‘In despight of the devouring flame’

The Temple Church in London
9.45am – 6.15pm, Saturday 14 June 2008 (with registration from 9.15am)
Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre, The Courtauld Institute of Art
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN

700 years ago the Order of the Temple was in turmoil, its members under arrest, and its Grand Master soon to be burned at the stake. Its main church in England, at the New Temple in London, survived the suppression of the Order in 1312, and escaped (by a whisker) the Great Fire of London in 1666, only to be ravaged by fire during the Blitz in 1941. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most important surviving medieval monuments in London, with superb late Romanesque sculpture, luminous early Gothic architecture, a magnificent series of medieval monuments, and major post-Reformation furnishings by Sir Christopher Wren and others. Although the subject of much antiquarian study in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, its significance in terms of artistic, liturgical and conservation developments has never been the subject of comprehensive scholarly study. The present conference aims to address this gap. Celebrating the 400th anniversary of the grant of the Temple’s Charter by James I, the conference is held in association with an exhibition at the Temple Church from 31 March to 15 June (for which see www.templechurch.com for details).

To book a place: £15 (£10 concessions and Courtauld staff and students). Please send a cheque made payable to ‘Courtauld Institute of Art’ to: Research Forum Events Coordinator & Administrator, Courtauld Institute of Art Research Forum, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN, clearly stating that you wish to book for the ‘Temple Church conference'. For credit card bookings call 020 7848 2785/2909. For further information, send an email to ResearchForumEvents@courtauld.ac.uk.