Literary London

Where the books were written, set, sold, printed and buried: from the Globe to the graves, the bookshops to the presses.

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Middle Temple Hall

The Elizabethan hall where Twelfth Night was played in February 1602, with its double hammerbeam roof intact.

ShakespeareGo inside

Photo by Cmglee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Also in Power & Politics.

Finished in 1573, the Hall has the finest Elizabethan roof in London and a screen of carved oak that has stood since the play was new. A law student, John Manningham, wrote in his diary that at Candlemas 1602 'we had a play called Twelve Night, or What You Will', which is the first record of it anywhere, and the hall it was played in is unchanged. The high table is said to have been cut from a single oak in Windsor Forest, a gift of Elizabeth I, and the serving table below it from timbers of Drake's Golden Hind. It is a working Inn of Court, so the hall is seen on the tours and open days it announces.

Where
Middle Temple Lane, EC4Y 9AT
Nearest station
Temple · 3 min walk

Tours and open days only

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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