Templars School History Page Tile Hill Coventry

"Templars School Reunion"

The Story of "Templars and Whoberley Schools" ...

Templars School Tile Hill Coventry

THE STORY OF A SCHOOL Templars Primary First Printed 1996

Acknowledgements
Thank you to all the old pupils and staff who have helped in the production of this history.
Thank you to Mrs. Clay who has put this History together.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? When the present School opened in 1931, it was named Whoberley Council School. This was presumably from the area surrounding the School. Old maps show that the railway station, now Tile Hill, was called ‘Whoberley Halt’. The School continued under this name until 1951, but attempts were being made to change this in the latter part of the 1940’s. On the 14th of December 1948, a letter was received by the Head of the Infant School, saying that the South District Governors had considered renaming the School and were ‘favourably disposed to Fletchampstead Hallâ’. Yet, on the 16th of February 1951, a letter from the South District Governors confirmed that they accepted the suggestion put forward by all three Heads of the School, that ‘our School should be renamed Templars’ School’. The Education Committee considered this recommendation and the new name adopted. The date was the 21st of March 1951. Why the change? Where did that new name come from? The Town Clerk, Mr Fredrick Smith, had discovered from the Archives that the land on which the School was built had once belonged to the Knights Templar. But who were they and what connection did they have with this area? The whole area, covering most of the West Midlands, was once a Manor owned by the Templars. The main buildings and Church were at Temple Balsall. Balsall was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement, Bats Hall, but when the Manor was gifted to the Templars, the prefix Temple was added. To find out about the Knights Templar, we have to return to the 11th Century. The people who lived in this period were devout Christians, ruled by their King and their Church. Not many people could read or write and their understanding of their religion came from the Priests and the Monks, who explained the Scriptures to them. There were many practices that we would find strange today, and one was that you could find great favour in the sight of God by making a Pilgrimage. Ordinary, every day people would leave their homes and families and travel to Shrines all around the then known world. Some wealthy pilgrims would travel in groups, like Chaucer’s Pilgrims in the ‘Canterbury Tales’. Others would walk from Shrine to Shrine, gaining favour in the sight of the Lord. Famous Shrines in England were Canterbury, Walsingham and York. Rome was another important Shrine but the most holy and important, was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the burial place of Jesus. This was the most difficult too, as much of the country around was under the control of men of different beliefs. The First Crusade was a great army of men, from every part of the Christian world, who had answered the Pope’s call for a Holy War, to free the Holy Land from the unbelievers, and had taken the Cross, in token of their willingness to fight. They liberated Jerusalem in 1099, and made it possible for Pilgrims to visit this most Holy City. In England and Europe, Pilgrims travelled from Monastery to Monastery, sure that they would be welcomed, fed, their illnesses cured and they would be given a place to sleep. But in the Holy Land, they were in great danger. Ordinary Monks in their Monasteries would not be able to withstand the attacks from the ‘Infidels,’ and would not be able to keep the road to Jerusalem open. So two great Orders of Soldier-Monks were formed to live and fight in ‘Outremer’ - the land beyond the sea. The Knights of the Temple of Solomon was one of these. The Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem was the other. The Knights Templars wore a white mantle over their armour, with a red cross on their left shoulder, over their heart. They were brave and skilful fighters, always in the worst and most dangerous positions in the army, the Templars in front leading, whilst the Hospitallers brought up the rear. They were both respected and feared by their enemies. Richard the Lionheart was very impressed by their ability and courage. After the Battle of Hattin, when the Kingdom of Outremer almost fell to the Turks led by Sal-eh-din (Saladin), the Knights that were captured were lined up in front of their captors. All the Templar and Hospitaller Knights were led away and executed immediately. It was considered too dangerous to let them live to fight another day. Ordinary Knights would be held prisoner until a ransom was paid for their release. Whilst they were able, these soldier-monks gave shelter to all Pilgrims in their castles. They escorted them to their destinations and even protected them from pirates on the sea. In order that they could carry out this work, they were gifted Manors in different countries by their supporters. All together they were given five hundred across Europe. Two in England, that we know, were the Inner and Middle Temples in London, (now the Law Courts) and Temple Balsall in Middle England. This was given to them in King Stephen’s reign. Roger de Mowbray tried to claim it back for his family in 1285, but then, gave up his claim and was received into the Order. In 1290, a red sandstone church was built, possibly like the one that stands today. In 1308, the Manor of Temple Balsall was a rich one. An inventory lists their assets as follows: Twenty-four Oxen Two hundred and twelve Lambs One Bull Two Boars Twenty-two Cows Five Sows Twenty-four young steer Thirty-nine other Pigs Thirty-three calves Nineteen Piglets Five Rams Carthorses, Asses, Mules, Foals, Doves, Swans and Peacocks. Two hundred and eighty-seven Ewes This inventory was made when Edward II rid himself of the Templars. There were only eight Knights left at Temple Balsall and they were imprisoned. The Manor reverted to the Mowbray family. But in 1322, John Mowbray was executed for treason and the Manor given to the Knights of the Hospital of St. John. The modern equivalent of this order is the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade. It is still possible to see the Church at Temple Balsall because, after Henry VIII broke up the Monasteries in 1537, the Preceptory Church, built by the Knights, was adopted as a Parish Church and is still used today. Katherine Leveson restored it in the nineteenth century. So Templars’ takes its name from an Order of soldier-monks whose ideals were to serve God, protect the weak and defend the Faith, which they did to the best of their ability.

[click here] ... continued Chapter Two

Acknowledgements
Thank you to all the old pupils and staff who have helped in the production of this history.
Thank you to Mrs. Clay who has put this History together.

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