Middle Temple Banqueting Hall
Another outing undertaken by the London Discovery group was a guided tour of the Middle Temple Banqueting Hall, followed by a delicious 3-course lunch. The Banqueting Hall is a beautiful late Elizabethan building standing in the tranquil Middle Temple Gardens, just off the Strand.
It has a wonderful hammer-beam ceiling and the tables are set out in the Oxford and Cambridge style "Common Hall". There is a High Table, which is actually a single piece of oak, seating about 30 people, and is where the "Benchers" sit. The walls are covered in the coats of arms of the various masters of the Middle Temple, and the room is decorated by pieces of armour from the civil war period.
The hall is the place where the lawyers who are members of the Middle Temple eat at lunchtime and is also where they hold banquets (It was the setting for an episode of Masterchef). Our tour included the Prince's Room which is used for smaller functions and receptions.
The hall was badly damaged during the war, but the damage was confined to the entrance hall area, which has been beautifully restored. The wonderful stained glass windows were fortunately removed and put into storage.
Our guide was very interesting and well informed. She was also very amusing and told us many anecdotes about the building and the people who had dined there.
The food served at lunch was first class, and it felt quite like attending a banquet sitting in these wonderful surroundings, and wondering what cases were being discussed by the lawyers sitting at the adjacent rectory style tables.
Mike Brigden