Temple Church, London

Despite sustaining damage during wartime, the original round Temple Church, constructed by the Templars in 1185 and designed after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, remains standing. Inside, the pristine interior boasts striking Purbeck marble pillars, reclining marble effigies of medieval knights, and contorted grotesque figures contorting in the spandrels of the blind arcading, along with informative exhibitions. Located at the northwestern corner of the choir, concealed behind the ornate altar tomb of Edmund Plowden, the builder of Middle Temple Hall, a staircase ascends to a small cell measuring less than 5 feet in length, historically used for confining disobedient knights.

Notably, this church, whose crypt was once used by the Red Knights to hold secret initiation rites, makes an appearance in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code". Originating as a humble and devoted order dedicated to safeguarding pilgrims, the Templars amassed wealth through generous royal gifts. However, in the 14th century, they were stripped of their riches, accused of blasphemy and sodomy, and incarcerated in the Tower of London.