First full-length survey of the Temple Church, from its foundation in the twelfth century to the Second World War. Founded as the main church of the Knights Templar in England, at their New Temple in London, the Temple Church is historically and architecturally one of the most important medieval buildings in England. Its round nave, modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, is extraordinarily ambitious, combining lavish Romanesque sculpture with some of the earliest Gothic architectural features in any English building of its period. It also holds one of the most famous series of medieval effigies in the country. Major developments in the post-medieval period include the reordering of the church in the 1680s by Sir Christopher Wren, and a substantial restoration programme in the early 1840s. Despite its extraordinary importance, however, it has until now attracted little scholarly or critical attention, a gap that is remedied by this volume. It considers the New Temple as a whole in the Middle Ages, and allaspects of the church itself from its foundation in the twelfth century to its war-time damage in the twentieth. Richly illustrated with numerous black and white and colour plates, it makes full use of the exceptional range and quality of the antiquarian material available for study, including drawings, photographs, and plaster casts. Contributors: Robin Griffith-Jones, Virginia Jansen, Philip Lankester, Helen Nicholson, David Park, Rosemary Sweet, William Whyte, Christopher Wilson. Robin Griffith-Jones is Master of the Temple at the Temple Church; David Park is a Professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art.
Reviews
A major strength of the volume is the number and quality of its illustrations, which both aid the reader in his or her understanding of the text and make available a range of antiquarian material never before published. * ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW *
Charged full of absorbing detail, resulting from the considerable standard of scholarship with which each author enriches the whole. [...] A declared objective for this publication was to fill the perceived gap in scholarly attention paid to this iconic London church. This has been achieved in full measure, and it is also an important statement of current scholarship in the field of medieval monuments. * CHURCH MONUMENTS *
[A] remarkable and well-produced collection. [...] It is impossible in a short review to do justice to the book's riches, but one can confidently say that every reader of Ecclesiology Today will find something to interest, inform or challenge here. * ECCLESIOLOGY TODAY *
Probably the most important publication about Temple Church in recent years. [...] From an architectural and art-historical point of view this is an important scholarly publication. * MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY *
The diverse and complementary essays of this well-illustrated book represent a considerable achievement in raising from obscurity the history of this remarkable building. * THE BURLINGTON MAGAZINE *
A marvellously thorough treatment of almost every aspect of the history of the Temple church. It is revisionist and it is historiographic, and it is well supported by over a hundred black-and-white plates, as well as twelve colour plates; it generally deserves the highest praise. [...] The richness of the Temple church's history has never lacked for investigators - but none have been so thorough as those in the present volume. * THE RICARDIAN *
This fine and well-illustrated volume covers all these developments in great detail; it is a tribute to the energy and scholarship of the Master of the Temple, Robin Griffith-Jones, and his fellow editor, David Park. * TLS *
These scholarly conference proceedings discuss the church's design, functions and complex structural history, and also the famous but sadly battered group of 13th century military effigies which lies within. Fascinating detail too on the Templars' lifestyle, liturgy, and banking and legal services. * BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY *
A splendid new book. -- CHRISTOPHER HOWSE * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Serious students and tourist guides must buy this book. * THE FRIENDS OF CITY CHURCHES NEWSLETTER *



Book Information
ISBN 9781783272631
Author David Park
Format Paperback
Page Count 314
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g