Temple Church

Temple Church, also known as Holy Cross Church, (grid reference ST5972) is a ruined church in Redcliffe, Bristol, England. It is on the site of a previous, round church of the Knights Templar, which they built on land granted to them in the second quarter of the 12th century by Robert of Gloucester. In 1313 the Knights Hospitaller acquired the church, following the suppression of the Templars. By the early 14th century, the church served as the parish church for the area known as Temple Fee. From around the same time, the rebuilding of the church on a rectangular plan started. This was completed by 1460, with the construction of a leaning west tower. The Hospitallers would lose ownership of the church in 1540 during the dissolution of the monasteries. The church was the scene of the exorcism of George Lukins conducted by Methodist and Anglican clergy in 1788. The church was bombed and largely destroyed in the Bristol Blitz. It is a Grade II* listed building, owned by the Diocese of Bristol. In 1958, English Heritage agreed to undertake a guardianship role. A 1960 excavation by the Ministry of Works discovered the plan of the 12th-century church, enabling it to be marked out on the ground in stone.