Temple Bar Monument, The - Sightseeing, Monuments, Parks & Gardens, London Monuments

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Temple Bar Monument, The

Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1AU

The original Temple Bar was a thick stone archway designed by Sir Christopher Wren, which straddled Fleet Street.

In summer, Temple Bar used to get so hot that Charles Dickens described it in Bleak House, chapter 19, thus:

"Temple Bar gets so hot, that it is, to the adjacent Strand and Fleet Street, what a heater is to an urn, and keeps them simmering all night."

Temple Bar was moved in 1878 to Sir Henry Bruce Meux's estate in Waltham Cross. For many years it has been forgotten, and a monument was built that replaced it, in 1880. This stands at the entrance to the City of London.

Appropriately, the Griffon (a mythical beast, half eagle and half lion that is said to guard treasure and is the symbol of the City of London) keeps guard from the top of the monument.

Nearest Underground (Tube) Station: Temple and Blackfriars.