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175 facts about Crusader castles, all checked

Every fact on this site in one place, each linked to its source. Our build checks each one against the source text; see the sources page. Where sources disagree you’ll find each one.

Jump to: The Crusades and the castles | Crac des Chevaliers | Fortress of Saladin | Acre | Rhodes | The Order of St John | Fort St Angelo, Malta | Valletta | Kolossi Castle | Karak Castle | Byblos | Caesarea | Temple Manor | The Temple Church | The national curriculum in England

The Crusades and the castles

  1. 1 The Crusades began with Pope Urban II’s call to take Jerusalem and the places in the East that were sacred to Christians. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  2. 2 Thousands of knights and ordinary people across Europe answered the call. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  3. 3 The Old Akko timeline dates the First Crusade to 1095 to 1099. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  4. 4 For the next 180 years or so, the Crusaders tried to keep hold of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  5. 5 The Crusades changed life in Europe too: its economy, trade, politics and society. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  6. 6 In 1187, at the Battle of Hattin, Saladin defeated the Crusaders and took Jerusalem and Acre. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  7. 7 Richard the Lionheart and Saladin were enemies, yet the Old Akko timeline says they became friendly: Saladin sent doctors when Richard was ill, and gave him his best horses. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  8. 8 Richard even offered his sister in marriage to Saladin’s brother. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  9. 9 The Mamluks were a new power from Egypt. The Old Akko timeline dates the Mamluk period to 1260 to 1517. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  10. 10 The Mamluks built up their rule in the region after stopping the Mongol invasion. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  11. 11 UNESCO says the Crusader castles show influences passing between peoples, and how fortification developed in the Byzantine, Crusader and Islamic periods. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  12. 12 ICOMOS says Crac and Saladin’s castle together are a sort of catalogue of military inventions from centuries of war between Christian and Muslim armies. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  13. 13 The new kinds of castle building spread both East and West in the centuries afterwards. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  14. 14 In the second half of the 12th century, Crusader lands were handed over to the Knights Hospitaller or the Templars, who then did the castle building. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  15. 15 UNESCO says these castles differed from the more passive defence systems of European castles. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  16. 16 ICOMOS notes that the castles were long linked mainly with the European invaders, but their national importance has more recently been recognised. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

Crac des Chevaliers

  1. 17 The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem built Crac des Chevaliers between 1142 and 1271. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  2. 18 UNESCO says Crac ranks among the best-preserved Crusader castles. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  3. 19 UNESCO calls Crac an archetype of a medieval castle, especially for the military orders. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  4. 20 ICOMOS says its outline and plan may be the most perfect expression of the fortified castle. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  5. 21 The Mamluks added further building in the late 13th century. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  6. 22 ICOMOS says the Mamluks held the castle from 1271 to 1300. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  7. 23 In the early 11th century, the site was the Castle of the Kurds. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  8. 24 Crac des Chevaliers means Crac of the Knights. The name Crac may come from the Castle of the Kurds, through Crat in Latin sources. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  9. 25 Today the castle is known as Qal’at al-Hosn. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  10. 26 ICOMOS dates the first building phase to 1142 to 1190, the second to 1190 to 1200 and the third to 1200 to 1271. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  11. 27 Inside, the castle had two concentric lines of defence around the inner courtyard. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  12. 28 ICOMOS says the Mamluks also built new structures such as “the massive square tower on the south side (Qalawun, in 1285)”. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  13. 29 The outer wall has eight round towers on its north and west sides. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  14. 30 The towers have carefully placed loops: narrow openings for shooting at an enemy. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  15. 31 The main gate is on the east side. It leads to a long, bent, vaulted ramp, defended by a moat and drawbridge. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  16. 32 On the west and south sides is a sloping glacis, over 25 metres wide at the base, called the Mountain. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  17. 33 The slope made it hard for attackers to set up equipment for climbing the walls. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  18. 34 At the south end of the inner castle, three great round towers held the finest rooms and were a last refuge. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  19. 35 Crac slowly lost its military role from the 14th century; the military base left in the 19th century and villagers lived there. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  20. 36 Some limited restoration was done during the French mandate, and the villagers’ more recent additions were removed. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  21. 37 The medieval buildings were cleared of soil that had built up. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  22. 38 Crac des Chevaliers is in the municipality of Al Hosn, in Homs Governorate, Syria. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  23. 39 Both castles stand on high ridges that were key defensive positions. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  24. 40 Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din were inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2006. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  25. 41 UNESCO lists Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din on the List of World Heritage in Danger: “2013 - Present”. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  26. 42 The World Heritage property covers 8.87 hectares. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

Fortress of Saladin

  1. 43 Qal’at Salah El-Din has Byzantine beginnings in the 10th century, Frankish changes in the late 12th century, and Ayyubid fortifications from the late 12th to mid-13th century. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  2. 44 It is partly in ruins and is now an archaeological site. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din
  3. 45 The fortress, once called Sahyun or Château de Saône, was renamed Fortress of Saladin in 1957, to honour the sultan who took it in 1188. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  4. 46 It sits on a rocky spur at 440 metres, so steep that it can only really be reached from the east. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  5. 47 Its plan is a narrow triangle pointing west, 720 metres long and 120 metres wide at the base. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  6. 48 A ditch separates the upper court from the lower court, whose walls have four square towers. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  7. 49 Two Byzantine chapels survive at the fortress. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  8. 50 Because it was isolated, the fortress was left unused for centuries. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
  9. 51 The main gate of the Ayyubid palace was restored in 1936, copying the original; that kind of restoration has since stopped. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

Acre

  1. 52 UNESCO says Acre was the capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1104 to 1291. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre
  2. 53 Acre was the Crusaders’ main port in the Holy Land. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre
  3. 54 ICOMOS says the Crusader period began at Acre in 1104, some five years after the fall of Jerusalem. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  4. 55 Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, and the Genoese fleet besieged Acre by land and sea until it fell. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  5. 56 ICOMOS calls 1191 to 1291 Acre’s golden age, as capital of the second Crusader kingdom. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  6. 57 Richard the Lionheart retook the city in 1191, in the Third Crusade, after a siege of almost two years. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  7. 58 The Old Akko timeline dates the Third Crusade to 1189 to 1192. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  8. 59 After the Third Crusade, Acre’s northern quarter grew and was surrounded by a double wall. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  9. 60 Acre became the home of the patriarch and the headquarters of the military orders. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  10. 61 Genoese, Venetian and Pisan merchants built their own quarters near the port. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  11. 62 The Hospitallers settled in the north of the city and the Templars in the south-west. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  12. 63 People in Crusader Acre spoke Old French with Italian and Arabic words mixed in; it was the language of trade. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  13. 64 Spices, precious stones, raw materials, plants and textiles were bought and sold in Acre’s markets. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  14. 65 Old manuscripts describe an outer port and a smaller inner one. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline
  15. 66 ICOMOS says that in 1291 Acre was “systematically destroyed on the orders of Sultan El Ashraf”. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  16. 67 The Crusader city survives almost intact beneath the Ottoman city, and excavation has been revealing it. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre
  17. 68 When the city was rebuilt in the 18th century, the Crusader buildings were used as foundations, keeping the Crusader street plan. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  18. 69 The citadel was built over the Hospitallers’ citadel, which includes the Knights’ Halls, the Crypt and the “Beautiful Hall”. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  19. 70 Below ground are walls, streets, drainage tunnels and hidden passages. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)
  20. 71 In the Hospitaller complex, a 10-metre-tall vaulted toilet room had rows of eight seats draining into a collection room below. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: The Knights Halls
  21. 72 A main sewer, 1 metre wide and 1.5 metres tall, crossed the city from north to south and emptied into the sea at the port. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: The Knights Halls
  22. 73 Finding a complete public toilet system like this is rare; the few similar ones are in 13th and 14th century monasteries and hospitals in England and Wales. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: The Knights Halls
  23. 74 After a long decline, Acre was still the main entry port for Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre

Rhodes

  1. 75 The Knights of St John held Rhodes from 1309 to 1523. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  2. 76 They came after losing their last stronghold in the Holy Land, Acre, in 1291. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  3. 77 UNESCO says Rhodes became “a fortified city able to withstand sieges as terrible as those led by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and Mehmet II in 1480”. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  4. 78 Rhodes finally fell in 1522 after a six-month siege. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  5. 79 The medieval city sits inside a wall 4 kilometres long. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  6. 80 The Order was organised into seven “tongues”, each with its own inn. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  7. 81 The inns of Italy, France, Spain and Provence lined the famous Street of the Knights. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  8. 82 The Great Hospital was built between 1440 and 1489. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  9. 83 At the Amboise Gate, built in 1512, the wall was 12 metres thick, with a 4-metre parapet pierced with gun holes. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  10. 84 Firing posts for artillery were the last features added to the walls. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  11. 85 The fortifications of Rhodes influenced the whole eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Middle Ages. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  12. 86 Its port was once home to the Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
  13. 87 After 1523, most churches in Rhodes became mosques. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes

The Order of St John

  1. 88 By 1080, monks led by Brother Gerard ran a hospital in Jerusalem for pilgrims who fell ill. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  2. 89 The Church officially recognised the new order in 1113. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  3. 90 The Hospitallers cared for anyone, whatever their race or faith. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  4. 91 After the Crusaders took Jerusalem, the Hospitallers also took on a military role, as the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  5. 92 Their symbol is a white eight-pointed cross on a black background. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  6. 93 The same eight-pointed cross is now the badge of St John Ambulance. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  7. 94 After 1291 the Order moved briefly to Cyprus, then in 1309 to Rhodes. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  8. 95 The Museum of the Order of St John says: “The Order remained on Rhodes until 1522, when the Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, conquered the island.” Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  9. 96 From Rhodes the Order moved to Malta, and stayed until 1798, when the island was surrendered to Napoleon. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  10. 97 The Museum of the Order of St John says: “After a famous siege by Suleiman in 1565, which the Knights and the Maltese people survived, a new capital city, Valletta, was built.” Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  11. 98 In the 1140s the Priory in Clerkenwell, London, became the Order’s English headquarters. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  12. 99 When Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church, the Order in England was dissolved and its lands seized by the Crown. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  13. 100 Later, as the offices of the Master of the Revels, the Clerkenwell buildings saw thirty of Shakespeare’s plays licensed. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  14. 101 Queen Victoria granted the modern Order of St John in England a Royal Charter in 1888. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  15. 102 Across St John’s Square from the Gate is the Priory Church, with its 12th-century crypt. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  16. 103 The museum’s collections include rare armour and a bronze cannon given by Henry VIII. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order
  17. 104 The Museum of the Order of St John is at St John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, London. Museum of the Order of St John: home page
  18. 105 The museum tells the story of an order that began by caring for sick pilgrims in 11th-century Jerusalem. Museum of the Order of St John: home page

Fort St Angelo, Malta

  1. 106 After 1530, the Order of St John named the old castle Fort St Angelo and made it their headquarters. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  2. 107 By 1274 the stronghold, then called Castrum Maris, “castle-by-the-sea”, had two enclosures. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  3. 108 The Knights added artillery platforms, bringing the bastioned system of defence to Malta. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  4. 109 Fort St Angelo had a major role in the Great Siege of 1565. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  5. 110 In 1689 the engineer Carlos Grunenbergh added four gun platforms for some fifty guns. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  6. 111 The fort later became a Royal Navy shore base, named HMS St Angelo in 1933. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  7. 112 In the Second World War, Fort St Angelo took 69 direct hits. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo
  8. 113 The last foreign forces marched out of the fort in March 1979. Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo

Valletta

  1. 114 Valletta was founded in 1566, soon after the Siege of Malta in 1565. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta
  2. 115 The Knights of St John planned Valletta as one whole design, with a grid of streets inside bastioned walls. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta
  3. 116 Valletta has a compact group of 320 monuments. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta
  4. 117 They include St John’s cathedral, the Grand Master’s Palace and auberges, the inns of the Order’s tongues. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta
  5. 118 The Order looked after the city for two and a half centuries. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: City of Valletta

Kolossi Castle

  1. 119 Kolossi castle was first built in the 13th century and rebuilt in its present form in the 15th century. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle
  2. 120 The Cyprus tourism ministry says: “After the fall of Acre in 1291, it served as the Grand Commandery of the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem”. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle
  3. 121 The Cyprus tourism ministry says Kolossi “in the 14th century came under the domain of the Knights Templar”. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle
  4. 122 The Knights made and exported a sweet wine, the “vin de Commanderie”; Commandaria wine has kept the name for eight centuries. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle
  5. 123 Next to the castle are the ruins of a 14th-century sugar mill. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle
  6. 124 The Cyprus Department of Antiquities says: “The castle was built in 1210 by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Knights Hospitallers) as the seat of the Supreme military commandment (Grande Commanderie).” Department of Antiquities, Cyprus: Kolossi Castle
  7. 125 The Cyprus Department of Antiquities says: “In 1306 it briefly came into the possession of the Knights Templars” and “After the abolition of the Knights Templars in 1313, the castle of Kolossi returned to the possession of the Knights Hospitallers”. Department of Antiquities, Cyprus: Kolossi Castle
  8. 126 The Cyprus tourism ministry puts Kolossi 14 km west of Lemesos (Limassol), on the road towards Pafos. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle
  9. 127 Entry to Kolossi was listed at €2.50. Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Cyprus: Kolossi Medieval Castle · checked 3 Nov 2026

Karak Castle

  1. 128 Karak, an old Crusader stronghold, stands 900 metres above sea level. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak
  2. 129 The Jordan Tourism Board calls Karak Castle a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passages. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak
  3. 130 The best-preserved parts are underground. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak
  4. 131 On clear days, you can see across the Dead Sea to the Mount of Olives by Jerusalem. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak
  5. 132 The Karak Archaeological Museum opened inside the castle in 1980. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak
  6. 133 Its main hall is a vault that housed soldiers in the Mamluk period. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak
  7. 134 Karak can be reached from the ancient King’s Highway to the east or from the Dead Sea to the west. Jordan Tourism Board: Karak

Byblos

  1. 135 UNESCO lists a Crusade citadel among the layers of Byblos. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos
  2. 136 The old walled town of Byblos has everything a medieval town had: a wall, cathedral, castle and donjon. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos
  3. 137 Byblos is on a sandstone cliff 40 km north of Beirut. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos
  4. 138 People have lived at Byblos for 8,000 years, starting with fishermen. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos

Caesarea

  1. 139 The Israel Nature and Parks Authority lists Crusader fortifications among the remains at Caesarea. Israel Nature and Parks Authority: Caesarea National Park
  2. 140 Caesarea was named in honour of Augustus Caesar. Israel Nature and Parks Authority: Caesarea National Park

Temple Manor

  1. 141 Henry II gave the manor of Strood to the Knights Templar in 1159. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  2. 142 English Heritage describes the Templars as a military and religious order set up at the time of the Crusades to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  3. 143 Probably no more than two knights lived at Temple Manor all the time. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  4. 144 The hall was built about 70 years after the Templars got the estate, as lodging for important travellers between Dover and London. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  5. 145 In 1307 King Philip of France first seized the Templars’ possessions. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  6. 146 In 1324 the manor of Strood was formally handed to Edward II. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  7. 147 The hall is a two-storey flint and stone building, with a first-floor chamber over a vaulted cellar called an undercroft. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  8. 148 The main doorway has Purbeck marble shafts on each side. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  9. 149 The flint walls were once plastered and painted to look like smooth stone. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  10. 150 The outside stair was rebuilt in the 1950s. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  11. 151 The house fell derelict and was restored by the Ministry of Works after the Second World War. English Heritage: History of Temple Manor
  12. 152 Traces of wall paintings survive in the first-floor hall. English Heritage: Temple Manor
  13. 153 English Heritage says Temple Manor is open by appointment only, and closed from November to March. English Heritage: Temple Manor · checked 3 Nov 2026
  14. 154 Entry is free. English Heritage: Temple Manor · checked 3 Nov 2026

The Temple Church

  1. 155 The Temple Church in London was built by the Knights Templar. The Temple Church: History
  2. 156 The Round Church was consecrated in 1185 by the patriarch of Jerusalem. The Temple Church: History
  3. 157 It was designed to recall the round Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Temple Church: History
  4. 158 The patriarch was Heraclius of Jerusalem, on 2 or 10 February 1185. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  5. 159 The Temple Church says Hugh of Payns, a knight of Champagne, founded the Templars in 1118 to 1119. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  6. 160 The church’s own timeline lists “1119-20 Templars founded, Jerusalem”. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  7. 161 Besides the monks’ vows, the Templars took a fourth vow: to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  8. 162 Their headquarters in Jerusalem was the Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, which the Crusaders believed was the Temple of Solomon; that is where the name Templars comes from. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  9. 163 The Templars’ first London house, by the 1140s, was in Holborn, a mile north; it had a round church too. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  10. 164 The present Round Church was in use by 1163. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  11. 165 The Round Church may be the earliest Gothic building in England. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  12. 166 In the Middle Ages the walls had bright painted lozenges and banners hung from the columns. The Temple Church: The 12th Century, 1119 to 1187
  13. 167 William Marshal the Younger was buried next to his father in the Round Church in 1231, where his effigy still lies. The Temple Church: To the End of the Templars, 1231 to 1312
  14. 168 The new chancel was consecrated on Ascension Day 1240, in the King’s presence. The Temple Church: To the End of the Templars, 1231 to 1312
  15. 169 A 1308 inventory of the church lists two pairs of organs. The Temple Church: To the End of the Templars, 1231 to 1312
  16. 170 The Temple Church timeline gives 1307 to 1312 for the suppression of the Templars. The Temple Church: To the End of the Templars, 1231 to 1312

The national curriculum in England

  1. 171 At KS3, one non-statutory example for medieval Britain 1066 to 1509 is “Christendom, the importance of religion and the Crusades”. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  2. 172 At KS2, one of the non-European society options is early Islamic civilisation, including a study of Baghdad around AD 900. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  3. 173 The curriculum names concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  4. 174 Pupils should understand how evidence is used to make claims, and why there are different accounts of the past. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study
  5. 175 The Crusades are not named in the Key Stage 2 history programme of study; the only mention is the non-statutory Key Stage 3 example. Department for Education: National curriculum in England, history programmes of study