Locksmith Temple Church: Stone Figures That Survived A Fire But Not A War

Nine life-size stone effigies of medieval knights lie on the floor of Temple Church's round nave, among the building's most recognisable features. There's a genuine twist to who they actually depict. Despite the setting, none of the named figures were Templars themselves. They were benefactors of the order instead. These were wealthy supporters, honoured with burial inside, rather than men who'd taken the Templar vows. One of them is thought to represent William Marshal, a man a contemporary archbishop reportedly described as the greatest knight who ever lived, a genuinely striking epithet to carry through eight centuries.

These effigies survived one disaster entirely intact. The Great Fire of 1666 tore through huge stretches of the City, yet left this church and its carved knights completely unscathed. The Second World War proved considerably less forgiving. On the 10th of May 1941, a bombing raid set the roof alight, and it eventually collapsed directly onto the effigies below, along with the church's original 17th-century pipe organ, itself a Christopher Wren addition that didn't survive the same night.

Restoration, Then A Starring Role

What followed was careful, painstaking repair work. As much of the original stone as could genuinely be salvaged was reused, rather than simply replacing the damaged figures outright. Decades later, Temple Church found a rather different kind of fame. Scenes from the 2006 film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code were shot here. That brought an entirely new audience to a building already marked by fire, war, and eight centuries of slow wear. We're concerned with something considerably less dramatic. A lock near Temple Church gets fixed properly, whatever century or film crew happens to have passed through recently.