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An elaborate network of secret tunnels and
passages created by the
Knights Templar has been discovered beneath
Hertford, the ancient county town of
Hertfordshire.
Knoppenburg manor
for sale
Local historians were aware of only one part of
the network which was mapped in a document on
public record dated 1898. numerous tunnels, many of
which were blocked during the last century, and
shows photographs of two other entrances. The
existence, extent and purpose of the tunnels were
leaked by members of a mysterious secret society in
the area said to be related to the Knights
Templar and the Illuminati.
These revelations are restoring
Hertfordshire to its rightful place in Templar
legend, and literally put Hertford on the map in
the Quest
for the Holy Grail, and there is more to
come.
manor for
sale
Members of the Knights Templar, a secret
society which still has members in the town, have
spoken for the first time about the underground
lair used by their forebears almost 1,000 years
ago. Emanating from the dungeons of Hertford
Castle and from Fore Street, the passages run
like a warren under the ancient county town and
stretch from Bluecoats to County Hall,
according to the group. Today, many of the
entrances to the subterranean passages’ have
been bricked up but, according to the modern-day
knights, some are still in use &emdash; and may
even be booby-trapped.
There is an extensive labyrinth of tunnels under
Hertford
We are talking here about a largely unknown, indeed
mostly secret, ancient underground network that
stretches beneath the town’s main street and
extends to Fore Street, Market Square,
Parliament Square, Hertford Castle, Church Street,
Bluecoats, Priory Street &emdash; and in fact
many, many other places. “It reaches beneath
well-known central Hertford locations, including
the tourist office, the Castle, Monsoon,
Threshers, the post office, Bayley Hall, and the
council offices, both within the Castle and in
County Hall.” One of these passages once
connected Shire Hall, now home to Hertford
Magistrates’ Court, to the Salisbury Arms in
Fore Street. Mercury photographer Mike Poultney was
there the day it was sealed 25 years ago.
Tim’s twin brother Ben said: “The Fore
Street section once extended to a substantial
section beneath Bluecoats School, which is still
accessible from certain buildings.
The Bluecoats section has many secret
side-chambers and passages, one of which leads to
chambers beneath the old pub the Dolphin, as well
as a massive section beneath Priory Street.
“The Priory Street section was used by
Templar mystics operating secretly among the
Christians of the former long-gone Priory, which
gave Priory Street its name.” And Ben, who
lives in Hertford, claims that two secret societies
still meet in the tunnels. “The ancient
subterranean labyrinth beneath Hertford is quite
extensive, although most of it must for now remain
secret &emdash; and some chambers are still in
use,” he said. “Much of the network was
made by the Templars and secret societies linked to
them. “Some of this work took place long after
the Order officially disbanded in 1307.
“Hertford’s labyrinth could in fact
provide the final proof that the Templars
disappeared underground &emdash; both literally and
metaphorically.” With so many of the tunnels
bricked up, it is hard to verify all the
Achesons’ claims. But the Mercury, with the
help of Hertford Museum, has uncovered an old map
showing a tunnel running from Bailey Hall, which
was said to run to what is now Lussman’s
restaurant in Fore Street, where another secret
society met. We have also found blocked entrances
to tunnels in Threshers in Fore Street and in the
tourist office. Ben said: “All the sections of
the secret Templar labyrinth were once linked. Here
are the parts that I can tell you about. “Fore
Street was once the hub of the only part of the
network that you know about. No 42 Fore Street was
once linked to numerous chambers beneath Fore
Street. “It is still linked, via a passage
recently blocked by the previous owners of 42 Fore
Street, reaching to Bailey Hall and beyond.
“This section also branches out to the Old
Vicarage, where the Templar-founded Theosophical
Society co-founded a cell of another secret
society, the Knights
Templar of Aquarius, via a local mystic and
medium whose ancestors once owned Bailey Hall as
well.” According to Ben, the chambers host
meetings not only of the Templars, but of the
Illuminati &emdash; a shadowy and powerful group
said to be bent on world domination and boasting
President George W Bush among its members. A recent
Sky TV documentary suggested that members of the
dark sect live in the town. “Some remain in
use by the Templars and the Illuminati,” said
Ben. “In places you can see where passages led
from some of the still-accessible parts of the
labyrinth, linking all of the above sections
together and leading to several still secret
tunnels and chambers. “We cannot yet reveal
details of these. There are also long-forgotten
sections beneath other parts of Hertford, as well
as in Royston and Temple Farm, near Bengeo.”
He said there are also branches beneath Church
Street leading to chambers around the dungeons and
vaults of Hertford Castle &emdash; one leads all
the way to County Hall. Sections of it are now
blocked and partially occupied by a Cold War
nuclear bunker under what is now Elbert Wurlings
bar and restaurant. “These once led to
sections beneath and around the crypt of All
Saints’ Church, as well as St Andrew Street
and beyond,” added Ben. Margaret Harris, of
Hertford Museum, said: “I only know for sure
about the Bailey Hall tunnel, which I believe was
used by the judges when it was a law court so that
they could get to All Saints’ Church nearby.
“That’s all I know and I’m quite
sceptical about this until I can see more proof.
But they are supposed to be secret.” A brief
history of the Knights Templar The Templars were an
international military order who formed during the
crusades in 1118 and grew in power and wealth until
their downfall in 1307, when King Philip arrested
all the Templars in France. Many escaped to England
and some settled in Hertford. Said to be the power
behind many of medieval Europe’s thrones, they
created the first ever banking system. Clients
could take a note to any Templar church in Europe
and withdraw money. Arguably no less important, the
knights also invented the biscuit during the
crusades. They would make a large flat bread and
bake it twice, to prevent it from becoming mouldy.
Some believe that the association of Friday 13th
and bad luck dates from when the Pope rounded up
all the Templars and accused them of heresy,
putting many to torture on that day in October
1312. The Templars are today a registered
non-governmental organisation (NGO) with Special
Consultative Status with the United Nations.
Local Templars still meet at Shire Hall in
Hertford.
Labyrinth points to Knight
moves and the Holy Grail
THE labyrinth of “booby-trapped”
tunnels beneath the streets of the county town may
hold clues in the hunt for the Holy Grail,
according to Hertford members of a secret society.
The warren was used by the Knights
Templar, a society of warrior monks believed to
be the keepers of the Grail and the Ark of the
Covenant. At the heart of the maze of tunnels is
Hertford Castle. It was there, in 1309, that
four of six Templars from Bengeo were imprisoned
following their arrest by King Edward II, who
believed they were holding a lost treasure. Ben
Acheson, a modern-day Templar, said: “There
are treasures of immense importance underneath
Hertford. The people of Hertford should now be told
something of the labyrinth beneath them. “They
have an extensive, ancient and mostly secret
Templar heritage under their feet and it has been
there for hundreds of years. “It is time for
Hertford to begin to wake up to the shocking truth.
The labyrinth is important in unravelling the
mysteries of the Templars and the Grail.”
Interest in the legendary cup of Jesus, said to
have been used at the Last Supper and by Joseph of
Aramithea to catch Christ’s blood while he
hung on the cross, has been renewed by Dan
Brown’s best-selling novel The Da Vinci
Code.
Some believe the grail proves that Jesus married
Mary Magdalene and bore his children, and that
their dynasty carries on today. As the Mercury
reported last month, Hertford has been put on the
grail trail due to its historic links with the
Knights Templar, who were believed to own a
legendary lost treasure. It was following a royal
order in 1309 that six Templars based at Temple
Dinsley near Hitchin were arrested. Two were sent
to the Tower of London and the remaining four to
Hertford Castle. According to earlier records,
dating from 1216, Temple Dinsley was “a small
and poor foundation”, but King Edward II
believed the Templars had a massive hoard of gold,
silver and precious jewels in a casket, said to be
buried nearby. The lost treasure, which some
believe to be the grail, has never been recovered.
Mr Acheson said cryptically: “There are some
things which we are able to reveal and some things
which we are not. “This is particularly true
in relation to the labyrinth. Most of it must
remain secret.” For security reasons, the
Mercury cannot reveal the locations of all the
tunnels as some connect to bank vaults in the town.
According to Mr Acheson, some may even be
booby-trapped, as in the Indiana Jones movies. He
said: “Some of the passages and chambers are
highly secret and a few are still in use. Some
parts may also have been rigged to collapse.
“If you do stumble upon any hidden entrances,
passages or chambers please do steer well clear, if
only for your own safety.” A cryptic clue was
left at Hertford’s tourist office this month
with a picture of a chalice accompanied by a note,
which read: “You may wish to display this to
your customers. The reason why will become clear in
due course. If it has not already.” It was
signed ‘The Order’.
Taken from an 1898 map advertising the sale of
Bayley Hall, a 'Subterranean passage' is clearly
marked within the grounds. Also visible are Bell
Lane, leading north from Bayley Hall, Church
Street, leading north from the top right of the
picture, land to the South of Bailey Hall, which is
now the A414, and the Old Vicarage, now a private
residence(s).
. KNIGHT OF PASSION: Templar Ben Acheson says
the labyrinth of tunnels underneath Hertford is
important in unravelling the secrets of the
Templars and the Holy Grail. Templar faces East
holding large sword in ritual grip outside a
building at night. Sword held against chest like
metallic cross, blade points downward, butt by
chin, point by shins. White gloved hands hold sword
either side of hand-guard forming the horizontal
bar of the cross; left-hand holds handle,
right-hand holds blade.]
Tunnels under Threshers off license, left, and
Pizza Express, right, both in Fore Street, lend
weight to the idea that Hertford has a true
labyrinth of tunnels beneath the surface. SOURCE:
Hertfordshire Mercury, "The secrets of underground
Hertford", pp 16-17, 8 October 2004.
Legends - England - Beds, Herts and
Bucks - The secrets of underground Hertford
The
Order of the Knights Templar was founded by a
French Nobleman, Hugh de Payens and eight companion
knights in Jerusalem in 1118 or 1119 AD as official
protectors to pilgrims as they journeyed to
Jerusalem. And, whilst this principle of protection
was laudable, historic chronicles have proved
pitiless to their memory. In 1308,
the disbandment of the Templars was demanded
by the King of France, Philip the Fair, and a
significant part of the demise of the English
Knights Templar in the 13th Century, took place in
Hertfordshire under the orders of King Edward
II.
There are no remains of the
Templars’ Preceptory above ground, but chance
finds have been made, including skeletons, a
chalice, and the grave slab pictured here. These
were found during works to the east wing of the
house, which seems to have been the location of the
Templar chapel, at some point in the 1880s.
A parchment written in a
Latin code, derived from the eight-pointed Templar
Cross, exists in the Mark Masons Hall Library in St
James’s, London. It surfaced at a bric-a-brac
sale in London in about 1911. It claims to list the
Grand Masters through the next five centuries. But
none of the Templar legends are yet to pass the
tests of rigorous scientific and academic proof.
But, what we know of the truth is fascinating
enough in itself.
Knoppenburg Manor in Belgium "Knoppenburg
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Knoppenburg
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07863 194273 or fill in our online
enquiry form
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46 hectares of vast
land is part of the Knoppenburg Manor
estate, enclosed by hedges and rows of
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The Manor building is
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manor
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The location of
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Knoppenburg Manor is a
feudal
manor and had a
historical mention already in the 16th century
under its original name "Hop op der Heyde" which
means Court on the Heath. It has arisen from the
restructuring of the old and significant Manor
Belven from which it presumably split-off in the
16th century.
"Hop op der Heyde"
In 1612 Simon Bertholf
bequeathed Knoppenburg to Guillaume de
Fischer as a gift. The family Fischer extended the
building to include two side wings and two towers.
The owners changed once more at the beginning of
the 18th century and the estate belonged to the
family Lamberts after 1717.
In the course of the Century
Pierre-Ignace-Joseph de la Saulx, President of the
District Court, Malmedy and later advisor at the
Cologne Higher Regional Court acquired the estate
through inheritance. The coats of arms of the
family de la Saulx decorate the weathercocks on the
towers of Knoppenburg Manor to this very
day.
The main building made its debut
in the classical style at the beginning of the 19th
century, as can be seen today. Through marriage and
inheritance, in the course of time the Manor became
the property of the family de Blanchart.
In 1936 Joseph-Henri Guillaume
van Laar purchased the estate. After the last
change of ownership in 1998, extensive restoration
and remedial work began.
Today, Kloppenburg Manor lies on
the historical "Castle Trail" &endash; a
fascinating route that links 20 palaces, castles
and stately homes along 79km of the Belgian
countryside
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Knoppenburg Manor sits in
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