The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and
Instruction, by Various

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Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction
Volume 10, No. 274, Saturday, September 22, 1827

Author: Various

Release Date: February 27, 2004 [EBook #11330]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

VOL. X, NO. 274.] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1827. [PRICE 2d.

ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

No. II.

[Illustration: THE TEMPLE CHURCH.]

The Temple Church,[1] London, was erected in the twelfth century; but
among antiquarians considerable difference of opinion at various times
prevailed as to who were the original builders of these round churches,
which form the most striking and beautiful specimens of the architectural
skill of our Anglo-Norman ancestors. In England there are four examples of
round churches, almost in perfect preservation, namely, the church of St.
Mary, Temple; St. Sepulchre, Northampton; St. Mary, Cambridge; and that of
Little Maplestead, Essex. It was long thought that they were of Jewish
origin; but through the ingenious and learned essays of Mr. Essex and of
Mr. Britton, this erroneous notion has been entirely removed. Mr. Essex, in
his Essay, observes, in support of his opinion, that "their Temple at
Jerusalem was not of a circular form, neither was the Tabernacle of Moses;
nor do we find the modern Jews affect that figure in building their
synagogues. It has, however, been generally supposed that the round church
at Cambridge, that at Northampton, and some others, were built for
synagogues by the Jews while they were permitted to dwell in those places.
But as no probable reason can be assigned for this supposition, and I think
it is very certain that the Jews who were settled in Cambridge had their
synagogue, and probably dwelled together in a part of the town now called
the Jewry, so we may reasonably conclude the round churches we find in
other parts of this kingdom wer