Knights Templar in England
An inventory by Geoffrey Fitz Stephen reveals that by 1185, the Order of the Knights Templar had extensive holdings in London, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Salop, Oxfordshire, Cornwall, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. The involvement of Templars in financial matters is highlighted by Walter of Coventry's story of Gilbert de Ogrestan, the Knight Templar accused of embezzling taxes collected in the Saladin tithe of 1188. He was severely punished by his contemporary Master.
The Commandery
The name the Commandery suggests the original foundation was instituted possibly by the Knights Hospitaller of the order of St John of Jerusalem in England whose administrative districts, often based just outside city walls, were called commanderies and keep that name today. An example where the chapel has survived but the other buildings have disappeared can be found at Poznan, Poland. The name commandery for their administrative districts remains in use today by the Venerable Order of St John. Alternatively it may have been founded by the Knights Templar. In 1312 by papal decree, the property of the Templars was transferred to the Order of Hospitallers, which also absorbed many of the Templars' members. In effect, the dissolution of the Templars could be seen as the merger of the two rival orders.