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Monument to mark the original location of Wren’s Temple Bar Gate
The western limits of #CityOfLondon were marked with a gate or ‘bar’ close to #TempleChurch of #KnightsTemplar, hence #TempleBar, since 1293 when the boundary was drawn by a chain between two wooden posts. In 1351 a stone gate was erected & refurbished over the years, surviving the 1666 #GreatFireOfLondon before it was demolished & replaced by #ChristopherWren’s Arch in 1672.
The #TempleBarMemorial stands in the middle of the road where #Strand becomes #FleetStreet & the #CityOfWestminster meets the #CityOfLondon. It was designed & built by #CityArchitect #HoraceJones in 1880 & was constructed to replace & mark the location where #ChristopherWren’s #Baroque #TempleBar arch, which now forms the entrance to #PaternosterSquare, once stood.
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#TempleBarMemorial is crowned by a #Dragon, symbol of the #CityOfLondon. Along the base are the mythical giant guardians of the City, #GogAndMagog. A bronze image on the east side shows a curtain fall on Wren’s #TempleBar while the statues of #QueenVictoria & #EdwardPrinceOfWales, celebrate the fact that in 1872, they were the last royals to pass through Wren’s gate.
When #QueenElizabethI went to #StPaulsCathedral to give thanks for defeating the #SpanishArmada in 1588 she waited at #TempleBar for the #LordMayorOfLondon to welcome her into the City. He offered her his #SwordOfState as a sign of fealty, the sword was carried at the head of the procession to show that the Monarch was under his protection; a tradition maintained ever since.
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