Temple Bar London, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

627/1/10282 ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD 15-JUN-10 (North side) Temple Bar

I Temple Bar, former west gate into the City of London, built 1670-72, by Joshua Marshall and Thomas Knight, with possible involvement of Christopher Wren. C17 statuary by John Bushnell. Restored by architects Freeland Rees Roberts.

MATERIALS: White Portland stone with brick and rubble core.

EXTERIOR: Triple gate with a central segmental carriageway flanked by two semi-circular pedestrian arches, all with ribbed soffits and moulded springers. The two facades of the Bar are identical, having two orders of shallow pilasters: the lower story rusticated Tuscan without an entablature; the upper storey Corinthian with moulded architrave, plain frieze, egg and dart mouldings and dentil and astragal cornice. Lower storey of plain rustication with elongated voussoirs and a scroll-shaped keystone to the central arch, plain keystones to the pedestrian arches. Its simplicity contrasts with the upper storey which is more lavish in ornamental detail. The pilasters create three bays and within the centre bay is a round-headed window, with lugged surround and cartouche bearing oval shield of the cross of St George on the N and the royal arms on the S, the latter bearing the motto of the Order of the Garter: 'Honi soit qui mal y pense', which translated as 'shame on him who thinks evil of it'. In the outer bays there are niches above plain cartouches, containing statues of James I and a Queen on the north and Charles I and Charles II on the south by John Bushnell. The upper storey is surmounted by a segmental pediment with egg and dart mouldings and dentil and astragal cornice and is decorated with a plain tablet surrounded by garlands and flanked by cornucopiae. Above the pedestrian arches, the upper storey is framed by two flamboyant volutes in the manner of a Baroque church façade. Next to these are statues of beasts, two griffins on the north and a lion and a unicorn on the south.

The restored gates, with iron furniture to the north, are from Theobalds Park and date from the time of the Bar's installation in Hertfordshire. Statues of the four beasts on the parapet are new sculptures by Tim Crawley from Fairhaven of Anglesey Abbey. Despite these alterations and repairs approximately 95% of the structure is original.

Although it appears to be joined to Juxon House and Paternoster Lodge, Temple Bar is largely free standing, although two high-tensile steel bars knit the Bar and the adjoining structures together. A modern bridge from Paternoster Lodge to the east, suspended above the parapet roof and hidden behind the parapet, provides access to the upper chamber. Neither Juxon House nor Paternoster Lodge is included in the listing.

INTERIOR: Modern door in east elevation and single internal space with modern floor, ceiling, and fittings. Lit by four windows, one in each elevation. North and south windows with leaded fanlights; east and west are oculi. The interior and fenestration of the upper chamber are entirely new, although reusing the historical walls and openings. First floor chamber accessed from Paternoster Lodge to the east, via a modern bridge above the flat leaded eastern roof.

HISTORY: Temple Bar was built in 1670-72 at the junction of Fleet Street and the Strand, the official boundary between the City of London and the City of Westminster. It replaced earlier structures on the site.

The first recording of a barrier at the site was in c.1183, taking its name from the adjacent C12 preceptory of the Knights Templar. By the mid-C16 this older gate was causing traffic problems and the structure was falling into disrepair, though it was not until 1670-72 that the wooden structure was replaced by the current Temple Bar.

In 1662, a road widening act was passed and plans for a new Temple Bar advanced, although the City of London would not commit to the work