There is an architectural gem in the heart of London that most tourists miss. Situated just east of where the Strand turns into Fleet Street, beyond the old legal bookshop of Wildy and Sons, stands a small stone archway. Compared to the imposing structure above it, it is almost unnoticeable. Turn in, and a hidden world comes into view, one that is serene and leafy, graced by Gothic and Victorian buildings complete with gardens and miniature courtyards.
Until twenty years ago, this area, known as Temple, was relatively unknown even to Londoners, let alone tourists who tend to crowd around nearby attractions such as St Paul’s Cathedral or Trafalgar Square. Yet, this is is one of the most historic places in London: the stronghold of the Knights Templar, a group of crusading knights from around 1185 up until their dissolution in 1312.
In their heydays, the Knights Templar built monastic dormitories, chambers and two dining halls now known as Middle Temple Hall and Inner Halls. But most famously, they built the Temple Church. This round church – one of only four round churches in England – was in use by 1162 and it was designed to recreate the shape and sanctity of the round Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A chancel (the space around the altar, choir stage and sanctuary) was added in 1240 although much has been rebuilt since then.
The Temple Church was the centre of the beginning of the medieval period of England’s religious, political, and economic life, and during the crisis of 1214-15 (when the Mana Carta was hammered out), this was King John’s London headquarters. You can still see stone effigies of some of the knights – including William Marshal of Pembroke, without whom Magna Carta may not exist – lying here to this day.
