Temple Bruer

Bruer Hamlet

Bruer come from the French word ‘bruyere’…meaning heather or heath. There seems to be other French connections …what with Ashby de la launde . Interestingly there are ‘bruyere’s’ not far from Rennes le Chateau….and stated as such on the French IGN maps. Just for laughs …DA VINCI CODE-Page 27 Chapter 2.. ‘Rue La Bruyere’…;-) Maps. Looking at the maps of 1820 of the Temple Bruer hamlet shows what looks to be a very similar layout to today. ....the village looks pretty much unchanged. Buildings/structures being shown at the same points of the seal. There was a small pit/quarry near the church, now not visible. It would be interesting to know if these sites near the seal points were built on previously, and if so how far back and if they covered a larger area? The main site of the medieval village of Temple Bruer are the fields near the road East of the preceptory. Not far from the road sign saying ‘hidden dip.’ Some of the lanes may have been straightened. New England lane certainly has, and looking at the older map and its original direction lines it up to the seal point that currently has nothing on it. But that’s not to say it didn’t have 800 years ago or less. Thompsons Bottom on/near the East point of the seal was built by the Chaplains of Blankney 1820…and later the church 1873…along with the school, extended by Lord Londesborough in 1908. There is also a special plant that grows near the church ‘ Mahonia’ a member of the Berberis family,……..its visible in the spring. One thing I did notice, while visiting the excellent archive centre at Heckington nr. Sleaford , was the position of the wind pumps on the old OS maps. On TB 1 Map…they can be made out as the large dots. Their positions are also very close to the seal points. The remains of the Warren houses wind pump is all that survives of the original 5 shown on the 1800’s map, as far as I know. There may well have been a 6th at Thompsons Bottom, completing the set. If anyone knows of one being sited at Thompsons Bottom I would like to hear from you. Please be respectful at Temple Bruer, and do not trespass. People enjoy the quiet life on the heath. There is good access to the whole area through the pleasant walks without intruding onto people’s private property. More will be added to this article as it becomes available.