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Description
Location: The Temple Church, London , UK

Tucked into a quiet courtyard inside a maze of buildings in the heart of London, The Temple Church is a unique place of worship from the 12th Century that stands as a testament to the Templars who built it.

The Temple Church is a late 12th-century church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. During the reign of King John (1199–1216) it served as the royal treasury, supported by the role of the Knights Templars as proto-international bankers. It is jointly owned by the Inner Temple and Middle Temple[2] Inns of Court, bases of the English legal profession. It is famous for being a round church, a common design feature for Knights Templar churches, and for its 13th and 14th century stone effigies. It was heavily damaged by German bombing during World War II and has since been greatly restored and rebuilt. The area around the Temple Church is known as the Temple and nearby formerly in the middle of Fleet Street stood the Temple Bar, an ornamental processional gateway. Nearby is the Temple Underground station.

In Dan Brown’s "The Da Vinci Code" Langston, Sophie, and Leah Teabing hunt through The Temple Church looking for clues to the riddle:

"In London lies a knight a Pope interred. His labour’s fruit a Holy wrath incurred. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb. It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb."

Although Dan Brown in the Da Vinci Code, suggests in his book that the circular form of the Templar churches were a salute to the Roman Pantheon and sun worshippers, the Templar churches were actually built in a circular design to remind them of King Solomon’s Temple, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a round domed building that is built at the site where Jesus was buried. The Temple Church is currently one of only five surviving round churches in England. King Henry III added the Chancel, or rectangular part of the church, and originally planned to be buried there. The King changed his mind and his will, however, and upon his death it was found that he actually wanted to be buried in Westminster Abbey. He did, however, bury his young son, Henry, in this quiet place. The Templar Knights were originally founded in 1118, less than a century before this church was built.

Even though the Templar Knights became known for their wealth and power, their beginnings were actually just the opposite. The design on their seal showing two knights on horseback reflected that in the beginning they often rode two knights to a horse, because they were too poor to afford a horse for each knight. A unique order of monks, the Templar Knights were soldier-monks who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Their main mission was to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.

Description
Location: The Temple Church, London , UK

Tucked into a quiet courtyard inside a maze of buildings in the heart of London, The Temple Church is a unique place of worship from the 12th Century that stands as a testament to the Templars who built it.

The Temple Church is a late 12th-century church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. During the reign of King John (1199–1216) it served as the royal treasury, supported by the role of the Knights Templars as proto-international bankers. It is jointly owned by the Inner Temple and Middle Temple[2] Inns of Court, bases of the English legal profession. It is famous for being a round church, a common design feature for Knights Templar churches, and for its 13th and 14th century stone effigies. It was heavily damaged by German bombing during World War II and has since been greatly restored and rebuilt. The area around the Temple Church is known as the Temple and nearby formerly in the middle of Fleet Street stood the Temple Bar, an ornamental processional gateway. Nearby is the Temple Underground station.

In Dan Brown’s "The Da Vinci Code" Langston, Sophie, and Leah Teabing hunt through The Temple Church looking for clues to the riddle:

"In London lies a knight a Pope interred. His labour’s fruit a Holy wrath incurred. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb. It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb."

Although Dan Brown in the Da Vinci Code, suggests in his book that the circular form of the Templar churches were a salute to the Roman Pantheon and sun worshippers, the Templar churches were actually built in a circular design to remind them of King Solomon’s Temple, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a round domed building that is built at the site where Jesus was buried. The Temple Church is currently one of only five surviving round churches in England. King Henry III added the Chancel, or rectangular part of the church, and originally planned to be buried there. The King changed his mind and his will, however, and upon his death it was found that he actually wanted to be buried in Westminster Abbey. He did, however, bury his young son, Henry, in this quiet place. The Templar Knights were originally founded in 1118, less than a century before this church was built.

Even though the Templar Knights became known for their wealth and power, their beginnings were actually just the opposite. The design on their seal showing two knights on horseback reflected that in the beginning they often rode two knights to a horse, because they were too poor to afford a horse for each knight. A unique order of monks, the Templar Knights were soldier-monks who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Their main mission was to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.