The Temple Gardens, consisting of the Inner and Middle Temple Gardens, are enclosed within the Temple. Once owned by the Knights Templar, the name “Temple” comes from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Land ownership was passed down to Knights Hospitaller and then, in 1608, to the barristers (lawyers) when the Knights Templar order dissolved. The three-acre Temple Gardens was accessible from the Thames River by the Temple Stairs with a doorway opening within the old river wall of 1670.
Famous for its roses and sundials, Temple Garden was one of the many settings that took place for William Shakespeare’s 1591 play, Henry VI, Part 1, often referred to as 1 Henry VI. In the play, tensions rise in the Temple Gardens between two rivals, Plantagenet and Somerset, who declare their birthright to the crown. This scene uses white and red roses from the Gardens to show the support of the Lancaster and York contenders.
However, the Gardens were in jeopardy when the production of smoke from steam-engines and factories during the Industrial Revolution soiled all the plants, except the chrysanthemums. In response, people began complaining that the smoke was disrupting business and the air so the Smoke Nuisance Abatement (Metropolis) Act of 1853 was enforced in London. Within a decade the Gardens were slowing improving and blossoming. Still encompassing eighteenth century London, the Temple is, currently, still traffic-free and the garden spaces are well-managed.