Nestled between the City’s bustling financial hub and the equally chaotic west-end lies a calm escape from the perpetual urban buzz of the capital; the Inns of Court, holding the official jurisdiction to call students to the revered Bar of England of England and Wales, are steeped in an architectural and political history that sets them apart as true gems of London’s cultural tapestry. Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn all share a whiff of Oxbridge collegiate beauty which evokes that almost intoxicating atmosphere of cloisters and chapels; in fact, they were historically referred to as the third university after Oxford and Cambridge, which does indeed reveal much about their structure and membership alike.
Aside from the academic history of these four iconic legal landmarks, there are the complex religious stories that are associated with the Inns as places of worship and repose; the Middle Temple, for example, derived its name from the Knights Templar that occupied the Inn for over 150 years before its establishment as a legal training ground. Temple Church, lying modestly in between the Inner and Middle Temple, was built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters.
A walk through Middle Temple and Inner Temple with their peaceful gardens and stone crevices takes one back to somewhat of a Dickensian England, where gentlemen of scholarly virtue gracefully discuss the issues of the day in suit and cane. A truly inspirational collection of chambers and walkways, the Temple site offers a calmness that is seldom found in the heart of a sometimes-nauseating world capital. Kings Bench Walk, Brick Court, Inner Temple Gardens and the Inner Temple Hall are a definite must-see for anyone with a historical palate. A stone’s throw away from the river Thames to the south and the busy Fleet Street to the north, with the towering legal pantheon that is the Royal Courts of Justice, the area has a charming nostalgia offering a certain je ne sais quoi on par with the architectural splendour of Paris’ Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Lincoln’s Inn - the largest of the four Inns - prides itself on its stunning chapel, library and hall, each one possessing an equally ornate and aesthetically inspiring interior, infused with the distinct scent of old book bindings and churchly calm. The Inn counts numerous intellectual leaders and visionaries amongst its past membership – Sir Thomas More, H.H. Asquith, William Pitt the Younger and William Gladstone are but a few of the greats to have been part of the Inn’s political and legal history. Located to the north of Holborn and in proximity of the London School of Economics, Lincoln's Inn Fields is known as an area of rest from the surrounding stampede of London’s va-et-vient; the square pleasantly mirrors the picturesque vision of the Inn itself.
Gray’s Inn - slightly farther away from the legal area of Temple and its environs - has built up a reputation of esteemed legal scholarship dating back to the 14th century; the Inn flourished during the reign of Elizabeth 1, and one of its key members was Sir Francis Bacon. Strolling around the South Square and Gray’s Inn Square with the traditional red-bricked chambers hugging the grass, one is again transported to a time of waistcoats and tailcoats, easily imagining the Elizabethan milieu of high society that dominated the Inn and its proceedings. The Chapel, like the three other Inns of Court, possesses a structural presence of grace, nobility and decorum. The Inn is certainly a recommended visit for the Londoner who is perhaps unaware of its sheer importance as a landmark, or the foreign tourist who would glean much from a tour of the eye-pleasing grounds.
All four of London’s Inns of Court hold architectural and historical treasures that make these medium-sized landmarks globally important; a transportation into the vista of English noble history and an elegant capture of London’s legal heart, the Inns are a truly refreshing view for all to behold.