuk or email us at phantomadventuresuk@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment