Temple Bar Gate, Historic city gate near St Paul's Cathedral, England.
Temple Bar Gate is a stone city gate in the City of London that now stands at Paternoster Square beside St Paul's Cathedral. Stone statues of monarchs Anne of Denmark, James I, Charles I, and Charles II occupy carved niches on both sides of the archway.
A wooden barrier marked the boundary between London and Westminster here from 1327 until Christopher Wren designed the stone gate in 1672. The gate was later dismantled and only re-erected at its current location in 2004.
The Lord Mayor hands the pearl-decorated Sword of State to the monarch at this spot during ceremonial occasions before crossing into the city. This tradition marks the formal entry into the historic territory of the City of London.
The archway now houses the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects and is not open to the public. Visitors can view the structure from the outside at Paternoster Square, where it stands beside St Paul's Cathedral.
Iron spikes on top of the main arch displayed the heads of executed traitors throughout the 18th century. This grim practice served as a deterrent warning to anyone passing through the gateway.
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