The Temple Church is a wonderful church, located in London. It was built in the 12th
Century for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters.
The Temple Church is a wonderful church, located in London. It was built in the 12th
Century for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. In
the middle of the 12th
Century, before the construction of the church, the Knights Templar in
London had met at a site in
High Holborn in a structure originally established by Hughes de Payens. Because
of the rapid growth of the
order, by the 1160s the site had become too confined, and the Order
purchased the current site for the establishment of a larger monastic complex as their headquarters
in England. In addition to the church, the new compound originally contained
residences, military training facilities, and recreational grounds for the
military brethren and
novices, who were not permitted to go into the city without the permission of
the Master of the Temple. The
church building comprises two separate sections. The original nave section, called the RoundChurch, and an adjoining rectangular
section, built approximately half a Century later, called the Chancel. Keeping the traditions of the order, the
nave of the church was constructed on a round design based on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The nave is 55
feet in diametre, and is surrounded by the first-ever free-standing dark Purbeck Marble columns. It
is probable that the walls and grotesque heads were originally painted in
colours. The church was undamaged
by the Great Fire of London in
1666, nevertheless, it was rebuilt by Christopher Wren, who made
extensive modifications to the interior, including an altar screen and the
introduction of an organ to the church for the first time. It was heavily damaged during World War II, but has been
largely restored. During the
renovation by the architect
Walter Godfrey, it was discovered that the renovations made by Wren in the 17th Century
were in storage and they were replaced in their original position. The
church was rededicated in November 1958.
