London England Temple Wiki

Quick Facts

---

Description

The London England Temple (formerly the London Temple) is the 12th operating temple. It is located in Newchapel, Surrey, England. The temple serves church members in south Wales, the Channel Islands, southern parts of England, northern parts of France and the Limerick District in the Republic of Ireland. It was the first LDS temple to be built in the United Kingdom. Its construction was part of a push by David O. McKay to bring the temples closer to the people.

History

Announcement

Site Dedication

On August 1953, following the groundbreaking for the Swiss temple, President McKay arrived at the London Temple site and, in front of a small group of invited attendees, dedicated the site for a temple.

Groundbreaking

Open House

Dedication

Dedicatory Order

Remodel 1992

Commencement

After thirty-two years, the temple was closed in early 1990 for remodeling and refurbishing.

Construction

An additional 8,500 square feet (790 m²) were added, as well as a fourth floor, upgrading of mechanical systems, replacement of worn furnishings, repainting of all interiors, cleaning of exterior, and more.

Open House

This time, the temple open house was preceded by posters and flyers and personal invitations being distributed throughout the area. In addition, advertisements and stories in local and national newspapers were featured on the British Broadcasting Corporation. The open house lasted 2 weeks.

Rededication

In October 1992, Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the London England Temple over 10 sessions. During the second day of the dedication President Hinckley announced a second British temple, The Preston England Temple, was to built in in Chorley, Lancashire.

Having served a mission in England as a young man in the 1930s, President Hinckley had tender feelings about missionary work and the Saints in England. When he rededicated the temple he quoted some words he had said at the original dedication in 1958:

This building cannot be reckoned alone in terms of pounds sterling; it must be reckoned in terms of struggle and sacrifice and devotion and loyalty and love and faith and testimony and conviction. What a price it has cost! But it has been worth every farthing because it now offers to the people of this and other lands the wholeness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jubilee

A statue of the angel Moroni was placed atop the temple at the conclusion of the Jubilee Celebration on 15 December 2008. Included in the Jubilee project was the restoring the Manor House and the visitors center, adding new mission offices to the temple site and renovating the accommodation center for temple patrons.^[5] Swinton, Heidi (19 December 2008). “Angel Moroni takes flight to London Temple”. Church News. Retrieved 8 October 2012.

Presidents

Details

The temple has a total of 42,775 square feet (3,974 m²), four ordinance rooms, and seven sealing rooms^[6]Avant, Gerry, ed. (2006). Deseret Morning News 2007 Church Almanac. Salt Lake City: Deseret Morning News.

It is faced with white Portland limestone with a green copper spire. Like other LDS temples, a temple recommend is required for entry.

The London England Temple was originally constructed with a single ordinance room equipped with a motion-picture presentation of the endowment, and 3 sealing rooms. After the remodel in 1192 it now has four ordinance rooms and eight sealing rooms.

Location

The London England Temple is located approximately 25 miles south of London, just a few miles east of the London Gatwick Airport. The temple sits on 32 acres of estate-like grounds with gardens and a reflecting pond in Newchapel, Surrey, England. This rectangular edifice reaches 160 feet high where the exterior is adorned with white limestone and topped by a lead-coated copper spire. Surrounding the temple are gardens, which compose two-thirds of the acreage. Oak trees, spacious lawns, an ornamental pond, and colorful rhododendrons and azaleas beautify the grounds of the temple throughout the year. The temple shares its grounds with the historic Manor House (a three-story, 40-room Elizabethan-style mansion) and a visitors’ center. The visitors’ center windows frame a white Christus statue, which looks out over the temple grounds with open arms. The Manor House has served various purposes for the Church over the years including patron housing and Missionary Training Center.

Rich history occupies the land in which the London England Temple rests. Its history can be traced back to early Christianity, as an area Celts, Romans, Saxons, and Danes once occupied, to modern history, since the estate of Sir Winston Churchill’s property adjoins the grounds of the temple. The Magna Carta was signed in 1215 in the same county of Surrey where the London England Temple is located. The site where the London England Temple stands, known as Newchapel Farm, was listed in the Domesday Book of William the Conquerer.

Exterior

Cladding

Windows

Symbolism

Inscriptions

Cornerstone

Spires and Moroni

Spires and Finial

Spires

Finial

Contractors

Manager

Also Did

Contractor

Also Did

Manager

Region

TEMPLES IN EUROPE _{by country}

Austria	1	Vienna
Belgium	1	Brussels
Denmark	1	Copenhagen
Finland	1	Helsinki
France	1	Paris
Germany	3	Frankfurt · Freiberg · Hamburg
Hungary	1	Budapest
Ireland	1	Dublin
Italy	2	Milan · Rome
Netherlands	1	The Hague
Norway	1	Oslo
Portugal	1	Lisbon
Russia	1	Russia
Spain	2	Barcelona · Madrid
Switzerland	1	Bern
Ukraine	1	Kyiv
United Kingdom	4	Birmingham · Edinburgh · London · Preston

Sources and Links