Great Limber Preceptory

Great Limber Preceptory stands in the quiet Lincolnshire village of Great Limber, once known as Limber Magna. The site began as a farm run by Cistercian monks from Normandy, who received the manor and church in the 12th century. Later it passed to a priory in Coventry before becoming a farm for the Knights Templar. After the Templars were disbanded, the Knights Hospitaller took over until the 16th century. The land then belonged to private owners before falling into ruin and becoming an ancient scheduled monument. The preceptory was one of several Templar estates in Lincolnshire used to raise income and train men. Great Limber managed farmland on higher ground, unlike Temple Bruer on the open heath. The Lincolnshire preceptories included Aslackby, Bottesford and Eagle, each playing a part in the order’s network. After the Templars were suppressed in 1312, their properties were taken over by the Hospitallers. Great Limber’s farm continued under the new owners until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Visitors today see grassy mounds and earthworks marking the old buildings. The scheduled monument covers the remains of the Templar and Hospitaller farm. A low ridge shows where the main hall once stood. Nearby, the church of St Peter’s still contains medieval stonework from the preceptory’s time. The quiet fields around Great Limber give little hint of the site’s past importance.