Temple Archives
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Built from 1160 and consecrated in 1185, the Round Chuch was built to serve as the monastic headquarters of the Knights Templar in England. Half a century later, the Templars expanded Temple Church to include a rectangular Chancel; secretly, they also commissioned mages from the Druids to create a secret repository beneath the church which they referred to simply as the Library. Its purpose was to provide a place where the wisdom of the world could be archived and preserved; once built, the Knights Templar began to collect copies of every book ever written.
In 1307, following the collapse of the Knights Templar, King Edward II seized Temple Church on behalf of the Crown, and gifted it to the Knights Hospitaller with no knowledge of the Archives hidden beneath. The Church eventually became associated with the Inner Temple and Middle Temple, two important Inns of the British legal system.
The Library continued to be used in secret, known only to a select few members of the Druids and the British Government, who continued to keep the Library supplied with First Editions of all published works, and also as an archive for dangerous artefacts and for documents classified above Top Secret. A contingency plan during the Second World War called for the Royal family and the Cabinet to be evacuated to the Archives in the event of a full-scale attack on London; as a result of this, various electronics and communications devices were set up in the Archives to serve as a makeshift bunker.
During the reign of Queen Victoria, Sir John Hodsson was the member of Her Majesty's Government responsible for the Temple Archives. The current Librarian is Jensen Hawkins.
Access
The Archives are not directly accessible, due to the enchantments that protect them. To reach the door to the Library, one must enter a specific, nondescript closet in Temple Church and close the door behind them; when the door is opened again, it will lead into the Archives. This magical entrance is only accessible when the Library door is unlocked: if the door is locked from the inside, or with a key, the door will open back out into the Church as normal.
Using a properly enchanted key, it is possible to unlock any door and use it as an entrance to the Library, provided that the key being used is the appropriate type of key for that type of lock. Currently, the only people known to have keys are Jensen Hawkins the Librarian, and Admiral Nathan Godfrey from MI5.
Out of Character
The entrance / atrium to the Temple Archives is inspired by the bunker of the Men of Letters, seen in the TV series Supernatural. (video)
