Inns of Court
Nearest Tube: Chancery Lane.
Four Inns of Court alone survive to us today, Middle Temple and Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn. Originally there were many more, including Furnival's Inn and Staple Inn, which comprised the Inns of Chancery, these remain in name only. The Inns of Court were always the more senior body, established in the later Middle Ages as accommodation for trainee lawyers during their apprenticeship. The largest and most complex of these is Temple, itself comprised of the two Inns, Middle & Inner, both of which lie to the south of the Strand, and just within the boundaries of the City of London.
The two Temple Inns form a secluded island of barristers' chambers, ancient halls and great lawns wedged between the roar of traffic from the Strand and Fleet Street to the north and the embankment to the south.
Temple is accessed from Fleet Street via 17th century gateways and shaded alleys, the best known perhaps being Devereux Court; in and around the two Inns are a maze of courtyards and passageways, gas-lit after dark. Only a few of the oldest buildings survived the devastating Blitz of the 1940's, resulting in much restoration at the end of the Second World War; the overall scene is dominated by neo-Georgian reconstruction.
Medieval students ate, attended lectures and slept in the Middle Temple Hall, across the courtyard from the chambers; the ancient hall, built in 1570, still functions as Middle Temple's main dining room. Prospective barristers must eat three dinners a term, for twelve terms, in the dining halls before qualifying. The hall provided the setting for many great Elizabethan masques and plays, in fact, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night was premiered here in 1601. Middle Temple Hall incorporates a marvellous oak hammerbeam roof, some fine wooden panelling with tracery and a beautifully decorative Elizabethan screen. It is in Middle Temple Gardens that both tradition and Shakespeare have it that the fateful quarrel occurred which led to the bloody Wars of the Roses.
Temple Church, built around 1185, is one of the oldest remaining structures in the Temple complex; now sensitively restored its facilities are shared by both Inns. Constructed by the Knights Templar, the original round church is modelled on Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It encompasses a number of Purbeck marble columns, recumbent marble statues of knights, and grotesque figures staring from shadowy niches. An oblong chancel was a 13th century addition. The Royal Courts of Justice, known familiarly as the Law Courts, are situated just across the Strand from Temple, and are home to the Court of Appeal and the High Court where the most important civil cases are tried.
Lincoln's Inn Fields is located a little to the north of the Law Courts, with access from Chancery Lane through the striking Gate House of 1518, which leads directly into Old Buildings, built between 1524-1613, and the Old Hall, 1489-92. Here is the city's largest square, tree-shaded and surrounded by barristers' chambers, laid out in the 1640's; it remains at the heart of Lincoln's Inn which itself originated on the square's east side. The first built of the Inns of Court, its wonderful setting makes it the most attractive of the four in the eyes of many visitors. This feeling is enhanced by the close proximity of the late Gothic chapel, built between 1619-23 to a design by Inigo Jones, it features some interesting fan-vaulting in the open undercroft and a magnificent stained-glass window.
The sprawling Royal College of Surgeons occupies the southern end of Lincoln's Inn Fields wherein is housed the Hunterian Museum with its specialist collection of oddities. The northern end is home to Sir John Soane's Museum. An avid collector of art and antiquities, John Soane (1753-1837) was also principal architect of the Bank of England and his house, now museum, remains much the same as when he designed it in the late 18th century.
Further north from Lincoln's Inn, across High Holborn, lies Gray's Inn, named after the de Gray family, owners of the original mansion house; a school of law already existed on the site in the 14th century. A 17th century gatehouse gives access to Gray's Inn from High Holborn. The Inn's gardens contain a catalpa tree, said to have been planted by Francis Bacon (1561-1626), then treasurer of the Inn, from cuttings brought back from America by Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618). Much of Gray's Inn had to be rebuilt after the Blitz, with the exception of Gray's Inn Hall, which still contains a wonderful 16th century Tudor screen, as well as some impressive stained-glass panels. Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors was first performed here in 1594.