The word
preceptory is used for the community of the
Knights Templar which lived on one of the order's estates in the charge of its preceptor. From that its meaning was extended to include the estate and its buildings. The one at Aslackby was founded in 1192. Little of its structure survives, but early descriptions and sketches indicate that its church was like that at
Temple Bruer Preceptory, a chancel with an
apsidal east end and a round nave to its west. This was a standard design for Templar churches, in imitation of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. The best-known example in England is the
Temple Church at the western end of the
City of London. Later, towers were built at both the Lincolnshire churches, the one at Aslackby apparently around 1200, on the south side of the round nave. ==See also==