The Temple Church in London

Robin Griffith-Jones

The Temple Church, founded as the main church of the Knights Templar in England at the New Temple in London, is historically and architecturally one of the most important medieval buildings in London. Its round nave, modelled on the fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, is an extraordinarily early and ambitious example of the Gothic style in England. It holds one of the most famous series of medieval effigies in the country. The luminous thirteenth-century choir, intended for the burial of Henry III, is of exceptional beauty. Major developments in the post-medieval period include the reordering of the church in the 1680's by Sir Christopher Wren, fascinating changes in the perception of the church's significance in the eighteenth century, and a substantial restoration programme in the early 1840's. -- Despite its great importance, however, the Temple Church has...