Torphichen: From Celtic Roots to the Knights Hospitaller
- Wee Walking Tours
- 16 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Join us, including our Golden Retriever explorers- Walter and Arthur- as we head to the rolling hills of West Lothian and the wee village of Torphichen. There, we will explore Torphichen Preceptory, a fascinating site whose history blends Celtic spirituality, early Christianity, and medieval chivalry!
Before we begin our journey, we would like to acknowledge the history and work done by, Jack Smith (an elder of Torphichen Kirk), whose book, ‘Torphichen’, along with information gathered during our visit, were of great assistance in writing this article.
Sacred Landscape & Ancient Roots
The early history of the area we now call Torphichen was established by Neolithic people. On a site of land that is 330 metres above sea level and with commanding views of Central Scotland, they created a place of worship now known as Cairnpapple. In his book, Mr. Smith discusses how Cairnpapple is “one of the most important sites of ancient burial and worship in Scotland, if not in Britain”. This historic place deserves its own blog post, and we will write about it in the future. However, we mention it in this article as it helps to establish that the area was a place of spiritual significance thousands of years ago.
When the various Celtic people came to this area, they also made their mark on the landscape. They had their own form religion as well as skills in metal work that developed the region.
The Coming of Christianity
St. Ninian travelled throughout Scotland, preaching the teachings of Christianity to the Celts and Picts, and Christianity made its way to Torphichen early in the 5th century. As often happened throughout Scotland (and Europe as well), Christian worship was established at earlier pagan sites, re-sanctifying them under a new religious framework.
This is also the perfect time to explain the name ‘Torphichen’ which Mr. Smith notes has taken many forms over the years (e.g. Torfichyne, Torfiching, and Torphikim to name just a few). One of Ninian’s followers to settle in the area was St. Vigeon, who also used the name, St. Feehan. Apparently, the latter was given to him as he had a dark/raven-like appearance, and ‘fechan’ is the Gaelic word for ‘raven’. Furthermore, ‘tor’ is the Celtic word for ‘crag’ or ‘rocky hill’. Thus, the name, ‘Torfechan’, ‘Hill of Feehan’, came about.
There is also an ancient legend that certainly captured our Arthur’s imagination. You see, it is said that one of the early visitors to the area was the Celtic chief, King Arthur. Arthur led forces against Saxon and other invaders in the 6th century. Nennius records that he won twelve battles in Scotland, beginning in Lennox and then capturing Dumbarton, Stirling, and the Pictish stronghold of Edinburgh. His final and greatest clash occurred at Badom (Bowdon Hill) above Loch Cote in 516. Arthur met his end in a personal duel at Camelon in 537—about nine miles from Torphichen—rather than in battle. The legendary, romantic tales of King Arthur emerged many centuries later.
So, you can just imagine how thrilled Arthur was to hear about the exploits of the real-life, legendary King Arthur! Much to Walter’s chagrin, Arthur is leaning into this namesake (even though his original namesake is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) as he wants to wear his crown more often when we travel around Scotland. I’m sure he also wouldn’t mind being called ‘King Arthur’.
Torphichen Preceptory, the Knights Templar, and the Knights Hospitaller
The Knights Hospitaller began in the early 11th century as a charitable brotherhood in Jerusalem, founded to care for Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. Their mission combined hospital work, shelter, and medical treatment, earning them the name ‘Hospitallers’. As the Crusader states expanded, the Order was granted papal recognition and gradually assumed a military role, defending pilgrim routes and fortresses against hostile forces. Their dual role as caregivers and armed protectors earned them European respect, prompting monarchs and nobles to grant lands that funded both hospitals and military duties.
While the Hospitallers were establishing their charitable‑military model, another Western order was doing something very similar on the other side of the Crusader frontier- the legendary Knights Templar. Founded in the early 1100s to guard pilgrims on the Way of St. James and on the routes to the Holy Land, the Templars quickly became the first European order to combine a standardised heavy cavalry, a network of fortified commanderies and sophisticated financial operations such as letters of credit. Their rapid rise demonstrated that a religious order could also be a major land‑owner and a quasi‑banking institution. This model proved influential as the Hospitallers later adopted comparable military structures and financial practices.
By the mid-12th century, Scotland was becoming increasingly integrated into the broader European Christian world. When the Knights Hospitallers came to Scotland to recruit and collect funds for their work amongst the sick, King David I granted them lands in the area, and they founded Torphichen Preceptory. It served both as a religious house and as a headquarters for the Order’s activities across Scotland. King Malcolm IV succeeded King David I in 1153, and he was the first Scottish king to grant the Knights Hospitaller a formal royal charter for the church at Torphichen Preceptory. The charter confirmed the Order’s right to hold the lands of Torphichen and to collect the associated rents and tithes.
By the late 12th century, the Templars had acquired a great deal of property all over Scotland. When the order was dissolved in the early 1300s, many of those estates were transferred to the Hospitallers, strengthening their Scottish holdings and paving the way for the expansion of Torphichen Preceptory. Because the Templars had traditionally aligned themselves with the English crown, some former Templar estates came under English influence, a legacy the Hospitallers inherited during the Wars of Independence.
During the early phases of those wars, William Wallace emerged as the foremost Scottish commander. After his victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297) he seized several strategically important estates- including former Templar lands- to deny them to the English and to fund the Scottish war effort. Wallace’s seizure of these properties temporarily disrupted the Hospitallers’ income, but it also underscored the importance of the Order’s holdings to both sides of the conflict.
Historic Scotland states that William Wallace briefly ruled Scotland from Torphichen Preceptory after his 1297 victory. The Hospitallers, having fought on the English side, fled the site; the only surviving charter Wallace issued as Guardian of Scotland was signed at Torphichen on 29 March 1298. Later that year, after his defeat at Falkirk, Wallace went on the run, while the injured English king Edward I came to the Preceptory to recover.
After the Wars of Scottish Independence, King Robert the Bruce re‑asserted Scottish control over many former Templar and Hospitaller estates. While he confiscated numerous lands that had been held by English‑aligned nobles, he allowed the Hospitallers to retain their core property at Torphichen, issuing charters in the 1320s that legitimised their continued presence. At the same time, Bruce redistributed a portion of the former Templar lands to his own supporters, so the Order’s overall acreage was reduced but its principal site remained intact. This legal protection anchored the Hospitallers’ presence in central Scotland for the next few centuries. By the 14th and 15th centuries, the village of Torphichen had extended to a large cluster of monastic buildings.
Below, Walter and Arthur point out a Historic Scotland informational board with an artist's rendering of what Torphichen Preceptory would have looked like in the 1400s.
The Sacred Right of Sanctuary
Before we get into how Torphichen Preceptory was renowned for its right of sanctuary, we think it is important to briefly mention that the concept, albeit in a different sense, was a part of the Torphichen area long before the Christian concept came to be.
As previously established, Cairnpapple was a prehistoric site of spiritual and ritual significance. In fact, the Roman records are particularly intriguing, as they described Cairnpapple as ‘Medio Nemeton’ which is a name that comes from the old Celtic word for an ‘open sanctuary’. More specifically, it was a protected ceremonial site where the Druids could gather safely to worship as well as an important burial ground. Furthermore, Archaeological excavation at Cairnpapple in the 1940s revealed a cup-marked stone that was believed to be part of a larger stone with a part of that stone being moved to the site that is now Torphichen Preceptory. We’ll come back to that in just a minute, but let’s move on to the medieval concept of sanctuary.
In medieval times, the right of sanctuary was a legal protection that allowed individuals facing persecution or legal prosecution to seek refuge within the church's grounds. This ancient practice was deeply rooted in medieval Christian tradition, where religious institutions could provide temporary protection to individuals seeking safety from immediate legal or personal threats.
The right of sanctuary was particularly significant in the context of the Knights Hospitaller's mission at Torphichen Preceptory because King David I had ruled that all monastic buildings be declared places of sanctuary. Individuals could claim sanctuary within the Preceptory's walls, temporarily protecting themselves from arrest, persecution, or potential violence as it was a right that was recognised by both church and civil authorities. The boundaries of Torphichen were set by four sanctuary stones that were one mile distant from each other on each of the four main points of the compass.
While the sanctuary stones that established the boundaries of Torphichen are important, there is also the stone in the kirkyard that marked the centre of the sanctuary at Torphichen. Mr. Smith describes it as “the key to the whole story of the Right of Sanctuary in Torphichen”. He goes on to say that “the top centre is concaved, and a Calvary cross has been cut out almost to the North face. On the East face there are a number of cup marks which could link this stone to the Pictish settlement at Cairnpapple”. Therefore, archaeologists have theorised that the centre sanctuary stone at Torphichen is part of the larger stone at Cairnpapple. This would suggest that the area was established as a sanctuary in pre-Christian times, and it’s highly likely that the stone’s importance would have been recognised by the Christian missionaries when they came along.
Reformation and Legacy
The Reformation brought an end to the Order in Scotland as it was of the Roman Catholic faith. Unfortunately, the monastic property was razed to the ground, leaving only the nave, transepts, chancel, and the tower.
In the late 19th century Queen Victoria revived the Order. In 1881 she granted a royal charter to the ‘Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem’, turning it into a royal order of chivalry. Instead of being under papal authority, this re‑branded Order is under British sovereign control. Therefore, the Grand Prior and senior officers are appointed by the Sovereign Head (the reigning monarch), and its statutes are approved by the Crown.
The Scottish arm of the Order, the Priory of Scotland, was established in 1947. It enjoys a special status as an independent establishment that reports directly to the Grand Priory of the British Realm. Nevertheless, all senior appointments in the Scottish Priory (Prior, Sub‑Prior and other officers) are made by, or with the approval of, the Sovereign Head- currently King Charles III. Thus, while the Priory enjoys a degree of administrative autonomy, its ultimate authority and patronage remain vested in the British monarchy. The Scottish Priory’s principal work is the St. John Scotland network of first aid, patient transport, and community health services.
It’s important to note that the original Order of St. John (the modern successor of the medieval Knights Hospitaller) remains in existence on the European continent. Its primary mission is the care of the sick and the operation of hospitals, hospices and charitable institutions. The Order frequently collaborates with non‑Catholic charities, secular health services and inter‑faith initiatives, especially in humanitarian projects abroad.
Torphichen Preceptory Today
According to Historic Scotland, “only a fragment of the order’s house survives. The church’s crossing tower and transepts still stand complete and roofed. Footings survive of the nave to the west and choir to the east”.
Here are some more photos from our visit:
The Village of Torphichen
As you wander Torphichen’s winding streets, the signs and remnants of its rich history remain unmistakably present. Our Golden Retriever explorers, Walter and Arthur, had a wonderful time walking around the peaceful village.
Torphichen is a hidden treasure that we highly recommend you visit if you are in the area. It is amazing to see a place where Celtic spirituality, early Christianity, and medieval chivalry converge. It is in the care of Historic Scotland, so be sure to check out their website for more information on how to plan your visit. Please note that the site is open seasonally and is closed from the 1st of October to the 31st of March.
Until next time- Explore & Discover!
