The City of London’s boundary Bars

The Bars mostly consisted of posts either side of the street, with a chain or bar between them. Each of the bars was manned by officials tasked with collecting tolls from those who were not City freemen or residents, and preventing undesirables, such as lepers, from entering.

Temple Bar
During the Middle Ages the jurisdiction of the City of London stretched out on the western side beyond the City walls to where Fleet Street meets the Strand, at the boundary with the City of Westminster. A barrier was erected across the road to regulate trade, first recorded at the end of the 13^th century, initially simply a chain or bar between two wooden posts. Being adjacent to The Temple, the Inns of Court where lawyers were based, it became known as Temple Bar. At some point in the 14^th century a more substantial wooden structure was erected between the buildings either side of the street, with a prison above it.

With its location on the route between Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, Temple Bar was the centre of numerous historical events and processions over the centuries, including coronations. An ancient ceremony that still takes place is whenever the monarch enters the City of London they stop there, to be greeted by the Lord Mayor.

Temple Bar was repaired and painted in 1534 for the occasion of the passage through it of Anne Boleyn on her way to her coronation at Westminster Abbey. A new pair of gates was installed in 1554 on the occasion of the arrival in London of Prince Philip of Spain for the marriage to Queen Mary. Minstrels stood atop the gate, decorated for the occasion, when Queen Elizabeth paused there in 1588 on her triumphal procession following the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

The Great Fire of 1666 spread westwards across London but was finally extinguished just as it approached Temple Bar. Nevertheless, it was decided that the old and dilapidated gate should be rebuilt and replaced with a new stone structure as part of the general improvements, to be designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The two-storey structure was built of Portland Stone by the City Mason Thomas Knight and the King’s Master Mason Joshua Marshall, with statues carved by John Bushnell. The new gate was completed in 1672. It consisted of a wide central arch for road traffic and a smaller postern on each side for pedestrians. On the west side were statues of Charles I and Charles II, with James I and his wife Anne of Denmark on the reverse side.

From the time of Charles II the heads of convicted traitors were exhibited on spikes from Temple Bar, something that had long been a tradition on London Bridge. These included in 1716 the Jacobite supporter Colonel Henry Oxburgh. The head of Jacobite plotter Christopher Layer, who was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in 1723 remained on display above Temple Bar for 30 years before being blown down during a high wind.

The gates of the City of London were each demolished in the second half of the 18^th century, but Temple Bar remained in place. Its condition gradually deteriorated, and it became an ever-greater obstruction to traffic, especially after it was necessary for it to be propped up with timbers. The City of London Corporation were reluctant to demolish such a historic monument but in 1878 they had it dismantled and put into storage. Three years later the brewer Henry Meux purchased it for his wife to form a gateway of their property at Theobalds in Hertfordshire, the former country home of King James I. It was replaced by the Temple Bar Memorial in the centre of the street, designed by the City Architect Horace Jones. It was topped by a large bronze dragon by sculptor Charles Bell Birch and statues by Sir Joseph Boehm either side of Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. Temple Bar remained at Theobalds until 2004 when it was moved to a new position between St. Paul’s Cathedral and Paternoster Square, where it remains today.

Holborn Bars
Holborn Bars stood to the west of Newgate and were established in about 1130. They stood close to Staple Inn, Furnival’s Inn and Barnard’s Inn, each of which were an Inn of Chancery, home to legal clerks and solicitors. They were associated with the Inns of Court, the offices of London’s barristers. In the 1870s the headquarters of the Prudential Building Society was built on the site of Furnival’s Inn. Barnard’s Inn is now home to Gresham College, while Staple Inn continues as the sole remaining Inn of Chancery. Holborn Bars were removed in the 18^th century and replaced by obelisks.

West Smithfield Bars
Throughout the Middle Ages West Smithfield was a mostly open rural area outside the city walls where public gatherings were held, such as sporting events, fairs, and executions. It was where in 1123 the Priory of St. Bartholomew was established. Livestock traders used the area for buying and selling cattle, sheep and pigs. At some point in the medieval period the boundary of the City of London was extended to include West Smithfield and thus bars were required where tolls could be paid. Unlike other bars that were across entrance roads into the City, West Smithfield Bars were originally located in open ground at Fragswell Brook, a tributary of the River Fleet, which marked the northern boundary of the City. From Smithfield Bars St. John Street led north towards the village of Islington. The Bars were located at roughly where St. John Street meets Charterhouse Street.

Aldersgate Bars
The boundary of the City moved beyond Aldersgate and further north along Aldersgate Street, to be adjacent to the Carthusian Priory of Charterhouse and Aldersgate Bars were located at that point.

Aldgate Bars (also known as Whitechapel Bars)
On the eastern side, the City of London expanded beyond Aldgate to incorporate the old area of Portsoken that lay between the city wall and the Manor of Stepney. Aldgate Bars – often called Whitechapel Bars – were therefore created a little to the east along Aldgate Street from the old city gate, at roughly what is now the crossroads of Aldgate High Street, Whitechapel High Street, Middlesex Street and Mansell Street.