| Summary : The Temple station opened on 30th May 1870 (the prefix was later dropped), named after the area which until the fourteenth century was occupied by the Knight's Templars and afterwards leased to the lawyers who still have rooms there. To comply with the wishes of the Metropolitan Board of Works and the Duke of Norfolk, a local land owner, section 45 of the Metropolitan District Railway Act 1868 required that most of the station be unobtrusively below street-level; the low single-storey brick station building was set against Temple Place with steps down to the entrance. The flat roof promenade was opened to the public but closed at the instigation of the police in 1873 as it had become a haunt of prostitutes. The ticket hall was enlarged circa 1896 and the entire station rebuilt by Harry W Ford in 1914-15. To match Somerset House the structure was clad in natural and reconstructed Portland stone, with an arcaded facade of seventeen bays to Victoria Embankment. Circa 1928 a passimeter was installed and the booking office converted into a kiosk; the entrance from Victoria Embankment has since been closed for the installation of a wall-type booking office. The roof is once again available for public use. |