The City Temple is widely believed to have been founded by Thomas Goodwin. The exact date of its foundation is unknown, but it is believed to have been around 1640.Albert Clare: The City Temple (London, Independent Press, 1940) P. 1 It is the oldest Nonconformist congregation in the City of London. Its first meeting-house was located in Anchor Lane. The second minister of the Church was Thomas Harrison, who succeeded Goodwin in 1650,Hammond, Dewey and Weatherhead: The City Temple: Past, Present and Future, (London, the City Temple, 1958) P. 4 at which time the Church moved to a meeting-house in Lime Street.Clare, P. 13 Harrison's ministry only lasted until 1655. A successor was not appointed until 1658, when Thomas Mallory was called to pastor the Church.Hammond, Dewey and Weatherhead, P. 52 Mallory led the Church during the difficult period that followed the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. The Church moved several times but after a number of moves it found a more permanent home in the Poultry, CheapsideWilliam Adamson: The Life of the Rev. Joseph Parker, D.D. (London, Cassell and Co., 1902) P. 87 in 1819.
