Temple Newsam Preceptory
Temple Newsam Preceptory () was a Templar farmstead, just east of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. The term "preceptory" may be paraphrased as a "school of principles", and was the generic term for Templar communities. Geography and archaeology The site was south of the current Temple Newsam House, between Pontefract Lane and the River Aire. The site may be found on pre-1991 maps as Temple Thorpe Farm, which it overlapped to the south, and is now a few yards to the south-east of junction 45 on the M1 motorway. Any archaeological remains are now entirely destroyed by open cast mining. Excavations in 1903 found human remains, stone coffins and a possible chapel. A rescue dig in 1989-1991 failed to find the chapel, which was surmised to be under an industrial spoil heap to the south. The remains of a large cruciform barn, , were discovered, a possible dovecote, barrel pits, and part of a moat. History The Templars acquired the site sometime before 1181, being the death date of the Archbishop of York to whom the charter of confirmation was addressed, and lost the land shortly after the Order was dissolved in 1307. The land controlled by the preceptory would