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The Temple Church is a
Royal peculiar A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch, or in Cornwall by the duke. Definition The church par ...
church in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
located between
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...
and the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, built by the
Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem. During the reign of King John (1199–1216) it served as the royal treasury, supported by the role of the Knights Templar as proto-international bankers. It is now jointly owned by the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
and
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...
, bases of the English legal profession. It is famous for being a
round church A round church is a church construction with a completely circular plan. There are many Nordic round churches in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island of Bornholm); round churches were popular in Scandinavia in the 11th and early 12th centurie ...
, a common design feature for Knights Templar churches, and for its 13th- and 14th-century stone
effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
. It was heavily damaged by German bombing during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and has since been greatly restored and rebuilt. The area around the Temple Church is known as the
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. Temple Bar, an ornamental processional gateway, formerly stood in the middle of Fleet Street. Nearby is
Temple Underground station Temple is a London Underground station located at Victoria Embankment in the City of Westminster, close to its boundary with the City of London. It is on the Circle and District lines between Embankment and Blackfriars, and is in fare zone ...
.


History


Construction

In the mid-12th century, before the construction of the church, the Knights Templar in London had met at a site in
High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Sou ...
in a structure originally established by
Hugues de Payens Hugues de Payens or Payns (9 February 1070 – 24 May 1136) was the co-founder and first Grand Master of the Knights Templar. In association with Bernard of Clairvaux, he created the ''Latin Rule'', the code of behavior for the Order. Name T ...
(the site had been historically the location of a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
temple in
Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...
, now known as London). 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 Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. 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 circular church building, called the Round Church and now acting as a
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, and a later rectangular section adjoining on the east side, built approximately half a century later, forming the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
. After the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 by the Crusaders, the
Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock ( ar, قبة الصخرة, Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the ''al-Haram al-Sharif'' or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initial ...
was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church (while the Jami Al-Aqsa became a royal palace). Because the Dome of the Rock was the site of the Temple of Solomon, the Knights Templar set up their headquarters in the Al-Aqsa Mosque adjacent to the Dome for much of the 12th century. The '' Templum Domini'', as they called the Dome of the Rock, featured on the official seals of the Order's Grand Masters (such as
Everard des Barres Everard des Barres (also Eberhard von Barres or Eberhard De Bären) (died c.1176) was the third Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1147 to 1152. Everard was Master of the Templars in France and accompanied Louis VII of France on the Second ...
and
Renaud de Vichiers Renaud (Reginald) de Vichiers (? – 20 January 1256) was the 19th Grand Masters of the Knights Templar, Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1250 to 1256. He joined the Knights Templar and was appointed Preceptor of Saint-Jean-d'Acre in 124 ...
), and along with the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
upon which it was based soon became the architectural model for Round Templar churches across Europe. The round church is in
diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...
, and contains within it a circle of the earliest known surviving free-standing
Purbeck Marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology Strat ...
columns. It is probable that the walls and grotesque heads were originally painted in colours. It was
consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
on 10 February 1185 by
Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
,
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem ( la, Patriarchatus Latinus Hierosolymitanus) is the Latin Catholic ecclesiastical patriarchate in Jerusalem, officially seated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was originally established in 1099, wit ...
. It is believed that King Henry II (1154–1189) was present at the consecration.


1185–1307

The Knights Templar order was very powerful in England, with the Master of the Temple sitting in
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
as ''primus baro'' (the first
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
in precedence of the realm). The compound was regularly used as a residence by kings and by
legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...
s of the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
. The Temple also served as an early safety-deposit bank, sometimes in defiance of the Crown's attempts to seize the funds of nobles who had entrusted their wealth there. The quasi-supra-national independent network and great wealth of the Order throughout Europe, and the jealousy this caused in secular kingdoms, is considered by most commentators to have been the primary cause of its eventual downfall. In January 1215 William Marshall (who is buried in the nave next to his sons, and is represented by one of the nine stone
effigies An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
) served as a negotiator during a meeting in the Temple between King
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
and the
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
s, who demanded that the king should uphold the rights enshrined in the
Coronation Charter The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, or Statutes of the Realm, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his accession to the throne in 1100. It sought to bind the King to certain laws regarding the ...
of his predecessor and elder brother King
Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
. Marshall swore on behalf of the king that the grievances of the barons would be addressed in the summer, which led to the signing by the king of
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
in June. Marshall later became
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
during the reign of John's infant son, King Henry III (1216–1272). Henry later expressed a desire to be buried in the church and, to accommodate this, in the early 13th century the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
of the original church was pulled down and a new larger chancel was built, the basic form of which survives today. It was consecrated on
Ascension Day The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...
1240 and comprises a central aisle and two side
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
s, north and south, of identical width. The height of the vault is . Although one of Henry's infant sons was buried in the chancel, Henry himself later altered his will to reflect his new wish to be buried in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
.


Crown seizure

After the destruction and abolition of the Knights Templar in 1307, King
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
took control of the church as a Crown possession. It was later given to the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
, who leased the Temple to two colleges of lawyers. One college moved into the part of the Temple previously used by the Knights, and the other into the part previously used by its clergy, and both shared the use of the church. The colleges evolved into the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
and the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
, two of the four London
Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...
.


16th–19th centuries

In 1540 the church became the property of
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
once again when King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
abolished the Knights Hospitaller in England and confiscated their property. Henry provided a priest for the church under the former title "Master of the Temple". In the 1580s the church was the scene of the ''Battle of the
Pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
s'', a
theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
conflict between the
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
and supporters of the Elizabethan Compromise.
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
was familiar with the site and the church and garden feature in his play ''
Henry VI, part 1 ''Henry VI, Part 1'', often referred to as ''1 Henry VI'', is a history play by William Shakespeare—possibly in collaboration with Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe—believed to have been written in 1591. It is set during the lifetime ...
'' as the setting for the fictional scene of the plucking of two roses of York and Lancaster and the start of the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
. In 2002 this event was commemorated with the planting of new white and red roses in the modern gardens. Following an agreement in 1608 by King
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, the two Inns were granted use of the church in perpetuity on condition that they should support and maintain it. They continue to use the Temple church as their ceremonial chapel. The church escaped damage in the
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...
of 1666. Nevertheless, it was refurbished by
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
, who made extensive modifications to the interior, including the addition of an altar screen and the installation of the church's first organ. The church underwent a
Victorian restoration The Victorian restoration was the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria. It was not the same proce ...
in 1841 by Smirke and Burton, who decorated the walls and ceiling in high
Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style in an attempt to return the church back to its supposed original appearance. Further restoration work was executed in 1862 by
James Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations. Early life St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicara ...
.


Twentieth century

On 10 May 1941, German incendiary bombs set the roof of the Round Church on fire, and the fire quickly spread to the nave and chapel. The organ and all the wooden parts of the church, including the Victorian renovations, were destroyed and the Purbeck marble columns in the chancel cracked due to the intense heat. Although these columns still provided some support to the vault, they were deemed unsound and were replaced in identical form. The original columns had a slight outward lean, which architectural quirk was followed in the replacement columns. The Master's House was burned down on the same night. During the renovation by the architect
Walter Godfrey Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was ...
, it was discovered that elements of the 17th-century renovations made by
Wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...
had survived in storage and these were replaced in their original positions. The church was rededicated in November 1958. The church was designated a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
on 4 January 1950.


Use

Among other purposes, the church was originally used for Templar initiation ceremonies. In England the ceremony involved new recruits entering the Temple via the western door at dawn. The initiates entered the circular nave and then took monastic vows of piety, chastity, poverty and obedience. The details of initiation ceremonies were always a closely guarded secret, which later contributed to the Order's downfall as gossip and rumours spread about possible blasphemous usages. These rumours were manipulated and exploited by the Order's enemies, such as King
Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
, to fabricate a pretext for the order's suppression. Today the Temple Church holds regular church services, including
Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
and
Mattins The Daily Office in Anglican churches focuses the traditional canonical hours on daily services of Morning Prayer (also called Matins or Mattins, especially when chanted) and Evening Prayer (called Evensong, especially when celebrated chorally ...
on Sunday morning. It also holds weddings, but only for members of the Inner and Middle Temples. The Temple Church serves both the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple as a private chapel. The Temple Church has always been a
Royal Peculiar A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch, or in Cornwall by the duke. Definition The church par ...
, due to which the choristers have the privilege of wearing scarlet cassocks. Debate exists regarding the relationship of its status as Crown Subject and Peculiar. Relations with the
Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
are very good and she regularly attends events and services at the Temple Church. The Bishop of London is also ''
ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'' Dean of the
Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...
.


Music at the Temple Church

The church offers regular
choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
performances and organ recitals. A choir in the English cathedral tradition was established at the Temple Church in 1842 under the direction of Dr E. J. Hopkins, and it soon earned a high reputation. In 1927, the Temple Choir under George Thalben-Ball became world-famous with its recording of
Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
's '' Hear My Prayer'', including the solo "O for the Wings of a Dove" sung by
Ernest Lough Ernest Arthur Lough (; 17 November 1911 – 22 February 2000) was an English singer who sang the famous solo "O for the Wings of a Dove", from Felix Mendelssohn's " Hear My Prayer", for the Gramophone Company (later HMV and then EMI) in 1927. ...
. This became one of the most popular recordings of all time by a church choir, and it sold strongly throughout the twentieth century, reaching gold disc status (a million copies) in 1962 and achieving an estimated 6 million sales to date. The Temple Church's excellent acoustics have also attracted secular musicians: Sir
John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...
recorded a famous performance of the ''
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis ''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'', also known as the ''Tallis Fantasia'', is a one-movement work for string orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The theme is by the 16th-century English composer Thomas Tallis. The Fantasia was first perf ...
'' by
Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
there in 1962 (at the suggestion of
Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
), and
Paul Tortelier Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the war he b ...
made his recording of the complete
Bach Cello Suites The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the p ...
there in April 1982. In 2003 the church was the location of a
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
of
Libera Libera may refer to: * Libera (mythology), a Roman goddess of fertility * Libera (choir), a boy vocal group from London * ''Libera'' (film), a 1993 comedy film * "Libera" (song), a song by Italian artist Mia Martini * ''Libera'' (gastropod), a ...
. While writing the score for '' Interstellar,'' film composer
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...
chose the Temple Church for the recording of the parts of the score that included an organ. The Church's organist
Roger Sayer Roger Sayer is an English organist and Director of Music at the Temple Church in central London. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral. Sayer began his musical career as a chorister in Portsmouth and then studied ...
played the organ, while a large orchestra played throughout the church. Zimmer is quoted saying that "Setting foot into Temple Church is like stepping into profound history. ...Temple Church houses one of the most magnificent organs in the world." The choir continues to record, broadcast and perform, in addition to its regular services at the Temple Church. It is an all-male choir, consisting of 18 boys who are all educated on generous scholarships (most of the boys attend the
City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...
although the scholarship is portable) and 12 professional men. They perform weekly at Sunday services, 11:15–12:15 pm, during term time. The choir gave the world premiere of Sir
John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), '' The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and ''Song ...
's epic '' The Veil of the Temple'', which took place over seven hours during an overnight vigil in the Temple Church in 2003. The following year it was performed by the choir at the Lincoln Festival in New York City; a concert version was performed at the BBC Proms the same year. Two new recordings were released in 2010 on the ''Signum Classics'' label: one of the Temple Church Choir, and a recording of English organ music played by James Vivian. Both were critically acclaimed. The boys' choir also appears on the 2016 recording of
John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...
's violin concerto ''
Visions Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
'', and on an album of upper-voices Christmas music released the same year.


Organ

The church contains two organs: a chamber organ built by Robin Jennings in 2001, and a four manual
Harrison & Harrison Harrison & Harrison Ltd is a British company that makes and restores pipe organs, based in Durham and established in Rochdale in 1861. It is well known for its work on instruments such as King's College, Cambridge, Westminster Abbey, and the R ...
organ, built in 1924 as a private ballroom organ at Glen Tanar House and installed at the Temple Church in 1954.


List of organists

The church has had a number of famous organists, including: *
Francis Pigott Francis Pigott ( 1665 – 15 May 1704) was an England, English Baroque music, Baroque composer and organist. Career He was a choirboy at the Chapel Royal in London from at least August 1678 to Michaelmas 1683. A record at St John's College, Oxfor ...
1688–1704 *John Pigott 1704–1737 (from 1729 for Middle Temple only) Inner Temple * Obadiah Shuttleworth 1729–1734 * John Stanley 1734–1786 * Robert John Samuel Stevens 1786–1810 *George Price 1810–1814 Middle Temple *John Pigott 1729–1737 *James Vincent 1737–1749 * John Jones 1749–1796 *Emily Dowding 1796–1814 (from 1814 for both Inner and Middle Temple) *George Price 1814–1826 * George Warne 1826–1843 (afterwards organist of St Nicholas' Church, Great Yarmouth) *Dr
Edward John Hopkins Dr. Edward John Hopkins FRCO (30 June 1818 - 4 February 1901) was an English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an ...
1843–1897 *Sir
Henry Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, du ...
1897–1923 *Sir George Thalben-Ball 1923–1982 *Dr John Birch 1982–1997 * Stephen Layton 1997–2006 * James Vivian 2006–2013 *
Roger Sayer Roger Sayer is an English organist and Director of Music at the Temple Church in central London. He was previously Organist and Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral. Sayer began his musical career as a chorister in Portsmouth and then studied ...
2014–


Master of the Temple

The church always has two clergy, called the "Master of the Temple" and the "Reader of the Temple." The title of the Master of the Temple recalls the title of the head of the former order of the
Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
. The Master of the Temple is appointed by the Crown; the right of appointment was reserved when the Church was granted to the two Inns by
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
in 1608. The church has the status of a peculiar rather than a private chapel and is outside any episcopal or archiepiscopal jurisdiction. The present Master of the Temple is the Reverend
Robin Griffith-Jones Robin Griffith-Jones (born 1956) is a Church of England priest, Master of the Temple in London and a lecturer at King's College, London. Griffith-Jones was educated at Westminster School and New College, Oxford, before working at Christie's ...
, appointed in 1999. The Master gives regular lunchtime talks open to the public. The official title of the Master of the Temple is the "Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple." His official residence is the Master's House, a Georgian townhouse built next to the church in 1764.


Masters of the Temple

* 1160-1185†
Richard de Hastings Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
* 1540–1558† William Ermested * 1560–1584† Richard Alvey * 1585–1591
Richard Hooker Richard Hooker (25 March 1554 – 2 November 1600) was an English priest in the Church of England and an influential theologian.The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church by F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) Oxford University ...
* 1591–1601† Nicholas Balgay * 1601–1628† Thomas Master (as Archdeacon of Salop from 1614) * 1628–1639† Paul Micklethwaite * 1639–1644 John Littleton (royalist, left London to join the king, ejected 1644) (1644 Richard Vines nominated by the House of Commons but rejected by the House of Lords.) * 1645–1646 John Tombes * 1646–1658 Richard Johnson * 1658–1659† Ralph Brownrigg (as Bishop of Exeter) * 1659–1661
John Gauden John Gauden (died 20 September 1662) was an English cleric. He was Bishop of Exeter then Bishop of Worcester. He was also a writer, and the reputed author of the important Royalist work '' Eikon Basilike''. Life He was born at Mayland, Essex, ...
(as Bishop of Exeter) * 1661–1684† Richard Ball * 1684–1704
William Sherlock William Sherlock (c. 1639/1641June 19, 1707) was an English church leader. Life He was born at Southwark, the son of a tradesman, and was educated at St Saviour's Grammar School and Eton, and then at Peterhouse, Cambridge. In 1669 he became r ...
(as Dean of St Paul's from 1691) * 1704–1753
Thomas Sherlock Thomas Sherlock (167818 July 1761) was a British divine who served as a Church of England bishop for 33 years. He is also noted in church history as an important contributor to Christian apologetics. Life Born in London, he was the son of the V ...
(as Dean of Chichester 1715, Bishop of Bangor 1728, Salisbury 1734, London 1748) * 1753–1763† Samuel Nicolls * 1763–1771† Gregory Sharpe * 1771–1772† George Watts * 1772–1787 Thomas Thurlow (as Dean of Rochester 1775, Bishop of Lincoln 1779) * 1787–1797 William Pearce (later Dean of Ely) * 1797–1798
Thomas Kipling Thomas Kipling (1745 or 1746 – 28 January 1822) was a British churchman and academic. He entered St John's College, Cambridge University in 1764 at age 18 and was senior wrangler in 1768. He received an M.A. in 1771, a B.D. in 1779, and ...
(later Dean of Peterborough) * 1798–1827
Thomas Rennell Thomas Rennell (8 February 1754–31 March 1840) was an English churchman, dean of Winchester Cathedral and Master of the Temple. Life He was born on 8 February 1754 at Barnack in Northamptonshire, where his father, Thomas Rennell (1720–17 ...
(as Dean of Winchester from 1805) * 1827–1845 Christopher Benson * 1845–1869
Thomas Robinson Thomas, Tom or Tommy Robinson may refer to: Artists * Thomas Robinson (composer) (c. 1560 – after 1609), English composer and music teacher * Thomas Heath Robinson (1869–1954), British book illustrator Politicians * Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron ...
* 1869–1894
Charles John Vaughan Charles John Vaughan (16 August 1816 – 15 October 1897) was an English scholar and Anglican churchman. Life He was born in Leicester, the second son of the Revd Edward Thomas Vaughan, vicar of St Martin's, Leicester. He was educated at Ru ...
(as Dean of Llandaff from 1879) * 1894–1904†
Alfred Ainger Alfred Ainger (9 February 18378 February 1904) was an English biographer and critic. Biography The son of an architect in London, he was educated at University College School, King's College London and Trinity College, Cambridge, from where he ...
* 1904–1915† Henry George Woods * 1915–1919 Ernest Barnes (later Bishop of Birmingham) * 1919–1930 William Henry Draper * 1930–1935
Spencer Carpenter Spencer Cecil Carpenter (3 November 1877 – 19 August 1959) was an Anglican priest and author. He was the Dean of Exeter in the Church of England from 1935 to 1950. Carpenter was educated at University College School and Gonville and Caius ...
(later Dean of Exeter) * 1935–1954† Harold Anson * 1954–1957† John Firth * 1958–1968
Dick Milford Theodore Richard Milford (10 June 1895 – 19 January 1987) was an English clergyman, educator and philanthropist, who was involved in the founding of Oxfam. Biography He was born at Yockleton Hall, Shropshire on 10 June 1895. He was eldest ...
* 1968–1980 Bobby Milburn (formerly Dean of Worcester) * 1981–1999† Joseph Robinson * 1999–
Robin Griffith-Jones Robin Griffith-Jones (born 1956) is a Church of England priest, Master of the Temple in London and a lecturer at King's College, London. Griffith-Jones was educated at Westminster School and New College, Oxford, before working at Christie's ...
† ''Master died in post''


Buried in the church

* Sir Richard Chetwode, Sheriff of Northamptonshire (1560–1635). *
Silvester de Everdon Silvester de Everdon (died 1254) was a medieval Bishop of Carlisle and Lord Chancellor of England. Life Everdon came from the village of Everdon, near Daventry in Northamptonshire, but other than the fact that he was related to a locally promin ...
,
Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...
and
Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
of England (died 1254). *
Sir Anthony Jackson Sir Anthony Jackson (1599–1666) was an English lawyer, soldier, and knight in the seventeenth century. A cavalier during the English Civil War, he was knighted by Charles II, participated in the Battle of Worcester, and was imprisoned in the To ...
(1599–1666). *
Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville II, 1st Earl of Essex (died September 1144) was a prominent figure during the reign of King Stephen of England. His biographer, the 19th-century historian J. H. Round, called him "the most perfect and typical presentment of ...
(died September 1144). *
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...
(1146–1219). *
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke ( French: ''Guillaume le Maréchal'') (11906 April 1231) was a medieval English nobleman and was one of Magna Carta sureties. He fought during the First Barons' War and was present at the Battle of Lincoln (1 ...
(1190 – 6 April 1231). *
Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke (c. 1207 - 27 June 1241) was the third son of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Countess Isabel, the daughter of Richard son of Gilbert, earl of Striguil. Early life By calculating back from the ...
(1194 – 27 June 1241). * Dr
Richard Mead Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
(1673–1754). *
William Petyt William Petyt (or Petit) (1640/1641 – 3 October 1707) was an English barrister and writer, and a political propagandist in the Whig interest. Life Petyt was born in 1640 or 1641 in the village of Storiths, near Bolton Abbey, Skipton, Yorkshir ...
, barrister, legal scholar, and Keeper of the Records in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
(1640/1641 – 3 October 1707). * Sir
Edmund Plowden Sir Edmund Plowden (1519/20 – 6 February 1585) was a distinguished English lawyer, legal scholar and theorist during the late Tudor period. Early life Plowden was born at Plowden Hall, Lydbury North, Shropshire. He was the son of Humphrey ...
(1518–1585). * Francis James Newman Rogers (1791–1851). *
John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned ...
(1584 – 1654), English jurist * James Simpson (1737–1815), Attorney General of Colonial
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
. His wife, who predeceased him, is buried in the South Transept of
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. * Sir John Tremayne (1647–1694). * Robert de Veteripoint, Sheriff of Westmoreland (died 1228). *
Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel ''The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem ''The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his pl ...
, (1728 - 1774), novelist, playwright and poet.


See also

*
List of churches and cathedrals of London This is a list of cathedrals, churches and chapels in Greater London, which is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The list focuses on the more permanent churches and buildings which identify themselves as places of Chris ...
*
Temple (Paris) The Square du Temple is a garden in Paris, France in the 3rd arrondissement, established in 1857. It is one of 24 city squares planned and created by Georges-Eugène Haussmann and Jean-Charles Adolphe Alphand. The Square occupies the site of ...
– medieval Knights Templar European headquarters *
History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes The early domes of the Middle Ages, particularly in those areas recently under Byzantine control, were an extension of earlier Roman architecture. The domed church architecture of Italy from the sixth to the eighth centuries followed that of the ...


References


External links


Official website
of the Temple Church
Official website detailing the music of the Temple Church

Middle Temple's website

Inner Temple's website

2008 Temple Festival website


– Sacred Destinations article with larg



– Pitt University

– Rosslyn Templars

by
Charles Greenstreet Addison Charles Greenstreet Addison (1 April 1812 – 19 February 1866) was an English barrister and historical, travel and legal writer. Biography Addison was born in Maidstone, Kent, the son of William Dering Addison and Susanna Brown Addison. He had a ...
, with extensive history and description of Temple Church {{Authority control Church of England church buildings in the City of London Knights Templar Royal Peculiars Masters of the Temple Christopher Wren church buildings in London Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London Grade I listed churches in the City of London Tourist attractions in London Round churches in England