During the Crusades, many churches were built by the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, often ‘in the round’ to imitate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Temple Church is the most historically prominent of all the round churches in Europe, of which there are four in England. It unites the round arches of Norman architecture with the Gothic pointcd arches in Early English style in one building, and has the only Norman doorway in London. It is a magnificent monument to the best ideals of the Crusades and is a visible link with that most interesting (and tragic) period in church history.
Under ‘The Crusades and London’ the story is told of how the Templars moved to this plot of ground by the Thames in 1161 and built a place of worship. This consisted of a round nave (the one seen today) on the west and a rectangular chancel on the east. Note the inscription above the entrance door telling about the dedication by Heraclius, the patriarch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The chancel was later enlarged in Early English style and was consecrated in 1240 in the presence of King Henry III. Looking at the present-day Temple Church from the pleasant courtyard on the south side, the Norman nave on the left and the Early English chancel on the right, it is difficult to imagine the many stages of renovation and restoration that this ancient structure has undergone, leaving it at last very much like the original. During the reign of Charles II, as part of a ‘beautification’ plan, formal pews were installed and the walls were covered with oak wainscoting to a height of eight feet. The arches where the nave and chancel join were filled with a screen and ornate organ gallery furnished by Christopher Wren, creating two churches.
An enormous screen in the classic style was built at the east end of the chancel. In the round church a large pulpit and sounding board were erected in the centre under the dome. In the eighteenth century there were liberal applications of whitewash, paint and gilt. Finally, at the end of the nineteenth century, removal of this embellishment was begun. The nave roof was destroyed during an air raid in 1941, but the work of restoring Temple Church to its original state was completed after World War II. Various striking reminders of the days of the Knights Templar are evident in Temple Church. On the floor of the round church are the remains of several recumbent figures in mail dating from the thirteenth century or possibly before. At one time there were eight, not representing members of the Order itself but generous ‘associates’. These included the rather notorious Geoffrey de Magnaville in the cylindrical helmet; the warrior and statesman William Marshall, Protector of England during the minority of King Henry III; William Marshall the younger, one of the leaders of the barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta; Gilbert Marshall, Earl of Pembroke; and the praying figure of Robert Lord de Ros, another of the Magna Carta barons. The rest of the figures are unknown. Another relic of Crusader days is the fine sculpture of a bishop in a recess in the south aisle wall. His identity is uncertain. Also in the wall by the south aisle is an early double piscina (drain where the chalice was cleansed). Evidence that the Crusader brotherhood was an order of almost unbelievable strictness may be seen by the door in the northwest corner, which opens into the tiny penitential cell.
Disobedient members were confined here in chains with no room to lie down. One brother, Walter le Bacheler, knight and Grand Preceptor of Ireland, was actually starved to death here. Oliver Goldsmith, friend of Samuel Johnson and author of The Vicar of Wakefield and Deserted Village, was buried in Temple Church in 1774, but his monument perished in the bombing. Likewise, the monument of the famous sixteenth-century divine, Richard Hooker, author of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, who died in 1600. Today Temple Church is the private chapel for the lawyers of the Temple, and it is not under the jurisdiction of the bishop of London. It also has a tradition of fine music and has had the distinction of several outstanding organists. Its choir has become known throughout the world through recordings.