From school everyone has heard the sights of London: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, The London Eye. And only the most curious travelers include Temple Bar on this list - the gates that met the royal processions during the ceremonial journey from the Tower to the Palace of Westminster. Do not count how many titled persons they saw! Another function of the gate is to mark the border between the City and Strand, the historical areas of the city. Anyone who wants to find themselves at least for a while in medieval Prim London, should visit this building.
History tour
The Temple Bar Gate was erected in 1293 in the City - the “city in the city”, which, although it was located inside London, always lived a separate life and had precise boundaries. Even the king could enter the city only with the permission of the local lord mayor. At first he was fenced with chains, later - with wooden gates (in another way - bars). The first part of the name of the building goes back to the temple located on the next street, which was built by the knights Templar.
In 1666, London was swept by a fire, later called the Great. The Temple Bar miraculously remained untouched by the fire, but it was not possible to preserve the historical appearance of the gate: as part of the general urban reconstruction of 1672, the wooden structure was replaced by a stone designed by architect Christoph Wren. The master wished Temple to decorate the statues:
- Charles I
- Charles II
- Jacob I
- Anna Danish.
By the middle of the 19th century, it became clear that the narrow gate slowed down traffic, and a decision was made to parse the Temple Bar. The 2700 stones of which the structure consisted were numbered and put into storage.
Rebirth from the Ruins
In 1880, the gate was destined to be reborn thanks to a comic event. A very famous and no less wealthy London baronet and brewer, Henry Moe, for great love, married the barmaid Valerie. Soon it became clear to the happy girl that marriage was not a ticket to high society, in which she, despite her husband’s position, was not accepted. And then the resourceful Valerie suggested Henry to buy a work of art or a landmark that would attract the attention of others. And so it happened: after the purchase of Temple Bar, an endless stream of guests went to the newlyweds castle. Even the Prince of Wales and Winston Churchill came to see the gates.
Temple Bar today
In 2003, it was decided to return the sights to the city - Paternoster Square near St. Paul's Cathedral became a suitable place. In 2004, the mayor of London solemnly announced the revival of Temple Bar. The gate doors weighing 1.2 tons helped him open fourteen masons, who managed to restore the building from scratch in just a year.
Interesting Facts
- In 1745, the heads of the executed participants of the Second Jacobite Uprising in Scotland were planted on the iron spikes protruding from the gates.
- In 1872, when Queen Victoria was driving through the gates, the mayor presented her with a gift - a ceremonial sword strewn with pearls.
The object belongs to city attractions.
