Chapeltoun - Templeton and The Knights Templar

Templeton and The Knights Templar

The feudal allocation of tenements to the vassals of the overlord, such as Hugh de Morville, was carried out very carefully, with the boundaries being walked and carefully recorded. The term 'ton' at this time was added to the site of the dwelling house, not necessarily a grand stone-built structure, which was bounded by a wall or fence. The tenements were held in a military tenure, the land being in exchange for military assistance to the overlord. In later years the military assistance could be exchanged for financial payment.

The name Templeton may have arisen due to lands here being given by the overlord to a vassal. The site of the original dwelling is unknown, Laigh Chapelton being the oldest known site of a habitation, probably dating from at least 1775.

The name Chapelton is relatively recent as Pont's Map of 1604 does not show such a place name; however, he does show a Templeton in approximately the right place between the Annick Water and the Glazert Water. Other Knights Templar temple-lands were to be found at the Templehouse and Fortalice in the old village of Darlington near Stewarton, Templehouse near Dunlop, at Templetounburn on the outskirts of Crookedholm and at several other places in the area, such as Temple-Ryburn and Temple-Hapland.

In 1312 the Knights Templar order, whose Scottish headquarters had been at Torphichen, was disbanded and its lands given to the Knights of St. John who today run the St John Ambulance amongst other activities. Lord Torphichen as preceptor obtained the temple-land tenements and the lands passed through the hands of Montgomerie of Hessilhead to Wallace of Cairnhill (now Carnell) in 1720, before passing out of the hands of the aristocracy. A tenement is a grant of land which has a building on it and is held in tenure by the tenant

The farms in the area used the Chapelton name in 1829 (Aitken) and Armstrong's 1775 map shows and names a Chapel. The name change from Templetoun to Chapelton may have resulted from the end of the official existence of the temple-lands sometime after 1720 or as a result of the breaking up of the ownership of these lands at around this date or possibly slightly earlier. Thus the name Templeton was in use in 1604 in 1654, but not by 1775 The will of Katherine Muir / Mure, dated 1665, relict of William Hepburn of Chapeltoun in the Parish Of Stewarton, implies a change of name at an earlier date. This Chapeltoun may be the modern day Chapeltoun Mains.

Paterson (1866) states that on the lands of Langshaw (now Lainshaw) there was a chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and that it had an appropriate endowment. After the Reformation the endowment was appropriated by the patron and the chapel allowed to fall into ruins. Temple-lands did not pay teins to maintain the local church and they were therefore a highly prized and lucrative asset.

In 1616 the patronage of the chapel and the lands of Peacock Bank (sic) were held by Sir Neil Montgomerie of Lainshaw as granted 'clare constat' by the Earl of Eglinton, but by 1661 the patronage was once again held directly by the Earl of Eglinton as indicated below. The site of the chapel was called Chapelton in the 17th. century and Chapel by 1874. The same information is given by Paterson in 1866, Groome in 1885 and Barclay.

Dobie in 1876 records that Hugh, Earl of Eglinton inherited in May 1661 the 10 merkland of Langshaw with the patronage of the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin within these lands. A reference is made to a James Wyllie, whose family held these lands for several generations. This statement is made as part of a reference to the 5 merk lands of Gallaberry which were part of a larger area of land, most of which belonged to the estate of Dunlop. The name Gallaberry is thought to be derived from the Saxon word burgh and the Celtic word Gauls, the term meaning therefore the burgh, mansion or strength of the Gauls. Sanderson mentions a rural chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mother Mary located on the Lainshaw lands.

It is relevant here to note that Dobie lists three families with the name Tempiltoun in the Kilmaurs valuation role of 1640 while no other Cunninghame parishes have this name listed. One of the oldest graves in Kilmaurs-Glencairn churchyard, dating from the 17th. century, is that of a Tempiltoun. The family Bible of the Templetons is held (2008) by the Forrests of Byres Farm, who are direct descendants.