From the Under Treasurer

Introduction by the Under Treasurer

It seems only yesterday that I sat down to write my introduction to the Middle Templar 2025, and now we are, once again, at the time of year when contributions to the 2026 edition are being compiled. We can look back on a year which I would characterise as full, interesting, varied and, on occasion, sad.

To take ‘full’ first; we are busy, but in a wholly positive sense. We have organised a significant number of events on the site over the last twelve months. To give an example, we estimate that we have welcomed over 40,000 individuals to the Inn over the year, from small dinners for a handful of guests, through to thousands of visitors on the annual Open Day. Hardly a day goes by without the Inn being used for an event or meeting for our students, members and Benchers. Indeed, sometimes, the competing demands require a deft feat of synchronisation by our ever cheerful and willing staff (of which more at the end). Unsurprisingly, the sense of a ‘full’ year is compounded when one takes into account the activities undertaken elsewhere on the Temple site. The numbers visiting the church or attending services has risen considerably in the last year and we feel the positive impact of being a major destination for tourist, educational and other groups who come to see the Inn.

If the year has been full, it has also been interesting. As a (decidedly amateur) historian, I am permanently fascinated in the Inn, its story and treasures. It is an interest that is indulged by the excellent Barnby Bryan and his team of archivists. The year has been replete with opportunities to engage in this area as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence and our part in that momentous document. This year, I seem to have discovered a somewhat unexpected interest in visiting roofs – yes, you did read that correctly. An early January visit to the roof of 3 Temple Gardens gave me a view afforded normally only to creatures with wings, while the ten-yearly maintenance of the Hall roof showed me (and the others lucky enough to have the tour) that there is more to the hammer beams than can be seen from the ground. It is a fascinating record of patchworks, brackets and much else added over the last 450 years.

Variety is a daily facet of our lives in the Inn. Whether the educational activities and programme of Qualifying Sessions, the Treasurer’s Lecture series or the events run by the Membership Department or the breadth of activity governed by hard working volunteers and staff. Having looked at the contributions to this year’s edition of the Middle Templar, I am struck that variety is best exemplified in the scope of articles in this magazine.

And, of course, at this point in the year we are sad to reflect on those we have known in the Inn who are no longer with us. We have lost a number of valued and respected Benchers, members and staff over the last year. We have all been grateful for the opportunity to celebrate their lives and remember them in different ways, some of them in services in the Temple Church. Our lives have been richer in every way for having known them.

Along with many others, I am conscious that the Inn continues to be an exemplar in so many ways and that this is only possible due to the hard work and dedication of a number of individuals. They are too numerous to mention by name, but I close by thanking all the staff and volunteers (be they students, members or Benchers) who have made this such a full, interesting and varied year.

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