Which old English Templar buildings still have safe rooms, and can we date them?
Research question: Which surviving English preceptory buildings have physical evidence of strongrooms or secure storage, and can that evidence be dated and tied to documented royal or private deposits?
The verified facts do not identify any surviving English preceptory building with physical evidence of a strongroom or secure storage. At Temple Bruer, the 1306 licence to crenellate refers to a fortified strong gate but does not describe any strongroom or secure storage 1. Temple Church is described as evolving from a Templar stronghold into a royal treasury over the centuries 2, but the facts give no physical evidence of a strongroom and no date or link to a specific royal or private deposit. Aslackby has little surviving structure, so it offers no building evidence for strongrooms or secure storage 3. The newest dated fact is the 1306 licence 1; the Temple Church and Aslackby entries are undated 23, so the facts cannot show how current the evidence is as of October 2026.
Sources
"which referred to "a certain part and strong gate" and which was noted in the 1338 Extent as a curtilagio"Temple Bruer Preceptory
"Over the centuries, Temple Church has evolved from a Templar stronghold to a royal treasury and now stands at the heart of the English legal world, jointly owned by the Inner and Middle Temples."Temple Church - SPAB Casework spotlight | The SPAB
"Little of its structure survives, but early descriptions and sketches indicate that its church was like that at Temple Bruer Preceptory"Aslackby Preceptory