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Knight Road, ROCHESTER, ME2 2AH

Originally dating from the 13th Century and extended in the 17th, Temple Manor was used as residence for the Knights Templar. It lies in the heart of industrial Strood.

A 13th Century residence of the Knights Templar in the heart of industrial Strood.

This lane leads from Knight Road to the yacht club and works on Temple Marsh. It passes under the railway between Strood and Cuxton.

The remains of the Knights Templars manor house, Grade I Listed Scheduled Monument. Some form of occupation of the site has occurred since Roman times, a burial to the south-east of the present building is thought to date from then. Later it was part of a royal manor until c.1159 when Henry II granted it to the Knights Templars along with all the dues and administrative rights of the Hundred of Shamel in which it lay. By 1312 the order was dissolved and the manor was apparently in the hands of the King and in 1324 the Grand Prior formally ceded the manor to the king. In 1342 Edward III granted it to Mary of St Pol and it was used for Franciscan nuns until 1539. It then passed through the hands of Edward Elrington, the Cobham family, Robert Cecil, Stuart, Duke of Richmond and Isaac Blake. The Blake family held the estate until the 18th century, when it was sold on to various families who combined farming with commerce and gradually divided the estate up. In the 1930's the City of Rochester acquired what remained of the estate for industrial development. In 1950 guardianship of the site, in a state of decline was offered to the Ministry of Works. Access to the upper floor was by means of an external stair, reconstructed c.1950 when the building was restored. Now in the hands of English Heritage, it is planned to be opened to the public for 13 days in August 2024.

Temple Manor is supported on an undercroft which has walls nearly 3' (0.8m) thick. It is of three bays (two seen in this image) each of four-sided ribbed vaults, with squared chalk filling between the ribs. This is the earliest part of the building and dates from the C13th. See Image] for more information about the whole building with links to English Heritage information about this Grade I (nationally important) structure. (Also see Image])

Temple Manor must have just about the most unlikely setting of any of English Heritage's ancient buildings. It is found in an industrial estate alongside Knight Road. Its actual setting can be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3602375 and http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3602377 It is part of a 13th century flint manor house which originally belonged to the Knights Templars. The red brick additions date from Tudor times.

A real gem in the middle of an industrial estate.

An early C13th storeyed hall of the Knights Templar later it became a farmhouse and is now an Ancient Monument in the custodianship of English Heritage. One of the many remarkable things about this building is its setting - behind a chain-link fence in the midst of an industrial estate in Strood. See EH Grade I listing here: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1120910 Ancient Monument Listing: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1011805 English Heritage Visitor information: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/temple-manor See also Image] & Image]