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Temple Church

The Temple Church was built by the Knights Templar built in 1185 and is in the centre of what is now London's legal quarter and is associated with the Inner, Middle and Outer Temple Inns of Court.
On the night of the 10th May 1941 the river Thames was at its lowest and the water pressure was weak. Air raid sirens sounded about 11pm and an early bomb landed in the Temple gardens destroying the water mains. Around midnight an incendiary bomb landed on the roof and swiftly spread across the whole of the building, causing the roof to collapse. The fire was still burning the next and the church and substantial parts of the Temple Court were destroyed. It was the worst night in the London Blitz with 1436 people killed and over 2000 injured, Many of London's historic buildings were damaged or destroyed.
17 years later the Church had been rebuilt in its former style with a stained glass window depicting eras of the church including the bombing in the Blitz.

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Source

  • Text: Sharky Ward
  • Photos: Anthony (Sharky) Ward