#1 by Louis. Your interest in the history of the Knight Templers has certainly created a lot of replies now on ten pages. It has me searching through all my books on the subject from a local point of view I think I have mentioned before that the local Boy Scouts camp ground is known as Templers Park as it once belonged to them. A respected local historian has done a fair amount of research in to the Order. Now here is the crux of the matter, there are two Orders firstly The Knight Hopitallers founded in 1099 and the Knight Templers founded in 1119. both involved in the First Crusade to the Holy Land. They came to Scotland during the reign of David 1 (1124-1153) as already stated the Order of the Knight Templers was abolished by a papal Bull in 1312 and in Scotland around 1319 they seem to have been disbanded. The Knight Hospitallers--- or the Knights of the Hospital of St. John Of Jerusalem were reputed to have inherited the wealth and possessions on their suppression, only in Scotand, to the country's lasting credit, was this effected.
The Hospitallers hung on till the Reformation when the Order was dissolved and their lands passing to the crown.
Strange to say the Order reappeared in Britian in 1838 and as the Order of St.John was given a royal charter in 1888. Most of us will have seen their work at football matches or sport events as the St. John Ambulance Brigade.