When the boundaries of the City of London were more defined than they are today, Temple Bar was one of the entrances or gates through which people and traffic had to pass. It originally stood where Fleet Street now meets the Strand, which was actually outside the London boundary wall. A bar is first mentioned in 1293, at which time it was probably no more than a chain (or bar) between wooden posts. It’s possible the name derives from the fact that it was next to the Temple law courts.
Temple Bar is the only surviving gateway to the City of the original eight. The other gateways, Aldgate, Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Cripplegate, Ludgate, Moorgate and Newgate, were all demolished before the end of the 18th century.
The imposing Portland stone arch completed in 1672, reputedly designed by Sir Christopher Wren, has featured in ceremonies and processions and has many gory tales to tell. It was often used to display, using spikes, the heads and other body parts of traitors who had been executed. It must have been a chilling sight to people passing under the arch and the last heads exhibited in this way were those of participants in the rebellion of 1745.
The Temple Bar ceremony, which is still occasionally re-enacted at a monument to the Bar, harks back to the tradition of the monarch stopping to request permission to enter the City and the Lord Mayor presenting the Sword of State as a sign of loyalty.
Eventually, in the 19th century, the arch became a cause of traffic congestion and was expensive to maintain, so it was taken down in January 1878. The City of London ensured that each stone was numbered and put into storage until it could be re-erected somewhere else. In 1880 Sir Henry Meux, the brewer, bought the stones and made use of the Temple Bar as a gateway to his park and mansion at Theobalds Park, between Enfield and Cheshunt.
The Temple Bar Trust was established in 1976 - by the late Hugh Wontner GBE CVO, Lord Mayor of the City of London in 1974 - with the intention of returning Temple Bar to the City of London.
The Trustees were drawn from members of the City of London together with others involved in the preservation of the nation’s architectural heritage. In 1984 the Temple Bar Trust became owner of Temple Bar and permission was granted for the removal of the Bar from Theobalds Park to Paternoster Square, adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral, now forming a pedestrian gateway. The journey to return it to the City of London started in the summer of 2003.
In November 2004 Alderman Robert Finch, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, officially returned Temple Bar to the City of London. Accompanied by the Sheriffs and Members of the Court of Common Council, he unveiled a plaque before officially pushing open the gates of Temple Bar, weighing just over 1.2 tons each, helped by 14 of the stone masons who have worked on the project.
Originally adorned with four royal statues (Charles I, Charles II, James I and Anne of Denmark) carved by John Bushnell, these have been restored and returned to the four niches on the main elevations of Temple Bar. In addition, new statues depicting the Royal Beasts, City Supporters and associated Coats of Arms (cartouches) were carved by Tim Crawley of Fairhaven of Anglesey Abbey. These replace the original statues which were lost after Temple Bar was removed from Fleet Street in the 19th century.
With the completion of Temple Bar, a unique part of the City’s history has returned from obscurity. Whilst the monument still retains the distressed character reflecting its age and past history, English Heritage saw the project as having provided a “unique” opportunity for the conservation of an ancient monument in the heart of the City of London in as near an original condition as possible. It was possible to retain over 95% of the original stonework.