Temple Church. Inner Temple
Court; aquatint by Thomas Malton, 1796. |
|
|
The Round of 1185, with the Templar effigies, and
the Nave of 1240 with its finely proportioned columns of Purbeck
marble, still present the same appearance as they have for centuries,
though in truth the successive restorations have been heavy. Sir
Christopher Wren fitted out the interior in 1682, and there were
several alterations in the nineteenth century, principally by Sydney
Smirke in 1842, when much of the building was remodeled, Wren's
fittings and the later monuments removed, stained glass inserted,
and a conical roof added to the Round. In the air raids of 1941
much of the Church was wrecked, the Victorian woodwork destroyed
and the monuments severely damaged. The columns were so badly cracked
by molten lead from the roof, and then by the frosts of 1944-45,
that they had to be replaced. An inscription records that the restoration
was carried out by Messrs W. H. and W. E. Godfrey. Work on the foundations
revealed an underground chamber next to the remains of St Anne's
Chapel on the south side. William Emmett's carved reredos was brought
back from the Bowes Museum, and the seating was rearranged on a
collegiate plan. The new east windows are by Carl Edwards. The Round
was reconsecrated in 1954 by the archbishop of Canterbury in the
presence of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (Royal Bencher of the
Middle Temple); and the Nave in 1958, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth
II, the Queen Mother, and the Duke of Edinburgh (Royal Bencher of
the Inner Temple).
A number of Inner Templars are commemorated by
monumental inscriptions on the south side: John Selden (d. 1654),
Sir William Morton (d. 1672), George Wylde (d. 1679) and William
Petyt (d. 1707). There is an armorial brass for Lord Keeper Littleton
(d. 1645), Treasurer of the Inn 1634-38. In the rubble after the
bombing was found the armorial coffin plate of Sir Thomas Robinson
(d. 1683), Treasurer 1680-83.
The yard on the north side of the Church is notable
principally for the monument of John Hiccocks (d. 1726), master
in Chancery, with reclining effigy in robes; and that of Oliver
Goldsmith (d. 1774): both Middle Templars.
|
