As
with Middle
Temple, the Inner Temple was part of the property
of the Knights Templar which the English legal profession
acquired in the late medieval period. The "inner"
refers to that part of the Temple contained 'inside' Temple
Bar, the Outer Temple was that part beyond Temple
Bar, and was never occupied by the lawyers.
In
the nineteenth century the Inner Temple Hall was very
extensive building fronted with Portland stone, having
been frquently burned, rebuilt, demolished and extended
since the reign of Edward III. It fronted on to the Thames,
and was a "favourite and delightful promenade of
a summer's evening." According to Shakespeare, the
Temple garden was the place where the badge of the White
and the Red Rose originated - the distinctive symbol of
the rival Houses of York and Lancaster during the fifteenth
century Wars of the Roses.
See
a
plan of the Temple area of London.