THE TEMPLE CHURCH.
The restoration of the Temple Church--The beauty and magnificence of
the venerable building--The various styles of architecture displayed
in it--The discoveries made during the recent restoration--The
sacrarium--The marble piscina--The sacramental niches--The penitential
cell--The ancient Chapel of St. Anne--Historical matters connected
with the Temple Church--The holy relics anciently preserved
therein--The interesting monumental remains.
"If a day should come when pew lumber, preposterous organ cases, and
pagan altar screens, are declared to be unfashionable, no religious
building, stript of such nuisances, would come more fair to the sight,
or give more general satisfaction to the antiquary, than the chaste
and beautiful Temple Church."--_Gentleman's Magazine_ for May, 1808,
p. 1087.
"After three centuries of demolition, the solemn structures raised by our
Catholic ancestors are being gradually restored to somewhat of their
original appearance, and buildings, which, but a few years since, were
considered as unsightly and barbarous erections of ignorant times, are now
become the theme of general eulogy and models for imitation."[459]
It has happily been reserved for the present generation, after a lapse of
two centuries, to see the venerable Temple Church, the chief
ecclesiastical edifice of the Knights Templars in Britain, and the most
beautiful and perfect relic of the order now in existence, restored to the
simple majesty it possessed near seven hundred years ago; to see it once
again presenting the appearance which it wore when the patriarch of
Jerusalem exercised his sacred functions within its walls, and when the
mailed knights of the most holy order of the Temple of Solomon, the sworn
champions of the christian faith, unfolded the red-cross banner amid "the
long-drawn aisles," and offered their swords upon the altar to be blessed
by the ministers of religion.
From the period of the reign of Charles the First down to our own times,
the Temple Church has remained sadly disfigured by incongruous innovations
and modern _embellishments_, which entirely changed the antient character
and appearance of the building, and clouded and obscured its elegance and
beauty.
Shortly after the Reformation, the Protestant lawyers, from an
over-anxious desire to efface all the emblems of the popish faith, covered
the gorgeously-painted ceiling of this venerable structure with an uniform
coating of simple whitewash; they buried the antique tesselated pavement
under hundreds of cart-loads of earth and rubbish, on the surface of
which, two feet above the level of the antient floor, they placed another
pavement, formed of old grave-stones. They, moreover, disfigured all the
magnificent marble columns with a thick coating of plaster and paint, and
destroyed the beauty of the elaborately-wrought mouldings of the arches,
and the exquisitely-carved marble ornaments with thick incrustations of
whitewash, clothing the whole edifice in one uniform garb of plain white,
in accordance with the puritanical ideas of those times.
Subsequently, in the reign of Charles the Second, the fine open area of
the body of the church was filled with long rows of stiff and formal pews,
which concealed the bases of the columns, while the plain but handsome
stone walls of the sacred edifice were encumbered, to a height of eight
feet from the ground, with oak wainscoting, which was carried entirely
round the church, so as to shut out from view the elegant marble piscina
on the south side of the building, the interesting arched niches over the
high altar, and the _sacrarium_ on the eastern side of the edifice. The
elegant gothic arches connecting the Round with the oblong portion of the
building were filled up with an oak screen and glass windows and doors,
and with an organ-gallery adorned with Corinthian columns and pilastres
and Grecian ornaments, which divided the building into two parts,
altogether altered its original character and appearance, and sadly marred
its architectural beauty. The eastern end of the church was, at the same
time, disfigured with an enormous altarpiece in the _classic_ style,
decorated with Corinthian columns and Grecian cornices and entablatures,
and with enrichments of cherubims and wreaths of fruit, leaves, and
flowers, exquisitely carved and beautiful in themselves, but heavy and
cumbrous, and quite at variance with the gothic character of the edifice.
A huge pulpit and sounding-board, elaborately carved, were also erected in
the middle of the nave, forming a great obstruction to the view of the
interior of the building, and the walls and all the columns were thickly
clustered and disfigured with mural monuments.
All these unsightly and incongruous additions to the antient fabric have,
thanks to the good taste and the public spirit of the Masters of the
Benches of the societies of the Inner and Middle Temple, been recently
removed; the ceiling of the church has been repainted; the marble columns
and the tesselated pavement have been restored, and the venerable
structure has now been brought back to its antient condition.
The historical associations and recollections connected with the Temple
Church throw a powerful charm around the venerable building. During the
holy fervour of the crusades, the kings of England and the haughty legates
of the pope were wont to mix with the armed bands of the Templars in this
their chief ecclesiastical edifice in Britain. In the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries some of the most remarkable characters of the age
were buried in the Round, and their mail-clad marble monumental effigies,
reposing side by side on the cold pavement, still attract the wonder and
admiration of the inquiring stranger.
The solemn ceremonies attendant in days of yore upon the admission of a
novice to the holy vows of the Temple, conducted with closed doors during
the first watch of the night; the severe religious exercises performed by
the stern military friars; the vigils that were kept up at night in the
church, and the reputed terrors of the penitential cell, all contributed
in times past to throw an air of mystery and romance around the sacred
building, and to create in the minds of the vulgar a feeling of awe and of
superstitious terror, giving rise to those strange and horrible tales of
impiety and crime, of magic and sorcery, which led to the unjust and
infamous execution at the stake of the Grand Master and many hundred
Knights of the Temple, and to the suppression and annihilation of their
proud and powerful order.
The first and most interesting portion of the Temple Church, denominated
by the old writers "THE ROUND," was consecrated in the year 1185 by
Heraclius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, on his arrival in England from
Palestine, as before mentioned, to obtain succour from king Henry the
Second against the formidable power of the famous Saladin.[460] The old
inscription which formerly stood over the small door of the Round leading
into the cloisters, and which was broken and destroyed by the workmen
whilst repairing the church, in the year 1695, was to the following
effect:--
"On the 10th of February, in the year from the incarnation of our Lord
1185, this church was consecrated in honour of the blessed Mary by our
lord Heraclius, by the grace of God patriarch of the church of the
Resurrection, who hath granted an indulgence of fifty days to those yearly
seeking it."[461]
The oblong portion of the church, which extendeth eastwards from the
Round, was consecrated on Ascension-day, A. D. 1240, as appears from the
following passage in the history of Matthew Paris, the monk of St.
Alban's, who was probably himself present at the ceremony.
"About the same time (A. D. 1240) was consecrated the noble church of the
New Temple at London, an edifice worthy to be seen, in the presence of the
king and much of the nobility of the kingdom, who, on the same day, that
is to say, the day of the Ascension, after the solemnities of the
consecration had been completed, royally feasted at a most magnificent
banquet, prepared at the expense of the Hospitallers."[462]
It was after the promulgation, A. D. 1162 and 1172, of the famous bull
_omne datum optimum_, exempting the Templars from the ordinary
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and enabling them to admit priests and
chaplains into their order, and appoint them to their churches without
installation and induction, and free from the interference of the bishops,
that the members of this proud and powerful fraternity began to erect at
great cost, in various parts of Christendom, churches of vast splendour
and magnificence, like the one we now see at London. It is probable that
the earlier portion of this edifice was commenced immediately after the
publication of the above bull, so as to be ready (as churches took a long
time in building in those days) for consecration by the Patriarch on his
arrival in England with the Grand Master of the Temple.
As there is a difference in respect of the time of the erection, so also
is there a variation in the style of the architecture of the round and
oblong portions of the church; the one presenting to us a most beautiful
and interesting specimen of that mixed style of ecclesiastical
architecture termed the semi-Norman, and by some writers the intermediate,
when the rounded arch and the short and massive column became mingled
with, and were gradually giving way to, the early Gothic; and the other
affording to us a pure and most elegant example of the latter style of
architecture, with its pointed arches and light slender columns. These two
portions of the Temple Church, indeed, when compared together, present
features of peculiar interest to the architect and the antiquary. The
oblong portion of the venerable fabric affords, perhaps, the first
specimen of the complete conquest of the pointed style over the massive
circular or Norman architecture which preceded its erection, whilst the
Round displays the different changes which the latter style underwent
previous to its final subversion.
The Temple Church is entered by a beautiful semicircular arched doorway,
an exquisite specimen of the Norman style of architecture, still
unfortunately surrounded and smothered by the smoke-dried buildings of
studious lawyers. It is deeply recessed and ornamented on either side
with columns bearing foliated capitals, from whence spring a series of
arched mouldings, richly carved and decorated. Between these columns
project angular piers enriched with lozenges, roses, foliage, and
ornaments of varied pattern and curious device. The upper part of these
piers between the capitals of the columns is hollowed out, and carved
half-length human figures, representing a king and queen, monks and
saints, have been inserted. Some of these figures hold scrolls of paper in
their hands, and others rest in the attitude of prayer. Over them, between
the ribs of the arch, are four rows of enriched foliage springing from the
mouths of human heads.
Having passed this elegant and elaborately-wrought doorway, we enter that
portion of the church called by the old writers
The Round,
which consists of an inner circular area formed by a round tower resting
on six clustered columns, and of a circular external aisle or cloister,
connected with the round tower by a sloping roof on the outside, and
internally by a groined vaulted ceiling. The beauty and elegance of the
building from this point, with its circular colonnades, storied windows,
and long perspective of architectural magnificence, cannot be
described--it must be seen.
From the centre of the Round, the eye is carried upward to the vaulted
ceiling of the inner circular tower with its groined ribs and carved
bosses. This tower rests on six clustered marble columns, from whence
spring six pointed arches enriched with numerous mouldings. The clustered
columns are composed of four marble shafts, surmounted by foliated
capitals, which are each of a different pattern, but correspond in the
general outline, and display great character and beauty. These shafts are
connected together by bands at their centres; and the bases and capitals
run into each other, so as to form the whole into one column. Immediately
above the arches resting on these columns, is a small band or cornice,
which extends around the interior of the tower, and supports a most
elegant arcade of interlaced arches. This arcade is formed of numerous
small Purbeck marble columns, enriched with ornamented bases and capitals,
from whence spring a series of arches which intersect one another, and
produce a most pleasing and striking combination of the round and pointed
arch. Above this elegant arcade is another cornice surmounted by six
circular-headed windows pierced at equal intervals through the thick walls
of the tower. These windows are ornamented at the angles with small
columns, and in the time of the Knights Templars they were filled with
stained glass. Between each window is a long slender circular shaft of
Purbeck marble, which springs from the clustered columns, and terminates
in a bold foliated capital, whereon rest the groined ribs of the ceiling
of the tower.
From the tower, with its marble columns, interlaced arches, and elegant
decorations, the attention will speedily be drawn to the innumerable small
columns, pointed arches, and grotesque human countenances which extend
around the lower portion of the external aisle or cloister encircling the
Round. The more these human countenances are scrutinised, the more
astonishing and extraordinary do they appear. They seem for the most part
distorted and agonised with pain, and have been supposed, not without
reason, to represent the writhings and grimaces of the damned. Unclean
beasts may be observed gnawing the ears and tearing with their claws the
bald heads of some of them, whose firmly-compressed teeth and quivering
lips plainly denote intense bodily anguish. These sculptured visages
display an astonishing variety of character, and will be regarded with
increased interest when it is remembered, that an arcade and cornice
decorated in this singular manner have been observed among the ruins of
the Temple churches at Acre, and in the Pilgrim's Castle. This circular
aisle or cloister is lighted by a series of semicircular-headed windows,
which are ornamented at the angles with small columns.
Over the western doorway leading into the Round, is a beautiful Norman
wheel-window, which was uncovered and brought to light by the workmen
during the recent reparation of this interesting building. It is
considered a masterpiece of masonry.
The entrance from the Round to the oblong portion of the Temple Church is
formed by three lofty pointed arches, which open upon the nave and the two
aisles. The mouldings of these arches display great beauty and elegance,
and the central arch, which forms the grand entrance to the nave, is
supported upon magnificent Purbeck marble columns.
Having passed through one of these elegant and richly-embellished
archways, we enter a large, lofty, and light structure, consisting of a
nave and two aisles of equal height, formed by eight clustered marble
columns, which support a groined vaulted ceiling richly and elaborately
painted. This chaste and graceful edifice presents to us one of the most
pure and beautiful examples in existence of the early pointed style, which
immediately succeeded the mixed order of architecture visible in the
Round. The numerous elegantly-shaped windows which extend around this
portion of the building, the exquisite proportions of the slim marble
columns, the beauty and richness of the architectural decorations, and the
extreme lightness and airiness of the whole structure, give us the idea of
a fairy palace.
The marble columns supporting the pointed arches of the roof, four in
number on each side, do not consist of independent shafts banded together,
as in the Round, but form solid pillars which possess vast elegance and
beauty. Attached to the walls of the church, in a line with these pillars,
are a series of small clustered columns, composed of three slender shafts,
the central one being of Purbeck marble, and the others of Caen stone;
they are bound together by a band at their centres and their bases, which
are of Purbeck marble, rest on a stone seat or plinth, which extends the
whole length of the body of the church. These clustered columns, which are
placed parallel to the large central pillars, are surmounted by foliated
capitals, from whence spring the groined ribs which traverse the vaulted
ceiling of the roof. The side walls are thus divided into five
compartments on either side, which are each filled up with a triple
lancet-headed window, of a graceful form, and richly ornamented. It is
composed of three long narrow openings surmounted by pointed arches, the
central arch rising above the lateral ones. The mouldings of the arches
rest upon four slender marble columns which run up in front of the stone
mullions of the windows, and impart to them great elegance and beauty. The
great number of these windows, and the small intervening spaces of blank
wall between them, give a vast lightness and airiness to the whole
structure.
Immediately beneath them is a small cornice or stringing course of Purbeck
marble, which runs entirely round the body of the church, and supports the
small marble columns which adorn the windows.
The roof is composed of a series of pointed arches supported by groined
ribs, which, diverging from the capitals of the columns, cross one another
at the centre of the arch, and are ornamented at the point of intersection
with richly-carved bosses. This roof is composed principally of chalk, and
previous to the late restoration, had a plain and somewhat naked
appearance, being covered with an uniform coat of humble whitewash. On
the recent removal of this whitewash, extensive remains of an ancient
painted ceiling were brought to light, and it was consequently determined
to repaint the entire roof of the body of the church according to a design
furnished by Mr. Willement.
At the eastern end of the church are three elegant windows opening upon
the three aisles; they are similar in form to the side windows, but the
central one is considerably larger than any of the others, and has in the
spandrels formed by the line of groining two small quatrefoil panels. The
label mouldings on either side of this central window terminate in two
crowned heads, which are supposed to represent king Henry the Third and
his queen. These windows are to be filled with stained glass as in the
olden time, and will, when finished, present a most gorgeous and
magnificent appearance. Immediately beneath them, above the high altar,
are three niches, in which were deposited in days of yore the sacred
vessels used during the celebration of the mass. The central recess,
surmounted by a rounded arch, contained the golden chalice and patin
covered with the veil and bursa; and the niches on either side received
the silver cruets, the ampullae, the subdeacon's veil, and all the
paraphernalia used during the sacrament. In the stonework around them may
be observed the marks of the locks and fastenings of doors.
These niches were uncovered and brought to light on the removal of the
large heavy oak screen and altar-piece, which disfigured the eastern end
of the church.
On the southern side of the building, near the high altar, is an elegant
marble _piscina_ or _lavacrum_, which was in like manner discovered on
pulling down the modern oak wainscoting. This interesting remnant of
antiquity has been beautifully restored, and well merits attention. It
was constructed for the use of the priest who officiated at the adjoining
altar, and was intended to receive the water in which the chalice had been
rinsed, and in which the priest washed his hands before the consecration
of the bread and wine. It consists of two perforated hollows or small
basins, inclosed in an elegant marble niche, adorned with two graceful
arches, which rest on small marble columns. The holes at the bottom of the
basins communicate with two conduits or channels for draining off the
water, which antiently made its exit through the thick walls of the
church. In the olden time, before the consecration of the host, the priest
walked to the piscina, accompanied by the clerk, who poured water over his
hands, that they might be purified from all stain before he ventured to
touch the body of our Lord. One of these channels was intended to receive
the water in which the priest washed his hands, and the other that in
which he had rinsed the chalice. The piscina, consequently, served the
purposes of a sink.[463]
Adjoining the piscina, towards the eastern end of the church, is a small
elegant niche, in which the ewer, basin, and towels were placed; and
immediately opposite, in the north wall of the edifice, is another niche,
which appears to have been a _sacrarium_ or tabernacle for holding the
eucharist preserved for the use of the sick brethren.[464]
In the centre of the northern aisle of the church, a large recess has been
erected for the reception of the organ, as no convenient place could be
found for it in the old structure. Below this recess, by the side of the
archway communicating with the Round, is a small Norman doorway, opening
upon a dark circular staircase which leads to the summit of the round
tower, and also to
THE PENITENTIAL CELL.
This dreary place of solitary confinement is formed within the thick wall
of the church, and is only four feet six inches long, and two feet six
inches wide, so that it would be impossible for a grown person to lie down
with any degree of comfort within it. Two small apertures, or loopholes,
four feet high and nine inches wide, have been pierced through the walls
to admit light and air. One of these apertures looks eastward into the
body of the church towards the spot where stood the high altar, in order
that the prisoner might see and hear the performance of divine service,
and the other looks southward into the Round, facing the west entrance of
the church. The hinges and catch of a door, firmly attached to the doorway
of this dreary prison, still remain, and at the bottom of the staircase is
a stone recess or cupboard, where bread and water were placed for the
prisoner.
In this miserable cell were confined the refractory and disobedient
brethren of the Temple, and those who were enjoined severe penance with
solitary confinement. Its dark secrets have long since been buried in the
silence of the tomb, but one sad tale of misery and horror, probably
connected with it, has been brought to light.
Several of the brethren of the Temple at London, who were examined before
the papal inquisitors, tell us of the miserable death of Brother Walter le
Bacheler, Knight, Grand Preceptor of Ireland, who, for disobedience to his
superior the Master of the Temple, was fettered and cast into prison, and
there expired from the rigour and severity of his confinement. His dead
body was taken out of the solitary cell in the Temple at morning's dawn,
and was buried by Brother John de Stoke and Brother Radulph de Barton, in
the midst of the court, between the church and the hall.[465]
The discipline of the Temple was strict and austere to an extreme. An
eye-witness tells us that disobedient brethren were confined in chains and
dungeons for a longer or a shorter period, or perpetually, according as it
might seem expedient, in order that their souls might be saved at the last
from the eternal prison of hell.[466] In addition to imprisonment, the
Templars were scourged on their bare backs, by the hand of the Master
himself, in the Temple Hall, and were frequently whipped on Sundays in the
church, in the presence of the whole congregation.
Brother Adam de Valaincourt, a knight of a noble family, quitted the order
of the Temple, but afterwards returned, smitten with remorse for his
disobedience, and sought to be admitted to the society of his quondam
brethren. He was compelled by the Master to eat for a year on the ground
with the dogs; to fast four days in the week on bread and water, and every
Sunday to present himself naked in the church before the high altar, and
receive the discipline at the hands of the officiating priest, in the
presence of the whole congregation.[467]
On the opposite side of the church, corresponding with the doorway and
staircase leading to the penitential cell, there was formerly another
doorway and staircase communicating with a very curious antient structure,
called the chapel of St. Anne, which stood on the south side of the Round,
but was removed during the repairs in 1827. It was two stories in height.
The lower story communicated with the Round through a doorway formed under
one of the arches of the arcade, and the upper story communicated with
the body of the church by the before-mentioned doorway and staircase,
which have been recently stopped up. The roofs of these apartments were
vaulted, and traversed by cross-ribs of stone, ornamented with bosses at
the point of intersection.[468] This chapel antiently opened upon the
cloisters, and formed a private medium of communication between the
convent of the Temple and the church. It was here that the papal legate
and the English bishops frequently had conferences respecting the affairs
of the English clergy, and in this chapel Almaric de Montforte, the pope's
chaplain, who had been imprisoned by king Edward the First, was set at
liberty at the instance of the Roman pontiff, in the presence of the
archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops of London, Lincoln, Bath,
Worcester, Norwich, Oxford, and several other prelates, and of many
distinguished laymen; the said Almeric having previously taken an oath
that he would forthwith leave the kingdom, never more to return without
express permission.[469] In times past, this chapel of St. Anne, situate
on the south of "the round about walles," was widely celebrated for its
productive powers. It was resorted to by barren women, and was of great
repute for making them "joyful mothers of children!"[470]
There were formerly numerous priests attached to the Temple church, the
chief of whom was styled _custos_ or guardian of the sacred edifice. King
Henry the Third, for the salvation of his own soul, and the souls of his
ancestors and heirs, gave to the Templars eight pounds per annum, to be
paid out of the exchequer, for the maintenance of three chaplains in the
Temple to say mass daily for ever; one was to pray in the church for the
king himself, another for all christian people, and the third for the
faithful departed.[471] Idonea de Veteri Ponte also gave thirteen bovates
of her land, at Ostrefeld, for the support of a chaplain in the house of
the Temple at London, to pray for her own soul and that of her deceased
husband, Robert de Veteri Ponte.[472]
The _custos_ or guardian of the Temple church was appointed by the Master
and Chapter of the Temple, and entered upon his spiritual duties, as did
all the priests and chaplains of the order, without any admission,
institution, or induction. He was exempt from the ordinary ecclesiastical
authority, and was to pay perfect obedience in all matters, and upon all
occasions, to the Master of the Temple, as his lord and bishop. The
priests of the order took precisely the same vows as the rest of the
brethren, and enjoyed no privileges above their fellows. They remained,
indeed, in complete subjection to the knights, for they were not allowed
to take part in the consultations of the chapter, unless they had been
enjoined so to do, nor could they occupy themselves with the cure of souls
unless required. The Templars were not permitted to confess to priests who
were strangers to the order, without leave so to do.
"_Et les freres chapeleins du Temple dovinent oyr la confession des
freres, ne nul ne se deit confesser a autre chapelein saunz counge, car il
ount greigneur poer du Pape, de els assoudre que un evesque._"
The particular chapters of the Master of the Temple, in which
transgressions were acknowledged, penances were enjoined, and quarrels
were made up, were frequently held on a Sunday morning in the above
chapel of St. Anne, on the south side of the Temple church, when the
following curious form of absolution was pronounced by the Master of the
Temple in the Norman French of that day.
"La manere de tenir chapitre e d'assoudre."
"Apres chapitre dira le mestre, ou cely qe tendra le chapitre. 'Beaus
seigneurs freres, le pardon de nostre chapitre est tiels, qe cil qui
ostast les almones de la meson a tout e male resoun, ou tenist aucune
chose en noun de propre, ne prendreit u tens ou pardoun de nostre
chapitre. Mes toutes les choses qe vous lessez a dire pour hounte de la
char, ou pour poour de la justice de la mesoun qe lein ne la prenge requer
Dieu, e de par la poeste, que nostre sire otria a sein pere, la quele
nostre pere le pape lieu tenaunt a terre a otrye a la maison, e a noz
sovereyns, e nous de par Dieu, e de par nostre mestre, e de tout nostre
chapitre tiel pardoun come ieo vous puis fere, ieo la vous faz, de bon
quer, e de bone volonte. E prioms nostre sire, qe issi veraiement come il
pardona a la glorieuse Magdaleyne, quant ele plura ses pechez. E al larron
en la croiz mis pardona il ses pechez, e a vous face les vos a pardone a
moy les miens. Et pry vous que se ieo ouges meffis oudis a mil de vous que
vous depleise que vous le me pardonez.'"[473]
At the close of the chapter, the Master or the President of the chapter
shall say, "Good and noble brethren, the pardon of our chapter is such,
that he who unjustly maketh away with the alms of the house, or holdeth
anything as his own property, hath no part in the pardon of our chapter,
or in the good works of our house. But those things which through
shame-facedness, or through fear of the justice of the order, you have
neglected to confess before God, I, by the power which our Lord obtained
from his Father, and which our father the pope, his vicar, has granted to
the house, and to our superiors, and to us, by the authority of God and
our Master, and all our chapter, grant unto you, with hearty good will,
such pardon as I am able to give. And we beseech our Lord, that as he
forgave the glorious Mary Magdalene when she bewailed her sins, and
pardoned the robber on the cross, that he will in like manner mercifully
pardon both you and me. And if I have wronged any of you, I beseech you to
grant me forgiveness."
The Temple Church in times past contained many holy and valuable relics,
which had been sent over by the Templars from Palestine. Numerous
indulgences were granted by the bishops of London to all devout Christians
who went with a lively faith to adore these relics. The bishop of Ely also
granted indulgences to all the faithful of his diocese, and to all pious
Christians who attended divine worship in the Temple Church, to the honour
and praise of God, and his glorious mother the Virgin Mary, the
resplendent Queen of Heaven, and also to all such as should contribute,
out of their goods and possessions, to the maintenance and support of the
lights which were kept eternally upon the altars.[474]
The circular form of the oldest portion of the Temple Church imparts an
additional interest to the venerable fabric, as there are only three other
ancient churches in England of this shape. It has been stated that all the
churches of the Templars were built in the circular form, after the model
of the church of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem; but this was not the
case. The numerous remains of these churches, to be met with in various
parts of Christendom, prove them to have been built of all shapes, forms,
and sizes.
We must now say a word concerning the ancient monuments in the Temple
Church.
In a recess in the south wall, close to the elegant marble piscina,
reposes the recumbent figure of a bishop clad in pontifical robes, having
a mitre on his head and a crosier in his hand. It rests upon an
altar-tomb, and has been beautifully carved out of a single block of
Purbeck marble. On the 7th of September, 1810, this tomb was opened, and
beneath the figure was found a stone coffin, about three feet in height
and ten feet in length, having a circular cavity to receive the head of
the corpse. Within the coffin was found a human skeleton in a state of
perfect preservation. It was wrapped in sheet-lead, part of which had
perished. On the left side of the skeleton were the remains of a crosier,
and among the bones and around the skull were found fragments of sackcloth
and of garments wrought with gold tissue. It was evident that the tomb had
been previously violated, as the sheet-lead had been divided
longitudinally with some coarse cutting instrument, and the bones within
it had been displaced from their proper position. The most remarkable
discovery made on the opening of this tomb was that of the skeleton of an
infant a very few months old, which was found lying at the feet of the
bishop.
Nichols, the antiquary, tells us that Brown Willis ascribed the above
monument to Silvester de Everdon, bishop of Carlisle, who was killed in
the year 1255 by a fall from a mettlesome horse, and was buried in the
Temple Church.[475]
All the monumental remains of the ancient Knights Templars, formerly
existing in the Temple Church, have unfortunately long since been utterly
destroyed. Burton, the antiquary, who was admitted a member of the Inner
Temple in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, on the 20th of May, 1593, tells us
that in the body of the church there was "a large blue marble inlaid with
brasse," with this circumscription--"Hic requiescit Constantius de
Houerio, quondam visitator generalis ordinis militiae Templi in Anglia,
Francia, et Italia."[476] "Here lies Constance de Hover, formerly
visitor-general of the order of the Temple, in England, France, and
Italy." Not a vestige of this interesting monument now remains. During the
recent excavation in the churchyard for the foundations of the new organ
gallery, two very large stone coffins were found at a great depth below
the present surface, which doubtless enclosed the mortal remains of
distinguished Templars. The churchyard appears to abound in ancient stone
coffins.
In the Round of the Temple Church, the oldest part of the present fabric,
are the famous monuments of secular warriors, with their legs crossed, in
token that they had assumed the cross, and taken the vow to march to the
defence of the christian faith in Palestine. These cross-legged effigies
have consequently been termed "the monuments of the crusaders," and are so
singular and interesting, that a separate chapter must be devoted to the
consideration of them.