Two Temple Place

Name: Two Temple Place
Address: 2 Temple Place, London, WC2R3BD, GB
Telephone: +442078363715
Price range: $$
Rating: 4.3

Home
London
Two Temple Place

Spectacular Neo-Gothic mansion on London's Embankment. Available for private hire and hosts annual, Two Temple Place is part of The Bulldog Trust.
(157)

Two Temple Place is one of London's hidden architectural gems; an extraordinary late-Victorian mansion built for William Waldorf Astor in 1895. Our winter exhibition programme showcases publicly-owned museum and art gallery collections from outside London. Exhibitions run between January and April each year and are free! Our beautiful building is available for private hire and hosts a wide array o

f spectacular bespoke events, including dinners, drinks receptions, weddings and parties. Registered charity number 1123081.

22/11/2024

We are now taking group bookings for our 2025 exhibition ‘Lives Less Ordinary: Working-Class Britain Re-seen’.

Groups can book a guided tour led by one of our expert guides to learn about the fascinating history behind Two Temple Place, the Astor family story, and the building’s stunning ornamentation. Groups are also welcome to book self-led visits to the exhibition.

We kindly ask that any group with 6 or more members get in touch with us to make a booking.

To discuss your visit, please contact us on [email protected] or 0207 836 3715.

We particularly want to invite groups who might not otherwise visit a historic building, if you are from a London-based community group please get in touch to arrange a free visit: [email protected].

The exhibition will run from 25 January - 20 April 2025 and is FREE to enter.

19/11/2024

Many thanks to for having our wonderful volunteers (twice!) on their Anatomy of the North Wing Tour. This tour took us behind the scenes of the conservation work currently ongoing on the Grade 1 listed building. It’s a great exploration of the history, art, and architecture involved in making and restoring the James Gibbs’ Great Hall. We also got a peak at the William Hogarth paintings that are also being restored.

The Anatomy of the North Wing tours are running until 17 December, so book now to get a peak at some quality restoration work alongside the history of this truly impressive building.

17/11/2024

We're looking for independent makers, artists and craftspeople who are working-class or from a working class background to stock in our 2025 Exhibition Shop accompanying 'Lives Less Ordinary: Working-Class Britain Re-Seen'.

Find all of the information you need to know about our shop, the exhibition and Two Temple Place here and at the link in our bio.

If you're interested in working with us, please send a link to your website/social media and a list of your products to [email protected]

17/11/2024

We’re looking for independent makers, artists and craftspeople to stock in our 2025 Exhibition Shop accompanying our upcoming exhibition ‘Lives Less Ordinary: Working-Class Britain Re-Seen’

All information about our shop, the exhibition and Two Temple Place can be found here or at the link in our bio and on our website.

If you are interested, please send the link to your website/social media and a products list to [email protected]

14/11/2024

'Lives Less Ordinary: Working-Class Britain Re-Seen' will open at Two Temple Place on 25 January 2025.

Lives Less Ordinary celebrates the overlooked richness and diversity of working-class life and creative expression from the 1950s to now.

Challenging long-standing inequities and misrepresentation, this exhibition will present compelling assertions of pride, tenderness, resilience, humour and hopefulness, and moments of play, joy and rest. Looking beyond the often reductive narratives of crisis and struggle that traditionally characterise representation of working-class people and communities in British arts institutions, Lives Less Ordinary champions a gaze from within, from artists from working-class backgrounds who have used their creativity to reflect wide-ranging experiences and identities, depicting and defining their culture and communities on their own terms.

Lives Less Ordinary will bring together ceramics, film, painting, photography and sculpture from wide-ranging public collections, archives, and contemporary artists across the UK, to explore a nuanced and authentic reflection of working-class experience, within an architectural setting that both manifests and interrogates wealth and privilege.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a wide-ranging programme of cultural events for adults and children including talks, lectures, demonstrations, workshops and Wednesday Late openings until 9pm, as well as the acclaimed Two Temple Place programme for state sector primary schools.

Lives Less Ordinary is curated by Samantha Manton, with Two Temple Place and supported by an advisory group of noted advocates for those underrepresented in the arts sector, and by community groups.

Lives Less Ordinary: Working-Class Britain Re-seen will be open 25 January - 20 April 2025, at Two Temple Place, London, WC2R 3BD

12/11/2024

This Native American Heritage Month, we honour Matoaka, known to many by her nickname, Pocahontas, meaning “playful one”, as part of our

The Great Hall at Two Temple Place, Lord Astor’s ostentatious office, houses a selection of 50 gilded portrait heads by craftsman Nathaniel Hitch. The portraits feature a number of fictional and historical characters, including this very special portrait of Pocahontas.

Daughter of the Powhatan paramount chief, she lived through one of the most profound periods in her people’s history. Born around 1596, Matoaka was about 11 years old when English settlers arrived in Tsenacomoco—the land we now call Jamestown, Virginia. Her story is often clouded by colonial perspectives, but it is one of resilience, culture, and legacy. Playing a pivotal role in the dynamics between English settlers and the Powhatan people, Pocahontas was famed for saving the life of captain John Smith. She married John Rolfe and gave to birth their son Thomas Rolfe, in 1615 - the first recorded child of a Native American “princess” and an Englishman - and subsequently travelled to England a year later with her young family. Though she passed away in 1617 in Gravesend, England, her spirit endures. She lives on through the Powhatan people and descendants, who continue to carry her legacy today.

William Waldorf Astor, an avid reader, selected various figures to be included in the Great Hall. Astor’s ancestors were closely involved in the fur trade with Native American communities and Astor may very well have included her portrait as a nod to his family’s historical links when first arriving in the USA.

Today, Indigenous communities are reclaiming her story, bringing authenticity and respect to her legacy.

07/11/2024

Do you identify as working class or coming from a working-class background and love art and/or photography?

We would love you to join Two Temple Place for a creative participation project alongside our upcoming exhibition, Lives Less Ordinary!

All participants will be compensated for their time with a remuneration fee, paid travel and a delicious and healthy dinner,.

For more details follow the link in our bio to download the info sheet.

05/11/2024

We’ve seen lots of amazing fireworks displays across the skies of London recently…

From Diwali to Bonfire Night, people have been celebrating with displays full of bright glittering colours.

We’ve found our own wonderful sparkling colours around the building. They ripple, glimmer and spin just like real fireworks!

04/11/2024

Our team recently visited Hard Graft: Work, Health, and Rights at the Wellcome Collection.

The exhibition explores the impact of physical work on health and the body, making connections between “undervalued labour, the people who do it, and the spaces where it happens.” It asks the question - what work do we value and why?

The exhibition focuses on the plantation, the street, and the home, highlighting different forms of work. It brings to light labour that is often hidden, and the labourers that can be marginalized, undervalued, and unseen. It includes more than 150 objects, with artwork from across the world.

Taking in the exhibition challenges us to think about the crucial, but often undervalued and sometimes dangerous, labour that makes society as we know it function.

Hard Graft runs until 27 April 2025. Admission is free.

01/11/2024

Today is Dia de los Mu***os, a day to honor and remember friends and family who have passed on, that is celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

The Day of the Dead is a two day period of remembrance. Today, 1 November, is the time when the souls of deceased children are reunited with their families. Tomorrow, deceased adults will join.

Families make ofrendas, or altars, on top of the graves of loved ones for their souls to visit. Ofrendas are decorated with things that the deceased liked in life, as well as their favorite foods. Sometimes the names of children are written on sugar skulls. Marigolds are often used to guide deceased family members to their ofrendas, drawn by the bright colours and inviting smell.

We hope these bright flowers on our stained glass windows bring you peace and joy on this day of celebration of family, friendship, and life.

***os

31/10/2024

Happy Halloween! 🎃🦇🎃

To get into the spooky spirit, this week’s shines a light on our two bat carvings. After all the bat content this month, it’s only right!

Bats have been associated with this time of year for centuries, likely originating with the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain. This festival marked a time when the mortal world and the spiritual world were most closely aligned. Bonfires were lit during the night, attracting insects. Bats would then swoop low over the fires, eating the insects, and creating a reputation as spooky and mysterious.

Both of these bat carvings can be found in the Great Hall, one over the ornate door in the centre of the room (1), and the other on the fireplace (2 & 3). Many animals appear many times throughout the building – lions, lizards, birds, dragons, fish. But we think these are the only two bats.

The fireplace in particular is interesting for the other carved animals included. They are all individual examples of a wide range of creatures, including a snake, a snail, and a shrimp. Due to a lack of papers from when the building was constructed, we don’t know what Astor or Loughborough Pearson’s vision for the fireplace was. But we assume that these creatures that continue to suprise us are from the imagination of the brilliant the craftsman (most of whom are sadly unnamed) who completed these fireplace carvings.

30/10/2024

Thanks for everyone who visited us for Family Day! We loved having you and seeing what you created!!

25/10/2024

FREE Family Open Day!

Looking for something to do during half term? Come to Two Temple Place’s free Family Open Day on Tuesday 29 October from 10:00 - 15:00!

Young explorers will meet the Green Man and Little Red Hood, who will lead you around Two Temple Place – the house of stories. Discover the tales hidden in the walls using one of our family trails – a paper trail for colouring in and drawing games, or bring your smartphone and use our interactive trail to scan the QR codes and listen to the Green Man and his friends tell you about the building.

Our Art Cart have a range of crafts, from colouring and collage, to the tools needed to make your own masks and bats. It’s fun for the whole family!

This is a free event - no booking necessary.

Many thanks to Edwina Kung for the illustrations.

24/10/2024

Last week, our Culture & Community team and a community group visited Fitzrovia Chapel to see their latest exhibition. We thought we’d take the opportunity to talk about our shared architect and designers (and share some pictures of the gorgeous Chapel).

John Loughborough Pearson was the architect of both Fitzrovia Chapel and Two Temple Place. Work began on Fitzrovia Chapel in 1891, and on Two Temple Place in 1892. These projects were some of the last that Loughborough Pearson undertook before he passed away in 1897. Though Two Temple Place was completed in an astonishing four years, Fitzrovia Chapel took twenty five years to complete. John Loughborough Pearson’s son, Frank Loughborough Pearson, a successful and respected architect in his own right, completed the work after his father’s passing.

Frank Loughborough Pearson was also highly involved in the construction of Two Temple Place. At the very least he supervised the work, but given his father’s age it is considered likely that he also had input as a co-architect, though his name is not on the plans.

The stone and marblework at Two Temple Place is the design of Robert Davison, who worked with Pearson on numerous projects. Davison was also responsible for the inlaid floors at Truro Cathedral, and though unattributed, is thought to have designed the floors at Fitzrovia Chapel as well.

For more information about the Makers of Two Temple Place, you can head to our website (link in bio).

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Fitzrovia Chapel, thank you so much to the team for having us! They run regular open Days, and their next exhibition opens on 8 November. Check their website for more information!

21/10/2024

Today’s celebrates Reptile Awareness Day! 🦎🐍🐊🐢🐉

Reptile Awareness Day aims to spread awareness of the need to preserve the natural habitats of reptiles, and to promote their conservation. There are over 10,000 known species of reptiles around the world, from lizards to snakes to crocodiles to tortoises.

Reptiles first appeared in the fossil record 315 million years ago, evolving due to the dry, cold climates in the Carboniferous period. The first dinosaurs eventually evolved from these early reptiles, some of which were three metres long! Their long history on this planet shows their resiliance, but reptile populations are increasingly under threat due to human activity and the warming climate.

Reptiles feature in many of the wood carvings at Two Temple Place, but not all are inspired by real animals. Some appear to be in a state of metamorphasis, with heads like dogs or lions, and bodies like lizards. While we have lizards big and small, and a snake or two, there are also many carvings of dragons. These mythical creature were possibly inspired by snakes, and are found in legends from East Asia to Ancient Mesopotamia, to Africa and Europe.

If you want to see how many reptile carvings you can find, we will be open for a Free Family Day on Tuesday 29 October from 10:00 – 3:00pm!

19/10/2024

Inspired by our 2024 exhibition 'The Glass Heart,' some of our volunteers took a trip to Coventry Cathedral last weekend.

The beautiful piece behind our fantastic volunteers was designed by John Piper, and brought to life by glassmaker Patrick Reyntiens. It is 26 metres high, and is made of 198 panels of glass.

Coventry Cathedral is a beautiful place of worship that also hosts music, theatre, crafts workshops, exhibitions, and family events. If you want to plan a trip, be sure to check out their website - you're bound to find something interesting!

If you'd like to join our team of volunteers - and make friends to go on cultural outings with - please see the volunteering page on our website (link in bio)! We're currently recruiting volunteers for our next exhibition, 'Lives Less Ordinary,' open 25 January - 20 April.

12/10/2024

Planning half term already? Make sure to visit Two Temple Place on Tuesday 29 October for our FREE Family Day!

Join the Green Man and Little Red Hood as they explore Two Temple Place! Use one of our interactive family trails to explore the building and the stories hidden within its walls. We will have an interactive trail to follow on your smartphone or tablet, or a paper trail with colouring in and drawing games.

A picnic area (with limited capacity) will be open for use. Please note that a cafe will not be open on site. A buggy and pram park will also be available, as well as baby changing facilities. We are a breastfeeding friendly venue.

No booking necessary. FREE entry.

11/10/2024

The Paul Mellon Centre will be screening a new documentary, The Enduring Legacy of Ladi Kwali (2024) directed by Dr Jareh Das, curator of our 2022 exhibition ‘Body Vessel Clay: Black Women, Ceramics and Contemporary Art’.

The film recounts the pottery lineage of Ladi Dosei Kwali (1925–1984) from Kwali, FCT and Suleja, Nigeria; and Kouame Kakahá, who still lives and works in Tanou Sakassou, Ivory Coast, through newly recorded interviews with family and community members in Northern Nigeria. It is a journey into the Indigenous influence, representation and ceramics histories by Black women ceramicists framed by Western interventions. The film has been produced as part of Jareh’s extended research (supported by ) and current curatorial work on Kwali highlighted in ‘Body Vessel Clay’.

‘Body Vessel Clay’ celebrated the use of clay by Black women beginning with Ladi Kwali and examining her interaction with 1950s British Studio Pottery. Through Kwali and her female contemporaries, Body Vessel Clay reinterpreted the line of Kwali’s influence and its resonance on a younger generation of international contemporary women artists working with clay in radical new ways.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion which will consider Kwali’s legacy alongside Kouame Kakahá, and explore how these women emerged as individual stars who are celebrated as part of a tradition that was matrilineal and communal pottery. The panel will be made of Jareh Das; Spanish-Equatorial Guinean, London-based ceramic artist, researcher and writer Bisila Noha,(featured in BVC, 2022); ceramicist Isis Dove-Edwin and ceramic artist, poet and historian, Ozioma Onuzulike.

We can’t wait to attend! Head to the Paul Mellon Centre ‘What’s on’ page to book your free ticket to the screening.

Image credit: Body Vessel Clay, Photography by Amit Lennon

Address

2 Temple Place
London
WC2R3BD

Telephone

+442078363715

Website

https://twotempleplace.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Two Temple Place posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Two Temple Place:

Videos

Our next exhibition is coming soon!! Opening on the 25 January 2025, Lives Less Ordinary explores the overlooked richness and diversity of working-class life and creative expression from the 1950s to now. Challenging long-standing inequities and misrepresentation, this exhibition will offer nuanced and authentic reflections of working-class life from artists from working-class backgrounds who have used their creativity to reflect wide-ranging experiences and identities, depicting and defining their culture and communities in their own terms. Drawing work together from important public collections, archives and contemporary artists from around the UK, Lives Less Ordinary will present complexity and humour, compelling assertions of pride, hopefulness and resilience, and moments of play, joy and rest. Lives Less Ordinary: Working-Class Britain Re-seen will be open 25 January - 20 April 2025. More info coming soon! #liveslessordinary #twotempleplace #exhibitionlondon #workingclasslife

Today is World Ocean Day, a day that unites people from all around the world in the mission to protect and restore our blue planet. We wanted to take part by sharing a work from our 2024 exhibition ‘The Glass Heart: Art, Industry & Collaboration’ by Louis Thompson and Sophie Thomas, ‘Ghost Ocean’. ‘Ghost Ocean’ is a collaboration between glass artist, Louis Thompson and environmental campaigner and designer, Sophie Thomas, created specifically for ‘The Glass Heart’. It is made up of individual vessels created using ocean debris collected in 2014 from Kamilo Beach, Hawaii and in 2018 from the River Thames which was then added to with shaped and blown waste glass. Placed in the staircase at Two Temple Place, ‘Ghost Ocean’ encouraged visitors to consider their own awareness of the effects of sea pollution. As a form of protest again the damage being done to our seas through abandoned ‘ghost’ plastics, the work intends to increase knowledge of the huge problems that result from this waste, such as harming fish, animals, and coral. The intentions of ‘Ghost Ocean’ align perfectly with this year’s World Ocean Day theme, ‘Catalyzing Action for Our Oceans & Climate!’ Visit @worldoceanday to find out how you can get involved with World Ocean Day. @tmsophie @louisglass #WorldOceanDay #TwoTemplePlace #GhostOcean #Glass #LondonExhibition #TheGlassHeart

Last month we visited London Glassblowing for a fantastic series of demos with Peter Layton, Louis Thompson and Sophie Thomas as part of our event programme. Thank you so much everyone at @londonglassblowing for hosting us all!! It was a magnificent treat! Posted @withregram • @londonglassblowing A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the insightful demonstrations with Peter Layton & Louis Thompson over the past couple of weeks. It was our pleasure to team up with Two Temple Place as part of their events program for the ‘Heart of Glass’ exhibition, continuing until the 21 April. During the demos, artists Louis Thompson gave us a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at his creative process. We witnessed firsthand the intricate glassmaking techniques he uses to craft his striking ‘Ghost Ocean’ installation, featured in The Glass Heart exhibition (work made in collaboration with Sophie Thomas). For those who missed it, stay tuned for more opportunities to experience the magic of glassblowing up close! And be sure to catch the ‘The Glass Heart’ show before it concludes - an extraordinary showcase celebrating the versatility of this unique artistic medium. Sign up to our mailing list for invites to our events (link in bio) @louisglass @tmsophie @twotempleplace #twotempleplace #londonglassblowing #glassart #glassinstallation #interiordesign #enivironmentalart #ghostocean #ukartists #ukart #londongallery

WEDNESDAY LATES Join us this Wednesday 21 February, 6pm - 9pm, for an evening of live music by percussionist Russell Lambert. Russell Lambert hails from Trinidad and Tobago, with initial musical influences being Calypso and Latin American. He plays both drums and percussion in various styles including jazz, rock, blues, world music and soul R&B. Having discovered the Hand Pans (inspired by his Trinidadian steel pan roots), Russell plays rhythms and melodies in a meditative way that is simply mesmerising. Russell last performed at Two Temple Place during our 2022 exhibition ‘Body, Vessel Clay’ as seen in this video - we are very excited to have him perform in the building again! This evening is part of a series of music lates presented by Cam Hinds. Alongside the music, visit ‘The Glass Heart: Art, Industry & Collaboration’ and have a drink from our bar! This event is free, no booking required. #TwoTemplePlace #TheGlassHeart #LiveMusicLondon #FreeMusicLondon #LondonExhibition

Catalogue has been printed! The Glass Heart: Art, Industry & Collaboration opens on Saturday 27 January at 11am.! We look forward to seeing you! Thanks for the excellent design @na_creative_london #theglassheart #twotempleplace

We recently commissioned Sarah Davis, a multi-media artist, to create a wooden touch panel, to allow visitors to feel the texture of wood used throughout Two Temple Place and help us share some of the methods of making behind the building. The result is this amazing panel made in the same wood as the walls in the staircase hall, oak, inspired by the carved panels at the top of the stairs. In her practice, Davis explores the recovery and renewal of nature using historic crafts such as gilding and wood carving, creating a mix of contemporary and traditional ornament. We asked Sarah about her working process and why she chose to feature an octopus… I have always been drawn to the grotesque panels carved in oak that run along the entire landing [of Two Temple Place]. They felt like the right inspiration point as their swirling motifs lend themselves to tactility, as well as the array of subtle textures and depths spread across the surface. They are also just out of reach, allowing the audience to explore a lesser-known part of the carved interior. In relation to ornament, the word grotesque comes from the Italian grottesca, and is influenced by the re-discovery of an ancient Roman style of swirling decorative art filled with plants, cartouches, and hybrid creatures. Wanting to continue with the aquatic theme throughout Two Temple Place I chose an Octopus as my focus. Octopus sense the world through tactility, which made the subject feel even more suited for a tactile panel. Carving is a laboured process where material is removed in increments to allow form to emerge. Part of this panel is left uncarved, as the octopus emerges from the wood elements of the early stages of carving are revealed. The panel will be available during open days at Two Temple Place (including our forthcoming exhibition) for visitors to view and touch to encourage an understanding of the material and techniques used throughout the building. @sarahdavisartist #TwoTemplePlace #Sara

WE ARE OPEN! 📣 Families come and explore the building with the Green Man and his friends! Join us today until 4:30 and enjoy our family trails, Two Temple Place colouring sheets, and even make your own Green Man mask at our Art Cart to take home with you! Entry and all activities are free, no booking required. #TwoTemplePlace #FamilyOpenDay #FamilyEventsLondon #FantasticForFamilies