Newland Preceptory

Reasons for Designation

A preceptory is a monastery of the military orders of Knights Templars and
Knights Hospitallers (also known as the Knights of St John of Jerusalem). At
least one preceptory of the Knights of St Lazarus is also known to have
existed in England. Preceptories were founded to raise revenues to fund the
12th and 13th century crusades to Jerusalem. In the 15th century the
Hospitallers directed their revenue toward defending Rhodes from the Turks. In
addition, the preceptories of the Templars functioned as recruiting and
training barracks for the knights whilst those of the Hospitallers provided
hospices which offered hospitality to pilgrims and travellers and distributed
alms to the poor. Lazarine preceptories had leprosy hospitals attached. Like
other monastic sites, the buildings of preceptories included provision for
worship and communal living. Their most unusual feature was the round nave of
their major churches which was copied from that of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. Indeed their use of such circular churches was unique in medieval
England. Other buildings might include hospital buildings, workshops or
agricultural buildings. These were normally arranged around a central open
space, and were often enclosed within a moat or bank and ditch. From available
documentary sources it can be estimated that the Templars held 57 preceptories
in England. At least 14 of these were later taken over by the Hospitallers,
who held 76 sites. As a relatively rare monument class, all sites exhibiting
good survival of archaeological remains will be identified as nationally
important.

Newland is one of only two preceptories established in West Yorkshire and was
the only one established by the Knights Hospitallers. The other, at Temple
Newsam, established by the Knights Templars, has been largely destroyed by
open cast mining and gravel extraction. The Newlands site has suffered only
limited disturbance in the post-medieval and later periods and will retain
significant evidence relating to its medieval occupation.

Details

The monument is situated on the banks of the river Calder and includes the
remains of a preceptory established in about 1180 by the Knights Hospitallers.
No medieval documentation specifically relating to the preceptory survives but
analysis of information contained within documentation relating to the wider
estates of the house, along with limited field investigation, has confirmed
that the main preceptory buildings lay in the area now occupied by the post-
medieval hall and its outbuildings. The medieval buildings included a chapel
not demolished until the mid-eighteenth century which was located in the
south-western quarter of the site, just south-east of the seventeenth century
hall which was demolished in 1917. Other buildings would have been located in
close proximity to this chapel but, like it, these now survive only as buried
features. Three small fishponds are also known to have existed to the north
of the buildings. The form of the enclosure within which these buildings were
contained is not known but its position, which provides the boundaries for
this scheduling, has been reconstructed from the evidence contained in various
medieval land grants to the house.
The creation of the preceptory is marked by a series of land grants in the
period 1180 to 1230. In 1338 a survey indicates that the preceptory was
occupied by the preceptor himself (a knight), a monk, a chaplain, and a man-
at-arms, representing all three grades of the Order. Additionally, payments
in the form of clothing and livery, are noted to a chamberlain, cook, baker,
bailiff, groom, two pages, a boy servant, and various agricultural workers.
In the early fourteenth century the knights cultivated their lands at Newland
directly, including 200 acres of arable and l6 acres of meadows. From the
mid-fourteenth century the estate was farmed out on a condition that
hospitality was provided for the preceptor whenever he held court there. The
post-medieval buildings on the site appear to have replaced rather than
incorporated their predecessors. The derelict eighteenth century house on the
site, formerly a stables or coach house, is Listed Grade II, as are a group of
17th and 18th century farm buildings enclosing a rectangular yard.
All buildings on the site are excluded from the scheduling although the ground
beneath all of them is included. The embankment for the now disused railway
running along the river bank is similarly excluded although the ground beneath
it is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Enhancement on 23 May 2023 to amend the description

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

21052

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Wrathmell, S, Adams, M, Newland Preceptory, (1991)
Crossley, E W, Yorkshire Arch. Soc. Record Service in The Preceptory of Newland, Vol. 61, (1920), 1-83

End of official list entry

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