The Temple Church was built in the 12th century by the Knights Templar; the order of crusading monks founded to protect pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem in the 12th century.

The church has two main parts - the Nave known as the Round, seen here in the foreground, and beyond that the Chancel built a half century later.

The church is open to the public for only part of the day and normally only Monday to Friday. Opening times vary day to day so you should check the web site (see the London page) if you intend visiting.

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Part of the circular Nave, 55 feet in diameter, .showing two of the Purbeck Marble columns. Some of the stone effigies can be seen above the graves of some of the original knights.

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These stone effigies are in the central part of the Nave and one of them is of William Marshall who served as a negotiator during a meeting in the Temple between King John and the barons before the signing of the Magna Carta.

William Shakespeare also knew this church and in his play Henry VI it, and the Temple garden, feature as the setting for the fictional scene of the plucking of two roses at the start of the 15th century Wars of the Roses.

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Henry III expressed a desire to be buried in the church and so, in the early 13th century, the choir of the original church was pulled down and a new larger structure, now called the Chancel, was built. Henry, however, later changed his mind and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

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