Temple Bar
Paternoster Square
London
EC4M 7DX
Visitor Information
Architect: Sir Christopher Wren
Built: 1672
This 350 year-old monument was originally one of eight gates through which people and traffic had to pass to enter the City of London. Although it now stands at the south entrance to the redeveloped Paternoster Square, it originally stood outside the London boundary wall where Fleet Street meets the Strand. It is made of Portland stone – as are Monument, St Paul’s Cathedral and Old Bailey – and is the only surviving gateway to the City. The others (Aldgate, Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Cripplegate, Ludgate, Moorgate and Newgate) were all demolished before the end of the 18th century. As well as being featured in ceremonies and processions, Temple Bar was often used to display on spikes the heads and other body parts of traitors who had been executed. The last heads exhibited in this way were those of participants in the rebellion of 1745.
By the 19th century the arch became a cause of traffic congestion and was expensive to maintain. It was taken down in January 1878. The City of London ensured that each stone was numbered and put into storage until it could be re-erected somewhere else. In 1880 Sir Henry Meux, the brewer, bought Temple Bar for use as a gateway to his mansion at Theobalds Park. The mansion is now used as part of a conference centre and as such Temple Bar stood alone and unused.
The Temple Bar Trust was established in 1976 by the former Hugh Wontner, former Lord Mayor of the City of London, with the intention of returning it to the Square Mile. In 1984 the Trust became owner of Temple Bar and permission was granted for the move to Paternoster Square. Four of the original royal statues carved by John Bushnell still adorn the niches in the gate (Charles I, Charles II, James I and Anne of Denmark) along with new statues depicting the royal beasts, City supporters and associated coats of arms. Following extensive conservation work Temple Bar was officially opened in 2004 by Lord Mayor Robert Finch, who pushed open the gates, weighing just over 1.2 tons each, helped by 14 of the stone masons who worked on the project.