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History of Temple Balsall and the Knights Templar

Visitors booklets

Books

Temple Matters | Books on Pastoral, Spiritual and Biblical studies


Temple Balsall 1150 - 1870Temple Balsall 1150 - 1870
a short history

by Eileen Gooder

From the gift of the lands at Temple Balsall to the Knights Templar by Roger de Mowbray, through two episodes of religious repression, dereliction and restoration, this profusely illustrated concise history gives the longer view of life in what might appear to be a quiet corner of rural England. Historian Eileen Gooder provides the story up to the date where St. Mary's became a Parish Church in the 1860's. Accompanied by many photographs, both of the the present-day community and from archive material, 16 pages A5, illustrated thoughout. More books by Eileen Gooder

Temple Balsall 1150 - 1870 a short history
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The Knights of the Temple & of S. John of Jerusalem & their connection with Temple BalsallThe Knights of the Temple & of S. John of Jerusalem & their connection with Temple Balsall
by F R Fairbairn

First published in 1927, this carefully researched text enters more deeply into the life and history of the two crusading orders which shaped the medieval Temple Balsall and have left their legacy to the present day. This booklet describes the origins of the crusades, the rise and fall of the Templars, the succession of the Knights Hospitaller and their final dissolution by Henry VIII, including extracts from the inventory taken by the King's Commissioners in 1538. 28 pages A5, with notes and references.

The Knights of the Temple & of S. John of Jerusalem
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The Church of St. Mary the Virgin Temple Balsall - a visitors 
      guideThe Church of St. Mary the Virgin Temple Balsall - a visitors guide
by J L Houlden

The latest addition to this series of informative booklets about Temple Balsall looks at St Mary's Church from the visitor's perspective, explaining the history and archtecture of this chapel of the Knights Hospitaller and its changing fortunes for over 700 years. Written with an eye for the notable and unusual features of the building, Professor Houlden provides a wealth of absorbing information to accompany the many colour photographs, which will appeal to the casual visitor and the church history enthusiast alike. 16 pages A5 with full colour illustrations thoughout.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin visitors guide
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Temple Balsall: The Warwickshire Preceptory of the Templars and their fateTemple Balsall: The Warwickshire Preceptory
of the Templars and their fate

by Eileen Gooder

Temple Balsall was the Warwickshire headquarters of the Templars, and though much has been written about the general history of the order this is the first detailed study of an individual preceptory, focusing on the daily life of the Brothers, their farming practices and those of their tenants.

The book also follows the last Templars to their trial, including details from individual testimonies, such that the reader can form their own opinion about the guilt or innocence of the order.

184 pages hardback 180 x 245mm, monochrome photographs and illustrations throughout. Phillimore & Co Ltd, 1995 ISBN 0 85033 936 7.

Temple Balsall: The Warwickshire Preceptory of the Templars and their fate
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SPECIAL OFFER: buy both Temple Balsall books by Eileen Gooder
and save 25%:
The Warwickshire Preceptory of the Templars and From Hospitallers to a Caring Community
two books for £22.50 inc UK postage - ORDER NOW


Temple Balsall: From Hospitallers to a Caring Community, 1322 to modern timesTemple Balsall: From Hospitallers
to a Caring Community, 1322 to modern times

by Eileen Gooder

In the second volume of Eileen Gooder's detailed research into the history of Temple Balsall, she picks up the story from the hand over of the Templar estates to the Knights of St John, the Hospitallers, continuing through the dissolution of the order, dereliction of the manor and its rescue by the grand-daughters of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

The account goes on to detail the charitable work they instigated, and offers valuable insights into English rural life during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the work of Giles Gilbert Scott in restoring the Church of St Mary. The story is brought up to date with information about the development of the almshouses and the school. Using a wealth of documentary and archeological material, including finds made on the site, the book uncovers a fascinating 700 years of human activity in this quiet corner of Warwickshire.

190 pages hardback 180 x 245mm, monochrome photographs and illustrations throughout. Phillimore & Co Ltd, 1999 ISBN 1 86077 102 5.

Temple Balsall: From Hospitallers to a Caring Community, 1322 to modern times
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SPECIAL OFFER: buy both Temple Balsall books by Eileen Gooder
and save 25%:
The Warwickshire Preceptory of the Templars and From Hospitallers to a Caring Community
two books for £22.50 inc UK postage - ORDER NOW


Temple Matters Temple Matters

The journal of the Foundation of Lady Katherine Leveson contains a wide-ranging collection of news, views and reviews about life in the community of Temple Balsall and its surroundings. Published three times per year, in spring, summer and autumn, it provides an opportunity to keep abreast of the work of the Foundation, the Leveson Centre and the lives of the people who live and work here. You can order the current issue, or subscribe for a year post-free for only £7.50 - saving £1.50.

Temple Matters - one year subscription
£7.50 post-free UK - SUBSCRIBE NOW

Also available:

Temple Matters - Current Issue Only - Spring 2006 issue
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Temple Matters - Back Issue Bundle (as available)
3 Back issues for
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Temple Matters Temple Matters Temple Matters Temple Matters


Books on Pastoral, Spiritual and Biblical studies

Praying the Lectionary by James Woodward and Leslie Houlden

Services for Weekdays by James Woodward and Leslie Houlden

Befriending Death by James Woodward

The Strange Story of the Gospels - Finding Doctrine through Narrative by Leslie Houlden

The SCM Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation - R.J. Coggins (Editor), J.L. Houlden (Editor)

Ethics and the New Testament by J.L. Houlden

The Public Face of the Gospel by J.L. Houlden

Booklets about the history of Temple Balsall


Praying the Lectionary Prayers and Reflections for every week’s readingsPraying the Lectionary
Prayers and Reflections for every week’s readings

by James Woodward
and Leslie Houlden

The readings of the Eucharist go past in a few minutes and how many of the hearers can recall much about them by the time the service is over?  There are ways of improving things.  Some churches use standard sheets that give some comments but many parishes prefer to communicate in a way that is more tailor-made to their own lives.  They provide their own ‘pew sheet’ or ‘Sunday bulletin’, which will often include brief comments designed to point up the readings.  These can be read at any time, publicly or privately, and can also be taken home to foster reflection and prayer.

In this book, based on the experience of one parish, we provide such material for each Sunday and other Holy Days in the three-year cycle.  For each reading we give a brief comment and then bullet-points directing us to prayer.  The hope is that their scale and character may be of service to other parishes that feel in need of such a resource and to individuals for prayer and reflection.

‘In the Christian life we all need all the help we can get – especially in reading the Bible.  It is particularly crucial that the Sunday Bible readings are illuminated. Praying the Lectionary does this and will be of great value both to individuals and groups.  The combination of biblical scholarship and pastoral wisdom offered here by James Woodward and Leslie Houlden makes it a stimulating and practical guide.  I commend it most warmly.’ 

The Rt Revd Richard Harries, Lord Harries of Pentregarth,
former Bishop of Oxford.

£11.00 inc UK postage - ORDER NOW


Services for WeekdaysServices for Weekdays
by James Woodward
and Leslie Houlden

This book offers, for each week and major occasion of the year, a brief and accessiblescripture reading, almost always from the New Testament and mostly from the Gospels, followed by two comments on each passage. Finally, there are brief bullet points to stimulate prayer and further reflection. It will help both churches which have weekday services for groups such as young families and to individuals wishing to enrich their devotional life.


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Befriending DeathBefriending Death
by James Woodward

Although most of us desire a life of peace and commitment, sometimes we are required to look death in the face - be it through bereavement, serious illness or even the end of a relationship. This book addressed to the Christian reader who wants to reflect not only on the place and meaning of death in life but also on the issues that loss and change confront us with. It offers the reader the chance to reflect, fell and explore.

Written for those who embrace the realities of death and those who stand in the presence of death, this book can be used alone or with others. Practical exercises and questions for reflection are contained within each chapter to help the reader understand the life that prepares us for death. This is not about life after death; rather it is about discovering and engaging with death within this world. It is ideal for those who need practical help or those who simply wish to learn more about this sensitive subject.

James Woodward is an Anglican priest with experience of working with the dying in a variety of contexts. He is Master of the Foundation of Lady Katherine Leveson and Director of the Leveson Centre for the study of Ageing, spirituality and Social Policy in the diocese of Birmingham.

ISBN 0-281-05370-7
128 Pages Paperback
SPCK

Contents
1 Exploring the Theme - Dying to Live
2 Spirituality and Dying
3 For Those Who Listen
4 Living While Dying
5 Preparing for and Facing Death Itself
6 Resources from the Tradition
7 Preparing for Your Funeral
8. Conclusions
Appendix One- What to do after a Death
Appendix Two - Information and Resources
Appendix Three - Journaling
Appendix Four - Prayers and Spiritual Readings
Bibliography

Befriending Death
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The Strange Story of the Gospels The Strange Story of the Gospels
Finding Doctrine through Narrative
by Leslie Houlden

Leslie Houlden has been thinking about the Gospels for many years. He has always worried about the abstractness of much Christian teaching, especially when compared wih the suppleness and imaginative power of the Gospels. When it comes to thinking about Christian doctrine, the Gospels have often been neglected on a large scale. Creeds leap from Jesus' birth to his death in an instant; and the teaching of the Christian faith has often glossed over the life of Jesus to use the Gospels as collections of moral guidance or for spiritual edification. But we now see that the Gospels themselves were each intended as a way of preaching the faith by means of telling the story of Jesus. In this book these matters are considered, and each Gospel is explored in turn, to see how the message and theological purpose of each writer is expressed through the story he tells and the way he tells it.

ISBN:0281054363
144 Pages Paperback
SPCK

The Strange Story of the Gospels
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The SCM Dictionary of Biblical InterpretationThe SCM Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation
R.J. Coggins (Editor), J.L. Houlden (Editor)

This is a reissue of a best selling SCM title. It includes articles written by a distinguished team of biblical scholars, exploring how the Bible has been interpreted in the past, and is interpreted today.

The Dictionary is an excellent reference book, which will remain a valuable resource for students wanting a quick introduction to differing themes, academics and clergy.

Entries are diverse, and reflect a wide variety of perspectives. Includes contributions from hundreds of first rate scholars, such as, Robert Carroll, Henry Chadwick, James Dunn, Philip Esler, David Ford, Daniel Hardy, Paul Joyce, Judith Lieu, Alistair McGrath, Julia Neuberger, John Riches, Christopher Rowland, Deborah Sawyer, Graham Stanton, Frances Watson and Frances Young.

A dictionary with a diverse array of perspectives offering a quick introduction to differing themes, academics and clergy.

ISBN: 033402935X
764 pages Paperback
SCM Press

The SCM Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation
£25.00
inc UK postage - ORDER NOW


Ethics and the New TestamentEthics and the New Testament
by J.L. Houlden

Part of the Understanding the Bible and Its World series.

For centuries Christians have referred to the New Testament for guidance on moral conduct. But did the writers of the New Testament themselves agree on such questions as divorce, political obedience, wealth and the toleration of other religions? And have their often inconsistent views any relevance today?

In Ethics and the New Testament, the author applies strict critical standards to the Gospels, epistles and other writings, which he examines in historical perspective. His explanation of contemporary attitudes-including gnosticism-helps to clarify the striking moral differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, James and Paul. He attempts to discern the ethical standards and teachings of Jesus which are sometimes hidden in the present Biblical texts. And finally, he relates the moral injunctions of Christianity's central text to the modern age.

"This book is a little gem. It is lucid and scholarly, ethically and theologically sensitive. It sets the New Testament writings in their cultural context [and] emphasizes and displays the diversity of outlook and judgement of the different writings."Peter Baelz, Journal of Theological StudiesUnderstanding the Bible and Its World:

This new series is designed with the needs of introductory level students in mind. It will also appeal to general readers who want to be better informed about the latest advances in our understanding of the Bible and of the intellectual, political and religious world in which it was formed. The authors in this series bring to bear the methods and insights of a whole range of disciplines-including archaeology, history, literary criticism and social sciences-while also introducing fresh insights and approaches arising from their own research.

ISBN No: 0567084752
Paperback
T&T Clark

Ethics and the New Testament
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The Public Face of the GospelThe Public Face of the Gospel
by J.L. Houlden

 

 

 

 

The Public Face of the Gospel
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Publications on Ageing and Spirituality from The Leveson Centre

Books on Pastoral, Spiritual and Biblical studies

Booklets about the history of Temple Balsall

Temple Matters

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