Temple Church
Temple Church is one of the oldest churches in the City of London, being built by the Knights Templar in 1185. The circular design of the church reflects the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem. In the 13th Century Henry III built the adjoining choir, dwarfing the original church, to be his mausoleum. After it was built, he changed his mind and was buried in Westminster Abbey. C’est la vie!
When the Knights Templar fell out of favour in the early 14th Century, the Temple Church and surrounding land was handed over to the Knights Hospitaller. Being short of money they rented the surrounding land and buildings to lawyers looking for a premises close to Westminster. The lawyers were looking for new premises as Wat Tyler had burnt down their previous ones during the Peasants Revolt. The two main colleges of lawyers became the Inner and Middle Temple Inns of Court.
Left is the Rose Window above the West door.
The church survived the Great Fire of London (1666) but unfortunately not the Blitz (1941) and so was subsequently refurbished, hence it looks so pristine inside.
Knights’ Effigies
There are 8 effigies of medieval Knights on the floor of the church. Sorry, but as readers of the Da Vinci Code know (spoiler alert) there are no tombs underneath these effigies. This effigy of the 4th Earl of Pembroke, died 1241, appears to be trampling on the devil – or maybe a dragon.
Interior Gargoyles – I have only ever seen them high up on the outside of churches, never on the inside.
All the Stained Glass Choir Windows are very ornate, but of course are modern, being post WWII.
A horse carrying two knights was an emblem of the Knights Templar and was supposed to illustrate their poverty. Maybe a little disingenuous as of course they became fabulously wealthy.
Apparently a badly drawn copy of two knights on a horse in a Templar manuscript was mistaken for a drawing of the winged horse, Pegasus, which the Templars then took as their insignia.
Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Flower Show – September 2008
There is apparently a connection between the RHS shows & Temple gardens. Now of course they are held in the grounds of the Chelsea Pensioners and are the very popular annual Chelsea Flower Shows. As part of this festival event they arranged for the Temple Church to be decorated.
I am not normally into flower shows, but I have got to admit that the displays here were amazingly inventive and a visual feast as you can see from the photos on this page.
Jo with her display
Heraldic Shield
Lovely Lilies
This window celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Inner and Middle Temples (two of the four Inns of Court representing lawyers) being granted a Royal Charter giving them use of the Temple in perpetuity.
The display below mimics the window wonderfully.
The Temple Precincts are a hidden gem of a surprisingly peaceful area of London, nestled between the busy Fleet Street and the Embankment.
