Temple Bar Gate - Paternoster Square (London)
N 51° 30.851 W 000° 05.971
30U E 701248 N 5710995
Baroque Temple Bar Gate in London's Paternoster Square, the only surviving gateway to the British capital, changed its location twice during almost 350 years of its existence...
Waymark Code: WMMT5F
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/01/2014
Views: 13
Baroque Temple Bar Gate in London's Paternoster Square, the only surviving gateway to the British capital, changed its location twice during almost 350 years of its existence.
Temple Bar Gate was originally located at point where Fleet Street now meets the Strand, circa 700 meters westwards of its current position. The other Londons gateways, Aldgate, Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Cripplegate, Ludgate, Moorgate and Newgate, were all demolished before the end of the 18th century. The imposing Portland stone Baroque arch built in 1672, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, has featured in ceremonies and processions and has many gory tales to tell. It was often used to display, using spikes, the heads and other body parts of traitors who had been executed. The Baroque gate is decorated by four royal statues (Charles I, Charles II, James I and Anne of Denmark) carved by John Bushnell, by statues depicting the Royal Beasts, City Supporters and by associated Coats of Arms.
In the end of the 19th century, the arch became a cause of traffic problems and was expensive to maintain, so it was taken down in January 1878. The City of London ensured that each stone was numbered and put into storage until it could be re-erected somewhere else. In 1880 Sir Henry Meux, bought the stones and rebuilt the Temple Bar as a gateway to his park and mansion at Theobalds Park, between Enfield and Cheshunt. The family sold the property in 1929 and subsequent owners neglected the gate until by the 1970's it was a decaying wreck.
The Temple Bar Trust was established in 1976 with the intention of returning Temple Bar to the City of London. In 1984 the Temple Bar Trust became owner of Temple Bar and permission was granted for the removal of the Bar from Theobalds Park to Paternoster Square close to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The return works started in the summer of 2003 and eventually, in November 2004 Alderman R. Finch, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, officially returned Temple Bar to London...