Graves belonging to members of Knights Templar found in one of 'most nationally important discoveries'

The discovery of the five medieval tombs follows on from a discovery of three of the 800-year-old graves in 2021 and has led Mr Dyas to say that the area could be one of the most national important Templar churches in the country.

The Knights Templar was a wealthy, powerful and mysterious military organization of devout Christians in the medieval era, formed in 1119 and tasked with providing safety to pilgrims to Jerusalem.

It was believed in legend that their wealth was coveted by the nobility, however, and they were charged falsely with heresy and the order eventually disbanded in 1308.

It is not known why there are Templar graves at Enville although Templars were believed to attach themselves to churches dedicated to St Mary the Virgin.

The church on the outskirts of the Black Country was built in the early 12th century at a time when the Templars were creating Preceptories around Britain.

Each grave features a Templar cross within double circles in a standard Templar design, while one of the graves also includes a Crusader cross indicating the knight was a Templar and a Crusader of the ancient military order.

The discovery of the graves has seen a rise in visitors to the site to see the graves, with some coming from across the country to do so and even as far as Australia.

Jenny Warren and Mike Hill were in the region from Ipswich in Suffolk to see historical sites in the region and had travelled from Shrewsbury to stop at Enville on their way to Croome Court in Upton-on-Severn in Worcestershire.

Ms Warren said their interest in the graves had come from reading about it from previous newspaper headlines and wanting to stop by to see it.

She said: "We were heading on our way to Croome Court from Shrewsbury and found it was on our way, so we thought we would call in and have a look as we've been to the Templar church in London and thought it was interesting.

"We spend a lot of time walking around ancient churches and decided to see this and first impressions were it was not what we were expecting as we though we might see an excavation, but found it was just the gravestones that had been exposed.

"Speaking to a lady who was also there taking photos, I did think there might be a chance that they might have been moved from an abbey that was destroyed in the desolation and it's not certain that they were originally in this churchyard."

Edward Spencer Dyas, who lives in Stourbridge, has been working with relative Darius Radmanish to unravel the remarkable findings.

He said: "This find has been confirmed to me as being a unique discovery.

"The oldest Templar Society in Britain who keep records of all Templar sites has confirmed it had never previously been recorded.

"I believe these discoveries make Enville one of the most nationally important churches in the country.

"That's due to its close links with William Marshall who is considered of the greatest warriors England ever produced.

"But there is a mystery of why a European Templar is buried at Enville and why they were secretly so prominent there."