The Pope ordered the creation of the Knights Templar in 1129, and their primary responsibility was to aid religious travelers to the Holy Land and Jerusalem.
After watching a video of the 700-year-old Knights Templar cave in Shropshire, Birmingham-based photographer Michael Scott made the decision to visit the Caynton Caves network to see them for himself.
A few of Scott’s cave photos have been released, such as those in The Mirror. These images depict an exotic, candlelit maze that Fox News has noted has a striking resemblance to sequences from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
According to Michael Scott, if you were to stroll through the farmer’s field in Shropshire and didn’t know that there was a Knights Templar cave just beneath it, you would never know that it existed at all, which would have made it the ideal gathering spot in the past.
“I had to walk across a field to find it, but you might easily stroll right by it if you weren’t aware of its presence. Once I got inside, I had to bend over and it was quiet.
The Caynton Caves network is located in a woodland near Shifnal, and the Knights Templar cave is cut out of sandstone. The cave entrances are so tiny that they almost look like rabbit holes.
Additionally, some of the caverns’ chambers are so tiny that entering requires tourists to crawl on their hands and knees.
Due to the peculiarities of their history, the Knights Templar continued to be immensely wealthy, but their influence diminished once the Holy Land was lost.
France’s King Philip IV devised a plan to disband the Knights Templar in 1307 after deciding he wished to erase the debts he owed the order.
He accomplished this by imprisoning or burning at the stake those who he falsely accused of being heretics. Pope Clement V decided in 1312 to officially dissolve the Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar cave is part of the Caynton Caves network in Shropshire, which has a darker past. The Birmingham Mail claims that there were previously Black Magic events held here.
According to The Shropshire Star, the owners of the caves blocked down the entrance in 2012 because the tunnels had previously been overrun with trash, graffiti, and other garbage.
The entire network of Caynton Caves, including the Knights Templar cave, is claimed to be quite popular with Druids and Pagans, and is especially heavily frequented during Halloween and the Winter and Summer Solstices.
This region of Shropshire is rich in history, and there are other locations in the region that have ties to the Templars besides the Knights Templar cave.
For example, it’s possible that the Knights Templar also utilized the Norman temple located inside Ludlow Castle.
In Leebotwood, Penkridge Hall is located on the site of the former Lydley Preceptory. The Templars utilized this from 1158 until their order ended in 1308, at which point it was closed.