On our trip to England we had the opportunity to see the Painting in St. Mary's Church in Templecombe, Somerset, England. The Painting we are referring to was founded in this town in 1945. All it shows is a face, which some people relate to Jesus Christ or John the Baptist. It dates from 1280 A.D. and is suspected to have some relation with the Templar Knights.

To go to Templecombe we took a train at the London Waterloo Station. At the ticket window the gentleman told us what platform the train would be at. It was not hard to find the platform, the station is big but very well organized. Once on the train all we had to do was enjoy the two hours ride. Very nice seeing so many trains taking of as the clock reaches the hour, especially when it is the one we are riding the one that takes the lead.

The church in Templecombe is about two blocks from the station: out of the station parking lot to a main road half a block away; under the train bridge for another block; and that was it, we were in front of St. Mary. We got the church key at the drug store in the intersection of the street from the train station and the road.

St. Mary is an old church. From far it seems small with a tower that would be more appropriate to a fortress than a church. As soon as we went into its land we realized we where not in a garden but a cemetery. Headstones with recent dates as well as others very old surround the temple which as we get closer starts to show its real size. Until we reach the door proportionally small to the stone wall of the tower. We try the key and the lock opened.

According to the pamphlet “Abbas and Temple Combe - A History” by Audrey Dymock Herdsman the church of St. Mary was built before it shows up in the Domesday book of 1086 as subsidiary to the abbey at Shaftesbury (consecrated in 888 AD). St. Mary is still been used in the present.

Although it was the Painting what took us to Templecombe, we could not ignore some of the details in the church, such as: the window glasses, the columns, the structure of the roof in certain places and the Norman fountain.

After visiting the church we went for lunch at the restaurant across the road from the drug store. Then walked around the area a little and took pictures. We returned to London that same day.

We really do not know how much of the town we saw. There are some other buildings from Templar times which we did not get to see. When we realized what time it was, the next train was the last one for the day. We decided to be good boys and wait with patience in the station.

As far as population it did not look like a very concentrated area, still the houses looked brand new and very nice. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot of the train station; we guess many of the residents take the train to work as is common in England.

In this trip we met some of the nicest people we have ever come in contact with. At the train station the attention was as familiar as if we had lived in Templecombe all our lives. The gentleman at the drug store is just that, a true English gentleman. The lady at the restaurant was very nice to us and the food was very good.

From what we have being able to read, from late 12th to early 14th century in Templecombe the Templar Knights had some properties, being this their main location in this region of England. Here they had admittance to the order and training for the crusades. Of course they also sustained themselves by raising cattle and perhaps other necessary endeavors.

The name of the town (or village) St. Mary's Church serviced was Combe (according to some references it means “valley”) before the Templar Knights were there. The name was changed to the present one, or perhaps Temple Combe, as a consequence of the Templar presence.

Templecombe was one of the first places we went to visit on our trip to England. Latter on the trip we went to Salisbury to go to Stonehenge. Then we realized that Templecombe is two train stops after Salisbury.