Early Settlement and Pre-Medieval Context

Fenham, now a western suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, likely began as a small rural hamlet or farm during the early medieval period. The name Fenham itself suggests a Saxon origin (from fen meaning a marsh or wetland and ham meaning homestead), indicating the area was a farmstead in or near marshy ground. There is little documentation of Fenham before the Norman era (Northumberland was not surveyed in Domesday Book), but archaeological evidence hints at early activity. For example, a site along West Road in Fenham showed that a Roman-period settlement area, after being abandoned, was reoccupied in the early medieval (Anglo-Saxon) period , implying continuous if modest habitation or agriculture in the centuries before the High Middle Ages.

During the 12th century, Fenham was a part of the manor of Elswick, which itself lay in the feudal Barony of Bolam . Elswick was a large estate west of Newcastle, and Fenham formed a township within it. In this period, Fenham’s landscape would have been a mix of open fields and common land on the fringe of the town. To the east and north of Fenham lay the Town Moor (common grazing land for Newcastle) and other moorlands, and to the south the area opened toward Benwell and the River Tyne valley . The manor lands were primarily used for agriculture (grain, pasturage) and possibly woodland, typical of a medieval township. By the late 1100s, Fenham was still rural, but a significant change in its ownership was about to tie it to two famous military orders of the Middle Ages.

The Manor of Fenham in the Middle Ages

In the late 12th century Fenham’s status shifted when it came under the control of the Knights Templar. A record from 1185 indicates that the lands of Fenham (then part of Elswick manor) were granted or passed into the ownership of the Knights Templar . This likely occurred through a donation by a local feudal lord or by a royal grant, as 1185 was the year an inquisition of Templar lands was conducted under King Henry II’s auspices. Historian Richard Lomas notes that by this time the Templars had established “three substantial estates in Northumberland at West Thornton, Healey and Fenham, and drew rents from twenty other places in the county, as well as six in Durham.” . This shows that Fenham was one of the Templars’ important landholdings in the North East. It was not a densely populated village, but essentially a manorial estate (grange) that provided agricultural produce and income to the order.

Under the Knights Templar (c.1185–1307), Fenham’s land would have been managed to support the order’s military and religious mission. The Templars often ran estates efficiently, farming crops and raising livestock, and sometimes exploiting other resources. In Fenham’s case, one notable resource was coal. Medieval Newcastle was situated in a coal-rich region, and Fenham’s lands included part of the coal-bearing strata west of the town. By the late 13th century, there are records of coal mining at Fenham: the Templars had begun to lease or develop coal pits on their estate. In fact, coal was being extracted at Fenham by the 1290s, a very early example of coal mining in the area . The Knights Templar evidently leased the coal mines on the Fenham estate to Newcastle’s town authorities (the burgess or corporation) for revenue . This arrangement is recorded in the years just after 1307, suggesting that even as the Templar order was falling into crisis, the economic potential of Fenham’s coal was being tapped. Thus, during the High Middle Ages, Fenham was a productive manor – agriculturally useful and even industrially significant – under Templar lordship.

Knights Templar Presence in Fenham

The role and presence of the Knights Templar in Fenham during the medieval period is evidenced by both land records and later historical accounts. The Templars did not likely build a large preceptory (major commandery house) in Fenham as they did in some other places; rather, Fenham functioned as a Templar estate or grange. This means there would have been a manor house or farmstead run by the order’s brothers or appointed bailiffs. We have no surviving medieval building in Fenham from the Templar era, but the order’s ownership is well attested in documents. By 1185, the Templars were firmly in possession of Fenham , integrating it into their network of properties whose revenues supported their activities in the Holy Land. Given Fenham’s proximity to Newcastle, the Templars likely found it a valuable asset for provisioning (supplying food to nearby garrisons or to ship overseas) and for income (through rents and mining rights).

While there is no specific mention of a chapel or Templar church in Fenham, any substantial preceptory would normally include one. It is possible that a small chapel or oratory existed on the manor for the resident Templars or local villagers, but if so, records of it have not survived. The Templars’ presence in the community would mostly have been felt economically – as landlords. Rent rolls from the medieval period (such as the 1185 survey and later 13th-century accounts) would have listed Fenham’s contributions to the order’s treasury. One historian notes that the Templars “drew rents from twenty other places” in Northumberland besides their main estates – implying Fenham itself may have had sub-tenants and generated rental income. The order likely appointed a local preceptor (administrator) or brother-in-charge for Fenham, possibly stationed at one of their larger houses nearby, to oversee the estate. In sum, throughout the late 12th and 13th centuries, Fenham was essentially a Knights Templar manor, forming part of the patchwork of lands that funded their crusading endeavors.

Suppression of the Templars and Transition (1307–1313)

The Knights Templar met an abrupt end in the early 14th century. In 1307, under orders from King Edward II (echoing King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V), the Templars in England were arrested and their properties seized. Fenham, as a Templar manor, was taken under the control of the Crown at that time. For several years, the estate’s fate hung in the balance while the Templar order was being abolished. Between the suppression of the Templars in 1307 and the eventual handover of their lands in 1313, Fenham was effectively managed by royal authorities . During this interim, the Crown allowed Newcastle’s town corporation to continue working the valuable coal mines at Fenham. Records indicate that “in the intervening years it is recorded that coal mines on the site were leased to the town’s Corporation.” . In other words, Newcastle’s civic body paid rents or fees to exploit Fenham’s coal between 1307 and 1313, ensuring the estate still generated income despite the Templars’ downfall.

In 1312, the Pope formally dissolved the Knights Templar. Their extensive properties across Europe were largely intended to be transferred to the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of St. John), another crusading order. In England, this transfer was implemented by 1313. Accordingly, the manor of Fenham was granted to the Knights Hospitaller in 1313 . The transition is noted in medieval records: after 1313 Fenham ceased to be “Templar” land and became part of the Hospitallers’ estate portfolio. There was likely little disturbance on the ground – the tenants still farmed the land and the coal pits still yielded coal – but rents were now due to the Hospitaller order. Any Templar brothers residing or working at Fenham would have been gone (imprisoned or pensioned off), perhaps replaced by agents of the Hospitallers. Thus, by the mid-14th century, Fenham’s medieval lords were the Knights of St. John, marking a new chapter in its history.

The Knights Hospitaller’s Involvement after 1313

Following the suppression of the Templars, the Knights Hospitaller took over Fenham and held it for the next two centuries. The Hospitallers (Order of St. John of Jerusalem) were another military-monastic order, originally focused on hospitality for pilgrims and later also involved in crusading. In England, their chief house was the Priory of Clerkenwell in London, but they managed many estates around the country. Fenham became one of these estates in 1313. It is not clear if the Hospitallers established a distinct preceptory or commandery at Fenham; more likely, Fenham was administered as a camera (estate farm) subordinate to a larger regional commandery. In the Hospitallers’ 14th-century records (such as an inventory from 1338 of their properties), Fenham would have been listed along with its annual value and expenditures, helping fund the Order’s activities in the Mediterranean.

Under Hospitaller management, Fenham continued to be a productive manor. The agricultural output (grain, hay, livestock) would support the Order’s needs, and the coal mining likely persisted or expanded given Newcastle’s growing medieval coal trade. Indeed, by the later 14th century, nearby sites like Benwell and Elswick also saw coal mining , suggesting the Hospitallers were aware of and benefited from the coal under Fenham. The Knights of St. John may not have had a resident community in Fenham, but they would have appointed a steward or bailiff to oversee the manor and collect rents for the Order. Locally, people might have referred to the estate as “St John’s land” after 1313 (just as lands of the Templars were sometimes called “Temple lands”). In fact, the adjacent area name Spital Tongues (east of Fenham) recalls land owned by the “hospital” of St John (though that name primarily refers to a different medieval hospital in Newcastle, it highlights the presence of religious landowners). Fenham’s identity, however, remained tied to the Hospitallers until the Reformation.

By the early 16th century, the Knights Hospitaller in England fell victim to the Reformation policies of King Henry VIII. In 1540, the Order was suppressed in England and all its lands were confiscated by the Crown. Fenham, therefore, was surrendered by the Hospitallers to the Crown at the Reformation . This ended roughly 355 years of control by crusading orders (Templar and Hospitaller) in Fenham. The Crown soon granted Fenham’s lands to private hands – initially to the Riddell family (a local gentry family) and later, by the late 17th century, the estate was acquired by the Ord family in 1695 . Despite these post-medieval changes, the medieval legacy of the Templars and Hospitallers in Fenham had lasting effects on the landscape and historical memory of the area.

Archaeological and Historical Evidence of the Orders

The history of Fenham’s medieval period is supported by a combination of historical documents and limited archaeological insights. Primary medieval records – such as the Inquisition of Templar Lands in 1185 and later crown documents – confirm the transfer of Fenham to the Templars. While the detailed account of Fenham in the 1185 survey is not quoted here, we know it formed part of the Templars’ holdings from that date. Later, entries in royal rolls and municipal records around 1307–1313 note the status of Fenham’s mines and manor during the suppression of the Templars . Medieval chroniclers in the region paid little direct attention to Fenham (since it was a small rural holding), but the administrative records (such as charters and grants preserved in the Northumberland County History compilations) have been analyzed by modern historians like M.H. Dodds. Dodds’ research (1930) on Fenham Township pulled together these medieval references, including notes on the coal mining lease and the 14th-century state of the manor .

Archaeologically, there have been no major excavations of a Templar preceptory in Fenham simply because no large preceptory building is known to have existed. However, the site of Fenham Hall is believed to be the general location of the medieval manor house or grange that served as the administrative center of the estate. If any medieval foundations remain, they would likely lie under or near the later Fenham Hall. Small finds (pottery, etc.) from the medieval period have occasionally been noted in the area during construction work, but no identifiable Templar-era structure has been recorded above ground. The continuity of the site is attested by documents: when the Knights Hospitaller took over in 1313, they presumably used the same manor house or rebuilt it. Indeed, Fenham Hall’s later history mentions that it has “origins in the 14th century” , suggesting that the Hospitallers may have maintained a hall or tower there. Any such medieval building would have been modest (perhaps a fortified manor house or tower typical of 14th-century Northumberland). Unfortunately, the exact nature of the medieval Hall is obscure due to later rebuilding.

One intriguing piece of evidence for medieval Fenham’s activity is the early mining of coal. The documentation of coal digging at Fenham between 1307 and 1313 is one of the earliest signs of Newcastle’s famous coal trade extending into its hinterland . This not only provides economic history data but could have archaeological traces (medieval bell pits or shallow mine shafts) in Fenham, though none have been systematically investigated. Local historians have long been aware of Fenham’s Templar and Hospitaller connections; for instance, 18th and 19th-century writers, when describing Fenham Hall, noted that the land “belonged to the Knights Templar and later to the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem” (a fact often repeated in modern summaries). Such references keep the memory of Fenham’s unique medieval landlords alive.