The Temple Church, founded as the chapel of the motherhouse of the English Templars around 1160, is among the most intriguing medieval churches in London. Utilising a wide range of textual, archaeological and architectural evidence, this paper provides a new account of the evolution of the ecclesiastical complex from the mid-twelfth century to the mid-thirteenth century, focusing in particular on the form and the function of a series of now largely obliterated auxiliary structures. It argues that one of the driving forces for the construction of these buildings was a competition for both patrons and prestige that existed between the two preeminent military orders of the period: the Templars and the Hospitallers.
