History of the Knights Templar of Worcestershire

Part One: The Early Years of the Order

The Legacy of the Crusading Orders

The opening sentence of Brethren in Chivalry, the bicentenary history of the Great Priory of the United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta of England and Wales and Provinces Overseas, 1791–1991, by Frederick Smyth runs:

“Our United Masonic orders of today can claim to have inherited little more than the names of the two knightly fraternities which were formed and developed in the Holy Land during the first and second crusades.”

In fact, they have also inherited their dress (prescribed in 1873): the older black Augustinian habit of the Hospitallers with its white eight-pointed star of Amalfi current by 1113, and the newer white mantle of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon—the Templars—ordained by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1128 when he wrote his Rule for the Order some ten years after its foundation, and to which a red cross was added in 1147.

Origins Shrouded in Mystery

The origins of the Masonic order of the Temple are obscure—as, indeed, are those of Freemasonry itself—but it is thought that it originated on the continent, most probably in France in 1740 or soon after, as an attempt to found a specifically Christian order and thus circumvent the interdict of Pope Clement XII. His 1738 Bull In Eminenti threatened excommunication on all Catholic Freemasons who supported the increasingly deist Craft. From thence it ultimately crossed the Channel.

A Worcestershire Connection: Lodge Glittering Star

From a Worcestershire point of view, one of the earliest associations with the order relates to Lodge Glittering Star, the lodge of the 29th Regiment of Foot (subsequently the Worcestershire Regiment), founded with a travelling warrant under the Irish Constitution as No. 322 in 1759. Phillip Crossle, the Masonic historian and writer from Dublin, maintained that brethren from Glittering Star were responsible for the introduction of Templar Masonry into Halifax, Nova Scotia, when they were stationed there in 1765—just prior to their transfer to Boston, Massachusetts—where there is a further mention of the degree in a Royal Arch context in 1769. Three members of Lodge Glittering Star again played a prominent role.

Early English Records and Royal Arch Influence

Similarly, in England, the earliest record is in a Royal Arch context—that of the Chapter of Friendship in Portsmouth in 1778. It is also known that the Grand Lodge of the Antients, formed from Irish influence in London in 1751, held that the Craft warrant conveyed powers to confer other degrees including that of the Knights Templar.

The Pivotal Role of Thomas Dunckerley

The name most associated with the development of the Order is that of Thomas Dunckerley, the illegitimate son of King George II, born in 1724. He was initiated in 1754 while in the Royal Navy and was exalted as a Royal Arch Mason the same year. When posted to Canada, he became the first Provincial Grand Master at Quebec in 1760 and, following his retirement from the navy, subsequently held eight Provincial Grand Masterships and was Grand Superintendent of no less than eighteen Provinces concurrently.

One of his Provinces was Bristol, where he had ruled the Royal Arch since 1782 and, although there are conflicting versions of the exact sequence of events, it is clear that it was here that he was first asked to be Grand Master of the Knights Templar in the city in January 1791, followed by other knights in Portsmouth and York. On 24th June 1791, being the Feast of St John the Baptist, the first Grand Conclave of the Order was held at the Unicorn Tavern in London at which Dunckerley was installed as Grand Master.

Fire and the Lost Records of Grand Conclave

Unfortunately, once again, very little is known of the first three decades of the Grand Conclave, since almost all of the early records were destroyed in a fire at the home of the then Grand Vice-Chancellor in 1820. But we do know that by the time of the union of the two Craft Grand Lodges in 1813, some 55 Encampments—as Preceptories were called until 1872—had been established, of which twenty-three still survive.

We also know that the two royal brothers who played the major role in that Craft union were both Grand Masters of the Order: H.R.H. the Duke of Kent from 1805 to 1807 and H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex from 1812 until his death in 1843. But during the thirty years from 1813 to 1843, only ten more Encampments were established—and the Duke of Sussex has been unfairly blamed as being responsible for this dearth.

The Impact of the 1813 Union

The Union of 1813 had placed him in a very difficult position. The famous Article II of that Act of Union states, as we all know, that “pure Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more… including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch.” Less well known is the fact that it then went on to state that “this Article is not intended to prevent any Lodge or Chapter from holding a meeting in any of the degrees of the Orders of Chivalry, according to the constitutions of the said Orders.”

However, there was a strong faction in the Craft who believed in the first part of the Article but not in the second; the Duke of Sussex, who was now at the head of both Craft and Templars, had to be very careful to offend neither.

The Legend of the Templar Fleet of La Rochelle

In the autumn of 1307, the Knights Templar faced sudden ruin. On 13 October 1307, the deceitful and deeply in debt King Philip IV of France ordered a secret crackdown: royal agents simultaneously stormed every Templar centre and threw its members in prison.

Under enormous political pressure from the king of France, Pope Clement V joined the purge – on 22 November 1307 he issued the bull Pastoralis praeeminentiae, instructing all Christian rulers to arrest Templars and seize their goods. Within days the order’s leadership was shattered. Grand Master Jacques de Molay and many senior knights were captured in Paris; even Raymbaud de Caron, officially named “Commander of the Templar fleet,” was among those caught. The Templars’ era of power abruptly ended, not through battle but by betrayal. Just as Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, so King Philip IV of France had betrayed the protectors of Christendom for their wealth and lands.

La Rochelle: A Templar Port on the Atlantic

Long before 1307, the port of La Rochelle on France’s Atlantic coast had been one of the Templars’ most important bases. By the mid-1100s Eleanor of Aquitaine had granted them special privileges there (such as exempting the order from duties). Over the next century La Rochelle grew into the Templars’ principal harbour on the Atlantic. As one source notes, La Rochelle became “the Templars’ largest base on the Atlantic Ocean,” where they “stationed their main fleet” of ships.

In practical terms, the Templars at La Rochelle ran a busy trade. Records show they exported wine and goods by sea. This was a lucrative business and in wartime the order’s ships could (if needed) defend themselves. Importantly, though, these were mostly merchant transports, not a standing navy. In fact, medieval military ships were usually hired by the Templars rather than owned outright. In short, La Rochelle was a thriving Atlantic port and the main staging area for the order’s ships. How many of those ships were purely military in nature remains unknown and uncertain.

The Legend of the Fleeing Fleet

Into this setting the legends were born. Years after the Templars’ fall, when fear of being associated with the Knights Templar had subsided, stories began to circulate that on the eve of October 1307 something mysterious happened at La Rochelle. According to these tales, a secret convoy of Templar ships put out to sea just before dawn – literally escaping Philip’s dragnet by hours. As one source puts it (in French):

“la légende voudrait que… le 12 octobre 1307, 17 ou 18 navires… aient appareillé pour une destination inconnue” – Legend has it that on 12 October 1307, 17 or 18 ships sailed off to an unknown destination”.

This image of a fleet slipping away with the order’s treasures and leaders was popularized by books like Holy Blood, Holy Grail. For example, Holy Blood tells how an armada of 18 galleys (said to have carried Grand Master Molay from Cyprus to France) left La Rochelle “laden with knights and treasures” just as the arrest warrant was issued. In these accounts, trusted knights made off with gold, silver and even sacred relics, vanishing into the Atlantic dawn.

What cargo would this fleet have carried? Legend has it the ships were heavy with the Templars’ treasure – gold, jewels and cash – as well as secret archives or relics. The fleet supposedly also bore living fugitives. Other versions say ships carried nothing but documents and important people who would rebuild the order elsewhere. The common thread though is that something unusually precious was spirited away.

In narrative form, the story reads like a seafaring adventure: valiant Templar priests and knights, warned just in time, hauling a secret treasure fleet out of harm’s way. But over time these tales became increasingly elaborate and conflicting.

Criticism of the Legend and Common Sense Rebuttals

Claim: Modern historians claim there is no evidence to back up these legends. Contemporary records do not describe any clandestine naval escape. In fact, when Philip’s men moved against La Rochelle, they found the port firmly under royal control.

Rebuttal: It is a fact that the Templars had a huge network of advisors and political insiders. It is highly likely that they had picked up whispers of trouble ahead and acted just in case even though they would have believed nothing could be actioned against them while under the protection of the Papacy. The Port of La Rochelle was a Templar port, and it is more than possible that ships could have left without being recorded as this would have been the deliberate plan and the records managed by those who wanted to conceal the action. Furthermore, no royal soldier or commander would have admitted that they’d let King Phillip’s greatest prize escape for fear of personal reprisals. To support the theory that treasure left the country, Malcolm Barber notes that the king’s forces “found no substantial treasure” when they seized Templar properties. The royal agents did take control of whatever ships remained at La Rochelle but only after the Royal decree by which time a small fleet could easily have departed. As this would have been a top secret and highly clandestine operation, that lack of historical records is irrelevant.

Claim: The fleet likely never sailed as its commander, Raymbaud de Caron, was captured on land and the French crown quickly appropriated the order’s ships and goods. Demurger notes dryly that the supposed disappearance of the La Rochelle fleet “is more likely a legend than fact”. Whatever gold the Templars had was mostly on paper (land, loans, buildings) and much of it fell to the king or passed to the Hospitallers; no hidden hoard was found at La Rochelle or elsewhere.

Rebuttal: The fact that the fleet’s commander was captured on land is, again, irrelevant. The ships captains would have been under clear orders to leave with or without him. It is true that the majority of the Templar wealth was in lands and property, but they were also known as God’s Bankers and would have had to have had significant liquid assets. These would have been worth less than 10% of their ‘paper’ wealth but would still have represented a vast and fabulous fortune. The fact that these reserves were never found implies that they were either spirited away by the Templars or stolen by the kings of Europe. The fact that no ‘hoard’ was found at La Rochelle, the Templars main port and trading centre, is suspicious in itself.

Popular Theories and Speculation

There have been many theories about “where the ships went.” Over the centuries, numerous scenarios have been proposed. It is fair to say that many of these theories are pure speculation but that doesn’t make them any less interesting.

• England, Scotland and the Sinclairs. One long-standing legend connects the fleeing Templars with Robert the Bruce. In this version, Scottish forces let the Armada in as allies; the veteran Templar knights joined Bruce at Bannockburn, even helping win the war against England. The Sinclair (St. Clair) family of Rosslyn is often cast as harbourers of these survivors. Some writers even claim that Henry Sinclair later led a secret Templar expedition to the New World. For example, David Hatcher Childress (in Pirates and the Lost Templar Fleet) argues that “another portion of the fleet fled to the deep fjords of Scotland” under Sinclair command, and “these Templars then made a voyage to Canada in the year 1398, nearly 100 years before Columbus” (There is no medieval evidence for any such voyage. Historians view it as fanciful speculation.)The problem with legends is that they grow and are exaggerated so in this case it is best to do the opposite. England and Scotland would have been a good first destination in line with typical winds and the fact that the ships, if they existed, would have been lightly provisioned and would need supplies. The actual number of Templars could have been little as 50 with another 150 sailors, servants and supporters. This number could easily have been absorbed into the infrastructure of the nobility without much notice – particularly if that was the intention. What might have happened after that is anyone’s guess.

• 

  Portugal and the Order of Christ. The historical record does show that some Templars did find refuge on the Iberian Peninsula – but through political channels, not a flight. In 1312–1319 King Dinis of Portugal quietly transformed the former Templar properties into the new Order of Christ. As one source notes, “under [King Dinis’s] protection, Templar organizations simply changed their name and became the Order of Christ”. As such, some legends claim that the La Rochelle fleet escaped southward to Iberia, carrying treasure to Portuguese shores, which was then used in part to buy sanctuary from the king.

• The Swiss Connection – The emergence of a country and banking. The historical record does show that the emergence of Switzerland as a country made up of Cantons coincided around the same time as the expulsion and persecution of the Templars. Some have speculated that a portion of the Templar fleet sailed through the Mediterranean to Monaco and then travelled across land via Turin to the newly created Gotthard Pass and then on to the Uri Valley. It is fascinating to note that the Swiss flag is a truncated version of the Latin cross used by crusaders and that Templars were largely offered sanctuary after this time.

Coincidences and Possibilities

It is very interesting, if circumstantial, to note that the countries that turned out to be the least supportive of the action against the Templars were also those most like to have been destinations for the legendary Templar treasure fleet. It is also likely that the fleet, if it existed, would have split up and headed for multiple friendly destinations using the wealth on the ships to secure sanctuary for themselves and their comrades. Is it just a coincidence that England, Switzerland, Portugal and Monaco would go on to become global banking, trading and financial centres

The truth is that we don’t know what happened that fateful morning so many years ago. We do know that the Templars must have had financial reserves in gold and other portable assets and that these were never found. We do know that countries that generally rejected the persecution of the Templars were the same destinations likely to have been on the routes of the ships. We do know that the Templars had an excellent network of informants and may well have known of the plot even if they believed it could never be executed. We know that the lack of records is easily explained and that following the departure of the fleet the coincidences mount up one after another. Does this mean the fleet was real? We still can’t prove that, but to dismiss the legend as a just a myth is just foolish.