Temple Church
The Temple Church is an Anglican church between Fleet Street and the River Thames in London , within the building complex of the Royal Courts of Justice , special, one reserved for judges, lawyers and notaries district in the area of Inner Temple of the Middle Temple located. Originally built in the 12th century as the main church of the Knights Templar in England , it was the meeting point for important negotiations that eventually led to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 . Following the persecution of the Templars in the 14th century and the dissolution of the order in 1320, Temple Church and its annexed buildings became royal property and provided space for two law schools for the next seven centuries. The building was badly damaged during the Second World War , but it was completely restored after the war.
Design and construction
In the mid-12th century, before the church was built, the Knights Templar met at High Holborn in a building originally built by Hugo von Payns . As the order grew, space became scarce. Therefore, in 1160, the order acquired the basic right of the present-day site called Middle Temple , to erect a larger building. In addition to the church, the complex included apartments, military training facilities, and recreational facilities for the military brothers and novices who were not allowed into the city without the Temple Master's permission.
The church consists of two separate building sections: the original nave , the so-called Round Church , and the adjacent rectangular section, which was built about half a century later, called The Chancel .
The Round Church
According to the traditions of the order, the church building was constructed round, based on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem . The construction measures 16.7 meters in diameter and is surrounded by the oldest free-standing columns made of Purbeck marble . It is likely that the walls and grotesque heads were originally painted in color.
The church was consecrated in a ceremony on February 10, 1185 by Heraclius , Patriarch of Jerusalem . It is believed that Henry II may have been present at the consecration .
The round church houses marble gisante of nine medieval knights , the most famous of which is William Marshal . In January 1215, William served as a mediator during a meeting in the temple between King John and the barons. This demanded that Johann retained the rights which the crowning act of his predecessor I. Richard stood. William swore on behalf of the king that the barons' complaints would be addressed in the summer, along with the signing of the Magna Charta in June. William was born during the reign of Johann's son Heinrich III. who later wished to be buried in the church as his regent.
During the renovation after the Second World War, it was found that the Templars' tombs are empty. Whether they ever served as a burial place and if so, when the bodies could have been removed, can no longer be determined today.
The Chancel
As a result of Henry III's request to be buried in the church, the choir of the original church was demolished in the early 13th century and replaced by a new, larger extension, The Chancel . It was consecrated on the day of the Ascension in 1240 . Although Heinrich later changed his wishes and wanted to be buried in Westminster Abbey , one of his sons, who died in childhood, was buried in the chancel.
The chancel has a central nave and two side aisles of equal width. The height of the vault is 11.048 meters. During the bombing raids in World War II, the Purebeck marble columns in the chancel were cracked. Although they continued to support the vault, they were replaced by replicas. The original columns had a slight slope towards the outside, an architectural peculiarity that was also retained in the duplicates.
Early use by the Knights Templar
The Order was very powerful during its existence. The Master of the Temple sat in Parliament as Primus Baro (first baron of the kingdom). The complex was regularly used as the residence of kings and legates of the Pope . A kind of bench was also set up in the temple . The independence and wealth of the order across Europe is seen by most historians as the main reason for its decline.
Later story
After the Knights Templar was destroyed in 1307, Edward II took over the church as royal property. Later it was given to the Order of St. John , which rented the temple to two law schools. They were looking for accommodation in London to attend the royal courts in Westminster. The two technical schools, commonly known as the Inns of Judgment and otherwise known as the Inner and Outer Temples, shared the use of the church. Another agreement signed by James I in 1608 allowed the two schools to use the temple forever, which they still do today.
In 1540 the church became royal property again when Henry VIII banned the Order of St. John in England and had its property confiscated. Henry VIII supported a priest for the church, who bore the formal title "Master of the Temple". In the years after 1580 the church became the site of the Battle of Pulpits , a theological conflict between Calvinists and supporters of the Church of England .
The church survived the great fire of London in 1666 undamaged. Nevertheless, it was rebuilt by Christopher Wren , who made extensive modifications to the interior, including the installation of the first organ . The church was renovated again in 1841, this time by Smirke and Burton, who decorated the walls and ceiling in a high Gothic style. It was an attempt to restore the church to its original appearance.
On May 10, 1941, during the Battle of Britain , the roof of the round church was hit by a German fire bomb . The fire spread quickly to the nave and the chapel in the wind. The organ and the entire wooden fittings of the church including the Victorian renovations were destroyed. During the renovation work, it was discovered that the changes made by Wren in the 17th century could be retained and replaced true to the original. The work was completed in November 1958.
Todays use
The temple continues to be used as a church, including communion on Sunday morning. Choir and organ concerts take place regularly.
organ
The organ was installed in 1954 by the organ builders Harrison & Harrison (Durham) in Temple Church. The instrument had already been built in 1924 and was previously in Glen Tanar House, Aboyne , Grampian Mountains . The instrument was revised several times by the builder company, whereby the original disposition was largely retained. In 2011–2013 the organ was last extensively restored and the layout expanded. The instrument has 66 registers on four manuals and a pedal. The playing and stop actions are electro-pneumatic.
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Web links
- Official website (English)
- Images of the temple
- Official website detailing the music of the Temple Church (English)
- Middle Temple's website (English)
- Inner Temple's website (English)
- Black and white images of the Temple - Pitt University
Individual evidence
- ↑ Comprehensive information on the organ ( Memento from March 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Further comprehensive information on the organ, also available there (English) ( Memento from April 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 47.6 " N , 0 ° 6 ′ 37.6" W.