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This is at Chapter
House, a red brick building built by Sir Christopher Wren and his son
in 1715. Recently restored, it houses two dining rooms available for fine
dining events and it has another façade on Paternoster Square.
The two swords are the coat of arms of the Diocese of London.
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A post with photos of the monuments and sculptures
seen
a few steps north of St Paul’s Cathedral.
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Water pump inscribed "Erected by St Faith’s Parish 1819."
Beyond the gate is Paternoster Square with its column (see further down).
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The Return of Temple
Bar to The City Of London, says the sign. The Baroque arched gateway, designed
by Sir Christopher Wren in the 17th c, was re-erected here in 2004,
after having left London in 1878 – though, this was not its original location .
There is a monument called Temple Bar Memorial (a marker)
in its original place, on Fleet Street, nearly in front of the Royal Court of
Justice, half a mile away.
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There is a room inside Temple Bar and it “makes a
wonderful setting for both daytime and evening functions” (boardroom meeting,
dinner, etc. up to 20 people).
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In the Middle Ages, barriers
were erected at the major entrances into the City of London. Temple Bar was
originally located where Fleet Street now meets The Strand. A bar is known to
have been there, as early as 1293, it was possibly just a chain or bar between
wooden posts. It became known as Temple Bar, because the district was called
The Temple (after the local Temple Church, built by the Knights Templar), where
the guilds of lawyers were situated (later known as the Inns of Court). More
substantial structures with arches followed.
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| The old wooden Temple Bar (before 1666) |
In 1351, a gateway made of
timber with a prison above it, was built. The Temple had become the main gateway
into the City, being on the direct route to/from the Palace of Westminster.
It was also on the historic
royal ceremonial route from the Tower of London to the Palace of Westminster;
it was a landmark in some victory, wedding and funeral processions; for
instance, when Elizabeth I celebrated the defeat of the Spanish Armada with a
triumphal procession, the Lord Mayor waited at Temple Bar to present her the
keys of the City. She then presented a pearl encrusted sword, one of five City
swords. This tradition still exists, when on some state occasions, the Monarch
halts at Temple Bar Memorial to request permission to enter the City district
and is offered the Lord Mayor’s Sword of State as a sign of loyalty.
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| Wren's Temple Bar on Fleet Street, with heads on spikes! |
The old Temple Bar gateway
survived the Great Fire of 1666 but had fallen into disrepair. King Charles II
ordered the construction of a new one, to be made of Portland Stone from the
Royal quarries in Dorset. Sir Christopher Wren drew the design. It was
completed in 1672.
In the 18th c. Temple Bar was
also used to display the heads of traitors on iron spikes at the top of the
main arch.
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| Temple Bar on Fleet Street in 1870 |
Wren’s Temple Bar stood in
Fleet Street for more than 200 years. In 1878, the road needing widening, the
gateway was dismantled, brick by brick, and stored in a yard - the 2,500 stones
weighed 400 tons in all. Ten years later, Lady Meux acquired it to adorn her
estate at Theobalds Park in Hertfordshire. She would regularly entertain her
guests in the upper room which was beautifully decorated.
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| Wren's Temple Bar, relocated to Theobalds Park, Herts |
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| Temple Bar at Theobalds Park (1909 postcard) a gamekeepers lodge had been added in 1889 |
With the Temple Bar Trust
(established in the 1970s), the Corporation of London funded the return of
Wren’s Temple Bar to London in 2001 and this coincided with the redevelopment
of Paternoster Square in 2004. Once again, Temple Bar had to be dismantled and
reconstructed and it now stands at a new location, as a gateway to Paternoster
Square. Temple Bar is the only surviving
gateway.
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Temple Bar, as seen from St Paul’s Cathedral north side.
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There is a greatly detailed coat of arm of this side,
though the traditional lion and unicorn are set apart, guarding the monument,
above the side arches and they probably have been added recently, as I cannot
see them in the old photographs. (The lion and unicorn can be seen in one of my photos, further up in this post.)
The royal arms on the shield were used by the
3 monarchs represented.
On the other side, the emblem seems to be the English
flag surrounded by a wreath and topped by wings.
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Walking under Temple Bar towards Paternoster Square
Column.
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On the left in the pic. the north-west bell tower of St
Paul’s Cathedral reflected on the building, its gilded top echoing Paternoster
Square Column.
The building in Portland stone at the back is the London Stock Exchange – it has been here since 2004 (Eric Parry Architects.) There is a pale Meridian Noon-Mark Sundial carved onto the wall – it is about 10 metres high. The names of the months are shown, as well as a loop – equation of time (don’t quote me) – the idea is that the gnomon only casts a shadow at noon. |
Paternoster
Square Column is over 23 metres high and made of Portland stone. It was
erected in 2003 and is commemorative as well as being part of the ventilation
system for the underground carpark underneath.
The Corinthian columns are said to be the same as the
ones on the entrance to the old St Paul’s Cathedral - west portico added by
Indigo Jones.
At the top, there is a three-metre high copper urn and
some decorative flames, all covered with gold leaf, and which is lit up at
night. The shape of the vessel is similar to the urn at the top of The
Monument, the column Sir Christopher Wren designed to remember the 1666 Great
Fire of London - and that we saw later on that evening. Indeed, the architects
for Paternoster Square wanted to commemorate , with their column, the two fires
that destroyed the square: the Great Fire of 1666 and The Blitz during WWII.
The name Paternoster, meaning “Our Father” in Latin, may
have come from the fact that monks used to recite The Lord’s Prayer here, on
their way to the cathedral. The place was in fact Paternoster Row before the
destruction during The Blitz.
The area around today’s square used to be full of booksellers
and publishers’ warehouses.
Today’s Paternoster Square is a mix of offices and cafés.
It is owned by the Japanese real-estate developer Mitsubishi Estate.
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Temple Bar as seen from Paternoster Square (with the statues
of Anne of Denmark and James I), with St Paul’s Cathedral on the other side of
the gateway.
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The north-west bell tower of St Paul’s Cathedral as seen
from underneath the main arch of Temple Bar.
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Back to the post with photos
of St Paul’s Cathedral
