Literary Locations #3: The Temple Church

Temple

London

EC4Y 7BB

Website: www.templechurch.com 

Admission charge: £4.00 (£6.00 for Friday lunchtime talks)

“London’s ancient Temple Church was constructed entirely out of Caen stone. A dramatic, circular edifice with a daunting façade, a central turret and a protruding nave off one side, the church looked more like a military stronghold than a place of worship.”

The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (Bantam Press, 2003)

The Temple Church was built by the Knight’s Templar, the order of military monks that was created to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land during the time of the Crusades. It’s original design was based around a circular church, rather than the usual cross, which was modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The round church was consecrated in 1185 with the rectangular chancel being a later addition.

The church features in Dan Brown’s best-selling popular novel The Da Vinci Code as one of the locations that its protagonists Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu visit in their search for the Holy Grail. They are led there by a coded riddle that seems to point to the grave of a knight who has been persecuted by the Pope, although upon arriving there they discover that the stone carvings of nine knights that are located in the round church are actually effigies rather than grave markers.

"Lying supine on the floor, the carved, life-sized figures rested in peaceful poses."

The church is open to the public and, provided that a service is not in progress, you are free to wander around inside upon payment of the admission fee. However, it is best to coincide your visit with one of the talks that are given on Fridays during the summertime by the current Master of the Temple, Robin Griffith-Jones. Griffith-Jones gives a lively and engaging account of the origins of the Knights Templar and their persecution in France by Philip IV as well as the history of the church, including its restoration after it was badly damaged by German air raids during the Blitz – the evidence of which is still visible on the effigies of the knights. Whilst Griffith-Jones’ talk touches upon the appearance of the church in the novel, you can consult his book The Da Vinci Code and the Secrets of the Temple - which can be purchased at the desk just inside the entrance – for a more thorough examination of fact and fiction in Brown’s work.

Rating (out of 10): 6