[1] Temple derives its name from the hospice or preceptory founded by the Knights Templars who built a refuge for pilgrims and travellers, en route to the Holy Land, in the 12th century.

[2][3][4] Temple Church is a Grade II* listed building built c.1120 on land owned by the Knights Templar.

It became famous as a place where marriages could be performed without banns or licence (similar to Gretna Green until the early 20th century).

By the mid-19th century, it had become a ruin and a final service was held on 29 January 1882, in front of a ″large congregation″ led by the Reverend J Brown.

[8] Several of these crosses were subsequently incorporated into a stone outbuilding on the south side of the church.