Royston Cave in England is linked to the Knights Templar primarily through theories about it being a secret Templar chapel or a site of their secret worship and storage. Some speculate the carvings inside the cave, which include religious figures, may be related to Templar iconography.
The cave was discovered in 1742, hewn out of solid chalk and with representations of secular and religious scenes carved into the walls. Unfortunately, there is also 250 years of graffiti that has appeared on top of these unusual images.
Some theories propose that Royston Cave served as a hidden chapel or a place for secret Templar worship, perhaps even a replica of the Holy Sepulchre. There’s a theory that Royston Cave was used by the Templars for temporary storage of goods, especially after they had disputes with the local priory.
Sylvia Beamon, a local historian who studied the cave for decades, suggested it was used by the Templars for daily prayers and as a temporary storage site. She even claimed that certain carvings represent figures like Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Templars.
These are some of the identified carvings at Royston:
- Saint Christopher near the entrance, the dog head saint carrying Jesus
- Saint Katherine, revered by the Order is nearby
- Saint Lawrence complete with the gridiron that he was brutally martyred on
- A figure with a sword who could either be Saint George or more likely, Saint Michael the Archangel. He is pointing to the apostles, the smallest of whom is the traitor Judas (author of a gnostic gospel as well all know)
- There is a figure that looks almost Celtic in its crude simplicity who was wrongly credited as King William of Scotland – mainly because a ‘WR’ is scrawled on him. More likely to be Saint David.
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