ABSTRACT
On the night of 10 May 1941, incendiary bombs hit the roofs of the Temple Church. The water mains had already been hit so it was impossible to control the ensuing fire. The roof and wooden vault of the nave collapsed in flames. The church was shored up and made waterproof and in 1947 the architect, Walter Godfrey, was appointed to superintend its reconstruction. He welcomed the opportunity to restore the church, as far as it was possible, to its original 12th-century and 13th-century appearance; for prior to the air raid of 1941 the whole church had undergone many repairs, alterations and restorations over the centuries. This chapter focuses on the evidence of engravings, watercolours, and written accounts from the 17th century onwards, to establish as precisely as possible which features at the Temple Church owe their appearance to 12th-century and 13th-century architects, and which must be considered the products of later architectural fashions and re-interpretations.
