Temple Church

Temple Church in London is an 1185 round church built by the Knights Templar and modeled on Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Consecrated by Patriarch Heraclius, it features nine stone effigies, including Magna Carta mediator William Marshal, and the earliest surviving free-standing Purbeck Marble columns. The church doubled as one of Britain's first banks for nearly 150 years and survived both the 1666 Great Fire and 1941 Blitz bombing.

London Β· from the walk β€œSecret London: Hidden Alleys, Ancient Stones & Forgotten Stories” Β· audio ~3 min Β· Generated

Temple Church, Inner Temple Lane, London EC4Y 7BB

Why does Temple Church in London have a round shape?

Step off the bustle of Fleet Street... through a narrow archway... and into another world entirely. Charles Dickens once observed of this place: "Who enters here leaves noise behind." And he was right. The cobblestones grow quieter, the buildings close in around you, and suddenly... you're standing before one of the most extraordinary churches in all of England.......... This is Temple Church. It was consecrated on the tenth of February, eleven eighty-five, by Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem himself. Think about that. A patriarch who had traveled all the way from the Holy Land to bless this very ground.......... It's famous for its round shape β€” a deliberate design choice by the Knights Templar, modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. And here's something most people walk right past β€” inside that round church is a circle of the Earliest known surviving free-standing Purbeck Marble columns in existence.......... But this wasn't just a place of worship. For nearly a hundred and fifty years, this church doubled as a discreet location where people could safely deposit money and jewels. It may have looked like a church from the outside... but this was one of Britain's First banks.......... Now look down at the floor. Nine stone figures lie here, weathered by centuries, all depicted in their early thirties β€” the age at which Christ died. These sculptures were once Blazing with color. Analysis from the eighteen forties revealed delicate flesh tones on the faces, light green on the mouldings, gilding on the ring-mail... and the surcoats were painted crimson with light blue linings.......... And the most important figure among them? William Marshal, the First Earl of Pembroke β€” a man called "the best knight that ever lived." He served Four English kings and was one of the chief mediators in the years leading up to Magna Carta. In January twelve fifteen, right here in this church, a group of armed barons charged in and confronted King John, demanding his submission to a charter. The negotiations that unfolded within these walls helped shape the document that would change the course of democracy Forever.......... One more secret. The circular staircase of this church hides a tiny space β€” just four and a half feet long and two feet nine inches wide. The story goes it was a penitentiary cell where a Templar named Walter Bacheler spent his final, miserable days.......... This was where the Knights Templar conducted their famously mysterious initiation ceremonies. Initiates would enter through the West door at dawn, before taking oaths of piety and chastity. What exactly happened in those ceremonies? Nobody outside the order ever knew for certain. That secrecy was later manipulated by King Philip the Fourth of France to fabricate charges and destroy the entire order.......... And yet... the church endured. It survived the Great Fire of London in sixteen sixty-six. It was even refurbished by Sir Christopher Wren. Then came the night of May tenth, nineteen forty-one β€” the most devastating raid of the Blitz. German bombers dropped seven hundred and eleven tons of explosives on London. Temple Church was at the heart of these attacks. But once again... it was rebuilt.......... Nine centuries of crusaders, kings, secret rites, and firestorms β€” and still, these stone knights lie here in silence, exactly where they were placed... waiting.

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