The two military orders hold houses and manors across the south-east, run by preceptors who send revenues east.
The Templars have their English headquarters at the New Temple in London, where kings and barons deposit treasure; their great Essex estate at Cressing and Witham, given by Queen Matilda; Temple Dinsley and their own new town of Baldock in Hertfordshire; Strood and Temple Ewell in Kent. The Hospitallers have their priory at Clerkenwell and a commandery at Little Maplestead in Essex. They owe no knight service, keep their own courts over their tenants and are free of most tolls.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for 1 January 1200 (Aimery de St Maur is master of the Temple in England by the early 1200s)
- Title
- Master of the Temple in England; prior of the Hospital of St John in England
- Confidence
- low
Both orders are exempt from the bishops, privileged by Rome and answer to their own masters (GM Church notes, Part 7). The Temple's English headquarters is the New Temple outside Ludgate, whose round church was consecrated by the Patriarch Heraclius in 1185; the Hospital's is the priory of St John at Clerkenwell. Both serve the crown as bankers and safe deposits. The names of the master and the prior on 1 January 1200 are not pinned here.
Overlord
Their own masters (the Templar and Hospitaller masters in the East); in England under the king's protection
What it holds
- The New Temple, London (Templars)
- Cressing and Witham, Essex (Templars, from Queen Matilda)
- Temple Dinsley by Hitchin and the town of Baldock, Hertfordshire (Templars)
- Strood (Temple Manor) and Temple Ewell, Kent (Templars)
- The priory of St John, Clerkenwell (Hospitallers)
- Little Maplestead, Essex (Hospitallers)
- Many lesser manors and rents not listed here
How it was acquired
Gifts of kings, queens and barons since the 1130s.
Allies and rivals
The crown, which uses the New Temple as a treasury; the bishops, who resent their exemption.
How things stand that morning
At peace, sending men and money to the East; the crusade preached in 1198-99 draws on them.
Wealth
Manors, rents, deposits and banking. No figures.
Military
Brethren-knights are few in England; their strength is money and organisation.
Threats
- None in England this winter
Places of note
- New Temple: Templar headquarters and treasury
- Clerkenwell priory: Hospitaller headquarters
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The houses are known; the office-holders for this winter are not pinned.
On the map: Only the main houses in the south-east; Baldock is a town record.
Primary sources for England
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
- Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
- Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
- English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
- Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
- Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online
22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.