THE MIDKNIGHT GARDEN: KNIGHTS OF THE RED ORDER

QUEST 29: MARCH 2020

It is always so exciting to go on a surprise quest and Quest 29 into Suffolk was most certainly that! It was March 29th and a gorgeous springtime day, a bit chilly but the sky was blue and clear; it was also just before ‘lockdown’ in the UK and so upon looking back i was doubly glad we were able to get out and about when we did. Suffolk is a beautiful area of East Anglia with many pretty, unspoilt villages and beautiful old churches too, with many surpises when it comes to our quests. The churches we visited were of course all Knight Templar related, all a part of, and with connections to our grail quest; the whole area being part of a large Roman encapement in its day.

• All Saints Church Icklingham
• Saint James Church Icklinham
• All Saints Church Wordwell
• Saint Mary the Virgin Church Cavendish

All Saints Church Icklington: The church is set in a pretty landscaped area with wide views across the countryside. All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church, it is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade 1 listed building and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is of Norman and English Gothic architectural style built in the fourteenth century. The church stands in the highest point in the village, adjacent to the A1101 road between Mildenhall and Bury St Edmunds; this was formerly the ancient trackway of the Roman Empire, the Icknield Way, in 120AD. The church was almost completely rebuilt in the 14th century with a south porch added in the 15th century. Sadly the church has been unused for over 100 years, being declared redundant in the 1970s. The roof has been re-thatched in the traditional manner with the rest of the church being constructed in flint rubble with freestone dressing. Read more about the church below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Church,_Icklingham

The church has a wonderful feel to it when one enters, no surprise as Icklingham has a important connection to our previous quest to Autun in France. Obviously there was a huge Roman presence in Autun too, which you will know if you have read our previous quest, Icklingham would have been a pathway into East Anglia for the Romans. The whole area here was a very large Roman encampment with thousands and thousands of troops being present in 124 AD, reaching all the way up to Wordwell. It was not only an invasion, but a transformation of the whole area too.

The interior of All Saints Church Icklingham <click to enlarge>

There are some stunning medieval tyles on the floor, with very well peserved Templar Symbolism, some with ‘the flowers and the petals of life’ connecting to the Knight Templars, whom would certainly have used this church. We are looking at the year 1314 here, when Jaques de Molay was burnt at the stake; yet the Templars did flee from France to survive in other areas, and Icklingham was one such area where they recieved some kind of unofficial Sanctuary. The tiles on the floor are original and of course we did not walk on them, but they were amazing to see, one that caught our eye, had a great depth of detail on it, which can be seen in our video and photos.

The original floor tyles with Templar symbology

The church is still in an original, natural state and has not been ‘victorianised’ at all. It still has most of its original features from the thatched roof, the pulpit, the original spiral stairs (now leading nowhere) and even an old original wrought iron funeral cart with original wheels and spokes, still in working order. One can certainly imaging the pall-bearers pushing it along with its coffin on board, entering the service, with the noise of the iron wheels reverberating upon the stone floors, echoing throughout the chambers of the church. Nearby is a wonderful church organ by W. Howlett and Son, an item any musical person would simply love. Even though it could have done with a very good clean it did add to the ascetics of the church, rather than being of any functionality. The pews of course are original complete with by-gone graffitti, from a time when folks would have sat there in the church listening to the sermons of Reverend, one can well imagine bored tots sittng there and picking away at the wood. So much history here; so many stories to be told.

The recently thatched roof is beautifully crafted allowing straw to fall naturally to the ground, just as it would have all those many years ago. There is a fairly modern, yet lovely stained-glass window depicting two of the saints, with many theories abounding in the area as to who they actually are; our understanding is that they are James and Peter – James to the left and Peter to the right. Almost under the window is an original wooden built up pew, which one enters by a hinged and brackets door in order to be able to sit down, and with its high bible-rest in front, it is almost like being in the dock! The stone pulpit (or font) is also original and in good condition, save for a bit of wear and tear. We were unable to find the stone carvings we were interested in, neither on the inside or outside of the church, so sadly maybe they never survived the test of time. A very interesting church with lots of references to the Templars, the Roman Empire, but very importantly, let us not forget King Arthur himself. Our Templar history informs us that Lancelot Desposyni was in this area on his travels, journeying through the area, visiting St James Church. King Arthur and Lancelot, when one separates them from the ‘myths and legends‘, did not just travel to one area, they moved around, changing things, transforming things during the times that we know as the ‘Dark Ages’. An amazing church with many untold stories to tell…. This would have been the most ‘energetic’ church of the day.

Standing in front of the old funeral carts

See our video below to take a stroll inside the church:

ALL SAINTS CHURCH ICKLINGHAM

Saint James Church Icklinham: Sadly when we arrived at this church it appeared to be well and truly locked up and maybe closed for health and safety reasons , so just a quick write up with a few shots from outside. It looked a peaceful church on the outside with some important items for us to see inside, but in a fairly built up area and a shame it was closed.

 I am including a link which contains several photos of the interior of the church which we did not get to see: http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/icklingj.html

In brief, it is a Medieval Church, which has been restored, in an area where there would have been a Roman encampment on land occupied by the Romans in 120 AD. It would have been a Knights Templar preceptory in times past, 1066-1539 AD, even more reason to have been able to go inside. The Knights Templars did exist beyond the burning at the stake of Jaques de Molay in 1314. The namesake of the church St James, was the first disciple of Jesus and the patron saint of Spain, he was sadly executed by sword in 44 AD at Judea, Jerusalem and importantly was linked to Lancelot of Valencia, Spain.

All Saints Church Wordwell: After going slightly off course through the countryside and down a small lane, to end up at a completely different church, we finally arrived at this still out of the way church at Wordwell. All Saints is a redundant Anglican church, it is recorded in the National Heritage list for England as a designated Grade 1 listed building and is under the care of the Churches Conversation Trust. It was established in 1129 AD, prior to a Roman Empire encapement. The present church is a tiny Norman church, restored in the Victorian period and containing some superb medieval and Norman carvings.

‘Wordwell’ is an interesting name, with various meanings just crying out for some further research. All Saints Church at Wordwell still has its original construction; it was established at the time of the Templars, being used frequently by the Knights of the area at the time, and further going forwards into the midpoint of the thirteen hundreds, it was used as Sanctuary for the Templars, as they fled from Europe during the time of their demise, thus the church has so much history attached to it.

The church had a very nice feel to it, good energies were present. There were some interesting windows; one showed a triskellian and upon looking closer a pyramid within a petaled flower, shown in the form of a triangular pyramid ascending within a petaled flower, which is unusual. At first gance this could be seen as very masonic, but one must ask, which came first, the chicken or the egg? As we have learnt previously, the Freemasons were formed after the Knights Templars, lest we forget.

The old original church organ, here in the church with its big square paddles, is now being used as a table for leaflets, but it looks like it may be in good working order. However nearby and just above the organ, is indeed the prize catch of this church in every way, shape or form, in the form of a wonderful oiginal wall carving, which could almost be mistaken for being Sumerian, in style, being very reminiscent of the clay tablets. The people shown in the carving are of quite a short build; the carving having been viewed differently by different people over time; some folks thinking it is of St Catherine or the other saints, but it is non of them; there being other reasons for it being what it is. What is interesting is that the figures are both male, not as in male and female as often thought. One figure is holding a ring which is being given to the other male, but not in a context of marriage, more of in a binding ceremony, a binding with G-d context. A very interesting find indeed, of which one does not often get to see in an English church in this day and age. One cannot help but wonder why it is there and the full story behind it.

The interior of the church, showing the very unusual carving <please click to enlarge>

Moving around, the wooden pews are all beautifully carved with animals and folaige, and have aged wonderfully over the years. The atmosphere of the church, its age and how it has been set out certainly brings to mind that famous Knight Templar painting entitled ‘The Acolade’. The scene here before us, is very reminiscent of that particular painting with the steps acending as the Templar comes forward, to bow and drop three times before reaching the altar (thrice the times). The church is very well looked after and has very well preserved tyles on the floor, with many Galic symbols represented. One can see represented in the tyles;  earth, air, fire and water, with the most important symbols being fire and water, (south and west)  (the water and the fire), which gives us ‘pure light’. We know from history that the south-western quadrant is always the most important; in Masonic terms a candidate is asked ‘Why did you leave the west to travel east?‘ and later on on ‘Why did you leave the east to travel west?‘ The response would be ‘In search of Light in Craft’, however when they reach the west they dont find the Light in Craft because then, in the west, the candidates are later on informed in their degrees (from the 42nd degree upwards), that they need to head south to find the Light in Craft. They have to then journey from the east to the west, and thence instructed to go south, (south-west), which is most important, as it is the ‘pure-light’ of the compass-points.

There are some interesting restored artworks on the other window with a cow emblem at the top, albeit a very intricate stylised design, but i saw it clearly, although some may not see it at all. Also there is the ‘fan-fare‘ wheel in the window and a ‘triklesite’ aspect to the right and to the left. On the high altar is a lovely red and gold altar cloth with some nice old guilding from around the 1900’s, probably replaced at some point, but lovely non the less. At the back of the altar on the wall carvings, one can see the ‘flowers of life’, being the daisy and the tulip, there are other schools of thought on this subject, but this is correct. There are some wonderful quotes upon the wall behind the altar, one in particular from Exodus, see the photo below for the full quote.

Truth and religion in the UK today, has become a very flexible subject and often open to many interpretations, yet for those whom profess to follow the faith and the path; it says very clearly here, that thou shall have non other gods but me, no other gods, apart from G-d; we know already that there are angels and djinn, but no other gods which is very important to not forget. For a small church there is a lot going on here, a lot of history; this church being on a par I noticed, with the one we visited in Mepal recently on our Fenland Quest, the same level and size etc. Much to take away with us from this visit, much to pause and think about. This was probably the best church of the day from a conservation viewpoint, the most enigmatic church.

See our video below to take a stroll around the church:

ALL SAINTS CHURCH WORDWELL

Saint Mary the Virgin Church Cavendish: This was the last church of the day, in the pretty village of Cavandish. St Mary the Virgin Chirch is a grade 1 listed parish church in  Cavandish, Suffolk. It was built in the 1300’s, thus only 700 years old, yet built on much earlier foundations over earlier buildings, earlier temples etc. This church is mostly 14th-century, with building dating from about 1300 to about 1485, with some 19th-century additions and alterations. The oldest parts of the church, dating from about 1300, are the Tower, the Porch and the lower parts of the walls of the aisles. In 1350 the South aisle walls were rebuilt to their present height and new windows were inserted. The exterior of the church is dressed in flint, as are many of the churches and buildings of the area. While we were there extensive renovations were being carried out and much of the church, including the tower were hidden under scaffolding; we were lucky it was actually open to us. Some beautiful artworks are in the church and although it has been modernised over its 700 years of time, this does not distract from its interest and it is kept beautifully clean and tidy. What we noticed straight away upon entering, was the baptismal roles for folks of the area on the wall, showing a Lynne Clarke baptised in 1964, (so could be still alive). Clarke is one of the blood-lines we are tracing, so an interesting find, and on another listing , on the roll of honour from the Cypress Regiment dated 1956, a Cuthbert H. Clark, so maybe her grandfather?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary_the_Virgin%27s_Church,_Cavendishhttp://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/cavendish.htm

The Knights Templar had a preceptory here in Cavandish from 1308-1312, just before the demise of the Templars;  just before the Papal Bull was released from Rome, but they were here for only  a short period of time. The reason being is that they would have been in transit and moving artifacts along ‘upstream’ as it were, up through the country. The church would have been used as a holding place for the movement of treasures and various artifacts.

The church contains an amazingly beautiful piece of carved artwork showing the Knight Templar ‘two swords’ with an inverted challace; the pyramid, the ship, the sea, the ocean are all included.  ‘Pure Light‘ as mentioned before is represented here by the sword (fire) in the water. (Fire in the Water to make Pure Light) The ‘Jesus’ here has sadly lost a finger but would have been showing the ‘Ninasian Salute‘ (the salute of Ninasu)

There is so much Templar symbolism to be discovered in the above artwork <click to see in detail>

There is a small Lady Chapel area to the left hand side, with curtains above its altar, and interestingly, nothing at all behind them which is unusual as normally the curtains are open with a painting or something on display. A window on the right-hand side of the church contains many clues and symbolism to the fact that the knights were indeed here; non more so than the red cross of the Nevilles (our main research blood-line) with the rose in the middle of the Neville cross clearly defined. The window also shows the ‘Flower of Life‘ and moving upwards we see the ‘Lamb of God’ (Agnus Dei), all beautifully depicted, and very much of standard Knight Templar symbolism.  However on moving across to the next panel, we see imagery that is far removed from standard, in the form of what appears to be a bull with wings, amazingly depicted. We also have the cow, the ram and the stag symbolised here in the window, with interestingly a symbolic circle reference to the ‘Fisher King’, which on closer inspection could be a shell, again referencing The Fisher King. In the earlier writings of the Fisher King ‘the winged animals’ are referenced, but suprisingly, not the infamous unicorn of myth and legend as one would expect. Also adjacent on another window we can clearly see the Chi-Rho, a ‘star’ which we are now refering to as ‘The Pyramid of Intergration’, a translation from an earlier language; this symbol has had many names over the years, and is probably best known as ‘The Star of David’, which is not relevant here; also shown is the ‘IHS’ symbol. Moving down the window one can see various other symbols, such as ‘The Jesus’ showing the Ninasian Salute, and also shown with his hands ‘open to all’. At the side of the altar, behind blue curtains, just in front of the vestry, are to be found some very historic paintings, portraits and photographs upon the walls, some of the choir, some of old scenes from outside the church.

The windows contains a language of symbols relating to the Knights Templars and the true history of this earthly plane – just waiting to be de-coded! <click to enlarge>

See our link below to take a stroll around the church:

ST MARY THE VIRGIN’S CHURCH CAVENDISH

Quest 30 in May 2020 would have been another exciting European trip but due to the outbreak of the corona virus, we have had to cancel and put everything on hold for a while. Hopefull in the spring of 2021 we can get on the road again, but in the meantime,watch this space, as they say!

The Acolade by Lord Leighton

The Knights of the Red Order

Author ‘The Keeper of Scrolls’

April 17th 2020