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TEMPLE CHURCH HISTORY TIMELINE:

Phase 1 | Early 12th Century (foundation level)

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Read about the 1st Earl of Gloucester here. 

The Holy Sepulchre is identified as the place containing two of the holiest sites in Christianity: the site where Jesus crucifixion took place; and the site where his tomb lays.

 Discover more here. 

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Robert, Earl of Gloucester - illegitimate son of King Henry I - donated the site of the church to the Templars between 1120 and 1147.

The original building was round, deliberately recalling the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that stands in Jerusalem. The Temple Church was one of only 12 circular churches known in England, and is thought to have been one of the largest and earliest of the group.

Bristol’s Temple Church is so-called because the original church was built by the Knights Templar, perhaps the most famous of the medieval military orders. Founded around 1118 to protect Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land, the Templars were ‘warrior monks’, obeying religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

The Temple Fee, as this land subsequently became known as, was the eastern part of the marshland belonging to the manor of Bedminster. The Temple Fee was exempted from the control of the city and the Knights Templar appear to have established it as the headquarters for their estates in south-west England.

The trading activities of the Templars meant the Temple Fee area increasingly became a centre for wool merchants and weavers. In 1299 King Edward I granted land and a chapel to the Company of Weavers.

Learn more about the Knights Templar religious order here.

Read about King Edward I here.

Phase 2 | Early 14th Century

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Learn more about the Knights Hospitaller religious order here.

Pre-Victorian interior looking west. At that time there was a baroque organ case with trumpeting angels on top of a west gallery. There was also a large clock and Royal Arms. All this was swept away in the Victorian restoration.

Medieval chandelier recovered from the bombing debris.

Temple church ruins as it stands till this day. 

 Entitled Sanctum, Gates invited musicians and performers across Bristol to sustain a performance of sound and spoken word continuously for 24 days, 24 hours a day, within the temporary structure. 

Read more here, and here.

Bristol Old Vic after its completed works. Discover the project in more detail here. 

Although no visible traces of the original construction survive above ground, archaeological evidence has shown that around 1300 the original church was enlarged and modified - the chancel was lengthened and new chapels were built. The north side one was recognised as the Weavers Chapel, setting the first indication of the link between the Church and the merchants of Bristol.

With its dissolution, the majority of the Templars' property and monetary assets were given to a rival order, the Knights Hospitaller. The Temple Church was transferred to their hands in 1313. 

The construction of the famous Temple tower begun in the 1390s, when the lower three stages were put up. However, the work was halted when the tower began to lean.

By 1307 the Templar order had fallen into disrepute. Under pressure from King Philip IV of France, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312. 

By 1330 the Hospitallers had transferred their local headquarters to Templecombe, so the Bristol Temple declined in importance. However, as the Church's importance to the Hospitallers declined, the involvement of the Weavers Company increased.

Historical documents indicate that by 1392 there was a separate Lady chapel, apparently built onto the south side of the nave, projecting into the cemetery.

Phase 3 | Late Medieval and Post-Medieval

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The construction works of the leaning tower were optimistically resumed in 1441, when the tall top stage was added with a deliberate correction of the leaning angle.

The Knights Hospitaller order was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1540. The Temple Church was taken over by the parish and continued to work and function under such. 

The Church's Lady chapel was demolished in the 16th century.

Restorations of the church took place in 1872, 1907 and 1911.

Among the treasures rescued from the aftermath, was a unique medieval chandelier; now residing at Bristol Cathedral.

 In 1944, the benefice was united with St Mary Redcliffe and, as the building was no longer required for worship, Temple Church remained a ruin by default.

In addition to being added to the Schedule of Ancient Monuments, the church was also listed as Grade II* in 1959.

Closed to the public due to safety concerns, the Temple Church site came alive briefly in 2015 as part of Bristol's European Green Capital. Alongside AN-Architecture and MAYAK, the american artist Theaster Gates - renowned for his acts of transformation, such as the re-activation and redemption of abandoned spaces and the redeployment of disused objects and materials - offered a glimmer of possibility for the future of the church.

Haworth Tompkins are working with The Architecture Centre, English Heritage, Bristol City Council, and local business and community stakeholders to imagine a new future for the site. The practice was already responsible for the refurbishment of the Bristol Old Vic in 2018, the oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world.

At the end of the 14th Century, the Hospitallers demolished the circular nave and rebuilt a new one that was rectangular and more spacious instead. It had a 5-bay hall and side aisles. 

Finalised in 1460, the 35 meters tall Gothic tower leans 1.63 meters out of the vertical on its western face. 

Four years later, in 1544, the church was purchased from the Crown by the City of Bristol.

In the early 18th century, the Temple Fee area declined in importance as cloth production moved elsewhere, and pottery, glass and other industries moved into the area. The church refitted in this period, mainly due to the generosity of Edward Colston.

World War II started in 1939, which subsequently led to the bombing of the church in 1940 during the Bristol Blitz. The explosion and fire left the structure badly damaged. The roof was completely destroyed although the walls remained standing. 

The sombre concrete reinforcements were built to prevent the east end of the nave collapsing. To its west side, the Georgian doorway still survives, although the arcades had to be removed as they were unsafe.

In 1958 the ruins were taken into state care, and the churchyard was handed over to the city for use as a public open space.

The management of the Church passed to English Heritage in 1984, and it has since remained as one of the top 20 worst condition buildings belonging to the charity. 

Through Spring and Summer 2020, The Architecture Centre led a series of public consultations and workshops to capture visions for the Temple Church and Gardens. 

English Heritage has successfully raised investment to undertake a first phase of urgent conservation work in 2021, after which a design plan will be drawn up to turn the site, on Temple Street, into a public space.

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Inside view of the Church's new nave. 

Leaning Tower of Temple Church.

Temple Church after the WW2 bombing.

Concrete reinforcements to support the nave standing walls.

Walkway on the Temple Church Gardens. 

Discover more about English Heritage here. 

Photo of one of the workshops taking place on-site. You can learn more about the work The Architecture Centre does for the public realm, bringing people and places together, here.

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