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The Mystery of the Temple Church Plan
Temple Church, London is a round church, which previously occupied the
heart of the Templars' headquarters in the city, the New Temple. The church
is impressive in scale and precise in execution, as befits the church
of such an important Preceptory. It is now surrounded by the elegant Inns
of Court, off Fleet Street, where lawyers of the Inner and Middle Temple
go about their profession.
The oldest part of the church is the rotunda, which was begun in the 1160s,
and which was consecrated to the Blessed Mary in 1185 by Heraclius, the
visiting Patriarch of Jerusalem. It shows a transitional style of architecture,
with Romanesque windows but pointed Gothic arches supporting its central
drum. A blind arcade surrounds the interior, with a series of carved heads
in between the arches. Some of these are darkly comical, others grotesque,
with grimacing expressions. Some show kings, others fools, others demons.
The Romanesque doorway to the round nave has an elaborate Norman arch,
with twelve 'Green Man' heads around the top of the door, with foliage
sprouting from their mouths in 'X' shapes, so that at first glance they
resemble somewhat the skull and crossbones. Outside may be seen the plain
stone coffins or grave slabs of the Templars. Inside are ten tomb covers,
including nine effigy figures of knights. These are patrons and honorary
associates (confrates) of the Order, some of whom joined the Templars
at the end of their lives. They include Geoffrey de Mandeville, Robert
de Ros, William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and William's son and grandson
son. These figures are not in their original location and do not cover
bodies. The round church opens into an oblong quire, rebuilt in the time
of Henry III, who originally intended to be buried there. The choir contains
another tomb, that of an unidentified bishop, in a recess near the altar.
To one side of the three arches connecting the two parts of the church,
a stairway leads up to a small chamber, said to be the penitential cell
where expired the ill-fated Walter Bacheler. There was formerly a side
chapel dedicated to St Anne, but this was later demolished. A stairway
leading down from the side porch, meanwhile hints at the existence of
an undercroft.
The Church was sustained damage during the Blitz when all its original
furnishings were destroyed, and when the tomb figures were damaged. It
was restored in a rather austere fashion. In late Templar times the decoration
would have been rich, with sacred vessels on the altars in silver gilt
and ivory, and with banners and probably paintings on the now bare walls.
The Church passed temporarily to the Hospitallers, but eventually became
the chapel serving the legal societies of the Inner Temple and Middle
Temple. It is a 'Royal Peculiar' independent of the diocese of London,
with ministers appointed by the Crown. The priest serving the church (now
part of the Church of England) has the grand title 'Master of the Temple'.
(The present incumbent has recently written a book attempting to refute
claims made in The Da Vinci Code, in which Temple Church features).
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In both London and Paris the Templars constructed churches based around
a circular design. Only the London building is still standing. Most of
the Paris Temple was demolished by the 19th Century. There is a mystery
with these round churches. They are much more complex to build than square
sided ones. They are essays in masonic precision and to visit the London
church is to be struck by the engineering knowledge at the brethren's
disposal. It has been suggested that the Templars built round churches
in imitation of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where the
first Templars swore their religious vows. There may also have been some
liturgical reason for the round shape- which suggests a rite with a central
focus. In the case of the London church the round now houses the effigies
of Knights associated with the Templars (including the illustrious William
Marshall, Earl of Pembroke). These however are not in their original positions,
and it is likely that originally the round floor was uncluttered.
I have made an observation concerning the plans of these two churches
in question. If their plans are overlaid with the six columns within the
circular naves superimposed, the proportions of other parts of the apparently
different designs directly relate. Not only is the long nave the same
relative width (as might be expected) but it is the same relative length.
The same goes for the porch on the other side of the round. Clearly there
is some significance to these proportions. The spacing between the columns
is the same as the width of the circular aisle, so the plan of the round
may be said to contain a star of David, within a circle, with the columns
placed where the lines (forming the two overlaid equilateral triangles)
would intersect. The round could equally contain a pattern of circles
the the same size as the inner circle. This would render a six leaf pattern
in the centre circle, if the six new circles were drawn touching the outer
wall, with a column at their midpoint.
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