View of Temple Bar

The Temple Bar used to mark the western limits of the City. It was first mentioned in 1293 when it was no more than a chain between wooden posts. By 1351 a gate had been built with a prison above it. Queen Elizabeth I passed through it on her way to St Paul's to give thanks for the defeat of the Armada. Since this time, on state occasions when the Sovereign wishes to enter the City, there is a brief ceremony when permission is asked of the Lord Mayor who offers his Sword of State as a demonstration of his loyalty. This is returned to him and carried before the royal procession to show that the Sovereign is in the City under the Lord Mayor's protection. The old gate survived the Great Fire but was nevertheless rebuilt in Portland stone by Wren in the early 1670s with a central arch for carriages and a foot postern at either side. The figures of King Charles I and King Charles II are on the west side and on the east the figures of King James I and his Queen, Anne of Denmark. From 1684 to 1746 Temple Bar was used to show the remains of traitors to the populace.

In 1878 it was removed because of traffic congestion and for ten years lay in pieces in a yard in Faringdon Road until Sir Henry Bruce Meux re-erected it on his estate at Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire. It has been purchased by the Temple Bar Trust who in 1982 were endeavouring to have it restored and replaced in the City as part of a new development. In 1880 a memorial designed by Horace Jones was set up opposite the Law Courts to mark the site of the Temple Bar.