The Temple Church an Account of Its Restoration and Repairs

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THE TEMPLE CHURCH

AN ACCOUNT OF ITS RESTORATION

AND REPAIRS

" Lbt ub reTerence the spirit of self sacriftoe of the Dark Ages, as we con-
tumelouslj^ term them, and see with what a noble ardonr the men of those
days devoted aM,— money, time, thought, hope, life itself— to raise for God
and man, shrined as worthy of God as human hands could raise, and fit and
able to lift man's thought and hope beyond earth, and lead it on hearen-
ward."— 7%« Duty of Maintaining the Truth. A Sermon preached b^ore
the University of CasnMdge, May 18, 1834, by J. H, Rose, B. D*

Ctie Cemple C|)urtJ)

AN ACCOUNT OF ITS RESTORATION
AND REPAIRS

BY

WILLIAM SURGE, ESQ.

■' Tule and art, riuectlDB heatlicn mould.
Skill dnn tbeir i^hm fram Europe'! nlddla niglit.
Won ploBud i{ iuoli good dorkuroB ke tkelr ligkl."
Faher.

LONDON
WILLIAM PICKERING

PREFACE,

rpiHE following pages are written without
^ the authority either of the Masters of the
Benches of the Societies of the Temple, or of
the Committee appointed by them to superin-
tend the restoration of their Church. Neither
those bodies, nor any individual member but the
writer can be considered responsible for those
sentiments of which they may not approve.

When the restoration of the Temple Church
was nearly completed, it was mentioned to the
writer, that one whose sincere and devoted at-
tachment to the Church must secure the greatest
deference to his suggestions on such a subject,
had expressed his apprehension that the expense
which had been incurred might deter others from
undertaking a similar work. This account has
been written from an anxious desire to avert
that evil, by correcting misapprehension, and by
making it known that the restoration of the
Temple Church consisted of very extensive re-

vi PREFACE.

pairs, absolutely required for sustaining the edi-
fice ; repairs however, effected in the manner
and style and character of the Temple Church
of 118e5, and 1240, and with materials of the
same kind, worked with the same ornaments, as
those with which it was then constructed.

If the completion of this work fail to encourage
those entrusted with the care of our Cathedrals
and Churches to engage in similar acts of re-
storation, at least, it may promote a constant
and watchful preservation of all which still re-
mains of the sublime beauty of these venerated
sanctuaries of the Lord.

The writer may be disappointed in the wish
he cherishes, that these pages may in some de-
gree contribute to so desirable an object. But
at all events he has afforded himself the gratifi-
cation of thus expressing his grateful respect for
the noble and munificent spirit with which the
Masters of the Benches of the Societies of the
Temple commenced, prosecuted, and completed
this great work, and for the liberality and candour
with which they gave and continued their con-
fidence to the Committee whom they appointed
to superintend its execution. He has the further
gratification of thus acknowledging, with senti-
ments of the sincerest friendship and esteem for

PREFACE. vii

his associates in that Committee, the harmony
and good understanding whicli uninterruptedly
pervaded amongst them, and without which, their
earnest and anxious endeavours, to execute their
trust to the satisfaction of those by whom it
had been delegated must have been altogether
fruitless.

WILLIAM BURGE.

1 , Paper Buildings, Temple,
14 January, 1843.

THE RESTORATION OF THE
TEMPLE CHURCH.

MONGST the numerous attractions
which the Temple Church had long
possessed, it may be doubted whether
those which its Architecture afforded
were valued, or even known beyond
the circle of scientific architects and the few persons
of taste who still clung with attachment and reve-
rence to that hallowed style of which this Church was
so beautiful and perfect an example.

The Ecclesiastical Architecture of the middle ages
suggests reflections of the deepest interest. In an
age which was called dark, we find a race of men
who had been the avowed persecutors of Christianity,
and from whose savage violence it was au object of
daily prayer to be delivered, become devout Chris-
tians, enthusiastically promoting the erection of
Christian Churches.*

Influenced by reverential attachment for the reli-
gion they professed, they bestowed their wealth and
skill in building edifices which should not be wholly
unsuited to the sacred purposes for which they were

» The supplication inserted in the Litany was, " A furore Nor-
mannorum libera noa Domine." Dr. Milner's Eccles. Hist. 38.

B

2 THE RESTORATION OF

destined. The pious Christian will meditate on the
fact, that their skill in no other art or science
equalled that which they exhibited in Ecclesiastical
Architecture.

The Norman nobles emulated each other in the
superior splendour and magnificence of the Churches
they erected. " In illis diebus (Regnante in Nor-
mannia Gulielmo I.) maxima pacis tranquillitas fove-
bat habitantes in Normannik, et servi Dei k cunctis
habebantur in summa reverentia — Unusquisque op-
timatum certabat in prsedio suo ecclesias fabricare,
&c. Primum igitur ponam ipsum ducem, patrem
patriae, qui monasterium S. Trinitatis, sedificavit
Cadomi — Rogerius de Montegomerii indignans videri
in aliquo inferior suis comparibus ecclesias duas
nobiliter construxit,"* &c.

The Conquest was followed by the greatest im-
provement in the Architecture of England. With
their passion for Ecclesiastical Architecture the Nor-
mans brought the wealth, the power, the skill, and
the taste, which enabled them to gratify it. They
demolished the Saxon Cathedrals for no other reason
than to replace them with buildings of a more grand
and noble character. " Videas ubique in villis eccle-
sias, in vicis et urbibus Monasteria ; novo aedificandi
genere exurgere."** In 1077, the Abbot of Eves-
ham "being taken with the new way of building,
destroyed the old church there, which was looked
upon as one of the purest in England, and began a
new one."*"

* Willel. Gemmeticensis de Ducib. Norm. c. 22.

•* Leland's Collect. Tom. i.

c Will. Malmsb. de Gest. Angl. P. III. p. 57.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 3

No less than fifteen of the twenty-two English
Cathedrals still retain considerable parts which are
undoubtedly of Norman erection. The study of
Architecture was cultivated by the Prelates and Ab-
bots, and they not only supplied the funds, but fur-^
nished the plans for the Churches and Monasteries.*

The novum sedificandi genus which they intro-
duced consisted principally in the larger dimensions,
in the greater height and length of their churches, in
the buttresses on which they were supported. Their
portals and windows were larger and better propor-
tioned, and generally supported by columns at their
side. They excelled in the design and execution of
their mouldings. The characteristics of the Saxon
and Norman styles are stated by Mr. Millers, in his
excellent description of Ely Cathedral (see p. 18,
21.) It was their object, by the manner and style
in which they built their churches, to excite in those
who entered them sentiments of the deepest devotion
and reverence.

It has been observed, that on comparing the early
structures of Normandy with those of England, it
will be found the buildings in the latter were more
ornamented than those in the former ; many of the
enrichments peculiar to the Saxons are engrafted on
the enlarged Saxon or Norman style, while the
edifices in Normandy, of an earlier period, are ex-
amples of a chaste simplicity.*'

The Norman style of Architecture commenced in
1066, and was continued until 1200, a period em-

^ Walp. Anec. of Painting. See an enumeration in Dalla-
way's Disc, on Architecture, p. 33.
** Kendars Gothic Architecture, p. 16.

4 THE RESTORATION OF

bracing the reigns of William I., William IL, Henry
I., Stephen, Henry H., and Richard I. It was suc-
ceeded by that of the early English, celebrated for
its peculiar and impressive characteristic, the pointed
arch ; and as Dr. Milner has happily observed, '* the
parent germ," from which all the other distinguish-
ing characteristics of this style arose by easy and
natural connection. Whether the pointed arch pro-
duced by the intersections of the semicircular arches
of the Norman style originated in the East or in the
West, whether the credit of its first introduction
belongs to France, as Mr. Whittington insisted, or
whether, as the French insist, it belongs not to France,
but to England, is not a suitable subject of enquiry
in these pages. But even those who hestitate to adopt
the opinion of Dr. Milner and his followers may allow
it to retain the appellation of '* English Architecture,"
given it by the Antiquarian Society, and adopted by
Mr. Britton and other writers. It merits that appel-
lation, because there is no other country which pos-
sesses a style so pure and uniform, and there is no
other country in which this style can be studied free
from heterogeneous and discordant parts.*

But even if England cannot claim the credit of its
first introduction, at least, it can be claimed by
Christendom and Christians. It was the architec-
ture of the Christian church, and might for that
reason, if there were no other, justly retain the
appellation it has received of " Christian Architec-
ture." But it is the peculiar character of this style
that it is adapted " to the expression of the very

* Whewell's Architectural Notes on German Churches, pp.
23,91.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 5

things which the church desires to express in all her
methods of embodying herself to the eyes of the
world and to the hearts of her sons." *

The early English, or Christian Architecture, af-
fords a striking illustration of the truth of the judi-
cious observation of an elegant writer, " That in all
the fine arts, that composition is most excellent in
which the different parts most fully unite in the pro-
duction of one unmingled emotion."^ Its sharply
pointed arches, by which a greater elevation was
attained within a given width ; its slender and grace-
ful columns ; its long narrow lancet-shaped windows ;
its high pitched vaulted roofs, with their numerous
arches and springers ; its chaste^ simple, graceful
ornaments, lavished indeed with profusion, but a pro-
fusion which not only never violated, but was always
consistent with the most perfect taste ; ornaments,
which unlike those adopted in other styles, consisted
of enrichment of the essential construction of the
building, and never appeared otherwise than as ne-
cessary parts of it, are some of the striking cha-?
racteristics which contributed to produce one reve-
rential emotion, — the consciousness of being in the
house of God, The heart rises above this world, its
sorrows and its transitory pleasures, and with a Chris^
tian's hope and a Christian's faith, looks up towards
those realms where all tears are wiped away, and
where are joys of endless eternity.

" They dreamt not of a perishable house

Who thus could build." Wordsworth.

* Poole's Church Architecture, p. 43.
^ Alison on Taste, vol. i. p. 137.

6 THE RESTORATION OF

The impression which this style creates in a greater
degree than any other, is derived not from any act of
the judgment, nor from any reference to rules of art,
because, before the judgment can have been exercised,
or the rules of art consulted, the heart has already
yielded to the dominion which this style at once
acquires over its purest and most natural feelings.
There are few who will not acknowledge how different
are the feelings with which they enter St. Paul's Ca-
thedral, from those which are excited on entering
Westminster Abbey.

The duration of the early English was from 1200
to 1300, comprehending the reigns of John, Henry
III. and Edward I. It was succeeded by the orna-
mented English, which continued from 1 300 to 1 460 ;
comprehending part of the reign of Edward I., and
the reign of Edward 11. Edward III. Richard II.
Henry IV. V. and VI. Then followed the Florid
English, which prevailed from 1460 to 1637, com-
prehending the reigns of Edward IV. and V. Richard
III. Henry VII. and VIII.

The Cathedrals and Churches erected during these
bright periods of Christian architecture were dis-
tinguished, not only by the decorations which formed
essential parts of their structure, but also by those
which were contributed by painting and sculpture.
The painted roofs and walls, the stained glass of the
windows, the richly gilded bosses, and the general
magnificence which pervaded the whole edifice,
evinced the reverential feeling with which Christian
piety sought to consecrate to the House of God and
to His service, some portion of those gifts which His
gracious bounty had bestowed. The heartless age of

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 7

Paritanism could not recognize, nor even under-
stand the warm and sincere devotion in which they
had originated, and which they were intended to
cherish. It desecrated the Temples of God, by demo-
lishing all the decorations with which they abounded.

As the due elevation of the arch constituted the
perfection of Christian or pointed architecture, the
undue depression of the arch constituted its decline.
That decline commenced in the latter part of the
fifteenth century, and is to be seen in parts of St.
George's chapel, Windsor, built by Edward IV. ; in
King's College Chapel, Cambridge ; and in Henry
the Seventh's Chapel, Westminster. The ruin of
pointed architecture was complete on the accession
of Edward VI., in the middle of the sixteenth cen-
tury. " Then began," says Dr. Milner, " a style
truly Gothic, or at least a barbaric style, consisting of
irregular and ill-executed Grecian members, with in-
termixed globes, triangles, frets, pyramids, obelisks,
and other absurd devices." *

Even after this corrupted taste had been corrected,
the pointed Architecture experienced not merely
neglect, but even contempt and opprobrium.* The
term " Gothic" was bestowed on it as an appellation
of disgrace. The accomplished Sir Henry Wotton
says,' " that its buildings, for their very uncomeli-
ness, ought to be exiled from judicious eyes, and
kft to their first inventors, the Goths and Lombards,
amongst other reliques of that barbarous age." Eve-
lyn calls them " congestions of heavy dark melan-
choly monkish piles, without any just proportion, use,

^ Miiner*s Ecclesiastical Architecture, p. 112.

8 THE RESTORATION OF

or beauty." Sir Christopher Wren commends this
invective, and calls our Cathedrals, which this style
had rendered so sublime and beautiful, " Mountains
of stones, vast gigantic buildings, but not worthy of
the name of Architecture,"

Thie Temple Church abounded with those decora-
tions, which excited the hostility of Puritanism, and
was eminently distinguished for those beautiful styles
of Architecture which were treated with neglect and
contempt. Unhappily, it suffered much more than
our Cathedrals from the corrupted taste of the age.

" Our Dignitaries," says the Reviewer of Dr. Mil-
ner's Treatise on the Ecclesiastical Architecture of
England, " slumbered in their stalls with little curi-
osity, to enquire whether the columns which sur-
rounded them were the work of Norman or English
artists ; whether a circular arch denoted the eleventh
century, or a lancet window the twelfth. To this
apathy, however, we are deeply indebted ; for after
all, they took care that the buildings should not fall
to the ground ; if they had done more, they would
probably have done worse." *

Unhappily the Dignitaries of the two Societies of
the Temple did more, and therefore did worse.

In the works which were undertaken for the neces-
sary repairs of the Temple Church, there was not, nor
according to the taste of that age could it be expected
there would be, any desire to consult or even preserve
those styles of architecture. From the character of the
works not undertaken nor required as repairs, but in-
tended to be, according to the taste and language of

* Quarterly Review, Oct. 1811.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 9

those days, ^^ beautificatioaand adornment/' we might
be led to suppose it was their desire to destroy those
styles, or at least the beautiful effect which they pro-
duced.

The following account of the Repairs of theTemple
Church is given in the "New View of London."
" Having narrowly escaped the flames in 1666, it
was in 1682 beautified, and the curious wainscot
screen set up. The south west part was in the year
1695 new built with stone. In the year 1706, the
Church was wholly new white washed^ gilt and painted
within^ and the pillars of the round tower wainscoted
with a new battlement and buttresses on the south
side ; and other parts of the outside were well re-
paired. Also the figures of the Knights Templars new
cleaned and painted, and the iron work inclosing them
new painted and gilt with gold. The east end of
the Church was repaired and beautified in 1707/'

In 1737, the exterior of the north side and east
end was again repaired.

The taste for that style of architectuie, of which
this Church was so splendid a specimen, at length
revived. Gray and Warton, to whom the age is in-
debted for its revival, greatly promoted a more ac-
curate knowledge and a more just appreciation of its
principles. They were followed by writers and archi-
tects deeply imbued with the knowledge of this style,
and most solicitous and most competent to diffuse that
knowledge. The lovers of Church architecture will
acknowledge its obligations to Bentham, Carter, Brit-
ton, Rickman, Milner, Millers, Pugin, Cottingham,
Savage, &c. In the restoration of our cathedrals and
churches, their original style and its characteristics

10 THE RESTORATION OF

were studied with an anxious desire to follow them.
The early English was the style adopted, and with
great success in the erection of some of our new
churches. The church at Chelsea, built by Mr.
Savage, is a beautiful example of the progress which
had been made in the knowledge and application of
the principles of Christian Architecture. Its pro-
gress within the last few years has been most rapid,
and it has almost succeeded in recovering its former
dominion over the Christian heart. It has been greatly
promoted by the higher tone of religious feeling, and
by the unremitting zeal and energy with which the
pious and learned writers of the Tracts have endea-
voured to promote " that inward worship of the heart
which is the great service of God, and without which
no service is acceptable." They have felt and taught
" that the external worship of God in his church is
the great witness to the world that our heart stands
right in that service of God," and that we should
" render churches meet, as far as we can make them,
for the presence of Him who has promised to come
among us there and bless us."*

The influence of this principle in the structure and
decoration of our Churches had been sanctioned by
the authority of our most revered divines. It was
the doctrine of the judicious Hooker, that " solemn
duties of public service to be done unto God, must
have their places set and prepared in such sort as
beseemeth actions of that regard."**

" We cannot by our gifts," says Bishop Home,

* Bishop of Oxford's Charge, 1842.
*» Hooker's Eccles. Pol. Book v. § 11,

THE TEM PLE CHURCH. 1 1

*' profit the Almighty, but we may lionour Him, and
profit ourselves; for, while man is man, religion,
like man, must have a body and a soul ; it must be
external as well as internal; and the two parts, in
both cases, will ever have a mutual influence upon
each other. The senses and the imagination must
have a considerable share in public worship ; and
devotion will accordingly be depressed, or heightened,
by the mean, sordid, and dispiriting, or the fair,
splendid, and cheerful appearance of the objects
around us.'"*

The Cambridge Camden Society has exercised, and,
whilst its proceedings are conducted with the judg-
ment by which they have hitherto been distinguished,
will continue to exercise a most beneficial influence
in promoting Ecclesiastical Architecture. It has ef-
fected much by the information it imparts, by the
good feeling it cherishes, and the correct taste it cul-
tivates. The Oxford Architectural Society zealously
and successfully pursues the same important objects.

The first advancement towards the restoration of
the Temple Church was made in 1825. It had been
generally repaired in 1811. A little tract entitled
" Facts and Observations relating to the Temple
Church," written after the repairs had been finished,
•* expresses the hope that by the very complete man-
ner in which it had been repaired, it was restored to
the full appearance of that beauty and elegance gene-
rally allowed to belong to it." But both parts o£
the Church still retained all the " beautifications and

Bishop's Home's Works, vol. v. p. 378.

12 THE RESTORATION OF

adornments " which had deprived it of the " beauty
and elegance " which belonged to it.

In 1825, under the skilful direction of Sir Robert
Smirke, the Architect of the Inner Temple, the resto-
ration of the whole south side externally, and of the
lower part of the circular portion of the Round
Church was commenced, and completed in 1827.
The stone seat was renewed, the arcade was restored,
the heads which had been defaced or removed were
supplied. The wainscoting of the columns was taken
away, the monuments affixed to some of the columns
were removed, and the positions of others altered.
There still remained, however, monuments in the
Round Church materially affecting the relative pro-
portions of the two circles ; the clustered columns
still retained their incrustations of paint, plaster, and
whitewash; the three archw:ay entrances into the
Oblong Church remained in the former state, com-
pletely detaching the two portions from each other,
and entirely destroying the perspective which those
archways afforded ; nothing whatever was done in
the Oblong Church, but it was allowed to remain in
its former state.

All which was authorized by the commission was
executed by Sir Robert Smirke with the greatest skill,
and the best taste. Let it not be supposed, however,
that the slightest reflection is cast on the Societies of
the Temple, because the commission did not authorize
a more extensive restoration. From the zeal with
which the recent restoration was promoted by those
who were Masters of the Bench in 1825, it cannot
be doubted that the restriction on the restoration was
intended to be only temporary.

ki

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 13

A detailed description of the Temple Church has
been given by Mr. Billings in his " Illustrations and
Account of the Temple Church," published in 1838,
and a vivid impression of its beauty may be derived
from the admirable drawings of Mr. Essex.

The following interesting observations on its pecu-
liar style and character have been furnished to the
writer by Mr. Cottingham. The acknowledged taste
and skill of that gentleman^ and his intimate ac-
quaintance with the Norman and early English styles
give to them great value.

" The Temple Church is one of the most beauti-
ful, and certainly the most interesting Gothic build-
ing in England. It is the building which at once
decides the long disputed point about the origin of
the pointed style of Architecture, at least, in this
country. This structure alone is quite sufficient to
prove that the pointed style was not imported into
England in a perfect state.

" The transition from the round to the pointed
arch was by no means sudden. In the round part
of the Temple Church we find the Architect endea-
vouring to obtain an altitude and lightness in the
character of his building, which compelled him to
trespass on the solemn grandeur of the Norman style ;
for although the circular arch prevails throughout
the exterior of the rotunda, it is evidently of a lighter
character than the preceding Norman style. The
carved work in the beautiful entrance door- way, and
in the capitals of the window columns, fully shows
that a transition was taking place. No doubt the
circular colonnade in the interior greatly favoured
the object in view, namely, that of obtaining by its

14 THE RESTORATION OF

elevation a greater quantity of light than the Nor-
man style would admit. There is every appearance
that one and the same master mind designed, both
the round and square parts of the church. The cen-
tral arch-way into the choir was not an after thought ;
it was carried up with the original circular wall
work, and the lightness and elevation obtained by
this dexterous movement from the circular to the
pointed style, led to the entire adoption of the latter
in the square or choir part. Besides, it is very
doubtful whether any of the round churches in this
country were originally complete rotundas. Cer-
tainly the Temple Church was not ; for the oblong
building on the south side, pulled down a few years
ago, was undoubtedly a portion of the original de-
sign. The beautiful Norman Chapel at Ludlow,
built soon after the Conquest, had a square choir
attached to the circular part, carried up with it in a
similar manner to this Church ; and the later speci-
men of the kind at Maplestead had the square and
the round parts built at the same time.

" It appears that the Temple Church was upwards
of fifty years in building. This was not an unusual
length of time for such a splendid edifice, but a much
less period would undoubtedly have been sufficient
to establish the pointed style of Architecture ; for
the elevated effect produced by the most simple ex-
amples of the pointed arch was not lost to the keen
observation of the Norman Ecclesiastics, who were
the principal Architects of that period. They soon
made themselves masters of its powers, and by adopt-
ing it, threw a flood of light into their buildings
which enabled them to complete the inimitable coup-

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 15

d'ceil of a Gothic Church by the introduction of
stained glass, which the great thickness of the walls
and sii;;iallness of the windows in a Norman building
did not encourage.

" Having thus slightly described the leading fea-
tures of the new style in the Temple Church, it is
curious to contemplate the struggle which took place
in the minor details of the round Church.

" All the windows are circular headed, and orna-
mented at the angles with slender columns, termi-
nated by foliated capitals of a transition character,
similar to those at the entrance door- way. The re-
cesses formed by a series of columns above the stone
bench in the aisle on the north and south sides of the
entrance are decidedly pointed, retaining the Norman
square abacus in the capitals of the columns, and the bil-
letted moulding in the arches. The triforium is orna-
mented by an arcade of interlaced arches, a portion
of Norman decoration, retained long after the ascen-
dancy of the pointed style. I am inclined to think
that the circular part of the oak ribs, and the richly
carved oak boss in the centre of the ceiling, are por-
tions of the original work, which might have been cut
down from the top to accommodate a new roof. It
was not at all unusual for the ribs of wood groining to
have stone springers to a certain height, which is the
case here ; the boss and mouldings of the present ribs
are decidedly of very early pointed character. The
ceiling was probably finished in a domical form
originally.

" No building in existence so completely developes
the gradual and delicate advances of the pointed style
over the Norman, as this church, being commenced

16 THE RESTORATION OF

in the latter, and finished in the highest perfection of
the former ; the choir or square part of the church is
decidedly the most exquisite specimen of pointed ar-
chitecture existing. There is a boldness in the con-
ception, and a lightness in the execution, which charm
every beholder.

"The groining of the ceiling is in perfect unison
with the whole design. The ribs, light and elegantly
moulded, rise from the caps of the slender marble
columns, and branch out in such palmy and grace-
ful lines, that the mind is quite prepared to meet the
flowery canopy which they are made to support.

"Howrejoiced must every lover of our ancient church
architecture be to see the plague-spot of Gothic
architecture (whitewash) swept from its painted ceil-
ings, the pew lumber from its floors, the monstrous
Pagan altar screen, and glaring monumental tablets,
from its walls and pillars, and the preposterous organ-
ease from closing up its centre arch. If one step fur-
ther could be set, by removing the houses which
crowd against its north-western front, it would be a
glorious triumph for Gothic architecture indeed ! "

The entrance to the Church is at the west end, by
a circular-headed door-way ; a most beautiful speci-
men of Norman architecture. It is deeply recessed.
On each side are three columns with foliated capi-
tals, carrying over the arch a similar number of ribs.
At the outer extremity on each side are two small
columns, from which the ribs of the porch spring.

The angles of the wall projecting between the
columns are enriched with ornaments of various des-
criptions. The apex of these angles is hollowed, and
small sculptures of half-figures inserted ; the first or

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 17

outer edge represents a King and Queen, the others
monks. Some of these hold rolls in their hands, others
are in the attitude of prayer. Above these, and sepa-
rated by arched ribs over the capitals, are four rows
of enriched foliage. The inner row consists of heads
with foliage springing from their mouths.

The bases of thfe columns were concealed by the
pavement, which had been raised, and which caused
a descent into the Church of two steps.

Some of the columns were not original, and had
probably been substituted at the time the Church
was wainscoted.

This door-way is protected by and entered under
a porch, which seems to have been one compartment
of a cloister which extended westward.

In " The New View of London," it is stated that
the cloister chambers, being burnt down in 1678?
were re-erected and elevated on twenty-seven pillars
and columns of the Tuscan order, in 1681.

The northern side of the porch was walled up, it
is said, at the time the houses in Inner Temple-lane
were built.

The groining of the porch was covered with a
thick coat of plaster, so that the bold effect of the ribs
was lost.

Until 1825, there existed the remains of a building
attached to the south side of the circular portion of
the Church, which was, from the style of its archi-
tecture, evidently part of the original design.

It contained two stories : the lower floor was en-
tered through a door-way, formed under one of the
arches of the arcade, by a descent of five steps, and
consequently so much lower than the Church. This

c

18 THE RESTORATION OF

apartment had two niches, probably for piscinas
placed at its eastern end ; there was also another re-
cess. This apartment had a circular archway near
the centre, three feet four inches in thickness, orna-
mented by a rib and supported by a column at each
side. It was thus divided into two apartments, the
first of which measured, according to the plan of the
Society of Antiquaries, in the Vetusta Monumenta;
16 feet by 14; and tjie second, towards the east,
20 feet by 15. They were each lighted by a window
in the centre towards the south, and the larger one
had an additional small window near the east end.
The roof was arched, and ornamented with cross
ribs (having bosses at the centres), supported by
columns at the angles. The upper apartment is des*
cribed as having been similar in character to the
lower one. It was communicated with by a door-
way in the body of the Church, which led up a stair-
case to the opening. *

In 1825, portions of it fell down, and the whole
was removed during the progress of the repairs of
1827. It must ever be a subject of deep regret that
this building was suffered to perish.

The Temple Church was built by the Knights
Templars in 1185, and dedicated by Heraclius, the
Patriarch of Jerusalem, to the Virgin. It then, as now,
consisted of two parts, the circular or round church,^
and an oblong addition. The present oblong or square
church was, it is believed, subsequently erected and
consecrated in 1240. The round church is the largest
of the four round churches in England. It contains

" Billing's Architec. Illust. of the Temple Church.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 19

a central area and aisles ; the two parts are divided
by six clustered columns of Purbeck raarble. Each
column consists of four detached shafts, connected
at the bases and capitals as well as at their centre by
a band. A thin shaft resting on each of the columns
facing the area, is carried up to the clerestory, and
upon the capitals of these shafts the ribs which sup-
port the ceiling rest. Six pointed arches, which are
divided into numerous mouldings, spring from the
clustered columns. A peculiar effect is produced by
these arches being constructed on the line of the circle.
A small band or cornfce, which is placed immediately
above their points, extends round the circle and also
round the small shafts between the arches. The tri-
forium rests upon this cornice. It is ornamented by
an arcade of interlaced arches, and by the manner in
which the small shafts are disposed, it is divided into
six compartments, and each of these compartments is
again divided into six compartments by seven small
columns. There is another cornice immediately above
the triforium, and surmounting this is the clerestory,
which is lighted by six circular headed windows^
ornamented internally at the angles with columns
having foliated capitals.

The exterior circle, or, as it is called, aisle, extend-
ing round the circular portion, is divided into twelve
compartments by means of the single columns against
the wall. A groined ceiling rests upon the capi-
tals of those columns, in conjunction with those at
the back of the clustered columns. At the base of
the wall, resting on a plinth, there is an arcade of
pointed arches, which occupy four compartments of
the aisle on each side of the western doorway, and

20 THE RESTORATION OF

parts of the piers dividing the entrances to the east
end. This arcade is divided in the same manner as
that of the triforium. The capitals of the columns
as well as the arches are highly ornamented. In the
spandrils of the arches there is a curious series of
sculptured heads ; and above it are on each side of
the doorway four long semicircular headed windows
ornamented externally and internally with small
columns at the angles, having foliated capitals.

There are three entrances to the oblong or eastern
part of the church ; the central entrance leads to the
nave, and occupies the space of one compartment of
the aisle immediately opposite the western doorway-
This entrance is a pointed arch, composed of a bold
rib, supported by two columns on each side. The
other two entrances to the aisles are also pointed
arches, but smaller than the former, and richer in
detail. Below the band at the head of the arcade,
the face of the wall is on each side ornamented with
foliage, and above, supported by a corbel head, there
is a semi column terminated by a richly foliated
capital. The archway above is divided into nume-
rous small mouldings ; and the angles of the wall
below are cut into small shafts with bases. Immedi-
ately beyond the arch of each side entrance there
rises to the same height as the central entrance, a
bold arch parallel with the body of the church ; the
large rib forming it is partially supported by corbels
ornamented with grotesque heads.

The eastern or oblong portion of the Church is
generally allowed to be the most pure and beautiful
example existing of the early pointed or lancet style.
It consists of a nave with two aisles ; it is divided

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 21

into five compartments by a series of four clustered
Purbeck marble columns on each side. Their capitals
vary in some of the minor mouldings, but their bases
are uniform. A series of small clustered columns are
attached to the wall of the aisles, except at the
angles, and are parallel with the clustered columns
of the nave. Each of these columns consists of
three shafts, the central one is detached, and is orna-
mented with a small band round its centre. At each
angle is a single detached shaft, decorated in the
same manner. A stone seat extended along both
sides, and on this seat the columns attached to the
wall rested. A blank wall, broken only by the
columns of the aisles, is carried to the height of
nine feet four inches above the floor of the nave, and
is there terminated by a small cornice. This cornice
(excepting the two piers between the entrances at the
west end,) extends round the whole area, and turns
round and finishes under the lateral entrances.

In each of these five compartments there is a large
window which has the cornice for its basement. This,
with the window fills the whole of the compartment,
with the exception of the space occupied by the
buttresses. Each window is divided into three open-
ings, by two massive mullions. By means of small
detached columns placed before them they acquire
great lightness. Three arches ornamented with nume-
rous mouldings rest on the capitals of these detached
columns. The central opening rises to a greater
height than the others, and thus the window com-
pletely occupies the space formed by the groining.
The windows in the eastern compartment are orna-
mented with foliated bosses, at the junction and ter-

22 THE RESTORATION OF

mination of the label mouldings, excepting that in
the nave ; here the termination on each side is orna-
mented with a crowned head, supposed to represent
Henry III. and his Queen. It also differs in other
respects ; its width is greater, the columns taller, and
consequently the head of the window shorter. In the
spaces between the head of the window and the
groining of the nave, are two oblong quatrefoils ; the
only instance of this ornament in the Church.

The columns of the nave are connected longitudi-
nally by massive pointed arches, carrying above them
a thick wall, upon which rests the greater portion of
the timber roof. The groined roof was composed of
cross ribs ornamented with foliated bosses at their
centres, and arched ribs springing from column to
column across the Church.*

There can be little doubt that the eastern or oblong
Church was part of the original design. The arch-
way forming the central entrance has been referred
to, as affording proof that the circle was not intended
to complete the Church. The penitential cell on
the staircase leading to the triforium, contains two
windows, one looking into the round, the other into
the oblong Church.

The present eastern or oblong part was not, per-
haps, the identical building which formed, and was
erected as part of the original design. In the recent
restoration a foundation was discovered, extending
not much beyond the centre aisle, nor nearer the east
end than the last column. It is not improbable that
the eastern part was either rebuilt or enlarged, and

Billing's Architect. Illust. &c. of the Temple Church.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. ^3

that the Church, rebuilt or enlarged, was that which
was consecrated in 1240.

In the reparation and enlargement of our Cathe-
drals there were many deviations from the original
style of their structure. Those noble edifices exhibit
therefore many discordant parts; still, however, they
retain so much of the original style, so much to
delight the eye and fill the heart with devout ad-
miration, that there is no desire to dwell, and, from
the magnitude and height of the building, the spec-
tator is enabled to avoid dwelling, on those discor*
dant parts. Hence the descrepancy of style in our
Cathedrals does not produce the same injurious effect
on the whole edifice as it does in Churches of less
size and height.

From the size and height of the Temple Church,
and from the peculiar disposition of its parts, its
original character and effect could scarcely have been
retained, even if the works called beautifications and
adornments had been merely deviations from the
original style. But they so disguised and defaced
those parts of the building which would have best
displayed the beauty of its style, that they destroyed
all reverence for it, and all interest for those parts
which remained untouched.

The screen of '' right wainscoaty' which in 1682
was erected at the west end of the oblong Church,
and between that and the round Church, was
adorned with ten pilasters of the Corinthian order,
also three portals and pediments ; and the organ
gallery over the central entrance was supported by
two fluted columns of the Corinthian order, and
adorned with entablature and compass pediment

24 THE RESTORATION OF

The inter-columns were large panels in carved frames,
with an enrichment of cherubims near the pediment
on the south side. The screen extended completely
across the Church. The central archway was occu-
pied by the organ, the ornamented front of which
was carried up nearly to the ceiling of the nave.

The side archways were, above the screen, care-
fully plastered up, so that their form was rendered
invisible. The lower parts of these, and the centre
archways, were filled up with glass doors and win-
dows.

This most extraordinary perversion of taste, and this
utter indifference to some of the most striking beauties
of the Temple Church, destroyed its entire charac-
ter. The round and the oblong parts were detached
from each other, and formed two Churches. The
effect of the perspective obtained through these arch-
ways, and which gave length and height to the
oblong Church was lost. The character and beauty
of the entire edifice having been thus destroyed, the
two parts of which it consisted, were also deprived of
all which constituted the character and beauty of each.

The beautiful columns and shafts of Purbeck mar-
ble, their foliated capitals, and the cornice or string
course of Purbeck marble, were enveloped in white-
wash and plaster. The clustered columns were con-
cealed by an encasement of wainscoting reaching
above the band which connected them at the centre,
and they were further concealed by large massive
monuments, which were affixed to them above their
centre.

The relative proportion between the two circles
which was observed in all the round churches, and

i

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 25

produced so peculiar an effect, was greatly impaired
by the monuments affixed to the columns, and by the
wainscot in which they were encased. It was still
further impaired by placing two very high and cum-
brous monuments in such a situation as not only to
occupy a considerable space, but by their height, to
obstruct the greater part of two of the circular win-
dows on the north side. The clerestory lost its light
and airy gracefulness by the partial blocking up of
some of its windows.

In the oblong part of the Church, the Purbeck
marble pillars were encrusted with coats of plaster
and whitewash. A floor was raised nine inches
above the original pavement, and the intermediate
space between was filled with loose earth, saturated
with water, flowing from the graves in the church-
yard. The height of the building was thus dimi-
nished. This raised floor, and the wainscoting and
pewing of the whole Church completely concealed,
not only the bases, but eight feet of the columns.
The New History of London, published in 1708,
thus describes what had been done in the oblong
part of the Church : " It was well pewed and wains-
coted with right wainscoat, above eight foot high."
It extended round three sides, excepting the space
occupied by the altar screen. Its entablature com-
pletely covered the cornice or string course of Pur*
beck marble at the base of the windows ; the only
part of the plinth or stone- seat which remained was
that at the north-west angle. The monuments af-
fixed to these columns still further contributed to
impair their intrinsic beauty, and effect on the edi-
fice. Cumbrous and heavy monuments were also

26 THE RESTORATION OF

affixed to the sides, so as to encroach considerably on
the beautiful lancet-shaped windows, conceal their
character, and affect the whole appearance of the aisle.

'' The altar-piece extended still higher than the
wainscoting ; it was finely carved, adorned with four
pilasters, and between them two columns with entab-
lature of the Corinthian order, and enrichment of
cherubims ; a shield, festoons, fruit and leaves, en-
closed with handsome rail and banister."

It covered not only the Purbeck cornice or string
course, but concealed from view a considerable por-
tion of the beautiful central window at the east end.

A large heavy pulpit with carved arches, festoons,
cherubims, vases, &c. and a large ponderous sound
board suspended from the ceiling, could not fail by
their incongruous, as well as by their size and posi-
tion, to contribute to that effect on the whole structure,
which had been produced by the other beautifications
and adornments bestowed on it. From the preceding
statement, it cannot be doubted what that effect was.
This Temple Church, which was once so admired and
renowned for its beauty, that Kings desired a place in
it for their sepulture, had lost its original character.
Its style and the beautiful manner in which it was
followed out, if they could be discovered^ at all, were
discoverable only under such disadvantages as to ex-
cite little or no interest.

As a proof how little the public were acquainted
with the character of the Temple Church, and with
those parts of its style and construction which con-
stituted its beauty, it may be mentioned that when
the restoration was commenced in 1840, the removal
of these beautifications and adornments^ for the purpose

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 27

of effecting the restoration, was regarded and publicly
reprobated as an act of Vandalism, evincing an utter
disregard for the ancient and original beauty of the
Church, and a fond devotion to the frivolous and de-
graded styles of modern architecture. It was, in fact,
considered, that these screens, &c. constituted the
beauty and character of the Church, and that any
alteration must necessarily be a sacrifice of beauty
and character to fancied improvements in modern
architecture.

A considerable interval followed, during which
nothing was done towards either the repair or the
restoration of the Temple Church. In 1840 its con-
dition was such that the necessary reparation and
cleaning of it could no longer be delayed. In the
month of April of that year the two Societies made
their order, that the roof and east end should be
completely repaired, and the interior beautified, re-
paired, and warmed. A joint Committee was formed,
consisting of the respective Treasurers and three
Masters of each of their Benches, for the purpose of
carrying into effect that order, and of reporting their
recommendations thereon to their two Societies.

In consequence of his illness, the Committee were
deprived of the valuable services of Sir Robert Smirke,
and they applied to Mr. Savage, who was the archi-
tect of the Middle Temple, to render his services in
the execution of this order.

The Committee, by their report of the 29 th of May,
1840, recommended to the Societies, " That the an-
cient entrance doorway should be repaired and restored
to its original state :

"That the interiorof the oblong and round Churches,

28 THE RESTORATION OF

with the tablets, monuments, pavements, &c. be re-
paired and cleaned, also the wood work of the pews,
pulpit, reading desks, altar screen, organ loft, &c*
be repaired, cleaned, and re-varnished." They fur-
ther strongly recommended that the stonework of the
oblong and round Churches, viz. the Purbeck pillars,
the groins of the ceiling, &c. should not be re-
coloured, but be restored to their original state.

That the two arches on each side of the organ
at the west-end of the side aisles should be opened,
and that the Benchers of the two Societies should
take into their immediate consideration, the propriety
of removing the screen under the organ, and the altar
screen ; in order that those portions of the Church
might be fitted up in a manner more^ consistent with
the general character of the Church.

The two Societies by their orders of the 29th of
May and 2d of June, 1840, authorized the Committee
to make such altei'ations in the screens as might ap-
pear advisable, and full powers were granted to them
to give directions throughout.

The Committee in proceeding to execute the trust
thus committed to them, found on removing the pave-
ment, that the bottom of the pews, pulpit, and read-
ing desk, and the joists and wood work under them,
were in the most dilapidated and insecure state, in
consequence of the excessive dampness from the
foundation of the Church, apparent even on the pave-
ment; and it became absolutely necessary to take up
all the pews. If they had been replaced, there must
have been new joists under them ; the decayed parts
must have been removed, and as the pews were
panelled, they must have been entirely altered.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 29

The Societies were of opinion that, instead of in-
curring the expense which would be unavoidable
if they retained the pews, which were wholly incon-
sistent with, and injurious to, the style and charac-
ter of the Church, seats ought to be substituted,
which would contribute not only to preserve, but to
exhibit the beautiful effect of both, and which were
used in other collegiate churches and chapels. It
was a necessary consequence of this arrangement,
that the pulpit and reading desk, which both in their
size and character were wholly inconsistent with the
style of the building, should be replaced by a pulpit
and reading desk of more appropriate size and cha-
racter.

The pavement, upon its removal, was found not
to have been the original pavement of the Church,
which was much lower. The space between the
new and the original pavements had been filled up
with earth, nearly to the level of the floors of the pews^
It became necessary, and it was determined, that the
whole of the Church, including the round part?
should be lowered to the original paving, so that
the bases of the columns might be exposed, and that
thus not only would there be an addition to the
height of the interior of the Church, but the beauty
of the building would be greatly increased, by shew-
ing the whole of the columns as they were originally
erected. It was determined to place concrete under
the pavement, and thus prevent dampness.

Under the authority of the two Societies, the altar
screen and railing were altogether removed. In con-
sequence of this arrangement, and of the removal of
the pews, it became necessary to remove the wains-

30 THE RESTORATION OF

coting round the Church, and restore the ashler or
stone-work. Under the same authority, the organ
screen and the organ were also removed.

On removing the latter screen it was discovered
that the organ was in great danger of falling, from
the very decayed state of the stone-work, and the in-
secure manner in which the organ itself had been
supported. Indeed, such was its state, that in the
opinion of the Architect and the organ-builder, any
considerable motion from persons in the organ loft
might have thrown it down ; it would have therefore
been impossible to have left it standing in its former
place. By the removal of it, all the arches from the
round church to the body of the oblong church are
thrown open, and not the side arches alone. By this
alteration the character of the Church is shewn in
its original beauty, and there is an increase of accom-
modation in connecting the round with the oblong
church.

The position of the organ engaged the anxious
consideration of the Committee, and was not adopted
until their own judgment had been confirmed by the
skill and experience, not only of the Architect who
was employed, but of the other eminent persons to
whom they referred, and whose written opinions they
obtained.

They had regarded it as a principle which they
ought most strictly and faithfully to follow, that their
duty was that of restoration, and that in the execu-
tion of that duty they should not sanction any work
which they were not satisfied, either from the direct
evidence furnished by the edifice itself, or from the
presumptive evidence derived from historical accounts

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 31

of churches of the same age as that of the Temple
Church, and from the character of its founders, had
formed part of the original edifice. They were
equally influenced by that principle in selecting the
position for the organ.

Deeply impressed with the beautiful effect pro-
duced by opening the centre arch between the two
Churches, they felt an insurmountable objection to
destroy it by replacing the organ there. It is ob-
served by Mr. Savage, who strongly urged the selec-
tion of the present position of the organ, that " A
gentleman who had occasionally attended at the
Temple Church, upon entering it lately with him,
expressed his astonishment at the great length of the
building. Having hitherto been accustomed to see
only the two divided halves in succession, he had
obtained no idea of the actual extent. Such is the
frittering effect of dividing a building into bits ; the
mind examines the bits in succession and masters
them ; whereas, when the whole is presented in its
entirety, the mind of the beholder is subdued and im-
pressed with the sentiment of extent. The bits may
be pretty, but it is the totality alone that can be sub-
lime and beautiful. Although there is a recorded
difference of 55 years between the times of conse-
crating the Round Church (1185), and the Square
Church (1240), I am strongly of opinion that the
extension and connection was originally planned and
intended as we now see it. There is nothing in the
masonry to indicate a change of plan or construc-
tion, and the lapse of time or delay in completing^
may be accounted for by various causes.*

'^The mode of connecting or combining the circu-;

32 THE RESTORATION OF

lar and quadrangular buildings is perfectly unique.
It is at once simple, graceful, and elegant. There is
no violence, no hardness, no weakness in the connec-
tion. The lines are so composed as to lead the eye
gently from one form to the other ; and when return-
ing, the eye dwells upon the connecting parts with
entire satisfaction. I think no one who has seen
the beautiful effect produced by opening the arch be-
tween the two churches, would willingly wish to
close it again for any purpose."

Mr. Etty expresses his decided objection to the
situation between the square Church and the round
Church, because " it would break the beautiful
length, and destroy at once the great advantages
which had just been gained, and which struck me
most forcibly on its entrance."

Mr. Sydney Smirke says, *' There is so beautiful
an effect produced by clearing away all the obstruc-
tions that have hitherto been interposed between the
circular and quadrangular portions of the Church,
that I would strongly recommend the former site of
the organ to be left perfectly clear and open . I am
therefore, much against the plan of restoring the in-
strument to its original position. '^

Mr. Cottingham is equally opposed to the obstruc-
tion of the centre archway by replacing the organ.
" The picturesque effect, in every point of view, is
incomparably fine, and shews with what a masterly
hand and correct eye the artist who engrafted the
square Church upon the circular, could produce a
whole, under circumstances requiring the most con-
summate skill in construction, and the most delicate
conception in harmonizing the two styles, so as to

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 33

make the transition from one to the other appear as
one design. The integrity, 'beauty, and singularity
of such an unique work of art should not be inter-
rupted."

Mr. Blore is of the same opinion, "I was parti-
cularly struck," he says, " with the beauty of the
interior as seen from the western entrance, an im-
pression which is in no degree diminished by repeti-
tion ; and I should therefore be very unwilling to
lose this view, which must necessarily be the case
to a very great extent were the organ to be replaced
in that situation. It is not, however, from this point
of view alone that I think a great improvement has
been effected by opening the above arch, for I could
not help feeling, in moving from point to point, that
the variety and beauty of the architectural combina-
tions ought, if possible, to be preserved unimpaired*
It is true that they may be associated with some de-
fects arising out of the peculiarity of the building ;
but it must be borne in mind that there are few an-
cient buildings, however great their merits, that are
perfectly free from such defects, and that it would be
considered a piece of very bad taste to exclude a view
of their beauties, in order to get rid of these inci-
dental blemishes.''

Mr. Willement, in whose taste and judgment as
well as intimate acquaintance with the Ecclesiastical
Architecture of the Middle Ages, the Committee had
such abundant reason to confide, concurred in these
opinions.

There can be no pretence for supposing that the
original position of the organ was in the centre arch-
way. The taste which formed that archway did not

D

34 THE RESTORATION OF

eontemplate any such destruction of the eflfect it was
intended to produce. The present organ was not
erected until 1687.

There is every reason to believe, that the organ
before then used, was placed in the Chapel at the
south side.

Before the Reformation, the space between the
nave and the choir was occupied by the roodloft.
Its size and form were not such as to cause an ob-
struction which would prevent the impressive effect
of an uninterrupted view of the entire length of the
Church.

Again, before this period, organs were of much in-
ferior size and power, and they held a subordinate
place in the vocal and instrumental part of the service.
Mr. Etty justly observes, that " in St. Peter's at the
present day, the organ is a very small one compara-
tively to the building, and is wheeled about like the
ancient pulpits, to different parts of the church."

Another scheme was suggested for making use
of the lower parts of the centre and side arches, in
which were to be distributed the organ pipes, and a
place was to be provided there for the organist. The
Committee were unable to reconcile thia plan with
the preservation of the antiquity of the edifice, and
of the beautiful effect produced by leaving the arches
entirely open, even if they could have felt themselves
warranted in cutting and adapting to this scheme the
pipes of this celebrated organ, and in incurring the
danger of materially impairing its power and melody.

Another project was suggested, namely, that the
organ should be pla<eed over the western door. It is
quite clear that this never could have been the posi*

tHE tEMPLE CHURCH. 35

tion of the organ, because it would have been placed
against, and completely obstructed the beautiful
wheeled or marigold window.

The objections to thig position were tiumerous. It
would have been impossible to have sung near that
place with any accuracy or eifect. The singers were
placed there, and it was found that their voices re-
turned upon them.

The organ would have occupied so much of the
outer circle, as to have entirely destroyed the effect
produced by the relative proportion of the two circles.
In fact, it would have eficfoached so much on the
circular part of the Church as to have encumbered it.

Mr. Savage observes, '* Its peculiar and distin-
guishing characteristic would be lost, namely, the
unbroken ambit round the Church by the continued
endlesiS aisle^ but that aisle would be interrupted
by the interposition of this solid enclosure of the
arches."

This architect ^dds, ** In the unincumbered state
of the Church, the visitor is admitted from the porch
iiito the arch of the round aisle. This arch, from its
diminished height, gives full effect to the altitude of
the round Church, which is also seen without any
painful effort. But if the organ be placed here, this
arch of the aisle must be inclosed, and will form an
interior lobby, from whence the vi&itor will at once
step into the round Church, the great altitude of
which will at once compel him to strain his neck
in viewing it ; besides, its great height will cause the
square church to appear comparatively low. Whereas,
when the view commences with the arch of the aisle,
th6 lofty tower, and the returning arch of the round

36 THE RESTORATION OF

aisle intervening between it and the groined ceiling
of the square Church, every part maintains its due
proportion, and the building has its full effect.

" So perfect to my mind appears the plan of the
Church, that I feel strongly that every part is essen-
tially necessary to the full effect of the whole ; and
while the division interposed between the two
Churches would destroy the vitality of the design,
in like manner the inclosing of the arch near the en-
trance would greatly impair it."

Mr. Sydney Smirke considered that the introduc-
tion of the organ loft would be found to be very
objectionable, by breaking in upon the circle and
destroying the unity and simplicity of the original
design.

A similar opinion is expressed by Mr. Cottingham,

Mr. Etty says, " I object to the situation proposed
under the arch of the western door as decidedly,
because it will destroy the circumambit of the round
Church, its peculiar and distinctive feature ; and at
once bring the spectator under the centre of the round
tower, instead of the gradual and pleasing approach
it now possesses ; and because it would shut out the
possibility of availing yourselves of what would be a
feature of great beauty, when it can be done, the
opening of the wheel or marigold window (with
stained glass), over the western entrance, which I
should confidently recommend to your considera-
tion."

The fact that in many of the Continental Cathe^
drals and Churches the organ is placed over the
western entrance door, affords no sanction for the
adoption of a similar position in the Temple Church,

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 37

It will be recollected that the entrance in those
Cathedrals is not into one of two circles of a round
Church, where true taste would anxiously preserve
the relative proportion of those two circles. From
the magnitude of those Churches, it produces no
such obstruction, as it would have inevitably pro-
duced in this portion of the Temple Church ; their
loftiness, too, is such as to admit of the organ being
placed at a great height above the door, and from
the magnitude, length, and height of the entire vista
on which the eye opens on entering them, th* loss of
the space occupied by the organ is scarcely, if at all,
perceived ; and the visitor would probably not raise
his eye to the height of the building, until he passed
beyond the part over which the organ is placed.

A third position was suggested, namely, to place
it above the eastern window. The objections to it
were quite unanswerable.

" This," Mr. Savage observes, " would be a very
unusual interference with the altar, and would be put-
ting out the principal eye of the Church. It would
have the effect of magnifying the organ into the prin-
cipal, instead of what it should be, viz. only a sub-
sidiary means of worship.'*

Mr. Smirke observes, " The eastern extremity of
the Church would be a very objectionable position,
inasmuch as the eastern window would be entirely
concealed, and the only suitable place for the altar
would be engrossed by the organ."

The fourth position, which was strongly and un-
answerably recommended by Mr. Savage, was to
place the organ in a chamber, to be carried out from
the centre window of the north side, the window

38 THE RESTORATION OF

to be retained, and form the front of the organ, and
that a gallery should be made for the singers, pro-»
jecting about eighteen inches, the space under the
floor of the organ to be converted into a robing-room
for the Master and Reader, instead of the low damp
room formerly appropriated to that purpose. It was
found by experiments that the voices of the singers
and the notes of even a small organ, were most dis-
tinctly heard over both portions of the Church, and
that to produce the best effect for the organ and
voices, no position could be more desirable. Mr,
Savage thus combats the objections which were made
to it : " It has been objected that it is interfer-
ing with the beauty of the Church, and making a
dark hole to put the oi^an into ; but the chamber is
proposed to be made with windows on the three
sides, and the light will play round and above the
organ, and will by no means produce an effect of a
dark hole. As to injuring the effect of the Church
on the outside, there is no just reason to expect that
to be the consequence, as such additions have been
made to so many Cathedrals and Collegiate Churches,
from time to time, as convenience demanded, and
were not deemed injurious to the effect. The Temple
Church had a Chapel on the south side added in the
time of Edward IV. a period of good authority in
Gothic architecture.

•' It has been conjectured, and not without reason,
that the original site of the organ was probably in
this Chapel. It will be remembered the organs were
originally small, and were secondary to the vocal
performance of the Church.

** Among other examples of subsequent additions,

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 39

may be mentioned the Choir of Lincoln Cathedral,
built about the period of the square parts of the
Temple Church. In the time of Edward IV. Chapels
were added, viz. two on the south side and one on
the north side. These Chapels are considered emi-
nently beautiful, and no one has condemned them as
injurious. Magdalen College, Oxford, was originally
built by Waynefleet, with an organ chamber pro-
jecting from the south side, being from the middle
bay of five ; the other four bays having windows in
each, a case very analogous to what is here pro-
posed.

" Considering this proposition in reference to the
integrity and entirety of the plan of the Church, it
appears not to injure it in any way, and can hardly
be said to interfere with it. It leaves the two ex-
tremities uncrippled and unmutilated, and the middle
undisturbed, preserving the small columns of the
window and the arches over them, and the plinth or
base under them ; the architectural composition of
the sides of the Church is not affected. There is,
therefore, nothing internally that can justly be said to
be interfered with, or so very slightly, as not to pro-
duce any disturbing effect. The alteration appears
to be in full accordance with those principles which
governed the original architects of the Church, and
what they themselves would have done had they re-
quired the same accommodation."

Mr. Cottingham recommends this position, " In the
palmy days of Gothic architecture organs were fre-
quently put on one side of the choir ; which was the
case at Magdalene College Chapel, where a chamber
for the organ was erected opposite the present centre

40 THE RESTORATION OF

window, on the south side of the choir, and pro-
jected into the lower courts. At Winchester Cathe-
dral, the organ is on the north side of the great central
tower, for the purpose of giving an uninterrupted view
of the building. At Canterbury Cathedral, it is en-
tirely out of sight in one of the great galleries of the
Church. At Armagh Cathedral, St. Alban s Abbey
Church, and Ashbourne Church in Derbyshire, I have
had the great gratification of removing the organs from
the centre of the Church into the transepts ; and I
hope the increasing taste for restoring the legitimate
character of Gothic buildings will induce the Socie
ties of the Temple to build a chamber for the organ
at the back of the centre window, on the north side of
the Church; this might be done in the most satisfac-
tory manner. The instrument, I am convinced, would
be heard quite powerfully enough in the Church,
and the chapel- like effect of the projecting building
would not in the least effect the integrity of the in-
terior, nor look at all out of character externally; on
the contrary, there are innumerable instances in our
ancient Churches of such projections, which greatly
add to the picturesque effect of the whole design."

Mr. S. Smirke concludes his Report with the fol-
lowing remark ; *' Having duly considered all these
points, I have come to the conclusion, that the latter
position for the organ is attended with objections of
the least weight, and is, therefore, the position which
I would, without hesitation, recommend."

Mr, Etty and Mr. Willement both concurred in re-
commending it.

Mr. Blore suggested the erection of a chamber on
the north side, nearer the end of the square Church*

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 41

The Committee did not see any reason for preferring
that position, and were, therefore, relieved from the
necessity of considering how they might surmount the
very serious difficulties which would have opposed
its adoption.

The chamber has been erected in the place and in
the manner recommended by Mr. Savage, and the
organ has been placed in it. An abundance of light
has been thrown into the chamber which reaches the
aisle. It has not concealed, nor in any degree im*
paired the character and effect of the north aisle ; it
produces an impression, which not only does not de-
tract from, but rather improves that which is felt on
the contemplation of the whole square Church. The
organ and the voices of the singers are heard with
impressive effect in the circular as well as square
Church. Every expectation on which this position
was recommended has been realised, and there are
few, it is believed, who do not concur in the pro-
priety of its selection.

In making the excavation required for some of the
works, it was found that the drains on the north side
and east end of the Church, and of the two original
catacombs, were very imperfect. The drain through
the catacombs, which was intended to take the leak-
age from the coffins, had little or no fall, and was
almost entirely choked up, so that there was great
dampness in the neighbouring ground ; and this damp-
ness was farther increased by a spring of water ad-
joining.

The defective state of the former drains, the con-
sequent dampness of the ground, and the decayed
matter under the floor of the pewing, will sufficiently

42 THE RESTORATION OF

account for the noxious eflfluvia in the Church, of
which there were frequent complaints, and which, on
the introduction of warm air, would be more sen-
sibly felt. The drains have been reconstructed, and
the building will be preserved by being rendered
dry ; the house of the Master and the adjacent cham-
bers will be more healthy, and the catacombs will
no longer be overflowed with water.

When the Societies commenced the restoration and
the repairs of the Church, they had not the least
suspicion that it was in so dilapidated and insecure
a state as it was found to be. The statement made
in 1811, represents, that it had been lately repaired
in a very complete manner. It is evident, however,
that the repairs must have been of a very superficial
character, and could not have contributed to render
the fabric less insecure. The repairs of 1826 were
confined to the external face of the south side, to the
paving of the interior of the round Church, and the
renewal of the arcade there, and to the partially re-
pairing and piecing of the roof of the round Church,
and releading the roof of the tower and one-half of
the roof of the aisle.

It does not appear that any substantial repairs had
been made for many years, and those which had been
made had concealed and not repaired the dilapidated
and decayed state of the Church. It was not until
the thick coats of plaster and paint with which the
columns had been disguised, and the monuments
affixed to some of them had been removed, that the
actual condition of these columns was ascertained.
The joints of the marble, and considerable portions
of the surface of the columns in the square Church,

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 43

were found to be in a very decayed state. It would
be necessary to insert a great number of new pieces,
and to lengthen out the bases down to the original
floor line. The six clustered columns of Purbeck
marble in the circular part of the Church were found
so shattered and injured, that it was indispensably
necessary for the safety of the fabric that new columns
should be supplied. After a very little scraping on
the surface of the inner roof or stone groining, and
raking out the loose joints of the stone ribs, it was
discovered that the roof was in a very dilapidated
and dangerous state throughout. Mr. Savage in re-
porting on the state of the roof of the round Church,
came to the conclusion that " the roof was not in a fit
state to remain, and that to repair it effectually would
cost as much as a new one. It was in a very bad
state, it was never constructed on any correct geo-
metrical principle, but depended for its durability
on the main strength of the pieces of timber, and
the firmness of their construction. Those timbers
were for the most part decayed and rotten in their
ends, and the connections broken. They have been
helped by strapping, scarfing, and bolting on pieces ;
but the roof is far from being in a state of durable
safety. And, in fact, it has thrust out the walls of
the tower, so that the inside of the wall, instead of
being perpendicular, measures 30 feet 6 inches in
diameter at the ceiling, and 29 feet 6 inches only
immediately above the principal arches.

" The construction of the roof was such as to throw
a great strain upon the oak-moulded arch ribs of the
ceiling, whereas with a well contrived roof they would
have had nothing to carry but their own weight, the

44 THE RESTORATION OF

arch ribs were consequently much crippled and dam-
aged, besides being quite rotten at their feet, or where
they rise from the stone springers. On removing the
wainscoting and monuments from the walls of the
Church, it appeared that there were parts of these
walls which consisted only of rubble masonry. Ac-
cording to the usage in the early history of Church
Architecture, those parts were covered with arras or
tapestry ; as no such decoration is now used, it be-
came necessary to face the whole with ashler of
Caen stone to correspond with the other parts of the
walls."

Other extensive repairs were required in the ex-
terior as well as the interior of the two Churches, the
details of which it is unnecessary to give. It is evi-
dent from those already stated, that the Societies be-
came unavoidably engaged, not merely in the works
of restoration originally contemplated, but in those of
most extensive and substantial repairs indispensably
requisite in the discharge of their obligation "to
uphold and maintain the Church" which had been
granted them. It was quite impossible that the re-
pair of the Church could be made on any other prin-
ciple than that of restoration. The adoption of that
principle necessarily occasioned the heavy expense
of replacing the Purbeck marble columns, and of
carving their capitals.

No one would have tolerated such an outrage on
the/eligious feeling, no less than on the taste of the
age, as the demolition of these beautiful pillars, with
their enriched capitals, and the substitution of some
brick and mortar pillars, because the latter were less
expensive.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH, 45

The feeling naturally was, as it might be expected,
and as it ought to be,

" Give all thou canst ; high heaven rejects the lore
Of nicely-calculated less or more :
So deem'd the men who fashioned for the sense
These graceful Pillars."

The Societies did not shrink from the duty of re-
storing this Church, because their predecessors had
by neglect, or by the manner in which former repairs
had been conducted, reduced it to such a state as
to increase the expense of the restoration, and per-
haps, render it greater than that of building another
church.

Columns of the same species of marble, of the
same form, and with their capitals enriched with the
same ornaments, as the original columns of this
Church have been replaced. Fortunately there still
remained in the decayed columns and their capitals
enough to disclose the original design, to prevent re-
course to any speculation, and to leave the architect
without an excuse if the restoration were not a faith-
ful adoption of that which had constituted one of
the beautiful characteristics of both portions of the
Church.

Upon removing the floors of the pews, remains of
theoriginal tesselated pavement were found in patches,
at the uniform level of nine inches below the lowest
part of the late pavement. The renewed pavement ha&
been brought to the lower leveL For the purpose of
selecting with the greatest accuracy the appropriate
tile paving of the Church, Mr. Savage was allowed
by Sir Francis Palgrave, to take up the wooden floor

46 THE RESTORATION OF

of the Chapter House, Westminster, in order that he
might examine the original tile paving, which being
of the same date as the Temple Church, was an ex-
ample completely in point- *' I find,'* says he, in the
report, " the paving to be in the most excellent pre-
servation, and of great variety in the patterns of the
devices, but alike in colour throughout; viz. a red
ground with orange coloured ornaments. Copies
of the proposed tiles for the Temple Church having
been examined, Mr. Minter was employed, and under-
took to supply and complete the whole. The resto-
ration of that important part of the Church would
be completed in a manner which undoubtedly agrees
with its original state, and for less than half the ex-
pense estimated to complete it in Purbeck marble."

The encaustic tiles which have been laid down have
not disappointed the expectation which was formed
of their general effect, and of their keeping with the
style and character of the Church.

In executing the work of restoration, it became ne-
cessary to ascertain what had been the original state
of the ceiling of the Church. Those acquainted with
the Ecclesiastical iHrchitecture of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries are well aware that the ceiling
was not left in plain white chalk, but highly painted
and decorated.* GervasiuiS, in his account of the
second Cathedral of Canterbury, thus describes the
painting of the original roof, ^ Caelum inferius
egregi^ depictum,'' and '* Caelum egregia picturS,
decoratum." There could have been no doubt, that
the ceiling of the Temple Church had been richly

* De la Po^sie Chretienne Par. A. F. Rio, Forme de V Art
Peinture, p. 29.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 47

decorated ; but until there was proof of that fact, the
strictness with which the Committee adhered to the
principles they had prescribed to themselves, pro-
hibited them from sanctioning the decoration of the
ceiling".

But upon washing off the coats of the numerous
coats of lime-white and common colour from the
chalk groins, several pieces of ancient decorations
were discovered. With this proof of the actual de-
coration of the ceiling, there could be no longer any
doubt, that it should be restored. Mr. Willement
was selected for this part of the restoration. The
eminent skill, the extensive experience and scientific
attainments of that artist, afforded perfect security
that its restoration would be conducted on the truest
principles, and in the most perfect taste. The follow-
ing interesting Report was addressed by him to the
Committee, in answer to their reque&t that he would
communicate his views on the nature and extent of
the proposed decoration in which he was then en-
gaged, and on the stained glass windows which he
intended to recommend to the Societies.

" It is perhaps scarcely necessary to notice here
that the earliest places of worship used by the primi-
tive Christians were, for privacy sake, the Catacombs;
of which the ceilings were generally decorated by
light foliage ornaments, afterwards named from their
original place of application, grotesque. In the very
learned work by Ciampini, * Vetera Monumenta,'
&c. many examples were given where the emblems
of the Christian Faith had been engrafted on the
previous decoration of the heathens. But on the
conversion of Constantine, such places of conceal-
ment became no longer necessary ; the most splendid

48 THE RESTORATION OF

Temples were then raised, formed of the most costly
materials, and profusely adorned with gold and
colours in the most brilliant manner on the walls and
pavements, but most particularly on the ceilings. In
the Norman Architecture, colour was much used
within the Churches, of which many examples may
be found in the early illuminations. In the early
buildings of the pointed style, the ceilings partook of
the same richness which was spread over the win-
dows, walls, and pavements. In some cases, the
vaultings were made resplendent by stars and rosettes
in gold, on a rich ground of azure, but more fre-
quently by flowing ornaments drawn with decision
in powerful colours strongly contrasted, on a ground
tinted, to represent the hue of ancient vellum, or per-
haps nearer to the rich tone of the Normandy stone
when first raised. Although in the early examples
a pleasant tint of colour was generally thrown over
the whole ground of the vaultings, it was so done
that the peculiar construction of the arch was per-
fectly obvious. The painting on the vaultings of the
Temple Church is not yet sufficiently advanced for
this part of the work, but it is mentioned here to
shew that so important a feature has not been over-
looked. The rank and importance of the building,
in some degree, regulated the quantity and richness
of the decoration, but it was so general, that there
are even at this time very many examples remaining
even in small parochial Churches (more particularly
in Norfolk and Suffolk) shewing that the same system
had been very generally adopted ; in some smaller
buildings, the decoration was very simple and exe-
cuted with less costly materials.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 49

** The colours most affected were yellow or gold,
bright blue and scarlet, which were taken mystically
to represent light, air, and heat ; to these were cau-
tiously added, a bright green, emblematic of fecun-
dity. Black, which was understood to represent
darkness or evil, was very seldom introduced.

" The Chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster, was,
perhaps, the most profusely decorated building of
that time (Edward III.) in Europe. A general mass
of ornament was applied to every part of the interior.
The walls, the vaultings, the floor, and every member
of the architecture were covered by the most elaborate
ornaments, gilt and painted in the richest tints ; and
the whole, though gorgeous, presented the most per-
fect harmony of effect.

**The puritanical spirit which prompted the de-
struction of stained glass, obliterated, or at least, de-
faced the rich decorations of walls and ceilings, and
the successive white-washings by parochial officers
have made the restoration of these interesting memo-
rials most difficult if not altogether impossible. There
are, however, still considerable remains of ancient
decorative painting in the Cathedrals of Rochester,
Peterborough, Winchester, and Canterbury; in
Tewkesbury Abbey also, and among smaller Churches,
in those of St. Mary, at Guildford, in Surrey ; Sand-
hurst, in Berkshire; Ravenstone, in Buckingham-
shire ; and Llandouror, in North Wales.

" It is to be hoped that a better and more reve-
rential taste now prevails, and that * we shall
feel more and more,' as Sir George Wheler says,
^ the most convincing reasons for decorating the
building called by the august title, of the House of

£

50 THE RESTORATION OF

God.' The same author very properly observes, * as
our ideas of splendour are relative, it is clear that we
cannot fix any precise standard for the magnificence
of religious structures ; that they should considerably
exceed all other buildings seems to be the only in-
variable rule, a rule which at different times has pro-
duced a tabernacle, or the most superb of all edifices.
It is most manifest that the primitive Christians did
endeavour to perform the public worship of God,
with as great external reverence and magnificence as
possible; joined to the internal truth, fervency of
spirit and mind.'*

** Some powerful remarks were published, under
the title of ' Ornaments of Churches considered,' 4to
Oxford, 1761, as an answer to the strong objections
made at the time to the introduction of the stained
glass window above the altar of St. Margaret's
Church, Westminster.

" Considerable remains were discovered on the ribs
and vaultings of the Temple Church, which proved
that these had been originally painted in powerful
colours, but they were not of suflficient extent, to war-
rant a restoration of any particular pattern. The
manner in which the ceiling is executed is founded
on exaniples of the same period, and which strongly
assimilate with the decorations of the illuminated
manuscripts coeval with the Church.

" The devices in the circular panels of the centre
vaulting are founded on the arms, at present used
by the two Societies of thd Temple. Those in the

* Account of the Churches of Tyre, Jerusalem, and Constan-
tinople, as described by Eu^bius, 8vo. London, 1689.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 51

side aisles are, the cross peculiar to Knights Tem-
plars, their banner and cri-de-guerre, and the very
expressive device of the cross of Christ triumphant
over the crescent of the Saracens. The latter has
been copied from an ancient seal belonging to the
Master of the Temple in the year 1320. The three
divisions which occupy the easternmost end of the
centre and of the side aisles, are strongly diflFerenced
from the others by greater richness of pattern and
colour, and by the ornaments being entirely of a
sacred character ; the I. H. S. the A- Q. — the emblems
of the Holy Evangelists, &c.

" With reference to the designs proposed for four
of the windows, I would beg to observe, that the
insertion of stained glass into that window which
occupies the centre of the east end, is not only de-
sirable as a necessary completion of the general deco-
ration, but essentially requisite here to give an
appearance of additional elongation. The designs
generally have been founded on stained glass still ex-
tant, executed at the same period as the erection of the
Temple Church, so that the whole decoration may
be consistent and harmonious. The finest windows
of this period were composed in a manner very simi-
lar to the early Mosaics ; of small pieces arranged in
regular panels, containing subjects from Holy Writ ;
the intervening spaces filled by foliage ornaments ;
and the whole, when there was sufficient space, en-
closed within a rich and elaborate border. Such a
border is particularly necessary in the centre open*
ing of the middle eastern window here, to reduce its
proportions to a more perfect accordance with the
openings of the other windows. In all the examples

52 THE RESTORATION OF

of this period, the sapphire hue, the tint of Heaven,
particularly predominates, as may be observed in the
finest windows of Canterbury Cathedral ; some of
the best examples in the Churches at Rouen ; in the
Cathedral at Ulm, in Austria ; and more particularly,
in that gorgeous collection still remaining in the
Sainte-Chapelle, at Paris.

" One of the great errors in the modem Churches
of the pointed style, is the formation of windows to
be filled with white glass, of the same expanse as
those which in the old Churches were purposely
formed for the admission of painted glass. Stained
glass was considered necessary to produce the sub-
dued light, so conducive to that religious feeling, and
that calm devotion required in a place dedicated to
the worship of God. The representations which it
contained produced, particularly on the unlearned,
the most powerful impressions of those events, judg-
ments and mercies which are recorded in the Holy
Scriptures."

Mr. Willement proceeds to give an account of the
devices introduced on the vaulting of the Church.

" The Church itself was originally dedicated to God
and our blessed Lady. The habits of the Knights
Templars were white, charged with a red Cross, of a
form peculiar to the order ; this has been introduced
in the leading panels of the side aisles. These Knights
styled themselves the * poore soldiers of Jesus Christ
and of the Temple of Solomon,' and Favine (Theatre
of Honor) tells us, from William of Tyre, that they
carried to warre their banner, which they called
Beau-Seant, which is in French term Bien-Seant ;
halfe white and halfe blacke, because they were and

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 53

shewed themselves wholly white and fayre towards
the Christians, but blacke and terrible to them that
were miscreants." This banner, with their cri-de-
guerre, has been adopted also as one of their devices
on the vaultings. A manuscript history, by Matthew
Paris, contemporary with these Knights, represents
in a sketch by the historian, this banner; but the
black part of the banner is there only one-third part
of the whole. The third device, representing the
Cross of our Salvation raised above the crescent, has
been copied from a seal of Milo de Stapleton, belong-
ing to the order of the Temple, and is affixed to a
charter, remaining at this time in the British Museum,
and dated 1320.

*' The devices on the vaultings of the centre of
the Church are, the Horse represented with Wings,
and the Holy Lamb, the emblems of the two Socie-
ties. On a strict search of the records of the
Herald's College, no entry can be found of any
grant of arms having been officially made to either
of these Societies ; and from the extracts which fol-
low, it would appear that the date of their first use,
which however is evidently not earlier than the end
of the sixteenth century, is not clearly defined.

** Stowe says, * It appeareth upon record and in
good authors, that the Knights Templers bore a
shield argent, charged with a crosse gules, and upon
the nombril thereof a Holy Lambe ; but before they
tooke this device they bare a horse (as Matthew
Paris writeth) with two men riding upon him, and
this (as he sayth) was engraved in their common
scale. But if the Fellowes and Gentlemen of the
Inner Temple have taken for the device or ensigne

54 THE RESTORATION OF

of their College a Pegasus or flying Horse, sables
or gules upon a shield or, as I hear they did in
the reign of the late Queene of immortal memory,
then are they already farely armed. And because
the utter Temple neither is, nor was, ever any Col-
ledge or Society of Students, and therefore not to
be considered here, I will leave the choice of either
of those old devices and ensignes to the Gentlemen
and Fellowes of the Middle Temple, they not having
as yet, to my knowledge, chosen or appropriated any
ensigne to their Society or Colledge.'*

** Carter, however, tells a different story, * The
Middle Temple beareth for distinction, argent on a
cross gules the Holy Lamb, or. It is to be under-
stood that before the order of Knights Templers as-
sumed to themselves the said coat armour they now
wear, that they did embrace, as to them appropriate,
this device, a Horse galloping with two men on his
back. The which ensigne was usually engraven on
their signet or common seal.' * The Society of the
Inner Temple hath lately assumed to themselves
a Pegasus, whereof in particular I spare to relate any
more ; for the same is vulgarly known to all. The
ensigne is azure a Pegasus argent.'**

" In Dugdale's * Origines' 1671, the arms of both
the Societies are given exactly as they are now used.

*' In an edition of Matthew Paris, fol. Lond. 1640,
is a rude wood-cut, representing two Knights seated
on the same Horse, and also a sketch of their banner,
which has been already referred to. These Knights

* Arinales, fol. London. 1631, page 1072.

^ Analysis of Honor and Armory, 8vo. Lond* 1655, page 147.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 55

were probably sketched from an impression of their
original seal. In the * Sceaux de la France,'* Plate
xxiii. is a copy from an impression taken by the new
process of engraving ; it is not very clearly defined ;
but the Horse and the two Knights are perfectly evi-
dent.

** The arms now used by the Society of the Mid-
dle Temple, appear clearly to have been founded on
the device of St. John, which was undoubtedly borne
by the Knights Templars, as is evident from a seal
attached to a charter still remaining in the British
Museum, and dated 1304, The Lamb bearing the
flag fills the whole seal ; the legend around it being
a * Sigillum Templi,' and on the reverse a Man's
head in profile, with the continuation of the legend
* Testis Agni; The Society of the Middle Temple
no doubt placed the Lamb on the Cross of St. George,
to designate their nation, thus distinguishing their
device from that of the ancient Knights.

" The derivation of the winged Horse now used as
arms by the Inner Temple, is not so easily traced as
the Lamb of the other Society. It very probably took
its rise from the earliest device of the Knights Tem-
plars, namely, the two Knights on the same Horse.
From an imperfect inspection of an imperfect seal,
these two Knights were by mistake converted into
two wings, which the classic taste of the reign of Eliza-
beth might induce the Society to think a very pretty
device, and the error has been, without further exa-
mination, perpetuated."

* " Tresor de Numismatiqiie et de Glyptique." Paris, fol.
1834.

56 THE RESTORATION OF

The decoration of the ceiling has been the sub-
ject of criticism. It appears that two opposite
opinions are entertained by the very few who do
not bestow their unqualified approbation on the judg-
ment and taste with which it has been executed.
The one is, that the colouring of the four first com-
partments of the ceiling of the square Church, is
not rich enough ; and the other opinion is, that it is
too rich. Mr. Willement, in making the distinction
between the two parts of the ceiling, has accurately
followed the original design of the Architect, who
has purposely made the fifth compartment, which
comprises the altar, much richer in its architectural
ornaments, than the other four compartments. A
greater richness of colouring on the other four com-
partments of the ceiling would have had the effect of
bringing it lower, and of diminishing the height of
the building. If the decoration had been less rich, it
would have failed to have exhibited as it now does
the peculiar structure and beauty of the ceiling. It
appears to the writer, that it is a singular merit in
the execution of this decoration, and for which the
artist is entitled to the greatest credit, that it is made
subservient to the display of the architectural beauty
of the ceiling, and that it seems to ask admiration,
not for itself, but for the structure on which it is be-
stowed.

Mr. Willement executed the works undertaken by
him with the happiest success. There is no commen-
dation which the writer can bestow on the stained
glass windows this artist has supplied, adequate
to that, which they largely receive from all who
personally witness their beautiful and impressive ef-

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 57

feet. The three windows at the east end of the
square Church contain the principal events of our
Saviour's life. The centre window on the south side,
which directly faces the organ, is filled with stained
glass of a richness subordinate to that of the win-
dows at the altar end of the Church. In four com-
partments, placed cruciform, are whole length figures
of angels, playing on ancient instruments of music.
The general ground of the window is filled by scroll
ornaments, delicately outlined, and relieved by slight
bands of various colours. On the jambs of this win-
dow are written the appropriate quotations of the
third and fourth verses of the 150th Psalm.

It was the practice of our " Gothic " ancestors to
make the walls of their Churches convey instruction,
or awaken reverence, by the sentences inscribed on
them.* That practice is retained in the TempleChurch.
Immediately under the string course of the square
Church is inscribed the whole of the Te Deum.

On the spaces of wall left between the vaulting
and the three arches which communicate with the
round Church, have been painted, in a style strictly
according with the date of the architecture, six en-
throned figures of those English monarchs who were
connected with the history of the Knights Templars
and with this Church. The first represents King
Henry I. in whose reign the order was first recog-
nised in England. He bears their original banner,
the Beau-Seant ; the second, Stephen, carries their
subsequent device, the red Cross, on the silver field.

* Bingham's Ecclesiastical Antiquities, 8vo ; Neil's Views of
Churches, 2d vol. ; Whittaker's Thorsby.

58 THE RESTORATION OF

Then follows Henry II. holding a representation of
the Temple Church as it was built in bis reign. Next
comes Coeur-de-lion, the only monarch of England
who was personally engaged in the crusades; he
bears loftily the representation of the Temple Church
in his left hand, and in his right his sword un-
sheathed. Between these, in a subordinate panels
is a representation of " Henricus Junior," the eldest
son of Henry II. who was crowned as King, and
died during his father's reign. These are followed
by the figure of King John, who carries also a repre-
sentation of the Church ; and the series is completed
by the figure of King Henry III. who holds a model
of the Temple Church, with its eastern addition, as
it stood in his time.

The interspaces are filled by scroll ornaments, simi.
lar in design to those on the vaultings, with the
shields of Henry I. and III. and the Cross of the
order.

On the spandrils of the centre arch are the fol-
lowing quotations from the Psalms :

** Nisi Dominus sedificavent domum, in vanum labora-
verunt qui sediiicant earn.

** Nisi Dominus custodiverit civitatem, frustra vigilat
qui custodit earn."

On the piers on either side, are painted the em-
blazoned shields of the arms which are borne at the
present time by the two Societies.

The decoration of the roof of the round Church has
been chiefly confined to a richly coloured ornament
surrounding the centre boss, the other parts being
marked out in courses by red lines and studded with

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 59

blue cinquefoils. On the outer edge, adjoining the
walls, are inscribed several verses from the 144th
Psalm in uncial letters of white on a red ground. Some
few persons have expressed a wish that the colouring
had been deeper. It may be doubted whether they
have sufficiently considered the whole style and
character of the round Church, and whether any in-
creased decoration would not have withdrawn u«
from, rather than attracted us to, the contemplation
of its singular beauties. There are persons of great
taste and skill, who strongly deprecate the least ad-
dition to the colouring.

The beautifully stained glass window in the eastern
part of the clerestory is the donation of Mr. Wille-
ment to the Societies. It represents, within the Ve-
sica, the figure of our blessed Saviour enthroned, his
right hand raised in the act of benediction, his left
sustaining the Gospels. In the angles outside of this
panel are the four emblems of the holy Evangelists.
In the extreme upper part, from clouds, is seen a
hand, the thumb and two first fingers only of which
are extended, surrounded by a cruciated nimbus. At
the bottom of the window, beneath the figure of
Christ, is inscribed this passage from the Lamenta-
tions, chap. V. 19 : —

** Tu autem Domine in eeternum permanebis, solium
tuum in generationem et generationem."

It is impossible to close this most imperfect ac-
count of the additional proofs this eminent artist has
given of his talents, without acknowledging in the
warmest terms the readiness with which he always
imparted the suggestions of his taste and experience,

60 THE RESTORATION OF

and the zealous and liberal feeling with which he
cooperated in the restoration of the Temple Church,
even if he had not given the further proof of that
feeling by his munificent donation.

In the spring of 1841, in consequence of certain
differences between Mr. Savage and the Societies,
the prosecution of the works was for some time sus-
pended — ^he ceased to be the architect, and Mr.
Sydney Smirke, and Mr. Decimus Burton, were ap-
pointed by the Societies, the architects to complete
the restoration. It is as unnecessary, as it would be
painful to enter on those differences. They did not
aflFect either the integrity of Mr. Savage, or his reputa-
tion as an architect, intimately acquainted with those
styles of architecture which it was the object of the
restoration carefully to preserve. His recommenda-
tions, which had been approved of by the Societies,
were submitted to the re-consideration of Messrs.
Smirke and Burton. They proceeded to execute
this duty with the delicate and liberal feeling to-
wards Mr. Savage, which would be evinced by gen-
tlemen of their character and station.

Considerable progress had been made in the exe-
cution of some of the details recommended by him.
It does not detract from his reputation, or that of
the architects who succeeded him, to say, that it was
scarcely possible they could err in the manner of re-
storing the Temple Church. Fidelity in replacing
that which was originally part of the edifice, and in
removing that which never was, and never could
have been a part of it, must constitute their great
merit. When the columns, and their capitals and
bases were no longer concealed, and when by the

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 61

removal of the monuments and wainscoting, and the
opening of the archways, its original character and
beauties could be seen, the church itself afforded all
the information they could require. In language
too plain to be misunderstood, and too impressive to
be disregarded, it said, ** Inspice et fac secundum
exemplar quod tibi monstratum est." It pointed out
what ought, and what ought not to be replaced.

The most earnest desire to adhere with scrupulous
fidelity to the original plan and details of this church,
was necessarily controlled by the paramount duty of
affording to the congregation, for whose use it was
granted, accommodation adequate to their numbers,
and suited to the present form of worship. It was
not consistent with that duty to have excluded all
other fixed seats but the original stone benches which
surround its walls ; and yet such an exclusion, which
would have left the entire area of the church open,
would have been a restoration not only the most
faithful, but that, which would have best preserved
the impressive beauty of the structure. It was a
subject of long and anxious consideration, that the
sittings, in their character and arrangement should
as little as possible interfere with the proportions, or
impair the effect of the building.

Of all the characteristic beauties of the early En-
glish style, none are so impressive as its columns. The
effect of their smallness and slenderness, contrasted
with the loftiness and extent of the roof they are
employed to support, is, to awaken those emotions
which have been thus beautifully and truly repre-
sented, '* I am filled with devotion .and awe : I am
lost to the actualities that surround me, and my

62 THE RESTORATION OF

whole being expands into the infinite : earth, and air,
and nature, and art, all swell up into eternity, and
the only sensible impression left is, that I am no-
thing:' "^

The effect of the colums in the oblong part of the
Temple Church, which are much smaller, and more
slend^ than those in churches of greater extent and
height, is not less impressive. They are the ob-
jects which first engage the attention of the visitor,
who turns to them again and again with increased
interest, and retires from beholding them with an
impression not easily effaced*

By the arrangements of the sittings, the columns
and their bases are left entirely open, and unincum-
bered« There is no obstruction to conceal their
graceful beauty, or impair their effect. The eye of
a person standing at the lower part can range over
the benches, and trace the columns on< either side,
from the roof down to the pavement on which they
stand, and thus all the beautiful proportions of the
whole edifice are comprehended, and its simplicity is
left unimpaired.

The introduction of a third central aisle, of ade-<
quate width, which would have divided the sittings
in the area, even if it could have been accomplished
without encumbering the bases of the columns, would
have reduced the number of sittings greatly below
that which was required for the two Societies. It
would also have had a most injurious effect on the
whole character of the building, by breaking up the
area into a confused multiplication of parts.

* Lit. Remains of S. T. Coleridge.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 63

The manner in whicli the sittings have been con-
structed and placed, has been, as might have been
anticipated, the subject of much criticism. The
articles in the Christian Remembrancer, the Spec-
tator, in Felix Summerly, Glance at the Temple
Church, in the Times, the Morning Chronicle, and
the Athenaeum, have been written in the tone and
spirit which might be expected from writers who were
influenced by the same feelings, and desired to accom-
plish the same objects, as the persons by whom the
restoration was tmdertaken. The opinions entertained
by some of the most eminent architects of the age,
evince the liberality and candour which ever distin-
guish those who really possess the talents and acquire«>
ments, and deserve the eminence assigned to them.

It may be doubted, whether the difficulty of pro-
viding accommodation : adequate and appropriate, and
at the aame time, of preventing thd:. accommodation
from obstructing the view or impairing the general
effect of the edifice, has heea felt in its full extent*
It niay be doubted too, whether allowance has been
made for the very decided superiority which is attri-
buted to a plan existing only in the mind of its
author, when it is compared with that which has
already been executed. The advantages of the for-
mer are always magnified, and its defects are not
visible, because, they would be apparent only when
it was exeouted.

In the design and construction of the tabernacle
work of the altar, Messrs. Smirke and Burton have
had to contend with, and they have overcome great
difficulties arising from the comparatively little height
firom the pavement to the base of the central eastern

64 THE RESTORATION OF

window. It has been already remarked, that the
compartment in which are the eastern windows, is
distinguished from the other compartments. The
central window is higher and wider than the others,
the columns of the mullions are taller, and the head
of the window consequently shorter, and the mullions
themselves wider. The shafts are composed of two
pieces of purbec marble equal in length, and joined
at the centre by a small brass collar or band, ri vetted
at the centre of the mullions. It was evidently de-
signed that this compartment of the ceiling should be
distinguished from the others, because it was here
the altar stood, and it was at that sacred place that
christian hands " received with trembling joy, the
signs and seals of God's heavenly promises."

In the painted decoration of the ceiling, care has
been taken to carry out the original idea of the de-
sign, by increasing the richness of the colouring in
that compartment which receives the altar, and with
the same object in view, the table with all that sur-
rounds it is made resplendent with gold and colour,
and all the means that art could suggest. The string
course on which the central eastern window rests is
not more than nine feet from the pavement. There
could be only one step from the pavement to the
altar. The altar itself could not be raised above the
surbase of the wall. Greater richness in the orna-
mental parts which surmount and surround the altar,
would therefore be required to counteract the disad-
vantage of the want of height. These ornamented
parts must be so constructed, as not to conceal the
string course or cornice, which with severe simplicity
has been preserved round the whole church. The

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 65

altar is surmounted by an arcade which extends the
whole width of the middle aisle, being the entire
space appropriated to the altar. This is enclosed by
a low perforated parapet of carved stone, elaborately
painted* In the centre of the arcade are panels of
rich tabernacle work. The Decalogue is inscribed
in the two panels to the north, and the Lord's prayer
and Creed on the two panels to the south, with illu^
minated capitals and ornaments. The central panel
is a cross fleury with the monogram L H. S. ; the
ground is light blue, stillated in gold. Although the
gablets of the tabernacle work extend above the
marble string course, the eye distinctly recognises
that same string course which has been continued
round the whole church. The other panels of the
arcade are also ornamented with rich gold coloured
foliage, and various suitable devices painted upon a
red ground, and are well calculated by the depth of
their colouring to give a peculiar brilliancy to the
central panels.

Upon the removal of the monuments from the
round, and square Churches, for the purpose of pre-
serving them from injury during the progress of
the works, it was perceived not only how much they
had impaired the original beauty and character of
the fabric, but how much they had contributed to
injure the columns. It was the decided opinion, and
the earnest recommendation of Mr. Savage, and which
was urged with equal earnestness by Messrs. Smirke
and Burton, that they should never be re-admitted
into either of the Churches. The whole effect of
the restoration would have been lost by their re-ad-
mission.

66 THE RESTORATION OF

It was under the consideration of the Societies^
whether the feelings associated with these sacred
memorials, would not be best consulted, and the
beauty of the building preserved, by the erection of
a cloister for their reception. There were many
obstacles to the adoption of this measure.

At length it was decided, on the recommendation
of Messrs, Smirke and Burton^ that the interior of the
Triforium should receive such additions as would
render it appropriate, not only for the reception, but
for the inspection of the monuments. These addi-
tions have been made, and the Triforium affords
abundant space and light for the most minute exami*
nation of them. The access to it is greatly improved,
and it can easily be made the resort of all who are
desirous of visiting it.

The figure of the bishop has been returned to the
South side near the Altar. It does not now, as
formerly, project into the aisle, but a recess has been
formed for it in the wall, where it rests on the leaden
coffin. This figure has been supposed to represent
Heraclius ; but the patriarch died at Acre, and there
is no mention of his remains having been sent to this
country. The dress too is not that of an oriental
bishop. The paint and dirt with which the figure
had been encrusted and which concealed the expres-
sion of the countenance, as well as the exquisite
manner in which the dress was executed, were most
carefully and judiciously removed by Mr. W. S.
Richardson, a very intelligent and ingenious artist.

The double Piscina or Lavacrum of purbeck
marble which was concealed by the wainscoting and

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. &9

much mutilated, has been replaced by one executed
in the same style, and of the same marble.

The two other small recesses, which were dis-
covered near the east end, one on the north, and the
other on the south side have been also restored.

The monumental effigies in the Round Church had
been greatly neglected* An incrustation of paint and
dirt had rendered it scarcely possible to discover the
lineaments and character of the countenances, or the
particulars of the costume. They had also suffered
from mutilation and decay. Mr. Richardson has with
great skill and judgment, restored them to that state in
which they would have been, if they had been pre-
served with common care/

The organ of the Temple Church, it is believed, is
in many respects superior to any other organ in Eng-*
land. It was built by the celebrated Bernard Schmidt,
a native of Germany, and who arrived in England
in the reign of Charles II. with his two nephews,
Gerard and Bernard, as his assistants. He was
called Father Smith, an appellation adopted not only
to distinguish him from his nephews, but to express
the reverence which was entertained for his great abili-
ties, which placed him as the head of his profession.
It is said he did not take sufficient time in erecting
his first organ at Whitehall, and in some degree dis«<
appointed public expectation. It taught him, how-
ever, greater care ; Dr. Bumey says, " he was assured
by Snetzler, and by the immediate descendants of

» Mr. Richardson is preparing for publication, a series of
Drawings from these figures as they now appear.

68 THE RESTORATION OF

those who had conversed with Father Smith, and
seen him work, that he was so particularly careful
in the choice of his wood, as never to use any that
had the least knot or flaw in it." Mr. Bishop the
eminent organ builder, observed to the writer, that he
was equally careful in rejecting any wood which had
sap in it. " He never," continues Dr. Bumey, ** wasted
his time in trying to mend a bad pipe, either of wood
or metal ; so that when he came to voice a pipe, if
it had any radical defect, he instantly threw it away
and made another. This in a great measure accounts
for the equality and sweetness of his stops, as well
as the soundness of his pipes to this day," *

Some few months after Smith had arrived in Eng-
land, the elder Harris brought with him from France,
his son Rene, who, upon his father's death, became
the competitor of Smith.

About the latter end of the reign of Charles H.
the Societies of the Temple determined to have an
organ as complete as possible, erected in their Church.
They received proposals from Smith and Harris. These
distinguished artists were supported by the recom-
mendation of such an equal number of powerful
friends, and celebrated organists, that they were
unable to determine among themselves which to em-
ploy. They therefore told the candidates, if each of
these could erect an organ in different parts of the
Church, they would retain that which in the greatest
number of excellencies, should be allowed to deserve
the preference. Smith and Harris agreed to this
proposal, and in about nine months each had, with the

» Burney^s History of Music, p. 436.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 69

utmost exertion of his abilities, an instrument ready
for trial. Dr. Tudway, their contemporary, and the
intimate acquaintance of both, says that Dr. Blow
and Purcell, then in their prime, performed on Father
Smith's organ, on appointed days, and displayed its
excellencies, and till the other was heard, every one
believed that this must be chosen.

Harris employed Mons. Lully, organist to Queen
Catherine, a very eminent master, to touch his organ,
which brought it into favour ; and thus they continued
vying with each other for near a twelvemonth. At
length, Harris challenged Father Smith to make cer-
tain additional reed stops, within a given time.
These were the vox humana, cremorne, the double
courtil or double bassoon, and semi stops. These
stops, which were new to English ears, gave great
delight to the crowds, who attended the trials ; and
the imitations were so exact and pleasing on both
sides, that it was diflScult to determine who had best
succeeded. At length the decision was left to Lord
Chief Justice Jefferies, who was of the Inner Temple ;
and he terminated the controversy in favour of Father
Smith.

Part of Harris's organ, after its rejection at the
Temple, was erected at St. Andrews, Holborn ; and
part in the Cathedral of Christ Church, Dublin.

The honourable Roger North, who was in London
at the time of the contention in the Temple Church,
says, in his Memoirs of Music, that the competition
between Father Smith and Harris, was carried on
with such violence by the friends of each party, that
they ^^ were Just not ruined." Old Roseingrave as-
sured Dr. Burney, that the partisans of each candi-

70 THE RESTORATION OF

date, in the fury of their zeal, proceeded to the most
mischievous and unwarrantable acts of hostility ; and
that in the night preceding the last trial of the reed
stops, the friends of Harris cut the bellows of Smith's
organ in such a manner, that when the time came for
playing upon it, no wind could be conveyed into the
wind chest.

Besides the sweetness of the several stops, and
power of the chorus, in order to render the tuning
more perfect, two of the five short keys are divided
in the middle, and communicate with two different
sets of pipes, so that o^and a flat, d sharp and £ flat,
are not synonymous sounds.

In consequence of the reputation which Father
Smith had acquired, he was employed to build an in-
strument for the Cathedral of St. Paul, which is uni-
versally acknowledged to have the sweetest tone
(except that in the Temple Church), the most noble
chorus, and a swell which produces the finest effects
of any in the kingdom.

. It is said that several more excellent stops were
made for that instrument, and that they lay many
years useless in the vestry, for so tender was Sir
Christopher Wren of his architectural proportions,
that he would never consent to let the case be suffi-
ciently capacious to receive them.

The number of organs built, and enriched with
new stops by Father Smith is prodigious, and their
fame equal to that of pictures, or single figures, of
Raphael. A single stop known to be of his work-
manship, is still invaluable. The touch and general
mechanism of modern instruments are certainly supe-
rior to those of Smith, but, for sweetness of tone, I

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 71

have never met with any pipes that have equalled
his, in any part of Europe* At Oxford he built the
organ at Christ Church, and St. Mary's, at Cambridge
that of Trinity College, and in London the organs
for the Churches of St. Margaret's Westminster, and
St. Clements Danes.*

The space allotted to the organ of the Temple
Church in its former situation, was much too con*
tracted to admit of the best as well as most usual
mode of placing the different parts of the instru-
ment*

The wind chest, movement bellows, &c. were sus-
pended to various parts of the old case. Neither had
the instrument received any of the modem improve-
ments which had been made in the construction of
organs.

Mr. Bishop, the inventor of the composition pe-
dals, was employed to add those improvements, and
generally to reconstruct the organ. He was selected
not only on account of his eminence, but because the
organ at St. Paul's had been previously under his
charge for a similar purpose, and he had admirably
executed his work ; — he therefore knew, and valued
the organs of Father Smith.

The whole of the organ of the Temple Church has
been reconstructed by him on a substantial frame,
and he has made the following additions and improve-
ments.

The great and choir organ sound boards have
been entirely reworked, and new pallated, with all
the modem improvements.

• Dr. Burney's History of Music, p. 436.

7*1 THE RESTORATION OF

The compass of the swell has been extended ta
tenor c in the bass, with four additional tones to f in
alt. The compass of the swell by Byfield, about 60
years since, was from fiddle o to d and is said to be
the first ever effectually applied to an organ. The
quarter tones have likewise been added to correspond
with the great and choir organ, the former swell
having neither a flat nor £ fiat. The whole of the
fittings up, sound board, swell box movement, with
improved action, &c. are entirely new.

The double d. sharp has been introduced to the
great and choir organ, as well as the four additional
tones, extending the compass to f. in alt.

A coupler movement has been applied to unite the
swell to the great organ at pleasure.

An octave and a half of German pedals with
quarter tones, and pedal pipes on the same scale as
those in St. Paul's Cathedral, have been also added ;
the German pedals are made to act on the great
organ, choir organ, or pedal pipes separately or con-
nectedly.

He has also added four composition pedals, which
produce the various combination of stops without the
aid of the hands, or confining the feet, A dulciana,
a stop not known when the organ was built, and
first introduced by Snetzler, in the organ he built
for Lynn Regis, has been introduced into the choir
organ.

The bellows have been remx)delled, with all the
modern improvements for steadiness of wind. The
organ generally, and the pedal pipes are supplied
independently of each other.

The pitch of the organ was more than a tone

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 73

above concert pitch. This was also formerly the case
with the organ in St. Pauls Cathedral, but it was
altered some years since, and the Temple organ has
now been lowered more than a note. The pitch in
these two organs being so sharp, is remarkable, as
the organ in Christ Church, Oxford, by the same
builder, is rather below concert pitch.

The great and choir organ wind chests have been
entirely reworked, and new pallated with all the mo-»
dern improvements.

The compass of the great organ, and choir organ,
are from f f f to f in alt, the swell is from tenor c,
to F in alt. The following is the number of pipes
attached to each row of keys. The great organ has
b'29 pipes, the choir organ 408, the swell 441 pipes,
and there are 15 pedal pipes, making in the whole
1793.

St. Paul's great organ contains 920 pipes, the
choir organ 416, the swell 342, and the pedal pipes
are 13, making in the whole 1691.

The compass of the great organ is from c c c to f
in alt. The choir from f f f to f in alt, and the swell
from tenor c to f in alt.

If no other consideration had influenced the Socie-
ties of the Temple, it would have been quite incon-
sistent with the style and character of their church
to have retained the female professional singers, whoi
before its restoration, formed part of its choir. The
restoration of the church affords a proper occasion
for reviving the chanting adopted in cathedral and
collegiate churches, and which had prevailed in the
Temple Church on its first foundation. Of the an-
tiquity of this service there can be no doubt ; Andrew

74 THE RESTORATION OF

Marveli with whom certainly it had no favour, allows
it an origin as early as the year of our Lord 350.
— It is said to have been first heard at Antiocht
where the disciples were first called Christians. — ^I
was heard at Canterbury in the seventh century, and
has ever since been continued as part of the service of
the Church of England. Our Reformers knew the
value of this ancient service; they felt that it was not
inconsistent with the purity of the Christian religion
to retain all the lawful and appropriate means by
which the feelings might be made to assist in winning
the heart to its service — some of the holiest, and
brightest lights of our church.

** Men whose life, learning, faith, and pure intent
Would have been held in high esteem with Paul ;*

have considered that the choral service afforded
those means. Amongst its warmest advocates is
pre-eminently distinguished a master of the Temple
Church, and that master, the pious and "judicious
Hooker," of whose books Pope Clement VIII. is
reported to have said, " there are in them such
seeds of eternity that shall last, until the last fire
shall consume all learning i"** He asserts it to be
" the ornament to God's service," " and an help to
our own devotion," as that " which so fitly accorded
with the Apostle's own exhortation, * speak to your-
selves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,
making melody, and singing to the Lord in your

» Milton. *'0n the new Forcers of Conscience."
^ Hooker's Life, Oxford Edition, 18^0.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 75

hearts/ that surely there is more cause to fear lest
the want thereof be a maim, than the use a blemish
to the service of God." He concludes his account of
the antiquity of this service, with the following obser-
vation, so beautifully characteristic of his Christian
humility — " Sith we are wont to suspect things only
before trial, and afterwards either to approve them
as good, or, if we find them evil, accordingly to
judge of them ; their counsel must need seem very
unreasonable, who advise mankind to suspect that
wherewith the world hath had, by their own ac-
count, twelve hundred years acquaintance and up-
wards, enough to take away suspicion and jea-
lousy."^

The early compositions of the ecclesiastical music
of England are distinguished by their sublime sim-
plicity and purity. Powerfully as they speak to the
heart yet they excite no emotions which are no| be-
coming the place and the service for which they
were written. It has been said, that Handel, during
his residence at Cannans, devoted himself to the study
of these writings, and to that study attributed his
subsequent eminence. They form a striking con-
trast to the compositions which are used in Roman
Catholic Churches.

The restoration having been sufficiently completed

^ Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, Book v. See an admirable
Essay, entitled ^' An apology for Cathedral Service/* where are
collected many interesting examples of the most pious Christians,
who have expressed their attachment to the Cathedral service^
and unhesitatingly acknowledged, how great an aid it had been
to their devotion.

76 THE RESTORATION OF

to admit of the performance of Divine Service, the
Temple Church has been re-opened. The fears which
were entertained lest the long interruption of its ser-
vice might cause the dispersion of its former con-
gregation have proved groundless. The re-opening
of the Church was almost immediately followed by
numerously signed memorials from the Barristers and
Students of both Societies, requesting the revival of
daily service.* Its congregation has been more nu-
merous than at any former period.

Before the Restoration of the Church, the afternoon
service of the Sabbath was attended by some fifteen
or twenty persons. It is now attended by a congre-
gation so numerous, that it is scarcely possible to find
adequate accommodation for them. The Utilitarian
either cannot, or will not believe that there are any
other feelings with which such a congregation attends
the phurch but those, either of curiosity, or of ad-
miration of its structure and decoration, or of the
love of church music. But there have been, and
there continue to be, men, who with the Christian
charity ** which thinketh no evil," believe that, even
if such be the feelings with which the Church is
entered, they soon give place to those of reverential
devotion.

The architectural beauty and the splendid deco-

* The Temple Church retained dafly service long after it
had been discontinued in the other churches of the metropolis.
It is part of the duty of the Reader annexed to his appointment,
that he should read daily service, except on alternate Thursdays,
and Saturday evenings.

THE TEMPLE CHURCH. 77

ration of our Cathedrals and Churches in an earlier
age, which were dictated by the purest spirit of piety
and by a consummate knowledge of the wants and
weaknesses of our fallen nature, were intended to
awaken those feelings.

To the beneficial as well as powerful influence
which may be thus exercised on our holiest affections
the judicious Hooker bears his authoritative testi-
mony ; —

" Albeit, the true worship of God be to God in
itself acceptable, who respecteth not so much in what
place, as with what affection He be served ; manifest,
notwithstanding it is, that the very majesty and holi-
ness of the place where God is worshipped, hath, in
regard of us, great virtue, force, and efficacy, for that
it serveth as a sensible help to stir up devotion, and
in that respect, no doubt, bettereth even our holiest
and best actions in this kind."*

The present age has not found us less susceptible
or less in need of this influence. May not the hope
be cherished that its " virtue^ force^ and efficacy^''
may be felt by the numerous congregations attending
the service in the Temple Church, and that there
are many on whom feelings of devotion and reverence
awakene4 within its sacred walls, will have produced
those deep and permanent impressions which will
open their hearts to receive Him who hath the words
of eternal life? If that hope be well founded, the
Societies of the Temple in humble gratitude may

» Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, Book, V.

78 THE TEMPLE CHURCH.

reflect on the restoration of their Church as an act
by which they have not only discharged the moral
and legal obligations they incurred as its Guardians,
but have been made by God s blessing the instru-
ments of promoting His service and extending the
knowledge " which maketh men wise unto salva-
tion''

THE END.

C. Whittingbam, Tooka Court.