It was awarded to Bishop Odo of Bayeux after the Norman Conquest.
It was his descendant Serlo FitzOdo who granted it to the Knights Templar[1] who established a preceptory in the village in 1185.
[2][3] The preceptory served as an administrative centre for the lands held by the Templars in the south west of England and Cornwall.
[4] After the Knights Templar were suppressed following the 1307 order by Pope Clement IV,[2] it was granted to the Knights of St John who held it until the dissolution of the monasteries.
[1] An attempt to discover 'the village of the templars' was made by archaeological television programme Time Team.