Temple tube station

Temple station sits beside the Thames on Victoria Embankment, a short walk from the City of London’s legal heart. Built in 1870 by the District Railway, it links Embankment to Blackfriars on the Circle and District lines. The name recalls the nearby Temple Church and the two Inns of Court, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. A single-storey building was insisted on by local landowners when Harry Ford designed the entrance. The rooftop has since become The Artist’s Garden, an open-air art space. The station opened as part of a new stretch of line planned alongside the Embankment’s construction. It once carried three circle services—the Inner, Outer and Middle Circles—before these were gradually withdrawn between 1900 and 1949. The Great Northern and Strand Railway briefly considered extending to Temple, but instead ended at Aldwych two hundred metres away. Sunday closures ended in 2005 when the station joined the regular service pattern. Inside, the ticket hall retains its early 20th-century look, with tiled walls and period signage. The narrow platforms feel like a quiet corner of the Tube, far from the busier stations either side. Above ground, the embankment path offers views of passing boats and the river’s stone walls. The converted roof garden displays rotating exhibitions in natural light. It is a place where history, art and daily commuting quietly meet.