Friday 19 October 2012

1-3 Hare Court - middle temple lane

This row of interesting buildings of Hare court on middle temple lane I found on my way to the Temple Church. They may not be strictly 'medieval' being built in seventieth century but their scarcity and appearance I feel entitles them to a post. 

The set of three buildings are of the late seventeenth century being built around 1693. They were probably built by the lawyers of the middle temple for offices or perhaps residential quarters (I'm not sure on this). They appear to have miraculously survived the blitz in which so much of the temple area was devastated (which is evident from looking around the temple area at dates on the buildings which are mostly reconstructions).

The buildings themselves have little detail being a nondescript mass of white plastering interrupted by rows sash windows. The central building has on the upper floor weatherboarding which was a common material to use on a facade of a building of this date, the others could have originally also been faced like this. They are timber framed and the upper floors have a overhanging jetty to get the most space out of a modest building plot. They are all two star listed by English Heritage probably due to there rarity and survival in central London.  

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