Saturday 16th August 2025
Our park-up for the long weekend is courtesy of the Camping and Caravanning Club Photographic Group which is holding its annual exhibition at Welbourn Village Hall. Thank you to all involved in the running of the event, which was a great success.
Temple Bruer:
Our perusal of the locality via Google Maps revealed a medieval Knights Templar Preceptory Tower, just a short bike ride away from Welbourn. This area is great for cycling as it is fairly flat and there are many quiet country lanes to explore.
Although you may need to check access (it is on private land), we found the tower open.
There is not much to it, but it has a long history dating back to around the year 1200 (over 800 years). The church, of which the tower belonged, was established in 1160. When the Knights Templar Order was suppressed in 1312, Temple Bruer was the second wealthiest Templar preceptory in England. In January 1308, William de la More, the Preceptor of Temple Bruer, was arrested here along with his knights, and imprisoned at Lincoln.
After suppression, its assets were transferred to the Knights Hospitallers until the dissolution of the monasteries around 1540. It was clearly part of a much larger building in its heyday.
Inside, there are two rooms, one on the ground floor, the other on the first floor, with a stone spiral staircase between them. It is clear that at one time, the staircase rose to a second floor, but this is now missing.
A feature of the tower, is the graffiti, some of which looks as though it was carved in the soft sandstone, in the late 18th century:
RAF Wellingore:
Leaving Temple Bruer, we cycled north towards Navenby.
This area of Lincolnshire was highly active in World War II as a base for many RAF aircraft. RAF Wellingore was originally opened in WW1, but closed in the intervening years. It was a relief landing ground for fighter aircraft.
There is little to be seen today, but we did see a roadside sign and a pill-box.
Navenby:
The small village of Navenby straddles the main A607 Grantham Road. it is a pleasant village with some interesting buildings, nearly all built with a lovely warm-coloured sandstone:
That is all for today. See-u-later and TTFN.
"See-u-Later" 