Face of John the Baptist painted on door by Knights Templar

Face of John the Baptist painted on door by Knights Templar
On my quest around Englands churches, recently I came across the church at Templecombe, where I found this four foot painting of the face of John the Baptist . It is believed by some that the Knights Templar painted it. It was hidden in the roof of an outhouse, during the second world war when some plaster fell from the ceiling, revealing this painting.
Also around the surrounding villages, I came across in the churches signs of the Templars. Templar crosses, roses and very strange splash crosses which were engraved into the church walls. It is said that the ministers would splash consecrated water on the building to ward off evil spirits.
It seems that everywhere that we look we find evidence of these Christian Crusaders, who visited and worshipped in these Churches long ago.





Inside and out, there are consecrated crosses cut into the masonry. During the Middle Ages, it was common to incise twenty-four into a church, three on each internal wall and twelve outside. The bishop who consecrated the building would anoint each one with the words 'Sanctifecetur hoc templum' (blessed be this church). This was a visible sign of dedication and a defence against the powers of the Devil. In this case, the fact that there are both internal and external examples indicate that it was done according to the English Rite and not that of Rome, which only required consecration on the inside.




Of particular note are the consecration or 'splash' crosses, which can be found both inside and outside the church. These indicate the position where Holy water splashed against the structure during the consecration ceremony.