Welcome to the 2008 Temple Festival, a year-long festival to
commemorate an important 400th anniversary. It was in 1608 that King James I granted the land and buildings in the Temple, including the Temple Church, by Royal Charter to the two Inns of Court - the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple.
The Temple is a unique and beautiful oasis of calm in the heart of central London - located between Fleet Street and the Embankment. Walking through the 17th century gatehouse, or any of the other entrances, visitors can appreciate Dickens' words: 'Who enters here leaves noise behind'. Within the Temple's walls, buildings are steeped in history with the foundations of the Temple Church dating back to the Crusades and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night receiving its first performances in Middle Temple Hall.
Not only is the Temple the perfect setting for the training of barristers and the exercise of their profession, it is also a wonderful setting for a festival that will last throughout 2008. In this brochure you will find a wide range of events including concerts, recitals, debates and exhibitions which will bring great artists and the finest minds together to celebrate the values upheld by the Temple: excellence, scholarship, legal education, beauty and humanity. The Temple Church and its excellent choir are already well known, and the festival will of course involve them too.
We encourage you wholeheartedly to escape from the bustle of the City to enjoy some world-class events and activities and we look forward to welcoming you during the course of the year. The festival is not just for the lawyers and students who belong to the Temple, but is there to be enjoyed by all. Indeed we hope that the festival will make Londoners and visitors to London feel that the Temple is not an exclusive legal preserve, but is a jewel that can be widely shared. The Temple Festival would not be possible without the significant financial support of many individuals and organisations, and we extend our grateful thanks to them all.
