I love to see behind closed doors. Places we aren't normally allowed to see. Middle Temple Hall is one of these places. Open last weekend for open house weekend. What we really want is a story that we wont find in the history books or on the Internet. Right? A bit of historical gossip.Aha I have a story for you.
At the end of the room you can see part of a table. It's a very long table stretching across the width of the room. At either end there are stained glass windows with family crests. The story although an unlikely one is none the less still worth repeating. At a dinner one evening Robert Louis Stevenson was sitting at the very end facing the far window. Near the top and to the very right are two separate crests with names that caught his fancy.
Those names are Jekyll and Hyde.
Competition update:
The correct answers to the photos are:
Winston Churchill, Covent Garden, The London Eye. Additional points could be earned by your witty response.
A short list has been selected by we are social:
Gunn White, Frenchies in London, Bower Bird, Gillian, Karen Billing, Ham
These will all go into a hat and one will be selected and announced on tomorrow's post.
The winner will be contacted by we are social to discuss the details with you.
Good luck!
22 comments:
Brilliant tale, & I love the look of inside.
Lovely tale - the mark of a true writer is to find inspiration in all things.
What a fascinating room - enough to feast the eyes for hours.
What a magnificent hall! Those BIG paintings!
Did YOU make up that story ....
I always enjoy your little historical tidbit posts :o)
It's like peering into a forbidden garden.
Very cool room.
Loved hearing about the rumor.
No I didn't make up the story. AND there really are two crests where I said one with the name Hyde and one with the name Jekyll. RLS did really have dinner in this hall. Did he see the windows? That is not known for certain.
Lovely Tale !! Great..
that is a great story. very interesting and i like the Apothecaries photo also.
I love all of the crests and of course the tale. Fabulous as always Mo!
Would LOVE to get in there with my camera!!!
The setting, clearly, is impressive - and the story a good one . . . but it is all the people sitting in a row which draw my attention. What are they doing? What are they thinking? Why are they there? My guess is that they are simply drawn to that long bench - that, seeing it, they feel compelled to sit on it. Some benches are like that.
I love your dining room color!! It is GORGEOUS!!!LOVE LOVE LOVE your dining room. The wall color is fabulous!
;)
Great story!
beautiful photo and interesting info
WOW! I've seen almost an identical room in the Netherlands! It would be fun to see all the coats of arms...
Thanks for the story! :)
What a cool story!
And wow at all those family crests! I can easily spend several days there just looking at all of them.
Very interesting place.
I love this picture, I imagine how it must have been to appreciate from inside.
For those new to Open House, I would strongly recommend Middle Temple Hall and its guides as an enjoyable introduction to next year's event. In addition, the Middle Temple Library round the corner houses the fascinating Molyneux Globes, one terrestrial, one celestial, dating from 1592. The Inns of Court are an interesting area to walk round any time of the year, even when the buildings are not open to the public.
How funny! I was there too! Your photos are LOADS better than mine though :o)
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