Temple Church London and The Da Vinci Code
Exterior of Temple Church, London
(c) Copyright 2006-2010 Mathew Lodge / www.lodgephoto.com. Updated March 2010.
Temple Church is a remarkable building because it has survived intact in pretty much its original form in the centre of a major city for 800 years, and because it has been the scene of key events in British history. Its role in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and subsequent surge of popularity is merely the most recent chapter in a long and distinguished history.
Temple Church has survived the crushing of the Knights Templar by the Pope in 1307, the disbanding of the Knights Hospitallier (its subsequent owners) by Henry VIII during the reformation of 1540, the Great Fire Of London in 1666, unwarranted “restoration” by the architect Sir Christopher Wren in the aftermath of the fire, Victorian remodeling in 1841, and a 1941 incendiary bomb attack during World War II. It is one of the oldest buildings in London (only Westminster Abbey and the White Tower at the Tower Of London are older), and is one of the few remaining examples of Romanesque architecture left in the city.
The building’s architecture is the most striking feature when you first approach the church, which is found by navigating a series of narrow alleyways between Fleet Street and the Embankment alongside the river Thames. Suddenly, you find yourself in an open square right next to a round crenelated building of honey-colored sandstone, attached to a larger rectangular structure.
The round section of Temple Church was built first and is based on the church on the temple mount in Jerusalem. In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown attaches significance to the fact that the design doesn’t follow the typical cross-shaped plan of Christian churches, implying that it is a deliberately pagan design. This ignores the fact that the design is a copy of the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre in what was (at that time) the Christian Holy Land; this is the site where the Templar order was founded. That church is round because it’s a conversion of an older Roman building. Adding to its impeccable credentials, Temple Church in London was consecrated in 1185 by none other than the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and in the presence of King Henry II.
The larger rectangular section that now forms the chancel of Temple Church was added in the 13th century in response to Henry III’s desire to be buried there. Without an extension, there was no way to accommodate the large tomb of a king. The chancel was consecrated on Ascension Day 1240, but Henry III later changed his mind is interred in Westminster Abbey instead.
Interior of the round part of Temple Church LondonVisiting the church
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