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one of the King's clerks to obey all and every such commands 
as he may receive from his Sovereign, and then a writ was 
instantly served on him ordering him to capture all the 
Knights Templars at their establishment upon the Heath 
suddenly and unexpectedly. William de la More, therefore, 
the last Preceptor of Temple Bruer, and at the same time 
the last Grand Prior of all England, is gazing now for the 
last time upon the circular church and the great pile of 
buildings that hitherto belonged to his order ; his eye is 
resting fondly awhile upon one small square tower within 
which was his private chapel before he leaves all behind — 
that tower that still remains, and serves to indicate the site 
of this once great Templar Preceptory. Originally the 
Templars constituted an order, founded in 1118, that was 
sworn to defend all pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem ; 
and as the Abbot of the convent of the Temple afforded 
them some accommodation in the first instance, they from 
that circumstance were called " Templars." At first the 
order was very poor, but it soon became so popular that 
lands and money were showered upon it from all directions, 
until its wealth led to its corruption and to jealousy on the 
part of the nobles of England, as well as on that of the 
2nd Edward. Temple Bruer was founded by the Lady 
Elizabeth de Cauz (temp. Henry 2nd), and in after days 
possessed lands or tenements in almost all the surrounding 
parishes, amounting together to upwards of 10,000 acres. 
For sixteen years will King Edward keep these lands 
thus wrested from the Templars, and then he will bestow 
them upon another very similar order — the Hospitallers, 
or Knights of St. John, who after repeated quarrels about 
the respective boundaries of their lands with the Delalaunds 
of Ashby, will in their turn be compelled to disgorge their 
possessions at the spoliating command of Henry 8th. 
"John, King of France." — And now let us suppose that 
fifty-one years have rolled away since the dissolution of the 
u 2 
