Temple can be understood through a range of historic architectural forms: two adjoining cottages dating from the early 16th century stand alongside The Old Dyehouse, a detached house from the early 18th century. St Mary's Church adds a church building from 1903 to the picture. Also included are the history of a Baptist chapel in Whitbourne Temple and Hales Castle nearby. The cultural focus therefore extends from individual building types to traces of regional history.

Cottages and The Old Dyehouse

The two cottages are joined together and date from the early 16th century. This combination of architectural form and date provides an early point of reference for architecture in Temple. The Old Dyehouse differs as a detached house. It dates from the early 18th century and was altered in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It is also listed as a Grade II building.

The interpretation of its function remains tentative: The Old Dyehouse is thought to have been a dye house for the local wool industry. Its architectural form and its presumed use are two distinct aspects. One draws attention to its detached form and later phases of alteration, while the other points to a possible connection with wool processing. For travellers interested in architectural history, this offers a comparison between a house's development and its possible former function.

Church architecture and different points in time

St Mary's Church in Corsley Temple brings a different architectural focus. It is built of dressed limestone in the Arts and Crafts Gothic style. It was designed by W. H. Stanley of Trowbridge and opened in 1903. The material and style describe different features of the building, while its designer and opening year place its creation in a particular time and context.

The year 1903 clearly distinguishes the church from the cottages dating from the early 16th century and the house from the early 18th century. Religious history has another point of reference: a Baptist chapel was built and opened in Whitbourne Temple in 1811. The date falls between the cottages' early construction period and the opening of St Mary's Church. The church and chapel thus mark different stages in the religious history of the area around Temple.

Traces of regional history

In the area around Temple, the focus shifts from individual buildings to the landscape. Cley Hill has an Iron Age hillfort, earlier Bronze Age burial mounds and later medieval strip lynchets. These features bring together several historical layers at one regional point of reference and complement the architectural history with archaeological landscape features.

Hales Castle is close to Temple and is a castle. Alongside the dated houses and religious buildings, the region's historical points of reference therefore also include a castle and the archaeological features of Cley Hill. They represent different interests: architectural forms and their alterations, religious architectural history, or traces of earlier land use. Those considering Temple as a destination for a cultural trip can distinguish between these subjects and choose the focus that best matches their own interest in architectural or regional history.

Discover more destinations: Devizes, Stapleford, Collingbourne Kingston, Netheravon, Alderbury, Figheldean, Downton, Purton

For the main travel overview: Wiltshire.