Low Chibburn Preceptory

First of all, a preceptory is/was the special name given to a monastery of the Knights Templar or the Knights Hospitaller*. And, secondly, Low Chibburn is a few yards inland from the huge expanse of Druridge Bay in Northumberland. So what we have here is a pretty rare thing: a remnant of a building known to have Templar/Hospitaller connections situated right here in the North-East of England.

And it's not easy to get to, either. At least, not if you're expecting to roll up to the ruins in your car. No! For you have two rather awkward ways of getting in: apparently your can settle yourself into one of the quite-difficult-to-reach Druridge Bay car parks and walk inland (the site is behind Druridge Pools); or, as in my case, you can pull into a farm track access road from the village of Widdrington, then leave your vehicle when the road gets too rough and walk the last few hundred yards in an easterly direction.

Anyway, once you get there, this is what you'll find:

To get this close you have to be a bit spritely. As well as the access road (semi-blocked with fallen trees when I visited), there are a couple of farmer's fields to negotiate, plus a series of stiles, then an overgrown plot with bits of decaying ruin strewn around and about. Even the information boards are past their best.

Never mind, though, 'cos this is, after all, a pretty special place due to its rarity value. It's not even listed on most Templar/Hospitaller online lists. Its lifespan covered a mere couple of centuries or so, c.1313-1540, until it was claimed by the Crown, then passed to the Widdrington family in 1553. Of the Templar/Hospitaller stuff, only bits of the chapel remain; with most of the ruins actually being the house added on by the Widdringtons in the sixteenth century.

Originally, the site was given to the Knights in order that they could raise revenue for their various noble activities (crusades, etc.), and operated as a small farm, with a chapel and accommodation block - possibly offering facilities to those on pilgrimage to Holy Island. There would have been a moat in the site's heyday, but this has disappeared due to land movement caused by coal mining activity.

Interestingly, the chapel served as a pillbox during World War II:

Finally, Low Chibburn's active history was cut short in dramatic and unusual fashion when, in 1691, a small party of Frenchmen came ashore and plundered Widdrington, robbed it's castle and had a go at the old preceptory. Now there's an interesting little story. Think I'll look into it and tell you about it next time....

* I think the Hospitaller link far more likely, as the Templars were disbanded in 1312.