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THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
THE INNEK
AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
LEGAL, LITERARY, AND HISTORIC
ASSOCIATIONS
BY
HUGH H. L. BELLOT, M.A., B.C.L
OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD
AND OF THE INNER TEMPLE, UARRISTER-AT-LAW
> >
' > i
WITH NINETY ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
METHUEN & CO.
NEW YORK
JAMES POTT & CO.
1902
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• " , » « ♦ .
• « • c • •
• » « t •
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H
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PA
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DEDICATED
TO
MY SPECIAL FOUR
430743
PREFACE
ALTHOUGH much has been written concerning
the Temple, curiously enough the subject has
never yet been exclusively treated as a whole. As
the "Bibliography" in the Appendix shows, almost
countless books are in existence dealing with different
phases in the life of the Temple. To the histories of
the Knights Templars, of the Church, of the Inns of
Court, to books and periodicals in which some
features of one or other of the two Honourable
Societies which occupy the Temple have been dealt
with, to the records of each Inn, some unfinished
and some even unpublished, must be added the
biographies of innumerable personages connected
with this historic spot.
Without any pretensions to thoroughness or com-
pleteness, an attempt has been here made to bring
within the covers of one volume, in a connected
form, the more interesting facts gathered from these
varied sources. This little book is intended to
serve a double purpose. It has been designed as
a popular account of the Temple and its inmates,
and as a guide for those who are so fortunate as to
vii
viii PREFACE
be able to visit these historic monuments of our
national life.
In a work of this description it has been impossible
to acknowledge my indebtedness to previous authori-
ties, and I can only take this opportunity of saying
that I have not hesitated to draw without reserve
upon the books referred to in the " Bibliography," as
well as upon other works containing passing allu-
sions to my subject.
For much valuable assistance in the preparation
of this "Bibliography" I hasten to express my
obligation to Mr. Walter T. Rogers, sub-librarian
to the Inner Temple.
I am fully sensible that the "illustrations" form
the principal attraction to this volume. It is entirely
owing to the kindness of several friends that I have
been able to reproduce so many features in the past
life of the Temple. To Sir Harry Poland, K.C., late
Treasurer, and to the Masters of the Bench of the
Inner Temple my thanks are especially due for per-
mission to reproduce for the first time two paintings
by Hogarth and a water colour of the old Hall.
With unselfish generosity, my learned friend Mr.
Charles A. Pope placed the whole of his valuable
collection of engravings and prints of the Temple at
my disposal, from which fifteen are here reproduced.
To Mr. George H. Birch, f.s.a., I am indebted for
the charming drawing of " Fountain Court."
The sketches of the buildings as they stand to-day
are from the pencil of Miss Wylie, and I venture to
PREFACE ix
think that their simpHcity and truthfulness will
appeal strongly to all lovers of the Temple. The
great majority are taken from my own photo-
graphs, but the following are drawn from photo-
graphs by Mr. Horatio Nelson King, viz. the
Exterior of the Church, the Cloisters, the Master's
House, and the Gateway to Temple Gardens.
The following illustrations have been reproduced
from photographs by the same artist, viz. the Inner
Temple Hall, East End ; the Inner Temple Hall and
Library ; the Statues of the Knights Templars and
Knights Hospitallers ; the Middle Temple Hall,
West End, and the Corridor to the Parliament
Chambers in the Middle Temple. The illustration
of *' The King's Bench Walk" is from a photograph
by "The Photographic Tourists' Association."
Finally, I here express my thanks to Mr. J. E. L.
Pickering, Librarian to the Inner Temple, for some
valuable advice and information.
H. H. L. B.
9, King's Bench Walk
TlCMI'I.K
July, 1902
A 2
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE
Associations, legal, literary, and historic — A legal university — The
Knights Templars — The Knights Hospitallers — The lawyers —
The Temple crests — The conflict of the Common Law with the
Civil Law and the Canon Law — The constitution of an Inn of
Court ...... Page i
CHAPTER n
15UILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMl'LE AND SOME OF THEIR INMATES
The Hall— The Lilirary and Parliament Chanil)ers— Cloister Court
— Tanfield Court —Okl l)uildingsin the outer garden — Mitre Court
Buildings — King's Bench Walk — Paper Puildings— Crown Office
Row — Ilarcourt Puildings— Fig Tree Court — Hare Court — The
Court of Wards and Liveries — Dick's Coffee House — Inner
Temple Lane — Churchyard Court— ^Parson's Court — The Inner
Temple gateway — The Inner Tenij)le plate . . . 40
CHAPTER III
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE INNER TEMl'LE
The records — Wat Tyler — Chaucer — The J 'as/on /.^//tv-s — Shake-
speare — The Inns of Court and the tournament at Smithfield —
Sir Thomas Lyttelton — Henry VII. and the lawyers — Henry
VIII. and the Westminster tournament — Serjeants' feast at Ely
Place — The great plague — Cardinal Wolsey — Thomas Audley —
John Beaumont — Increase of meml)ers under lOdward VI. — The
Reformation and the martyrs — Exclusion of attorneys — Renewed
prosperity under Elizabeth — The rising in the North — Assassina-
tion plots — Trial of Mary Queen of Scots — Some distinguished
members — The Gunpowder Plot — The barriers — John Hawarile
— Sir Thomas Coventry — Sir Roliert Heath — Sir Edward
Lyttelton — Hampden — The great Civil War — John Crokc —
Unton Croke — Penruddock — Robert Pye — Lord Fielding —
Mark Trevor — Thomas Wentworth — Robert Phelips — William
Browne — Robert Devereux and Lady F'rances — Sir Richard
Onslow— The Commonwealth — The regiciiies — Heneage Finch
— John Keelyng — William Wycherley . . . , I18
xi
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV
HlSrORICAL SKETCH OF THE INNER TEMPLE [conlinued)
The great fire— Sir Christopher Wren— Rye House Plot— Francis
Pemberton— Trial of seven bishops— William Williams— Robert
Sawyer — Bartholomew Shower — Pollexfen — Levinz — Trehy —
Somers— The King's Brewer and the tobacco pijje— Sir John
Trevor— Portraits in the Hall— Pegasus— Simon Harcourt— Sir
Thomas Trevor— Earl of Macclesfield— Masters in Chancery and
South Sea Bubble— Peter King— Robert Henley— Charles Pratt
—English for Latin— Charles Talbot and the revels— P^ire of
1737— Wedderl)urn, Franklin, and Timius— Charles Abbott-
Henry Hallam— Arthur Hallam- Tennyson— John Austin-
Baron Parke— The chops of the Channel— Thomas Wilde— A. H.
Thesiger— A. L. Smith— The Masters of the Bench . Page 143
CHAPTER V
THE ORDER OF THE COIF
Origin and rise— Robes— The coif and the white lawn of the
Templars— St. Thomas of Acre— His chapel in Cheapside—
Pillars at St. Paul's— Scroope's Inn— Serjeants' rings— Ser-
jeants' feasts— Decay of the Order— Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street
—Held of the Dean and Chapter of York— Serjeant Rudhale
and his "silvour spone "— The great fire— The garden— Ser-
jeants' Inn, Chancery Lane— Freeholder the Bishop of Ely-
Rebuilt by Lord Keeper Guilford . . . . 166
CHAPTER VI
THE REVELS
At the Inner Temple— Oxford and Cambridge revels— Christmas
revels of 1561 and the Earl of Leicester— Gerald Legh— Christmas
revels described by Dugdale and Hone— At the Middle Temple—
Bulstrode Whitelucke— Christmas revels described by Warton . 174
CHAPTER VII
THE MASQUE
The Masque— St. Valentine's Day, 16 1 2— Francis Beaumont— Ely
House to Whitehall— 77^^ Inner Temple Masque, by Browne
— The Masque of /r«wj— Masque of 1633 — Described by
Bulstrode Whitelocke— Charles and Henrietta . . . 184
CHAPTER VIII
STAGE PLAYS
Tragedie of Gorboduc and Thomas Sackville— Norton— Christopher
Hatton— Ely House— Dr. Heton and Elizabeth— William Under-
bill and Shakespeare— "Anticks or puppits "—Plays of the
Restoration— Beaumont and Fletcher— Ben Jonson— Shirley—
Etheridge — Dryden — Howard — Ravenscro'ft — Wycherley —
Durfey— Otway— Lord Chancellor Talbot and the revels of 1733
— Love J or Love and The Devil to /'aj— Entertaiiunents of to-day 192
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER IX
RIGHT OF SANCTUARY
Immemorial custom — The Reformation — Disorderly asylums —
Church and churchyard — Ram Alley, Mitre Court, and King's
Bench Walk — Fuller's Rents — Alsatia — Shadwell's Squire of
Alsatia — Scott's Fo7-tunes of Nigel — Riot over the Tudor Street
gate ...... Page 201
CHAPTER X
THE TEMPLE CHURCH
Harmony between the two societies in their care for the church —
The Round — Dedication — Consecration — Knights Templars and
secret societies — Masonic symbols — The monumental effigies —
Font— Chapel of St. Anne— Initiation of novices — The porch —
The choir — Dedication — Monuments — Muniment chest — Stained
glass — Frescoes — The penitential cell — The triforium — The
Master — John Bartylby, 1378 — Master's territory — Master
Ermsted — Dr. Hooker — Restoration of church — Compulsory
attendance of members — Dr. Masters — Dr. Micklethwaite —
His claims — Hudibras and the Round — John Playford's petition
— Sawyer's bell — Restoration of 16S2 — Father Smith and Harris
— Ancient inscription — Thomas Sherlock — Dr. Thurlow — The
pyx — Berengar's seal — Restoration in 1840 — The communion
plate— The Master's house . . ... 206
CHAPTER XI
THE INNS OF CHANCERY
Origin — Relation to Inns of Court — Decay — Inns affiliated to the
Inner Temple — Clifford's, Clement's, and Lyon's Inns — Inns
affiliated to the Middle Temple — Strand Inn — New Inn— Inns
affiliated to Lincoln's Inn — Thavie's Inn — Furnival's Inn-
Inns affiliated to Gray's Inn — Staple Inn — Barnard's Inn . . 232
CHAPTER XII
THE TEMl'LE GARDENS
The Inner Temple garden — Gardener's house — The great garden-
Gardener's house in Middle Temple Lane — The black boy — Sir
Roger de Coverley and The Spectator — Arthur Pendennis and
Fanny Bolton — Meditation in the gardens — John Hutchinson . 247
CHAPTER XIII
THE TEMPLE STAIRS
The Temple Bridge and the Knights Templars — Edward HI. and
the Mayor — Dame Eleanor Cobham — Queen Elizabeth — The
new bridge of 1620 — The great frost, 1683 — Frost Fair and
Charles II. — Sir Roger de Coverley — The Embankment and
new pier . . . . ... 253
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIV
THE devil's own
Martial judges — Edward II. 's camp in the gardens — Wars of the
Roses — Spanish Armada — Charles I. and the Inns of Court —
Attempted arrest of the Five Members — The great Civil War —
Lyttelton — Heath — Cromwell — Battle of La Hogue — In '45 —
French Revolution — Review in Hyde Park — Embodiment of
the "Devil's Own" — Prominent members — South African War
— Banquets in the Halls — Kenyon- Parker — Havelock — Herbert
Stewart — Evelyn Wood . . . . Page 257
CHAPTER XV
TEMPLE BAR
The bars — The old wooden gate — Temple Bar — Queen Victoria —
Mary — Elizabeth — Charles I. — Cromwell — Charles II. — Anne —
Evelyn — Pope in effigy — Titus Gates — De Foe — Heads of rebels
and Dr. Johnson — Removal to Meux Park . . . 264
CHAPTER XVI
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE AND SOME
OF THEIR INMATES
Rivalry with the Inner Temple — The gate-house — Cardinal Wolsey
and Pawlet — Shirley — The old post - house — Child's Place —
Dickens and Telson's — The Devil's Tavern — Ben Jonson —
Steele, Bickerstaff, and Swift — Royal Society — Dr. Johnson —
Wynkyn de Worde — Fountain Court — John Westlock and Ruth
Pinch — Brick Court — Spenser — Goldsmith — Blackstone — The
Hall — Plowden — The screen — The armour — Drake's table —
The wainscot — The louvre — Heraldic glass — The paintings —
The oak coffer — The old colours — Brass lantern — Old shops —
Parliament Chambers — Old oak door — Portraits — The corridor
—Armour — Engravings and paintings — Greek sepulchral monu-
ment — John Manningham and Twelfth Night — Charles Knight
— Elizabeth and her Court — Raleigh's trial — The library — The
old library — Robert Ashley's bequest — The garden — ^John
Herbert — John Hutchinson — Garden Court — Temple Gardens —
The Outer Temple— Middle Temple Lane — Barbon's Buildings —
Elm Court — The Brothers North — Luther Buildings — Plowden's
Buildings — Vine Court — Pump Court — Fielding, Russell, Black-
stone, and Lord Alverstone — Sundial — Essex Court — Evelyn —
New Court — The Cloisters — Finch — Goldsmith Building —
Lamb Building — Sir William Jones — Thomas Day — Benjamin —
Pendennis and Warrington — Thackeray and Venables . . 268
CONTENTS XV
CHAPTER XVII
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE
Plowden — Popham — Rising of Essex — John Ford — Edward
Montague— Richard Rich— Serjeants' feast — John Davies and
Richard Martin — Robert Broke — Serjeant Fleetwood — Francis
Moore- -Dyer — Francis Drake — Blomer and the Star Chamber —
Sumptuary Statutes — Edward Phelips — Henry Montague —
Masque of 1613 — Serjeants' feast — Bagshawe — Bramston —
Berkeley— James Whitelocke— The plague— Nicholas Hyde-
Talbot and Richard Pepys — Legal jargon — Bulstrode White-
locke— Born in Fleet Street— Oxford Sessions— Lilburne, Jermyn,
and Prideaux — Evelyn and Strafford — Execution of regicides—
Ashmole— John Tradescant— Ashmolean Museum— Charlton's
collection— Hans Sloane— British Museum— Quarrel with the
City — Fire of 1678 — Sir William Turner and the fire engine —
Chancellor Finch and the cloisters— William Whitelocke and the
fountain— Chaloner Chute — Edward Hyde — Robert Hyde-
George Bradbury and Jeffreys— William Montague— Francis
North — Roger North — Lechmere — Somers — Lord Mohun and
Mrs. Bracegirdle — Shower — Vernon — Richard Wallop — John
Maynard— The dramatists Southorne, Rowe, Shadwell, and
Congreve — Resolution against entertainments in Hall — Bram-
ston's feast— Peckham's feast— Opening of Law Courts— Ashley
Cooper — Twisden's accident — Judges' commission — William III.
and Beau Nash— Cowper— Joseph Jekyll— Lovat's trial— Philip
Yorke— Dudley Ryder— Murray— John Strange— His epitaph .
Fa£-e :i 10
CHAPTER XVIII
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE [continued)
Hewitt — Thomas Clarke — Arthur Onslow — Fletcher Norton —
William de Grey — Christian VII., King of Denmark, and
Princess Caroline — Pepper Arden — John Hedges' will — Kenyon
— Dunning — James Mansfield — Gifford — Best — John Scott —
William Scott and the Dowager Lady Sligo— Fielding— Sheridan
— De Quincey — Welsh judges abolished — Mrs. Norton and Lord
Melbourne — Trial in Westminster Hall — Diana of the Cross-
ways — Serjeant Talfourd — Mackworth Praed — Havelock —
Serjeant Pulling— Baron Pollock— Jervis— Erie— E. A. Glover—
Bovill — Cockburn — Alabama award — Tichborne case — Banquet
to Berryer and Cockburn's speech — Bethel — Middle Templars
and the Tichborne case — Coleridge — Karslake — Bowen —
Hawkins — Serjeant Parry — Russell of Killowen — Lord Alver-
stone — Sir Robert Phillimore— Hannen— Sir John Day — Masters
of the Bench . . . • • • 343
CHAPTER XIX
Conclusion . . . . ... 376
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FULL-PAGE
Old Temple Bar in the reign of Henry VIIL . Frontispiece
From a water-colour by T. Hosmer Shepherd.
TO FACE PAGE
Statues of Knights Templars and Hospitallers, Inner Temple Hall . 6
Plan of the Temple, 1902 . . ... 19
Old Hall, Inner Temple . . ... 36
From a drawing in the possession of the Masters of the Bench of the Inner
Temple.
Inner Temple Court . . ...
From a lithograph published by T. Malton, 1796.
Sir Edward Coke . . ...
From an engraving by J. Posselwhite.
Old Hall, Library, and other Old Buildings, Inner Temple
From a print published in 1804.
William Murray, Earl of Mansfield
From an engraving by H. T. Ryall, after Sir J. Reynolds.
A Perspective View of the Temple next the Riverside
From a drawing and engraving by J. Maurer, 1741.
Charles Lamb
From a sketch by Daniel Maclise.
Bird's-eye View of the Temple as it appeared in 1671
From an engraving published in 1770.
Court of Wards and Liveries
From an engraving by G. Vertue, after an unknown artist of the reign of
Queen Elizabeth.
Dr. Johnson's Staircase, No. i, Inner Temple Lane
From a drawing by T. Hosmer Shepherd, 1853.
Inner Temple Gateway .
From an engraving by Warren, after a drawing by Schnebbelie, and pub-
lished in 1S07.
xvii
49
54
61
64
68
75
84
98
104
109
XVlll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
Ceiling in the Council Chanmber over the Inner Temple Gateway . 1 14
Exchequer Court and King's Bench Walk . . . . 128
From a painting by Hogarth in the possession of the Masters of the Bench of
the Inner Temple.
Heneage Finch, Earl of Nottingham
From an engraving by S. Freeman, after Sir Peter Lely.
King's Bench Walk ....
Inner Temple Hall, Library, and Parliament Chambers
Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street
From a print published in 1804.
Serjeants' Inn, Chancery Lane
From a print published in 1804.
Inner Temple Hall, East End
Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset .
From an engraving by Vertue.
Porch and Doorway, Temple Church
From an engraving by S. Sparrow, after a drawing by J. C. Smith, 1807.
Temple Effigies
From an engraving by Basire.
Choir, Temple Church .
From an etching by J. Skelton, after :
Round, Temple Church .
From an etching by J. Lucy, after a 1
The Pyx
Clifford's Inn .
From a print published in 1804.
Clement's Inn
From a print published in 1804.
Lyon's Inn
From a print published in 1804.
New Inn
From a print published in 1804.
Sundial, Middle Temple Gardens
Great Frost Fair of 1683-4 on the Thames opposite the Temple
After a contemporary drawing by Thomas Wyck in the British Museum.
a drawing by G. Shepherd, 1820,
drawing by J. Coney, 1820.
141
158
162
168
172
186
192
206
210
214
222
226
232
238
242
244
248
254
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
XIX
TO FACE
Daniel De Foe in the Pillory at Temple Bar
From an engraving by J. C. Armytage, after a painting by E. Crowe
Middle Temple Gatehouse and Temple Bar .
From an engraving by Watts, after a painting by Miller.
Middle Temple Hall, West End .
From a drawing and engraving by J. P. Malcolm, 1800.
The Screen, Middle Temple Hall .
After a drawing by C. J. Richardson, published in 1S44.
Corridor to Parliament Chambers, Middle Temple
Oliver Goldsmith ....
From an engraving by James Marchi, after Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Sir Walter Raleigh ....
From an engraving by H. Robinson, after Zucchero.
John Ogilby's Plan of the Temple, 1677
After a drawing by Hollar.
Cloister Court ....
After a print published in 1804.
Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke .
From an engraving by W. T. Fry, after Ramsay.
Fountain Court ....
From an engraving by Fletcher, after a painting by Nichols, 1700
Sir William Blackstone ....
From an engraving by E. Serwin, after Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Hall Court (Fountain Court)
From a painting by Hogarth, 1734, now in the possession of the Masters of
the Bench of the Inner Temple.
View of Middle Temple from New Court . ...
From a drawing by George H. Birch, k.s.a.
Middle Temple Hall, East End . . ...
PAGE
266
268
272
282
292
296
334
340
348
352
362
368
37S
XX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IN THE TEXT
PAGE
Inner Temple Gateway . . i
The Seal of Berengar, Grand
Master of the Knights Hos-
pitallers, 1365 . . . 19
Seal of the Knights Templars,
1204 . . . 40
The Priests' Hall in the Inner
Temple . . . 42
The Inner Temple Buttery . 44
No. 5, King's Bench Walk . 63
Lower King's Bench Walk . 65
No. 2, Crown Office Row . "jt^
Harcourt Buildings and Crown
Office Row . . . 88
Fig Tree Court . . . 92
Hare Court . . . 96
Wall Tablet formerly in Inner
Temple Lane . . -143
Old Gateway to Ely Place . 166
A Corner of King's Bench Walk 174
Old Whitehall Gate . .184
East End of Church and Gate
to Master's Garden . . 201
Ancient Inscription formerly
over the Door of the Round
leading into the Cloisters . 207
Temple Church and Goldsmith
Building . . . 209
PACE
The Master's House . . 229
Staple Inn Gateway . . 232
Middle Temple Garden Gate
under the Library Stairs . 247
The Black Boy . . . 250
Temple in the Reign of James I. 253
Badge of the " Devil's Own ". 257
The Griffin . , . 264
Middle Temple Gateway . 268
Middle Temple Lane (North). 271
The Little Gate of the Middle
Temple in New Court . 275
Nos. I and 2, Brick Court . 277
Goldsmith's Tomb . . 279
Middle Temple Hall . . 287
Temple Gardens . . 294
Middle Temple Lane (South) . 297
Pump Court and the Cloisters. 299
Sundial in Pump Court . . 300
Wigmaker'sShopinEssexCourt 301
The Cloisters . . . 303
Lamb Building . . . 305
Plowden's Tomb . .310
Passage between Essex Court
and Brick Court . . 366
Porch of the Church . .376
THE
INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
CHAPTER I
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE
MANY no doubt of the daily
throng" which with end-
less ebb and flow surges up to
the threshold of the ancient
ijateways of the Temple have
some hazy idea that within
these portals are to be found
the gentlemen learned in the
law. But few probably even of
those who enter its chambers
on business bent, or hurry
through its narrow lanes and dingy courts on their way
to Whitefriars — the home of the newspaper world — or to
the Guildhall School of Music hard by the Embankment,
realise the true significance of this historic spot. Within
these precincts have lived and toiled many of our greatest
statesmen and politicians, leading novelists and drama-
tists, historians and diarists, whose names are household
words, to say nothing of a long, unbroken line of eminent
lawyers, who in their turn succeeded the illustrious Order
of the Knights Templars of mediaeval fame. Thus the
B
2 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
very pavements within the Temple teem with remini-
scences of some of our greatest leaders in literature,
history, and law, and, throug-h them, with many of the
leading" incidents in our national history.
Within the Temple precincts are now housed the two
Honourable Societies of the "Inner" and "Middle"
Temple, which form part of the four Inns of Court, a
body corresponding- to the Faculty of Advocates at Edin-
burgh and the King's Inns at Dublin.
These Inns of Court are survivals of a great legal
university which flourished in mediaeval times, moulded
after the fashion of the prevailing monastic institutions
and guilds — bodies formed to regulate their respective
societies, to protect the interests of their members, and
to train and educate their apprentices. Although the
term Apprefiticius was in the fifteenth century applied
to the Serjeants, it must originally have denoted the
students who were attached to some recognised teacher
of the law, who was perhaps in the first instance a Ser-
jeant, and later a barrister or reader who had received
the diploma or degree, by virtue of which he had
audience in the Courts.
Abundant evidence exists showing that the Inns of
Court enjoyed, in common with the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge, the characteristic features of that great
mediaeval institution, the guild.
Like the colleges at the Universities, their members
congregated in a hospice or inn, leased to one or more
of the senior members, forming a voluntary fraternity
or guild. Unlike the colleges, however, they remained
unchartered and unendowed, making their own regula-
tions and conferring upon their members the right to
practise in the Courts subject to the approval of the
judges.
This legal university comprised the Serjeants' Inns,
from which alone the judges were selected ; the Inns of
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 3
Court, who supplied the advocates who had not attained
to the degree of Serjeants, and the barristers who were
not yet of sufficient standing- to plead ; and the Inns of
Chancery, where dwelt the "clerks of Chancery" and
attorneys, and where the embryo barrister learned the
rudiments of his legal craft. These Inns of Chancery
were, for the most part, affiliated to one or other of the
Inns of Court. To the Inner Temple were attached
Clifford's Inn, Lyon's Inn, and Clement's Inn ; to the
Middle, Strand Inn — originally the town house of the
Bishop of Chester, and pulled down by Protector Somerset
to make way for Somerset House — and New Inn in Wych
Street. Inns of Chancery have now ceased to serve their
original purpose, and such buildings as still survive are
now chiefly used as offices.
Serjeants, together with their Inns, are now also
institutions of the past, and the old university is now
represented by the four Inns of Court, whose delegates,
the Council of Legal Education, supply legal instruction
to students of the Inns by lectures and classes, and upon
whose certificates, after examination, members of the
Inns are called to the Bar by the Benchers of their
respective societies.
Chambers in the Temple are to-day chiefly occupied
by practising barristers and their pupils, although repre-
sentatives of almost every pursuit are still to be found.
A few people also still make it their permanent residence,
and here and there a set of chambers is to be found
tenanted by a firm of solicitors. Barristers, as a class,
have long ceased to reside in the Temple.
THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS
Of the three great military orders founded in the
twelfth century, that of the Knights Templars or Red
Cross Knights is perhaps the most renowned. Like
most religious societies, its origin is to be traced to
the vow of a single individual, in this case a Burgundian
knight named Hugh de Paganis, who had greatly dis-
tinguished himself at the capture of Jerusalem in 1099.
With eight companions this knight returned from Europe
to the Holy Land under a self-imposed task of guarding
the public roads leading to the Holy City for the
protection of pilgrims, saintly virgins and matrons,
grey-haired palmers, and boy priests, who were now
thronging the mountain passes leading to the holy shrine.
Lodged, in 11 18, by Baldwin H., King of Jerusalem,
in return for exceptional services, within the sacred en-
closure of the Temple on Mount Moriah, these enthusiasts
were enrolled as regular canons by the Patriarch of
Jerusalem, and took the vows of perpetual chastity,
obedience, and self-denial.
Their popular name of the Red Cross Knights was, of
course, derived from their dress — a white mantle with
a red cross — which distinguished them from the Hos-
pitallers, who wore black mantles with a white cross, and
from the Teutonic Knights, clothed in white mantles with
a black cross.
Quarters within the palace of Baldwin were, as has
been said, assigned to Paganis and his knights. This
palace was formed partly of a building erected by the
Emperor Justinian and partly of a mosque built by
the CaUph Om^r out of, or at any rate upon the site of,
Solomon's Temple; hence the latter part of the title of
the Order — '•'■ Paiiperes commilitones Christi tevipliqiie
Solominici.'" Under the patronage of St. Bernard the
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 5
Order was, in 11 28, placed on a sound footing-. Seventy-
two statutes, defining- the constitution of the new society,
were drawn up at the Council of Troyes, which, confirmed
by the Pope, Honorius II., and the Patriarch of Jerusalem,
became the basis for the later and more elaborate ''Regie
du Temple.''''
In the same year Paganis returned to France, where
he was received with much honour by Louis VII. at Paris,
when the site of the Temple in that city was presented to
the Order by the King. In Normandy he visited Henry I.,
who sent him laden with treasure to Eng-land and Scotland,
where further grants of land and money were made by his
subjects.
From this moment the Order spread rapidly throughout
Europe, kings and princes, nobility and gentry vying
with one another in heaping gifts and privileges upon
the Order, which at this period was divided into three
great classes of knights, priests, and serving brethren.
The knights were all men of noble birth. None could
become a knight templar who had not received the honour
of knighthood — and so high stood the reputation of the
Order, that the ranks of the Knights Templars soon be-
came filled with the flower of European chivalry.
At the head of the Order was the Grand Master of the
Temple, usually resident at the Temple in Jerusalem, the
headquarters of the Order until the capture of the Holy
City by Saladin in 1187, when they were transferred
to Acre.
The organisation of the Order was perfect. The
possessions in the East were divided into the three pro-
vinces, Palestine, Antioch, and Tripoli. Europe was
distributed into nine provinces, \\z. Apulia and Sicily,
Upper and Central Italy, Portugal, Castile and Leon,
Aragon, Germany and Hungary, Greece, France, and
lastly England.
The French province included Holland and the Nether-
6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
lands, and the whole was under the immediate jurisdiction
of the Master of the Temple at Paris. Here Henry HI.
was entertained, with Robert de Sandford, Master of the
Temple at London, by Louis IX. with great magnificence.
Of such immense extent were these buildings, says
Matthew Paris, that within their precincts could be
housed an army. "Never," he writes, "was there at
any bygone times so noble and so celebrated an enter-
tainment. They feasted in the great hall of the Temple,
where hang the shields on every side, as many as they
can place along the four walls, according to the custom
of the Order beyond sea."
Although styled Master by the provincials, the real
title of the head of a province was at first Prior, and
later Preceptor, and as such he was always addressed
by the Grand Master. But in imitation of the head of
the whole Order the head of a province was called a
Grand Master, Grand Prior, or Grand Preceptor, in order
to distinguish him from the Priors or Preceptors subject
to his jurisdiction.
The earliest settlements in England were, as we have
seen, due to Henry I., and most of these appear to
have been confirmed by Stephen. The latter also pre-
sented to the Templars the manors of Cressing and
Witham in Essex ; whilst his queen, Matilda, made over
to them the manor of Cowley, near Sandford, together
with common of pasture in the forest of Shotover, all
familiar names to Oxford men.
Much property was contributed by Henry H. His gifts
comprised three churches in Lincolnshire, Kyngeswode
in Kent, the manor of Strode, the church of St. Clement's
outside the city of London, a house at Bristol, a market
at Witham, land at Bergholte, a mill near the bridge of
Pembroke Castle, and the village of Finchingfelde, near
Temple Cressing.
Henry also confirmed the Templars in their possessions
3
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 7
at Bukland, and conceded to them a market at Temple
Bruere, where they had an establishment. Upon the
accession of Henry II., Richard de Hastings was Master
of the Temple, and was employed by him in the negotia-
tions for the marriage of Prince Henry to Princess
Margaret of France. Hastings was also the friend and
confidant of Thomas k Becket, and upon his knees urged
the latter to submit to the Constitutions of Clarendon.
The date of the establishment of the Templars in
London is unknown, but it probably took place early
in the reign of Henry II. Their original home lay in
Chancery Lane, between Southampton Buildings and
Holborn Bars — a tradition sufficiently confirmed by the
discovery in 1595 of the foundations of a round church,
near the site of the present Southampton Buildings, by
one Agaster Roper.
Known subsequently as "The Old Temple," this pro-
perty probably embraced a considerable portion of the
present site of Lincoln's Inn. One parcel is known to
have been granted in 1227 by Henry III. to the Bishop
of Lincoln for his town house, and another was after-
wards leased direct to the Society of Lincoln's Inn.
Towards the end of the twelfth century, then, the Knights
Templars removed from Chancery Lane to their new home
on the banks of the Thames. Here they built a vast
monastery, extending from the Whitefriars on the east
to Essex Street on the west, and from Fleet Street on
the north to the river on the south. Just opposite, on the
northern side of the Strand, upon the site of the present
Law Courts, lay Pickett's Field, the tilting-ground of the
Templars. Truly may we exclaim, "Cedant arma togas!"
In 1605 the Society of Lincoln's Inn attempted to purchase
this field from a Mr. Harbert, of the Middle Temple.
It will be of interest to pause for a moment to recon-
struct the immediate neighbourhood of the Temple prior
to its occupation by the Templars. The river was then,
8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
as for many centuries afterwards, the great hig-hway
between the cities of London and Westminster. Fleet
Street did not then exist. No bridge then spanned the
Fleet Ditch, where Ludgate Circus now lies. The road
out of the city passed, as in Roman times, through
Newgate, crossing the Fleet in the hollow just below
and ascending Holborn Hill, whence it made its way
along a ridge which stretched from Holborn Bars, by
Chancery Lane, to St. Mary-le-Strand, just south of
which it rapidly descended to the river, passing on its
way the Roman bath. The neighbourhood round Fleet
Street was then a marsh, across which possibly a
straggling footpath led to Ludgate, a mere postern, as
its Saxon name implies, which gave access to the landing-
stage on the bank of the Fleet.
Seventy years later these marshes were drained, Fleet
Street constructed, and a bridge across the Fleet erected,
thus giving a new main entrance to the City. The new
highway was called the "Street of Fletebrigge," and
retained this designation at least as late as the reign
of Henry V. In these improvements the Templars were
no doubt largely concerned.
hi 1 185 the dedication of the Round Church of the
"New Temple," as it was long called, took place in
the presence of Henry H. and his court. The ceremony
was performed by Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem,
who, during a truce with the Saracens, was on a visit
to England, in company with the Grand Master, Gerard
de Riderfort, to induce the King to fulfil his vow. This
dedication bears witness to the importance of the new
house. Just as the Temple at Paris was the headquarters
of the Order in France, Holland, and the Netherlands, so
the numerous establishments of the Templars scattered
throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland were tributary
to the New Temple on the banks of the Thames.
Although the King was profuse in fair speeches and
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 9
liberal promises, Heraclius failed to induce him to lead
his forces against the infidel, and returned in high dudgeon
to Jerusalem, after frankly declaring his opinion of Henry,
which was emphatic if not polite. The Patriarch himself,
however, was not a very estimable person. His private
life was not above suspicion, and at the bloody battle
of Tiberias he showed the white feather by remaining
at Jerusalem when he should have been leading the van
with the holy cross in his charge. He perished of disease
during the siege of Acre by the Crusaders in 1191.
In their new home the Order rapidly increased in
power and wealth. In the year of the dedication of the
church, for instance, the whole village of Templecombe
in Somerset — a name well known to travellers on the
London and South -Western Railway — was given to the
Order by Serlo Fitz-Odo, which became a preceptory or
commandery, Lopen Abbas or Lopen Temple, hard by,
was also presented about the same time by Milo de
Franca-Quercu ; and amongst other benefactors of this
early period occur the better-known names of Ferrers,
Harcourt, Hastings, Lacy, Clare, Vere, Mowbray, Simon
de Montfort, and Margaret, Countess of Warwick.
With the exploits of Richard in the Holy Land and
his romantic struggle with Saladin we are not here con-
cerned ; but it is interesting to recall that upon the
conclusion of hostilities the King, disguised in the habit
of a Knight Templar, secretly embarked for one of the
ports of the Adriatic, a disguise which availed naught
against the vengeance of John of Austria, whom he had
insulted at the siege of Acre by tearing his banner from
its staff and flinging it into the ditch.
In the topmost chamber of the lofty tower of Greifen-
stein, on the banks of the Danube, may still be seen the
place of his confinement prior to his incarceration at
Diirnstein, higher up the river. From the roof of this
tower, reached by a rickety outside wooden staircase,
lo THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the ma§"nificent view which proved so wearisome to
Richard may be obtained.
John was a liberal patron of the Templars, bestowing
upon the Order several valuable manors in addition to
numerous rights and privileges. His connection with
the New Temple was very intimate. Here was stored
the royal treasure, and here he lodged for weeks to-
gether, dating his writs therefrom. In his negotiations
with that powerful and haughty pontiff. Innocent III.,
the Templars took an active part. It was in the pre-
ceptory of Temple Ewell, near Dover, that John was
terrified into making the notorious resignation of his
crown.
To the New Temple in London he was glad to betake
himself for protection against the barons, and here he
passed the night before he signed the Charter at Runny-
mede, upon the advice, so says Matthew Paris, of
St. Maur, Master of the Temple.
Although at first the Templars appear to have been
on bad terms with Henry III., the King proved an even
far more liberal donor than his predecessors, presenting
to the Order numerous manors scattered throughout the
country, together with many valuable rights of chase and
other privileges and immunities. Henry was present,
with his court, at the consecration of the new choir in
1240, and designed that he and his queen, Eleanor,
should be buried in the church, a design, however, which
failed.
Amongst his grants was the important manor of
Rotheley, which became known as Temple Rotheley, and
is now so closely associated with the name of Macaulay.
The earliest extant charter granted by the Knights
Templars in England is now in the possession of
Mr. W. G. Thorpe, a member of the Middle Temple
and the author of Middle Temple Table Talk. This was
a grant made by Geoffrey Fitz Stephen, Master of the
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE ii
Temple during^ the years 1 180-1200. The deed is dated
November 30th, 1182, and purports to be deUvered in
the presence of a full chapter of the Order in the Round
Church at London, This ceremony therefore took place
in the church of the Old Temple in Chancery Lane.
The grant was to Henry Broc and his wife of land at
Chesterton, in the county of Warwick, at an annual rent
of twenty shillings and for a gift of one-third of their
personal property to the Order, and "according to the
custom of the house " the grantees were to compel all
their tenants to make similar gifts. This land had been
previously given to the Order by the lady's father.
Photographs of this charter now hang in the library
of each society.
Other establishments of the Order are mentioned by
Stow at Cambridge, Canterbury, Dover, and Warwick,
The circular type, although usually found in the churches
of the Order, was by no means peculiar to the Templars.
The Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, which formed the
model for this form of ecclesiastical architecture, was,
of course, erected long prior to the foundation of the
Order of the Knights Templars,
From the age of the few still existing Round Churches
in this country it will be seen that several were originally
in no way connected with the Templars, The Round
Church in the Inner Court of Ludlow Castle, Shropshire,
is one of the most ancient. It is said to have been built
by Joce de Dinan in the reign of Henry I, or Stephen,
but whether it was the property of the Templars is
doubtful. As to the Round Church of St. Sepulchre at
Cambridge, built by Pain Peverill, there can be no doubt,
since it was consecrated in iioi, prior to the foundation
of the Order.
The date of iioo is assigned to the Round Church of
St. Sepulchre, Northampton, which is said to have been
built by Simon St. Luz, who died in 1105; but the style
12 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of pointed architecture would place it at a much later
period, and may well have been erected by the Templars,
to whom it is assigned by tradition.
The Little Maplestead Round Church in Essex is known
to have been built by the Knights Hospitallers in the
reigns of John and Henry HI. On the other hand,
Temple Bruere, in Lincolnshire — or Templum de la
Bruere, to give its full title— undoubtedly belonged to
the Templars, and possessed a Round Church modelled
upon that of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. This has
long disappeared, and nothing remains but the square
tower of the preceptory and some vaults. At Dover the
foundations of a Round Church were discovered about
forty years ago near the Castle.
The Templars, as we learn from Stow, acted very
largely as bailees, or bankers, to whom were entrusted
money, jewels, and other valuables for safe custody. In
1232, for instance, according to Matthew Paris, Hubert
de Burgh, Earl of Kent, was a prisoner in the Tower, and
King Henry, hearing that he had much treasure in the
Temple in the custody of the Templars, sent for the
Master of the Temple, who admitted the impeachment,
but refused to deliver the treasure except by direction
of the owner. This was easily obtained by the King, and
thereupon the keys of the Treasure House were delivered
to him. Upon an inventory being taken, besides ready
money, vessels of gold and silver and many precious
stones of a very considerable value were found.
Stow also relates how Edward L, in 1283, came to the
Temple, and upon the pretence of looking at his mother's
jewels, which were kept in the Treasure House, entered
and broke open the coffers of persons who had deposited
their money there, and went off with cash to the value
of ;^i,ooo. Edward had, however, previously been a
benefactor of the Order. From a document found amongst
the Tower Records in 1855, it appears that when the King
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 13
was making- preparations for his last campaign in Scot-
land, in 1306, Prince Edward of Wales was knighted by
him at the Temple, in the presence of a large assemblage
of nobles and gentry. This document was the petition of
Walter le Marberer to Edward 11. to pay for the timber
supplied to the Templars on that occasion.
The great wealth and power of the Knights Templars
naturally excited the avarice and jealousy of the authorities,
and in 1312 the Order was abolished, its chief members
being: put to death by the cruel Philip le Bel in France,
though rather more tenderly dealt with by the weak and
vacillating Edward II. of England.
Having obtained the induction of a tool of his own in
the Chair of St. Peter, Philip in 1307 struck the first blow
at the Order. The Templars in France were ordered to be
seized and brought before an inquisition empowered to try
them, and, if necessary, employ torture. Such necessity
was easily found, and out of one hundred and forty put to
the torture, thirty-six died in the hands of their tormentors.
Fifty-four perished at the stake under one decree alone in
Paris, and by similar methods throughout the country the
Order was deprived of its ablest and staunchest members.
James de Molay, Grand Master of the Order, who
happened to be in residence at the Temple, had been
induced by Clement to obey his summons to visit him at
Poitiers, under the pretence of discussing^ the affairs of
the Holy Land.
Received by the Pope in the Great Hall of the Palace
of the Counts of Poitou, now the Palais de Justice, he
was immediately afterwards arrested and sent, with his
principal knights, a prisoner to Paris.
Having made certain admissions, Molay and three
others were brought out upon a scaffold at Notre Dame
to make their confession public. Two did whatever was
required, but Molay refused, declaring that he abandoned
life offered on such infamous terms without regret. His
14 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
noble example was followed by the fourth Templar. Both
were burnt to death by slow fires of charcoal the same
evening-. According- to tradition, Molay summoned the
Pontiff to meet him before the last tribunal within forty
days and the King- within twelve months. This summons
was, curiously enough, obeyed.
Thus perished the last Grand Master of the Templars,
In his history of the Knights Templars, Mr. Baylis, k.c,
mentions a fourteenth-century MS. in the British Museum
entitled "On Virtues and Vices," with illustrations painted
on vellum. Amongst them is one representing various
subjects relating to the punishments inflicted upon the
Templars. In the upper part Philip is depicted on horse-
back directing- the scourging, torturing-, and burning of
the Templars outside the walls of Paris. In the lower
part he is being dragged by the stirrup through the forest
of Fontainebleau, having been attacked by a wild boar
and thrown from his horse.
Meanwhile Philip had written to Edward, accusing the
Templars of abominable heresies, and urging his son-in-
law to take steps for their suppression. At first Edward
was not to be tempted. In a letter dated from West-
minster, October 30th, 1307, he replied diplomatically that
he had communicated the charges to his prelates and
barons, and that to them they appeared utterly incredible.
Philip accordingly was once more obliged to make use of
the Pope, who, on November 22nd following, despatched
a Bull from Poitiers requesting the King to arrest, on the
same day, all the Knights Templars within the kingdom,
as Philip had done, and to cause their persons to be
detained in reliable custody, and their goods, movable
and immovable, to be committed to safe keeping. Their
lands and vineyards were to continue to be cultivated, so
that if found innocent everything might be restored intact,
if guilty to swell the funds for the Holy Land !
Edward was still unconvinced. On November 26th we
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 15
find him ordering^ his seneschal of L'Aggenois to meet
him at Christmas at Boulog-ne and bring him information
of the Templars in his French dominions. Although on
December ist an ordinance is passed by the King- in
Council for the simultaneous seizure of the Templars by
the sheriffs throughout England, three days later Edward
writes to the Kings of Portugal, Castile, Sicily, and
Aragon not to credit the charges levelled against the
Templars — charges conceived in malice and covetous-
ness — and not to molest their persons or seize their
possessions until they had been legally tried and con-
demned in England. On the loth of the same month he
also writes warmly to the Pope, declaring his inability to
credit those detestable accusations against men who
everywhere throughout the country bore an honoured
name. Upon the arrival of the Papal legates, however,
Edward, in spite of his belief in their innocence, speedily
made his submission, and on December 15th ordered the
arrest of the Knights Templars to take place on the
morrow of the Epiphany, and four days later that of those
of the Order resident in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales,
writing a few days afterwards to the Pope that he was
desirous of carrying out his wishes in the matter of the
Templars.
On August 12th, 1308, Clement sent a Bull to the
Archbishop of Canterbury and his bishops, instructing
them how to act in the matter of the Templars, detailing
his own course of action and protesting that his dearest
son in Christ, the illustrious Philip of France, so far from
acting from avaricious motives, had not the slightest
intention of touching or appropriating anything belonging
to the Templars ! This was followed in October by a
Bull to the King commanding him not to part with the
possessions of the Templars until his emissaries should
arrive and relieve him of his charge !
In March, 1309, a valuation of the lands of the
1 6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Templars is ordered by Edward, and in September an
ordinance for their examination at London, Lincoln, and
York is passed, with a request that the Pope's emissaries
be treated with proper respect.
Up to this point nothing- much seems to have taken
place, but with the arrival of the Pope's ag-ents the King
was forced into activity. Orders were given for the arrest
of all Templars still at large, who were to be sent to
London, Lincoln, and York, and to be imprisoned in the
Tower and in the castles of Lincoln and York respectively
until their examination was concluded. Similar orders
were made respecting the Templars in Scotland and
Ireland.
The following year those Templars imprisoned in the
Tower were removed to the four gates of the City, and
transferred from the custody of John de Crumbewelle,
Governor of the Tower, to that of the mayor and sheriffs,
and preparations were made for the trial of the Templars
throughout the country by a provincial council held in
London.
Edward's measures were evidently but half-hearted.
Many no doubt submitted themselves to the mercies
of the Pope ; others may have escaped and returned to
their secular callings, since we find an order of the King
commanding all Templars in secular dress to be arrested;
others were left unmolested, as fresh writs issued in 1309,
for the arrest of such vagabond Templars as might be
found at large, go to show. In all, two hundred and
twenty-nine only were seized and tried before the Papal
inquisitors appointed by Clement, assisted by the civic
authorities, who sat at St. Martin's Church, Ludgate,
and St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, and endeavoured, by
their hellish means of persuasion, to extract confessions
of their guilt from these unfortunate men. Amongst
these was William de la More, Grand Master of the
Order in England, who was one of the first to be arrested,
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 17
and who had been entrusted to the safe keeping- of the
Archbishop of Canterbury. He died in captivity in the
Tower. Beyond the case of those who died during
imprisonment or in the torture-chamber, there is no
evidence of any more serious punishment than incar-
ceration in a monastery, as we may infer from the orders
of the King for provision to be made out of the Temple
estates for the maintenance of those Templars doing
penance in various monasteries.
That the majority escaped with their goods and chattels
would also appear from the inventory prepared by the
sheriffs of London, giving an account of expenses and
receipts for the period from January loth, 1307, to
November loth, 1308, and of the goods and chattels
found in the cellar, storehouse, stable, brewery, ward-
robes, chambers, and dormitories, and in the church and
vestry. Beyond the personal effects of William de la
More, of Brothers John de Stoke, Thomas de Burton,
Richard de Herdewikes, and of the Prior, little of any
great value is recorded. A certain amount of plate was
found in the church and vestry ; but articles of value,
costly weapons and body armour, such as corresponded
to the wealth of the Order, are conspicuously absent from
the Temple inventory.
The truth concerning the charges against the Templars
seems to be that the continental members of the Order,
at any rate the French, were guilty of the more serious
offences. In France and at Florence a large proportion
of members confessed to the charge of indecent kissing
{oscula inhonesta). The charge of spuitio stiper crucem at
initiation was admitted even by the English Templars, but
whilst some declared they had regarded the ceremony as
a joke, all maintained that they had spat, not on the
cross, but only near it.
But although almost universally offences even the most
loathsome were admitted under pressure, there is no
c
1 8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
evidence to show that outside France there was any
reality in them. At the same time it is now generally
accepted that the Knights Templars were members of a
secret society combining, according to M. Loiseleur, the
heretical teachings of the Bogomilians and the Luciferians.
In dealing with the masonic construction of the church
this question will be further discussed.
That some such practices were rife appears from the
rivalry between Hugh de Peraud, visitor of France, and
James de Molay, for the office of Grand Master. The
latter had declared his intention of extirpating certain
practices in the Order of which the former was the most
strenuous initiator. This theory accounts to some extent
for the confession of Molay and his subsequent denial, and
for the general acquittal of the Templars at nearly all the
inquisitions outside France.
Fifty years later the Templars were amply avenged
when, on the plain beneath Poitiers, the little English
army under the Black Prince shattered the flower of
French chivalry.
And later still, in that same hall where Clement received
Molay, stood Jeanne d'Arc, prior to her appointment as
leader of the French forces. On the dais was seated an
imposing array of doctors learned in law and theology,
the Chancellors of the Universities of Paris and Poitiers,
priests and Dominican friars. On a form below sat the
peasant maid who by her simple faith and ready mother-
wit put all these astute hair-splitters and holy casuists to
utter confusion. The verdict then won was the signal for
the downfall of the English power in France.
The architecture of the great hall is very similar to that
of Westminster Hall and is little inferior in size.
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PLAN OF THE TE:\!rLE, 1902
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 19
THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS
By the decree of the Pope, confirmed by the Council
of Vienne, near Lyons, in 13 12, the Order of the
Knights Templars was abolished and all their possessions
were granted to their rivals, the Knights Hospitallers, or
Order of St. John of Jerusalem. This grant was rather
nominal than real, for not more than a twentieth of their
vast wealth reached the hands of the Hospitallers, the
remainder being appropriated by Clement, Philip and
Edward, and their respective adherents. In England
The Seal of Bekengak, Grand Master oi- the Knights Hosi'itai.lers, 1365
the claims of the Hospitallers, or Johnnites, as they were
popularly called, were at first entirely ignored, Edward
expressly forbidding them to intermeddle with the pos-
sessions of the Templars. That portion of the Temple
which lay outside the City boundaries was granted by the
King to Walter de Stapleton, Bishop of Exeter, and
thenceforth was known indifferently as Stapleton Inn,
Exeter Inn, or the Outer Temple. From the successors
of the Bishop of Exeter it passed successively into the
hands of Lord Paget, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Earl
of Leicester, from whose son. Sir Robert Dudley, it was
20 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
purchased by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Then
arose Essex House, which with its gardens covered the
site now occupied by Essex Court, Devereux Court, Essex
Street, and the buildings now abutting on the Strand.
The other portion was at first administered for the
Crown by James le Botiller and William de Basing.
Upon the suppression of the Order in 131 2 it was granted
by the King to Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke,
but was, under an arrangement, surrendered by him on
October 3rd, 1315, to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, the
King's cousin and most powerful subject. Upon the
attainder and execution of Thomas in 1322 the Temple
reverted once more to the Crown, and was at once
granted afresh to the Earl of Pembroke. The latter was
shortly afterwards assassinated in Paris, and dying with-
out heirs, it again reverted to the Crown. Thereupon
Edward seized the opportunity to bestow it upon his new
favourite, Hugh le Despencer, in spite of the statute of
1324, by which all the English possessions of the Templars
passed to the Hospitallers.
Upon the attainder and execution of the new favourite,
which coincided with the accession of the young Edward
HI., the claim of the Hospitallers was again ignored, the
property remaining in the hands of the King's escheator,
the Mayor of London, until 1333, when a lease for ten
years was granted to "his beloved clerk," William de
Langford, by Edward, at an annual rental of ;^24.
Four years later the Hospitallers complained to the
King of this possession of consecrated property by a
layman. An inquisition was held, and a division made
between the consecrated and non-consecrated land of the
Temple. Herein we find the origin of the division of the
Temple into two societies. Langford was left in possession
of the unconsecrated portion at a reduced rent. About
the year 1340, in consideration of a contribution of ;^ioo
for the wars, Edward made an absolute grant of the
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 21
whole Temple, as distinct from the Outer Temple, to the
Hospitallers.
An interesting relic from the occupation of the Temple
by the Knights Hospitallers came to light in 1830, when
excavating near the tombs of Knights Templars in the
Round. This was a leaden seal, with a hole through it for
the silken cord with which it was formerly attached to a
deed. It proved to be the seal of Berengar, who succeeded
De Pim as Grand Master of the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem in 1365, and who died in 1373. On the obverse
the prior is represented on his knees before the patriarchal
cross, on either side of which are the letters alpha and
omega, and under the former a star. On the reverse
appears the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, with Christ in
his tomb ; at his head an elevated cross ; and above a
tabernacle or chapel, from the roof of which are suspended
two censers.
This seal may be taken as a type of the seals of the
Knights Hospitallers which prevailed throughout their
existence. That of Raymond du Pay, who became Grand
Master in 11 13, found at Norwich Castle, is similar in
general design, as is also that of Roger de Molins,
attached to the Harleian Charter in the British Museum,
which was executed in the very year of the foundation of
the Round, and was witnessed by the patriarch Heraclius
and by Henry H. at Dover on April 4th.
THE THREE TEMPLES
At the time of the inquisition in 1337 there were two
halls in the Temple, one upon the site of the present
Inner Temple Hall, and the other lying between Pump
Court and Elm Court, with the west end abutting on
Middle Temple Lane. The former, standing on the
consecrated portion, known as the priests' lands, appears
to have been that occupied by the "apprentices of the law
22 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
that came from Thavie's Inn." Langford's lease of the
non-consecrated portion having- expired in 1343, the whole
property was leased by the Hospitallers about the year
1346 to "certain lawyers" in two separate parcels, with
two reservations of two rentals at p^io apiece. We
have here a natural explanation of the names of the two
societies. The Temple had already been divided into an
Outer and an Inner district, i.e. districts outside and
inside the City boundaries. Next we have the division of
the Inner Temple into consecrated and non-consecrated.
The consecrated retaining- the name of Inner, the natural
name for the non-consecrated, lying between the Outer
and the Inner, would be the Middle.
Beyond these names there is nothing to suggest three
societies, and in fact what evidence there is negatives
the suggestion of a third society. At a parliament held
by the Antients of the Inner Temple on May 6th, 15 17,
we find that Thomas Denny was admitted to a chamber
"in the Outer Temple," an admission which shows con-
clusively that at this period, at any rate, this was not
a separate society. And Sir George Buc, writing about
the year 1612, said, "And because the Utter Temple
neither is nor was ever any coUedge or society of students,
and therefore not to be considered here."
THE LAWYERS
If we may trust an ancient MS., formerly the property
of Lord Somers and afterwards of Nicholls, the well-
known antiquary, the lawyers first obtained a footing
in the Temple in the year 1320 as lessees of the powerful
Earl of Lancaster. Possession is said to be nine-tenths
of the law, and once in, the lawyers appear to have stuck
to the possession, whatever happened to the ownership.
By virtue of the statute of 1324 the Knights Hospitallers,
according to Dugdale, who, however, only relied upon
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 23
tradition, leased the property to "divers apprentices of
the law that came from Thavie's Inn in Holborn " at an
annual rental of ^10.
In this instance tradition is probably correct, since four
years later there is other evidence that at this date the
lawyers were firmly established in their new home. The
Temple was, as we have seen, in the hands of the Mayor
as escheator for the King-, and he took it upon himself
to close the Watergate at the Temple stairs. Complaint
was therefore made by the lawyers to Edward III., who
at once admonished the Mayor in the following letter: —
"Since we have been given to understand that there
ought to be a free passage through the court of the New
Temple at London to the river Thames for our justices,
clerks, and others, who may wish to pass by water to
Westminster to transact their business, and that you keep
the gate of the Temple shut by day and so prevent those
same justices and clerks of ours and other persons from
passing through the midst of the said court to the water-
side, whereby as well our own affairs as those of our
people in general are oftentimes greatly delayed, we
command you that you keep the gates of the said Temple
open by day, so that our justices and clerks and other
persons who wish to go by water to Westminster may be
able so to do by the way to which they have hitherto been
accustomed.
*' Witness ourself at Kenilworth, the 2nd day of Novem-
ber and third year of our reign."
Whatever the exact date, it seems tolerably certain
that the lawyers who then entered into the occupation
of the Temple came from Thavie's Inn, which was sub-
sequently granted on lease to the Benchers of Lincoln's
Inn for the use of students, and ultimately became an Inn
of Chancery affiliated to that society.
The will of John Thaive or Thavie, an armourer who
died in 1348, throws some light upon the point. From
24 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
this will it appears that this hospice formed part of his
property, and in leaving it to his wife Alice for life, and
after her decease for the maintenance of a chaplain, who
was to pray for their souls, the armourer describes his
Inn as " illiid hospiciiun in quo apprenticii ad legem hahi-
tare solehant,^'' sugg^esting' that at the date of his will the
Inn no longer served its former purpose.
The connection between the lawyers to whom the non-
consecrated portion of the Temple had been leased and
the lawyers of St. George's Inn has been clearly traced
by Mr. Pitt Lewis, K.c. , a Bencher of the Middle Temple,
which completely dispels the rival traditions of both
societies relating to their origin. Since Coke's day the
tradition has been maintained by members of the Inner
Temple that their Inn was the parent society, and that
the severance took place at the commencement of the
reign of Henry VI., when, owing to the great increase
in members and the smallness of the ancient Hall of
the Templars, a certain number migrated and set up
a separate establishment. On the other hand, members
of the Middle Temple have contended that the Middle
is to be regarded as the original society, relying upon
the discovery, in 1735, of the foundations of the old Hall
between Pump Court and Elm Court.
Master Worsley, who supported this view, submitted
that this Hall must be older than that of the Inner Temple,
of which neither the style nor strength was so antique,
and that the separating party naturally erected their "Hall
in such place where some remains of the mansion house of
the Templars still stood as being the most convenient place,
or probably to save expense, or for some other reason."
But, as we have seen, as early as 1337 at least there
were already two Halls, one undoubtedly the original Hall
of the Templars, in the occupation of the lawyers from
Thavie's Inn, and the other occupied by Langford.
Moreover, other evidence is not wanting. In 1442
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 25
Lincoln's Inn is described as " the ancient ally and friend
of the Middle Temple," and in the Paston Letters s^xcrA
references to the " Inner Temple " occur as early as 1440.
That the Society of the Inner Temple made its new home
in the Temple some quarter of a century prior to the
Society of the Middle seems tolerably clear, but there is
no evidence to show that one is superior to the other.
Upon the evidence available, it appears to be practically
certain that both societies are of equal antiquity as
descendants from the old Fraternities or Guilds of Thavie's
and St. George's Inns respectively.
From 1346 up to the Reformation the Temple was held
of the Knights Hospitallers by the two societies, when in
1540 this Order was in turn dissolved and despoiled by
Henry VIII. Thenceforth until the year 1608 the lawyers
held direct of the Crown at a rental of ^10 for each
society, when they found that James I., having arrived
at the conclusion that they were only tenants at will, was
negotiating a sale of the freehold. The two societies
immediately took steps to avert this danger, and upon
presenting James with "a stately cup of pure gold,
weighing 200 ozs. and of the value of 1,000 marks or
thereabouts," filled with gold pieces, obtained the new
charter granting them the Temple together with the
church in fee farm for ever at the old rental. The
reversion was eventually purchased from Charles II.
The cup, which was curiously engraven with "a church
or Temple beautified with turrets and pinnacles " in relief
on one side and an altar on the other, was " esteemed by
James for one of his royalist and most richest jewell." Its
cost was ;^666 13^-. 4^'. , or in our money about jCz^S'^^-
In 1625 it was pawned by Charles I. when in difficulties
with his first Parliament, together with other plate and
jewels, with Parret van Schoenhoven, an Amsterdam
merchant. It was apparently never returned, and all
traces of it have disappeared.
26 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Seated midway between the cities of London and West-
minster, the lawyers became an important element in the
mediaeval life of both. With the removal of the Inns of
Court and Chancery from the precincts of the City to the
western suburb on the banks of the Thames, near Fleet
Street, Chancery Lane, and Gray's Inn Fields, these
colleg-es became the fashionable seminaries for the educa-
tion of young- noblemen and gentlemen. At this period
the undergraduates of Oxford and Cambridge were for
the most part the sons of yeomen, tenant-farmers, and
artisans, and moreover mere boys. And the education at
these Inns of Court and Chancery was not merely legal,
nor even confined to the classics and other erudite learn-
ing, but was a general training for men of position, as
we are told by Sir John Fortescue, who wrote about the
year 1463 of these institutions: "There they learn to
sing, to exercise themselves in all kinds of harmonye.
There also they practise dannsing and other noblemen's
pastimes, as they used to do which are brought up in
the king's house."
And he adds that noblemen placed their children in
these Inns, not to have them learned in the law nor to
live by its practice, but to become accomplished and useful
citizens.
And throughout the Renaissance, no less than during
feudal times, the Inns of Court men continued to be rulers
of society. Having no less intimate relations with the
royal circle than with the commercial magnates of the
City, and comprising a large proportion of men eminent
for rank, wealth, learning, and wit, they laid down the
law equally upon questions of politics as upon those of
dress, taste, and art. And although in more modern times
the gentlemen of the long robe have ceased to occupy
such exclusive prominence, they still exercise a powerful
influence in the manifold phases of the political and social
life of the nation.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 27
THE TEMPLE CRESTS
The origin of the two crests or arms of the two societies
is uncertain, and has given rise to much discussion. The
original banner of the Knights Templars was made of two
pieces of woollen stuff, one black, the other white, with
the red cross of the Order in the midst. This banner was
called "Le Beauseant," or, as it was originally spelt, "Bau-
c^ant," which signified in old French "a piebald horse."
Possibly this suggested the seal of two men on one horse,
typical of the vow of poverty and humiliation sworn by
Pauperes commilitones Christi—the poor fellow-soldiers of
Christ — which it has been suggested at the hands of
some mediaeval craftsman developed mio Pegasus, the horse
with two wings, the present badge of the Inner Temple.
This suggestion is ingenious and highly probable, al-
though on the other hand there is evidence that the
Pegasus was adopted by the Inn in the year 1563, after
the Christmas Revels held in honour of Lord Robert
Dudley, at which twenty-four gentlemen of the Inn were
dubbed Knights of the Order of Pegasus. Lord Robert
as Palaphilos, Prince of Wisdom, was the chief performer,
and Roger Manwood, afterwards Lord Chief Baron, and
Christopher Hatton, afterwards Lord Chancellor, were
his principal supporters. Gerald Legh is stated by the
Hon. Daines Barrington to have suggested the device of
a "Pegasus luna on a field argent." But the device has
always been a Pegasus argent on a field azure. That
Gerald Legh did suggest the device is not improbable,
since in his Accedence of Armoric, published in the same
year, he gives a detailed account of these revels, together
with a woodcut of the arms.
That the device of two men on one horse was an emblem
of poverty and humility Mr. Baylis agrees with Stow and
Vincent in thinking ridiculous. According to these writers
it was symbolic of love and charity, and was intended to
28 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
represent the rescue of a wounded fellow-Christian by a
Templar on the field of battle. This idea might indeed be
carried still further. Might it not represent a Templar
assisting a travel-worn or wounded pilgrim on his way
to the Holy City, signifying the object for which the society
was founded ?
A second seal of the Templars was the Agmis Dei with
the flag, but this was only adopted at a much later date,
the first instance of its use being in 1241, nearly a century
and a half after the institution of the Order. As was only
natural, this was appropriately adopted by the members
of the Middle Temple as the badge of their society.
The Holy Lamb with nimbus and banner appears upon
the seal to a deed dated 1273, whereby Guido de Forester,
magister militiae Tenipli in Anglia et fratres ejusdeni
miliiiae, leased out certain lands at Pampes worth, Cam-
bridgeshire, the rent to be paid domino Templi in Dux-
worth, in the same county, where a manor called the
Temple Manor still exists. The legend of the seal consists
of the cross and the words Sigillum Templi.
Many references to these heraldic signs of the " Lamb"
and the "Winged Horse" are to be found in literature,
especially in the works of Lamb and Thackeray. The
following lines chalked on the Temple gate by a wit of
the day, though often quoted, will bear repetition : —
" As by the Templars' hold you go,
The horse and lamb display'd
In emblematic figures show
The merits of their trade.
"^ The clients may infer from thence
How just is their profession ;
The lamb sets forth their innocence,
The horse their expedition.
" Oh, happy Britons ! happy Isle !
Let foreign nations say,
Where you get justice without guile
And law without delay."
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 29
A reply was speedily forthcoming from the pen of a
rival wit, whose retort courteous was found pinned
alongside the above verses : —
" Deluded men, these holds forego,
Nor trust such cunning elves ;
These artful emblems tend to show
Their clien/s — not themselves.
" 'Tis all a trick ; these are all shams
By which they mean to trick you ;
But have a care, {o\- yoiire the lambs
And they the evolves that eat you.
" Nor let the thoughts of ' no delay '
To these their courts misguide you ;
'Tis you're the showy horse and they
The jockeys that will ride you."
THE CONFLICT OF THE COMMON LAW WITH THE
CIVIL LAW AND THE CANON LAW
Obscure as the origin of the Common Law undoubtedly
is, its main characteristics are clearly traceable to that
rude mass of Teutonic customs and institutions under
which our Anglo-Saxon forbears lived and had their
being. With the Norman Conquest a fresh impetus was
given to the development of the law of the land. The
old Anglo-Saxon laws and customs, so far from being
abolished, were in the main only clothed with new forms.
Although in an earlier stage than on the Continent, the
feudal system was already in existence, and its natural
development was forced by the more advanced French
system to a larger and perhaps more intricate growth
than it would otherwise have attained. One immediate
result of this change was the necessity for the aid of
skilled lawyers. Hitherto, and for some centuries yet,
all suitors appeared in person, but with the introduction
of Norman procedure and the French language, the
assistance of a trained lawyer, if only to stand by and
advise, became an absolute necessity for a Saxon litigant.
30 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Professional lawyers and pleaders undoubtedly existed in
pre-Conquest times, but whether the latter did more than
stand by to prompt the litig-ant in person is unknown.
For two centuries the English Common Law remained in
a somewhat chaotic condition. Whilst the Crown was
occupied in developing- the feudal system in its own
interests, the people were strugg-ling with perpetual
alternations of fortune in maintaining- their ancient laws
and customs.
To the citizens of London in particular at this early
period belongs the credit of preserving undefiled the
spirit of these ancient usages. From Henry L they
wrung the charter by which their old local courts or
guilds developed into recognised courts of law, such as
the Court of Hustings, the Hanse Court, and a Criminal
Court at the Old Bailey (an ancient gate of the City), of
which the Mayor's Court and the Central Criminal Courts
are the lineal descendants.
With the discovery of the Pandects at the sack of
Amalfi in 1135, a revival of the study of the Civil Law
of Rome throughout the Continent took place. It is un-
necessary to discuss here whether the revival was in
consequence of this discovery, or whether it was due to
ambitious designs on the part of the Church to increase
its power by the control of the Civil Law, of which its
members were the sole exponents. Whatever the cause,
the revival of the Civil Law spread to this country, and
its reception was also marked by the speedy introduction
of the Canon Law, of which the Civil Law would have
been the modest handmaid if the Popes of Rome could
have had their way.
In those early days all lawyers were ecclesiastics ; but
although all were Civilians, all were not Canonists as
well. In fact, in the struggle which next ensued between
the Common Law and the Canon Law, the Civilians
began to be looked upon with suspicion by the Church.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 31
Civilian judg-es and clerks had two sides. When they
sat in the King's Courts they were lawyers first and
ecclesiastics last, if at all.
"It is," write Pollock and Maitland, "by 'popish
clerg-ymen ' that our English Common Law is converted
from a rude mass of customs into an articulate system ;
and when the 'popish clergymen,' yielding at length to
the Pope's command, no longer sit as the principal justices
of the King's Court, the golden age of the Common Law-
is over." In this struggle Thomas k Becket was a notable
exception. Having climbed into power as a King's man,
he turned round and became the champion of the Church
against Henry II. With Becket's fall and death the
attempt to retain the Roman curia as the supreme tribunal
was for the time ended, and the province of ecclesiastical
jurisdiction determined.
The struggle was, however, shortly afterwards renewed,
as we have seen, between Innocent III. and John, much
to the latter's discomfiture ; but the situation was saved at
Runnymede, when the King, acting, as is said, upon the
advice of the Master of the Temple, attached his seal to
the Great Charter, and much against his will laid the
foundations of English liberty, and equally unwittingly
struck the second blow in the conflict between the rival
systems of the Common Law and the Canon Law of
Rome.
A churchman and, above all, a tool of the papal see,
Henry III., with his Italian priests, proved no match for
his opponents in the struggles which ngw recommenced.
Although it was the barons who, by refusing to place
upon the statute book legitimation per subscqucns matri-
tnonium, when in the Parliament of 1236 they cried
"Nolumus leges Angliae mutari," it was William Raleigh,
a canon of St. Paul's, who was the champion of the
Common Law. The Civilian judges were still true to
their trust as exponents of the law of the land, and
j^ THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
'i'y.
with the first wave of the Reformation all that was best
in the Church had thrown itself on the side of the
reformers.
Before, however, the teaching- of the Civil Law by the
Church had begun, schools or guilds of law had arisen
in the City, rendered necessary first by the institution
of the City Courts, and later by the permanent establish-
ment of the King's Court at Westminster. In the time
of Stephen and Henry there were three such schools, and
these were naturally connected with the Church. These
were St. Paul's, with a hostel in Paternoster Row ;
St. Sepulchre's, with St. George's Inn; and St. Andrew's,
with Thavie's Inn adjoining. In these hostels or schools
of law we have the origin of the Inns of Court. Although
thus closely associated with the Church, in consequence
of the decree of 1218 forbidding the clergy to practise
in the secular courts the advocates gradually ceased to
be clerics, and their schools were protected from com-
petition by proclamations, both by Henry II. and
Henry III., forbidding the teaching of the Civil Law
in the City of London.
With the accession of Edward I. — the English Justinian,
as he is styled by Sir Matthew Hale — ^the real consolida-
tion of the Common Law commenced, and for two
centuries continued to develop upon the lines already
established.
During- this period its principles became more firmly
embedded as the law of the land, and in the struggle
between the Crown and the Baronag-e these were
developed and extended at the expense of both. In
the chaos which accompanied the final stage of the
quarrel the law was naturally one of the first institu-
tions to suff'er. But we must not forget the immense
influence of the Corpus Juris upon its growth and develop-
ment, from the discovery of the Pandects at Amalfi,
when nearly all our judges and lawyers became Civilians,
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 33
deeply saturated with Roman law. Nevertheless the
spirit remained English if the form was sometimes
Roman.
Times of stress, however, once more threatened the
Common Law. With the Renaissance it was even in
danger of utter extinction. Throughout the Continent
codification was in the air. In France it was said that
every time one changed one's post-horses one changed
one's law, so numerous were the local customs under
which the people lived. Upon the revival of classical
learning, it was only natural that men should turn once
more to the Corpus Juris, that masterpiece of ordered
law which especially appealed to men distracted by innu-
merable local customs, royal ordinances, and ecclesiastical
regulations. So to the age of the Renaissance and to
the age of the Reformation must be added the age of
the Reception, i.e. the reception of Roman law.
In England the Reception had been preached by
Reginald de la Pole, cousin to Henry VIII., and his
preaching was singularly opportune. It is true that
Henry prohibited the academic study of the Canon Law,
but he encouraged that of the Civil Law by the foundation
of professorships at Oxford and Cambridge. The dis-
continuance of the Year Books — that great stream of
law reports which had been flowing ever since the days
of Edward I. — in the year 1535 was an ominous sign of
the times. The Church was in subjection, the Baronage
was decimated and powerless, and Parliament existed
merely to register the royal edicts of the English Lex
Regia, which gave the force of statutes to the King's
proclamations. The King's Council, the Star Chamber,
and the Court of Requests might easily have Romanised
English procedure.
As late as Edward VI. 's reign the procedure in the
Court of Requests, presided over by Dr. Thomas Smith,
a Civilian, is described as being "altogether according
1)
34 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
to the process of summary causes in civil law," and other
courts with a similar procedure were also in existence.
To a monarch who wished to be supreme in Church as
well as State, there was pleasanter reading- in the Byzan-
tine Code than in our venerable Year Books. In the days
of the great divorce case and the subsequent quarrel with
the Papacy, Henry found the jurists from the Universities
of Oxford and Cambridge, Padua and Bourges, indispens-
able. By these jurists the barbarism of English law was
denounced in strong terms, and to some extent deservedly
so. It is therefore no matter for surprise that amongst
the many contemplated reforms Henry should have formed
the project of reforming the Inns of Court and instituting
a great college of law, or legal university, such as had
existed under the first three Edwards. Henry also con-
ceived the project of an ecclesiastical code, of which a
draft is extant, as well as in all probability that of a civil
code. Throughout the Continent and in Scotland the
Reception gained the day. Why did it fail to do so in
England ?
One difference, says Professor Maitland in his Rede
Lecture for 1901, marked off England from the rest of the
world. Mediaeval England had schools of national law.
These schools were distinctively English, and they appear
to have existed nowhere else. Of these guilds or frater-
nities of lawyers we know next to nothing, but they
evolved a scheme of legal education, embracing not only
an academic scheme of the mediceval sort, oral and dis-
putatious, but also a practical scheme by which their duly
qualified members alone had audience in the Courts.
It was their successors, the Inns of Court, that in the
opinion of Professor Maitland, whose authority in such
matters is unrivalled, saved English law in the age of the
Renaissance. That the case was desperate is clear. The
results of Henry's inquiries addressed to Thomas Denton,
Nicholas Bacon, and Robert Cary, relating to the reform
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 35
of the Inns of Court and a colleg-e of law, do not appear
to have been such as the King- anticipated. In neither is
there any mention of the Civil Law, and the commissioners
propose nothings more drastic than such reforms in legal
education as might be expected from English barristers of
their hig-h standing. As the project was dropped, and as
the Inns of Court were then not worth plundering, we
may infer that Henry was not over-pleased with the report.
Had the commissioners been more complaisant, Henry
might have represented in his own person the three R's —
Renaissance, Reformation, and Reception. As it was,
the Common Law had a narrow escape. Shortly after
Henry's death a wail went up in the form of a "Petition
of divers students of the common law to the Lord Pro-
tector and the Privy Council." The Common Law, they
cried, was being- set aside by writs and decrees of
Chancery g-rounded upon the Civil Law, and by the judg-
ments of Civilian judges ignorant of the law of the land,
to such an extent that few men were left in the profession.
Ten years later, as we learn from Stow, there was so
little business in Westminster Hall that both the judges
and a handful of Serjeants had nothing- to do but look
about them, and in criminal causes of any political im-
portance we find the Court composed of two or three
doctors of Civil Law, a course that threatened to become
permanent. Once more, however, the peril was averted,
and in the hands of Plowden, Coke, Selden, Prynne, and
Hampden those cherished and hard-won principles of
English liberty and freedom, constitutional law and order,
were rescued and developed, and finally wrung by the iron
hand of a Cromwell from a would-be despot.
Upon the foundation of that rock, so nearly submerged,
a hundred legislatures, more or less, are now building^.
But there is still work to be done by the Inns of Court as
important as that when they saved the English Common
Law schools. As the foundation and centre of a great
36 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
legal university, with a past that is unique in the history
of the world, and with institutions and traditions older
even than those of Parliament, the Inns of Court, by the
unification of English law, might weld together those in-
numerable sections of our British Commonwealth by a
bond stronger even than blood.
Law schools make tough law, and One Law makes One
People.
THE CONSTITUTION OF AN INN OF COURT
The Inns of Court were modelled upon the old trade
guilds, to which they owe their origin. The governing
body consisted of the Benchers, whose numbers were un-
limited, and who co-opted such members of the Utter Bar
of twelve years' standing as they desired to add to their
ranks. This procedure is still in operation. All the
property of the Inn is vested in the Masters of the Bench.
Their orders are binding upon all members of the society.
By them members are called to the Bar, and subject to an
appeal to the judges, they may refuse to call any member.
Offenders against their orders may be punished by fine,
by forfeiture of their chambers, by expulsion from the
Hall, by putting out of commons, or by final expulsion
from the precincts of the house. These punishments,
curiously enough, closely resemble those inflicted upon
the Knights Templars. For a slight offence an ancient
Templar was withdrawn from the companionship of his
fellows, and not allowed to eat with them at the same
table. For graver affairs they were deprived of their
lodgings and compelled to sleep outside in the open ; and
for the most heinous crimes they were imprisoned in the
penitential cell in the church — frequently with fatal results
— or expelled from the Order. This power of imprison-
ment was exercised by the Masters of the Bench of the
Inner Temple as late as 1558, when eight gentlemen of
the house "were committed to the Fleete for wilfull
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 37
demenoure and disobedience to the Bench and were
worthyly expulsed the fellowshyppe of the house, since
which tyme upon their humble suite and submission unto
the said Benchers of the said house, it is agreed that they
shall be readmitted into the fellowshyppe and into commons
again, without paying any fine."
This similarity in regulations is probably a mere co-
incidence. Such punishments were general in societies
such as those of the Templars and the old voluntary
fraternities or guilds, both semi-ecclesiastic in origin.
At the head of the Masters of the Bench stood the
Treasurer, who presided at the parliaments, and to whom
certain definite duties in relation to the governance of the
Inn and the maintenance of its buildings were assigned.
He was elected yearly from the ranks of the Benchers.
To assist the Treasurer in the internal arrangement of
the society, there were at the Inner Temple originally
three Governors, but since 1566 such ofiicers have ceased
to be elected.
Next to the Governors in importance came the Lector
or Reader, selected from the Utter Barristers, and entitled
after the expiration of his term of office to be elected a
Master of the Bench. During his term he had precedence
over other Benchers, and enjoyed certain privileges in the
admission of members. His duties were onerous. He
was required to give a specified number of readings or
lectures to the students both of the Inn and of the Inns of
Chancery affiliated to the society, and to act as president
at the moots, as the debates were and are still called, at
which fictitious cases were put and argued by the students.
He was also required to provide entertainments for all the
members of the Inn, known as the Reader's Feasts, and
which were of a very costly nature. Refusal to take up
this office subjected the off"ender to a heavy fine and the
liability to be disabled from ever becoming a Master of
the Bench. In 1547 this fine was fixed at ^40, and in
420743
38 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
1624 we find John Selden being- fined ^20 and ordered to
be for ever disabled from being called to the Bench or
being a Reader of the Inner Temple.
Amongst the privileges of the Reader was that of
hanging his coat-of-arms upon the walls of the Hall, a
survival from Templar days, when the "poor chivalry of
Christ " used to hang up their shields upon entering the
Hall, The earliest of these is that of Thomas Lyttelton,
a Reader in the reign of Henry VI., and whose cele-
brated Essay on Tenures had formed the subject of his
lectures.
Double Readers were those who were called upon to
read twice, and were consequently regarded with immense
respect.
The remaining officials were the four Auditors, two
selected from the Bench and two from the Bar, who audited
the Treasurer's accounts, and a Pensioner, who collected
the pensions or payments due from the members to the
society.
These officers met for the ordinary business of the Inn
at what was and is still known as the Bench Table. For
matters of greater importance the Benchers met in parlia-
ment, whence arose the name of the Parliament Chamber.
The bar of the old Courts was not the imaginary one
of to-day, but a substantial barrier of iron or wood,
separating the judges and their officials from the litigants
and their attorneys and advocates, as well as witnesses
and the prisoners. Thus the pleader stood at the bar
or ouster the bar, and gained the name of Apprenticius
ad Barros, or Utter Barrister, and later of Barrister-at-
Law. In court the order of precedence was Serjeants-
at-Law, Benchers, and Utter Barristers, and so continued
up to the seventeenth century. In later times the Utter
Barrister was called within the Bar and became known as
an Inner Barrister, and later still as "a silk," from the
material of his gown, the junior barrister taking the cast-
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE 39
off name of Utter or Outer Barrister, or the more
colloquial term of "stuff gownsman."
Next to the junior barristers, who, although called,
were not, at least in early days, entitled to plead in
court, ranked the clerks -commoners, corresponding to
the students of to-day. They were originally called
apprenticii ad legon — another instance of the connection
of the Inns of Court with the guilds — a term which was
afterwards applied to a body of lawyers ranking next to
the Serjeants. These were called the great apprentices
of the law, or apprenticii iwbiliorcs^ and in the fifteenth
century the title was used to designate even Serjeants
and judges.
The above order was strictly observed in Hall. At the
upper table on the dais sat the Benchers and such noble-
men, judges, and Serjeants as formerly belonged to the
society and still retained their chambers. The second,
third, and fourth tables were occupied respectively by the
utter and junior barristers and the students, whilst behind
the screen and under the minstrel gallery was the
Yeomen's Table, for the use of the Benchers' clerks.
CHAPTER II
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE
AND SOME OF THEIR INMATES
THE HALL
WHATEVER the truth con-
cerningf the origin and
separation of the two societies,
that of the Inner undoubtedly
succeeded to the ancient Hall or
refectory of the Knights Tem-
plars. The date of this ancient
building' is only a matter of con-
Seal of the Km.ht. Templars, Jecture. Some authorities place
1204. the date of its erection as early
as the eighth century, but how-
ever this may be, it was probably standing when the
Round of the church was built by the Templars in 1185,
the small Gothic windows on the north dating from the
restoration or partial rebuilding which took place in the
reign of Edward III.
In 1606 and 1629, owing to the then ruinous condition
of the Hall, extensive repairs and restorations took place,
and two centuries later its condition was still more
dangerous, as we learn from a report made in 1816 by the
Treasurer, Joseph Jekyll, But beyond patching up the
old rubble walls with brickwork, and renewing the rotten
timbers, nothing of a permanent kind was done.
40
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 41
After the restoration in 18 16 we learn from the Gentle-
man's Magazine that at the western end were three
canopied niches with statues of three early English
lawgivers, viz. Alfred, Edward I., and Edward III., all
executed by Rossi, the last two copied from their effigies
in Westminster Abbey.
Thus the old Hall of the Knights Templars stood until
its final demolition in 1866, being utterly inadequate for
the use of the constantly increasing members of the
house.
This was the old Hall where the Knights Templars
partook of humble fare, sitting two by two, and where on
feast days they entertained with sumptuous hospitality
kings and princes, Papal legates, and foreign ambassadors.
Here too the guilty expiated their offences by offering
their naked backs to be scourged with leathern thongs,
and this was the scene of those alleged idolatrous rites
when the Novices of the Order were compelled to spit on
the cross, kiss the idol with the black figure and shining
eyes, and worship the golden head, which were kept
secreted in the Treasury adjoining !
Here the members of the Inner Temple dined in their
turn, eating their meat off wooden platters, and quaffing
their strong ale out of ashen mugs, a practice continued
till about 1560, when green-glazed earthenware pots
and jugs replaced the latter. Several specimens of these
have been recovered from the old wells. Wooden cups
are of very ancient date. In the inventory of the Knights
Templars "cups of maple wood with silver feet" are
mentioned. These may be compared with the wooden
peg-tankards of Saxon times. Here they sat at table in
the order already indicated, almost exactly as they do
to-da}-. Instead of a well-swept fioor, they had a carpet
of fresh rushes, and in place of the electric light, candles
and flaring torches; whilst a wood or charcoal fire radiated
its heat and smoke impartially from the centre of the Hall,
42 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
a certain proportion of the latter escaping- through the
smoke-louvre above, as was then customary.
Round this fire, after dinner, the Master of the Revels
solemnly conducted the guest of the evening. One of
the most splendid entertainments in the old Hall during
the reign ot Queen Victoria was the magnificent banquet
given in the month of July, 1843, to the late King of
Hanover, the Queen's uncle.
The Priests' Hall in the Inner Temple.
The south entrance to the old Hall was on the same
site as to-day, and is the one referred to by Charles
Lamb in 182 1, when in his memorable essay on the
Old Benchers he mourns over the changes which had
taken place. " They have lately Gothicised the entrance
to the Inner Temple Hall and the library front, to assimi-
late them, I suppose, to the body of the Hall, which they
do not at all resemble." "What," he asks, "has become
of the winged horse that stood over the former? a stately
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 43
arms ! " The " library front " is probably the building- at
the east end of the Hall, pulled down in 1819, and rebuilt
after the Pointed style.
Just outside the north door of the old Hall stood the
chapel of St. Thomas, through which access was g-ained
to the cloisters, and thence still under cover to the church,
to which entrance was gained either through St. Anne's
Chapel, or through a door on the south of the Round no
longer in existence, or throug^h the present main entrance.
One section of these cloisters with groined arches and
corbels still exists in a chamber at the west end of the
present Hall. This chamber measures about 23 feet by 15,
presenting the appearance, writes Mr. Inderwick, K.c, of
a small refectory, and which the learned counsel thinks
was probably the refectory of the priests, being described
indifferently in our records as the " Hall of the Master of
the Temple," or the "Hall of the Priests." The walls
are of rubble and Kentish rag, similar to those of the old
Hall. The ceiling is supported by groined arches in stone,
and an open fireplace of later date stands at the northern
end. Of the two stone recesses, one resembles a piscina,
whilst the other was probably used as a cupboard. A
window corresponding with that in the buttery above is
now blocked up. The floor is on the same level as the
ancient floor of the church and chapel of St. Anne.
Almost immediately above this chamber is the Buttery,
" Promptuarium," with which it communicated by a
flight of stone steps. Some of these have recently been
removed and the staircase blocked up to make room for
a huge safe for the Inn's plate. The ceiling of the
buttery is also supported by stone groined arches. Ad-
joining the buttery on either side were other chambers,
known by members of the Inn as "the Butteries."
Upon scraping ofl" the old plaster on the outside of
the north wall in 1756, several very ancient doorways
and windows were discovered. .\bove these chambers
44 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
again appear to have been others, called "the Hall
Chambers" or "the chambers over the buttery"; whilst
those on the ground floor, on a level with the Priests'
Hall, were known as "the chambers under the Hall
stairs," where we find the brilliant Sir William Webb
Follett in 1825. To the west of these building's, as in
the days of the Knights Templars, stood the brewery,
The Inner Temple Buttery.
where the beer for the society was brewed until its re-
moval to make way for the new Hall and kitchens.
The new buildings were erected, from the designs ot
Sir Sydney Smirke, partly upon the old foundations, and
preserved as far as possible the old lines of construction,
leaving intact the Priests' Hall and buttery. They were
opened on May 14th, 1870, by Princess Louise on behalf
of Queen Victoria, as may be seen from the Latin in-
scription over the south entrance to the Hall.
Upon this occasion the Princess, who was accompanied
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 45
by H.R. H. Prince Christian, was entertained at a dcjetiner
in the new Hall, which was gfaily decorated with flowers.
The Lord Chancellor, Lord Hatherley, appeared in his
black velvet court suit ; the Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas, Sir William Bovill, in his scarlet robe ; and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Robert Lowe, in his blue
and g'old official dress ; whilst the Queen's Counsel wore
their silk gowns, with long--bottomed wig's and knee-
breeches ; the barristers their wigs, bands, and gowns ;
and the students their gowns. After the Hall had been
declared opened by the Princess, Prince Christian was
enrolled a Bencher of the House.
The following week an inaugural banquet was given in
the Hall, at which His Majesty, then Prince of Wales,
was present, with Prince Christian, hi addition to the
Lord Chancellor, the company included Mr. W. E.
Gladstone (Prime Minister), the Earl of Derby, Earl
Grey, Lord John Manners, Lord Cairns, Dr. Thomson
(Archbishop of York), the Duke of Richmond, Earl
Granville, Lord Westbury, and Dr. Wilberforce (Bishop of
Winchester), together with most of the judges, Serjeants,
and eminent counsel. The presence of Mr. Gladstone is
alone sufficient to render this occasion memorable in the
history of our society. Gladstone and Disraeli were both
members of Lincoln's Inn, and by a singular coincidence
both their names were withdrawn from the register on
the same day in the month of November, 1831.
The exterior of the Hall does not prepare one for the
noble proportions of this fine chamber. Mr. Loftie's
assertion that Smirke, in common with many modern
architects, has contrived to make his buildings appear
smaller than they really are, seems to be well founded.
It is ninety-four feet in length, forty-one in width, and
forty to the springing of the hammer-beams.
At the east end, on the south, is a fine bay-window,
decorated with heraldic glass. On the panelling which
46 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
runs round the Hall is a succession of coats-of-arms
of Treasurers and Readers from the time of Sir John
Skylling-, who was Reader in 1506. Thus is perpetuated
the custom of the Knights Templars, who used to hang-
their shields upon the walls when at meals. The two
doors concealed in the panelUng at the east end lead into
the Parliament Chambers — a handsome set of rooms, the
walls of which are covered with portraits and engravings
of legal luminaries.
The two doors now at the north and south entrances
to the Hall are probably survivals of " a great carved
screen," which Dugdale mentions as being erected in the
Hall in 1574. They are very handsomely carved and both
of the same pattern. The one at the southern entrance
bears the date 1575; the other is undated, and in the
upper portion is not quite finished by the carver. What
became of this screen is unknown. The present one is
quite modern.
The four bronze statues, two on either side of the
central door in the screen, were designed by H. H.
Armstead, r.a., in 1875. The two inner figures represent
Knights Templars, and the two outer Knights Hospitallers,
The Templar on the left of the central door is intended to
represent William Mareschal, the powerful minister of
Henry HL They originally stood in the gallery, being
intended by the sculptor to be viewed at a distance, but
so fine is the sculpture that a closer inspection is no
detriment. At page 6 are shown the two figures on
the right. The figure on the left in the illustration is a
Knight Templar, and that on the right a Knight Hos-
pitaller. Beneath the large painting of Pegasus hangs
a perfect galaxy of portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller :
William HI. and his queen Mary, Anne, George H. and
Caroline. With these are hung the portraits of the
Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Com-
mons. On the north wall may be seen portraits of
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 47
Gabriel Neve, Esq., Sir Randolph Carew, Thomas
Sherlock, for fifty years Master of the Temple, Sir
Crosswell Levinz by Richardson, and John Herbert, Esq.
Above the minstrel gallery hang Sir Edward Coke, the
famous Chief Justice, and Sir Thomas Lyttelton. The
south wall contains some even more important personages
— Christopher Benson, Master of the Temple, Sir Simon
Harcourt, the silver-tongued Chancellor, and Sir Matthew
Hale, the famous Chief Justice from Lincoln's Inn.
Dr. Benson was the port wine drinker whom Sydney
Smith liked better " in the bottle than in the wood."
THE LIBRARY AND PARLIAMENT CHAMBERS
At the east end of the old Hall formerly stood a little
building with the eastern window of the Hall looking over
its roof. According to Mr. Inderwick, K.c. , this building
was of one story only, but in the map of 1671 two tiers
of windows are given. This was the old library, which
was blown up with gunpowder in the fire of 1678 in order
to save the Hall, and which was rebuilt, together with the
end of the Hall, in the year 1680. Towards the cost of its
rebuilding and wainscoting Sir George Jeffreys, then His
Majesty's Serjeant-at-Law, contributed ^£40.
Long before the reign of Henry VL, writes Mr.
Inderwick, k.c, the Inn had a library, a possession which
placed the House far in advance of the other societies.
Reference to this building, which was at the western end
of the Hall and called the upper library, where the
gentlemen of the House dined in term time, when the
accommodation of the Hall did not suflice, and where
during vacation they played hazard, appears in the
records for 1505, for in that year we find that " Knyghtly
and Baker are assigned a chamber newly made under the
library."
A reference to the library at the east end of the Hall
occurs in the records for 1530, when the Treasurer,
48 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Thomas Audley, Speaker of the House of Commons,
and afterwards Lord Chancellor, was allowed to make
"a door out of his chamber into the library of this
House," provided it were not "to the nuisance of the
members of the same House."
Immediately behind the old library and attached to the
Treasurer's house on the east stood an ancient tower
built of chalk, rubble, and rag stone, surmounted by a
wooden cupola with a bell. In this turret were sets of
chambers. After undergoing similar repairs to those
of the old Hall, it was pulled down in 1866 and replaced,
though much further east, by the stone clock-tower which
gives access to the new library.
East of the Treasurer's house, which included the
Parliament Chambers and offices, stood Babington's
Rents, erected about the year 1530, and in the intervening
space between these chambers and the library a few years
later chambers were built, known as Packington's Rents.
In 1 5 18 we find John Packington " admitted to a chamber
at the door of the Hall."
Sir John Packington enjoyed the favour of Henry VIII.
to such an extent that by an extraordinary grant he was
allowed to wear his hat in the presence of the King and
in that of his successors. He was Recorder of London,
a Welsh judge, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. During
his Treasurership the wall along the river was built and
the ceiling of the Hall constructed, and for his "many
and sundre payns " in these matters he was thanked by
the Benchers in 1533.
North of Babington's Rents and parallel with the
Cloisters, thus completing the old ecclesiastical quad-
rangle, were Bradshaw's Rents, probably erected about
the year 1544, when Henry Bradshaw was elected
Treasurer of the House.
All these buildings or their successors — for some had
suffered in the various fires — were swept away to make
V ^— - -'■^^^'tl-
INNER TEMl'LE COURT
BUILDIXG. IN THE INNER TEMPLE 49
room for the new 1 irliament Chambers and the library.
The ground and first floors are given up to the Parliament
Chambers, offices, and lecture-rooms, whilst the whole of
<-he second floor is devoted to the library.
In c(-'^ sequence of the bequest by William Petyt, a
former Treasurer of the House and Keeper of the Records
at the Tower, of his MSS. and books, together with the
sum of ^150 towards a new library, a second room was
in 1709 built or fitted up as a library, in which Petyt's
MSS. remained under lock and key for many generations.
These MSS., consisting of original letters from kings
and queens of this country, diplomatists, foreign agents,
and other distinguished personages, are still of great value,
notwithstanding the recent labours of the Record Oflice.
Together with our own records, they now reside in the
private room of the Treasurer, who is specially respon-
sible for their safe custody.
Apart from a law library of some 26,000 volumes, the
new library contains a collection of historical and literary
works amounting to 36,000 volumes, especially rich in
county histories and books on architecture and the fine
arts.
The building itself is of very considerable dimensions,
consisting of numerous divisions leading one into the
other. For accommodation and comfort, and in the
absolute freedom of access to the bookcases, this library
is probably unequalled in London. The north wing, upon
the site of No. 2, Tanfield Court, was opened in 1S82.
Over the fireplace in the old library was a fine piece
of woodcarving attributed to Grinling Gibbons, bearing
the inscription, '*T. Thoma Walker Arm. a.d. 1705,"
which was the result of a payment of ^20 5^. made by
Sylvester Petyt, Principal of Barnard's Inn and brother
of William, as executor of the latter's will. It has now
found a resting-place in the anteroom to the Parliament
Chamber, where a portrait of William Petyt also hangs.
so THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Formerly the chief butler combined the duties of
librarian with those of his more humble office ; but after
the Petyt bequest a Mr. Samuel Carter, upon finding two
sureties for ^i,ooo, was appointed "library keeper" at a
salary of ^£20 a year. The present librarian, Mr. J. E. L.
Pickering, is a well-known expert in bibliography.
Amongst the objects of interest in the library is a case
containing a collection of serjeants' rings, given by the
following Serjeants upon their creation, viz. William Fry
Channell, 1840; Lord Campbell, 1850; Charles Crompton,
1852 ; William Ballantine, 1856 ; John Richard Quain,
1871 ; and William Field, 1875. Each ring bears its
appropriate motto.
The Benchers' committee-room contains a fairly good
collection of paintings and engravings relating to the
Temple. The most interesting of these are undoubtedly
two paintings said to have been executed by Hogarth in
1734, one of King's Bench Walk and the other of the
Middle Temple Hall. Another painting which may be
attributed to J. Maurer, and from which the engraving
shown at page 68 was probably taken, was presented to
the society by Mr. Lawson Walton, k.c, a Bencher of
the Inn, and equally well known in the Courts and at
Westminster.
CLOISTER COURT
The quadrangle formed by the church and the Master's
house (originally said to be in a line with the church, on
the site of the present garden) on the north, by Bradshaw's
Rents on the east, by the Hall, Treasurer's house, library,
Packington's and Babington's Rents on the south, was
completed by the erection of chambers over the cloisters.
When these were erected is unknown, but they were
standing in 1526, for in that year we find a Mr. Grenfeld
"admitted to a chamber over the cloisters." Only a
portion, however, of these cloisters— that nearest the Hall
— was built over.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 51
The space thus enclosed was originally the burial-ground
of the Knights Templars, as is evidenced by the discovery
of some traces of their interments. It remained as an
open space for recreation until the erection of Caesar's
Buildings in 1596, v^'hich were built at the chief charge of
Sir Julius Caesar, then Master of the Rolls and Treasurer
of the House, a son of Caesar Adelmare, the Italian
physician to Queen Elizabeth. This site is now occupied
by Lamb Building, the property of the Middle Temple.
These buildings are described in our records for 1596 as
''adjoining the upper end of the Hall," and three years
later as " the new buildings adjoining to the north part of
the Hall." It is difficult to assign any other site to them
than that now occupied by Lamb Building, but I am free
to confess that this site is open to doubt.
Abutting on the north-east corner of the cloisters for-
merly stood a row of small chambers and shops. These
were built right up to the south wall of the church and
reached nearly as far as the east end of the church, form-
ing another quadrangle — imperiiim in itnperio — known as
Cloister Court. These buildings, which had been a con-
stant source of danger to the church, were swept away
early in the last century. This quadrangle then became
known as Lamb Court, and later as Lamb Building, from
the lamb painted over the door of the only building left.
TANFIELD COURT
With the erection of Caesar's Buildings a second court
was formed in the larger quadrangle, and Bradshaw's
Rents becoming the residence of Sir Lawrence Tanfield,
a great personage of the House, received the name of
Tanfield Court. Henry Bradshaw, Chief Baron of the
Exchequer in 1552, was one of the witnesses to the seal
affixed by Edward VI. to the instrument settling the
crown on Lady Jane Grey. His immediate successors at
the Exchequer were David Brooke, Treasurer of the
52 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
House, Roger Manwood, one of the commissioners on the
trial of Mary of Scotland, also a member of the House ;
and Lawrence Tanfield, one of the judgfes at the trial of
the Countess of Somerset for the mvirder of Sir Thomas
Overbury of the Middle Temple. For eigfhteen years Tan-
field presided over the Court of Exchequer, with much credit
for his independence, integrity, and learning. By some he
is accused of being harsh, unjust, and even corrupt.
In Tanfield Court a cruel murder took place in 1733.
For a few pounds a charwoman named Sarah Malcolm
strangled an old lady, Mrs. Duncumbe, and cut the throat
of her little maid, Anne Price. Malcolm was executed at
the Fleet Street end of Mitre Court, after sitting for her
portrait to Hogarth, with all the vanity engendered by
her evil notoriety.
OLD BUILDINGS IN THE OUTER GARDEN
The Outer Garden, upon which from time to time
chambers were erected, lay north of the church, and
extended up to the houses in Fleet Street as far as Middle
Temple Lane. We find in the records for the year 1567
an " order that the nuisance made by Woodye by building
his house in the Outer Garden shall be abated and plucked
down, or as much thereof as is upon Temple ground,"
and in a marginal note is the injunction, "The jettinge
over of the building of Wooddy in the corner of the Utter
Gardein to be pulled downe." And in 1565 occurs another
order "for the plucking down of a study newly erected
by the ' jakes ' in the Outer Garden." Immediately north
of the church, on the site of the present Goldsmith
Building, a tower is marked on the map of 167 1. This
Mr. Inderwick, K.c, thinks is the Bastelle referred to in
the records for 1510, when "a chamber where Edward
Halys lay in ' le Bastelle ' in the Outer Temple " was
assigned to Pett and Audele. This would make the
Outer Garden identical with the Outer Temple, which,
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 53
as we know, was certainly west of Middle Temple Lane.
Other building-s probably in this neig-hbourhood were " le
Barentyne " and " le Olyvaunte," names derived from the
elephant, a well-known sign, and " le Talbott," meaning
a white bloodhound, the crest of the Talbot family. On
or about the site of Farrar's Building was, in 1338, the
Bishop of Ely's town residence. Of all these, not even
the names survive. With the exception, then, of the
church and some portions of the Hall, all the mediaeval
buildings have disappeared. They have either been de-
stroyed in the numerous fires which, with too great
frequency, have occurred in the Temple, or have been
pulled down to make room for more commodious dwellings.
And indeed until some time subsequent to the building of
the river wall in 1528, which was not far from the
southernmost point of the present Paper Buildings, there
does not appear to have been a single erection below the
line drawn from Whitefriars Gate to Essex House. As to
the dwellings above this line, the accommodation they
appear to have afforded to lawyers and students alike can
have been but scanty.
MITRE COURT BUILDINGS
Retracing our steps to the top of King's Bench Walk,
or Exchequer Court, as the upper end of the walks was
formerly called, we now find Mitre Court Buildings, the
site of the old Fuller's Rents.
The first portion of these buildings was commenced in
1562, and in 1576 Francis Beaumont, afterwards a Justice
of the Common Pleas, and father of Francis Beaumont
the great dramatist, was admitted to a chamber in these
buildings, and here probably his more famous son, who
was admitted to the society on November 3rd, 1600,
passed much of his time, if he did not actually share his
father's room. The second part of Fuller's Rents, to the
west, was not built till some years later, the first
54 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
tenant — a Mr. Raymond — being admitted to a chamber
here in 1588.
The Middle Temple, about the commencement of
Elizabeth's reign, attempted to deprive the Inner Temple
of Lyon's Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery attached to
the latter society. The Benchers of the Inner accordingly
sought the good offices of Robert Dudley, afterwards
Earl of Leicester, the then reigning favourite of Elizabeth.
Whether the successful issue was due to the Earl's influence
or not, the Benchers of the Inner Temple showed their
gratitude by admitting Dudley, gratis, to a chamber at
the south end of Fuller's Rents in 1576. In the next year
they granted him a licence to extend the building, upon
the site now occupied by No. i. King's Bench Walk, for
the purpose of an office, for he then held the post of
Master of the Alienation Office.
Fuller's Rents had been built by John Fuller, Treasurer
of our House in 1 562. Master Fuller had previously in 1 5 50,
upon his refusal to take up the office of Reader, been ex-
pelled the House, and fined 100 marks. Upon his humble
submission and promise two years later to read at the next
vacation, he was pardoned and readmitted by the Bench.
Two other famous occupiers of Fuller's Rents were Sir
Thomas Bromley and Sir Edward Coke. The former was
a member of a distinguished legal family, and successively
Recorder of London 1566, Solicitor- General 1569, and
Keeper of the Great Seal and Lord Chancellor 1579. It
was Sir Thomas who presided at Throckmorton's trial for
his alleged participation in Wyatt's rebellion, and who
joined with other judges in refusing to allow a witness
produced by the prisoner to give evidence, and denying
him the inspection of a statute upon which he relied.
Bromley's summing up was so deficient, either from want
of memory or good will, that Throckmorton "craved
indiff'erency, and did help the judge's old memory with
his own recital."
t.
SIK liUWAKD COKE
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 55
At the back of Fuller's Rents was a gate leading into
Mitre Court and Ram Alley, and thence into The Street,
as Fleet Street was called at that time.
So great was the nuisance caused by this entrance,
owing to the disreputable houses in Ram Alley and Mitre
Court, that in 1595 the gate was ordered by the Bench to
be stopped up. This order was, however, apparently
never really carried out, since we find in 1600 and 1602
regulations issued for its supervision, regulations which
have been in force ever since. It was upon the complaint
of Rowland Hinde and William Atkynson, in the former
year, "that one Gibbes, dwelling in Ram Alley, late
removed the posts which stood in the Temple ground,
whereupon a door was wont to hang, and also built a
staircase upon the ground of the Temple . . . and made
two doors out of his kitchen opening into the Temple
ground, and made forms for such as resort to his house
upon the Temple ground to sit tippling and drinking, to
the great annoy of the students and gentlemen of this
House," that the Benchers ordered the nuisance to be
abated, "or else Ram Alley door to be shut up." A house
eventually effectually blocked up Ram Alley, which,
subsequent to the year 1799, itself disappeared. But
the passage which led from Mitre Court past Ram Alley
into Serjeants' Inn still exists, and proceedings are now
pending as to the right of the Benchers to close this gate.
And although the gate between King's Bench Walk and
Mitre Court is still religiously locked at eight o'clock, we
may take it the tippling and drinking ceased, or no longer
continued to shock the good breeding of the students and
gentlemen of our House.
Sir Edward Coke was, perhaps, as Judge Willis says,
the most illustrious member of our House. His "acute
intellect, powerful memory, untiring industry, the variety
of the ofiices he held, his courage in asserting the in-
dependence of the judges, his bold and daring efforts
56 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
to establish the rights and privileges of the citizen have
made him the greatest figure this House presents."
A student of Clifford's Inn, he was entered of the Inner
Temple in 1572, and in due course became Treasurer
of the House. In 1588, at the request of the Earl of
Warwick, he was admitted into the chambers in Fuller's
Rents granted to the Earl of Leicester, which he re-
tained until his death in 1634. The site of these chambers
is now covered by Nos. i and 2, Mitre Court Buildings.
Upon his elevation to the Bench, by the rules of the
society, Sir Edward ceased to be one of the Fellows ;
but he, nevertheless, retained these rooms, from which he
gained Serjeants' Inn by a private passage, still existing,
past a small garden, and through a door now seldom, if
ever, closed — the subject of the above-mentioned dispute.
It was by way of the Speakership in the House of
Commons that Coke reached the Bench, like so many
of his predecessors. His foulness of tongue is in singular
contrast with his greatness of character, and not even
the dignity of his high office appears to have restrained
this unhappy blemish. In taking leave of the House he
apologised for the unbecoming expressions into which his
natural proclivities had too often led him.
Too independent for James I., he was, in 1616, re-
moved from his office of Lord Chief Justice of the King's
Bench, but appointed Treasurer of England in commission.
In December, 1620, he was committed to the Tower, and
his chambers searched and his papers taken away, "and
yet nothing could be found in any of them to bring him
into question." On August 8th, 1622, he was released,
and subsequently sat in Parliament for Coventry, Norfolk,
and Bucks. In July, 1634, a warrant was again issued
to search his chambers in Fuller's Rents, and on the
3rd September following this true patriot and opponent
of the royal prerogative, harassed to the last, died at
Stoke Pogis, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 57
His portrait by Van Somer, presented by his daughter,
Mrs. Sadler, many years after, hangs in the Hall, and
many of his books may be found on the shelves in our
library.
The present building, which replaced the old chambers
where Charles Lamb and his sister once lodged, was
erected in 1830. In removing the foundations of these
old chambers, a number of Irish labourers employed
upon the work struck upon a hoard of guineas, which
they proceeded to distribute amongst themselves, but
falling out over the division of the spoil, they were
discovered by Mr. Gurney, clerk of the works, and
were all taken into custody and searched, when guineas
of all the sovereigns from Charles II. to George II., to the
number of sixty-seven, were found upon their persons.
It is of these chambers, in the attic story at No. 16,
that Lamb writes to Manning. "Bring your glass," he
cries exultantly, "and I will show you the Surrey Hills."
His bed faced the river, so that without much wrying his
neck he could see the white sails glide by the bottom of
King's Bench Walk as he lay abed. "The best room,"
he adds, " has an excellent tip-toe prospect, casement
windows with small panes — to look more like a cottage."
KING'S BENCH WALK
In the earliest known map of London, dated 1543, and
made by Antonio van den Wyngaerde, houses along the
site of King's Bench Walk are shown, with the garden
and trees down to the waterside, and a pathway running
along the river bank from Bridewell on the east to the
Savoy on the west, which was left untouched by the wall
built in the reign of Henry VIII.
The earliest erections on the east side of the Walk of
which we have mention are Black Buildings, erected in
the same year as Fuller's Rents by Benhani, Bourchier,
and Williams near the Alienation Oflice. These were
58 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
pulled down in 1663 for the enlarg-ement of the walks.
In the accounts for 1646 there is an item of ^18 i05'. lod.
for their repair, and ag'ain in 1659 a sum of ^37 us. for
a similar purpose.
In 1577 licence was granted to a Mr. Harrison "to
build next Friars' Wall." This was the wall dividing
Whitefriars from the Temple, and these buildings are de-
scribed as "standing up or near the White Friars' Wall
there," and were the last buildings in the row. They
probably occupied the site of No. 11 or 12, King's Bench
Walk. The old garden of the Alienation Office still lies
between No, 3, King's Bench Walk, and Serjeants' Inn.
After the destruction of these buildings in the Great
Fire the Bench resumed possession of the garden, which
became known indifferently as the "Benchers' garden,"
the " privy garden," or the "little garden." It was laid
out after the Dutch style with walks and grass plats, and
a fountain, with a lion's head and a copper scallop shell to
catch the water, was erected in the centre. Orange trees
in tubs were placed along the walks, and tulip beds of
fantastic designs cut out in the grass plats.
In later years, as fresh buildings arose around it, this
little pleasaunce was entirely neglected, and is now given
up to sheds for the machinery used for supplying the Hall
and library with electric light, and to a lecture-room
where students may imbibe the first principles of law,
where the Hardwicke Society holds its debates, and where
the Templar entitled to a vote in respect of his chambers
may exercise the franchise in parliamentary and municipal
elections.
To the annual dinner held by the Hardwicke Society —
a function attended by many of the judges and leading
counsel — it is customary to invite as the guest of the
evening some distinguished lawyer.
The last occasion, on June 5th, 1901, was exceptionally
interesting from the presence of that brilliant advocate of
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 59
the French Bar, Maitre Labori, as the guest of the evening".
The enthusiastic reception accorded was not merely a note
of admiration for a distinguished advocate, nor was it
merely an expression of good feeling on the part of the
English Bar towards the Bar of France, but it signified
the outspoken assertion of the paramount right of an
advocate to discharge without fear or favour his duty to
his client. '* It had been said," exclaimed M. Labori,
"that without independence there was no Bar. It was
no less true to add that without a Bar there was no
independence for the nation."
In the Great Fire of 1666 the whole of the buildings in
the King's Bench Walk appear to have been destroyed.
Scarcely had these, or some of them, been rebuilt, when,
in October, 1677, a second fire broke out, and the new
buildings were likewise burned down. That this fire did
not prove so disastrous to the Inn as the Great Fire was
due in a large measure to the precautions taken by the
Masters of the Bench, who had availed themselves of the
latest methods, such as they were, of extinguishing fires.
In the previous October a committee had sat "to consider
all necessary means to prevent any accidental fire in this
society, and to view the engine^ and to report what further
number of buckets will be necessary to be added to the
former, now hung up in the Hall."
Exactly how much suff'ered in the second fire is not
known, but a very considerable proportion must have
been destroyed. The King's Bench Ollice at the bottom
of the walks, we know, was burnt down. No. 4 was re-
built in 1678, as the stone tablet over the door testifies ;
and No. 5, a particularly fine example of a Jacobean town
mansion, in 1684. F'rom the petitions of persons burnt
out, it is clear that houses on either side of the White-
friars Gate suffered. Hampson's Buildings, "the southern-
most staircase in the King's Bench Buildings," and Robin-
son's Buildings adjoining, were both destroyed. In the
6o THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
latter a fire broke out in the long vacation of 1683, in
which Sir Thomas Robinson lost his life.
At No. I was to be found in 1819 James Scarlett, after-
wards Baron Abinger of Abinger in Surrey. In early
years a Whig, Scarlett became Attorney - General in
Canning's ministry of 1827. He continued to hold this
office under the Duke of WeUington, but on this minister's
downfall he resigned, and threw in his lot with the Tories.
In the debate on the second reading of the Reform Bill in
1831, he declared that if the Bill passed it would "begin
by destroying the House, and end in destroying the other
branches of the constitution" — a gloomy foreboding
happily still unfulfilled.
When at the Bar, Scarlett was himself defendant in an
action for slandering the plaintiff"'s attorney in a case tried
at the Lancaster Assizes in 1817, in which he had appeared
for the defendant. He certainly had attacked the unfor-
tunate attorney in no measured terms, describing him as
"a fraudulent and wicked attorney," terms, however,
which appear to have been fully warranted by the facts of
the case. It was held by the Court (Lord Ellenborough, c.j. ,
presiding) that the words were spoken in the cause, were
relevant and pertinent to it, and consequently the action
could not be maintained. Hodgson v. Scarlett thus became
the leading case upon the privilege of counsel in conduct-
ing a cause. As a stuff-gownsman Scarlett earned the
sobriquet of "Verdict-getter," so successful was he with
juries, and upon his elevation to the Bench in 1834, as
Chief Baron of the Exchequer, his income amounted to
;^i7,ooo a year. Upon his creation as Baron Abinger, he
became known in his family as " Bingie." An indifferent
sportsman, he was once staying at his brother's for the
shooting. The day wore on without the Chief Baron
having ruffled a feather. At last one of the beaters, as a
bird got up, cried out, "Let little Bingie 'ave a shot; 'e
can't 'it a barn-door ! " This was too much for the Chief
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 6i
Baron, who, with a muttered oath and '* I can't stand
this," beat a hasty and ignominious retreat.
In 1824 Mr. Scarlett was Treasurer of our House.
During- the latter part of his career at the Bar Scarlett
occupied chambers at No. 2, King's Bench Walk, where
is now to be found His Honour Judge William Willis, k.c. ,
one of the most popular men in the Temple, and the
present Treasurer of the Inner Temple. Mr. Willis is
the author of The Society and Fellowship of the hiner
Temple, a brochure dealing with the distinguished
members of our House. His chambers are shared by
Mr. Bargrave Deane, K.c, a well-known advocate in the
Divorce Court, and son of the late Sir James Parker
Deane, the great ecclesiastical lawyer. Both father and
son were Masters of the Bench of our House together for
many years — a unique experience. It was at No. 5 that
William Murray, afterwards the celebrated Lord Mans-
field, occupied the chambers referred to by CoUey Gibber
in his parody of the well-known lines by Pope : —
" Persuasion tips his tong-ue whene'er he talks,
And he has chambers in the King's Bench Walks. "
Coming somewhat late to the Bar, Murray delighted in
mixing with the great intellects of the day. With other
well-known men. Pope was a constant visitor at No. 5,
and the intimacy which sprang up between them was
never broken, as some of Pope's other friendships were.
Early in Murray's career the poet predicted for his pupil
in the art of elocution a great career. In his Epistle to
Mr. Murray, dated 1737, Pope asks :—
"And what is fame? The meanest have their day ;
The greatest can but blaze and pass away.
Graced as thou art, with all the power of words,
So known, so honoured, at the House of Lords."
Murray's first great case was the defence of the Provost
and Councillors of Edinburgh for their share in the
Porteous Riots, and the reference by Pope to the House
62 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of Lords is in allusion to Murray's successful appearance
in a larg-e number of appeals to that House, The lines
immediately following contain an exquisite compliment
and a prophecy singularly fulfilled more than half a century
afterwards : —
" Conspicuous scene ! another yet is nigh,
(More silent far) where kings and poets lie ;
Where Murray (long enough his country's pride)
Shall be no more than Tully or than Hyde."
In the statesmen's aisle in Westminster Abbey may be
seen the statue raised to the memory of this great man,
"a character above all praise, the oracle of law, the
standard of eloquence, and the pattern of all virtue both
in public and private life."
This statue was designed by Flaxman from the portrait
by Sir Joshua Reynolds, reproduced here.
At No. 5 also Murray was pestered with visits from Sarah,
the famous Duchess of Marlborough, who had sent him
a general retaining fee of one thousand guineas, which,
however, he promptly returned. At the trial of Home
Tooke in 1777 for libel, Lord Mansfield was the presiding
judge, and he no doubt used his persuasive powers with
the jury, as he did with the Benchers of the Inner Temple
when they refused, two years later, to call Home Tooke
to the Bar — a man who would have been an ornament to
the profession. His rejection — ostensibly because he was
still a clergyman — was as much due to the mean jealousy
of certain practising Benchers as to the political bias of
the great judge. When put on his trial for high treason.
Home Tooke conducted his defence so ably as to baffle
both the Bench and the Bar, and his usual good-humour
never forsook him. One cold night, on returning from
the Old Bailey to Newgate, a lady came up and put
a silk handkerchief round his neck, when he exclaimed,
"Pray, madam, be careful; I am rather ticklish at present
about that particular place ! "
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 63
Another notable inmate of No. 5 was Frederick Thesiger,
who commenced life as a midshipman, and was present
in 1807 on board the Camhyian at the second bombard-
ment of Copenhagen. Becoming heir to his father's West
India estates, he left the navy and entered Gray's Inn, by
which society he was called in 18 18.
N05K^G'S BENCH W\LKJ
Amongst his early cases was an action of ejectment
against his client, a lord of a manor, tried at Chelmsford,
which brought him into such repute that, when raised to
the peerage, he chose the title of Chelmsford in remem-
brance of his first great success.
Of his causes cclcbres perhaps the most remarkable
was that in which he exposed the fraudulent pretensions
64 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of the plaintiff to be the son of Sir Hugh Smyth, and as
such entitled to large estates in Gloucestershire and other
counties. This case no doubt formed the basis for Samuel
Warren's Ten Thousand a Year. He was also junior
counsel with John Campbell and Talfourd in the celebrated
crim. con. suit by Mr. Norton against Lord Melbourne.
He followed Sir William Webb Follett, both as Solicitor-
and Attorney-General, and in 1852 received the Great
Seal at the hands of Lord Derby. When Lord Chancellor
he was sued by Mrs. Swinfen for alleged negligence as
her counsel in the case of Swinfen v. Swinfefi.
In 1832 Thesiger occupied chambers at 5, Brick Court,
and from 1839 to 1842 in Twisden Buildings.
Other notable tenants of chambers in King's Bench
Walk were : Serjeant Parry, a member of the Middle
Temple, at No. 8, erected in 1782 ; Mr. Justice Manisty,
at No. 9, who occupied the room in which these lines
were penned until his elevation to the Bench; Sir William
Webb Follett, and Mr. Justice Bucknill, who delights to
be known to his friends in the Temple (and they are legion)
as "plain Tommy Bucknill," at No. 10; and Colin Black-
burn (eventually one of the Lords of Appeal), at No. 5, in
1840, a man of immense legal capacity and mental power,
whose judgments in the House of Lords are distinguished
for their knowledge and for their grasp of legal principles.
At No. 12, the last house but one at the bottom of the
Walk, was to be found, in 1850, Samuel Warren, q.c,
a member of a long line of lawyers, himself a lawyer,
politician, and novelist, and Treasurer of our House.
His Ten Thousand a Year had an enormous sale. Mr.
Quicksilver, counsel for Titmouse in Doe D. Titmouse
V. Aubrey^ was an open caricature of Lord Brougham,
whilst the immaculate Aubrey's counsel was inspired,
I fancy, by Frederick Thesiger. The original of the
famous firm of "Quirk, Gammon, and Snap," is said
to have been " Harmer, Flower, and Steele."
WILLIAM MUKKAY, EAKL Ol' .MA.NslIELD
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 65
One of the great objects in this book was to hold up to
ridicule the absurd old action of ejectment, a production
desig-ned to rival in legal absurdity the case of Bardell
V. Pickwick, in Dickens's immortal work, but a production
somewhat marred by the learned author's too pronounced
Lower King's Bench Walk.
political opinions. These are the chambers which he
describes in his novel as "this green old solitude, where
I am writing, pleasantly recalling long past scenes of the
bustling professional life."
His literary vanity was colossal. Appointed to a
Mastership in Lunacy by Lord Chelmsford (Frederick
Thesiger), he arranged for a dramatic farewell to the
F
66 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
House of Commons ; but the moment was unpropitious,
and the attempt was a fiasco. The House does not
tolerate such demonstrations, except at the hands of its
greatest. Upon the report that Warren had refused this
appointment, Disraeli remarked that "a writ de hinatico
inquirendo would have to be issued for Mr. Warren."
He seemed to imagine, writes Serjeant Robinson, that
society in general spent all its spare time in thinking
of him and admiring his productions.
In chambers he was to be found with a huge pile of
papers before him, as if engaged in getting up some
great case. Whilst thus occupied he received one day
a call from his friend Sir Henry Davison, upon whom
he endeavoured to impress the extent of his practice
and the select circle in which he moved.
"In fact, we ought to dine," he said, "to-night with
Lord and Lady Lyndhurst, but I have been obliged to
refuse on conscientious grounds."
"Oh," said Davison, "I am invited too. I will men-
tion that I have found you overwhelmed with work."
"I would rather you did not name the subject," said
Warren; " my wife has already sent an excuse to Lady
Lyndhurst."
" Nonsense," said Davison ; "I shall be able to confirm
her statement of your inability to attend."
"You will oblige me by saying nothing about it,"
replied Warren. "Your statement might clash with the
excuse my wife has given, and I am not aware of what
she wrote."
Finding Davison not to be diverted, Warren at last
confessed that he had only been joking, and had not
received any invitation at all.
" Neither have I," said Davison. " I was joking too ! "
In spite of these little weaknesses, Warren was a
lovable character and a distinguished ornament of our
House.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 6-]
PAPER BUILDINGS
Heyward's Building-s, on the western side of the
Walks, were erected about the year 1610 by one Edward
Heyward, who had for his chamber-fellow here the great
John Selden, perhaps the most celebrated lawyer of his
own time. Upon their site now stand Paper Buildings,
and on the very spot where Selden lodged and wrote his
great treatise, Mare Clausum, at No. i, are the chambers
occupied by Mr. Asquith, k.c, m.p., Home Secretary in
the last Gladstonian Ministry. By returning to his practice
at the Bar, Mr. Asquith has destroyed the old tradi-
tion that an ex-Home Secretary must not appear before
the judges whose decisions he may have had to review.
These buildings were four stories high. The topmost
had an open gallery, and in one of these rooms overlook-
ing the gardens Selden lived. In 1620, upon the " dis-
admittance " of Heyward, Selden was admitted, upon
a fine of 40^., to the whole set, since the double chamber
was *' but little, and had but one bed-chamber."
Selden took a prominent part in affairs of State in those
stirring times. Although trusted and consulted by James,
he suffered imprisonment at his hands in 1621. He was
one of the managers of Buckingham's impeachment in
1626, and in the following year defended Hampden.
He also assisted to hold down the Speaker in the
chair on that memorable occasion when Holies read the
" Protest," for which action he was arrested, and stood
again in danger of imprisonment. He died in 1654 at
the mansion of the Earls of Kent in Whitefriars, where
he had rooms for many years, and where his famous
library of 8,000 volumes was lodged. He left the large
fortune of ^40,000, his executors being Sir Matthew
Hale, Sir John Vaughan, his old friend Heyward, and
Roland Jewkes. He was magnificently buried in the
Temple Church, " near the steps where the saints' bell
68 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
hangeth," at night, after the primitive custom of the
early Christians, his funeral being- attended by all the
great men of the day. In an old print, dated 1755, a
small belfry is shown over the west gable of the south
aisle. His refusal to perform the office of Reader to
Lyon's Inn brought him into collision with the Bench.
He was fined ;^20, and disqualified to be called to the
Bench or to be Reader of the House. Having made his
peace, he was, eight years later, reinstated, and the
following year called to the Bench.
Edward Law, the celebrated Lord Ellenborough, after
being called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn, became a
member of our House in 1783, and in 1785 we find him
at No. 6, Paper Buildings. He was leading counsel for
the defence of Warren Hastings, and in 1802 he was
created Chief Justice of the King's Bench, the last holder
of that ofiice to sit in the Cabinet. He was one of the
greatest of our Common Law judges. His son Edward
became Governor-General of India and first Earl of
Ellenborough. He married for his second wife a lady
of great beauty and accomplishments, from whom he
obtained a divorce in 1830 for misconduct with Prince
Schwarzenburg. Lady Ellenborough is said to have
been the mistress of the King of Bavaria, although
married to one of his barons. After a career of adventure
in Europe the lady married at Damascus the Sheikh
Mijwal, and lived for many years in the desert.
Another distinguished member of our House is Stephen
Lushington, who, called to the Bar in 1806, was to be
found the following year at No. 14, Paper Buildings.
Returned for Great Yarmouth in the Whig interest,
Lushington, an ardent reformer, took an active and
leading part in the great political questions of the day.
His ability as counsel was evidenced by his masterly
speech in the defence of Queen Caroline. As Judge of
the High Court of Admiralty, and as Dean of Arches in
i^P
(<■'-
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 69
matters ecclesiastical, he attained the highest eminence.
He died in the ninety-second year of his age at Ockham
Park, still one of Surrey's beauty spots.
Edward Hall Alderson, called in 181 1 by the Inner
Temple, a few years later also had chambers at No. 14.
After a most distinguished career at Cambridge — he was
Senior Wrangler, first Smith's prizeman, and first Chan-
cellor's medallist, a treble event only once equalled, and
never excelled — he became a pupil of the great Chitty,
and ultimately Baron Alderson, of the Court of Exchequer.
By lawyers he is remembered as the author of Bnrnewall
and Aldersoji's Reports^ but by the public as the father
of the late talented Marchioness of Salisbury, whose
romantic marriage with Lord Robert Cecil, now Prime
Minister, is matter of history. Their second son, Lord
Robert Cecil, k.c. , occupies chambers at 4, Paper Build-
ings, not very far from the site of his grandfather's
rooms.
Two other eminent men, not lawyers, George Canning,
the statesman, and Samuel Rogers, the poet, lived in
these buildings in 1792, when the latter published his
Pleasures of Memory, a production which appealed so
strongly to the taste of the day. Rogers was an intimate
of Fox, Sheridan, and Home Tooke, and spent some
time with Byron and Shelley at Pisa.
It was to these chambers that Rogers relates how
Mackintosh and Richard Sharpe used to resort and stay
for hours arguing metaphysics, to such extent indeed
that Rogers used to leave them to it and go out, pay his
visits, transact his business, and return only to find them
still at it, and quite oblivious of his absence.
Rogers was a great talker himself, and in company
would brook no rival. He used to tell an amusing story
of a duel between an Englishman and a Frenchman, the
latter of whom had insisted upon fighting in a dark room.
The Englishman, unwilling to hurt his antagonist, when
70 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
his turn came to shoot fired up the chimney, when to his
astonishment down came the Frenchman, who had taken
refuge there. "But," added Rogers, with a sly wink,
"when I tell that story in Paris, it is the Englishman
who gets up the chimney."
Two new buildings, said by contemporary writers to
be "very elegant," were added in 1830 to the sovith-east
wing.
At the time of their destruction by fire in 1838, John
Campbell, afterwards the famous Lord Chancellor, and
Sir John Maule were inmates. In fact, the story goes
that the latter, before retiring to rest after a convivial
evening, carefully placed his lighted candle under his
bed ! At any rate the fire broke out in Maule's room,
but perhaps it would be more charitable to accept
Campbell's version, that "he had gone to bed, leaving
a candle burning by his bedside."
These were the buildings referred to by Charles Lamb
when he demanded, in his essay on The Old Benchers^
"Who has removed those frescoes of the Virtues, which
Italianised the end of Paper Buildings ? — my first hint
of allegory ! " In the illustration at page 6 these frescoes
or sculptures, the removal of which so roused Lamb's ire,
may be faintly discerned.
At No. 2 the late Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.c. , had
chambers. His cheery, genial presence and unfailing
wit and humour will not readily be forgotten in the
Temple or in the Courts. He was Solicitor-General in
the last Liberal Administration.
A very characteristic story is told of Maule, which is
said to have been the immediate cause of the Divorce
Act. Addressing a hawker convicted of bigamy, he
said: "You have broken the laws of your country.
You had a drunken, unfaithful wife, the curse of your
existence and her own. You knew the remedy the law
gave you, to bring an action against the seducer, recover
BUILDINGS L\ THE INNER TEMPLE 71
damages from him, then go to the House of Lords and
get a divorce. It would have cost you altogether ^1,000.
You may say you never had a tenth of that sum : that is
no defence in law. Sitting here as an English judge, it is
my duty to tell you that this is not a country in which
there is one law for the rich and another for the poor.
Your sentence is one day's imprisonment."
CROWN OFFICE ROW
It was at No. 2, Crown Office Row, in a back room,
that Charles Lamb was born, and here he spent the first
twenty years of his life. These buildings were erected in
1737, partly replacing the row of chambers rebuilt in
1628, described by Dugdale as "the Great Brick Build-
ings over against the Garden." Upon the terrace hard
by paced the lawyers whom Lamb has depicted so de-
lightfully in The Old Bencliers of tlic Inner Temple.
Here walked to and fro Jekyll with the roguish eye,
ever ready to be delivered of a jest ; Thomas Coventry,
of elephantine step, " the scarecrow of inferiors, the
brow-beater of equals and superiors, the terror of children
wherever he came, for they fled his insufferable presence
as they would have shunned an Elisha bear " ; Peter
Pierson, benevolent but ugly ; Daines Barrington, "another
oddity"; old Barton, "a jolly negation"; Read and
Twopenny, the one good-humoured and personable, the
other thin and felicitous; Wharry, with the " singular
gait," which did not seem to advance him faster than
other people ; the omniscient Jackson, the Friar Bacon of
the less literate portion of the Temple ; Mingay, with the
iron hand ; and last, but not least, the genial Salt, the
life-long benefactor of John Lamb and his children, who
had acquired a great reputation for learning, but who
was wont to hand over any perplexing opinion to Lovell
(Lamb's father), his clerk and factotum, to be elucidated
72 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
by the light of nature, or by such common sense as the
worthy Lovell possessed.
After living elsewhere, Lamb returned with his sister,
in the year 1800, to his beloved Temple, residing for the
first eight years at No. 16, Mitre Court Buildings, and for
the last nine years on the third and fourth floors of No. 4,
Inner Temple Lane, looking from the back windows into
Hare Court, with its pump, and trees rustling against the
window-pane. The three trees are still there, but the old
pump has vanished.
"Do you know it?" Lamb wrote to Manning. "I
was born near it, and used to drink at that pump when I
was a Rechabite of six years old. Here I hope to set up
my rest, and not to quit till Mr. Powell, the undertaker,
gives me notice that I may have possession of my last
lodging." This hope was, however, not realised, for he
left the Temple for good and died at Edmonton in 1834.
Few would accuse Lamb of intemperance. Still, the
following letter to his physician at Enfield shows that the
best of us sometimes fall from grace : —
"Dear Sir, — It is an observation of a wise man that
' moderation is best in all things.' I cannot agree with
him 'in liquor.' There is a smoothness and oiliness in
wine that makes it go down by a natural channel which I
am positive was made for that descending. Else, why
does not wine choke us ? Could Nature have made that
sloping lane, not to facilitate the downgoing? She does
nothing in vain. You know that better than I. You
know how often she has helped you at a dead lift, and
how much better entitled she is to a fee than yourself
sometimes when you carry off" the credit. Still, there is
something due to manners and customs, and I should
apologise to you and Mrs. A. for being absolutely carried
home upon a man's shoulders through Silver Street, up
Parson's Lane, by the Chapels (which might have taught
me better), and then to be deposited like a dead log at
GafFar Westwood's, who, it seems, does not 'insure'
against intoxication. Not that the mode of conveyance
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE n
is objectionable. On the contrary, it is more easy than
a one-horse chaise I protest I thought myself
in a palanquin, and never felt myself so grandly
carried. It was a slave under me. There was I, all
but my reason. And what is reason ? And what is
the loss of it? And how often in a day do we
do without it just as well? Reason is only counting
two and two makes four. And if on my passage home
I thought it made five, what matter? Two and two
will just make four, as it always did before I took the
finishing glass that did my business. My sister has
begged me to write an apology to Mrs. A. and you for
disgracing your party. Now, it does seem to me that I
rather honoured your party, for everyone that was not
drunk (and one or two of the ladies, I am sure, were not)
must have been set off greatly in the contrast to me. I
was the scapegoat. The soberer they seemed. By the
way, is magnesia good on these occasions ? Three ounces
of pol med sum ante noct in rub can. I am no licentiate,
N° 2.- "CR^M •QEFICE' E^^
74 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
but know enoug^h of simples to beg- you to send me a
draught after this model. But still you will say (or the
men and maids at your house will say) that it is not a
seemly sig-ht for an old gentleman to go home pick-a-back.
Well, maybe it is not. But I never studied grace. I
take it to be a mere superficial accomplishment. I regard
more the internal acquisitions. The great object after
supper is to get home, and whether that is obtained in a
horizontal posture or perpendicular (as foolish men and
apes affect for dignity) I think is little to the purpose. The
end is always greater than the means. Here I am, able
to compose a sensible, rational apology, and what signifies
how I got here? I have just sense enough to remember
I was very happy last night, and to thank our kind host
and hostess, and that's sense enough, I hope.
" Charles Lamb."
I should add that a copy of this letter was handed to
me for publication by the daughter of Mr. A , at
whose house, during the years 1829-32, Lamb was a
constant visitor.
Serjeant Talfourd, the intimate friend and biographer
of Lamb, has left us a graphic picture of those Wednesday
nights at No. 4, Inner Temple Lane, which for "good
talk " he compares with the dinners at Holland House.
In No. 4, at ten o'clock of an autumn or winter evening,
the sedater part of the company is already assembled
round a blazing fire and clean-swept hearth, whilst the
whist-tables suggest the business of the evening, and
the stragglers from the play are beginning to drop in.
"The furniture is old-fashioned and worn, the ceiling low
and not wholly unstained by traces of 'the great plant,'
though now virtuously forborne ; but the Hogarths, in
narrow black frames, abounding in infinite thought,
humour, and pathos, enrich the walls; and all things wear
an air of comfort and English welcome." Presently Lamb
himself, yet unrelaxed by the glass, may be seen sitting
with a sort of Quaker primness at the whist-table, the
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 75
gentleness of his melancholy smile half lost in his intent-
ness on the game, with Godwin, the author of Political
Justice, as his partner. Their opponents are Admiral
Burney, a pupil of Eugene Aram and stout-hearted voyager
with Captain Cook in his voyage round the world, and
H. C. Rickman, the sturdiest of jovial companions, severe
in the discipline of whist as at the table of the House of
Commons, where he was the principal clerk.
At another table, just outside the fireside circle, John
Lamb, the burly, jovial brother, confronts the stately but
courteous Alsager, while Procter, his few hairs bristling
at gentle objurgation, watches his partner M. Burney
dealing, with "soul more white " than the hands of which
Lamb once said, " Martin, if dirt was trumps, what hands
you would hold."
In one corner you may listen to Charles Lloyd debating
the theory of "free-will" with Leigh Hunt, or to Basil
Montague, who is pouring into the outstretched ear of
George Dyer some tale of legalised injustice. The room
fills up : in slouches William Hazlitt from the theatre,
where his stubborn anger for Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo
has been softened by Miss Stephen's angelic notes ; whilst
Kenny, with tremulous pleasure, announces a crowded
house to the ninth representation of his new comedy, of
which Lamb lays down his cards to inquire, or Ayrton,
mildly radiant, whispers the continual triumph of Don
Giovanni. Later Liston looks in, or Miss Kelly, the rage
of the town, or Charles Kemble, fresh from the play.
"Meanwhile Becky lays the cloth on the side-table,
under the direction of the most quiet, sensible, and kind
of women — who soon compels the younger and more
hungry of the guests to partake largely of the cold roast
lamb or boiled beef, the heaps of smoking roasted potatoes
and the vast jug of porter, often replenished from the
foaming pots, which the best tap of Fleet Street supplies.
... As the hot water and its accompaniments appear,
76 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
and the severities of whist relax, the light of conversation
thickens. . . . Lamb stammers out puns suggestive of
wisdom for happy Barron Field to admire and echo ; the
various driblets of talk combine into a stream, while Miss
Lamb moves gently about to see that each modest stranger
is duly served, turning, now and then, an anxious, loving
eye on Charles, which is softened into a half-humorous
expression of resignation to inevitable fate, as he mixes
his second tumbler! " What, then, if Lamb did occasionally
conform to the custom of his time ? Who are we moderns
to cast a stone at the noblest and most generous of man-
kind ?
And here, too, though but rarely, came Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, and when he talked a hush fell on that little
circle. Critics, philosophers, and poets were content to
listen ; toil-worn lawyers, clerks from the India House,
and members of the Stock Exchange grew romantic as
he lavishly outpoured the riches of a master mind,
"Gone ; all are gone, the old familiar faces," and yet
at the bidding of the learned Serjeant that Temple attic,
now but a shade, is thronged once more with that brilliant
little crowd.
The Daines Barrington whose eccentricities attracted
Lamb's attention cut a very poor figure at the English
Bar, though he was successively promoted to be one of
the King's Counsel and a Welsh judge. These judge-
ships during the eighteenth century were given to briefless
barristers for political services.
The Hon. Daines was Treasurer of the Inner, and had
chambers at No. 5, King's Bench Walk. When the
accounts of his treasurership came to be audited, the
following singular charge was unanimously disallowed
by the Bench, viz. " Item disbursed : Mr. Allen, the
gardener, twenty shillings for stuff to poison the sparrows
by my orders."
Such reputation as he had was literary rather than
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 77
leg-al, and he has incurred the wrath of Serjeant Pulling-
for his attempt to belittle the noble and ancient Order of
the Coif.
Whether he was made a Welsh judge for his Account
of some Fish in Wales, or whether his treatise on Welsh
fish was due to his experiences as a Welsh judge, is a
question too delicate to be discussed here. Nevertheless,
he was regarded by his contemporaries as a sound lawyer;
but possessed of an ample fortune, he preferred to devote
his energies rather to the study of archaeology and natural
history than the practice of the law. Held in the highest
respect for his integrity, and loved by all for a charming
personality, he died at No. 5 in 1800, and was buried in
the Temple Church.
Joseph Jekyll, K.c, M.P. for Calne, and Solicitor-General
to the Prince of Wales, occupied chambers in 1805 at
No. 6, King's Bench Walk. It was the small pocket
borough of Calne which returned Charles Townshend,
and subsequently sent T. B. Macaulay to the House.
After this incident the following lines appeared : —
"Jekyll, the wag- of law, the scribbler's pride,
Calne to the Senate sent when Townshend died ;
So Lansdowne willed the hoarse old rook to rest,
A jackdaw phoenix chatters from his nest."
Of him, Lord Colchester, his connection, said: "First-rate
for convivial wit and pleasantry, and admired by all.
A frequent speaker in Parliament, but absolutely without
weight even in his own party. Rancorous in language,
feeble in argument, and empty of ideas, few people
applaud his rising, and everybody is glad when he sits
down." The latter sentiment might be expressed with
equal truth upon the performances of some of our
legislators of to-day.
At No. 4, James Mingay, Recorder of Aldborough, was
to be found in the year 1783.
John Reade (not Read) lived at 16, Mitre Court
7^ THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Building-s, in 1805, and in the same year we find J. B.
Barton at the same address, and, perhaps, sharing- the
same chambers, but the "old Barton" referred to by
Lamb was more probably Thomas Barton, the Bencher,
who had chambers in King's Bench Walk.
Randle Jackson, in 1810, resided at 14, Paper Building-s,
and William Jackson at 2, Garden Court, thoug-h the
former is more probably the one referred to by Lamb.
Randle, by the way, was a Bencher of the Middle Temple,
and died, as a tablet to his memory in the triforium
testifies, in 1837, The names of Coventry, Pierson,
Twopenny, and Wharry, however, do not appear in the
Law Lists of the period, but a monumental tablet in the
triforium describes Peter Pierson as a Bencher of the
Inner Temple. He died in 1808. There is also a similar
memorial to John Wharry, described as a Bencher of the
same society. He died in 181 2.
On the same staircase with the witty Jekyll, the favourite
adviser of Prince George, lived the younger Colman.
His chambers have been described as "furnished with
a tent-bedstead, two tables, half a dozen chairs, and a
carpet as much too scanty for the boards as Sheridan's
' rivulet of rhyme' for its 'meadow of margin.'" Here
his father left him with ^10 worth of old law books, and
no sooner had the elder Colman turned his back on the
Temple than the youngster set off to Gretna Green with
Miss Catherine Morris, an actress of the Haymarket.
He was a student of Lincoln's Inn.
The Thomas Coventry referred to by Lamb was a
descendant of Lord Keeper Coventry, a Bencher of the
Inner, 1614,
Baron Maseres, who lived near Lamb in Mitre Court,
is also mentioned by him for his eccentricity in walking
about in the costume of George II.
Although no mean lawyer, Maseres was better known
as an antiquary of some distinction.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 79
Another famous writer intimately associated with the
Temple is William Makepeace Thackeray. Born at
Calcutta in 181 1, little Thackeray came to Eng-land after
the death of his father, in 1817, and in due course went
to Charterhouse, where he somewhat belied his second
name by his celebrated fight with Venables on the Lower
Green. This sing^ular name, according- to the family
tradition, is derived from some ancestor who had figured
as a Protestant martyr in the reign of Philip and
Mary.
In 1 83 1 young Thackeray became a member of the
Middle Temple, and commenced his legal studies by
reading with Mr. William Taprell, a special pleader,
whose chambers were at i, Hare Court.
Special pleading in those days was a branch quite
distinct from advocacy, and its study had no attraction
for Thackeray, who denounced this part of a barrister's
education "as one of the most cold-blooded, prejudiced
pieces of invention that ever man was slave to." So
disgusted was Thackeray that within a twelvemonth he
threw up all idea of entering the legal profession and
devoted himself to literary pursuits. That his genius
took a direction other than the law is fortunate for us,
since he has bequeathed to posterity some of the most
delightful pictures of life in the Temple to be found
throughout English literature. Of these pictures many
indeed are as faithful representations of Temple life as
when they were drawn, for lawyers are everywhere a
conservative class, and perhaps nowhere more so than
in the Temple, within whose precincts old customs and
b3'gone manners survive in all their pristine strength to
remind us of the "long ago." It may still be said, for
instance, of dining in the Middle Temple Hall, as when
Thackeray sal at mess in his student's gown, "that with
some trifling improvements and anachronisms, which have
been introduced into the practice there, a man may sit
8o THE INxNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
down and fancy that he joins in a meal of the seventeenth
century."
It was soon after the publication of Vafiity Fair that
Thackeray's friend and patron, Monckton Milnes, con-
ceived the idea of obtaining- for the novelist a London
magistracy, and with a view to this appointment
Thackeray returned to the Temple, and was called to
the Bar by the Middle Temple on May 26th, 1848. Both
Milnes and Thackeray, however, had overlooked the
necessary qualification, viz. seven years' standing at the
Bar, and the project accordingly fell to the ground.
Nevertheless, Thackeray took chambers at 10, Crown
Office Row. These chambers, Mr. Loftie asserts, he
shared with Tom Taylor, the dramatist and subsequent
editor of Punchy with which Thackeray was then con-
nected. For this allegation I can find no direct con-
firmation. On the contrary, Tom Taylor's chambers were
at this period at 3, Fig Tree Court. Thackeray occupied
the chambers at 10, Crown Office Row, till the year
1850-1, and for the following two years he had no
address in the Temple. In 1853, however, he migrated
to No. 2, Brick Court, which address appears in the
Law Lists up to 1859, and till his death, in 1863, his
name still appeared, an indication of his affection for the
Temple he loved so well.
From a poem by Tom Taylor, published in W. G.
Thornbury's Two Centuries of Song, entitled " Ten
Crown Office Row : a Templar's Tribute to his Old
Chambers and his Old Chum," it is clear that these
chambers formed part of the block of old houses stand-
ing between the archway and No. 3, Crown Office
Row. These houses, erected in 1628, as already men-
tioned, were pulled down and rebuilt two years before
Thackeray's death. It is also tolerably certain from
intrinsic evidence that Tom Taylor shared chambers here
with a fellow-barrister, and that here both of them enter-
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 8i
tained their future wives. In his ode to his " Cane-
bottomed Chair," Thackeray probably alludes to these
rooms, where "Fanny" used to sit in the shabby old
cane-bottomed chair.
" In tattered old slippers that toast at the bars,
And a rag-ged old jacket perfumed with cig'ars,
Away from the world and its toils and its cares,
I've a snug little king-dom up four pair of stairs."
Although Taylor had chambers in Fig- Tree Court for
business purposes, he may well have shared these
residential chambers with Thackeray, with whom he was
undoubtedly on intimate terms. But whether these
verses were addressed to the novelist seems doubtful,
since Thackeray had been married twelve years before
he came to Crown Office Row, and Tom Taylor was only
called by the Inner Temple in 1846. The description,
however, agrees with Thackeray's, and is worthy of
reproduction here : —
"They were fust}', they were musty, they were g:riniy, dull, anil dim,
The paint scaled off the paneling-, the stairs were all untrim ;
The flooring creaked, the windows gaped, the doorposts stood
awry,
The wind whipt round the corner with a wild and wailing cry.
In a dingier set of chambers no man need wish to stow
Than those, old friend, wherein we denned at Ten Crow-n Office
Row.
"Some of those tuneful voices will never sound again.
And some will read these lines far o'er the Indian main ;
And smiles will come to some wan lips, tears to some sunken eyes,
To think of all these lines recall of Temple memories ;
And they will sigh, as we have sighed, to learn the bringing low
Of those old chambers, dear old friend, at Ten Crown Office Row.
"Good-bye, old rooms, where we chummed years without a single
fight:
Far statelier sets of chambers will arise upon your site ;
More airy bedrooms, wider panes, our followers will see,
And wealthier, wiser tenants the Inn may find than we,
But lighter hearts or truer, I'll defy the Bench to show
Than yours, old friend, and his who penned this Ten Crown Office
Row."
G
82 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Although lo, Crown Office Row, has disappeared, and
even its number lost, two building-s connected with
Thackeray's own Hfe still survive, viz. No. i, Hare Court,
and No. 2, Brick Court, the latter sacred also to the
memory of Goldsmith and Mackworth Praed.
Upon the same staircase with Thackeray in Crown
Office Row, and about the same time, lived John Barnard
Byles, now commonly remembered as " Byles on Bills,"
the author of a well-known standard textbook on the
law of bills of exchange. Whilst Byles was still at
the Bar he was the proud possessor of a horse, or rather
pony, which, in allusion to his book, was nicknamed
"Bills" by the young Templars. This animal, whose
sorry appearance caused endless amusement in the
Temple, used to arrive at the entrance to 10, Crown
Office Row, every afternoon at three o'clock, and what-
ever his engagements, Byles always contrived to go for
a ride upon " Bills."
Once in a case upon the seventeenth section of the
Statute of Frauds, Mr. Justice Byles, as he had become,
said to counsel, " Suppose I were to agree to sell you my
horse, do you mean to say that I could not recover the
price unless," etc., etc. "My lord," replied counsel,
" the section only applies to things of the value of ;2^io,"
a retort which all who had ever seen the judge's steed
keenly appreciated.
Although a supporter of the "Corn Laws," Byles was
in advance of his age upon the question of "Usury."
His ideas upon this question have only been partially
realised by the Money Lending Act of 1900. Byles
was appointed a Justice of the Common Pleas by Lord
Cranworth, taking the seat of Sir Cress well Cress well,
whose chambers were at 1, Mitre Court Buildings, in
18 19. Cress well used to tell a story of a lady who was
being carried to a reception at Northumberland House
in a sedan-chair, when the bottom fell out. Failing to
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 83
make the bearers acquainted with her situation and
unable to g'et out, the good lady was compelled to travel
at her best pace on foot throug-h the mire the rest of
the way, arriving at her destination in an exhausted and
deplorable condition.
Next door to Byles a little later, at No. 9, Crown
Office Row, was to be found George W. Bramwell, a
member of the Inner Temple, and like Taprell, Chitty,
Byles, and Warren, in his earlier years one of that little
band of special pleaders so heartily detested by Thackeray.
For nearly thirty years Bramwell was the most widely
known of the English Bench. His judgments were read
in America with almost as much respect as in this
country, which time has only intensified. An American
visitor, explaining the object of his visit, said, "I wish
to see Westminster Hall and Lord Bramwell." But
Bramwell could be brief when occasion required. A
prisoner was before him charged with stealing a ham.
The day was hot, counsel were loquacious, the audience
perspired, and so did the ham, which made its presence
felt as the day wore on. At last, everyone being weary,
the judge's turn came. "There, gentlemen," he said,
"is the prisoner and there is the ham. Gentlemen, con-
sider your verdict." He was raised to the peerage in
1882, upon Gladstone's nomination.
The old Crown Office is described as lying between
Fig Tree Court and the Watergate on the east side of
Middle Temple Lane. This would place it north of
Harcourt Buildings, on the site of the present No. 7,
Crown Office Row, over the archway, which was rebuilt
in 1806. In 1542 it was ordered that "the Clerk of the
Crown of the Kynges Bench " should pay twenty shillings
a year for his office.
This officer was in 1523 Thomas Blake, and in 1613
Fanshawe was charged an annual rent of ^3 6s. 8(/.
These buildings were pulled down in 1628 and rebuilt.
84 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Just below were, perhaps, the chambers erected by
Edward Savag-e and Edward Hancock, who had licence
in 1 59 1 to build in the lower part of the garden next
to Ledsome's Chambers. The latter in 1594 was allowed
to prop up his chambers by the erection of "three ranks
of studies against his buildings, which, by reason of a
false foundation, had shrunk a foot and a half towards
the Thames," showing that even in those good old days
the jerry builder was sometimes at work.
From the Bird's Eye View of 1671, these three ranks of
studies would appear to have been still standing at that date.
In 162 1 the Crown Office was removed to No. 2, King's
Bench Walk. This building was erected at a cost to the
society of ^1,802 6s., towards which the Marquis of
Buckingham, who was Master of the office, contributed
p/^400. The building was entrusted to the Treasurer,
Sir Thomas Coventry, and the first tenants of "the
many fair chambers over the office " were the Solicitor-
General, Sir John Walter, and Mr. Bridgman. Sir John
Walter was the counsel who, on being briefed for the
Crown in the prosecution against Sir Edward Coke,
courageously refused to accept the brief, saying, "Let
my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth when I open
it against Sir Edward Coke."
For the use of this office the Crown paid an annual
rent of ^5 to the Inn.
The Clerk of the Crown had his office in the Temple
from the reign of Henry VII. until the removal of the
Crown Office in 1882 to the Royal Courts of Justice.
On the opposite side, abutting on Mitre Court Build-
ings, was the office of the Exchequer, which was rebuilt
in 1830, and is now used as the Inner Temple Reading
Room. At the bottom of King's Bench Walk, close
to the river wall and half-way between the buildings
on either side, a small building, surmounted by a
weathercock of the winged horse, is shown in the
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 85
Bird's Eye View of 167 1. This may be the office of
the Chirographer of the Fines of the Court of Common
Pleas, which, according to Stow, was destroyed in the
Great Fire. He tells us that "the Records were re-
engrossed and a new office built in a wide open court
of the Temple, near the waterside, not adjacent to any
other buildings for the better security."
Whether this be so or not, this building was replaced
in 1678 by the row of chambers shown in the Bird's Eye
View of 1755, and marked on the map of 1799 as the
King's Bench Office. They were still standing within
the memory of old practitioners in the Temple. At the
latter date the Court of Common Pleas had two other
offices elsewhere.
The Alienation Office, which in the Earl of Leicester's
day stood on the site of No. i, King's Bench Walk, is
marked on the map of 1799 at No. 3 North.
One of the early occupants of the new buildings in
Crown Office Row, at No. 5, to wit, was Montagu
Williams, Q.c, the distinguished criminal advocate. An
Eton boy, young Williams commenced an eventful career
as a schoolmaster at Ipswich Grammar School. Upon the
outbreak of the Crimean War, tired of the dull life at
Ipswich, Williams obtained a commission in the Royal
South Lincoln Militia, from which he was shortly after-
wards gazetted to the 96th regiment of the line. Deter-
mined to see active service, Williams exchanged into the
41st, which was then at the front ; but his hopes were
disappointed by the capture of Sebastopol and the return
of his regiment.
Whilst in the service young Williams joined in all the
fun that was going on, and in consequence became
involved in several unpleasant escapades, being locked
up at Bow Street for assaulting the police, of which he
was entirely innocent, and being arrested for debt by
a notorious money-lender named Cook, by whom he
86 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
had been entrapped. Upon the latter, however, in after
life he had his revenge when, as prosecuting counsel, he
succeeded in getting him twelve months.
Upon his regiment being ordered out to the West
Indies, Williams sent in his papers and went on the
stage, where he met his fate in the talented Miss Keeley,
daughter of the well-known Mr. and Mrs. Robert Keeley,
with whom he made a runaway match.
From the stage to Bar is a short step for one born of
a legal family, and, having entered as a student at the
Inner Temple, Williams filled up his spare time by
collaborating with Frank Burnand in various dramatic
pieces, which proved financially successful. Called to
the Bar in 1862, Williams read with Mr. Holl at 5, Paper
Buildings, and devoting his attention to the criminal
law, soon picked up a practice at the Old Bailey, where
for many years he held such a commanding position.
From 1863 to 1870 Williams occupied chambers at
No. 6, King's Bench Walk, when he removed to Crown
Office Row.
One of the most curious cases in which Williams
appeared was as counsel for Lord Brampton, then Mr.
Hawkins, Q.c, in prosecuting an unsuccessful litigant
who had threatened the learned silk's life, and by his
molestation made his very existence a burden.
"Never," writes Williams, "was I ever so nervous in
examining a witness, and never had a worse witness than
Hawkins ! "
Another link with the stage Williams had in the person
of Charles Willie Mathews, son of his friend Charles
James Mathews, the celebrated comedian. He became
a pupil of Williams in 1868, and remained as his "devil"
till 1879, sharing chambers with him in Crown Office
Row. For him his master predicted a great future.
He is now senior counsel to the Treasury at the Old
Bailey. Mr. Mathews is a member of the Middle Temple.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 87
Visited by an affection of the throat, Williams was
obliged, in 1886, to retire from the Bar. Created a
Queen's Counsel by his old friend and antagonist, Lord
Halsbury, he was appointed a Metropolitan magistrate,
in which capacity he earned the title of "the poor man's
magistrate." It was during this period that he wrote his
reminiscences. Leaves of a Life and Later Leaves^ books
reminding us of the peculiar charm of this versatile man,
and full of interest to the lawyer and literary man alike.
He died at Ramsgate in 1892.
An anecdote related by Williams typical of his humour
is too good to be omitted. In a murder case on circuit
a certain Welsh advocate, who afterwards became a
judge, appeared for the prisoner upon the instruction of
the leading local solicitor. In the course of his cross-
examination the counsel declined to put a question, as
repeatedly requested by his client.
"Well, sir," exclaimed the solicitor at last, "there are
my instructions, and mine is the responsibility. There-
fore I insist upon your putting the question."
"Very well, sir," exclaimed the barrister; "I'll put
the question, but remember, as you say, yours is the
responsibility."
The question was accordingly put and resulted very
materially in hanging the prisoner. Sentence having been
pronounced, the counsel turned round in a fearful rage to
the solicitor and exclaimed —
"When you meet your client in hell, which you un-
doubtedly will, you will be kind enough to tell him that it
was your question and not mine."
HARCOURT BUILDINGS
Between the old Crown Office and the site of Harcourt
Buildings on the south side of Crown Office Row, a small
building was erected in the year 1703 by John Banks, a
haberdasher in the City. It had a ten-foot frontage, and
88 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the first story or g-round floor opened out into the garden
under the paved walk or terrace, whilst the second story
or first floor appears to have been on a level with the
terrace. With the ground floor was connected a summer
house, and the whole was to be for such use as the society
might appoint.
Below this building, on the west ot the garden, the
same John Banks was licensed to build three staircases,
with a frontage of fifty feet apiece and a depth of twenty-
seven feet, of three stories each. The front windows
were "to be all sash frames and sashes glazed with
■ &- _ ^&>
crown glass." These buildings were erected during the
Treasurership of Sir Simon Harcourt, and instead of
being named after the worthy Banks, were called Har-
court Buildings, after the silver-tongued Chancellor. In
the course of their construction the gardener's house,
which stood at the lower end of the site, was pulled
down.
The present buildings were commenced in the Trea-
surership of Robert Baker, in 1832, and completed in that
of John Wyatt the following year. They are not re-
markable for the style of their architecture, which, in
fact, could scarcely be more unsightly.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 89
FIG TREE COURT
The original chambers in Fig Tree Court would appear
to be some of the oldest in the Temple. In 15 15 we read
of "the chambers next the fig tree," showing that the
name was not altogether mythical at that date. In the
accounts for 1610 there is an entry of a payment to the
gardener for a fig tree, which may have survived, at any
rate, till 1654, when an item of 2^. 6d. is recorded as paid
" to the joiner for mending the pales about the fig tree."
In 1573 Edward Bulstrode and Thomas Gawen were
admitted into the chamber of Robert Kellewaie, a Bencher
in "the Fig Tree Courte," wherein John Croke the younger
had been admitted in 1570, provided they repaired the
chamber, which was in "great ruin and decay." Three
years later Henry Croke was also admitted to the same
chamber, and George Croke, brother of John, to an
" under chamber."
John Croke became successively Recorder of London
(^595)1 Treasurer (1597), Speaker of the House of
Commons (1601), Serjeant (1603), and a Justice of the
King's Bench (1607). He it was who established the
rule that the Speaker has only a casting vote when the
numbers are equal. In a division on a Bill to enforce
attendance at church, the Ayes were 106, the Noes 105.
The minority claimed the Speaker's vote to make the
numbers equal and thus defeat the measure. Against
this attempt Sir Walter Raleigh raised his voice, and Sir
John, upon consideration, acquiesced in Raleigh's view,
that the Speaker has only a casting vote. The precedent
thus established still prevails, and the Speaker has no
right, except in committees of the whole House, to enter
the voting lobby.
In a speech before Elizabeth, Sn- John was speaking of
the defeat of Essex's insurrection " bv the mightv arm of
ml O If
our dread and sacred Queen," when Elizabeth rebuked
90 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
him with the interruption, " No ; but by the mighty hand
of God, Mr. Speaker."
George Croke, created a serjeant in 1623, appointed a
Justice of the Common Pleas in 1623, and promoted to
the King's Bench three years later, is perhaps better
known to lawyers as the author of The Reports, as
they are still styled. He figured, however, no less largely
than his brother John in the public view. He sat as
one of the commissioners at the trial of the Countess of
Somerset for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, and
was one of the twelve judges who, in 1637, delivered
judgment in the Exchequer Chamber in favour of Hamp-
den, in the great case of the ship money tax, boldly
denying the alleged claims of the King. Sir Edward
Lyttelton, Treasurer of the Inner, appeared for the Crown
as Solicitor-General.
Sir George is said by Whitelocke to have at first
favoured the King's cause, and to have prepared his
argument accordingly, but to have been dissuaded by
his wife, who said she "hoped he would do nothing
against conscience, and that she would rather suffer any
want or misery with him rather than that." This story
is a good instance of the immense influence a strong and
an upright woman may wield in public aff'airs. It is also
related to Croke's credit that he refused to give the
customary bribe of ^600 upon his creation as serjeant,
an incident which shows up the vitiated public morality
of the age.
In 1622 Radcliffe's and Dyott's chambers in Fig Tree
Court were ordered to be rebuilt by the Treasurer, Sir
Thomas Coventry, at the expense of the society, and new
tenants to be admitted upon payment of fines. Further
alterations were commenced in 1628, by the removal of
various old chambers and the erection of a new building
next to the Hall, which necessitated the reconstruction of
the Hall stairs and the offices of the House, and by the
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 91
rebuilding of the western end of the court towards the
Watergate. Evidence was given in the Chancery suit
between the two societies in 1636 that the court was
separated from the Middle Temple by a stone wall on the
west side, and in the same year occurs an item in the
accounts "for raising a part of a wall in Fig Tree Court
by the Temple Lane," which shows that at this date there
were still some open spaces in the lane. In 1584, how-
ever, licence had been given to Mr. Coomes, of the Middle
Temple, to build a study "within the stone wall in Fig
Tree Court," for which he was to pay 10s. down or 6d. a
year rent. At this period there was a door into Elm
Court, which was supposed to be kept locked, though
presumably only at night. In 1610 a new lock and key
were ordered, and again in 1638 we find another new lock
provided.
Another occupant of Fig Tree Court and member of
our House was Sir Thomas Wroth, M.P. for Bridgwater,
one of the judges at the trial of Charles I., but who
refused to take part in the actual proceedings.
Against the assessment of ;^ioo a week upon the two
societies of the Temple made by the Commissioners in
1653, Sir Thomas made a long speech in the House,
declaring "the long-robe men" to be as good swords-
men as they were bookmen, a declaration which appealed
successfully to Cromwell's military following.
His nephews, John and Anthony, sons of Sir Peter
Wroth, were in 1641 admitted to his chambers upon the
payment of ;^ioo fine, but the elder being only sixteen
and about to go to the University, and the younger only
fourteen, it was ordered "that it be referred to the table
to consider what allowance should be given of this great
antiquity gained to these two gentlemen, and how the
chamber should be disposed of till they came to use it."
In Fig Tree Court, too, lived Edward Thurlow, the
famous Lord Chancellor. He and William Cowper, the
92 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
poet, were pupils together of Mr. Chapman, an eminent
solicitor in Lincoln's Inn. They were both called to the
Bar by the Inner Temple in 1754.
It was in the trial of Home Tooke for libel that
Thurlow, then Attorney-General, prosecuted for the
Fig TRE.E
G)VRT-
Crown, and used his utmost power in aggravation of
the punishment, urging that the prisoner deserved
nothing less than the pillory. After much vacillation,
Thurlow had thrown in his lot with the Tories, and in
the House he attacked the rights of juries in cases of
libel, the liberty of the Press, defended the expulsion of
Wilkes, and wished to treat the charters of the American
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 93
Colonies as so much waste paper, thus powerfully helping
to widen the breach which resulted in the loss of our
American cousins. He is perhaps best remembered for
his celebrated speech in the Lords, for, although often
violent and rude, he could be dignified when it suited his
purpose. Taunted with his plebeian birth by the Duke
of Grafton, he replied, "I am amazed at his Grace's
speech. The noble Duke cannot look before him, behind
him, or on either side of him, without seeing some noble
peer who owes his seat in this House to his successful
exertions in the profession to which I belong. Does he
not feel that it is as honourable to owe it to these as to
being the accident of an accident?" His attitude to
attorneys, and even to the Bar, was not always so
dignified. On one occasion an attorney stated that a
certain person named in an affidavit was dead. " How
do I know that?" said Lord Thurlow. "My lord,"
replied the attorney, " I attended the funeral ; he was my
client." "Why, sir," said the Chancellor, "did not you
mention that at first? A great deal of time and trouble
might have been saved. That he was your client is some
evidence that he may be dead ; nothing was so likely to
kill him." Another characteristic story is the following:
One day, before the Court rose for the Long Vacation,
Lord Thurlow left the Bench without making the then
usual valedictory address to the Bar. He had nearly
reached the door of his room, when a young counsel
exclaimed to a friend in a loud whisper, " He might at
least have said, ' Damn you ! ' "
That the Chancellor could use strong language on
occasion is attested by the following story : A clergyman
desirous of a living went to the Bishop of London to ask
him for an introduction to the Lord Chancellor Thurlow.
The Bishop said, " I should be willing to give it, but an
introduction from me would defeat the very end you have
in view." However, the clergyman persisted in his
94 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
request, and the introduction was g-Iven. The Lord
Chancellor received him with fury. "So that damned
scoundrel, the Bishop of London, has g-iven you an
introduction ; as it is he who has introduced you, you will
certainly not get the living." " Well, so the Bishop said,
my lord," said the clergyman. "Did the Bishop say so?"
thundered Lord Thurlow. "Then he's a damned liar,
and I'll prove him so : you s/mll have the living-." And
the man got it.
Thurlow never overcame his aversion to his old school-
master, the Rev. Joseph Brett, and when the latter in
after days claimed acquaintance with his distinguished
pupil, Thurlow turned savagely upon him, exclaiming-,
" I am not bound to recognise every scoundrel that
recognises me." Strong language was, however, by no
means a monopoly of Thurlow's. Speaking one day in
the House of Lords upon the King's illness, he said, with
tears in his eyes, "My debt of gratitude to His Majesty
is ample for the many favours which he has conferred
upon me, and when I forget it may God forget me."
When Wilkes, who was sitting on the steps of the throne,
heard this, he muttered in an audible whisper, " Forget
you ! He'll see you damned first."
Few would suspect this rugged lawyer of writing
poetry. Who would expect an owl to sing like a thrush ?
And yet in his So?i£- to May we find this great judge,
who was said to look wiser than any man ever was,
writing some light and graceful lines.
Thurlow died in 1806, and was buried with great pomp
in the south aisle of the Temple Church. His portrait
hangs in the Parliament Chamber.
Cowper at first occupied chambers in Pump Court,
but in 1759 he removed to the Inner, where he pur-
chased a set of chambers for ^^250, and here it was
that he attempted suicide by hanging himself from the
top of his doorway. Constitutionally of a morbid
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 95
temperament, his mind became unhinged, partly perhaps
from his unsuccessful love affair with his cousin Theodora,
and partly from nervousness at the prospect of an ex-
amination as to his fitness for the post of Clerk of the
Journals of the House of Lords, a post which his cousin.
Major Cowper, had secured for him. After buying- a
bottle of laudanum, and wanting courage to swallow its
contents, he went down to the river to drown himself, but
turned back at the sight of a porter waiting on the bank.
The day before the examination he made a more determined
effort, and but for his garter breaking after a third attempt,
he would have lost his life.
Appointed a Commissioner in Bankruptcy, after his
attempted suicide he resigned this post, feeling with
morbid diffidence that his knowledge of law was unequal
to the position.
HARE COURT
A member of our House who has left an indelible
memory within the Temple precincts is Nicholas Hare,
nephew of the better-known Sir Nicholas Hare, whom
we find in the year 1520 in the occupation of Denny's
chamber in the Outer Temple. The elder Hare was
Reader, Bencher, and one of the three Governors of the
House until his death. In the proceedings against
Wolsey in 1530 he was retained for the defence, and in
1540 was elected Speaker of the House of Commons
which submissively passed all the measures Henry VHI.
chose to present for its consideration, including the "whip
with six strings " (whereby it was burning to deny tran-
substantiation and hanging to express twice a preference
for married priests), the suppression of the monasteries,
and the divorce of Queen Anne. From this Parliament
Sir Nicholas was absent part of the time in consequence
of his imprisonment in the Tower for having advised Sir
John Skelton how to evade the Statute of Uses, which
96 THE INNER AND MIDDEE TEMPEE
was declared to be an oflFence against the royal preroga-
tive cognisable in the Star Chamber.
He was, however, one of those who in the Parliament
of 1553 opposed the Queen's marriage with Philip. Having
made his peace with the Court, he was the same year
appointed Master of the Rolls, and as such sat as one
of the commissioners to try Sir Nicholas Throckmorton
for his alleged participation in Wyatt's abortive rising.
In his zeal for the Crown, or in revenge for the
prisoner's retort, " I confess I did mislike the Queen's
marriage with Spain, and then methought I had reason
so to do, for I did learn the reasons of my dislike of you,
Master Hare," Sir Nicholas used his utmost endeavours
to secure Throckmorton's conviction. In spite, however,
of Hare's refusal to allow one of Throckmorton's witnesses
to be examined, and to permit the statute of Edward VI.,
which required two witnesses for high treason, to be read,
the prisoner was acquitted. As was not unusual in those
days, the jury was promptly committed to prison for
delivering such a strange verdict ! Here they lay until
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 97
they had submitted themselves to the Court and paid
outrageous fines, ranging from threescore pounds to
;^2,ooo apiece.
One immediate result of this gross interference with
the rights of juries was the conviction of Sir John
Throckmorton upon the same evidence on which his
brother, Sir Nicholas, had been acquitted.
Although never Lord Chancellor, Sir Nicholas Hare
was sole Commissioner of the Great Seal during the short
period between the death of Bishop Gardiner and the
appointment of Archbishop Heath.
He died in Chancery Lane on October 31st, 1557, and
was buried in the Temple Church, as a brass plate upon a
large monument of grey marble testifies.
Specially admitted in 1547, Nicholas Hare the younger,
after holding various offices in the House, in which he
was to play such a leading part, was in 1567 admitted to
the chamber of James Ryvett, a Bencher, upon condition
of rebuilding it, together with others. The reversion of
these chambers was granted to his brothers, Ralph and
Hugh, and here for generations we find members of the
Hare family. These chambers formed the south side of
Hare Court. In 1590, for instance, John Hare, brother
of Nicholas, described as Chief Clerk of the Court of
Wards and Liveries, petitioned the Bench for leave to
pull down certain chambers in Fine Office Court, and to
build there a room for his office and chambers for himself.
The petition was granted. At this date Fine Office Court
formed part of the present Hare Court. In 1619, the
House being greatly in debt, a general levy was made
upon the tenants, and in addition those having offices
were charged extra. John Hare accordingly had to pay
£S "'for his office of the Wards."
In feudal times inquests of office were held concerning
any matter entitling the Crown to the possession of lands
or tenements, goods or chattels. So long as military
H
98 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TExMPLE
tenures continued those inquiries were held upon the
death of any of the King's tenants, in order to ascertain
the extent and nature of his holding", who was his
heir, and of what age, so that the King might have
his marriage, wardship, relief, primer-seisi?i, or other
advantages.
It was to regulate these inquiries that the Court of
Wards and Liveries was constituted by 32 Hen. VHI.
c. 46, under the title of The Court of King's Wards. Its
institution, however, failed to relieve the hardships of
these oppressive tenures, and, after an attempt by
James I. to get rid of the Court by agreement, it was
abolished by Charles II., together with the tenures upon
which it was founded.
The Court stood in Old Palace Yard, between the back
of Westminster Hall and the ancient building known
as Edward the Confessor's Hall. It was connected by
a passage with the Court of Chancery, so that the
Chancellor might pass directly into the Court, either from
his private room in Westminster Hall or from the
Chancery Court.
The Lord Treasurer presided, and was entitled to call to
his assistance the two Chief Justices and the Chief Baron.
An engraving by Vertue, after a painting by an
unknown artist of the time of Queen Elizabeth, gives
an exceedingly interesting view of the Court. Without
the Bar stand two Serjeants in their robes and coifs.
The one on the left wears a parti-coloured gown, which
was worn for one year after taking that degree. Accord-
ing to Vertue, Thomas Gent was created serjeant in
1585, and this fact, together with the aged countenances
of most of the officers of the Court, fixes the date of the
painting about that time.
In a list of Readers and Chief Barristers of the Inns
of Court, Gent, a member of the Middle Temple, is
described as " well practised."
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 99
Taking" 1586 as the approximate date of the painting,
the President or Master, as he was termed, would be
William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, who is said to have pre-
sided from the beginning of Elizabeth's reign till his
death in 1598. Those on either side of him are robed as
judges, and would be Sir Christopher Wray, L.C.J, of
the Queen's Bench, and Sir Edmund Anderson, C.J. of
the Common Pleas, the well-known Bencher of our
House, and one of the most distinguished judges of his
day.
The second on the right, with his hat on and wearing
a gold chain, is probably the Surveyor, who ranked next
to the Master. Thomas Seckford held this office from
1580 to 1589. In 1591 Paul Salmon, one of the Attorneys
of the Court, was specially admitted to the Inner Temple.
Opposite to him, in the dress of a lawyer and also
capped, sits the Attorney of the Court, who was next in
office to the Surveyor. This official, from 1572 to 1589,
was Richard Kingsmill, of Lincoln's Inn, who had
chambers in the old Gate-house in Chancery Lane.
Next to the Surveyor is the Receiver-General, reading
a scroll. This office, from 1583 to 1593, was filled by
George Goring. Opposite to him, with an open book,
may be the Auditor. William Tooke held this office from
1551 till his death in 1588. The three at the bottom of
the table answer to the number of Clerks. At the right-
hand side, at the bottom of the table, stands the Usher,
with a red rod tipped with silver in his hand. In 1578
Marmaduke Servant held this office. Opposite to him
stands the Messenger, wearing the Royal Arms crowned
on his left side. Leonard Taylor served as Messenger
for nearly thirty years from 1565. Without the Court
on the right, with a scroll in his hand, stands the
Queen's Serjeant, and opposite to him a Counsellor ; and
beyond these other lawyers on each side.
Sir Walter Pye, Treasurer of the Middle Temple in
lOO THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
1626, was Attorney of the Court at that date. The
Court of Common Pleas also had offices in the Temple.
One of these was in 1792 in Hare Court, and the other in
Elm Court. They were occupied by the Filager, an
official of the Court, who filed the writs on which process
was issued. In 1544 it was ordered that the " Philoser
of London," i.e. the Filager of the Common Pleas,
should pay to the Inn a yearly rent of 20^. for his office.
In the north-west corner of Hare Court stood until
quite recently " Dick's Coffee House," one of the oldest
estabhshments of the kind in town. It was a great
haunt of the young Templars, and in George II.'s time
was kept by a Mrs. Yarrow and two fair daughters, who
perhaps were as great an attraction to the habitues as
the fragrant berry. Anyway, upon the production of
The Coffee House, an adaptation from Rousseau, in
which some innuendoes touching Mrs. Yarrow and her
daughters were introduced, the young Templars proved
their constancy by going in a body to the theatre and
hissing the play off the boards.
It was here that Cowper at the commencement of his
mental derangement, reading a letter in a news-sheet,
was prompted to go home and hang himself.
The west and south sides of Hare Court were swept
away in the disastrous fire of 1678. The Thames being
frozen, the fire-engine was fed with beer from the brewery
of John Crosse at the western end of the Hall, to the
tune of ;^2o; "but the chief way of stopping the fire,"
says Luttrell, "was by blowing up houses, in doing
which many were hurt, particularly the Earl of Faversham,
whose skull was almost broken " by a falling beam, and
who narrowly escaped being blown up with the records
of the Fine Office. Amongst the earl's party rendering
assistance were the Earl of Craven, the Duke of
Monmouth, and several officers of the Guards.
On May 31st, 1679, the order for rebuilding the west
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE loi
side of Hare Court, abutting on Middle Temple Lane,
was confirmed. This building consisted of four staircases
of three stories each, and was erected at the expense of
the Treasurer, Sir Thomas Hanmer, and the several
persons who, before the fire, had chambers there.
Amongst these we find the name of "Mr. Jeff'eries."
George Jeffreys, the grandson of a Welsh judge, was
admitted a member of the Inn in 1663, and for five years
lived the usual racketing life of a student in those days
in an obscure chamber which I am unable to identify.
There is probably no man, however vile, without some
good qualities, and Jeffreys forms no exception to this
rule. We are prepared to go even further than his
biographer, Serjeant Woolrych, and admit that he was
endowed with many good points, but we find it difficult,
after making all possible allowances for the brutal vicious-
ness of the age, to follow his latest panegyrist, Mr. H. B.
Irving. It is impossible to forget the brutality of his
conduct on the Bench, his cruelty and his hypocrisy. To
plead that he was no worse than others of his day is a
poor defence. That he was one of the foremost offenders
of the ascendant party which represented all the most
vicious in the nation is surely no justification, but a
further discredit. His career was truly remarkable.
Within three years of his call to the Bar, at the early
age of twenty-three, he was appointed Common Serjeant
of London, a post he owed to the assiduous court he paid
to the City magnates, and of whose support he continued
to avail himself until his promotion to the Recordership
in 1678. With all his sins JeflVeys was at least generous,
as the following incident shows.
Having failed in his attempt to secure a lady of wealth
as his wife, he generously married the go-between, a poor
relation who was turned adrift by the lady's family.
Upon her death in 1678 he was more successful in marry-
ing money, which he did within three months of his first
I02 THE INxNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
wife's death. The lady, however, was brought to bed of
a son much too early for a common calculator to say
otherwise than that there had been a mistake somewhere.
In a cause shortly after this interesting- event, a lady
under cross-examination by Jeffreys was giving her
evidence pretty sharply. <' Madam," cried Jeffreys, "you
are very quick in your answers." "Quick as I am, Sir
George," retorted the witness, "I am not so quick as
your lady," and for once in his life the brazen Jeffreys was
completely nonplussed.
At the early age of thirty-five Jeffreys became Chief
Justice of the King's Bench, and two years later Lord
Chancellor — the reward for his disgusting and ignoble
services on the Bloody Assize. It was on this occasion
that Jeffreys forced the jury to convict Alice, the widow of
John L'Isle, the regicide, for harbouring John Hicks, a
dissenting preacher, after they had twice brought in a
verdict of "not guilty." L'Isle had fled to Vevey, and
subsequently settled at Lausanne, where in 1664, on his
way to church, he was shot by an Irishman who was
indignant at the respect shown to a regicide.
Shortly after his elevation to the woolsack Jeffreys
received a unique distinction at the hands of the Bench.
Sir Godfrey Kneller was commissioned to paint his por-
trait for the fee of ;^5o. This picture was hung in the
Hall, but apparently after the Chancellor's disgrace re-
moved to the chambers of a Mr. Holloway, when in 1693,
at the request of Jeffreys' son, also a member of the Inn
and occupying his father's chambers in Hare Court, it
was handed over to him. It is now in the possession of
Mr. Philip Yorke, of Errig Park, Wrexham. Three
other portraits of Jeffreys are extant, and in all he is
represented as an extremely handsome man. We look in
vain for the repulsive and terrifying countenance and
features distorted by drunken debauchery portrayed by a
succession of historians and novelists. Jeffreys died in
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 103
the Tower, and by a strange irony of fate his remains
were at first laid next those of his victim, Monmouth.
Jeffreys' chambers in Hare Court were at No. 3, on the
second floor, which were only pulled down a few years
ag"o and rebuilt, and correspond with the present No. 2,
Hare Court. A fourth portrait by Sir Peter Lely, pre-
sented to the Inn by Sir Harry Bodkin Poland, k.c, late
Treasurer, represents him at a later period of his life,
when his good looks had given way to his vicious life.
Sir Harry Poland himself is inclined to doubt the authen-
ticity of this painting.
One of Jeffreys' companions on the Blood}^ Assize was
Robert Wright — another disgrace to our House. He
was described by Lord North as "a dunce and no lawyer,
of no truth or honesty, and not worth a groat, having
spent all his estate in debauchery." Upon his return
from his bloody work in the West, he was raised to the
King's Bench and presided at the trial of the seven
bishops. In 1687 he was promoted as Chief Justice of
the Common Pleas, and five days later supplanted Sir
Edward Herbert, who had given an opinion adverse to
the Crown, as Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Wright was one of the commissioners on the famous
visitation of Magdalen College, Oxford. Impeached by
William of Orange for judicial corruption, for taking
bribes " to that degree of corruption as is a shame to any
court of justice," he went into hiding near the Old Bailey,
where he was discovered by Sir William Waller, and
committed by the Lord Mayor, Sir John Chapman, to
Newgate. Here he caught the gaol fever and died a few
months afterwards.
The pump referred to by Lamb stood on the north
side of the court, and is the one mentioned by Daines
Barrington as unlike most of the others, since it never
failed in summer and was consequently the most frequented
by the inhabitants of the Temple.
I04 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
The unfailing supply probably suggested the comparison
in Garth's lines —
"Sooner shall glow-worms vie with Titan's beams,
Or Hare Court pump with Aganippe's streams,"
lines supposed by Barrington to contain a sly hit at the
lawyers for conceiving that the Temple could produce
poets, as suggested by Sir James Thornhill's famous
painting of Pegasus creating the fountain of Hippocrene
by striking his hoof upon the rock, emblematical of
lawyers developing into poets.
INNER TEMPLE LANE
From the earliest times buildings had been erected on
either side of the lane leading from the gate to the church
porch. In 1657 some timber and rough-cast structures
on the west side were replaced by more substantial brick
buildings, which became known as Nos. i to 5, Inner
Temple Lane.
Upon the library stairs is to be seen a tablet com-
memorating the foundation of this structure. It is dated
1657, and bears a shield with the arms of the Inn and
the initials " E. P.", standing for Edmund Prideaux, the
Treasurer for that year.
One of the first victims of that infamous scoundrel
Titus Oates was Richard Langhorne, a member of the
Inner Temple, who carried on his practice at chambers
in Inner Temple Lane. He was a Papist, and in the
excited religious frenzy of the moment the evidence
of Oates and Bedloe, the rotten inconsistency of which
the prisoner even then exposed, was greedily swallowed
by both Court and jury. The trial took place at the old
Sessions House in the Old Bailey on June 14th, 1679,
before Scroggs, L.C.J, of the King's Bench ; North,
L.C.J, of the Common Pleas; Pemberton, J. ; Atkins, J. ;
Dolben, J., and the Recorder, Jeffreys. The counsel for
DR. JOHNSONS STAIRCASE, NO. I INNEU TEMPLE LANE
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 105
the Crown were Roger Belwood and Serjeant Cresswell
Levinz.
The suggestion by Langhorne that this was "a put-up
job " was indignantly scouted by the Court. Such, how-
ever, when too late it was eventually proved to be.
Upon the verdict of guilty the five Jesuits convicted
the previous day were brought in, and after a fulsome
and hypocritical harangue the usual barbarous sentence
was pronounced by Jeffreys. There was nothing illegal
on the part of the judges in this trial, but their religious
bias made them unfair and prejudiced, Scroggs going so
far as to direct the jury that the evidence of Langhorne's
witnesses, being Papists, had not the same weight as that
of the witnesses for the Crown.
Four days after the execution Sir George Wakeman,
who had been indicted with Langhorne, was tried before
Scroggs and North and acquitted by the jury, suspicion
of Oates and his witnesses having set in. Langhorne's
widow was consequently allowed by the Benchers to sell
his chambers for ;^50, and subsequently received ;^25 out
of the society's funds.
In 1760 Dr. Johnson removed from Staple Inn to No. i.
Inner Temple Lane, and three years later Boswell followed
him to the bottom of the lane "in order to be nearer the
object of his devotion." Boswell's chambers were in
Farrar's Building, which stood on the site of the old
chambers or town house of the Bishop of Ely, and
which was last rebuilt in 1876.
In 1786 Boswell was at length called to the Bar by the
Benchers of the Inner Temple.
It was, perhaps, at No. i that Johnson had the long
discussion with a smart attorney, who was having rather
the best of the argument, when he happened to say,
"I don't understand you, sir." Upon which Johnson
retorted, "Sir, I have found you an argument, but I am
not obliged to find you an understanding." Although
io6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
living in the very midst of the lawyers, Johnson does not
seem to have concealed his bad opinion of them. Being"
asked why he so hated lawyers, he replied, " I don't hate
'em, sir ; neither do I hate frogs, but I don't like to have
either hopping- about my chamber."
For Thurlow, however, Johnson had the greatest
admiration, considering him to be one of the ablest and
most learned men of the day, an admiration reciprocated
by the Chancellor, who frequently sought the advice of
the great lexicographer.
A description of these chambers is given by Ozias
Humphrey, r.a., who visited Johnson here. "The day
after I wrote my last letter to you," he writes, " I was
introduced to Mr. Johnson by a friend. We passed
through three very dirty rooms to a little one that looked
like an old counting-house, where this great man sat at
breakfast. The furniture of the room was a very large
deal writing-desk, an old walnut-tree table, and five
ragged chairs of four different sets. I was very much
struck with Mr. Johnson's appearance, and could hardly
help thinking him a madman for some time, as he sat
raving over his breakfast like a lunatic. He is a very
large man, and was dressed in a dirty brown coat and
waistcoat, with breeches that were brown also (although
they had been crimson), and an old black wig ; his shirt
collar and sleeves were unbuttoned, his stockings well
down about his feet, which had on them, by way of
slippers, an old pair of shoes. He had not been up long
when we called on him, which was near one o'clock. He
seldom goes to bed before two in the morning ; and Mr.
'Reynolds tells me he generally drinks tea about an hour
after he has supper. We had been some time with him
before he began to talk, but at length he began, and,
faith, to some purpose ; everything he says is as correct as
a second edition; 'tis impossible to argue with him, he is
so sententious and so knowing."
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 107
A very similar description of the Doctor's personal
appearance is given by his faithful biographer on his first
visit on May 24th, 1763. *
" He received me very courteously," writes Boswell,
"but it must be confessed that his apartment and
furniture and morning dress were sufficiently uncouth.
His brown suit of clothes looked very rusty ; he had on
a Httle, old, shrivelled, unpowdered wig, which was too
small for his head ; his shirt neck and knees of his
breeches were loose ; his black worsted stockings ill
drawn up, and he had a pair of unbuckled shoes by way
of slippers. But all these slovenly peculiarities were
forgotten the moment he began to talk. He told me that
he generally went abroad at four in the afternoon, and
seldom came home till two in the morning. I took the
Hberty to ask if he did not think it wrong to live thus,
and not make more of his great talents. He owned it
was a bad habit."
His library, Boswell tells us, was contained in two
garrets over his chambers, where Lintot, son of the
celebrated bookseller, formerly had his warehouse. Here
he used to retire when he did not wish to be disturbed.
With characteristic honesty Johnson hated conventional
lies, and safe in his den upstairs, his servant could
truthfully say he was not "at home." "I found," says
Boswell, "a number of good books, but very dusty and
in great confusion. The floor was strewn with manuscript
leaves in Johnson's own handwriting, which I beheld with
a degree of veneration, supposing they might perhaps
contain portions of the Rambler or of Rasselas. I
observed an apparatus for chemical experiments, of which
Johnson was all his life fond. The place seemed to be
very favourable for retirement and meditation."
It was whilst Dr. Johnson lived in this house that the
association which afterwards became so famous as the
Literary Club was formed. Its original members were
io8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Joshua Reynolds, Johnson, Goldsmith, Burke, Dr. Nugent,
Langton, Topham Beauclerk, Chamier, and Hawkins.
It was during this period also that the adventure described
by Boswell occurred, when the accomplished but dissipated
Beauclerk, returning one night from supper with Langton,
roused up the worthy Doctor at three in the morning, and
challenged him to a ramble. "What, is it you, ye dogs?"
he cried. "Then, faith, I'll have a frisk with you!"
And so out they sallied, first to Covent Garden, and then
to Billingsgate, and had what Washington Irving, in
allusion to this adventure, called " a mad-cap freak."
Other notable inmates of these buildings were Charles
Lamb and Serjeant Ballantine, that master of the art of
a type of cross-examination now happily obsolete, both
in No. 4, and James Shaw Willes, a member of the
Middle Temple, at No. 3. Sir James was tubman in the
Court of Exchequer from 185 1 until his elevation to the
Bench four years later as a judge of the Court of Common
Pleas.
The offices of tubman and postman of the Exchequer
are now no longer in existence, and their very origin is
absolutely lost. They were in the gift of the chief Baron,
and were originally bestowed upon two of the most
experienced barristers attending the Court. These occu-
pied two enclosed seats at either end of the front row
of the Outer Bar. The postman in all Common Law
business had pre-audience even over the Attorney-General,
and the tubman had a similar privilege in all Equity
business.
Willes was the first judge to live out of town, and
consequently the Court of Common Pleas could not be
formed till 10.30, instead of 10 as formerly. The other
Courts at Westminster followed suit, and when law and
equity were fused, the Common Law, contrary to all
precedent, prevailed, and now all Courts sit at 10.30.
Sir James was one of the promoters of the Inns of
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 109
Court Volunteer Corps formed in 1859, and in whose
ranks he served. From overwork he became a victim
to insomnia, and was found with a revolver by his side,
and the blood trickling from a wound in his heart— a sad
termination to a life nobly spent.
These old building's, which had fallen into a ruinous
condition, were in 1857 pulled down, and replaced by the
present unsightly Dr. Johnson's Buildings, so named after
their most celebrated inmate.
At No. 3 the present Solicitor-General, Sir Edward
Carson, has chambers. Sir Edward has had a remark-
ably rapid career in this country. His powers of cross-
examination are deservedly held in respect.
CHURCHYARD COURT
This court together with its name has long since
vanished. The first mention in our records occurs in
the year 161 2. It appears to have consisted of a row of
chambers running from the church porch, upon which the
south end abutted, almost up to the present Goldsmith
Building, and stood upon the site of the present church-
yard, thus blocking the view of the west end of the
church. Indeed, these chambers extended east upon the
churchyard, abutting upon the north side of the Round,
and fronting the site of Goldsmith Building. This
block was separated from the buildings fronting the lane
by a narrow passage called in Ogilby's Plan Pissing
Alley.
These buildings were rebuilt in 1717, the foundation
of which is recorded by a tablet erected in that year by
the Treasurer of the Inner Temple, John HoUoway.
This tablet is now on the library stairs.
Both blocks were removed in 1828.
The court appears originally to have extended to the
north end of the cloisters, and to have included some
shops or chambers erected against the south-west side
no THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of the Round. This part was in 1700 cut off by a house
built right across the lane and over the church porch
itself, thus creating another small court, which became
known as Temple Court. This court is shown in the
illustration at page 49, the house on the left being the
old Farrar's Building, erected on the site of the Bishop
of Ely's town house.
Churchyard Court South, which is given as an address
in the early La7v Lists, was probably the block of buildings
first described as fronting the lane in order to distinguish
them from the other block further east. Or possibly the
name may have been used as an alternative for Temple
Court.
PARSON'S COURT
The very memory of Parson's Court is half-forgotten,
and even its site undetermined. It is described as lying
at the east end of the church, but it may possibly have
consisted of the row of houses shown in Ogilby's Plan to
the north of the churchyard, covering the pavement where
Goldsmith now lies.
Almost the earliest mention of this court appears in a
MS. in the possession of the Inner Temple of about the
year 1638, describing certain chambers in Parson's Court
as belonging to the Master of the Temple, and let by him
at a rental of ^36 11^. 4^. In the same MS. certain
chambers in the churchyard are also described as belong-
ing to the Master, and let by him at a rental of ;£iS.
Prior to the grant of James I. to the two societies in
1608 there appears to have been a passage from Fleet
, Street, by which access was gained to the churchyard.
This became a resort of outlaws and disorderly persons,
who here sought sanctuary from the sheriffs and disturbed
the seclusion of the Temple by their brawls. Here also
clothes were washed and dried, which added to the un-
sightly and unsavoury character of a spot supposed to be
consecrated to the dead. The Benchers of the two
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE in
societies accordingfly, in 1609, took counsel together and
walled up the passage, put a stop to the washing and
drying of clothes, and pulled down a shed erected against
the north wall of the church by Middleton, the clerk.
Amongst other improvements, they purchased a lanthorn
to be hung at the church door going into Parson's Court.
This would place Parson's Court in the east end of the
churchyard, between the Master's house and the present
Goldsmith Building, as I have suggested.
In the quarrel between Dr. Micklethwaite, the Master
of the Temple, and the two societies, the latter contended
that Parson's Buildings were the property of the societies,
and did not belong to the Master. In the appeal to the
King in 1638, the Master was held to be entitled to twenty
chambers in Parson's Court and in the churchyard. He
was, however, ordered to deliver them up to the two
houses upon receipt for them and for his tithes and
oblations of ^200 every term.
In 1657 new buildings were erected by the Society of
the Inner Temple in Parson's Court at a cost of ;^i,45o.
The fines for admissions to these chambers varied from
;^i20 for a first-floor chamber to jQdo for one on the
third floor.
If these buildings stood where I have indicated, they
all perished in the Great Fire.
These are probably the brick buildings referred to by
Dugdale as erected in 1662 in Parson's Court near the
east end of the church.
THE INNER TEMPLE GATEWAY
No. 17, Fleet Street, or the Inner Temple Gate-house
as it is sometimes called, was rebuilt by leave of the
Society of the Inner Temple by one Bennett, in 161 o.
In consideration of his expenditure, Bennett was allowed
to rebuild his house, then known as the "Prince's Arms,"
and to extend it "over and beside the gateway and the
112 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
lane." That there was a gateway here previously is clear
from the licence granted to Bennett, set forth in the Inner
Temple Records the loth of June, 1610, whereby in con-
sideration of making new gates Bennett was "allowed
the old gates." In the plan published by Agas, 1563,
an entrance is shown, without any gates, nearly opposite
Chancery Lane.
Bennett was a King's Sergeant-at-Arms, and had, so
far as is known, no connection with the law. His will
was proved on August loth, 163 1, but contains no mention
of No. 17, Fleet Street, which may be explained by the
fact that he had in the meantime parted with the property.
In this house John Bennett perhaps kept his prisoners
in confinement. The house is now popularly known,
from the inscription on the front, as the palace of
Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. The suggestion
that the present building was occupied by either Henry
or the Cardinal is thus entirely without foundation.
Cardinal Wolsey's palace or town house was, we know,
in Chancery Lane, but it is quite possible, and indeed
probable, that the original house was occupied by royalty.
The name of the "Prince's Arms," by which it was known
prior to the rebuilding by Bennett, is some evidence, and
the occupation by the Prince of Wales of the large room
on the first floor as his Council Chamber for the Duchy of
Cornwall is very strong evidence of its close association
with the Court. This chamber, now used as a barber's
room, is twenty-three feet in length by twenty feet in
breadth, extending along the whole front of the house.
Its chief claim to attention, however, is its elaborately
decorated plaster ceiling, said to be the finest of its kind
in situ in London. The ribs are richly ornamented and
the panels and spaces filled in with emblems, conventional
foliage, armorial bearings and devices in high relief,
whilst in the centre, enclosed by a star-shaped border,
are the Prince of Wales' feathers, with the motto, " Ich
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE ii
J
dien," on a scroll beneath, arid the initials " P. H.", stand-
ing for Prince Henry, eldest son of James I. The whole
is now elaborately coloured, but the delicacy of the original
tracery has been much damaged by frequent coats of
paint. That this room was the Prince's Council Chamber
has been placed beyond dispute by documentary evidence.
At the Record Office several State Papers have been
found referring to this house between the years 1618 and
1641. One is headed "The Prince's Council Chamber in
Fleet Street," and another refers to "a house in Fleet
Street where the King's Commissioners for his revenue
when he was Prince of Wales usually met." This is
dated 1635, and also shows that Charles I., when Prince
of Wales, or at any rate when Duke of Cornwall, attended
here.
The walls of the chamber are panelled from floor to
ceiling, and that portion of the panelling which is sur-
mounted by a frieze is undoubtedly early Jacobean. The
upper floors are reached by a wide staircase protected by
a heavy oak balustrade, which appears to be of a later
period, although certainly not later than the reign of
George I. This staircase is still /// si'/n, and it is satis-
factory to find that in rebuilding the back premises it has
been allowed to remain.
The design of the house is generally attributed to
Inigo Jones. As he was in 1610 surveyor-general to
Prince Henry, and as the Prince's arms and initials
appear on the ceiling of the new Council Chamber,
which, I take it, only succeeded an older one, it is more
than probable that Jones was the architect, in spite of the
fact that the house was built for John Bennett. With
the Civil War its use by the Crown probably ceased
entirely, and we next hear of it in 1693 as the Fountain
Tavern, carried on by one Edward Dixon, who had
serious disputes with the Benchers of the Inn about his
"lights" in the lane. Dixon was obliged to capitulate,
I
114 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
and the Inn has since maintained its rights on the question
of "ancient lig"hts."
Here in 1709 the Society of Antiquaries, or rather the
original founders, used to meet until the removal of their
quarters to the "Mitre," near Serjeants' Inn, about the
year 1739. The house appears to have continued as a
tavern until 1795, when Mrs. Clarke, widow of a surgeon
in Chancery Lane, removed here with her waxwork
figures from No. 189 over the way, afterwards occupied
by Praed's Bank. This collection of figures had been
purchased by Mr. Clarke from Mrs. Salmon, the original
proprietor, in 1760, and are thus described in a handbill :
"140 figures as big as life, all made b}' Mrs, Salmon, who
sells all sorts of moulds and glass eyes and teaches the
full art." Mrs. Salmon died at the great age of ninety,
her exhibition, the forerunner of Madame Tussaud's,
being on view in the reign of Queen Anne at "The
Golden Salmon " in St. Martin's, near Aldersgate.
During this period, from entries in the Inner Temple
Records, the tenancy of the house seems to have been
divided, and the business of the tavern to have been
carried on simultaneously. By 1842 Tom Skelton, the
hairdresser, had become the occupier, and six years later
this business was carried on by the firm of Honey and
Skelton. The present occupier, who succeeded to the
business, is Mr. Carter, to whom I am indebted for the
permission to reproduce the accompanying illustration of
the ceiling of the Council Chamber.
Many writers of weight have identified No. 17 with
Nando's Coffee House. Mr. Philip Norman, to whom I
am indebted for some information relating to this interest-
ing building, has given this theory Its quietus. In his
paper entitled No. 77, Fleet Street, he quotes the
following passage from Hughson's History of London
(1807), which appears to settle the question: —
"We are told," he says, "that James Farr, a barber,
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE 115
who kept the coffee-house, now the ' Rainbow,' or
Nando's Coffee House, by the Inner Temple Gate, one
of the first in Eng-land, was in the year 1667 presented by
the inquest of St. Dunstan's in the West, for making and
selling" a sort of liquor called coffee, as a great nuisance
and prejudice to the neighbourhood." This opposition to
the consumption of the fragrant berry will be readily
appreciated by all friends of "the Trade."
After all these vicissitudes of fortune, No. 17 has been
purchased by the London County Council from Mr.
Sotheby, the freeholder, for ;^20,ooo, to be restored as
far as possible to its original state. The present front is,
fortunately, only a false one, and much of the original
carved woodwork lies behind. The Council Chamber is
to share in this restoration and to be opened to the public.
In rebuilding the back, great taste has been shown.
By other authorities the "Rainbow" is said to have
been one of the earliest coffee-houses in town, and to have
started business in 1679. And if the above quotation,
identifying it with Nando's, can be relied upon, it is
certainly the oldest. Although the entrance is at No. 15,
its windows look out into the lane. It was at Nando's
that Thurlow, the future Chancellor, got his first brief in
the famous Douglas case, through conversation with the
solicitor who had the conduct of it. The " Rainbow" is
still a well-known legal resort. At No. 16, west of the
gateway, with the sign of the "Pope's Head," was the
shop of Bernard Lintot, the publisher of Pope's Homer,
and the rival of Tonson, the great publisher of Queen
Anne's reign, and afterwards of Jacob Robinson, book-
seller and publisher, with whom lodged Edmund Burke,
the future statesman, when eating his dinners as a
student of the Middle Temple. Burke commenced to
keep regular terms in 1750. Upon its site has arisen
another coffee-house, where young Templars delight to
congregate to play chess or dominoes over the fragrant
cup which invigorates without intoxication.
ii6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
THE INNER TEMPLE PLATE
Like so many of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge,
the Societies of the Inns of Court can boast of a goodly-
show of plate, a considerable amount of which has sur-
vived the Civil Wars, In the possession of interesting
pieces of ancient date the Society of the Inner Temple is
well endowed. The first reference in the records relating
to the plate of the Inn occurs in 1534, when the Treasurer
acknowledges the receipt of a cup presented by Master
Sutton. Two years later reference is made to a silver-
gilt cup then in the hands of the late Treasurer's executors,
and in 1539 it was agreed "that a standynge pote of
sylver which ys Master Sacviles, and also the stondynge
cup of sylver shalbe put yn toe the cover yn the Parlya-
ment howse." From the Privy Council Registers, under
date June 17th, 1552, we learn that Sir Robert Bowes,
Master of the Rolls, was directed to deliver to the
Treasurer, Sir John Baker, for the use of the Inner
Temple, "a cuppe of sylver and gilt and graven with a
cover." The next entry in our records, under date May
i6th, 1563, appears to refer to the standing silver-gilt cup
shaped like a melon, with a cover, and with feet formed
of the tendrils of the melon. The hall-mark of this
beautiful piece is pronounced by Mr, Cripps to be of the
year 1563. It is now one of the treasured possessions of
the House. From an inventory made in February, 1594,
there were at that date "eight silver bowls and four silver
salts, with a cover for a trencher salt, and two dozen of
silver spoons."
By his will, proved in 1597, Nicholas Hare bequeathed
three silver-gilt salt-cellars and a trencher salt-cellar to
the Inn for the use of the Bench table. The large trencher
salt with cover was used to denote the dividing line
between the upper and lower members of the household
in olden times.
BUILDINGS IN THE INNER TEMPLE ii;
During the earlier years of the seventeenth century
numerous additions were made to the plate-chest. In
1606 two high silver candlesticks were purchased from
Francis Glandvylle, goldsmith, and the following year
five silver bowls and four spoons. From Thomas Turner
a new silver salt-cellar was bought in the year 1610, and
in 1619 six slip silver spoons were purchased at a cost
of £2 8^.
In 1628 two wine bowls were purchased from T. Turner,
but in 1643-4 the "house plate" was stolen, and ;^36
\2s. 6d. expended in prosecuting the offenders — with what
result is unknown.
From the accounts for the year 1699- 1700 we learn
that payment for two silver cups was made to Hoare, the
goldsmith, the predecessor of the modern banking-house ;
and from an inventory of goods in the Buttery, dated
January ist, 1703, the Inn appears to have then possessed
one basin and ewer, one gilt cup with cover (presumably
the melon cup), five large salts, ten great cups, twelve
little cups, and twenty-three spoons.
In the accounts for 1707-8 is a payment of £2^^ 15^.
for twelve silver spoons and a silver cup and cover.
Since this date numerous additions have been made,
and in spite of thefts and mysterious losses the side-
board behind the Bench table makes a magnificent
display on Grand Night.
Amongst these additions attention must be called to
a very beautiful silver-gilt nef, or model of a man-of-
war, with the castellated poop and forecastle of the
period.
CHAPTER III
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE INNER TEMPLE
IT is not easy to give any account of the domestic
history of the Inn prior to the year 1505. Whatever
records existed dealing with the occupation of the Temple
by the lawyers up to 1381 were entirely destroyed by the
peasant followers of Wat the Tyler, who, ascribing all
their ills to the chicanery of the lawyers, burned their
chambers, together with their papers, in much the same
spirit as the French Jacquerie destroyed the title-deeds
of their seigneurs.
That other records existed from the period of this
disaster to the year 1505, when the present registers
commence, is shown by the order in 1507 that a con-
venient chest be made and set in the Parliament House
with divers locks for the reception of "all the olde
presidentes, roullis and other wrytynges perteyning unto
the company." This chest, with all its contents,
118
HISTORICAL SKETCH 119
mysteriously disappeared ; and as the registers of the
Middle Temple commence about the same date as those
of the Inner, it is probable that, kept in the hutches of
the Temple Church as they were up to the middle of the
seventeenth century, they both suffered a common fate.
It is now tolerably certain that Geoffrey Chaucer, the
poet, was a Fellow of our House.
In his Canterbtiry Tales he gives us a sketch of the
Temple manciple, or chief cook, which, although often
quoted, must not be omitted here.
"A gentil manciple was there of [a] the Temple
Of whom achatours mig-hten take ensample,
For to ben wise in bying of vitiille ;
For, whether that he paid or toke by taille,
Algate he waited so in his achate
That he was aye before in good estate.
Now is not that of God a full fayre grace
That swiche a lewid mannes wit shall face
The wisdom of an hepe of lerned men ?
"Of maisters had he more than thries ten
That were of law expert and curious ;
Of which there were a dosein in that hous
Worthy to ben stewardes of leat and land
Of any lord that is in Engleland ;
To maken him live by his propre good
In honour deltelcs ; but if were wood,
Or live as scarsly as iiim list desire,
And able for to helpen all a shire,
In any cos that mighte fallen or happe
And yet this manciple sett ' his aller cappe.' "
It was upon the supposition that originally only one
Inn existed in the Temple, and that the Middle Temple
constituted such Inn, thai ihc latter society claimed as
its members such men as Chaucer and Gower. From
the fact that Chaticer himself in his writings referred
only to tlic Temple (although in most of the MSS. it is
"a Temple"), it was inferred that only one Inn existed
120 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
within the precincts of the Temple. But, according to
tradition, Chaucer was a member of the Inner, and the
tradition was supported by a passage from the second
edition of Speght's Works of Chancer, published in 1574,
to which an introduction, written in 1597 by Francis
Beaumont, a Justice of the Common Pleas and father
of the poet, was added in 1602, which reads as
follows : —
"About the latter end of K. Richard's the Second's
dales he florished in Fraunce, and got himself great
commendation there by his diligent exercise in learning.
After his return home he frequented the Court at London
and the CoUedges of the Lawiers, which there interpret
the lawes of the land, and among them he had a familiar
friend called John Gower. It seemeth that Chaucer was
of the Inner Temple, for not many years since Master
Buckley did see a Record in the same house, where
Geffrey Chaucer was fined two shillings for beating a
Franciscan friar in Fleet street."
From the Records of the Inner Temple it now appears
that Master Buckley, or " Bulkeley," was in 1564 the
chief butler of the House, and as such librarian.
In 1572 William Buckley, late chief butler, was
admitted a Fellow of the House without any payment.
That the old records existed is clear, as we have seen
from the order of 1507 relating to the chest. To this
Buckley would have access, and his identification as a
librarian and a Fellow of the society is sufficient circum-
stantial evidence to set this dispute at rest. It also
proves the existence of a separate society of the Inner
Temple at least as early as the reign of Richard II.
When Chaucer was appointed ambassador to Bernard
Visconti, Lord of Milan, he nominated John Gower, one
of his trustees, to appear for him in the Courts during his
absence. Gower may well have been a member of the
Middle Temple. It is almost certain that he was a
lawyer.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 121
The Paston Letters, which commence in the year 142 1,
and in which the terms " I'ostel du Templebar en la
cite de Londres," "The Inner Temple," and "The Inner
In in the Temple att London," occur indifferently, establish
the fact that at this date at any rate the division between
the two societies had taken place, and the inference from
this indifferent use may be fairly drawn that no reliance
can be placed upon the phrase "The Temple," if such
was really Chaucer's.
John Paston, the writer and recipient of this corre-
spondence, had chambers in the Inner Temple, where he
carried on his study of the law. He was the son of
WiUiam Paston, a Justice of the Common Pleas, who
died in 1444. It is not known to which Inn he belonged,
but as he had inherited his property in Norfolk from the
Chaucer family, and as his son was a Fellow of our
House, the probabilities are that he also was a member
of the Inner Temple.
About this time, too, in the year 1430, according- to
tradition, took place the celebrated scene immortalised
by Shakespeare, which is said to have been the origin
of the Wars of the Roses. In the Inner Temple Hall
met Richard, Duke of York, and the Earls of Somerset,
Suffolk, and Warwick. The dispute arose out of "the
putting of a case," as the custom then was, for Shake-
speare makes Richard say —
"Great lords and gentlemen, what means this silence?
Date no man answer in a case of truth?"
This silence was soon broken, and high words passed,
when on Suffolk's suggestion they adjourned into the
garden.
"Suffolk: Within I he Temple Hall we were too loud ;
The sjardcn here is more convenient.
122 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Plant agenet : Let him that is a true-born gentleman,
And stands upon the honour of his birth,
If he supposes that I have pleaded truth,
From off this briar pluck a white rose with me.
Somerset : Let him that is no coward nor no flatterer,
But dare maintain the party of the truth.
Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me.
Plantagenet : Hath not thy rose a canker, Somerset?
Somerset: Hath not thy rose a thorn, Plantagenet?
• • • • •
Warwick: This brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction in the Temple garden,
Shall send, between the red rose and the white,
A thousand souls to death and deadly night."
The Temple Gardens were for centuries famous for their
red and white roses, the Old Provence, the Cabbage,
and the Maiden's Blush.
According to the poet, Richard was an inmate of the
Temple, for when Mortimer, dying in the Tower, asks for
him, he is told by the keeper that —
" Richard Plantagenet, my lord, will come ;
We sent unto the Temple to his chamber."
In the seventh year of Edward IV. each Inn was
ordered to supply four men-at-arms for the King's guard
at the tournament held in Smithfield, when Anthony
Wydeville, Lord de Scales, met in combat the bastard
son of the Duke of Burgundy. We learn from the Black
Books of Lincoln's Inn that this command met with little
favour from the lawyers, for "it was hastily agreed to
by both Temples against our wish, but after agreed to
by us."
A distinguished member of our House at this period
was Sir Thomas Lyttelton, the author of the famous
treatise on Tenures, who became a Justice of the
Common Pleas in 1466, and from whom a long line of
HISTORICAL SKETCH 123
famous lawyers trace descent, as well as no less than
three noble families whose names are to be found in
Burke's Peerage. His Reader's shield hangs in the Hall,
Although specially favoured by Henry VH., the
Templars did not recover sufficient confidence to set
their houses in order until the latter part of his reign.
Naturally anxious to strengthen his position, Henry
showed special attention to the lawyers. He visited
their Inns, was present at the Serjeants' feasts, and
conferred on the two Chief Justices and the Chief Baron
the privilege of wearing the collar of " SS " during their
occupancy of the Bench.
The first recorded creation of Serjeants from our House,
when Humfray Coningsby and Thomas Frewyk were
called to that degree, took place in November, 1496.
The feast was held at Ely House. At the second creation
in 1503 the festival was at Lambeth Palace, and on both
occasions the King and his consort were present.
The precedent set by Edward IV. was followed and
further developed by Henry VIII., for upon his accession
each member of our House was assessed \(Sd. for the
cost of stands at the Westminster tournament, in which
the lawyers themselves were obliged to take part.
The first Serjeants' feast recorded in our registers took
place in the year 1521, when William Rudhall, John
Poorte, and William Shelley were created serjeants by
the King's express wish. They took leave of the society
after vespers on June 28th, and
"Then those three serjeants proceeded to the house of
the Bishop of Ely in Holbourne, the society following
from the seniors to the juniors to the number of almost
one hundred and sixty, and so they came to a certain
parlour on the north side of the Hall, where the rest of
the serjeants of the other Inns had assembled. . . . And
after all the serjeants had come into the hall there and
sat at the chief table and the elders of the Inn with them.
124 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
they had spices and many comfits with wine of every sort.
And on Saturday they remained there, and on Sunday the
Chief Justice gave them a goodly exhortation in the great
chamber at the end of the Hall, and then he told them
their pleas before delivered by the chief prothonotaries."
Upon his departure from our House Rudhall left a
silver spoon for the Bench table in remembrance. The
great hall of the Palace was a magnificent Gothic chamber,
with ornamental timber roof and carved oak screen.
One of the most memorable of these feasts was that
given in 1531, upon the creation of eleven Serjeants,
when Henry and Catherine were both present, and the
menu of which is duly set forth by Stow with great
particularity. The festivities lasted five days, and the
amount of food and drink consumed was prodigious.
But no less then than now royalty was exclusive.
Although the Court was said to dine with the serjeants,
the former sat in one chamber, and the latter with their
wives in another. In the great hall itself were the Lord
Mayor and Aldermen, the Justices and the Barons of the
Exchequer, the Master of the Rolls, the Masters in
Chancery, and citizens of distinction.
In this reign, as we have seen, building was commenced
upon a larger scale. A stricter discipline over members
of the House was enforced, gambling was forbidden, and
sumptuary regulations were passed. In 1523 occurs the
first reference to the players, for whom a payment of 20s.
is allowed.
At this period, too, "the great plague of sweating
sickness " — that scourge of mediaeval cities — made its
appearance in the Inn, when the deaths of students and
officers of the House on several occasions caused the
dispersal of its members.
Cardinal Wolsey is connected with our House in the
person of William Fitz- William, treasurer and chamber-
lain of the great Chancellor. He was a member of the
HISTORICAL SKETCH 125
King's Council, and was admitted to our House at the
instance of Sir John Baker, afterwards Speaker of the
House of Commons. After his master's fall Fitz-William
entertained him at his manor of Milton in Northampton-
shire. Sir John was also Recorder of London and
Attorney-General, and was elected Treasurer of the Inn
in 1533-
Whilst Wolsey, however, was still Chancellor, the
Benchers of the Inns of Court and the Principals of the
Inns of Chancery were placed in the ig"nominious position
of standing- as defendants at the bar of the Star Chamber,
when they were lectured by the Cardinal, and cautioned
not to suffer their gentlemen students in the future to be
out of their houses after six o'clock in the evening without
very great and necessary causes, nor to allow them to
carry any manner of weapons.
The first member of our House to whom the Great Seal
was entrusted was Thomas Audley. He became Lord
Keeper on May 30th, 1532, and afterwards Lord Chancellor.
During his term of office momentous events happened.
To satisfy the conscience, forsooth, of our much-married
King, Catherine of Aragon was divorced after twenty
years of faithful wifehood. Anne Boleyn and Catherine
Howard, her successors, perished on the scaffold. F'isher
and More suffered a similar fate rather than admit the
political supremacy of the State over the Church, and
the wealth of the monasteries fell into the hands of the
sycophants of the Court.
In this reign, too, a member of our House first held the
office of Master of the Rolls. This was John Beaumont,
Treasurer in 1547. Appointed to the Rolls three years
later, he soon brought disgrace upon the society. He
was imprisoned for forging a deed in a suit heard before
him, purporting to be executed by Charles Brandon,
Duke of SufTolk. He was also charged with peculations
to a large amount in his office.
126 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
During this reign of Edward VI. the membership of
the House had so increased that a fourth butler was
engaged, "on account of the great multitude of the
company," and in the interests of morality it was ordered
"that no woman shall have recourse to the gentlemen's
chambers for any cause, except it be as suitors to
* experyencors ' in term time, openly without evil suspect,
upon pain of forfeiture of 3^-, 4^'. " for each offence.
Although the waves of the Reformation passed lightly
over the heads of the Templars, owing to their acquies-
cence in the various creeds as they in turn gained the
ascendant, our House furnished in due course its quota
to "the noble army of martyrs." John Bradford, who
was present as paymaster at the siege of Montreuil in
1544, was three years later admitted as a member. Two
years afterwards he took Holy Orders, and became
Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Edward VL He perished in the
fires at Smithfield in July, 1555.
Another zealous reformer, a member of our House,
was Humphrey Burton, who suffered persecution at the
hands of Mary, and died from excess of joy on hearing
Shrewsbury bells ring in the accession of Elizabeth.
With the reformed religion in the ascendant, it was
only natural that some of our House should suffer for
their old faith. In 1581 Nicholas Roscarrock was com-
mitted to the Tower as a "Popish recusant," where he
remained for five years, until, upon the petition of the
Governor, Sir Hugh Hopton, to whom he owed money,
he was allowed out upon his bond.
Mary's reign is also memorable for the only instance on
record of the imprisonment of members by the Bench.
In 1556 certain barristers having contemptuously defied
the Benchers, eight of them were committed to the Fleet
and expelled the House.
The following year an order greatly affecting the pro-
fession was promulgated, providing that no attorney
HISTORICAL SKETCH 127
should be admitted to the Inn, from which time the divid-
ing Hne between counsel and solicitors, so far as our
House is concerned, has been strictly observed.
The Middle Temple did not follow this innovation till
much later.
At the creation of seven Serjeants in 1555 the feast was
held in the Inner Temple Hall, when the judg-es presented
the new Serjeants with their coifs.
Among-st the sumptuary regulations of this period was
an order of May 5th, 1555, made apparently by the judges
and promulgated by the Benchers of the Inner Temple
and Lincoln's Inn, forbidding beards of more than three
weeks' growth.
The growth of membership which had commenced
under Edward was still further increased during the reign
of Elizabeth. As in median^al times, so once again it
became the fashion for men of rank and wealth to enter
the Inns of Court without any idea of following the pro-
fession of the law, a practice still followed, and especially
so in the Society of the Inner Temple.
In this way our House became closely associated with
the Court and with the leading political events of the day.
With the rising in the North of 1569 our House was
connected in the person of Charles Neville, Earl of West-
morland. This was the attempt to force Elizabeth to
acknowledge Mary as her heiress and to withdraw her
support from the reformed faith. Flying with the Earl
of Northumberland, Neville escaped to the Netherlands,
where he reached an advanced age, living "meanly and
miserably."
Entering Durham Cathedral at the head of the northern
gentry and yeomen, the two earls had torn in pieces the
Bible and Prayer-book, and had then knelt whilst mass
was heard for the last time in any of the old cathedrals
in England.
Michael Tempest, a student of our House, was also
128 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
engfagfed in this affair, and was attainted, but, escaping-
to Flanders, he took service with the Spaniards and died
in exile.
In several of the numerous plots to assassinate Elizabeth
our House was directly concerned. Through the summer
of 1582 Parsons and Allen had been plotting with Philip
and the Duke of Guise the assassination of the Queen.
If successful Guise was to land an army on our shores
in co-operation with James.
To this plot Francis Throckmorton, eldest son of Sir John
Throckmorton, Chief Justice of Chester, and both members
of our House, was a party. Arrested on suspicion, he
confessed on the rack the whole story. He was executed
in 1584. His son John was also a student of the Inner.
Another member of our House engaged in this con-
spiracy was William Shelley, who was convicted, but was
sufficiently fortunate to obtain a reprieve.
Thomas Salusbury was not so lucky. Condemned for
participation in the intrigues to release Mary from im-
prisonment in 1586, he was executed.
Another student attainted for participation in this re-
bellion was Marmaduke Blakiston.
Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, was admitted to our
society iii 1579, prior to which he had led a life of frivolity.
Withdrawing from the Court, he became involved in in-
trigues against the Crown. Attainted in 1589, he was
committed to the Tower, where he died in 1595.
For the trial of Mary Queen of Scots Sir Edmund
Anderson, one of our most famous members, was
selected by Elizabeth to sit as one of the judges. He
was admitted in 1550, and upon the death of Sir Thomas
Dyer appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He
presided too at the trial of Davison in the Star Chamber,
who was made the scapegoat for Mary's execution
upon the ground of having improperly signed the death
warrant. The Queen was entertained by Sir Edmund
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HISTORICAL SKETCH 129
at his seat at Harefield. He died in 1605. His portrait
hang-s at the head of the stairs leading to the Parliament
Chambers.
Other great worthies of " the spacious times of
Elizabeth " members of our House were Sir William
Pole, the antiquary, who left a larg-e collection of MSS.
for the history and antiquities of Devonshire, the bulk
of which perished in the Civil Wars, and who was
elected Treasurer in 1565; Nicholas Wadham, the founder
of Wadham Colleg-e, Oxford ; Sir Henry Unton, ambas-
sador to the Court of France, who challenged the Duke
of Guise for speaking disrespectfully of the Virgin
Queen ; Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral,
the hero of the Great Armada and the first English
ambassador to Russia ; and Robert Devereux, Earl of
Essex, the ill-fated favourite of a capricious mistress.
To our House alone belongs the distinction of being
even remotely connected with the Gunpowder Plot. The
Treshams had for several generations been members of
the Inn. Francis Tresham, one of the conspirators, was
not a member of our House, but his father. Sir Thomas
Tresham, had chambers here during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, and his two younger brothers, Lewis and
William, were both members of the society. The
Treshams were active Catholics, and had been engaged
in intrigues for many years. They were cousins of
Catesby and the two Winters. To what extent Francis
participated in the plot is undetermined, but according
to Professor S. R. Gardiner it was Francis who sent the
celebrated letter to Lord Monteagle, his brother-in-
law. Francis died in the Tower, before the trial, on
December 22nd, 1605. For many generations the anni-
versary of the King's deliverance was observed by a
bonfire at the Inn gate.
The trial of the other conspirators took place at West-
minster on January 27th, 1606. Amongst the commis-
K
I30 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
sioners were the Earl of Northampton, a member of our
House ; Sir John Popham, of the Middle Temple ; Sir
Thomas Fleming", Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, of
Lincoln's Inn ; and Sir Peter Waberton, a Judge of the
Common Pleas, of the same society. Sir Edward
Phelips, Serjeant, opened for the Crown, followed by
Sir Edward Coke, Attorney-General, in a speech of great
length, full of moralising, religious sentiments, extracts
from Spanish and French history, Latin quotations, and
strong language. After verdict and sentence there was
little delay. Sir Everard Digby, Robert Winter, Grant,
and Bates were executed on the 30th at the west end
of St. Paul's, and the rest the following Friday in Old
Palace Yard, Westminster.
Garnet, the Jesuit priest, was tried two months later at
the Guildhall, for his participation in the plot. At the
trial Sir Edward Coke was led by Sir John Croke.
Although Garnet was sentenced to be drawn, hanged,
and quartered at the west end of St. Paul's, he was
allowed to remain on the gallows until dead.
Two other members of our House appear by the
records to have been implicated, but how or to what
extent I am unable to determine. Oliver Manners, son
of the Earl of Rutland of Belvoir, M.P. for Grantham,
and Clerk of the Council, was obliged to flee the country.
Henry Huddleston, son of Sir Edmund Huddleston, of
Paswick, Essex, was not so fortunate. He was seized
and imprisoned and his lands confiscated.
Upon the creation of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales
in 1609 the barriers, or sham tournament, were revived.
On this occasion the combatants wore plate armour and
wielded sword and pike. Henry was himself an accom-
plished exponent of both weapons, and in his portrait
is represented with a pike.
A similar entertainment was given on November 4th,
1616, in the Banqueting Hall, at Whitehall, by the Inns
HISTORICAL SKETCH 131
of Court, each society sending ten members. Of the
ten gentlemen selected to sustain the honour of our
House are some well-known names. George Vernon,
who became a Baron of the Exchequer and a Justice of
the Common Pleas ; Master Wilde, afterwards Lord
Keeper ; Edward Lyttelton, who attained the same
office ; and Thomas Trevor, a Baron of the Exchequer in
1625.
Nichols, in his Progress of King fames, gives the follow-
ing account of these proceedings : —
"At night to crowne it with more heroicall honour
fortie worthie gentlemen of the noble societies of innes of
Court, being tenne of each house, every one appoynted
in way of honourable combate to breake three staves,
three swords, and exchange ten blowes apiece (whose
names for their worthinesse I commend to fame), begunne
thus each to encounter the other."
Other witnesses, however, are not so complimentary.
Chamberlain, in a letter to Sir Dudley Carleton, writes: —
" I had almost forgot that our inns of court gentlemen
carried themselves but indifferently at the barrier the
night of the Prince's creation, but especially in their com-
pliments, wherein they were not so graceful as was to
be wished and expected, but in requital they played the
man at the banquet."
John Hawarde, the author of the well-known Reportcs
del Cases in Camera Sfe/la/a, belongs to this period.
Called in 1598, he became a Bencher in 161 3 and Reader
in 1625. His two sons, John and William, were both
members of our House. The latter was knighted by
Charles I. on September 9th, 1643, for his defence of
Sudeley Castle. His widow, in 1652, refused to take the
oath of abjuration, and in consequence two-thirds of her
jointure was sequestered. Lady Martha was buried in
the west cloister at Westminster Abbey. Their son, also
William, was admitted in 1663.
132 thp: inner and middle temple
The family of Coventry has played a leading part in
the domestic affairs of our House, and Sir Thomas
Coventry, as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal from 1625
till his death in 1639, connects the society with many
of the g-reat events of the day. Favourably noticed
by Sir Edward Coke, he incurred the hostility of Bacon,
who, upon his application for the Recordership of the
City, wrote to James that "the man upon whom the
choice is like to fall, which is Coventry, I hold doubtful
for your service ; not but what he is well learned and an
honest man, but he hath been, as it were, bred by Lord
Coke and seasoned in his ways."
That Coventry was a sound and able lawyer is well-
established, but he was not made of the same stuff as
Coke. Although he held his own with Buckingham and
other Court favourites, he was a strong, though not an
extreme, supporter of Charles.
In June, 1635, he delivered in the Council a powerful
speech in favour of Noy's scheme for levying ship-money.
"The dominion of the sea," he said, "as it is an
ancient and undoubted right of the Crown of England,
so it is the best security of the land. The wooden walls
are the best walls of this kingdom."
But in the great case against Hampden he took no part.
He was Treasurer of the Inn from 1617 to 1625, when he
was succeeded by Sir Robert Heath. In 1618 we find
Heath in the occupation of chambers in Fuller's Rents,
looking out into Ram Alley. He became successively
Recorder of London, Solicitor- and Attorney-General, and
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, from which office he
was discharged without any cause being assigned, and
resumed his practice at the Bar as junior serjeant. In
1641 he was made a Judge of the King's Bench, and
joined the King at York the following year. He was
subsequently appointed Chief Justice, but never sat as
such in Westminster Hall. Upon his impeachment in
HISTORICAL SKETCH 133
1644 he fled to France, and died five years later at Calais.
Heath was one of the chief advocates of the Crown, and
with great learning and ingenuity assisted Charles in his
fooHsh and high-handed encroachments upon the liberty
of the subject.
A career singularly like that of Heath was Sir Edward
Lyttelton's, whom we find also in Fuller's Rents, in Coke's
old chambers, in 1634. He became successively Chief
Justice of North Wales, Recorder of London, Solicitor-
General, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and finally
in 1641 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. A fellow-student
with Selden, he appeared for his old friend upon his
imprisonment for the tonnage and poundage affair in
1629. Although a moderate man, Lyttelton delivered an
elaborate argument against Hampden in the ship-money
case, occupying three days. With the acceptance of the
Great Seal his troubles commenced. In the absence of
the King he became the sport of both parties and equally
distrusted by both, a position so embarrassing as to cause
him a serious illness. He finally solved the difficulty by
secretly flying from London and carrying the Seal with
him to the King at York. On the outbreak of the Civil
War he was commissioned by Charles to raise a regiment
of foot from the Inns of Court and Chancery, of which he
became colonel. It was when drilling these recruits at
Oxford that he contracted a cold from which he died.
Lyttelton, although a timid politician, was one of the
first swordsmen of his day and of approved valour in the
field. He was succeeded in the command of his regiment
by Heath.
Two of Lyttelton's brothers, James, Chancellor of Wor-
cester and a Master in Chancery, and Timothy, a Baron
of the Exchequer, were both of our House. So, too, was
Thomas Lyttelton, who married the Lord Keeper's
daughter and heiress.
John Hampden had been admitted a member of our
134 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
House in 1613. His name is indelibly imprinted upon
the constitutional history of our country, and will ever
live in the grateful remembrance of our race.
"A Hampden, too, is thine illustrious House,
Wise, strenuous, firm, of unsubmitting soul,
Who stemmed the torrent of a downward age,
To slavery prone."
He lost his life in a petty skirmish on Chalgrove Field in
1643. His father, William Hampden, of Clifford's Inn,
was specially admitted a member of our House in 1588
upon payment of a fine of ^3 6^-. Sd. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Cromwell, of Hinchin-
brook. He died in 1597, leaving- John, an infant of three
years old, to be brought up by his mother.
John Hutton, a student of our House, another Hamp-
den, was imprisoned for his refusal to pay ship-money,
and, upon his release, was elected by the popular party
a member of the Long Parliament ; but, fearing his
colleagues were going too far, he went over to the
Royalists and joined the King at Oxford.
Sir John Croke's son, also called John, joined the King
with a troop of horse, and ruined his estate in the Royal
cause. Others of the Croke famil}^, members of our
House, were Serjeant Unton Croke, who enjoyed the
favour of Cromwell, and his son, Unton, a captain in the
Parliamentary forces, who defeated and captured the un-
fortunate Colonel Penruddock.
Penruddock, a student of Gray's Inn, having in March,
1655, raised a small force with Sir Joseph Wagstaflfe, occu-
pied Salisbury, and seizing the judges, Rolle and Nicholas,
who were there on circuit, proclaimed Charles II. Wag-
staffe wished to hang the judges, but was prevented
by Penruddock. Failing to raise the country, they were
retiring into Cornwall when they were surprised by
Unton Croke at South Molton in North Devon.
Penruddock was tried and executed at Exeter, Serjeant
HISTORICAL SKETCH 135
Glynne presiding- at the trial, the other commissioners
being- Rolle, Nicholas, and Serjeant Steele. Both Rolle
and Nicholas were members of the Inner, the former a
staunch supporter of Cromwell. In 1648 he was ap-
pointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and after the
execution of Charles he accepted a new commission as
Chief Justice of the Upper Bench. He was the author of
Rolle's Abridgment des plusieiirs Cases et Resolutions del
Comniiin Ley. Nicholas, just before his elevation to the
Upper Bench, was one of the counsel for the Common-
wealth against Lilburne, Prynne, and others.
Many other members and students of the Inner, too
numerous to mention, were actively engag-ed in the field
on one side or the other. To cull a few names from the
Roll of Admittances at this period : Sir Robert Pye, called
1 595) M.P. for Bath and Woodstock, Auditor of the
Exchequer under James I. and the first Charles, defended
his seat, Faringdon House, which he had purchased from
the Unton family, for the King against the Parliamentary
forces commanded by his second son !
This appears to be the Robert Pye who in 1601 was
" disgraded from the degree and place at the Bar," and
"also expulsed and put out of this House and fellowship
of the same for a most foul and treacherous practice of
his in the wrongful and malicious persecution against
Christopher Merricke, gentleman, one also of the outter
Barristers of this House, to the endangering- of the life
and loss of lands and goods of the said Mr. Merricke."
Pye was brought before the Star Chamber and con-
demned in a fine of 1,000 marks, to stand in the pillory at
Westminster Hall and there to lose one ear, to ride
thence with his face to the horse's tail to Temple Gate,
and there to be pilloried and lose the other ear, and to
suffer perpetual imprisonment.
The House was scolded for admitting such a m;ui, who
should have followed his father's trade, who was but a
136 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
butcher. This allegation of low birth was a pure in-
vention, for Pye was the second son of Sir William Pye,
of Mynde Park, Hereford. Robert Pye was successively
Member of Parliament for Bath, Ludgershall, West-
minster, Grampound, Woodstock, and the county of
Berks. He died in 1662.
His elder brother, Sir Walter Pye, was chosen Treasurer
of the Middle Temple in 1626. He was Attorney of the
Court of Wards and Liveries.
Robert Pye the younger married Anne, daughter of
John Hampden, which sufficiently accounts for his taking
sides with Parliament. He saw much service under
Essex, for whom he had raised a troop of horse. He
was among those who joined the Prince of Orange on his
march on London in December, 1688. His son Edmund
was grandfather of Henry James Pye, the poet laureate.
Basil, Lord Fielding, admitted 1628, who became one
of the most eminent of the Parliamentary generals, op-
posed his father, the Earl of Denbigh, in the field.
Mark Trevor, admitted 1634, was the colonel in the
Royal army "who wounded the tyrant Cromwell in the
face," and for this and other services he was created (1662)
Viscount Dungannon and Baron Rostrevor.
Thomas Wentworth, admitted 1607, was created Earl
of Strafford 1640, and fell on the scaffold the following
year.
Francis, Lord Cottington, admitted 163 1, afterwards
Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord Treasurer, fled
into exile with Charles H., and dying at Valladolid, 1653,
was subsequently buried in Westminster Abbey. He was
Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries in 1640.
A younger student, admitted 1637, was Robert Phelips,
grandson of the famous Sir Edward Phelips, Master of
the Rolls. He assisted Charles to escape to France after
the battle of Worcester, and is no doubt the young
Colonel Lee of Scott's Woodstock. Contemporary with
HISTORICAL SKETCH 137
these two is Thomas Blount, admitted two years later, an
eminent antiquary, and the author of Boscobel, a personal
narrative of the King's adventures after the disaster at
Worcester. He was an intimate friend of Selden, Sir
William Dugdale, and other literary men of the time.
Another student, a member of this coterie, was William
Browne, author of Britaiuiiii's Pastorals, The Shepherd's
Pipe, and other pieces. Blount's uncle. Sir Walter, and
his four sons, two at least of whom were members of our
House, fought for the King.
Other Royalist members were Colonel Edward Slaughter,
of Cheyne Court, Hereford, admitted 1619 ; Sir Henry
Newton, of Chulton, Kent, admitted in 1632, who held a
command at Edge Hill ; and Major Anthony Dyott, son
of a Bencher, who was called in 1652, and held a com-
mission in the King's forces. The Dyotts' chambers were
in Fig Tree Court.
In 1648, the same year in which Thomas Blount was
called to the Bar, Sir Roger Mostyn's chambers were
sequestered. He is said to have expended ^^60,000 in
the service of the King. Sir Roger was captured at
Conway by Colonel Carter. He appears to have made
his peace with the Inn, for he was called to the Bar in
1655-
Two prominent members on the other side were Robert
Devereux, Earl of Essex, the great Parliamentary general,
and Sir Robert Rich, a Master in Chancery, afterwards
Earl of Warwick, both specially admitted together in
1605, with the Earls of Arundel, Oxford, and Northampton,
and other men of rank. Robert Devereux, son of the
ill-fated favourite of Elizabeth, was married to Lady
Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, both
being mere children, fourteen years of age. After eight
years of married life. Lady Frances, having formed an
attachment for Sir Robert Carr, afterwards Earl of
Somerset, the first favourite of James I., brought the
138 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
famous nullity suit against her husband, and, upon its
successful termination, immediately married Carr. The
action was tried before the Archbishop of Canterbury,
half a dozen bishops, and two medical men, James taking
the utmost personal interest in the evidence and using
all his influence to secure the verdict. This trial was
regarded even in those days as a gross scandal.
Sir Richard Onslow, a strong adherent of the popular
party, raised a regiment for the Parliament, He was a
grandson of Richard Onslow, Speaker of the House of
Commons in the reign of Elizabeth, who by marriage
acquired the Knoll Estate in Surrey. Both were members
of our House. Sir Richard was present in a command at
the siege of Basing House. He died unmolested at Knoll
in 1664.
After Lord Keeper Lyttelton's death in 1645, the Great
Seal was entrusted to Sir Richard Lane, a Bencher of
the Middle Temple and Attorney-General to the Prince
of Wales in 1688. In Strafford's impeachment he dis-
tinguished himself by his brilliant argument, which showed
that the charges preferred did not amount to treason in
point of law.
Meanwhile Parliament, having declared the proceedings
under the Great Seal at Oxford invalid, put the Seal of
Parliament in commission and appointed Serjeant Wilde,
a member of our House, as one of the commissioners
with the powers of Lord Chancellor. Wilde was chairman
of the committee appointed to draw up the impeachment
of the bishops. In 1648 he was created Chief Baron of
the Exchequer.
Of the twelve judges appointed by the Commonwealth,
Chief Justices RoUe and Nicholas have already been
mentioned. Aske, of the Upper Bench, and Baron
Gates, of the Exchequer, were both of our House. Aske
was junior counsel, with Cooke Solicitor-General, for the
Commonwealth at the trial of Charles. He occupied
HISTORICAL SKETCH 139
chambers in Churchyard Court South. He died in
1656.
A number of the regicides were members of our Inn.
Thomas Challoner escaped to Zeeland, and died there in
1667. Simon Mayne, member of Parliament for Ayles-
bury, died in the Tower, and was buried in the Temple
Church. William Cawley, Recorder of Chichester, and
Gabriel Ludlow, a Bencher, both escaped to Vevey, where
they died. Henry Marten, son of Sir Henry Marten,
Dean of Arches and Judge of the Court of Admiralty,
died in confinement at Chepstow Castle in 1681. Daniel
Blagrave fled to Aachen, where he died in 1668. Anthony
Stapley, member of Parliament for Arundel, died before
the Restoration, as also did Sir William Constable, who
had taken a very active part in the field for the Common-
wealth. John Downes, a member of Parliament, pleaded
guilty, and being recommended to mercy was reprieved.
John Carew, relying upon the proclamation, surrendered.
He was tried at the Old Bailey and executed. He was
thus the only member to suffer the extreme penalty for
treason. Andrew Broughton, who, as Chief Clerk of the
Crown, read the indictment and called on the King to
plead, and read the sentence, was also of our House. He
escaped to Switzerland, where he died. All these were
men of good familv.
During the exile of Charles II. in France the Great
Seal was placed in the hands of Sir Edward Herbert,
who had been Attorney-General to the Queen, 1637,
Solicitor-General, 1640, and Attorney-General, 1642.
Associated with Selden, he was chosen to represent our
House in the management of the great masque given at
Christmastide, 1633-4, to Charles and Henrietta.
The government of our House during the Civil War
naturally fell into the hands of the supporters of the
Parliament, but at the Restoration there were no reprisals,
the Royalists quietly taking possession.
I40 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Orlando Bridg-eman was immediately elected a Bencher
of our House, and became in quick succession Chief
Baron of the Exchequer, Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas, and finally successor of Lord Clarendon as Lord
Keeper in 1667. But he was not a success in the Court
of Chancery. One of the greatest masters of the principles
of Equity and Chancery procedure was Heneag"e Finch,
son of Serjeant Finch, Recorder of London and Speaker
of the House of Commons, both Benchers of our House.
The elder Finch owned Kensington Palace, which was
sold by his grandson to William HL In due course
Solicitor-General and Attorney-General, young Heneage
became Lord Keeper in 1673, and Lord Chancellor two
years later. In i68i he was created Earl of Nottingham.
He was styled by Cudworth the Oracle of Impartial
Justice, and was regarded by all as a pattern of virtue
and honour — a remarkable exception to the general
corruption of his times. He died at his house in Great
Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in 1682. His cousin.
Sir John Finch, of Gray's Inn, succeeded the elder Finch
as Speaker of the House of Commons, and will go down
to posterity in the undignified attitude of being held down
in the chair on that memorable occasion when Sir John
Eliot moved his resolution against tonnage and poundage.
With tears he protested, " I will not say I will not put
the question, but I say I dare not."
Introduced by Clarendon, Finch had early secured the
favour of Charles, and upon his appointment as Autumn
Reader in 1661 he gave one of the most magnificent
entertainments ever recorded in the Inner Temple Hall.
The feast lasted several days, and was honoured on
the last day by the presence of the King in person,
accompanied by the Duke of York.
The King came from Whitehall in his state barge, and
was received by Sir Heneage Finch and the Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas at the Temple Stairs, passing thence
HEXEAGE FINCH, EARI- OF NOTTINGHAM
HISTORICAL SKETCH 141
throu2-h a double file of the Reader's servants clothed in
scarlet cloaks and white doublets, whence, taking his
way through a breach made expressly for the occasion
in the garden wall, he passed through a lane formed of
Benchers, Utter Barristers, and Students of the Inn, till
he arrived at the Hall, when the wind instruments that
had been sounding ever since he landed gave place to a
band of twenty violins, which played throughout dinner.
So pleased was the Duke of York that he was admitted
there and then, and ultimately became a Barrister and
Bencher of the society. Prince Rupert and other noble-
men of distinction were also admitted as members. His
son, also Heneage, called by our House, became Solicitor-
General from 1679 to 1686, and was one of the principal
counsel for the defence in the trial of the Seven Bishops.
He was called to the Upper House by the title of Baron
Guernsey by Anne, and created Earl of Aylesford by
George I.
Robert Foster, a member of our House, was the first
Chief Justice of England to be appointed after the
Restoration. He was one of the judges who tried Sir
Harry Vane for treason. By declaring Charles H. de facto
as well as de jure King on his father's death, these judges
were able to avail themselves of a legal quibble to support
their verdict of high treason. Vane and Lambert had
been included in a proclamation of indemnity. The King
violated his promise by the execution of Vane as much as
the judges — time-serving tools — strained the law by his
conviction.
John Keelyng, called to Bar by the Inner in 1632,
became Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1665. He
was one of the counsel for the Crown at the trial of
Sir Harry Vane. Keelyng had chambers in Dupont's
Buildings, which appear to have been behind Fuller's
Rents, probably in or abutting upon Ram Alley.
William Wycherley, the clever and licentious dramatist
142 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of a corrupt age, the son of Daniel Wycherley, a member
of our House, was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1659,
and for some years lived as an inmate of the Temple,
leading- a gay and profligate life. According to tradition,
it was at his chambers here that he received the notorious
Duchess of Cleveland, one of the gay monarch's mistresses,
who, moved by his comely person, introduced herself to
him in the Mall, in the coarse language of the period.
She is said to have stolen from the Court to her lover's
chambers in the Temple "disguised as a country girl,
v/ith a straw hat on her head, pattens on her feet, and
a basket in her hand." Before this event, however,
Wycherley had probably left the Temple.
The third scene in The Plain Dealer is laid in West-
minster Hall, and if Wycherley's characters are faithful
representations of the barristers of the day, the less said
about them the better.
Although a rival with Charles and Buckingham for the
favours of the royal mistress, he was visited by that
monarch, when struck down by illness and living in Cross
Street, and was sent to France for the benefit of his
health, at the expense of the royal purse.
On his marriage with the Countess of Drogheda he
incurred the displeasure of the Court, and he fared no
better than Addison in this unequal match. So jealous
was the Countess, that when he visited the Cock Tavern,
opposite his house in Bow, he was obliged to leave the
window open and show himself from time to time. A
more serious result, however, was his imprisonment for
debt in the Fleet Prison for several years. However, he
survived this and the Countess, and married again, only
to die eleven days after the ceremony.
CHAPTER IV
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE INNER TEMPLE
[coiifiiiiicd)
I
N two public misfortunes which befell the City during
the reig-n of Charles 11. the Inner Temple shared
larg-ely. The summers of 1665 and 1666 found both
Temples deserted in consequence of the plague, which
then raged with such virulence, and scarcely had this
Wam. Taui.et i-oNMi;i;i.Y in Innick Tkmpi.k Last:.
abated when, on September 2nd, 1666, the Great Fire
broke out, reaching the Temple on the 4th.
Only by a free use of gunpowder, under the direction
of the Duke of York, and a timely dropping of the wind
was the Temple saved from complete destruction. As it
was, the damage was enormous. The whole of King's
Bench Walk, with the Alienation Ofhce, Fuller's Rents,
and the houses in Ram Alley, the Exchequer Office,
143
144 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Tanfield Court, Caesar's Building-s, and most of the
building^s east of the Hall, were swept away. The
Master's house also perished, the flames even lickina-
the east end of the church. An irregular line drawn on
Ogilby's Plan shows the extent to which the fire extended
to the west. A day or two afterwards the fire broke out
in Fig: Tree Court, which was partially blown up in order
to save the Hall. During- the next five years these build-
ings were all rebuilt, but in October, 1677, another fire
broke out in King's Bench Walk, destroying nearly the
whole of the new structures there.
A stone tablet on No. 4 commemorates this conflag-
ration : —
"Conflagratam An'' 1677. Fabricatam An" 1678.
Richardo Powell, Armiger, Thesaurar. "
This doorway, and also the more elaborate one with
Corinthian brick columns at No. 5, are supposed to be
the work of Sir Christopher Wren, who was largely
employed in building operations in the Temple.
With the Rye House Plot our House was connected in
the person of John Ayloff, a member of the society and
one of the conspirators. He fled to Scotland, where he
was captured in the act of attempting suicide. He was
brought back, tried, convicted, and hanged in front of
the Inner Temple Gate on Friday, October 30th, 1685.
A most extraordinary career is that of Francis Pember-
ton. Called to the Bar in 1654 by the Inner, his early
years were spent in dissipation, ending in imprisonment
for debt. Whilst in durance vile, to assist his companions
in misfortune, he applied himself closely to the study of
the law, and came out, as some say, a sharper at the law,
according to others, one of the ablest men at the Bar.
Appearing as counsel at the House of Lords in a case in
which the Commons asserted the Upper House had no
jurisdiction, he was ordered into custody. Released by
HISTORICAL SKETCH 145
the Lords, he was retaken in the middle of Westminster
Hall by the Speaker himself. Raised to the King's Bench
in 1679 by the influence of the infamous Scrog-gs, he was
removed from that office the following year, when he
returned to his practice at the Bar. A year later he
superseded Scroggs himself as Chief Justice of the
King's Bench. Appointed Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas in 1683, he presided at the trial of Lord William
Russell. He was shortly afterwards dismissed, and his
removal is said to have been occasioned by the honourable
way he then conducted himself, or as Kennet euphoniously
put it, by his not being able "to go into all the new
Measures of the court." Returning once more to the Bar,
he resumed a successful practice as a serjeant, and with
Sir Robert Sawyer led for the defence in the trial of the
Seven Bishops. He died in 1697.
For a judge to return to his practice at the Bar was in
those days by no means uncommon. In this they suffered
no loss of dignity, since all judges were members of the
Order of the Coif, and a serjeant was always treated by
a judge as an equal, and addressed from the Bench as
"Brother." Other examples are Sir Cresswell Levinz,
Sir Edward Lutwyche, and Sir Edward Herbert, who
after sitting on the Bench all returned to the Bar.
On June 29th, 1688, in Westminster Hall took place
one of the most memorable events in our history — the
trial of the Seven Bishops for seditious libel, an event
with which members of the Temple were intimately
connected.
Jeffreys of our House advised the prosecution, although
when too late he would gladly have taken back his
advice. *
Sir Robert Wright, as we have said, presided at the
trial, his colleagues on the Bench being Sir Richard
AUybone, a Papist of Gray's Inn, who, as Macaulay
rightly says, "showed such gross ignorance of law and
L
146 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
history as brought on him the contempt of all who heard
him," and Sir Richard HoUoway, hitherto a serviceable
tool of the Court. A member of the Inner Temple,
Holloway had practised locally at Oxford, and lived
opposite the "Blue Boar" in St, Aldg-ate's, In spite of
his judg-ment in favour of the bishops, and his conse-
quent immediate dismissal from the Bench, Holloway was
excepted by William out of the Bill of Indemnity.
Sir John Powell, the fourth occupant of the Bench,
was a member of Gray's Inn, and by his honourable
conduct on this occasion restored a reputation for honesty
somewhat damaged. For this he was dismissed with
Holloway, but restored to the Bench by William, after
having declined the office of Lord Keeper of the Great
Seal.
The counsel for the Crown were Sir Thomas Powis, of
Lincoln's Inn, Attorney-General, a third-rate lawyer, who
was raised to the Queen's Bench in 1713, but removed
the following year for incapacity upon the advice of Lord
Chancellor Cowper; Sir William Williams, the life-long
rival of Sir Robert Sawyer, who led for the defence, and
who had been Speaker of the House of Commons for a
few days in 1678.
Sawyer shared with Jeffreys and North the guilt of
Sir Thomas Armstrong's blood, and he conducted the
cases against Lord William Russell and Sir P. Sidney.
Attacked in the House, he was accused by Williams of
"wilful murder" in a speech which persuaded the House
to expel him by 131 votes to 71.
In many of these State trials Williams appeared for the
defence. He had been Speaker of the House of Com-
mons in the last two Parliaments of Charles II. In
pronouncing the expulsion of Sir Richard Peyton, he
said: "This Parliament nauseates such members as you
are ; you are no longer a part of this noble body."
After the dissolution for this language he was challenged
HISTORICAL SKETCH 147
by Sir Richard, who, upon WilHams's complaint to the
authorities, was committed to the Tower, a truly proper
mode of settlings a duel for a lawyer to adopt ! Shortly
after this incident Sawyer had his reveng-e. In the
Parliament of 1681 Williams was charged with libel upon
the ground that Dangerfield's narrative of the Meal Tub
Plot, the printing- of which it had been his duty as
Speaker to license, implicated the Duke of York. In
this business Sawyer assumed the noble character of
"informer," with the result that Williams was fined
;^io,ooo, of which the Duke rebated ^2,000 for cash
down.
Instead of resenting- such treatment at the hands of the
Court, Williams was thenceforth a zealous and ardent
supporter of James, and so became Sir William Williams
and Solicitor-General, with a promise of the Woolsack if
he secured a verdict against the bishops. It was Sawyer
who largely contributed to his defeat. In the course of
the trial they both constantly made bitter personal
attacks upon one another. For once, however, they
acted together in the great debate on the abdication of
James. Sawyer asserted that James was no longer King,
and the unblushing forehead and voluble tongue of Sir
William Williams were found on the same side, together
with the voices of Wharton, the aged Serjeant Maynard,
and the rising young Somers.
" How. men like Williams live through such infamy,"
says Macaulay, "it is not easy to understand. He had
been deeply concerned in the excesses both of the worst
of Oppositions and the worst of Governments. He had
persecuted innocent Papists and innocent Protestants.
He had been the patron of Oates and the tool of Petre.
But even such infamy was not enough for Williams. He
was not ashamed to attack the fallen tyrant to whom he
had hired himself out for work which no honest man in
the Inns of Court would undertake."
148 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Sawyer was Treasurer of our House, and was Attorney-
General 1681-7. He sat for Cambridge University from
1689 till his death in 1692, At Cambridge, where he had
a brilliant career, he was chamber-fellow of Samuel Pepys
at Magdalene.
With Powis and Williams were Serjeant Trinder, a
Papist, of the Inner, and Sir Bartholomew Shower, of the
Middle, Recorder of London, and author of some well-
known Reports, " but whose fulsome apologies and endless
repetitions," says Macaulay, were the jest of Westminster
Hall. One of the junior counsel for the Crown was
Nathan Wright of our House, afterwards Lord Keeper
under William IIL
On the other side with Sawyer were Serjeant Pemberton,
whose acute intellect and skilful conduct of the case proved
too much for the prosecution ; Heneage Finch, afterwards
Earl of Aylesford, who nearly lost the case for the bishops
by his anxiety to make a fine speech ; and Henry Pollexfen,
leader of the Western Circuit, where he had been selected
by Jeffreys to prosecute in many of the cases at the Bloody
Assize. All these were members of our House. Pollexfen
was a Whig, and had been leading counsel for Lord
William Russell, and had appeared for the City in defence
of its charters. The greatest blot on his character was his
appearance as prosecuting counsel against Alice L'Isle.
In 1689 he became Attorney-General, and a few months
later Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He is the
author of some Reports.
Serjeant Cresswell Levinz, also the author of Reports
bearing his name, appeared for the bishops, though sadly
against his will. Although a man of great learning and
experience, he was of weak character, and it was only
upon the threat of the whole body of attorneys never to
brief him again that he accepted a brief. He was a
member of the Middle Temple.
Sir George Treby, also a member of the Middle Temple,
HISTORICAL SKETCH 149
was counsel on the same side. He had succeeded Jeffreys
as Recorder of London, but was dismissed in consequence
of holding briefs for defendants obnoxious to the Court.
Upon the landing- of the Prince of Orange he was re-
instated, and headed the procession of welcome to
William, delivering the address. He subsequently became
Attorney-General and Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
He frequently sat as Speaker of the House of Lords during
the illnesses of Somers.
Sir John Holt, of the Middle Temple, was not retained
for the bishops owing to some prejudice of Sancroft's,
but he acted as adviser to the Bishop of London.
The junior counsel was John Somers, who obtained his
brief through the influence of Johnstone and Pollexfen,
the latter of whom declared that no man in West-
minster Hall was so well qualified to treat a historical
and constitutional question as Somers. Somers was a
member of the Middle Temple. His chambers were in
Elm Court.
With all this talent opposed to them, the counsel for
the Crown were hard put to. It was not until they had
put Blathwayt, Clerk of the Privy Council, in the box
that they were able to prove the handwriting of the
defendants, and when they had at last established this
they were met with the necessity of proving that the libel
was written in Middlesex, as alleged in the indictment.
Shifting their ground, they then attempted to prove its
publication in this county, and after completely failing to
do this closed their case. Wright began to charge the
jury, when Finch, foolishly as was thought at the moment,
claimed to be heard. "If you will be heard," said the
Chief Justice, " you shall be heard, but you do not under-
stand your own interests." In the meantime a messenger
arrived who announced that Lord Sunderland was coming
to prove the publication.
The evidence of the Lord President of the Council was
150 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
held to be sufficient to allow the case to go to the jury,
and after a long- legal argument upon the prerogative of
the King, Wright summed up, trimming as best he could,
and holding the petition to be a libel in point of law.
Perhaps he was prescient of his coming fate, for he looked,
as a bystander remarked, as if all the peers present had
halters in their pockets.
Allybone, who supported him, exhibited such ignorance
as to incur the open contempt of that vast concourse.
Holloway declared the petition to be no libel, and Powell
was even more courageous, avowing that the Declaration
of Indulgence was a nullity and the dispensing power
utterly inconsistent in law.
The jury were locked up all night, and the solicitor for
the bishops sat too outside their door to prevent any
tampering by the Court party. At first the jury were nine
to three for an acquittal. Two of the latter soon gave
way, but Arnold, the King's brewer, held out. " What-
ever I do," he bitterly complained, "I shall be half-ruined.
If I say Not guilty, I shall brew no more for the King ;
and if I say Guilty, I shall brew no more for anybody
else."
His dogged resolution was broken down by Austin, a
country gentleman of high position. " Look at me,"
he cried. " I am the largest and strongest of the twelve,
and before I find such a petition as this a libel, here I will
stay till I am no bigger than a tobacco pipe."
Arnold gave in at six o'clock next morning, and at ten,
amidst the frenzied shouts of thousands of persons in
Westminster Hall, the verdict of "Not Guilty" was
pronounced, shouts that were taken up by the dense
crowds outside, and heard as far as Temple Bar.
Thus ended this momentous struggle for civil and
religious liberty.
A few months later James fled the country, and upon
the accession of William, Sir John Trevor was appointed
HISTORICAL SKETCH 151
one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal. Sir John
had been Treasurer of our House, Attorney-General, and
the Master of the Rolls. To the latter post he was now
reappointed. In 1695 he became Speaker of the House
of Commons, and by virtue of a statute recently passed,
he walked at the funeral of Queen Mary as the First
Commoner of the realm. A week later he had to put
the question from the chair: "That Sir John Trevor,
Speaker of this House, receiving- a gratuity of one thou-
sand g-uineas from the City of London after passing of
the Orphans Bill, is guilty of a high crime and mis-
demeanour."
In spite of this signal disgrace he had still the effrontery
to retain the Mastership of the Rolls. He had an un-
fortunate squint, and it was no uncommon occurrence for
two members each to claim to have caught the Speaker's
eye at the same moment.
In his early days Trevor had been a boon companion of
Jeffreys, and when he no longer required the latter's
support, he frequently turned upon his old friend, proving
himself as great a master of coarse invective as the
Chancellor himself. He married a daughter of Sir Roger
Mostyn, and from his own daughter was descended the
great Duke of Wellington.
The reign of William and Mary is not remarkable in
the annals of our society, which was mainly occupied with
the reorganisation of its internal economy. From 1691 the
Treasurer was elected for one year only from the Masters
of the Bench in order of seniority, and ^100 was voted
for the expenses of his office. In 1693 the portraits of the
King and Queen were painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller,
and now hang in the Hall, together with that of Anne by
the same artist, the commission for which was left in the
hands of the Treasurer, Sir Simon Harcourt.
The large picture of Pegasus surrounded by Neptune
and the Muses springing from Mount Helicon was
152 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
painted by Sir James Thornhill, then in high favour at
Court, in 1709. This painting- used to hang at the east
end of the old Hall, a position which it occupies in the
new, and which shows us the extent of the enlargement
of the present building.
Simon Harcourt perhaps, of all our members, cut the
finest figure during the reign of Queen Anne. A scion of
an ancient family seated at Stanton Harcourt, he was
immediately upon his call to the Bar in 1683 appointed
Recorder of Abingdon, for which borough he was returned
as Tory member in 1690. Eight years later he was
selected by the House to manage the impeachment of
Lord Somers for his share in the Partition Treaty, and in
1702 he was appointed Solicitor-General and elected a
Bencher of his Inn. At the Old Bailey he appeared for
De Foe, and in the House took a leading part in the debate
on the case of Ashby v. White. As a reward for his
services in the union with Scotland, he received the office
of Attorney-General,
He next appeared for Dr. Sacheverell at the Bar of the
House of Lords, and the silver salver presented by his
grateful client is still to be seen at Nuneham, an estate
which he purchased when Lord Keeper from the Weymes
family.
At Cokethorpe, near Stanton Harcourt, his other seat,
he entertained Anne, and here in the uppermost chamber
of the tower Pope had his study, in which he wrote his
Homer. In 1713 Harcourt was created Lord Chancellor,
as a reward for his zeal in the Treaty of Utrecht.
Reappointed Chancellor on the death of Anne, he was
dismissed by George upon his arrival in London, and
retired to Cokethorpe, where Pope, Gay, Prior, and Swift
were his constant visitors. Harcourt was styled by the
Dean the "Trimmer," a name which stuck, but which
perhaps was somewhat too severe. Amongst his con-
temporaries his reputation as a speaker stood very high.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 153
Speaker Onslow said of him that he "had the greatest
skill and power of speech of any man I ever knew in a
public assembly."
In the London Post, dated June ist, 1700, it is related
how "two days agfo a lawyer of the Temple coming to
town in his coach was robbed by two highwaymen on
Hounslow Heath of £%o, his watch, and whatever they
could find valuable about him." This "lawyer" was
Simon Harcourt. The men were caught on the ferry-boat
at Kew and all the valuables recovered.
Harcourt's town house was Arundel House, in the
Strand, but his name is perpetuated in the Temple by
Harcourt Buildings.
His portrait hangs in the Hall. He married for his
third wife a daughter of Sir Thomas Trevor, and grand-
daughter of the great John Hampden. Sir Thomas
Trevor was also Treasurer of our House. After filling
the offices of Solicitor- and Attorney-General, Trevor
became in 1701 Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. In
171 1, in order to secure a majority in the Lords for the
peace, Harley and St. John exercised the prerogative
of the Crown by the creation of twelve new peers. Trevor
was one of these, and he was the first Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas to be raised to the peerage
whilst still holding this oflice. His wife was Ruth,
daughter of Hampden. A fellow-student with Trevor
was Sir John Pratt, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in
1 7 18, and father of the celebrated Lord Camden.
In December, 1692, the Temple was the scene of a
tragedy. Mr. Graham, an attorney, was killed by one
Young in the Temple Walks, and two years later a
Mr. Mansell, whose name occurs in our records, "being
somewhat melancholy, having had considerable losses,
threw himself out of a window three story high in the
Temple, of which fall he soon dyed."
The most important event in the legal world during the
154 1'HE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
reign of George I. was disastrous to the honour of our
House.
Thomas Parker, Earl of Macclesfield, had obtained the
highest honours of the profession by his own splendid
attainments and remarkable abilities. Called to the Bar
by the Inner Temple in 1691, he soon took the lead in
public affairs, and as a reward for his exertions in the
impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell, was appointed Chief
Justice of the Queen's Bench in 1710. On May 12th, 1718,
Parker started from the terrace outside the Hall, accom-
panied by a long train of Benchers and members of the
Inn, to be sworn in as Lord Chancellor at Westminster.
For seven years his star was in the ascendant. He was
courted as one of the greatest men in the kingdom. In
the dedication to a life of Jeffreys his incorruptible
integrity and splendid career were contrasted with the
corruption and degradation of his predecessor. Suddenly,
without warning, he resigned, and within three weeks
was impeached for the sale of offices and receiving pay-
ment with the knowledge that it was provided out of the
suitors' fund. He was found guilty, fined _;^30,ooo, and
his name struck off the list of the Privy Council.
There can be no question that Parker had grossly abused
his high position, but he should not be judged too harshly.
His greed had only outrun the usual practice of his pre-
decessors. The office of a Master in Chancery was a most
profitable one, not only from the fees legitimately paid, but
from the use he was enabled to make of suitors' money which
was paid into Court. Each Master occupied the position
now held by the Bank over funds in Court. Upon resigna-
tion a Master received ;^6,ooo and the Chancellor 1,500
guineas for the admission. When a Master died Maccles-
field received 5,000 guineas for the new appointment. It
was a vicious system, and matters were brought to a
climax owing to a Master "plunging" in the South Sea
Bubble. The result of Macclesfield's condemnation was
HISTORICAL SKETCH 155
that all moneys were ordered to be deposited with the
Bank of England. Even after the delinquent Masters
had parted with all their personal effects there was still
a deficiency in the funds of more than ;^5 1,000. Maccles-
field's portrait hangs on the staircase leading to the
Parliament Chambers.
Upon the resignation of Macclesfield, Peter King, a
member of our House, but who had been called to the
Bar by the Middle Temple in 1694, was appointed Speaker
of the House of Lords, and presiding at the trial, pro-
nounced the judgment on the fallen Chancellor. A strong
supporter of the Whigs, upon the accession of George I.
King had been rewarded with the post of Chief Justice of
the Common Pleas.
When Lord Chancellor he was created Baron King of
Ockham, his beautiful country seat in Surrey, now well
known to cyclists who frequent the Ripley Road. In the
Court of Chancery King proved a failure from his
inexperience of Chancery procedure and ignorance of
the principles of equity. It was in connection with these
defects that the Queen said of him, " He was just in the
law what he had been in the gospel — making creeds upon
the one without any steady belief and judgment, in the
other without any settled opinions."
It was in the reign of George I. that some houses were
erected stretching from the church porch to the present
pavement opposite Goldsmith Building. Upon the library
stairs is a tablet commemorating their foundation, bear-
ing the date 1717 and the initials of the then Treasurer,
John Holloway, who died in 1720 and was buried in the
church.
Another ornament of our House was Robert Henley,
who, becoming Attorney-General in 1756, was the follow-
ing year nominated Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. An
adherent of the Leicester House party, he was not very
acceptable to George II., who only created him a peer
156 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
that he mig-ht preside at the trial of the Earl of Ferrers
for the murder of his steward. Upon the accession of
George III. he was made Lord Chancellor, when the title
of Lord Keeper, which for a century had leg-ally lost all
meaning, was finally dropped. A few years later he was
created Earl of Northington. He also presided as Lord
High Steward at the trial of Lord Byron for the death of
Mr. Chaworth in a duel. He died a victim to the gout,
the result of intemperance, the prevailing vice of his age.
According- to Lord Eldon he was a g-reat lawyer.
Charles Pratt, the son of Chief Justice Pratt, was
called by the Liner Temple in 1738, and was one of that
numerous band of successful men whose early professional
prospects were so dark that they nearly abandoned the
Bar. His chance was given him by Sir Robert Henley,
who, having contrived to get him retained as his junior
in a case, feig-ned illness at the hearing and left young-
Pratt to conduct the case. So successfully did he do so
that his fortunes were then laid. As early as 1752, in
defending William Owen for libel, he succeeded in per-
suading the jury to adopt his view that they were judges
both of law and fact. As Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas his independence in the trials connected with Wilkes
and the N^orth Briton secured him immense popular favour.
Reynolds painted his portrait for the City, which hangs in
the Guildhall, and Johnson provided the Latin inscription,
which describes him as " the zealous supporter of Eng-lish
liberty by law."
An amusing story is told of Pratt when on a visit to
Lord Dacre in Essex. Passing- the village stocks with a
gentleman notorious for absence of mind, Pratt asked his
friend to open them that he might see for himself what
they were like. The friend complied with this request,
and then sauntering on forgot all about Pratt, who, upon
asking a villager to release him, was scoffingly told he
" wasn't set there for nothing."
HISTORICAL SKETCH 157
In the House of Lords Pratt, now Lord Camden,
resisted strenuously the taxation of the American colonies,
and urged the repeal of the Stamp Act. Upon the
resignation of his old friend Lord Northington, he was
appointed Lord Chancellor by the Earl of Chatham.
The reign of George II. was notable for a momentous
change in legal procedure. English was substituted for
Latin in all Common Law pleadings and in all proceedings
in Court — a change which was violently opposed by the
special pleaders, who predicted all sorts of evils from the
use of what they described as the substitution of loose
English for precise Latin. This change had been made
under the Commonwealth, and abandoned at the Restora-
tion,
The following extract from Dyer's Reports is a good
example of the extraordinary jargon of bad Latin and
worse French, eked out with a little English, which, during
the seventeenth century, did duty for legal language : —
" Richardson ch. Just, de C. Banc, al Assises at
Salisbury in summer 1631. first assault per prisoner la
condemne pur felony que puis son condemnation ject \\\\
Brickbat a le dit Justice que narrowly mist and pur ces
immediately fuit indictment drawn per Noy envers le
prisoner and son dexter manus amputi and fix al Gibbet
sur que luy mesme immediatment hange in presence de
Court."
Upon the elevation of Charles Talbot to the Woolsack
in 1734 the ancient revels were revived in the Hall on
Candlemas Day. After a banquet, Congreve's comedy,
Love for Love, was performed, followed by Coffey's farce.
The Devil to Pay. The actors came ready dressed from
the Haymarket.
After the plays followed the revels, when the old custom
of walking round the fire was carried out, the Master of
the Revels taking the Chancellor and other Benchers by
the hand. On this occasion the Prince of Wales was
158 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
present, but retired after the conclusion of this perform-
ance.
On the night of January 4th, 1736, a great fire broke
out in the Inn, by which more than thirty chambers
adjoining the Hall were destroyed, together with many
writings of great value, according to the authority of
Nichols, the antiquary.
Another accomplished member of our House was
Alexander Wedderburn, Lord Loughborough and Earl of
Rosslyn.
At first an advocate at the Scotch Bar, he was pro-
moter and editor of the first Edinburgh Review. Having
attacked Lockhart, he was called upon to apologise by
the Court, but refusing, threw down his gown and
abandoned the Scotch for the English Courts. He was
called in 1757, and, taking silk, soon forced his way into
a leading position on the Northern Circuit, in spite of his
unprofessional conduct. But it was through politics that
he reached the Woolsack. At first he assumed the
character of a "patriot" by supporting Wilkes and the
American colonies, and then suddenly turned, and was
appointed Solicitor-General by his former opponent. Lord
North.
In 1774, by his invective against Franklin before the
Privy Council, he directly incited the outbreak of the
War of Independence. This action has been thus
described : —
"Sarcastic Sawney, full of spite and hate,
On modest Franklin pour'd his venal prate ;
The calm philosopher, without reply,
Withdrew — and gave his country liberty."
As Attorney-General he appeared for the Crown against
the Duchess of Kingston, and his first appearance as
Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was on the
trial of the Gordon rioters. Upon Lord Thurlow's dis-
missal Wedderburn's great ambition was realised. But
HISTORICAL SKETCH 159
he had ag-ain to change sides before he could become
Lord Chancellor.
Of him Junius wrote: "As for Wedderburn, there is
something- about him which even treachery cannot trust";
and upon his death, in 1805, the King exclaimed : "Then
he has not left a greater knave behind him in my
dominions,"
The son of a wigmaker of Canterbury, Charles Abbott,
although he entered the Middle Temple in 1787, was
called by the Inner in 1793.
Commencing as a special pleader, he acquired such a
reputation that, upon assuming the barrister's gown, he
at once sprang into a great practice, which was materially
increased by his book on Merchant Ships and Sea?neii,
still the leading text-book on maritime law.
In 1818 he became Lord Chief Justice of the King's
Bench, and in 1827 Baron Tenterden of Hendon. He
is said to have been one of the ablest and most impartial
judges who ever sat on the Bench.
Henry Hallam, the great constitutional historian, was
a member of our House. Called to the Bar, he practised
for some years in the Oxford Circuit, when, on the death
of his father, in 181 2, he abandoned the profession of
which he had become independent and devoted himself
to the study of history. He was a Bencher of the Inn,
and his arms may be seen in a window of the library, near
those of Daines Barrington.
His son, Arthur Henry Hallam, the subject of Tenny-
son's masterpiece. In Mcmoriam, was also a member of
our House, having entered in 1832.
The great poet himself was, as we learn from Canon
Ainger, a frequent sojourner in the Temple during the
period 1842 to 1847, when he lodged at No. 2, Mitre
Court Buildings, as the guest of his friends, Henry
Lushington and George Stovin Venables. It is also on
record that once in Mr. Tom Taylor's rooms in Crown
i6o THE INNER AND xMIDDLE TEMPLE
Office Row Tennyson took part in a Shakespeare readings,
and read Florizel to the Perdita of the late Professor
Blackburn, of Glasgow.
John Austin, the celebrated jurist and legal philosopher,
was called to the Bar by our House in 1818. He practised
for a time as an equity draftsman, and had chambers at
2, Old Square, Lincoln's Inn. In 1820 he married Miss
Sarah Taylor, and the young- couple lived in Queen's
Square, Westminster, close to James Mill, their windows
overlooking Jeremy Bentham's garden. Their only child,
the playmate of John Stuart Mill, who became Lady
Duff Gordon, was born here. A failure at the Bar, and
unappreciated as a jurist in his lifetime, Austin died a
disappointed man.
"If John Austin," Lord Brougham once remarked,
"had had health, neither Lyndhurst nor I should have
been Chancellor."
Baron Parke, a member of our House, is famous, not only
as a judge and a lawyer, but also as affording a subject for
a great constitutional controversy. Upon Lord Abinger's
death he was created a life peer as Baron Wensleydale,
with the right to sit and vote. This raised the ire of the
Tory peers, who disputed this right in such ephemeral
creations. To put an end to the dispute his title was
made hereditary, but he died without heirs male. The
title has been revived in the person of Sir Matthew White
Ridley, late Home Secretary, who married his daughter.
A great verdict-winner, although no orator, from his
elevation to the Exchequer till the end of his twenty-two
years' service on the Bench James Parke enjoyed un-
rivalled supremacy. In order to distinguish him from
Sir James Allan Parke, the one was called "St. James's
Parke," and the other "Green Parke." Once on circuit
a member slipped off to bed before the rest of the mess,
so the latter determined to rout him out. Unfortunately
they mistook the room, and having stripped off the bed-
HISTORICAL SKETCH i6i
clothes, to their horror was disclosed the venerable form
of Baron Parke.
Serjeant Goulburn endeavoured next morningf to put
the matter straight.
"No, no, Brother Goulburn, it was no mistake," said
the Baron, "for I heard my brother Adams say, ' Let us
unearth the old fox.' "
Parke's chambers were at No. 3, King's Bench Walk.
A good story, probably apocryphal, is told of William
Fry Channell when at the Bar. Engaged in a shipping
case, confusion was created by Channell referring to a
certain ship as the A/ina, and by his opponent as the
Hannah. " Which is it," asked the perplexed judge,
"the Anna or the Hannah?'' "It was," replied
Channell's opponent, "the Hannah, but the 'h' has
unfortunately been lost in the chops of the channel."
Channell was called in 1827, and was created one of
the Barons of the Courts of Exchequer in 1857. " He
was," says Judge Willis, "a sound lawyer, and I never
passed a day in his presence without receiving instruction,
which I trust fitted me for the better discharge of the
duties of my profession." Channell's chambers were in
Farrar's Building, now occupied by his son, Mr. Justice
Channell.
Commencing life as an attorney in his father's office,
Thomas Wilde, after twelve years' practice there, entered
the Inner Temple, by which society he was called in 181 7.
Three years after his call he was selected as one of the
counsel for the defence of Queen Caroline. In the Court
of Common Pleas he soon established the lead. He is
described by Lord Tenterden as having "industry enough
to succeed without talent, and talent enough to succeed
without industry."
As a Whig he steadily supported the Liberal side in
the House, and became successively Solicitor- and
Attorney-General, becoming Lord Chief Justice of the
M
1 62 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Common Pleas in 1846. Four years later he received
the Great Seal, with the title of Baron Truro of Bowes.
His chambers were at No. 7, King-'s Bench Walk.
A most remarkable career is that of Alfred Henry
Thesig-er, son of Lord Chelmsford. Called to the Bar
by our House in 1862, he became "postman" of the
Court of Exchequer, and took silk in 1872. Five years
later, upon the recommendation of Earl Cairns, he was
appointed a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal, at the
early age of thirty-nine. At college he distinguished
himself as a cricketer and an oarsman. He had chambers
at No. I, Brick Court.
Another member of our House of a similar type, whose
untimely death we are now mourning, was Sir Archibald
Levin Smith, the late Master of the Rolls. Like Alfred
Thesiger, he brought to the Bench those qualities of
endurance and resource which bring men to the front
on the river and the cricket field. In the Oxford and
Cambridge Boat Race of 1859 young Smith rowed
"No. 3" in the Light Blue ship. The race started in
a snowstorm, and the Cambridge boat eventually sank.
The future Master of the Rolls was the only man in the
boat unable to swim, and he owed his life to a stranger
who threw him a lifebuoy. As an exhibition of pluck
there has been nothing finer in the great annual race.
Hopelessly behind, Cambridge rowed grimly on, gunwale
deep, and none harder than Smith, knowing- that the boat
must sink and that he could not swim. Called to the Bar
in i860, Smith was raised to the Bench whilst still a stuff-
gownsman. In the profession Sir Archibald Smith was
familiarly known as "A. L. " By the public he is best
remembered as one of the judges on the Parnell Com-
mission, when it was said that throughout the sitting-s
Sir Archibald never spoke once, and Mr. Justice Day only
made one remark. In 1892 Sir Archibald was promoted
to be a Lord Justice of Appeal, and at the end of 1900 he
u
s
<
X
u
7:
HISTORICAL SKETCH 163
succeeded Lord Alverstone as Master of the Rolls. To
great legal knowledge was added shrewdness and sound
judgment. His stereotyped interruption to counsel spin-
ning over-ingenious arguments, "That won't do, you
know," was somewhat disconcerting, but it was said in
such a kindly manner that none could take offence.
THE MASTERS OF THE BENCH
Of the present Masters of the Bench, Hardinge Stanley
Giffard, Lord Halsbury, as Lord Chancellor holds the
leading position. Called in 1850, he came to the front
at the Old Bailey, the Middlesex Sessions, and the South
Wales Circuit, and became Disraeli's Solicitor-General in
1875. Appointed Lord Chancellor in 1885, he now holds
the record, having held this office under four adminis-
trations. His able and lucid judgments will bear com-
parison with most of those of his predecessors, and
prove that a Common Law practice is no bar to the
Chancellorship. In politics Lord Halsbury is a Tory of
the Tories, and except upon land registration reform
nothing is too old-fashioned for him. He has been
severely attacked for his legal appointments, but in recent
years at any rate undeservedly so, for he has promoted
many of his political opponents. His chambers were at
5, Paper Buildings. His portrait now hangs in the Hall.
Another distinguished Bencher is the Right Hon.
William Court Gully, called in i860, and now Speaker
of the House of Commons for the third time. He was
a contemporary with Lord Russell and Lord Herschell
on the Northern Circuit, and in their early days so dismal
were their prospects that Gully and Herschell determined
to seek their fortunes abroad. Gully had chambers at
13, King's Bench Walk. His portrait may be seen in the
Hall near that of his contemporary, Lord Halsbury.
Eight years later was called that brilliant scholar and
1 64 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
distinguished judge, the Right Hon. Sir Francis Jeune,
now President of the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty
Division of the High Court, whilst the other judge of this
division, Sir J. Gorell Barnes, was called in 1876.
Amongst other occupants of the Bench, Benchers of
our House, are Sir William Grantham, Sir A. M. Channel!,
son of William Fry Channell; Sir Robert Wright, Sir T. T.
Bucknill, Sir C. J. Darling, and Sir Edward Ridley. Sir
Ford North, late a judge of the Chancery Division, is also
a Bencher of our House.
To this list of distinguished Benchers who have attained
judicial rank must now be added Mr. Justice Jelf and Mr.
Justice Swinfen Eady. Called in 1863, Sir Arthur Jelf has
succeeded Mr. Justice Day as a judge of the King's Bench.
His chambers are at No. 9, King's Bench Walk. He
will long be remembered at the Bar as one of the most
pertinacious advocates who ever pleaded in the Courts.
His knowledge of law is profound. Sir Charles Swinfen
Eady, who now occupies the position lately held by Lord
Justice Cozens-Hardy as a judge of the Chancery Division,
has had a remarkable career. Owing entirely to his own
natural abilities he has forced his way to the front.
Taking silk in 1893, he became a "special" only two
or three years ago, and is now the youngest judge on the
Bench. He carried on his practice from chambers in
New Square, Lincoln's Inn.
Other well-known Benchers who have not attained
High Court rank are Judge William Willis, k.c. , the
present Treasurer, to whom I have already referred ;
Mr. F. A. Inderwick, k.c, the doyen of the Divorce
Court, author of The King's Peace, and editor of the
Calendar of the Inner Temple Records, to which he has
added some masterly introductions ; T. Henry Baylis,
K.c, author of The Temple Church, and judge of the
Court of Passage, Liverpool ; Judge Lumley Smith, re-
cently appointed to the City of London Court ; Mr. Fred.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
165
Albert Bosanquet, k.c. , the new Common Serjeant of
the City; and Mr. Henry Fieldhig- Dickens, K.c, a well-
known "silk," and son of Charles Dickens the novelist.
Charles Dickens, although not an inmate of the Temple,
was an habitue and a lover of its peculiar charms, leaving
us, like his great contemporary Thackeray, some pictures
of the Temple that will live with English literature.
Seal ov the Knights Temtlaks, 1304.
CHAPTER V
THE ORDER OF THE COIF
T
Old* gatevws
e lv • place
HE origin of the Order
of the Coif cannot be
traced with any certainty,
but it probably arose with
the necessity of even the
most primitive governments
for wise men, learned in the
laws and customs of the
community, to give their
advice to the ruling powers.
Although no doubt closely
identified with the ecclesias-
tics, who monopolised all learning, the conteurs or narro-
tores, who became serjeant counters or narratores banci,
or Brothers of the Coif, were above all followers of the
Common Law. Summoned by writ to attend the King in
Council, they gradually became a recognised order styled
Servientes Regis ad Legem., and their appointments were
made by writ, the earliest of which extant occurs in the
reign of Richard H. From their ranks were selected the
judges and the itinerant justices.
Their connection with the Church is seen in the long,
priest-like robe, with cape furred with lambskin and a hood
with two lapels. These robes varied from time to time
and on different occasions. There was the scarlet gown
1 66
THE ORDER OF THE COIF 167
for State functions, the purple for saints' days and
holidays, the blue-brown and later the silk gown for
levees, drawing-rooms, and sittings at Nisi Prius, and
a mustard and murrey, later a violet gown, to be worn
in Court during Term time.
The parti-coloured gown was the livery of the royal
or some noble house, given as a general retainer to a
Serjeant, and was specially excepted in the statutes from
Richard II. to Henry VIII. against giving liveries and
retainers. In Elizabeth's time it was only worn by a
Serjeant for one year after his creation.
The colour of their robes gave an opening for the witty
Jekyll when a dull serjeant was wearying the Court with a
prosy argument : —
" The Serjeants are a grateful race,
Their dress and lantjuagfe show it ;
Their purple garments conic from Tyre,
Their arg^umcnts go to it."
There appears to be a very close connection between
the initiation of serjeant with that of a Knight Templar.
The white linen thrown over the head of a serjeant on
his creation is evidently the white lawn of the Templars.
Later, it was drawn together into the shape of a skull-
cap, and later still it was made of silk. With the intro-
duction of wigs a round black patch, with a white border,
covering the round hole on the top of the wig, repre-
sented the coif and the black silk skull-cap worn by the
Serjeants.
The black cap, or sentence cap, must not be confused
with the coif. It was specially designed to cover the coif
in token of grief when passing sentence of death, and
this was the only occasion when the coif might be
covered in Court.
A further link with the Templars is their common
worship of St. Thomas of Acre. " On St. Peter's even,"
writes Grafton in his Chronicle, "was kept the Serjeauntes'
i6S THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
feast at Saint Thomas, with all plentie of vittayle. At
which feast were made ten Serjeauntes, three out of
Gray's Inn and three out of Lincoln's Inn, and of every
of the Templars two. At which were present all the
Lords and Commons of the Parliament, beside the Mayor
and Aldermen, and a g-reat number of the Commons of
the citie of London."
This St. Thomas was Thomas k Becket.
When the feasts were held in the Temple Halls the
Serjeants, in the middle of the feast, went to the Chapel
of St. Thomas of Acre in Cheapside, built by Thomas k
Becket's sister after his canonisation, and there offered;
and then to St. Paul's, where they offered at St. Erken-
wald's shrine ; then into the body of the church, and
were there appointed to their pillars by the steward of
the feast, to which they then returned.
Although none but priests could offer this rite, it
continued to be performed by the Serjeants up to the
Reformation. This practice of allotting pillars continued
till old St. Paul's was burnt.
Now the Knights of St. Thomas in Palestine were
placed at Acre, or Accre, under the Templars in the Holy
Land, and a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas of Acre
built for them. At the south end of the cloisters, near
the Hall door, once stood a chapel dedicated to the same
saint.
When chambers, in addition to pillars, became neces-
sary, the first Inn to be instituted was Scroope's Inn, or
Serjeants' Place, opposite St. Andrew's Church, Holborn.
This was deserted as the lawyers spread westwards for
Faryndon Inn, afterwards Serjeants' Inn, Chancery Lane,
and Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street.
The theory that the coif was invented to cover the
tonsure of the clerical serjeant who had been forbidden
to appear in the secular Courts is ingenious, but alto-
gether improbable.
SEUJEAXTS' INN, I-LEET STKEET
THE ORDER OF THE COIF 169
The presentation of gold ring's, inscribed with suitable
mottoes, by the new Serjeants to the Sovereign, the Lord
Chancellor, the judges, and others fidci symbolo^ was a
very ancient custom retained to the last.
The Serjeants' Feast was an expensive business for the
Serjeants. One held in our Hall on October i6th, 1555,
cost ^667 7^. 7^. — a large sum in those days. It was
of a sumptuous and remarkable character, one item on
the menu being "a standing dish of wax, representing
the Court of Common Pleas artificially made, the charge
whereof ;^4."
Whether Philip and Mary were present does not
appear ; but they were presented with a ring apiece by
each of the seven new Serjeants, weighing ;^3 6^. 8^.
each.
The grand feasts, when largely attended, were held
at Ely Place, Lambeth Palace, or St. John's Priory at
Clerkenwell, but these began to give way early in the
sixteenth century to masques and revels in the halls of
the Inns.
By the operation of the Judicature Acts, which no
longer required the judges to be of the degree of the
Coif, the Serjeants were, in 1877, as a corporate body
wound up and their property sold, and unless there is
some remedial legislation the Order will cease to exist
with the death of the few surviving members of the
Brotherhood.
One reason urged for the retention of the Order is
that King's Counsel must obtain special leave to appear
against the Crown. No such permission was required in
the case of a serjeant, who thus held an independent
position of great importance.
SERJEANTS' INN, FLEET STREET
To the east of Fuller's Rents was a garden, once in the
occupation of Sir Edward Coke, and subsequently known
I/O THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
as the "Benchers' Garden." Due north of this garden
lay Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street, one of the three hostels
occupied by the judges and Serjeants. The entrance
made by Coke from the Temple has been already men-
tioned ; but the principal entrance is from Fleet Street,
through a pair of handsome iron gates, in which are
wrought the arms of the Inn, a dove and a serpent, the
latter twisted into a kind of true lover's knot.
This spot became the residence of the Serjeants at least
as early as the reign of Henry VI., and probably much
earlier, as the following {description in the lease granted
by the Dean and Chapter of York in the year 1442 to one
William Anstrous, citizen and taylor of London, appears
to show : — " Unum messuagium cum gardino, in parochia
S. Dunstani in Fleet Street, in suburbio civitatis Lond.
quod nuper fuit Johannis Rote et in quo Joh. Ellerkos, et
alii servientes ad legem nuper inhabitarunt. " Anstrous
is supposed to have acted as steward for the judges, and
to have occupied some part of the Inn himself. The lease
was for eighty years at a rent of ten marks. A second
lease for the same term and at the same rent was granted
in 1474 to John Wykes, who is stated to have lived in the
Inn, and is supposed to have held a similar position to that
of Anstrous.
In 1523 the Inn was leased direct to Sir Lewis Pollard,
a Justice of the Common Pleas ; Robert Norwich and
Thomas Inglefield, the King's Serjeants ; John Newdigate,
William Rudhale, Humphrey Brown, William Shelley, and
Thomas Willoughby, Serjeants ; and William Walwyn,
the King's Auditor in the South for the Duchy of Lancaster,
for a term of thirty-one years at a rent of 53^.
Pollard, Rudhale, and Shelley were members of the
Inner Temple, Inglefield and Brown of the Middle, and
Norwich and Willoughby of Lincoln's Inn. It was
Rudhale who "at hys departure lafte a silvour spone
for the borde of the benchers for a remembraunz in
THE ORDEK OF THE COIF 171
custodia of the chief butler " of the Inner Temple on his
call to the degree of serjeant.
The whole of the Inn was destroyed in the Great Fire,
and entirely rebuilt at the expense of the judg-es and
Serjeants.
At a Serjeants' feast held in the Middle Temple Hall
in 1669 each of the seventeen newly created Serjeants
contributed ^100 to the restoration funds, ^400 being
deducted for the expenses of the feast.
In 1670 a fresh lease was granted to the Serjeants for a
term of sixty years. The new buildings consisted of a
very fine chapel, hall, and tall brick houses round the
court. Upon the termination of this lease in 1730 the
Inn was abandoned by the serjeants, its members uniting
with their brethren at Serjeants' Inn, Chancery Lane.
The following entry from the Records of the Inner Temple
for November 3rd, 1602, shows the position of the serjeants'
garden on the south side of the court: — "Whereas the
Judges do request for their better prospect from Serjeants'
Inn Garden that certain trees near the chambers of Mr.
Anthony Dyot and Mr. Stapleton, Benchers of this House,
should be lopped in a reasonable manner ; namely, such
taken away only as are offensive to the prospect of my
Lords the Judges from their said garden of Serjeants'
Inn." This view was finally blocked by the erection of
No. 3, North, King's Bench Walk, which united the back
of No. 2 with the original No. 3 against the Friars' Wall.
Shortly after the departure of the serjeants the Inn was
again rebuilt, from the desig"ns of Adam, the architect of
the Adelphi. Upon the site of the old Hall were erected
the oflices of the Amicable Assurance Society, the
building shown in the illustration, and still standing. This
society in 1S65 transferred its business to the Economic,
which in its turn was supplanted by the Norwich Union
Assurance Company. The building is now occupied by
the Chiu'ch of England Sunday School Institute.
172 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Attached to the railings in front of two of the oldest
houses may still be seen two early eighteenth-century
iron extinguishers for the links.
SERJEANTS' INN, CHANCERY LANE
Although the Serjeants appear to have had lodgings in
Faryndon's Inn in Chancellor's Lane as early as 141 1,
this spot was not called Serjeants' Inn until about the
year 1484. In 1425 it was leased to three judges,
J. Martin, Jacob Strangwig, and T. Rolf,' in 1440 to
John Hody and other Serjeants ; and in 1474 to Sir
Robert Danby, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
Two years later a lease was granted to Sir Thomas
Grey at a rent of ;£/[ a year, and in 1484 it was again
leased to the same lessee at the same rent. In the latter
deed it is described for the first time as '■'' Hospicuun
vocatiini Serjeants Inne in Chancelors Lane. "
The freehold was in the possession of the Bishop of
Ely, and although both prior to 1484 and subsequently
the lawyers were usually the tenants, frequent inter-
missions of their tenancy occurred. After one of these
intermissions the Inn was demised in 1508 to John Mor-
daunt and Humphrey Coningsby, the King's Serjeants.
By Charles II. 's time the Hall and buildings had fallen
into decay, and were rebuilt by Lord Keeper Guilford,
who had succeeded the Earl of Clarendon in the great
brick building in Serjeants' Inn, near the corner of
Chancery Lane. Here, we learn from his brother, Roger
North, he lived " before his lady began to want her
health," and here he enjoyed "all the felicity his nature
was capable of." Having obtained leave for a door to be
made from his house into Serjeants' Inn Garden, "he
passed daily with ease to his chambers dedicated to
business and study. His friends he enjoyed at home,
and politic ones often found him out at his chambers."
When Herbert wrote, in 1804, the Inn consisted of two
SliKJEANTS' INN, ClIANCKRV I.ANE
THE ORDER OF THE COIF 173
small courts with the principal entrance in Chancery Lane,
as now, and an entrance in the second court from Clifford's
Inn. The building's are described by this writer as
modern, and the work of the eighteenth century. The
Inn was again rebuilt, as we now know it, in 1837, by
Sir Robert Smirke, with the exception of the old Hall.
Upon the sale of the Inn in 1877 the portraits and
eng-ravingfs which decorated the walls of the Hall and
dining-room were presented to the nation by the society,
and now hang- in the National Portrait Gallery. These
portraits, many by distinguished artists, are twenty-five
in number, and of exceptional interest. They comprise
Sir Edward Coke, painted by Cornelius van Ceulen,
and reproduced in this volume ; Sir Edward Lyttelton,
Charles I.'s Lord Keeper ; Sir Matthew Hale ; Sir John
Maynard, the Protector's Serjeant ; Sir John Pratt, Lord
Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and father of Lord
Chancellor Camden ; Lord Chancellor King, by Daniel de
Coning, in 1720; William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, by
Richardson ; Lord Chancellor Camden, by Sir Joshua
Reynolds ; Lord Eldon, by Sir Thomas Lawrence ; Lord
Chief Justice Denman, and Lords Chancellors Lyndhurst
and Campbell.
The Inn was purchased for ^^"60,000 by Serjeant Cox,
who removed the beautiful old stained glass windows of
the Hall and Chapel to his residence at Millhill, where
he built a chamber, a facsimile of the Hall, for their
reception.
CHAPTER VI
THE REVELS. THE INNER TEMPLE
THE earliest reference
to the revels in the
Records of the Inner
Temple occurs in the year
1505, when orders were
made by the Bench re-
lating to the Master of
the Revels, the butler,
marshal, and steward.
In the middle of the
sixteenth century similar
entertainments were in
vogue at both Oxford and Cambridge, and were evidently
of ancient standing at that date. Whether these were
copied from those of the Inns of Court, or whether the
latter imitated the former, it is now impossible to deter-
mine. Probably both had a common origin in those
customs and rites which survived in the English village
community from prehistoric times. The statutes of
Trinity College, Cambridge, founded in 1546, contain
a chapter entitled " De Praefecto Ludorum qui Imperator
dicitur. " It was under the authority of this officer that
Latin comedies and tragedies were directed to be exhibited
in the Hall at Christmas, as well as the Six Spectacula
and dialogues.
A Corner of King's Bench Walk.
174
THE REVELS. THE INNER TEMPLE 175
The Imperator was selected from the Masters of Art,
and he was placed hi authority over the junior members
of the coUeg-e, to regulate the games and diversions at
Christmas ; his sovereignty lasted for twelve days. He
was also appointed to perform similar duties on Candle-
mas Day. In the audit-book of my own college, Trinity
College, Oxford, under date 1559, appears a disbursement,
"Pro prandio Principis Natalicii." This Christmas Prince,
or Lord of Misrule, corresponds to the Imperator of Cam-
bridge, and was a common feature in the colleges at
Oxford until the Reformation, w^hen, as we learn from
the Athenae Oxonienses of Wood, "such laudable and
ingenious customs" were regarded as "popish, diabolical,
and antichristian."
The earliest revels of which we have any account took
place at Christmas, 1561, in honour of Robert Dudle}-,
Earl of Leicester, in recognition of his successful media-
tion in the dispute with the Middle Temple over Lyon's
Inn, already mentioned. Long and detailed descriptions
of these festivities are given by Gerald Legh, in his
Accedence of Armor u\ published in 1562, and by Uugdale,
in his Origmes Juridiciales, published in 1666. The
former work is dedicated "To the honorable assemblie
of gentlemen in the Inns of Court and Chancery," and
forms the basis of Dugdale's account of these revels.
Leicester himself was the chief performer, as the mighty
Palaphilos, Prince of Sophie, High Constable, Marshal
of the Knights Templars. Mr. Onslow was his Lord
Chancellor ; Anthony Stapleton, the Lord Treasurer ;
Robert Kelway, Lord Privy Seal ; John Fuller, Chief
Justice of the King's Bench ; William Pole, Chief Justice
of the Common Pleas ; Roger Manwood, Chief Baron of
the Exchequer. There was also a Steward of the House-
hold, a Marshal of the same, and a Chief Butler.
Christopher Ilatton was Master of the Game, and
under him were four Masters of the Revels, the Lieutenant
176 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of the Tower, a Carver, a Ranger of the Forest, and a
Sewer.
Many of these persons are well-known characters in
the history of the Inn, and some in the wider sphere.
Roger Manwood seventeen years later became in fact
Lord Chief Baron, and Christopher Hatton Lord Chan-
cellor.
Gerald Legh describes how he arrived in the Thames
from the East about half a league from the Temple, in
the month of December, 1561, and how as he landed he
was amazed to hear the report of cannons. Upon inquiry
he found it was a warning shot to the Constable Marshal
of the Inner Temple to prepare for dinner. Interested by
the report of these doings, Legh determined to see for
himself their truth. Betaking himself next day to the
Temple, and passing through the gates, he found the
building "nothing costly, but many comly gentlemen of
face and person," and passing on entered "a Church of
auncient building, wherein were many monumentes of
noble personnages armed in Knightly habits, with their
cotes depainted in auncient shieldes," whereat, as a
herald, he took pleasure to behold.
Recognised by the Herald as a "lover of honour,"
Legh was invited to become his guest for the night, and
so was conducted to the Prince's Office of Arms, where
lay sundry choice books relating to the business of the
day. And so to the sound of the drum he passed to the
gallery in the Hall, whence he saw the Prince sit at table
with the ambassadors of divers princes. "Before him
stood the Carver, Sewer, and Cup-bearer, with great
number of gentlemen wayters attending his person."
At a table on the right were seated the Lords Steward,
Treasurer, and Keeper of the Seal of Pallas, with the
nobility ; and at a table on the left the Treasurer of the
Household, the Secretary, the Prince's Serjeants-at-Law,
the four Masters of the Revels, the King of Arms, the
THE REVELS. THE INNER TEMPLE 177
Dean of the Chapel, and other gentlemen pensioners.
Lower down sat the Lieutenant of the Tower, with his
captains of "foot-bands and shot"; whilst lower still
were seated the Chief Butler, the Panter, Clerks of the
Kitchin, Master-Cook of the Privy Kitchin, and fourscore
guards of the Prince.
At every course the trumpeters blew "a couragious
blast, with drum and fyfe," and between whiles "sweet
harmony of viollens, shakbuts, recorders, and cornettes,
with other instruments of musicke," prevailed. After
the first course the Herald enters, and standing- before
the high table demands a largesse, and the Prince, with
many compliments, presents him with a gold chain of the
value of a hundred talents. Supper ended, the tables
were removed, and the Prince held his court, and upon
the second entrance of the Herald, ordered him to select
twenty-four gentlemen for the honour of knighthood.
The Herald, in obedience to this command, retires, and
re-enters with the gentlemen of his choice, "apparelled
in long white vestures, with eche man a scarfe of Pallas
colours," and presents them to the Prince in the order of
their "ancienty," and then discourses at large on the
virtues of the Order of Pallas.
Of the subsequent proceedings we have no knowledge,
but doubtless the fun was kept up with feastings and
revels till New Year's Day.
In the work already referred to Dugdale gives some
particulars of these feasts and pastimes. On Christmas
Day, after service in the church, breakfast was served in
the Hall, with brawn, mustard, and malmsey.
At dinner the first course consisted of "a fair and larce
bore's head upon a silver platter, with minstrulsye."
Napkins and trenchers, with spoons and knives, were
supplied to every table. The dinner ticket was \zd.,
which, if the subsequent course were equal to the first,
seems extremely moderate.
N
178 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
After eveningf service in the church, supper similar to
the dinner was served in the Hall. On St. Stephen's
Day the youngfer members of the House wait at dinner
upon the seniors, and then dine themselves.
"After the first course served in," writes Dugdale,
"the Constable-Marshall cometh into the Hall, arrayed
with a fair, rich, compleat harneys, white and bright, and
gilt, with a nest of feathers of all colours upon his crest
or helm, and a gilt pole-axe in his hand ; to whom is
associate the Lieutenant of the Tower, armed with a fair
white armour, a nest of feathers in his helm, and a like
pole-axe in his hand ; and with them sixteen trumpetters,
four drums and fifes going in rank before them ; and with
them attendeth four men in white harneys, from the middle
upwards, and halberds in their hands, bearing on their
shoulders the Tower : which persons, with the drums,
trumpets, and musick, go three times about the fire. ^
Then the Constable-Marshall, after two or three curtesies
made, kneeleth down before the Lord Chancellor, behind
him the Lieutenant ; and they kneeling, the Constable-
Marshall pronounceth an oration of a quarter of an hour's
length, thereby declaring the purpose of his coming, and
that his purpose is to be admitted to his lordship's service."
To which the Lord Chancellor answered that he would
take further advice thereon.
"Then the Constable-Marshall standing up, in sub-
missive manner delivered his naked sword to the Steward,
who giveth it to the Lord Chancellor, and thereupon the
Lord Chancellor willeth the Marshall to place the Constable-
Marshall in his seat; and so he doth, with the Lieutenant
also in his seat or place. During this ceremony the Tower
is placed beneath the fire."
How this is accomplished is not very apparent,
"Then cometh the Master of the Game apparelled in
green velvet, and the Ranger of the Forest also, in a
green suit of satten, bearing in his hand a green bow
THE REVELS. THE INNER TEMPLE 179
and divers arrows, with either of them a hunting horn
about their necks ; blowing- together three blasts of
venery, they pace round the fire three times. Then the
Master of the Game maketh three curtsies as aforesaid ;
and desireth to be admitted into his service, etc. All this
time the Ranger of the Forest standeth directly behind
him. Then the Master of the Game standeth up."
At the conclusion of this ceremony a huntsman entered
the Hall "with a fox and a purse-net; with a cat, both
bound at the end of a staff; and with them nine or ten
hounds, with the blowing of hunting horns." The fox
and the cat were then hunted by the dogs "and killed
beneath the fire." How this extraordinary execution was
performed does not appear.
The " huntinge night," held annually in Lincoln's Inn
and mentioned in the Black Book in the reign of
Elizabeth, was evidently the occasion for a similar per-
formance. When the second course had been served,
the Common Serjeant delivered "a plausible speech" to
the Lord Chancellor and his company, showing how
necessary it was to have such oilicers for the "better
honor and reputation of the commonwealth,"
He was supported in this by the King's Serjeant-at-Law,
and then "the ancientest of the masters of the revels"
sang a song with the assistance of all present.
The following lines from Hone's Year Book may be
taken as the type of the " ancientest's " song: —
" Bring; hither the bowle,
The brimming: brown bowle,
And quaff the rich juice rig;ht merrilie ;
Let the wine cup g-o round
Till the solid ground
Shall quake at the noise of our revelrie.
" Let wassail and wine
Tiioir pleasures combine,
While we quaff the rich juice right merrilie ;
Let us drink till we die,
When the saints we relie
Will mingle their songs with our revelrie."
i8o THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
After supper, which was served with Hke solemnity as
on Christmas Day, the Constable Marshal again presented
himself with drums before him, mounted on a scaffold
borne by four men, and going thrice round the hearth he
shouted, "A lord, a lord"; then descending from his
elevation, and having danced awhile, he called his court
severally by name in this manner : —
"Sir Francis Flatterer, of Fowleshurst, in the county
of Buckingham.
"Sir Randle Backabite, of Rascall Hall, in the county
of Rabchell.
"Sir Morgan Mumchance, of Much Monkery, in the
county of Mad Popery," and others. This done, the
lord of misrule "addressed" himself to the banquet,
which, when ended, with some " minstralsye," mirth, and
dancing, every man departed to rest. "At every mess,
a pot of wine allowed : every repast was vi^'."
On St. John's Day (upon the morrow) the Lord of
Misrule was abroad by seven o'clock in the morning,
and if any of his officers were missing he repaired to
their chambers and compelled them to attend him to a
breakfast of brawn, mustard, and malmsey.
"After breakfast ended, his lordship's power was in
suspense until his personal presence at night, and then
his power was most potent." At dinner and supper
was observed the "diet and service" performed on
St. Stephen's Day. After the second course was served,
the King's Serjeant, " oratour like," declared the disorder
of the Constable Marshal and Common Serjeant, the
latter of whom "defended" himself and his companion
"with words of great efficacy." To these the King's
Serjeant replied, they rejoined, and whoso was found
faulty was sent to the Tower.
On the Thursday following the Chancellor and company
partook of dinner of roast beef and venison pasties, and
at supper of " mutton and hens roasted."
THE REVELS. THE INNER TEMPLE i8i
On New Year's Day breakfast and dinner were served
with the same solemnities as on Christmas Eve, and to
the great banquet were invited all the members of the
Inns of Court and Chancery to see a play and a masque,
the ladies being accommodated with seats in extem-
porised galleries and partaking of the banquet in the
library.
To the Christmas revels at Gray's Inn in 1594 an
ambassador from the Temple had been invited. On
Holy Innocents' Day he arrived and presented his cre-
dentials. But *' there arose such a disordered tumult and
crowd upon the stage that there was no opportunity to
effect what was intended : there came so great a number
of worshipful personages upon the stage that might not
be displaced " that the performance had to be abandoned,
and the Temple ambassador retired in a huff. Never-
theless a Comedy of Errors was performed by the players
"after dancing and revelling with gentlewomen." On a
subsequent evening the masque was held in the presence
of Elizabeth, and peace was made with the Temple
ambassador.
• Revels were also held on other occasions. In 1605 we
find payments in the accounts of 45. for four staff torches
for the revels on the Saturday before Candlemas Day,
and of ;^5 for a play on the latter day. Similar items
for torches for the revels on St. Thomas's Eve, Candle-
mas Day, and Saturday nights, the 5th of November,
and William III.'s birthday appear as late as 1697. But
the taste for gross feeding and childish burlesque had
been gradually undermined, and early in the reign of
Charles I. the revels began to give way to the masque,
although they survived with diminished glory and at
lengthy intervals till the commencement of the eighteenth
century. In 1687, for instance, they were ordered by the
Bench to be discontinued, since they had "for many
years past degenerated into licentiousness and disorder."
1 82 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
In 1708, however, the Bench ordered the revels to be
revived.
THE MIDDLE TEMPLE
The revels at the Middle Temple were very similar to
those at the sister Inn. Those which took place at
Christmas, 1629, when Bulstrode Whitelocke was chosen
Master of the Revels, have been described by Mr. R. H.
Whitelocke in his Memoirs of Bulstrode Whitelocke.
In the reign of Charles I. these festivities commenced
at All-Hallow-Tide, which was considered the beg-inning
of Christmas. In preparation for the business of the
season, the younger Templars used to meet at St. Dun-
stan's Tavern to elect the officers and to arrange all the
details of the proceedings.
On All-Hallow's Day the master, young Whitelocke,
then four-and-twenty, entered the Hall at the head of
sixteen revellers. All were proper, handsome young
gentlemen, clad in rich suits, shoes and stockings, and
hats with great feathers. The master led them in his bar
gown, with a white staff in his hand, the musicians playing
before them. The entertainment was opened with the old
masques, after which they danced the Brawls, and then
the master took his seat, while the revellers flaunted
through galliards, corantos, French and country dances
till a late hour. As might be expected, this spectacle
drew a great company of ladies and gentlemen of quality,
and when the dancing came to an end an adjournment
was made to Sir Sidney Montague's chamber, lent for
the purpose to the Master of the Revels.
A short descriptive account of the master at the
Christmas revels in 1635 is given by Warton in his
History of English Poetry. A Christmas Prince or Master
of the Revels having been appointed, he was attended by
his Lord Keeper, Lord Treasurer, with eight white staves,
the Captains of his Band of Pensioners and of his Guard,
THE REVELS. THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 183
and two Chaplains. The latter had been so seriously
impressed with an idea of his regal dignity, that when
they preached before him on the preceding Sunday, on
ascending the pulpit they saluted him with three low
bows. He dined both in Hall and in his privy chamber
under a cloth of estate. The poleaxes for his Gentlemen
Pensioners were borrowed from Lord Salisbury. Lord
Holland, his temporary Justice in Eyre, supplied him with
venison on demand ; and the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of
London with wine. On Twelfth Day, at going to church,
he received many petitions which he gave to his Master of
Requests ; and like other kings he had a favourite, whom,
with other gentlemen of high quality, he knighted on
returning from church. His expenses, all from his own
purse, amounted to ^1^2, 000.
After his deposition from this mock dignity he was
knighted by the King at Whitehall.
CHAPTER VII
THE MASQUE
I
Old \X/t-nTEHAi!=, gate-
N social functions, dear
to the heart of London
society, the Temple has for
centuries held a distinguished
position.
The masque, an entertain-
ment of great antiquity, at-
tained its highest phase
during the late Tudor and
earlier Stuart reigns. With
few exceptions, it was a
spectacular rather than a dramatic exhibition. Milton's
Comus stands almost alone. Literary excellence was not
a strong feature of the masque. Gorgeous costumes,
graceful dancing, songs, and music were the principal
characteristics, and so it was only princes and rich societies
who could indulge in the extravagance of a masque.
When the taste for the rude and boisterous festivities of
Christmas began to pall with the gentlemen of the Inns
of Court, the masque readily supplanted them. The first
of such entertainments in the Temple appears to have
taken place at Christmas, 1605-6.
One of the most interesting took place upon the marriage
of Princess Elizabeth to the Count Palatine of the Rhine
on St. Valentine's Day, 1612. The Inns of Court were
not behind in the general rejoicings. Lincoln's Inn and
184
THE MASQUE 185
the Middle Temple joined in the presentation of one
masque, and the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn in that of
another. The masque of the latter is of the greater
interest from the fact that it was written by a member of
our House, Francis Beaumont the dramatist.
The members of the two societies met at Ely Place, and
thence the procession started, crossing London Bridge,
and taking boat at Winchester House in Southwark for
Whitehall. As they passed the Temple Stairs in the
royal barge they were received with a salute of cannon.
They were accompanied by illuminated barges and boats,
some of which held bands of music. Owing to some
mistake or to the caprice of James, the masque was not
performed that night, but postponed to the following
Saturday, when it took place with great ^clat. As was
customary, the masquers invited the ladies of the Court
to participate in the dances, thus lending grace, colour,
and piquancy to the display. The gentlemen of the Inns
afterwards supped with the King.
This masque was dedicated by Beaumont to Sir Francis
Bacon, who represented Gray's Inn in its preparation.
Beaumont was then living with his friend and collaborator
Fletcher on the Bankside near the Globe Theatre.
From the Black Books of Lincoln's Inn we learn that
the ordering of the masque given by the Middle Temple
and Lincoln's Inn was entrusted to Inigo Jones, and p^ioo
paid by Sir Edward Phelips, m.k., on behalf of the Middle
Temple, to him. The following lines are the concluding
song of the masque : —
" Peace and silence be the guide
To the man and to the bride !
If there be a joy yet new
In marriage, let it fall on you,
That all the world may wonder !
If we stay, we should do worse,
And turn our blessing to a curse,
By keeping you asunder."
1 86 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
The next performance of which we have any record
was that of The Inner Temple Masque^ from the pen of
WilHam Browne, already referred to as the author of
Britannia's Pastorals, and the friend of Selden. So great
was the crowd to witness this graceful piece that some
damag'e was done to the buildings outside, as we learn
from the petition of the chief cook for compensation for
his chamber in the cloisters, by reason that " a great part
thereof and the chimney therein was, at Christmas was a
twelvemonth, broken down by such as climbed up at the
windows of the Hall." This would be Christmas 1614-15.
Browne's dedication to his Inn, cited by Mr. Inderwick,
is interesting.
" Gentlemen,
"I give you but your owne. If you refuse to foster
it, I knowe not who will. By your meanes it may live.
If it degenerate in kinde from those other the Society
has produced, blame yourselves for not seeking a happier
muse. I knowe it is not without faultes, yet such as your
loves, or at least Poetica Licentia (the common salve), will
make tolerable. What is good in it, that is yours ; what
bad, myne ; what indifferent, both ; and that will suffice,
since it was done to please ourselves in private by him
that is << All
*' All yours,
"W. Browne."
At Christmas, 1618-19, The Masque of Heroes, by
Thomas Middleton, was performed by nine of the
gentlemen of the House, assisted by Joseph Taylor and
William Rowley, and others from AUeyne's company at
the Fortune Theatre. Both Taylor and Rowley had
formerly acted with Shakespeare and Burbage in the
Globe and Blackfriars companies.
It was from Ely Place, too, that the still more
celebrated masque and anti-masque, given in 1633 by
the Four Inns of Courts, was arranged, and hence it
started past Holborn Bars, down Chancery Lane, and
THE MASQUE 187
along- the Strand to Whitehall. Two members from each
: Inn formed the committee of management. The Inner
I was represented by Sir Edward Herbert and John Selden,
just released from prison; the Middle by Bulstrode White-
locke, a Bencher, afterwards Lord Keeper and ambassador
to Sweden under the Commonwealth, a man who through
all the changes of government retained the respect of
all parties. Amongst other valuable records of more
momentous events, Whitelocke has left a detailed account
of this particular affair ; his colleague was Edward Hyde,
Lord Chancellor and historian. Mr. Attorney-General
Noy, of ship-money fame, and Mr. Gerling represented
Lincoln's Inn, and Sir John Finch and another unknown
nember, Gray's Inn. Whitelocke had the direction of the
lusical part of the entertainment. " I made choice," he
says, "of Mr. Simon Ivy, an honest and able musician,
of excellent skill in his art, and of Mr. Lawes, to compose
the airs, lessons, and songs for the masque, and to be
master of all the music under me." Each of these
gentlemen received the substantial fee of ^100.
Ivy was a well-known composer, and William Lawes
an accomplished musician, called by Charles "the father
of musick." He was shot during the siege of Chester.
It was his brother Henry who wrote the music for
Milton's Comas and for Davenant's entertainment at
Rutland House in 1656.
The music appears to have been on a large scale, for
Whitelocke speaks of " English, French, Italians, Germans,
and other masters of music ; forty lutes at one time,
beside other instruments in concert."
On the night of Candlemas Day, The Triumph of Peace
(such was the title of the masque) was presented to the
Court. About 120 members of the four societies, mounted
on richly caparisoned steeds and attended by over 300
servants, took part in the procession.
With the aid of Whitelocke's Memorials we may take
1 88 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
our places in the crowd which Hned the streets from
Ely Place to the old Gatehouse at Whitehall, and view
the spectacle : —
" The first that marched were twenty footmen in scarlet
liveries, with silver lace, each one having his sword by
his side, a baton in one hand and a lighted torch in the
other. These were the marshal's men, who made way,
and were about the marshal waiting his commands.
After them, and sometimes in the midst of them, came
the marshal, then Mr. Barrel, afterwards knighted by the
King. He was of Lincoln's Inn, an extraordinary proper
gentleman. He was mounted on one of the King's best
horses and richest saddles, and his own habit was
exceeding rich and glorious ; his horsemanship very
gallant ; and besides his marshal's men he had two
lackeys, who carried torches by him, and a page in
livery that went by him carrying his cloak. After him
followed one hundred gentlemen of the Inns of Court,
twenty-five chosen out of each House, of the most proper
and handsome young gentlemen of the societies, every
one of them mounted on the best horses and with
best furniture that the King's stables and the stables of
all the noblemen in town would aff'ord, and they were
forward on this occasion to lend them to the Inns of
Court. Every one of these gentlemen was in very rich
clothes, scarce anything but gold and silver lace to be
seen of them ; and each gentleman had a page and
two lackeys waiting on him in his livery by his horse's
side. The lackeys carried torches and the page his
master's cloak. The richness of their apparel and furni-
ture, glittering by the light of a multitude of torches
attending on them, with motion and stirring of their
mettled horses, and the many and various gay liveries
of their servants, but especially the personal beauty and
gallantry of the handsome young gentlemen, made the most
glorious and splendid showthat was ever beheld in England.
"After the horsemen came the anti-masquers, and as
the horsemen had their music — about a dozen of the best
trumpeters proper for them and in their livery sounding
before them — so the first anti-masque, being of cripples
and beggars on horseback, had their music of keys and
THE MASQUE 189
tongs and the like, snapping- and yet playing in concert
before them.
"These beggars were also mounted, but on the poorest,
leanest jades that could be gotten out of the dirt carts or
elsewhere, and the variety and change from such noble
music and gallant horses as went before them, unto their
proper music and pitiful horses, made both of them more
pleasing. . . . After the beggars' anti-masque came men
on horseback playing upon pipes, whistles, and instru-
ments, sounding notes like those of birds of all sorts
and in excellent concert, and were followed by the anti-
masque birds. This was an owl in an ivy-bush, with
many several sorts of other birds in a cluster about the
owl, gazing as it were upon her. These were little boys
put into covers of the shapes of those birds, rarely filled,
and sitting on small horses, with footmen going by them
with torches in their hands, and there were some besides
to look after the children, and this was very pleasant
to the beholders. After this anti-masque came other
musicians on horseback, playing upon bagpipes, horn-
pipes, and such kind of northern music, speaking the
following anti-masque of projectors to be of the Scotch
and northern quarters ; and these, as all the rest, had
many footmen with torches waiting upon them. First in
this anti-masque rode a fellow upon a little horse with a
great bit in his mouth, and upon the man's head was
a bit with headstall and reins fastened, and signified a
projector, who begged a patent that none in the kingdom
might ride their horses but with such bits as they should
buy of him. Then came another fellow with a bunch of
carrots upon his head and a capon upon his fist, describ-
ing a projector, a patent of monopoly, as the first inventor
of the art to feed capons fat with carrots, and that none
but himself might make use of that invention and have
the privilege for fourteen years, according to the statute.
Several other projectors were in like manner personated
in the anti-masque, and it pleased the spectators the
more because by it an information was covertly given
to the King of the unfitness and ridiculousness of those
projects against the law, and the Attorney Noy, who had
most knowledge of them, had a great hand in this anti-
masque of projectors."
I90 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Next followed chariots with musicians, chariots with
heathen gods and goddesses, and lastly four smaller
chariots containing the grand masquers, four from each
Inn. Gray's Inn led the way with its chariot of silver and
crimson, "painted richly with these colours, even the
wheels of it, most artificially laid on, and the carved work
of it as curious for that art, and it made a stately show.
It was drawn with four horses, all on breast, and they
were covered to their heels all over with cloth of tissue of
the colours of crimson and silver, huge plumes of red and
white feathers on their heads and buttocks ; the coachman's
cap and feather, his long coat, and his very whip and cushion
of the same stuff and colour. In this chariot sat the four
grand masquers of Gray's Inn, their habits, doublets,
trunk-hose and caps of most rich cloth of tissue, and
wrought as thick with silver spangles as they could be
placed, large white silk stockings up to their trunk hose,
and rich sprigs in their caps, themselves proper and
beautiful young gentlemen. On each side of the chariot
were four footmen in liveries of the colour of the chariot,
carrying huge flambeaux in their hands, which with the
torches gave such a lustre to the paintings, the spangles
and habits, that hardly anything could be invented to
appear more glorious."
The chariots of the other Inns each sported their re-
spective colours. Those of the Middle Temple were silver
and blue, but those of the Inner and Lincoln's Inn are
not mentioned.
After struggling with difficulty through the crowded
streets the procession reached Whitehall. So crowded
too was the banqueting hall that the King and Queen
could scarce get to their window to view the spectacle in
the street, and so delighted were they "with the noble
bravery of it, they sent to the Marshall to desire that the
whole show might fetch a turn about in the tiltyard,"
Then the masque, the great event of the day, com-
THE MASQUE 191
menced, and was, says Whitelocke, "incomparably per-
formed in the dancing, speeches, music, and scenes."
Next the Queen and great Court ladies were led out to
dance by the chief masquers, and the fun was kept up till
morning-, when royalty retired, and the gentlemen of the
Inn sat down to a stately banquet.
So delighted was the Queen that she must needs see the
show and masque over again, and so the Lord Mayor
invited the Court and the Inns of Court masquers to the
City, where he entertained them with great magnificence
at Merchant Taylors' Hall.
In fact, Henrietta is reported to have said that she took
the masque " as a particular respect to herself," alluding,
no doubt, to its being a demonstration against Prynne's
Histrio Mastix, in which he had inveighed against her.
The total cost to the four societies exceeded ^21,000.
Dramatic plays had, however, been gaining in favour,
and at the Restoration had entirely supplanted the masque.
In 1887 the Masque of Flowers was successfully revived,
both at Gray's Inn and in our own Hall, and it is the only
instance since the seventeenth century. This was first
produced at Whitehall by the gentlemen of Gray's Inn in
honour of the marriage of the Earl of Somerset and Lady
Francis in 161 3, and was dedicated to Sir Francis Bacon.
CHAPTER VIII
STAGE PLAYS
** f~\^ Twelfth Night of 1560, or 1561," writes Mr.
\_y Inderwick, k.c, " the first dramatic performance
of one of the earliest dramas of our country took place
in the Inner Temple Hall." The title-page of the first
edition of this play is worth reproducing : —
" ®IjE Cragc&ie of ©orlioiruc iuljErEof SljrEC ^rtes Inere
iurnttcn bv Eljamas iHortonc, an& tlje tlno lastc bv ^bomas
.^ackiiille .^ett fortljc as tljc same toas sljctncit before tbe
(I^uccnes most excellent ittaiestic in Ijer Ijigljness Court of
oEljiteljaU tljc hiii bav of |(anuarjt ^nno gomini 1561
— ^g tlje gentlemen of Eljjnner Cemple in ^anban,
Umpr^ntctr at tljc .^itjne of tlje faueon bn Mtilliam ©riffitlj
^ are to be sol&c at tijc sljop in .^aint ^unstane'a €bnvcb-
liartre in tbe Mest of lEontron JVnno 1565. ^eptemb : '2'2."
Thomas Norton became a distinguished jurist and
writer, as well as a well-known public man. Thomas
Sackville, afterwards Lord Buckhurst, and ultimately
Earl of Dorset, was also a notable figure in public
affairs. Both were members of the Inner Temple.
In 1572 Sackville sat as one of the peers on the trial
of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, whose daughter.
Lady Margaret, afterwards married Robert, his eldest
son. It fell to Sackville's lot to convey to Mary Queen
of Scots the sentence of her death, when Mary, as a
token of gratitude for the feeling manner in which he
192
h.
STAGE PLAYS 193
discharged this distressing" duty, presented him with a
piece of furniture from her chapel. Upon this is a
carving of the Procession to Calvary. It is still pre-
served at Knole.
Sackville also became Chancellor of Oxford University,
his unsuccessful competitor being Robert Devereux, Earl
of Essex, at whose trial he subsequently presided as Lord
High Steward. The introduction to that curious poem,
the Mirrouy of Magistrates, was written by Sackville.
To him Spenser dedicated his Faery Queen, eulogising
his patron in the following' lines : —
"Whose learned muse hath writ her own record
In golden verse, worthy hiiinortal fame."
Two of Sackville's sons were admitted together in
1585. Both became soldiers of fortune. Thomas, the
elder, distinguished himself in the field against the Turks,
and lived to a green old age, whilst William lost his life,
in 1589, in the service of Henry IV. of France.
Thomas Norton, the son of a London citizen, was
successively member of Parliament for Gatton, Berwick-
on-Tweed, and the City. He was counsel to the Stationers'
Company, and in 1571 became Remembrancer of London.
In 1584 he was committed to the Tower on a charge of
treason, and died the same year at his country seat,
Sharpenhoe, in Bedfordshire. Early in life he had been
tutor to the children of his patron, the Protector Somerset.
He married Margery, third daughter of Archbishop
Cranmer.
Upon the first performance of Norton's and Sackville's
play Christopher Hatton was Master of the Revels, and
it was ordered by the Bench that " Master Hatton should
have a special admission, without payment, in respect
of his charges as the master of the game."
At the second performance, held at Whitehall, he
appears to have taken a leading part, since he attracted
o
194 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the attention of Queen Elizabeth by his graceful dancing-
and became her prime favourite, some say even her
paramour. In 1577 he was appointed Vice-Chamberlain,
and in 1587 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and from
thenceforth became known as "the Dancing Chancellor."
Of him, in his manor-house at Stoke Pogis, Gray wrote
the following lines : — -
" Full oft within the spacious walls
When he had fifty summers o'er him,
The grave Lord Keeper led the brawls,
The seal and maces danc'd before him.
" His bushy beard and shoe-strings green,
His high-crown'd hat and satin doublet,
Moved the stout heart of England's Queen,
Though Pope and Spaniard could not trouble it."
In the House of Commons Hatton was Elizabeth's
mouthpiece, and on one occasion expressed her dis-
approval of an apparent contempt committed by the
House in appointing a public fast to be held in the
Temple Church without taking her pleasure.
There can be little doubt that Hatton was one of the
joint authors of Tancred and Gismmid, produced in the
Inner Temple Hall in 1568, and at which Elizabeth was
almost certainly present. When Lord Chancellor, we
find Hatton dating his letters " Ffrom Ely Place in
Holborne " in 1590.
This was the famous Palace of the Bishops of Ely,
already mentioned, with its still more famous garden.
Bishop Cox having been forced to grant a lease of a
portion of it to Sir Christopher Hatton, stipulated for the
right of walking therein and of gathering twenty bushels
of roses annually. This was not a large amount for rent,
but once in Hatton laid out large sums in repairs and
building — sums chiefly borrowed from his royal mistress.
Having thus expended his money, or rather the Queen's,
on another's property, he induced the latter to command
STAGE PLAYS 195
the Bishop to demise the lands to her until the money
so expended should be repaid. The g"ood Bishop replied
that "in his conscience he could not do it, being a piece
of sacrilige. "
But conscience or no conscience, he had to yield to the
inevitable.
His successor, Dr. Heton, was equally unwilling to carry
on the arrang-ement, but was soon brought to book by
the following very characteristic letter from the Queen : —
"Proud Prelate! — I understand you are backward in
complying with your agreement : but I would have you
know that I, who made you what you are, can unmake
you ; and if you do not forthwith fulfil your engagement,
by God I will immediately unfrock you.
" Elizabeth."
The "famous garden" is now represented by Hatton
Garden, the resort of dealers in diamonds and precious
stones, and the Palace by Ely Place now covered with
lawyers' offices, in one of which may be found the well-
known society solicitor. Sir George Lewis.
Whether Shakespeare ever actually took any part in
the representation of his plays in our Hall, or that of the
Middle Temple, is unknown, though not improbable.
One undoubted link, however, there is with our House.
William Underbill, admitted a student to our Inn in 1551,
purchased New Place, Stratford-on-Avon, and this was
sold by his eldest son to William Shakespeare upon his
retirement from London.
With the other great songster of our race, John
Milton, our House had a stronger link in the person of
Sir Christopher Milton, brother of the poet. He was
called in 1640, became a Bencher, Baron of the Ex-
chequer, 1686, and a Justice of the Common Pleas, 1687.
In one of the stained glass windows in the Hall there
is a portrait of Sir Christopher, to remind us not so much
of the successful lawyer as of the blind poet.
196 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
From 1605 to 1640 plays were performed in our Hall
twice a year, at AUhallows and Candlemas, with the
exception of a short interval, when " Anticks or puppits "
were substituted on account of the "great disorder and
scurrility brought into this House by lewd and lascivious
plays." In September, 1642, stage plays were banned
by the Government.
Of the names of these plays we have no record, but
we know that they were performed by "The King's
Majesty's Servants," "The Cockpit Players," and "The
Blackfryars Players." Shakespeare, Burbage, Hemming,
and Condell belonged to the first, but there is no mention
of this company till the play on All Saints' Day, 1614,
a year and a half before Shakespeare's death. The
only play referred to by name is the Oxford Tragedye^
in mistake, thinks Mr. Inderwick, for The Yorkshire
Tragedy, which had just been produced at the Globe, and
was at one time wrongly attributed to Shakespeare.
After the Restoration the taste for the Shakespearean
drama entirely died away, owing to the fact, according to
Mr. Inderwick, that Shakespeare, being comparatively
without liberal education, and not having had the advan-
tage of mixing from his youth with gentlemen and gentle-
men's sons, had not acquired the art of writing to the
taste of the class from which the Inns of Court were
drawn. A more probable reason appears to be the re-
action in favour of a lower standard of thought in art as
in everything else.
Whatever the cause, the fact remains that out of the
twenty plays produced in our Hall from the accession of
Charles II. to the flight of his brother not one can claim
Shakespeare as its author.
Beaumont and Fletcher are responsible for The Night
Walker, or The Little Thief, played in 1664 ; The Little
French Laioyer, in 1668 ; the Philaster, or Love Lyes a
Bleeding, in 167 1 ; The Spanish Curate, in 1675 and 1686 ;
STAGE PLAYS 197
The Scornful Lady, in 1675 ; and Rule a Wife and Have a
Wife, in 1682.
One only, the Epicene, or The Silent Woman, is by Ben
Jonson. This favourite comedy was produced at Candle-
mas, 1663,
The Brothers, by James Shirley, appeared in 1663, and
Changes, or Love in a Maze, by the same writer, the
following' year.
Sir George Etheridge is the author of The Comical
Revenge, or Love in a Tub, produced in 1667, and de-
scribed by Pepys as a " silly play."
In 1669 Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen, by John
Dryden, was acted by the King's players, of whom sweet
Nell Gwynne, then about nineteen years of age, and living
in Maypole Alley, out of Drury Lane, was the chief attrac-
tion. She also appeared on Twelfth Night, 1682, in Rule
a Wife and Have a Wife. In our accounts is an item of
^i "for sweetmeats for Madam Gwinn."
Other plays by the same author were Sir Martin
Mar- All, played on Allhallows Eve, 1670, and The
Spanish Friar in 1687.
On two occasions, in 1670 and in 1685, appeared The
Committee, by Sir Robert Howard, whose sister, Lady
Elizabeth Howard, married John Uryden. This appears
to have been a favourite play, and it is interesting to
learn that on its appearance in 1663 Cromwell's daughter,
then Lady Fauconbridge, was present in her box. At
the first performance, on Candlemas Day, 1670, Charles
and the Duke of York were present. At the second
Lord Chancellor Jeffreys was the guest of the evening.
On Candlemas Day, 1681, before the Lord Chancellor
and the judges was given the London Cuckold, a licentious
play by Edward Ravenscroft, a member of the Middle
Temple. It has been described as "the most rank play
that ever succeeded."
The Plain Dealer, by William \\'ycherlc\ in 1683, was
198 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
followed by The Fond Husband, by T. Durfey, in 1684 ;
and Thomas Otway is responsible for The Soldier's
Fortune in 1685 and The Cheats of Scapin in 1687.
Such plays continued to be given with great regularity
for many years.
The last revel held in any of the Inns of Court of which
we have any detailed account was that given in honour of
Mr. Talbot in the Inner Temple Hall, upon his elevation
to the Woolsack. It took place on February 2nd, 1733,
and the following account is given by an eye-witness : —
"The Lord Chancellor came into the Hall about two
of the clock, preceded by the Master of the Revels,
Mr, WoUaston, and followed by the Master of the Temple,
Dr. Sherlock, then Bishop of Bangor, and by the Judges
and Serjeants who were members of the House. There
was a very elegant dinner provided for them and the
Lord Chancellor's officers ; but the barristers and students
of the House had no other dinner got for them than what
is usual on all grand days ; but each mess had a flask of
claret, besides the common allowance of port and sack.
Fourteen students waited at the Bench table, among
whom was Mr. Talbot, the Lord Chancellor's eldest son ;
and by their means any sort of provision was easily
obtained from the upper table by those at the rest. A
large gallery was built over the screen, and was filled
with ladies, who came, for the most part, a considerable
time before dinner began ; and the music was placed in
the little gallery at the upper end of the hall and played
all dinner time.
"As soon as dinner was ended, the play began, which
was Love for Love, with the farce Tlie Devil to Pay. The
actors who performed in them all came from the Hay-
market in chairs, ready dressed ; and, as it was said,
refused any gratuity for their trouble, looking upon the
honour of distinguishing themselves on this occasion as
sufficient.
" After the play the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the
Temple, the Judges, and Benchers retired to the parliarnent
chamber, and in about half an hour afterwards came into
STAGE TLAYS 199
the hall again, and a large nng was formed round the
fireplace (but no fire nor embers were on it) ; then the
Master of the Revels, who went first, took the Lord
Chancellor by the right hand, and he with his left took
Mr. J. Page, who, joined to the other Judges, Serjeants,
and Benchers present, danced, or rather walked, round
about the coal fire according to the old ceremony three
times, during which they were aided in the figure of the
dance by Mr. George Cooke, the Prothonotary, then
upwards of sixty ; and all the time of the dance the
ancient song, accompanied by music, was sung by one
Toby Aston, dressed in a bar-gown, whose father had
been formerly Master of the Plea Office in the King's
Bench.
"When this was over the ladies came down from the
gallery, went into the parliament chamber, and stayed
about a quarter of an hour while the hall was putting in
order ; then they went into the hall and danced a few
minuets. Country dances began about ten, and at twelve
a fine collation was provided for the whole company, from
which they returned to dancing, which they continued as
long as they pleased ; and the day's entertainment was
generally thought to be very genteelly and liberally con-
ducted. The i'rince of Wales honoured the performance
with his company part of the time ; he came into the
music gallery incog, about the middle of the play, and
went away as soon as the farce of walking round the
coal fire was over."
This dance was satirised in the Rehearsal, and was also
ridiculed by Dr. Donne in his Satires, by Prior in his
Alma, and by Pope in his Dunciad, where he refers to
this custom in the line —
" The Judge to dance liis brother Serjeant calls."
Balls, concerts, garden-parties, and debates, in which
ladies have been known to take part, have for the most
part supplanted the plays, and the Royal Horticultural
Society's annual exhibition of flowers and fruits, held in
May in the garden, is the finest of its kind in the country,
200 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
and is one of the most popular items in the programme
of London society.
Plays, however, are still occasionally performed in the
Temple. On February 7th and 8th last the Hall of the
Inner Temple was the scene of two performances of
Robert Browning's historical tragedy Strafford^ previously
produced at Oxford in 1890. The cast was composed
entirely of amateurs, with the exception of Miss Sybil
Carlisle, who sustained the character of Lucy Percy,
Countess of Carlisle. The majority of the players were
members of the Bar, or connected with the legal pro-
fession by birth or marriage. Of these may be mentioned
Mr. W. W. Grantham, son of Mr. Justice Grantham; the
Hon. Arthur Webster, son of the Lord Chief Justice ;
Mr. H. E. Alderson, Mr. Hugh Childers, Mr. Harold
Whitaker, Mrs. W. W. Grantham, Mrs. Woodfall, and
Miss M. Muir-Mackenzie. The performance was given
in aid of the funds of the Inns of Court Mission, a society
founded and supported by members of the Bar.
CHAPTER IX
RIGHT OF SANCTUARY
RIGHT of sanctuary was
one of the privileges of
the Knights Templars, and
existed in the Temple from
their occupation to compara-
tively modern times, prov-
ing a constant source of
trouble and annoyance to the
Masters of the Bench, Up
to the time of the Reforma-
tion we hear little or no com-
plaint against this privilege,
but with the dissolution of
the monasteries the ecclesi-
astical control over these
asylums almost disappeared,
which thus became disorderly
centres for the scum of the
cities and towns.
By a statute of Henry VIII. all sanctuaries, except in
parish churches, their churchyards and cemeteries, were
declared illegal, but in spite of this Act, other places to
which the privilege of sanctuary had been attached were
still recognised as affording similar protection.
Access to the Temple Church and churchyard was gained
through the houses fronting on Fleet Street. The chief
20 1
Ar\d • Gekte
GawrdervD
) of CKvrcK^-
202 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
entrance was through a shop in Falcon Court, occupied
by one Davies, a tailor, and through this house passed
such " a disorderly crew of outlawed persons which dared
not show themselves abroad in the streets " that Henry
Styrrell, of the Middle Temple, who had chambers here,
petitioned both societies, "for the honor of God and the
church, to take order that the churchyard be not, as now
it is, made a common and most noisome lestal." Three
months later "the tailor's shop was ordered to be pulled
down, and the door from the churchyard into the street be
mured up." This was in 1610.
Ram Alley and Mitre Court, parallel passages connect-
ing Fleet Street and King's Bench Walk, were also
claimed as sanctuaries. In the former the Inn owned
five or more shops, and was thus hampered in dealing
with the nuisance. In 1577 indeed, at the request of
Mr. John Dudley, acting on the Earl of Leicester's behalf,
this entrance was ordered to be walled up, but this was
not carried out, since the following year an arrangement
with Mr. Dudley was arrived at by which Ram Alley Gate
was to be shut at all times except in term time and certain
days after, and finally in 1596 it was ordered to be closed
altogether.
Fuller's Rents were also claimed as a place of sanctuary,
and in 1604, upon the joint petition of members of the
House residing there, and of the inhabitants of Ram
Alley, a new and strong door was allowed to be placed
at their charges, to be opened only during term time and
to be kept locked by a porter, and if any further annoy-
ance should arise, it was to " remain dam^med up for
ever."
And this in spite of the fact that the House had been
"greatly grieved and exceedingly disquieted by many
beggars, vagabonds, and sundry idle and lewd persons
who daily pass out of all parts of the City into the gardens
through the same door, and there have stayed and kept
RIGHT OF SANCTUARY 203
all the whole day as their place of refuge and sanctuary ;
and by sundry sick persons visited with infectious diseases
who have thither repaired for the taking of the open air,
by whose being there the whole House hath been greatly
endangered to be likewise infected ; and further, the same
House hath been greatly grieved and disquieted by divers
sundry persons as well abiding in Fleet Street as in the
same Ram Alley by having recourse through the same
door into the garden unto their houses of office there, and
by their continual carrying of water, as well from their
pump there as from the Thames side."
Ram Alley is shown as existing on the map of 1799,
but the entrance into Mitre Court was effectually and
finally "dammed up" by the erection of a house there.
Ram Alley has now entirely vanished, but Mitre Court
Gate still survives, and, as in the days of Elizabeth, is
locked from eight in the evening till five in the morning.
The right of sanctuary in the Temple was confirmed by
the patent granted by James in 1608.
Just outside was the sanctuary of Whitefriars, the home
of the Carmelite Friars, consisting of a large church with
a lofty spire, destroyed about 1540, with the usual offices
and extensive gardens, and a mansion of the Greys,
formerly Earls of Kent.
These precincts had before the Reformation afforded an
asylum for criminals, and in the reign of Charles II. still
retained the privilege of protecting debtors from arrest.
This district was known as Alsatia, in reference to
Alsace, the buffer state between France and Germany.
It has formed a theme for numerous plays and novels,
notably Shadwell's Squire of Alsatia, Mrs. Aphra Behn's
Lucky Chance, and Sir Walter Scott's Fortunes of Nigel.
This right, which could be pleaded in bar to most in-
dictments for felonies and misdemeanours, was so abused
that by an Act of 21 James I. " no sanctuary or privilege
of sanctuary " was to be allowed. But although, writes
204 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Lord Macaulay, "the immunities legally belonging- to
the place extended only to cases of debt, cheats, false
witnesses, forgers, and highwaymen found refuge there.
For amidst a rabble so dangerous no peace officer's life
was in safety. At the cry of ' Rescue,' bullies with swords
and cudgels, and termagant hags with spits and broom-
sticks, poured forth by hundreds ; and the intruder was
fortunate if he escaped back into Fleet Street hustled,
stripped, and jumped upon. Even the warrant of the
Chief Justice of England could not be executed without
the help of a company of musketeers. Such relics of the
barbarism of the darkest ages were to be found within
a short walk of the chambers where Somers was studying
history and law, of the chapel where Tillotson was
preaching, of the coffee-house where Dryden was passing
judgment on poems and plays, and of the hall where the
Royal Society was examining the astronomical system of
Isaac Newton."
Luttrell relates how, when the Benchers in 1691 at-
tempted to brick up the little gate into Whitefriars, the
Alsatians assembled and pulled down the bricks as fast as
the workmen laid them. Thereupon the sheriffs and their
officers attended, but were attacked and knocked down,
shots were fired, and many on both sides were killed and
wounded. Eventually the Alsatians were reduced and
many of them imprisoned, but it took troops to do it.
One of the sheriffs was Sir Francis Child, who lost part of
his gold chain.
This affray and Shad well's Squire of Alsatia — which
gives a realistic picture of Alsatian life, made up of
"copper captains," degraded clergymen, broken lawyers,
skulking bankrupts, thievish money-lenders, and gaudy
courtesans — led to the legislation at the end of the
seventeenth century abolishing privilege of sanctuary in
Whitefriars.
In 1693 a Captain Winter, who had headed a mob of
RIGHT OF SANCTUARY 205
Alsatians, was found guilty of murder, and although re-
prieved, was eventually executed in Fleet Street, opposite
to White Fryars, the scene of his misdeeds, when, ac-
cording to Luttrell, he "died very penitently."
And even in the Temple itself this abolition of the right
of sanctuary was disregarded by the young Templars, for
as late as 1697 they rescued from custody a person
arrested for debt, and it was not until the reign of
George I. that the last of these pretended places of
sanctuary was effectually stamped out.
CHAPTER X
THE TEMPLE CHURCH
WHATEVER differences may from time to time
have existed between the two societies of the
Inner and Middle Temple — and these differences some-
times reached the breaking point — they were never allowed
to interfere with the common love and veneration for that
ancient building which they had jointly inherited from the
Knights Templars.
And although their care and solicitude for this national
monument of an early chapter in our history has not
always been such as it might have been, still, allowing
for some slight laches and some misguided zeal, the
Benchers of the two societies have earned our gratitude
by preserving and handing down to posterity that building
so closely bound up with some of the most momentous
incidents in our national life in much the same state as
when the poor fellow-soldiers of Christ knelt upon its
flags to take the vows of poverty and purity.
THE ROUND
In the year 1185 the Round was built after the model
of that erected over the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem,
and dedicated to the Virgin Mary by Heraclius, Patriarch
of the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Jerusalem, in
the presence of Henry II. and his Court.
On Ascension Day, 1240, a second dedication took place
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THE TEMPLE CHURCH
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before Henry III. and his barons, when, according to the
best authorities, the rectangular portion of the church, as
we now know it, was added.
There was, however, a chancel or choir attached to the
Round, prior to 1240, extending some fifty feet in length,
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as the foundations still existing under the present pave-
ment prove, but whether this building was earlier or later
than the Round is uncertain. It is considered by some
to date from Saxon times.
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS AND SECRET SOCIETIES
It now appears to be a well-established historical fact
that the Order of the Knights Templars was one of the
five great secret societies of the Middle Ages, all of which
indulged in Masonic symbols and mysteries. That the
Eastern Order of the Assassins and that of the Knights
Templars were identical is open to grave question, but
the eminent Egyptologist, Mr. Edward Clarkson, does
come to the conclusion that a large proportion of the
2o8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Templars were imbued with the Gnostic and Manichee
heresies ; that they had adopted the initiations of a cor-
rupted and ming-led Freemasonry, such as was used by
the latter, and that they were closely related with the
Assassins, who occupied strongholds in the immediate
neighbourhood of their fortresses in Syria. The chief of
the Assassins had adopted the initiations of a secret Free-
masonry similarly corrupted, in order to train his fanatical
followers for the ambitious purposes at which he un-
scrupulously aimed. Mr. Clarkson also agrees with Von
Hammer that the charges levelled against the Templars
by Philip le Bel were mainly true, and that under the
mask of poverty the Templars did follow idolatrous
doctrines and indulge in idolatrous practices. Such a
theory seems naturally entirely inconsistent with the
militant Christianity and professed faith of the Templars,
the avowed champions of the Christian doctrines, but it
must not be forgotten that the protection of the pilgrims
on their way to the Holy Sepulchre was a highly lucrative
business. The faith of the Templars, or at least of their
leaders, may have been but a cloak for the purpose of
amassing wealth.
In support of these views Mr. Clarkson traces the
architecture of the Temple Church through the Temple
of Solomon and the Mosaic Ark to the Great Pyramid,
the first great lodge of Egyptian Freemasonry. The six
columns in the Round, consisting of four pillars each, and
connected with the twelve columns of the exterior circle
by arches which produce exact triangles ; the four door-
ways and the eight windows, are the geometric and
numerical symbols, which the Gnostics received from the
later Platonists, who owned that they derived them from
the secret Freemasonry of the Egyptian initiations. The
resemblance of these two circular ranges of pillars to the
Druidical circles of stones cannot be a mere coincidence.
Three primary symbols — the circle representing the sun.
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the tail or T-shaped cross eternal life, and the triangle
joy — tog-ether with the oval representing the ovum or
fecundity, and the square or cube divine truth and justice,
are all reproduced in the Temple Church.
At the same time, however, these may be nothing more
than survivals of that sun-worship from which have
evolved all the great religions of the world. Mr. W. J.
Loftie indeed, in his usual superior manner, dismisses
poor Clarkson's theory with the "loftiest" scorn!
Turning to the decorations, many of the tiles are
reproductions of those found when the pavement was
lowered some sixteen inches, thus bringing to light the
bases of the beautiful Purbeck marble columns of the
inner circle.
THE MONUMENTAL EFFIGIES
Of the nine mail-clad effigies it is impossible to speak
with certainty. That they do not represent Knights
Templars is clear, since the Templars were always buried
in the habit of their Order, and are represented in it on
their tombs. This habit was a long white mantle, with
the red cross over the left breast ; it had a short cape and
hood, and fell down to the feet unconfined by any girdle.
As an example Mr. Addison cites the monument of Knight
Templar Brother Jean de Dreux, in the church of St.
Yvod de Braine, near Soissons, clothed in a long mantle
with the cross of the Order carved upon it, as described
above. Yet, although not monuments of Knights
Templars, these cross-legged effigies are intimately
connected with the Order. They represent a class of
men termed "Associates of the Temple," men who,
unwilling to become full-fledged Templars by taking the
vows, were yet desirous of participating in the spiritual
privileges of the society without entirely abandoning the
pleasures of the world. Thus connected, they enjoyed
when living the prestige of membership, and when dead
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 211
the inestimable privileg-e of resting- within these sacred
precincts. And so in return for these advantages they
devoted a portion of their wealth to the use of the Order,
and offered their persons for the protection of its property.
In the year 1209 we find William, Count of Forcalquier,
dedicating- himself "to the house of the chivalry of the
Temple," bequeathing his own horse, with two other
saddle horses, all his equipage and armour complete, and
a hundred silver marks, and undertaking as long as he
leads a secular life to pay a hundred pennies a year, and
to take under his safeguard and protection all the property
of the house wherever situate.
William of Asheby, in Lincolnshire, is another example.
!n consideration of being received "into confraternity"
with the Knights Templars, William makes a g-rant to
the house out of his estates.
Standing in front of the group on the north side, the
Sussex marble effigy at the top left hand is said, and
probably with truth, to represent Geoffrey de Magnaville,
Earl of Essex and Constable of the Tower. Rebelling
against Stephen, he became one of the most violent
disturbers of law and order during that troublous period.
Excommunicated for the sack of Ramsey Abbey, he was
in 1 144 struck down when laying siege to the royal castle
of Burwell. Although duly penitent for his misdeeds,
some Knights Templars alone could be found willing to
render him spiritual assistance on his death-bed. For
this assistance he appears to have rendered an adequate
return, and the Templars, throwing- over him the habit
of their Order, carried his dead body to the Old Temple
in Chancery Lane. In 1182 it was transferred to the
cemetery in the New Temple, and finally, on the dedication
of the church, buried in the porch before the west door.
The charge on his shield is that of a Mandeville, and is
said by Gough to be the earliest instance in England of
sculptured armorial bearings on a monumental eftig-y.
212 THE INNER AND MIDDEE TEMPLE
Next on the rig^ht (No. 2) is a Purbeck marble figure in
low relief, which is said to be the most ancient, and which
cannot be identified.
No. 3 is also of Purbeck marble, dating from the latter
end of the twelfth century. The feet rest upon grotesque
heads, probably representing conventional Saracens. This
monument also is unappropriated, as is the case with its
companion (No. 4), a remarkably fine specimen, also in
Purbeck marble, which differs from all the others, as it is
the only one with the mouth covered by the chapelle de fer,
leaving the forehead, eyes, and nose alone exposed.
The coped stone coffin-lid (No. 5) on the extreme north
side is also of Purbeck marble, and is said to be the tomb
of William Plantagenet, the fifth son of Henry HI., who,
according to Weever, was buried in the Round in 1256.
There appears to be little authority for this statement.
The group on the southern side are all of later date.
No. 6, a fine example in Sussex marble, is generally
supposed to represent William Mareschal, the great Earl
of Pembroke, guardian of Henry HI. But Mr. Baylis, K.c,
relying upon a statement in the Petyt MSS. to the effect
that the effigy of the Earl is cross-legged, throws doubt
upon this supposition, and considers its companion, No. 7,
a specimen of Reigate stone, to be that of William Mares-
chal, in which opinion he has the support of Pennant.
No. 7 is thought by some to be the effigy of William
Mareschal the younger, and No. 8, also of Reigate stone,
is said to be that of Gilbert, another son of William the
elder, who was killed in a tournament at Hertford.
No. 9 is considered by others to represent either William
the younger or Gilbert, which in either case leaves one of
the four unappropriated.
The monument (No. 10) of Roche Abbey stone, on the
south side, is possibly that of Sir Robert Rosse, who,
according to Stow, became a Templar in 1245, and was
buried here. Others assert that an effigy of a De Ros
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 213
was brought from York and placed in the church about
the year 1682. The shield, which has three water
bougets, the arms of the De Ros family, supports either
view, but De Ros was certainly not a Templar, though
probably an associate.
The question whether cross-legged effigies represented
Crusaders, or at any rate those who had taken the cross
without actually going to the East, is still a matter of
controversy. Whatever the reason for this posture,
numerous instances of Knights Templars thus represented
are to be found in other churches in England and Ireland,
although none are known on the Continent.
The font near the southern group of effigies is modern.
It is a copy of an ancient one at Alphington, near Exeter,
of about the twelfth century.
CHAPEL OF ST. ANNE
At the junction of the Round with the choir on the
south side stood the Chapel of St. Anne, destroyed by
gunpowder in the fire of 1678 to check its spreading to
the church.
This building consisted of two floors, and both floors
were oblong, forming double cubes. In the symbolic
language of Freemasonry the cube represents divine
truth and justice. Viewed from any point the cube is
always equal, always based upon itself, and invariably
just in its proportions. Between the two floors was a
flight of fourteen steps. The initiatory Freemasonry of
Eleusis was conducted by means of two floors, one over
the other, communicating by seven steps, but at Den-
derah and elsewhere the steps are fourteen. Here, then,
according to Mr. Clarkson, the novice was initiated into
the Order of the Knights Templars. This novitiate bore
a strong resemblance to the exterior initiation practised
in the Isisian and Eleusinian mvsteries.
214 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
"After undergoing certain trials as a novice, the
reception of the candidate took place in one of the
chapels of the order in presence of the assembled chapter.
The aspirant, if no objection was taken, was led into an
ante-chamber, near the chapter room, and two of the
oldest knights were sent to instruct him in all it was
requisite to know. He was then brought back between
the two, each holding a drawn sword over his head, to
the grand master or his vice-regent, the grand prior, and
kneeling with folded hands before the preceptor, he took a
solemn vow to be for ever the faithful slave of the order.
Again, after having first vowed perfect secrecy and
perfect chastity — having sworn to ' kiss no woman, not
even his sister, and to hold no child over the baptismal
font ' — the initiation was declared to be closed ; the white
mantle with the red badge was thrown over his shoulders,
and he was pronounced amidst the congratulations of the
chapter a free, equal, elected, and admitted brother."
And these rites appear to have partially survived in the
creation of Serjeants. Connected with the Chapel of
St. Anne by the Cloisters was the Chapel of St. Thomas,
near the Hall door, the patron saint of the Serjeants, at
whose shrine they prayed before going to St. Paul's to
select their pillars.
In the Chapel of St. Anne were kept the judicial records
and writs, which were burnt in the fire of 1678. The
remains of the building may be visited by descending
through an iron grating, the whole being covered by
seven large flagstones.
This chapel was the resort of childless women, who
came here to intercede with the saint.
THE PORCH
The present porch is a survival of the ancient cloisters,
to which the magnificent Norman arch owes its preserva-
tion from the elements. Upon its roof once rested a
house of three stories, and the northern arch was also
2
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 215
blocked up by an adjoining building ; whilst inside the
porch against this stood a stationer's shop, belonging in
1677 to the firm of J. Penn and O. Lloyd, as we learn
from the chief butler's accounts delivered to the Treasurer
of the Inner Temple for that year. Rather more than a
century later, to wit in the year 1784, a shop-bill showing
the shop in sitUy with the firm's name " O. Lloyd and
S. Gibbons, Stationers," is given in the Gentleman's
Magazine.
The half-length figures beneath the capitals of the
columns of the arch are said by a writer in the Gentleman's
Mugasi}ie for 1783 to be those of Henry U. holding the
roll containing the grant to the Templars to erect their
church, and of his queen, Eleanor, on the opposite side.
Next to the King are three Knights Templars, one of whom
holds a roll signifying the possession of the royal grant. At
the Queen's side is the figure of Heraclius with his hands
raised in prayer, whilst those adjacent seein to be priests
in the same devout attitude.
In the illustration at page 206 the arch appears to be
too wide for the height. This is due to the fact that
when this view was taken the pavement had not been
lowered to its original and present level. Through the
doorway may be discerned the screen, which at that time
divided the Round from the Choir, and above the screen
Father Smith's famous organ.
THE CHOIR
The body of the church, consecrated, as has been said,
on Ascension Day, 1240, consists of a middle and two
side aisles, and is eighty-two feet in length, fifty-three in
breadth, and thirty-seven in height. The roof is supported
by clustered columns of highly polished Purbeck marble,
with richly moulded capitals, from which springs the
groined vaulting of the middle and two aisles with
central bosses. The spandrels of the middle are decorated
2i6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
with ornamental foHag-e, in which the arms of the two
societies occur alternately, whilst those of the aisles have
also in circles the triangle with three vesicae, the Latin
and Greek crosses, the Beauceant banner, the crescent
under the cross, and a quadruple vesica.
The first monument on entering the choir to the right
is a bust of the learned divine John Hooker, a Master
of the Temple in the sixteenth century. Just below
is the grave of Selden, whose mural tablet, which for
some unexplained reason was formerly in the north-
east corner of the choir, has now been restored to its
original position.
We come next to a recess behind the south-east stalls,
occupied by a handsome effigy of a bishop under a canopy.
It is attributed to Silvester de Everden, Bishop of Carlisle
from 1247 to 1255, and formerly stood out against the
south wall.
Near the south-east corner is a double piscina of
Purbeck marble and an aumbry. In the north-east
corner is another aumbry, or cupboard for the holy
vessels and utensils.
Under the communion table is an old oak chest, con-
taining the charter-deeds of the two societies. There
are two keys to this chest, which are kept by the
Treasurers, in the presence of whom alone can it be
opened.
The stained glass in the choir, as in the Round, is all
modern. In the east windows of the aisles the Knights
Templars are well represented with their banners, the
Beauceant, the Red Cross, and the Cross triumphant over
the Crescent.
The frescoes on the west wall of the choir represent
Henry I. bearing the Beauceant banner ; Stephen with
the device of St. George on a silver field ; Henry II.
holding a model of the Round ; Richard I., also carrying
a model of the church ; Henry, the eldest son of Henry II. ;
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 217
John with a model of the church as in his time ; and
Henry III., also with a model of the church as restored in
1240.
At the east end are two small doors, which form the
private entrance for the Benchers of the two societies.
THE PENITENTIAL CELL
At the north-west corner of the choir is a small Norman
door opening- upon a dark winding staircase leading to
the triforium.
On the left of the stairs in the thickness of the wall
is the Penitential Cell, four feet six inches long and
two feet six inches wide, so constructed as to render
it impossible for a grown man to lie down. "In this
miserable cell," writes Addison, "were confined the re-
fractory and disobedient brethren of the Temple, and
those who were enjoined severe penance with solitary
confinement. Its dark secrets have long since been
buried in the tomb, but one sad tale of misery and horror
connected with it has been brought to light."
From the witnesses who were examined by the Papal
inquisitors at St. Martin's Church and St. Botolph's we
learn that a Knight Templar, Brother Walter le Bacheler,
Grand Preceptor of Ireland, was imprisoned here in
chains for disobedience to the Master of the Temple, and
here died from the severity of his confinement. His body
was carried at early dawn from this solitary cell by
Brothers John de Stoke and Radulph de Barton to the
old churchyard between the church and the Hall, and
there consigned to the grave. Two small windows admit
light and air, one looking eastward into the choir, so
that the prisoner might see and hear the offices carried on
at the high altar, and the other looking southward into
the Round. At the bottom of the staircase is a stone
recess where bread and water for the prisoner were
placed.
2i8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
THE TRIFORIUM
Ascending the narrow winding stairs, the triforium is
reached through a small doorway. This is a covered
gallery built over the outer aisle of the Round. To this
spot have been removed the greater part of the monu-
ments and mural tablets which once decorated the walls
and columns of the church below.
Immediately to the left is the kneeling figure of Richard
Martin, Recorder of London and a member of the Middle
Temple, who died in 1615, whilst nearly opposite is
a mural tablet recording the death of William Petyt,
Treasurer of the Inner Temple, in October, 1707. Beyond,
within a canopy, lies the recumbent figure of Edmund
Plowden, the famous jurist, who died in 1584. Passing
under a small arch, we come to a tablet in memory of
Anne, wife of Edward Lyttelton, and granddaughter of
Lord Chancellor Bromley ; whilst further still are the
memorial to Jacob Howell, royal historian, 1666, and
the tablet to Oliver Goldsmith, erected by the Benchers of
the Inner Temple in 1837. On the north-west side is the
monument to the beautiful and accomplished Miss Mary
Gaudy, Who died a victim to small-pox at the early age of
twenty-two, in the year 1671. The family of Gaudy had
for generations been connected with the Inner Temple.
Upon this monument is the following epitaph : —
" This faire young virg-in, for a luiptiall bed
More fitt, is lodg'd (sad fate !) amongst the dead ;
Stormed by rough windes, soe falls in all her pride
The full blowne rose design'd to addorne a bride."
Hard by is a tablet to Richard Jewkes, one of the
four executors of Selden.
Other well-known names here are those of Clement
Coke, the youngest son of the great Chief Justice ; John
Wharry, Daines Barrington, Peter Pierson, and Randle
Jackson, all immortalised by Charles Lamb, and Henry
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 219
Blackstone, son of Sir William. One cannot but regret
the wholesale removal of these memorials from the body
of the church. These numerous examples of heraldry
would, if judiciously placed on the walls of the choir, add
very materially to the effect, as well as to the interest
which their names inspire.
All interested in the study of heraldry will find ample
material here in the many-quartered arms and ancient
devices.
This gallery was originally open to the sky, the conical
roof only covering the inner circle. Possibly this was for
purposes of defence, and would correspond with the
Norman fortified churches, of which so many survive in
the Auvergne. Here people used to walk, which explains
the references to persons taking the air on the leads of
the Temple Church.
Upon the suppression of the Templars, as has been
said, their lands in England were granted by the Council
of Vienne in 1324 to the Knights Hospitallers of St. John
the Baptist. They, however, did not obtain immediate
possession, and it was not until 1329 that, upon complaint
to the King, " the church and places sanctified and
dedicated to God " were ordered to be surrendered to
them. At the time of the suppression in 1307 there
were in residence a master, William de la More, twelve
brethren, a preceptor, a treasurer, six chaplains, and five
clerks, besides servants. When the Knights Hospitallers
leased to the lawyers they reserved to themselves the
consecrated places and such tenements as they required
for their own use, and appointed as ctistos or magistcr
an official who, assuming the old title of the Master of
the Templars, was known as "the Master of the New
Temple," and who was responsible to the Prior of
St. John of Clerkenwell not only for the maintenance
of the ecclesiastical buildings, but also for the due
performance of the services in the church. In the year
220 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
1378 the clerical staff consisted of the Master, Brother
John Bartylby, and four chaplains, Sir Robert Kirkeby,
Sir Thomas Weston, Sir William Eversam, and Sir
Barnard Barton.
The exact territory retained for the Master and his
priests is defined by the inquisition held in 1338. This
area was comprised within a line drawn from the western
side of the cloisters to the ancient g"ate into Fleet Street,
Fleet Street itself the northern boundary, King's Bench
Walk the eastern, and a line from the latter to the
Cloisters, including St. Thomas's Chapel and excluding-
the Hall, on the south.
For the maintenance of the priests the Hospitallers
alone were responsible right up to the Reformation, the
lawyers contributing nothing except upon the eighteen
offering days, so that each Fellow paid i8d. per annum.
After the dissolution of the Order of St. John the
Master, the Rev. William Ermsted, and four stipendiary
priests, with a clerk, were left undisturbed, and their
stipends ordered to be paid out of the possessions and
revenues of the late Order.
In 1542 William Ermsted leased the Master's mansion,
with the exception of "two honest chambers" for the four
priests, to Sir John Baker, a Bencher of our House and
Speaker of the House of Commons. In the reign of
Mary the Prior of St. John was reinstated, but Master
Ermsted, like the Vicar of Bray, was able to accommodate
himself to the Queen's religious views, as he was able
subsequently to do upon the accession of Elizabeth.
Ermsted was succeeded by Dr. Alvey, a distinguished
divine who had sufiFered under Mary, and from this time
both societies began to act jointly in the ecclesiastic
affairs of the Temple.
The reversion in the Master's mansion and grounds
having passed to a Mr. Roper, was purchased by the
two Inns in 1585 for the Master's residence. Owing to
THE TEMPLE (HrRCH 221
the sickness of Canon Alvey, Mr. Walter Travers was
appointed to supply his place as preacher, but upon the
death of the former Dr. Hooker was nominated by
Elizabeth, and the strange spectacle was witnessed of
the Master and the Reader preaching- against each other
in the same church; as it was said, "The forenoon sermon
spake Canterbury, and the afternoon Geneva." The
situation created much dissension in the Temple, which
continued in spite of the departure of Travers, and until
Hooker, "weary of the noise and opposition of the place,"
resigned in 1591.
Under the patent of James I. the two societies bound
themselves to maintain and support the church, and to
provide the Master with a convenient mansion, and to pay
him a yearly stipend of ^17 6^-. 8^/., the ecclesiastical
buildings finally vesting in the two societies. By this
time the church was in a ruinous and dilapidated condition,
and as much as ^£2,^00 in our money was spent in three
years by the two societies in repairs. In the reign
of Elizabeth rules had been passed for compulsory
attendance at church, and partaking at least once a
quarter of the Holy Communion. Dr. Masters, appointed
Master in 1601, gave great offence by administering the
sacrament to members of the Inner Temple before those
of the Middle. The matter was referred to a joint
committee of both Houses, which found that there was
no distinction between the two Houses, and the bread
and wine were ordered to be administered alternately on
alternate Sundays to the members of each society
respectively.
In 1634 an attempt was made to clear away the small
buildings, which clung as excrescences to the church, but
the Middle Temple declining to demolish those chambers
belonging to them, the only result was the removal of a
sempstress' shop, the property of the Inner Temple.
Upon the death of Dr. Masters in 1628, Dr. Mickle-
222 THE INNER AND MIDDEE TEMPEE
thwaite was appointed Master of the Temple, with
unfortunate consequences. A High Churchman and
follower of Laud, he soon came into conflict with the
Puritan element in the Temple. He refused to be bound
by the compromise on the Communion, and claimed
precedence at the Bench table. When Lord Keeper
Coventry and the judges dined with the Bench on one
occasion. Dr. Micklethwaite usurped the Lord Keeper's
seat, and removed the g-old-embroidered purse. He was
in consequence bidden "to forbear the hall till he was
sent for."
Dr. Micklethwaite, however, was not to be put upon,
and in his petition to the King he explains how the
church "has ever been a church of eminency, and a
choir church exempt from episcopal jurisdiction." He
complains of the position of the pulpit and altar, and
of the appropriation by the Fine Office of the Chapel
of St. Anne. As a result the pulpit was removed to
the side, the altar replaced on the raised platform at
the east end, and an iron-bound oak chest purchased
for the church plate and ornaments. St. Anne's Chapel,
however, was not cleared. The altar or table had no
doubt previously stood in the body of the choir, in
accordance with Puritan custom. A claim by the Doctor
of a tithe or ten per cent, of all the lawyers' fees as part
of his stipend was very naturally strongly resented. He
retaliated by keeping the church doors locked, and not
allowing the conferences of the two Houses to take place
in the Round, which had also been a resort of persons
bent on business or pleasure, like the parvis of St. Paul's.
Micklethwaite's successor was Dr. John Lyttelton, a
member of the distinguished family of lawyers and
divines.
The choir was divided between the two societies, the
south side being assigned to the Inner Temple and the
north to the Middle. A great number of members and
ROUND TE.Ml'I.E CHURCH
THE TEMPLE CHITRC'H 223
others are buried in the choir itself and in the vaults
under the Master's g^arden.
The Round appears to have been used by both Houses
in common, and continued after Micklethwaite's time to
be one of the customary places where rents could be
paid, mortgages discharged, and other contracts com-
pleted, and to be used as a place for lounge and con-
versation, for conferences between the two Houses, and
for the burial of servants and others not members of the
Inns.
In Ben Jonson's Alchetnist several allusions to this
practice occur. Partinax Surley, the gamester, agrees to
meet Captain Face here "upon earnest business," but fails
to keep his appointment, whereupon the latter exclaims —
" I have walk'd the Round
Till now, and no such thing."
The following- reference to the Round from Butler's
Hudibras is, however, better known : —
" Retain all sorts of witnesses
That ply i' the Temple under trees,
Or walk the Round with Knig^hts o' the Posts
About the cross-Ieg-ged Knights their hosts ;
Or wait for customei\s between
The pillar rows in Lincoln's Inn. "
Dr. Lyttelton, upon the outbreak of the Civil War,
followed the King, and the Temple was for two years
without a Master.
F^or a year or two the celebrated John Tombs, the great
scholar and a rival of Richard Baxter, was Master.
Under the Commonwealth of course the arrangements
in the church were again changed, and much damage
and loss suffered, but very considerable repairs, never-
theless, amounting to ^^3,000 in present value, were
carried out. Dr. Ralph Brownrigg was Master during-
this period, and by his moderation became very popular.
224 THE INNER AxND MIDDLE TEMPLE
He was buried in the church and a monument erected to
his memory.
His successor was Dr. John Gauden, who claimed to
be the author of the Eikon Basilike, He became Bishop
of Exeter.
The church, which had been kept in good repair by
the Benchers of the Commonwealth, was much neglected
during the early years of Charles H., owing no doubt to
other heavy calls for rebuilding the houses destroyed in
the Great Fire.
From the petition of John Playford, clerk of the church,
presented to the Benchers of both societies in 1675, we
find several matters in the church which required speedy
repair : —
" First, the doors in the screen which parts the church
are at this time much decayed and broken, as they are no
security to the church, wherein now standeth the chest
with your communion plate and also the several vestments
and books belonging to the church.
"Second, the pulpit is so rotten at this time and
decayed as it is in great danger of falling ; also the
velvet before the pulpit and the cushion thereto belonging
are both so much decayed and worn out, having been so
often mended, as much longer they cannot be serviceable.
"Third, there is at this time great want of a good bell
in the steeple, which want may soon be supplied if your
masterships shall please to give order that those two bells
now in the steeple, which are both cracked and useless,
be cast into one ; it will make an excellent bell that will
be heard into all the courts belonging to both societies.
" Fourth, the two surplices at this time belonging to
the church are both worn out, one of which is allowed by
the honourable society."
A committee was immediately appointed, and repairs
estimated at ^.^po were under consideration, when the
disastrous fires of 1677 and 1678 put a stop for the time
to all ideas of restoration.
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 225
That Playford's sugg-estion of recasting the two bells
was eventually carried out is shown by the inscription
borne by the present bell : —
"Sir R. Sawyer A. G. t. Inner Temple, Sir Henry
Chauncy t. Middle Temple, John Bartlet made me 1686."
In 1682 the restoration, including the repairs re-
commended by Playford, was commenced under the
direction of Sir Christopher Wren. The church was
entirely repaved with alternate squares of black and
white marble, and the walls wainscoted up to the bottom
of the windows. The altar was reconstructed, the carved
background, the work of Grinling Gibbons, reaching
several feet above the bottom of the east central window.
The whole church was repewed, and a new pulpit pro-
vided. At the opening on February nth, 1682, the
Bishop of Rochester preached, and was entertained at
a dinner given by the Benchers of the two Inns at the
Master's house.
Soon after the restoration took place the great historic
contest between two rival organ makers, Bernard Schmidt,
known as "Father Smith," and Harris, to supply the
church with a new organ. The trials lasted for a twelve-
month, and finally Jeffreys was called in to act as arbi-
trator in the dispute.
Jeffreys is said to have been a splendid musician, and
to have acted in the capacity of a musical expert, but it
seems more probable that he was invited to intervene as
Lord Chancellor, to whom it was usual to refer all matters
of controversy which arose in the Inns of Court.
According to Burney, Jeffreys was selected as arbitrator
when he was still Lord Chief Justice, in June, 1685, just
before he set out for the notorious " Bloody Assize." He
only received the Great Seal in the following October, as
his reward for his share in this ghastly business. He
appears, however, to have been only officially appointed
arbitrator in February, 1686.
Q
226 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Whatever the reason of Jeffreys' appointment, he
settled the business by selecting Smith's organ, which
was placed in the gallery under the central arch between
the Round and the choir, thus effectually blocking the
beautiful effect of the view from end to end of the
interior.
According to Luttrell this organ cost ;2^i,5oo, and he
relates how, in 1696, the pipes being foul, "a scaffold was
erected for the cleaning thereof, and the pipes being laid
thereon, the scaffold fell down, much bruised the men and
broke most of the pipes."
These pipes were apparently very roughly finished
externally, and when remonstrances were made to Smith
upon the matter he is reported to have replied, " I do not
care if ze pipe looks like von teufel ; I shall make him
schpeak like von engel." According to experts their
beauty and sweetness of tone have never been excelled.
In 1691 the south-west front was "new built with
stone," and the ancient inscription, dated 1185, recording
the dedication of the Round, destroyed by a careless work-
man.
This inscription was over the door under the second
window from the porch, which formerly led into the
cloisters on the south-west side of the Round. It has
been thus translated by Addison : —
" On the loth of February
in
the year From the Incarnation of our Lord 1 185,
this Church was consecrated in Honour of
the Blessed Marj'
By the Lord HeracHus
By
the Grace of God Patriarch of the Church
of the Resurrection,
Who
Hath Indulged all those annually visiting it with sixty
Days of Penance enjoined them."
■ Ot /»riJV.
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 227
Three years later considerable repairs were carried out
under the direction of the Treasurers of the two societies
at a cost of ;^23o. On the south-west exterior, where
the door leading- to the cloisters formerly stood, the
following^ inscription recorded this restoration : —
" Vetustate Consumptum : Impensis
Utriusque Societatis Restitutum.
Nich. C[ourtney] X Thesaur."
Rogero Gilling-ham j
At the beginning- of the eighteenth century the church
was whitewashed, gilt, and painted within, the pillars of
the Round wainscoted, the effigies of the Knights
Templars repaired and painted, and the exterior east and
north walls restored. In 1736 these latter were again
repaired more extensively, and the interior redecorated.
During this period, from 1704 to 1753, Thomas Sherlock,
Bishop of London, was Master of the Temple, when the
following epigram was penned : —
"At the Temple one day Sherlock, taking a boat,
The waterman asked him, ' Which way will you float ? '
' Which way?' says the Doctor. 'Why, fool, with the stream.'
To St. Paul's or to Lambeth was all one to him,"
Upon his resignation, Sherlock took leave of the two
societies in terms very flattering to their members. " I
esteem my relation to the two societies," he writes,
"to have been the great happiness of my life, as it
introduced me to the acquaintance of some of the greatest
men of the age, and afforded me the opportunities
of improvement by living and conversing with gentle-
men of a liberal education and of great learning and
experience."
Another famous Master was Dr. Thomas Thurlow,
afterwards Bishop of Durham, and brother of the still
more famous Lord Chancellor.
From 1798 to 1826 Thomas Renneli, Dean of West-
minster, was Master. His wife was a daughter of Sir
228 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
William Blackstone, and it was during his term of office
that, in 1811, the church underwent a general repair.
The real restoration, however, only commenced in 1825,
when Sir Robert Smirke restored the whole south side
and the lower portion of the Round.
Under the first window, south of the porch, a tablet
has recently been erected recording this restoration,
which was completed in 1827, when the remains of
St. Anne's Chapel still above ground were swept away.
Meanwhile, in 1819, the houses and shops against the
church had been removed.
These repairs cost the two societies nearly ^23,000.
During some excavations near the Templars' tombs
in the Round in 1830 a portion of a pyx, or small shrine,
was discovered. The original shrine was probably oblong
in shape, and this brasswork attached to one of its ends.
It consists of three mail-clad figures in high relief,
supposed to be Roman soldiers watching, with bowed
heads, the body of Christ. They are in the costume of
Norman soldiers of the early part of the twelfth century,
similar to those in the Bayeux Tapestry. The relic is
therefore of earlier date than the present church, and
was probably brought by the Templars from their first
establishment in Chancery Lane. It passed into the pos-
session of General Pitt Rivers.
The seal of Berengar was also found here at the same
time. He succeeded De Pim as Custos, or Grand
Master, of the Knights Hospitallers in 1365.
In 1840 the restoration was renewed, with the results
that we now see. A conical roof was added to the tower,
thereby restoring it to its original form. The thirteenth-
century preceptory seal of Ferreby North, in Yorkshire,
exhibits a round church with a conical roof. The
marigold west window, blocked up when the house was
built over the porch about the year 1700, was restored,
the floor was lowered and retiled, the accumulations
230 THE LNxNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of plaster and paint removed from the marble columns,
and the whole builduig restored, as far as possible, to
its original state. The marigold or wheel window is
thought by some antiquaries to be a copy of the Roman
chariot wheel.
The Chapel of St. Anne still remains to be rebuilt, and,
in view of its past history and associations, it is to be
hoped that this work will eventually be undertaken.
Commencing with an estimate of between ;^3,ooo and
p^4,ooo, these repairs ultimately cost the enormous sum
of ^53.000.
At the completion of the restoration, in 1845, the
Queen Dowager visited the church, the only queen who
had entered the Temple since good Queen Bess. A few
days later the Duke of Cambridge and other members
of the Royal Family attended a full choral service here.
THF COMMUNION PLATE
The plate belonging to the church contains many pieces
of greater age than might have been expected, consider-
ing how closely the two societies were connected with the
events of the Civil War.
Mr. Bayliss, K.c, has given a list, from which it will be
seen that all but one piece is anterior to the troubles, and
even this is dated with the year of the King's execution.
The communion plate then consists of two chalices, one in-
scribed with the name of "Nicholas Overburye, Treasurer of
the Middle Temple " (the father of Sir Thomas Overburye,
poisoned by the Somersets), and * ' George Croke, Treasurer
of the Inner Temple," and dated 1610. The second
chalice bears the name of " Nicholas Overburye " and the
same date. Two small patens, dated 1610, and two
larger patens with coat of arms with two chevrons, dated
1627. Three flagons bearing similar coats of arms, dated
1637, and one flagon dated 1648.
THE TEMPLE CHURCH 231
THE MASTER'S HOUSE
The present Master's House is a beautiful Georgian
building" dating from 1764. It stands upon the site of
a former house erected in 1700, which succeeded the
building destroyed in the Great Fire. The latter is said
to have stood in a line with the church in the present
garden, but I can find no reliable authority for this state-
ment. It was built by Dr. Ball, the Master of the Temple,
in 1664, the Inner Temple contributing ;!^2oo towards its
cost. The Master had been in occupation little more
than a year when it perished in the conflagration of 1666.
The present house is only one room deep, and the principal
windows face south. The rooms, however, are spacious
and handsome. It is the joint property of the two
societies. The old wall and high wooden door shown in
eighteenth-century prints have given way to the present
iron railings and gate. In the Bench Table Orders for
1708 it was ordered that Dr. Sherlock, Master of the
Temple, should be allowed "to take down the brick wall
and set up pallisadoes between his garden and Tanfield
Court." Whether Dr. Sherlock availed himself of this
permission does not appear.
This was the Thomas Sherlock who had succeeded his
father William. The latter was appointed to succeed
Dr. Ball. He enjoyed a great reputation as a preacher,
and was presented in 1688 with a pair of silver candle-
sticks bearing the arms of the Inner Temple.
CHAPTER XI
THE INNS OF CHANCERY
W""
Sx^JE. I^J^J ■ GATEWAY;
HILST it is probable that
ins of Lawyers, or Law
Guilds, existed even prior to the
reign of John, it is certain that
by the time of Edward I. they
were well established. The first
reference to an Inn of Chancery
occurs in the reigfn of Edward III.,
when Lady Isabel Clifford demised
her house near Fleet Street at a
rental of ;^'io to the apprenticii
de hanco^ that is, to the lawyers assigned to the Court of
Common Bench. Whether these lawyers were the at-
torneys appointed by John de Metingham, Lord Chief
Justice of the Common Pleas, in the twentieth year of
Edward I., to attend his Court from every county, is not
clear, but at any rate, in course of time the four Inns
of Court were reserved for the apprenticii nobiliores, or
lawyers of good birth, whilst the writ clerks, both of the
Court of Chancery and of the Court of Common Pleas,
and other minor officials were relegated to the Inns of
Chancery. These Inns also became preparatory schools
for younger students, as we learn from Fortescue, who
wrote of them in the reign of Henry VI., "because the
students in them are for the greater part young men
learning the first elements of the law ; and becoming
2^2
THE INNS OF CHANCERY 233
good proficients therein, as they grow up, are taken into
the greater hostels, which are called Inns of Court."
At this period, says Fortescue, there were ten lesser
Inns {Hospitia cancellaria)^ and sometimes more, and in
each at least a hundred students and in some a far greater
number, though not constantly in residence.
All of these contributed members to the Inner Temple,
except Staple Inn, but as in the sixteenth century the
customary admission fee of ^5 was remitted to those from
the three affiliated societies of Clifford's, Clement's, and
Lyon's Inns, the majority came from these. In the seven-
teenth century a fee of ^i was exacted.
Each Inn of Court appointed Readers for its own Inns
of Chancery, admitted members gratis or at reduced fees,
and entertained their antients at Grand Nights and feasts.
Each Inn of Chancery had its own hall, where banquets
similar to those of the greater Inns, moots, readings, and
festivals took place. None of them appear to have had
any chapel, and their members probably attended the
nearest parish church, as the chapels of their respective
Inns would scarcely have afforded sufficient accommoda-
tion for such numbers.
In 1557 attorneys and solicitors were denied admission
to the Inner Temple and ordered to repair to their Inns
of Chancery, and in 1574 such as remained were ordered
to be expelled the House. This practice was followed
some years later by the Middle.
For the remainder of this century the Inns of Chancery
continued to be the resort of barristers, attorneys, solici-
tors, and students of both branches of the profession, but
at the commencement of the seventeenth century the
decay set in. Students flocked more eagerly to the more
fashionable Inns of Court, and the membership of the
Inns of Chancery fell off to such a degree that men
like Selden thought it beneath their dignity to become
Readers.
234 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
With reduced numbers and loss of prestige the dis-
cipline and administration also deteriorated, until by the
middle of the eighteenth century they ceased to exercise
their functions and lost their very raison d'etre. At the
present moment only two, Clifford's Inn and New Inn,
retain their corporate existence, and the latter will soon
be swept away by the Strand to Holborn improvements.
THE INNS OF CHANCERY AFFILIATED TO THE
INNER TEMPLE
To the Inner Temple then were attached Clifford's,
Clement's, and Lyon's Inns. The first named is still in
being, and lies between St. Dunstan's Church and
Serjeants' Inn, Chancery Lane. It consists of three
small courts with three entrances leading from Serjeants'
Inn, Fetter Lane, and Fleet Street. In the midst is a
moderate-sized hall, where Sir Matthew Hale presided at
the Commission which sat to adjust the differences which
arose between landlord and tenant and adjoining owners
after the Great Fire. In gratitude for the services then
rendered by the Commissioners, their portraits were
ordered by the City to be painted, and these now hang
in the Guildhall.
Formerly an old oak folding screen, dating from the
reign of Henry VIII., used to stand in the hall, upon
which were inscribed the forty-seven rules of the Inn.
The garden is described by Maitland as an "airy place
and neatly kept . . . enclosed with a palisado paling and
adorned with rows of lime trees." This society is still
governed by a Principal and twelve rulers, who adopted
the old arms of the Clifford family, " chequ^e or and
azure, a fess gules," to which they added "a bordure,
bezant^e of the third."
Harrison, the regicide, was clerk to an attorney here
when the Civil War broke out, and hence he rode off to
join the Puritan troopers. It was formerly the practice
THE INNS OF CHANCERY 235
for attorneys to be attached to certain of the inferior
Courts. For instance, four attorneys were attached to
the Mayor's Court. To the Marshalsea, commonly known
as the Palace Court, six attorneys were attached, and all
these had chambers in Clifford's Inn.
Here, too, lived Mr. Dyer, the scholar and bookworm,
whose chambers were frequented by Sir Walter Scott,
Southey, Coleridge, Lamb, Serjeant Talfourd, and other
literary celebrities of the day. Another inmate of Clifford's
Inn was Robert Pultock, the author of Peter Wilkins, a
curious but little-known work, which, however, suggested
to Southey The Curse of Kehama.
Just north of the church of St. Clement Danes, and
at the bottom of Clement's Lane, was an ancient and
holy well, dedicated, like the church, to the Roman
pontiff, St. Clement. West of Clement's Lane we find
an Inn of Chancery, called St. Clement's Inn, as early
as the reign of Edward IV., and a little later, in i486,
this property was demised for eighty years to William
Elyot and John Elyot in trust, presumably, for the students
of the law.
Of the ancient buildings none survive, those in existence
in 1800 being described by Herbert as modern, and even
these have now given place to palatial offices.
There were originally three small courts, with a well-
proportioned hall of the genuine Queen Anne style, in
which hung a portrait of Sir Matthew Hale, now in the
Hall of the Inner Temple. In the garden adjoining New
Inn stood the sundial of the Black Boy, to-day a con-
spicuous feature of the Inner Temple Garden. The arms
of this society were those of its patron saint, St. Clement,
a silver anchor (with a stock) in pale proper, and a "C"
sable passing through the middle.
Chief Justice Saunders of the Middle Temple picked up
his early knowledge of law from an attorney's clerk here.
This was the "Shepherd's Inn" of Thackeray's Pen-
236 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
dermis^ where Captain Costigan was to be found trailing
about the court in his carpet sHppers and dressing-gown,
next door to whom, at No. 3, lodged Captain Strong,
with the adventurer Colonel Altremont, agent to the
Nawaub of Lucknow. When Thackeray wrote, the Inn
had long ceased to be occupied by the Iav;yers with the
exception of a Mr. Somerset Campion, whose west-end
offices were in Curzon Street, Mayfair, and who came in
his cab twice or thrice a week to his chambers here, the
lustre of his gorgeous equipage making sunshine in the
dingy court.
"In a mangy little grass-plat," writes Thackeray, "in
the centre rises up the statue of Shepherd, defended by
iron railings from the assaults of boys." The "Shepherd"
was of course the " Black Boy."
This was the Inn too of that immortal creation of
Shakespeare, "Master Shallow," when he studied law in
town. "I was of Clement's once myself," he cries with
self-importance, " where they talk of mad Shallow still."
West of New Inn, on the site of the late Globe
Theatre, stood Lyon's Inn. The earliest record of this
society occurs in the steward's accounts in the reign of
Henry V. It consisted of one court only, with a hall and
two ranges of chambers. The hall formed the west side,
the old houses in Holywell Street the south, and on the
east was a row of chambers with the windows looking
into the court, whilst the other row of chambers on the
north abutted on Wych Street.
In 1 561, as we have seen, the Middle Temple attempted
to gain possession of Lyon's Inn, an attempt frustrated
owing to the influence of the Earl of Leicester. The
freehold was purchased by Nicholas Hare the younger
from Edmund Bokenham, of Great Thorneham, in the
county of Suffolk, in the year 1582, and is described in
the indenture of sale as consisting of "one capital
messuage or tenement, with all the buildings, room, back-
THE INNS OF CHANCERY 237
sides, orchards, yards, and gardens, unto the same belong--
ing-, with all and singular appurtenances called or known
by the name of Lyon's Inn, situate and being in the
parish of St. Clement Danes without the bars of the New
Temple, London."
The following year the Inn was conveyed by Nicholas
Hare to the Benchers of the Inner Temple, for the sum of
;^i43 4.T. 8d. Other premises adjoining the Inn were also
purchased at the same time by Hugh, brother of Nicholas
Hare and a member of the Inner, and were conveyed by
him to the Benchers of his Inn for the sum of ^107 18^.
gd., to be paid at Easter then following, "at the font
stone in the Temple Church or at the place where the font
stone now standeth."
By the end of the eighteenth century the Inn had fallen
into disrepute as the haunt of card-sharpers and swindlers.
Here lived Mr. Weare, who was murdered by Thurstell in
1824, who pleaded in mitigation that Weare had won
^^300 from him at cards.
The Hall, which was pulled down in 1863, was erected
in 1700, and is described by Herbert as " a commodious,
handsome room, but now appropriated to indifferent pur-
poses." When visited by Ireland about the same period
these "purposes" are indicated. He found it used as
a fowl-run, with nothing but filth to recommend it.
The arms, a lion rampant, in a//o relievo, appeared
above the door of the Hall.
The Inner Temple at any rate seems to have done its
best to stop the rot which had set in. Upon the presenta-
tion of a petition by the fellows of Clifford's Inn against
their principal, who had neglected to give any satisfactory
account of the funds which for over forty years had passed
through his hands, the principal was ordered to attend
the Bench table and explain his conduct.
From time to time we find our House exercising its
ancient jurisdiction over its Inns of Chancery. In 1690
238 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the authorities of Clifford's Inn were called upon to
explain why they did not elect a reader, and were
ordered to do so forthwith. In 1689 the principal and
antients of Clement's Inn were summoned to show cause
why they were not in commons, and in the following
year Edward Gerrard, formerly principal, upon the
petition of the members, was ordered to bring- in his
accounts to be audited, and if found in default to be
dealt with as the Bench should direct.
On November i8th, 1693, the treasurer of Lyon's Inn
was ordered to attend the Bench table to explain why the
society did not receive Robert Payne, who had been
appointed reader by the Bench, and in the following- year
the treasurer and antients were required to make a
return of such reputed papists, or " non jurats," as
resided, or had chambers, in their society.
THE INNS OF CHANCERY AFFILIATED TO THE
MIDDLE TEMPLE
Upon the destruction of Chester's Inn, or Strand Inn,
by Protector Somerset, New Inn was the only Inn of
Chancery left to the Middle Temple, since St. George's
Inn, by the Fleet Ditch in Farringdon Street, the alleged
original home of the Middle Templars, had long been
deserted for New Inn. Strand Inn, - which stood just
opposite the Church of St. Mary-le-Strand, is said to
have been the Bishop of Chester's town residence ; but,
according to Stow, the latter was known as "Litchfield
and Coventrees Inn, or London Lodgings." However
this may be. Strand Inn occupied land belonging to the
Bishop of Chester, and hence the name Chester's Inn.
Just opposite stood an ancient stone cross at which the
judges occasionally sat to administer justice outside the
City walls, one of those long-lived survivals of the archaic
village community customs to which the London Stone
and other ancient market crosses still bear silent witness.
THE INNS OF CHAXCEKY 239
Although Somerset is accused of laying his hands on
the property of his neighbours, regardless of that blessed
word "compensation," we learn from the Inner Temple
Records that he endeavoured to square matters with the
Middle Temple for depriving them of their Inn by inducing
the Inner Temple to relinquish the Readership of one of
their own Inns of Chancery to the society which he had
robbed.
This transaction led to a pretty quarrel between the
Inner and Middle Temples in the reign of Elizabeth,
when the latter society tried to annex Lyon's Inn, a
proceeding which might have proved successful but for
Leicester's powerful intervention.
New Inn, in Wych Street, a narrow thoroughfare
similar to Holywell Street, was only separated from
Clement's Inn by a gate and iron railing on the north-
easterly side of the square, placed here in 1723. Both
Inns, says Herbert, contained a number of spacious and
handsome chambers, which were in general inhabited by
the more respectable part of the profession. The garden,
which was a fine, large plot of ground surrounded by an
iron railing, was laid out in pleasant walks, and was
common to both societies. The hail in the south-east
corner is a fine brick building, with the usual clock over
the entrance. This site, about the year 1485, was occupied
by an inn or hostel for travellers, called, from its sign of
the Virgin Mary, "Our Ladye Inn," and upon the removal
of the members of St. George's Inn from Seacole Lane,
this hostel was leased from Sir John Fincox, at the rent
of ^6 per annum. This account is confirmed by Stow,
who writes : " In St. George's Lane (near St. Sepulchre's
Church), on the north side thereof, remaineth yet an olde
wall of stone inclosing a piece of ground by Seacole Lane,
wherein (by report) sometime stood an inne of chancery ;
which house being greatly decayed, and standing remote
from other houses of that profession, the company re-
240 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
moved to a common hostelry called of the sigfne, Our
Lady Inne^ not far from Clement's Inne, which they
procured from Sir John Fincox, Lord Chief Justice of
the King's Bench, and since have held it of the owners by
the name of the New Inne, paying therefore sixe pound
rent by the yeere as tenants at their owne will ; for more
(as is said) cannot be gotten of them, and much lesse will
they be put from it," Above the archway in Wych Street
may still be seen the arms of this society, a bunch of
lilies in a flower-pot argent, field vert, emblematic of Our
Lady.
One of its most illustrious members was Sir Thomas
More, the courageous Chancellor of Henry VHI., after-
wards Reader of Lincoln's Inn.
THE INNS OF CHANCERY AFFILIATED TO
LINCOLN'S INN
Of the Inns of Chancery attached to Lincoln's Inn we
have already mentioned Thavie's Inn, which passed into
their possession in the reign of Edward VI., and was
constituted an Inn of Chancery under a principal and
fellows, paying as an acknowledgment to the mother
House the annual rent of ;^3 65^. 4^.
Furnival's Inn, in Holborn, the other limb of Lincoln's
Inn, derives its name from Sir William Furnival, whose
family in the male line became extinct in the reign of
Richard II. Previous to this event, it had been demised
to the students of the law, and in the first year of the
reign of Edward VI. the freehold was sold to Lincoln's
Inn for ;^i20, when a lease was granted to the principal
and twelve antients upon the same terms as those given
to Thavie's Inn.
Furnival's Inn consisted of two courts of very consider-
able extent. The street front, erected about the time of
Charles II., was a very fine brick building, adorned with
pilasters, mouldings, and various other ornaments, and
THE INNS OF CHANCERY 241
was attributed to Inigo Jones. This was pulled down
and rebuilt in 1820, and it was in this new building" that
Charles Dickens was living when the Pickwick Papers
were published. Except for this incident, few will regret
the recent destruction of the "new building-." The
Gothic Hall, a still older structure than the front, was
a plain brick building-, with a small turret and two larg-e
projecting bow windows at the west end.
"The inner court," writes Herbert, "contained a small
range of old chambers, whose fronts were plastered in
the cottage style, having a singularly rustic appearance,
and bearing a much greater resemblance to a country
village than a London inn of chancery."
The interior of the Hall was very similar to that of the
Middle Temple, on a smaller scale — the fire-place in the
midst ; the same disposition of tables and benches ; the
high wainscoting, and the armorial bearings in the
windows.
The arms of the society were. Argent, a bend between
six martlets, gules, within a border of the second.
THE INNS OF CHANCERY AFFILIATED TO GRAYS INN
Gray's Inn was the old town house of the Lords Grey,
or Gray de Wilton, who only parted with it in the reign
of Henry VH. In 1505 Edmund, Lord Gray of Wilton,
by indenture of bargain and sale, granted to Hugh
Denny and Mary, his wife, the manor of Portpoole, other-
wise Gray's Inn, consisting of four messuages, four
gardens, the site of a windmill, eight acres of land, ten
shillings of feu rent, and the advowson of the Chantry
of Portpoole.
Eight years later this property passed into the possession
of the Priory of Shene, and was demised to the students
of the law at the annual rent of ^^6 13^. 4^., at which
rent it was held until the dissolution of the monastery
in 1540, when it was held direct of the Crown.
R
242 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
This date for the origin of this society is confirmed
by Dug-dale, who commences his list of Readers with
John Spelman, and of Treasurers with William Walsyn-
ham, elected in Michaelmas Term, 1516.
Gray's Inn, like Lincoln's Inn, could boast of only two
Inns of Chancery — Staple Inn and Barnard's Inn. The
former, originally known as Staple Hall, the wool-
stapler's exchange, still faces Gray's Inn Road from the
south side of Holborn, although it was partially blocked
by Middle Row, which, until 1867, filled the middle of the
present Holborn.
The front of Staple Inn — one of the most picturesque
structures in London — of timber, with overhanging stories
and numerous gables, may date from times even earlier
than the reign of Elizabeth.
The greater part of the inner court was built in the
first half of the eighteenth century, some portions being
dated 1720 and 1750.
The Hall may possibly be Elizabethan, as it is mentioned
by Sir George Bere in 1631, but part is later, the beautiful
Gothic door on the garden front bearing the date 1753.
There is the usual clock and a small turret — "the most
perfect," says Mr. Loftie, "in London" — and in the
windows are a few armorial bearings.
It is said to have been an Inn of Chancery as early as
the reign of Henry V. The first grant of the inheritance
to Gray's Inn took place in the twentieth year of
Henry VIII.
The arms of the Inn are. Azure, a woolpack, argent,
showing its connection with the wool merchants. In
1884, when the Inn was put up for sale by the antients,
the Prudential Assurance Company, with great public
spirit, invested a part of its earnings — ;^68,ooo to wit —
on its purchase, with the intention not of utilising a
grand building site, but of maintaining the property in
its ancient form, although by so doing they were forced
THE INNS OF CHANCERY 243
to be content with but a moderate return on their outlay.
The charming- old Hall has been put into thorough
repair, and tenants for it were readily found in the
Society of Actuaries.
To Staple Inn in 1758 came Dr. Johnson with the
honours of his g-reat dictionary fresh upon him, and here
it was that he wrote his Rasselas. Hence he removed
the following- year to Gray's Inn, and from the latter in
due course to No. i. Inner Temple Lane.
Barnard's, or Bernard's, Inn lies but a little east of
Staple Inn on the same side of Holborn, adjoining
Fetter Lane. It was originally known as Mackworth's
Inn, and was the property of John Mackworth, Dean of
Lincoln, a member of the powerful family of Mackworth
of Mackworth in the county of Derby. Dean Mackworth
died in 1451, devising by his will "one messuage in
Holborn called Mackworth's Inne " to the cathedral
church of Lincoln for the masses for the repose of his
soul.
It was shortly after the death of the dean that Mack-
worth's Inn passed into the hands of the lawyers, for in
the Records of the Chapter House at Lincoln occurs an
entry of the receipt of jQt^ ly. ^d., as the annual rent, from
Thomas Chambre, then principal of the Inn. A passage
in the Harleian Manuscripts confirms this. During the life
of the dean the Inn appears to have been let to Lionel
Bernard, and was probably used by him as his private
residence, since he is described as having dwelt there
"lastly next before the conversion thereof into an Inn of
Chancery."
From this gentleman no doubt is derived the present
name of the Inn. In the Inquisition of 1454 occurs the
name of Barnard's Inn, and it seems clear that immediately
after the dean's death the society of Barnard's Inn, what-
ever the duration of its existence, was then housed here,
for Stow relates how, in 1451, "a tumult betwixt the
244 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
gentlemen of the innes of court and chancery and the
citizens of London, hapning in Fleet Street in which
some mischief was done ; the principals of Clifford's
Inne, Furnival's Inne and Barnard's Inne were sent
prisoners to Hartford Castle."
The following description of the Inn as it appeared in
1888 may be cited from the Times of that year : —
"Passing along Holborn on the south side, a few
doors west of Fetter Lane, one may notice an old-
fashioned doorway standing guard over a narrow passage.
A few steps down this passage, and, in the words of a
recent historian of London, one finds oneself ' transported
into another century, and sees what might be the actual
scenery of one of Dr. Hooghe's pictures.' A small court-
yard made bright by a tree or two is surrounded on three
sides by sober-looking brick houses, and on the fourth by
a building which stained glass windows, high-pitched roof,
and picturesque fifteenth -century louvre unmistakably
declare to be the hall of the Lin. The way passes by
the door of the hall into another small court, upon one
side of which is the library, and on the other the kitchen.
Beyond are other houses facing a small railed enclosure
with a few trees, and then the passage loses itself in a
considerable gravelled area, from which spring some
planes and limes of fair size. This is the garden of the
Inn, and several favoured sets of chambers look upon it.
On the south it is separated by a wall from the old inn
yard of the White Horse Tavern, and on the east a
passage leads between gabled and timbered houses into
Fetter Lane."
The Hall is one of the most ancient in London. It was
in existence in 145 1, and was originally a black and white
structure like the Cheshire timbered houses, which in the
eighteenth century was cased in brick, and its character,
externally at least, destroyed. It boasts an open timber
roof, and some of the armorial glass in the windows dates
from the year 1500.
Although the smallest of the halls, it is perhaps the
z
u
THE INNS OF CHANCERY 245
most interesting. Here formerly hung- portraits of Lord
Burleigh, Francis Bacon, and Sir Thomas Coventry,
together with a full-length representation of Chief Justice
Holt, presented by his clerk, Sylvester Petyt, a principal
of the Inn. There were also portraits of Petyt himself,
of William HI., of Sir William Daniel, a Justice of the
Common Pleas, and of other legal celebrities connected
with the society.
In the Gordon Riots of 1780 the Inn narrowly escaped
total destruction. Adjoining the Inn was a distillery
owned by Langdale, a papist ; and the rioters, upon their
return from ransacking Lord Mansfield's mansion in
Lincoln's Inn Fields, attacked the distillery and set fire
to it, when, owing to the immense quantities of spirits,
the whole place became a roaring furnace. A block ot
chambers belonging to the Inn, now represented by
Nos. 6 and 7, was burned to the ground, and the flames
licked the walls of the Hall.
A graphic description of this riotous scene, with the
mob fighting in the gutters for the spirits as they poured
from the distillery, is given by Charles Dickens in Barnaby
Rudge : —
" But there was a worse spectacle than this — worse by
far than fire or smoke or even the rabble's unappeasable
and frantic rage. The gutters of Holborn and every
crack and fissure of the stones ran with scorching spirit,
which, being dammed up by busy hands, overflowed the
road and pavement and formed a great pool, in which
people dropped down dead by dozens. They lay in heaps
all round the fearful pool, husbands and wives, fathers
and sons, mothers and daughters, women with children
in their arms and babies at their breasts, and drank until
they died. While some stooped with their lips to the
brink and never raised their heads again, others sprang
up from their fiery draught and danced in a mad triumph
and half in the agony of sufi"ocation until they fell and
steeped their corpses in the liquor which had killed them.
Nor was even that the worst or most appalling kind of
246 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
death that happened on this fatal night. From the burn-
ing cellars, where they drank out of hats, pails, buckets,
tubs, and shoes, some men were drawn alive, but all
alight from head to foot, who in their unendurable anguish
and suffering, making for anything that had the look of
water, rolled hissing into this hideous lake, and splashed
up liquid fire, which lapped in all it met as it ran along
the surface, and neither spared the living nor dead. On
this last night of the riots — for the last night it was — the
wretched victims of a senseless outcry became themselves
the dust and ashes of the flames they had kindled, and
strewed the public streets of London."
The Inn consists of two courts, and from the old garden
in the inner quadrangle was once a thoroughfare into
Fetter Lane.
In chambers here lodged William Hayley, the poet and
biographer of Cowper ; and here too early in the nineteenth
century dwelt Peter Woulfe, f.r.s., said to have been
"the last true believer in alchemy." The floors of his
chambers were littered with every imaginable utensil for
the exercise of his art, and the walls were inscribed with
prayers in aid of his experiments. The constant failure of
these in discovering the elixir of life the eccentric Woulfe
attributed to the insufficiency of his supplications.
The arms of the society, which was governed by a
principal, a gubernator, and twelve antients, were those
of the Mack worths of Mackworth in Derbyshire, viz.,
Party per pale indented, ermine and sable, a chevron
frettee, or and gules.
The Inn is now the property of the Mercers' Company,
and is used as a school.
CHAPTER XII
THE TEMPLE GARDENS
THE
di
HE gardens are very
ifFerent to-day from
what they were when the
respective champions of the
Houses of York and Lan-
caster plucked the red and
the white roses in angry
defiance.
In 1528 the new river wall
was built under the auspices
of Treasurer Packington,
before which date there was
nothing to protect the gar-
dens and buildings from an
extra high tide.
This wall started from the Friars' Wall, at about the
site of the present No. 10 or 11, King's Bench Walk, and
ran due west to the southernmost end of the present
Paper Buildings, in digging the foundations for which the
remains of the old wall were discovered.
Continuing slightly south, it struck the Temple Stairs,
consisting of arches forming a causeway, with steps lead-
ing down to the water. This bridge or pier existed as
early as 131 1.
From the stairs the wall turned slightly northwards,
247
MfDDIE^' TEIvlPE. GAF^^ENI
CA.TE VNfDER,THE UJBF^(\RY
STAIRS^ ■ '
248 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
ending on a line with the old Essex House Stairs, near
the foot of the present Watergate, at the bottom of Essex
Street. Outside the wall along the bank ran a pathway
from Bridewell to the Savoy.
Since the construction of this wall, by successive em-
bankments, and finally by the Thames Embankment,
both the gardens have been more than doubled in extent.
The Inner Temple garden, known as the Great Garden,
which lay between the Hall and the river wall and White-
friars and Middle Temple Lane, has changed least. From
the earliest times it seems to have been well planted with
trees and carefully cultivated, with lawns and walks and
borders filled with roses and flowering shrubs.
Approximately on the site of No. lo, King's Bench
Walk, against the old river wall, stood the gardener's
house and garden. In 1545 the gardener was ejected for
having sickness and the plague in his house, keeping ill
rule, and cutting down the trees ; and in 1580, apparently
upon the principle that the poacher makes the best game-
keeper, the gardener's ancient rent of ^4 a year was to
be remitted provided he kept the House free from all
"rogues and beggars, which be found very dangerous
both in respect of health as for robbing of chambers."
With the erection of buildings upon the site of Paper
Buildings the Great Garden was cut in two, and the
smaller portion became parcel of the Great Walk or
Bencher's Walk, now known as King's Bench Walk.
In the reign of James I. new seats were provided for
the Great Garden, a new pump erected, and a pond,
which has long since disappeared, was excavated and en-
closed by a railing at a total cost of £28 10s. Periodical
payments for "wire to nail up the rose trees in the
garden" occur in the accounts, in which also figure 15^.
for a sundial for the garden purchased in 161 9 ; 6s. 6d. for
ten young elm trees for the garden walks, and ^Qi 9^. 6d.
for the purchase in 162 1 of a new stone roller in an iron
THE TEMPLE GARDENS 249
frame. In 1606 we find the gardener again in trouble, for
an inquiry is directed "as to the under-cook's horse,
supposed to be killed by the gardener in the yard next
the garden."
Every well-ordered garden contains a summer-house,
so it is not surprising to find in the accounts for 1631 a
payment to William Newman, the plasterer, of 10^. for
** work done about the summer-house in the garden."
This summer-house was perhaps on the site of the new
one built by John Banks in the year 1703, between the
old Crown Office and the new Harcourt Buildings, In
1693 the greefihotise was ordered to be re-roofed with lead
and wainscoted. This was evidently used as a place of
recreation, for in 17 10 a table and sconces were provided.
During the Commonwealth considerable sums were
expended upon the garden. The principal item in the
garden accounts of ^429 14^. 5^'. was for laying new
turf, which was brought from Greenwich Park in lighters
in the spring of 165 1.
P'rom the time of the Commonwealth the garden
appears to have been much neglected, but in the year
1670 the large sum of ;^203 los. was expended in new
gravelling the walks. The gardener at this period had a
house in Middle Temple Lane, part of which he let out as
chambers to members of the Inn, and part of which he
used as an alehouse. In 1690 an order was made by the
Bench "that the gardener no longer keep an alehouse or
sell drink, and that the door out of the gardener's lodge
towards the Watergate be bricked up."
This house was demolished in 1703 to make way for
Harcourt Buildings. In the accounts for 1700 we find
payments for thirty elms, two standard laurels, four
"perimic," six junipers, four hollies, and two perimic
box trees. "Perimic" here no doubt stands for "peri-
metric," that is, the box trees were cut in the prevailing
symmetrical fashion.
250 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
In 1703 fifteen yew trees were ordered for the garden,
two hundred " junquiles," two hundred tulips, one hundred
yellow Dutch crocus, fifty armathagalum, and four more
box trees for the grass plots ; ;^i i for box edging is spent
in 1708, and in the accounts throughout this period are
payments for cherry, nectarine, orange, peach, plum, and
THL " BLAC
BOY
lime trees, and for jessamine and cockle shells for the
walks.
The sundial now opposite Crown Oflfice Row was pur-
chased in 1707, and in 1730 the great gate, a beautiful
specimen of eighteenth-century wrought-iron work, was
erected. It bears, in addition to the device of the winged
horse, the arms of Gray's Inn, in compliment to its ancient
ally, a compliment returned by the latter society, which
THE TEMPLE G.VRDENS 251
introduced the arms of the Inner Temple hi the g-ate to
Gray's Inn Gardens.
In that part of the garden near the bottom of King's
Bench Walk is to be found a kneeling black figure
supporting a sundial. This was brought comparatively
recently from Clement's Inn. It is said by Ireland to
have been presented to the latter society by Lord Clare,
who brought it from Italy about the year 1700. Accord-
ing to Ireland the figure is bronze, but some ingenious
persons, having determined on making it a blackamoor,
painted it black. Mr. Loftie, on the contrary, assumes it
to be lead, and says that numbers of similar leaden
statues were made at a "statuary's" in Piccadilly a
century and a half ago.
The following lines were one day found attached to this
statue : —
" In vain, poor sable son of woe,
Thou seek'st the tender tear ;
From thee in vain with pangs they flow,
For niercy dwells not here.
From cannibals thou fled'st in vain ;
Lawj'ers less quarter give ;
The first won't eat you till you're slain,
The last will do't alive."
Here and in the Middle Temple Garden in the eighteenth
century the Court ladies, in hoops and patches, took
the air with the young bloods about town. And here
one may also picture the good knight. Sir Roger de
Coverley, and Mr. Spectator, with his short face, pacing
the green together, with groups of City merchants with
their wives and children sauntering along the broad
gravel walk by the river wall. Later still, on a certain
Sunday evening, Arthur Pendennis was to be found in
the summer-house, and here, of course quite by accident,
he tumbled across pretty F'anny Bolton, when he ought
to have been engaged in solitary meditation.
252 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Undoubtedly it would be hard to find in this great city
a more ideal spot for meditation upon the centuries rolling
down the broadening stream of time. Here with closed
eyes and fancy free we may wander to the far-off time
when, through the forest glade, a British youth and
maiden, on love's errand bound, pass hand in hand, un-
mindful of the Roman city within its walls, across the
marsh. Next may we picture a sloping mead, which
from the Saxon homestead drops to meet the flowing tide ;
or, later still, in Norman times, when those proud
Templars — half priests, half warriors — from orchard and
vineyard gathered their rich store of fruit. And with
their fall, as seems befitting, for many years we gaze upon
an unkempt waste, until the lawyers, having reduced the
law to order out of chaos, make it once more a flowery
oasis. Now memories less shadowy begin to crowd upon
us. In some graceful lines Mr. John Hutchinson, Librarian
to the Middle Temple, has given expression to some such
thoughts as these, with which the spirit of the place
affects us all alike : — -
" Here as I sit, where rolls the river by,
Or where the fountain, as it falls and springs,
Brings to the vacant mind the memory
Of streams and rills and woodland murmurings,
And dreams of far-off drowsy country things.
Here as I sit or walk dim paths along,
The shadows of the past around me flit and throng.
"The shadows of the Past— the mighty Dead,
Whose names are oracles, whose words were law;
Whose wisdom lives in tomes, if little read,
The objects yet of reverence and awe,
Whence smaller wits, as from a mine, may draw
Material, which skilfully outspread
May gain them fair renown, and class them with the dead.
1 Anglo-Saxon Review, vol. x., Sep., 1901.
"1
CHAPTER XIII
THE TEMPLE STAIRS
T
Temple in the Reign of James
HE earliest reference to
the Temple Stairs, or
Temple Bridg-e, as it was
called up to the eighteenth
century, occurs, as we have
seen, in the letter of Edward
HI., in the third year of his
reign, to the Mayor. It is
said, and probably with truth,
to have been built by the
Knights Templars, and it
was restored by order of Edward III. in 1331.
Another reference to the "Pons Novi Templi " occurs
in a subsequent letter of the same monarch, in which he
commands the Templars to repair the bridge, so that his
lords and others who attended the Parliament at West-
minster might not be inconvenienced. In some excava-
tions in the Strand, east of St. Clement's Church, in 1802,
a stone bridge of a single arch, covered with soil to some
depth, was discovered. This would imply a stream or
ditch between the New Temple and Pickett's Field, and
possibly this is the bridge referred to, by which those
coming from the City would cross to the Temple and so
to the stairs at the bottom of Middle Temple Lane.
Here in 1441, as we learn from Stow, landed Dame
253
254 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester, robed in a white
sheet, with lighted taper in hand, on her way through
Fleet Street to fulfil her appointed penance at old St.
Paul's. Her confederates in the alleged acts of witch-
craft against the young King Henry suffered the extreme
penalty of the law, but Dame Eleanor was allowed to
retire to the Isle of Man, where in Peel Castle her ghost
is said still to roam.
We next hear of the Temple Bridge when, in 1541,
there was a conference between the two societies relating to
its repair. What came of the conference is unknown,
but in 1584 the bridge was repaired with the aid of a
subscription from the Queen herself.
In 1620, however, "a new bridge and stairs" were
ordered to be built, and the Treasurer was admonished
"to take care that the bargain be made for the best of
both Houses." That the Treasurer, who was Sir Thomas
Coventry, was not entirely successful appears from the
accounts, where numerous heavy charges for the new
bridge occur for many years. An order was passed in
1703 for the repair of the bridge, " at the equal charge of
both Temples," and three years later the stairs were
ordered to be "amended."
In the great frost of 1683 the Temple stairs played an
important part. This frost commenced early in December,
and lasted continuously up to the 8th of February.
On January ist, as we learn from Evelyn, booths were
set up on the ice, and coaches, carts, and horses passed
to and fro. The frost becoming more severe, the booths
were arranged in formal streets, "all sorts of trades and
shops furnished and full of commodities, even to a
printing press where ye people and ladyes tooke a fancy
to have their names printed, and the day and yeare set
down when printed on the Thames." Coaches, he adds,
"plied from Westminster to the Temple, and from several
other staires to and fro, as in the streets, sleds, sliding
THE TEMPLE STAIRS 255
with skeetes, a bull-baiting, horse and coach races, puppet
plays and interludes, cookes, tipling, and other lewd
places, so that it seem'd to be a bacchanalian triumph
or carnival on the water, whilst it was a severe judgment
on the land, the trees not only splitting as if lightening
struck, but men and cattle perishing in divers places, and
the very seas so locked up with ice that no vessells could
stirr out or come in."
As late as February 5th Evelyn tells us he crossed the
river in his coach from Lambeth to the Horseferry.
The illustration of this scene here given was taken on
February 4th, the day before the first thaw, and is supposed
to be the work of Thomas Wyck, a well-known artist of
the seventeenth century. It gives a good view of the
stairs and of the lower buildings in King's Bench Walk.
The street of booths just opposite, stretching across the
river, was known as "Temple Street." Charles II. was
a frequent visitor to the *' Frost Fair," as this ice carnival
was called, and a card commemorating one of his visits,
printed by G. Groom on the ice, on January 31st, 1684, is
still in existence. He and the Queen are said to have
been present when an ox was roasted whole on the ice,
and even to have eaten a portion of it.
It is to these stairs that we are introduced by Addison
in his account of Sir Roger de Coverley in the Spectator
for 1712 : —
" We were no sooner come to the Temple stairs but we
were surrounded with a crowd of watermen offering us
their respective services. Sir Roger, after having looked
about him very attentively, spied one with a wooden leg,
and immediately gave orders to get his boat ready."
When the steamboats had destroyed the watermen's
business, the stairs were abandoned, the pier at Essex
Stairs being used, and from 1840 the gates at the Temple
Stairs were kept locked, on account of the disorderly
persons who began to frequent the spot. Upon the
256 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
construction of the Embankment in 1865 the old Temple
Stairs were removed, and the present Temple Pier built
as a substitute for the use of the members of the two
societies, but the Thames watermen and their wherries
have long succumbed to the " Underground " and the
penny " bus."
CHAPTER XIV
THE DEVIL'S OWN
T
Badge of the
" Devil's Own."
de Warren,
^HE pen is mightier than the sword,
but the Templars have ever been
ready at times of national emergencies
to exchange their more innocent-looking,
but none the less deadly, quills for martial
weapons. Centuries before the lawyers
made their home in the Temple many of
the judges had engaged in military enter-
prises. William FitzOsborne, Odo of
Bayeux, Geoffrey of Constance, William
Robert, Earl of Morton, and Richard
Fitzgerald, all afterwards judges, played leading parts
at the Battle of Hastings.
And in later years the judges did not hesitate to leave
the bench for the saddle. In 1 138 Walter Espec, Justiciar,
commanded at the Battle of the Standard. Several of
the justices fought in the wars of King John, and it was
Hubert de Burgh, Chief Justiciary, and William Mare-
schal. Justiciar, who defeated the French at the battles of
Dover and Lincoln in 1216. On the disastrous field below
Stirling Castle the English forces were led to defeat by
Hugh de Cressingham, Justice Itinerant.
A few years later, on the 22nd May, 1305, just before
the dissolution of the Order of the Knights Templars,
the Temple Gardens were the scene of one of the most
s 2S7
258 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
brilliant military spectacles ever held. Tidings of the
rising" of Robert Bruce having reached London, Edward I,
decided to knight his son and other young men of birth
before sending them to put down the insurrection. Tents
for the candidates were raised in the gardens, and so
numerous were the aspirants for knighthood, some 270,
that the trees had to be cut down to give place for their
temporary abodes. In the Temple Church, as was
customary, they kept vigil with their arms through the
night, and were knighted by the King on the following
morning, and entertained to a banquet later in the day.
At Crecy the judges were represented by Robert Bouchier,
Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland, and Richard
le Scrope, afterwards Chancellor, the latter of whom also
fought at Neville's Cross and in the great sea fight at
Rye. John de Delves, afterwards Keeper of the Great
Seal, distinguished himself at Poitiers, and Chancellor
Beaufort held high command at Agincourt.
We have already alluded to the attack on the Temple
in 1381 by Wat the Tyler, and the loss of their papers
would seem to show that the Templars made no organ-
ised effort at defence. Nor is there any evidence of
organised factions during the Wars of the Roses, beyond
the tradition immortalised by Shakespeare of the plucking
of the red and white roses in the Temple Garden by the
leaders of the rival houses of York and Lancaster.
But numerous lawyers took part individually on one
side or the other. John Fortescue, Chief Justice, was
at the battles of Towton and Tewkesbury ; Richard
Neville, Chancellor to Henry VI. and father of the
king-maker, was taken prisoner at Wakefield and be-
headed the following day ; and Thomas Thorpe, a Baron
of the Exchequer, met with the same fate at the Battle
of Northampton.
Thomas Weswyke, Recorder of the City and after-
wards Chief Baron of the Exchequer, assisted in re-
THE DEVIi;S OWN 259
pelHng the assault of the Lancastrians upon the City
in 1467.
There is a record of an encounter in the following"
century — to be precise, on June 12th, 1554— between the
Lord Warden of Kent's servants and the members of
the Inns of Court, in which some were " sleyn and
hurt " ; but whether this was a mere faction fight, or
whether the lawyers took up arms in defence of their
privileges, does not appear.
The first recorded embodiment then of the members of
the Inns of Court and Chancery took place at the time
of the Spanish Armada. In 1584 local associations were
formed to resist the threatened invasion, and the lawyers
were not behindhand in giving" proof of their loyalty.
The original deed of association relating to Lincoln's
Inn is still in existence and amongst the Egerton Papers
now in the possession of the Earl of Ellesmere, whose
ancestor, Thomas Egerton, then Solicitor-General and
afterwards Chancellor, was the first to sign it. A repro-
duction of this document now hangs in the Drill Hall.
A similar association was formed on November 3rd
in the same year in the Inner Temple, and an oath taken
by the Fellows "to serve and protect her from all who
may harm her person."
Towards the end of James I.'s reign a scare as to
military efficiency sprang up, and it was proposed to
establish riding schools throughout the country. In con-
sequence one of the first acts of Charles I. upon his
accession was to address a circular to the Benchers of
the Inns of Court, calling upon them to require their
students to exercise themselves in arms, and particularly
in horsemanship, in which the English nation was said
to be very deficient. An immediate result was the appear-
ance of the mounted gentlemen of the Inns of Court,
properly armed and equipped, in the celebrated masque
of 1633 already described.
26o THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Their next appearance was upon a more serious occa-
sion. Upon the attempted arrest of the Five Members
in January, 1642, they marched down to Westminster,
500 strong, and expressed in no uncertain terms their
determination to protect their sovereign from insult,
offering themselves as a bodyguard. This offer was
graciously accepted, and at Westminster they remained
for some days ; their threat to bring up their tenants
from the country created somewhat of a panic in the
House, and four members were sent off in haste to
ascertain from the Benchers their intentions.
The reply of the four Inns was reassuring: "That
they had only an intent to defend the King's person, and
would likewise to their utmost also defend the Parlia-
ment, being not able to make any distinction between
King and Parliament, and that they would ever express
all true affection to the House of Commons in particular."
Upon the outbreak of the Civil War Charles, who had
already formed a highly favourable opinion of the gentle-
men of the Inns of Court, commissioned Lord Lyttelton,
Keeper of the Great Seal, to raise a regiment of foot
from their ranks " for the security of the Universitie and
Cittie of Oxford."
Lyttelton died of a chill contracted whilst drilling
his recruits, and was succeeded in command, as already
related, by Chief Justice Heath.
A cavalry regiment was also raised, as we learn from
a letter of the Countess of Sussex at St. Albans to Sir
R. Verney, in which she writes: "The Inns of Court
Gentlemen to guard my Lord's person is come too, they
say very fine and well horsed."
The Royalists, as we have seen, were far from com-
manding the allegiance of all members of the Inns of
Court. Oliver Cromwell, a member of Lincoln's Inn,
when Captain of the 67th or Slepe Troop of the Essex
Association, is said to have occupied chambers in the
THE DEVIUS OWN 261
old gateway of Lincoln's Inn, in Chancery Lane, and
thence corresponded with Oliver St. John, his fellow-
member, and John Hampden, of the Inner.
In the Revolution of 1688 the Inns of Court do not
appear to have taken any official part, but individual
members were actively engaged.
On one of the columns in the Temple Church was a
tablet to William Cock, Esq., of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
a volunteer at the Battle of La Hogue, 1692, in which
he so distinguished himself that, through the patronage
of the Hon. George Churchill, brother of the great Duke
of Marlborough, he obtained the command of several
ships of war in the reigns of William, Anne, and
George I. He died 1724, aged forty-nine.
Upon the rising of the Young Pretender in 1745, a
regiment of volunteers was raised in the Inns of Court by
Chief Justice Willes for the defence of the King's person.
Willes was to have been colonel, but with the retreat of
the rebels the danger passed, and his commission was
nev^er signed.
After the French Revolution the fear of an invasion by
our neighbours across the Channel excited the martial
ardour of the whole people, and none were more active
in encouraging the volunteer movement than the gentle-
men of the Inns of Court. Embodied in 1803, they took
part in the great review of some 27,000 volunteers, held
on October 26th and 28th in Hyde Park before George HI.
As the Temple companies marched past, the King
inquired of Erskine, their lieutenant-colonel, what was
the composition of that corps. "They are all lawyers,
sire," replied Erskine. "What! what!" exclaimed the
King, "all lawyers— all lawyers? Call them the Devil's
Own, call them the Devil's Own"; and the "Devil's Own"
they are called to this day. The Lincoln's Inn corps was
commanded by Sir William Grant, then Master of the
Rolls, who had seen active service in Canada, when in
262 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
1775 he commanded a body of volunteers at the siege of
Quebec, against the attack of the Americans under
General Montgomery and Colonel Arnold. At the time
of the review there appear to have been two corps, one
the Bloomsbury and Inns of Court Association, and the
other the Legal Association. When the Government of
the day subsequently endeavoured to deprive the volunteers
of their right to resign, Erskine argued in their defence,
and the judges supported his view by deciding that the
service was entirely voluntar}^
Lord Erskine served both in the army and the navy.
In 1764 he joined the Tartar as a midshipman, and after
four years' service he left the navy and entered the army
as an ensign in the Royals, or First Regiment of Foot.
Abandoning the profession of arms in 1775, he was
admitted to Lincoln's Inn to commence a career which
led him to the Woolsack.
In 1859, owing to a threatened war with France, the
volunteer movement again came to the front, and a
petition was presented to the Benchers of the Middle
Temple, praying for the use of the Hall in which to
discuss the formation of a volunteer corps. Amongst
the signatories are some well-known names — Adolphus
Liddell, Staveley Hill, William Vernon Harcourt, John
Duke Coleridge, and Joseph Kaye.
The outcome of the meeting was the formation of
"The Inns of Court Volunteer Corps," which was
enrolled on January 12th, i860, as the 23rd Middlesex,
a number since changed to the 14th Middlesex. In the
same year this corps took part in a great review before
the Queen. Prominent members of this corps were, and
in a few instances still are. Lord Campbell, son of the
Chancellor ; Lord Herschell, Lords Justices Cotton,
Thesiger, Lopes, Baggallay, Chitty, Sir William Grantham,
Sir Edward Clarke, and Mr. Justice Willes. Of the
latter the sergeant-major, Dod, once remarked with
THE DEVIL'S OWN 263
soldierly bluntness that Willes mig-ht be "a damned
good judge, but he was a damned bad drill."
For the South African War some forty men were
selected from the Inns of Court for service with the
specially raised City Imperial Volunteers, popularly
known as the C. I.V. The whole of this corps was
entertained before embarking for the front to banquets,
one in the Inner Temple Hall, and the other in the Middle
Temple Hall. At the former Sir William Grantham
presided, and bid them godspeed.
Amongst other military members of the Inns of Court
who have distinguished themselves must be mentioned
Mr. Kenyon-Parker, a Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn, who
served as a lieutenant of Marines in the well-known
action between the Monarch and some French frigates in
1806, in the Walcheren expedition in i8og, and in the
attack and destruction of the batteries on the island of
Ragnosniza. Sir Henry Havelock, of Indian Mutiny
fame, we have already mentioned ; but the names of
General Herbert Stewart, who died of wounds received
at Abu Klea, and of Sir Evelyn Wood, v.c, must not be
omitted.
CHAPTER XV
TEMPLE BAR
T'
EMPLE BAR, althoug-h not within
the Temple, is too closely associated
with its history to be passed unnoticed.
"Anciently," says Strype, "there were
only posts, rails, and a chain, such as
are now in Holborn, Smithfield, and
Whitechapel bars. Afterwards there
was a house of timber erected across
the street, with a narrow gfateway and
an entry on the south side of it under
the house."
This building was certainly there in
the reign of Henry VIII., and the stone
gate-house, as many of us remember it,
was erected in the years 1670-2. It
marked not the boundary of the City
proper, but the later extension known as
the Liberty of the City, which it separated
from the Liberty of the City of Westminster, and became
the scene of many historical pageants. The latest was the
reception of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria by the Lord
Mayor in the Diamond Jubilee progress through the City,
when the keys were here presented to the Queen, and
duly restored by Her Majesty to the City's representative.
Temple Bar has figured in many a pageant and many a
264
THE-
Gl^lFFIN-
TEMPLE BAR 265
tragedy. Here came Bloody Mary on her way into the
City to be proclaimed, and here the Lord Mayor deHvered
up the City sword to good Queen Bess when she rode to
St. Paul's to return thanks for the glorious victory over
the mighty galleons of Spain. On this occasion, as we
learn from an entry in the Black Books of Lincoln's Inn,
the gentlemen of the Inns of Court were present in a
stand specially allotted to them. This entry consists of
an item of ^3 i i.y. paid to Philip Cole, under-Treasurer
of the Middle Temple, being one quarter of the charges
for the rails and cloth used in the stand. Stow relates
how the City companies " stoode in their rayles covered
with blew cloth," and doubtless the stand of the Inns of
Court was similar.
At Temple Bar the same scene was enacted in honour
of Charles the Martyr, Cromwell the Protector, and
Charles the Selfish Idler.
Here Evelyn, in his eighty-fourth year, stood and
witnessed the same ceremonial when Queen Anne was
received at Temple Bar by the Mayor, and presented with
the sword which she returned. The Queen "rode in a
coach with eight horses, none with her but the Duchess
of Marlborough in a very plain garment, the Queen full
of Jewells."
And from his day the old gateway has cast its shadow-
over the head of every sovereign and every popular hero.
At Temple Bar, too, mobs have burned in effigy Popes
and every other obnoxious personage. Guilty and inno-
cent alike have suffered the ignominy and outrage of the
pillory. In 1679 the infamous Titus Oates expiated here
a portion of his outrageous crimes, and later still De Foe
stood in his place.
In delivering sentence upon Oates, Mr. Justice Withers
said : "I never pronounce sentence but with some com-
passion ; but you are such a villain and hardened sinner
that I can find no sentiment of compassion for you."
266 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
A strong Whig and supporter of William, with the
return to power of the Tories upon the accession of Anne,
Daniel De Foe was sufficiently indiscreet to reprint his
Shortest Way with the Dissenters, which was ordered by
Parliament to be burnt by the hangman in New Palace
Yard.
De Foe had fought for Monmouth and opposed James ;
he had been the favourite and panegyrist of William ; he
had vindicated the principles of the Revolution and de-
fended the rights of the people. When the wheel of
fortune brought back the outraged Tories whom he had
bitterly attacked, De Foe was put in the pillory at Temple
Bar, but the good citizens of London, remembering his
labours in their cause, instead of pelting him with brick-
bats and rotten eggs, smothered him with bouquets of
flowers. " Thus," he says, " I was a second time ruined,
for by this affair I lost above ^3,500."
Pope makes allusion to this " aftair " in the following
lines : — •
" Earless on hig-h stood unabashed De Foe
And Tutchin flagrant from the scenes below."
And De Foe himself, in his Hymn to the Pillory, thus
describes his position on that occasion : —
" Exalted on thy stool of state,
What prospect do I see of future fate?
How the inscrutables of Providence
Differ from our contracted sense ;
Hereby the errors of the town
That fools look out and knaves look on."
As at London Bridge and Westminster Hall, the heads
of traitors grinned their ghastly warning to the passers by.
The heads of the rebels of '45 were still rotting there
when Dr. Johnson passed the gateway on his way to his
chambers in hiner Temple Lane.
In the room over the archway were stored the ledgers
from Child's Bank.
TEMPLE BAR 267
Upon the widening' of the Strand and the erection of
the Law Courts, Temple Bar was pulled down and re-
moved to Meux Park, near Enfield, where it has been
rebuilt, and may still be seen. Its place has been marked
by the present Temple Bar memorial, erected in 1880,
consisting of a column surmounted by a bronze figure of
a griffin, representing the City arms. In one of the
niches is a statue of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria,
wearing her crown and carrying the orb and sceptre.
This monument is vulgarly known as "The Griffin."
CHAPTER XVI
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE AND
SOME OF THEIR INMATES.
MlDDlE^' TEMP E,' GA TEVC^^
A WRITER in Black-
imod, quoting the
old proverb, "The Inner
Temple for the rich, the
Middle for the poor," says
few great men have come
from the Middle Temple.
Although it is true that
the list of great men be-
longing to this society is
not so long as that of the
sister House, nevertheless the Society of the Middle
Temple has every reason to be proud of its members,
whose names are enrolled in the annals of history, law,
and letters. This society, indeed, as stated, until quite
recently claimed to be the parent body, and in support
of this contention pointed to the discovery of the founda-
tions of an ancient hall discovered in 1735, between
Pump Court and Elm Court, when digging for a well.
Whatever attempts may have been made by the Society
of the Middle Temple to assert its seniority over that of
the Inner and its title to precedence were settled once
for all at a meeting held on May i8th, 1620, before four
of the judges, viz. Sir Henry Montague (Lord Chief
268
•r.
u
o
'<
a
a
-1
a
i
i
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE IT.MPLE 269
Justice) and Mr. Justice Dodridge of the Middle, and
Lord Cliief Baron Tanfield and Baron Bromley of the
Inner, when it was decided that all the Societies of
Court stood upon an equal footing, " no one having right
to precedence before the other."
THE GATE-HOUSE
Before entering the Middle Temple one may well pause
to admire from Fleet Street the splendid gate-house,
erected by Wren in 1684 to replace an earlier one said
to have been designed and built by Sir Amias Pawlet.
The story goes that, about the year 1501, the worthy
knight had been so wanting in foresight as to put
Cardinal Wolsey, then the parson of Lymington, in the
village stocks. The Cardinal seems to have retained a
lively recollection of this indignity, and, sending for
him in 15 15, commanded him not to quit town until
further orders. " In consequence he lodged five or six
years in this gateway, which he rebuilt, and to pacify
his eminence adorned the front with the Cardinal's cap,
badges, cognizances, and other devices," together with
his own. Mr. Loftie states that Sir Amias built the
gateway in payment of a fine laid upon him by Wolsey,
but how this would benefit the Cardinal it is difficult to
conceive.
I find, however, that in 1520 a Sir Amisius Pawlett
was chosen Treasurer of the Middle, who is evidently the
Sir Amias of the above story, and there can be little
doubt that the gateway was built by the Inn in the
ordinary way. Pawlett's own arms would be accounted
for by the custom of inserting, in new buildings erected
by the Inn, the arms of the Treasurer for the time being,
whilst those of Wolsey might naturally be added as a
compliment to the reigning minister. Some writers say
that this gateway was burned down in the Great Fire,
whilst Mr. Loftie states that the stonework was so
2/0 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
mouldering- that the whole edifice had to be taken down.
The latter opinion is probably correct, since there is
evidence that the Great Fire did not spread even so far
west as the Inner Temple gateway, or the fire of 1678
further north than Hare Court and the northern portion
of Brick Court.
James Shirley, the poet, a member of Gray's Inn, was,
in 1666, living- in a house close to the Inner Temple
gateway. This was one of the last destroyed, but
Shirley only survived the loss of his property and the
horrors of the conflagration twenty-four hours. He was
the author of the TriumpJi of Peace and other pieces, some
of which appeared on the boards in the Inner Temple
Hall, as we have seen.
THE OLD POST HOUSE
Passing- under the archway, we observe a quaint old
building-, the ground floor occupied by a stationer ; and
on referring to Master Worseley's Observatio7is on the
Constitution, Customs, and Usage of the Honotirahle Society
of the Middle Temple, written in 1733 and only recently
published, we find that in that year there were " two
shops on the east side of the lane near the Great Gate,
the one occupied by a stationer, the other by a shoe-
maker." The latter, however, has disappeared, although
one was until lately to be found outside the west entrance,
in Devereux Court.
This building was formerly known as the *' Old Post
House," and was built in the reign of Elizabeth, if not
earlier, being then occupied, according to tradition, by
the Queen's printers. From the days of George I. to
the institution of the penny postal system in 1840 it was
also used as a post office ; hence its name. Two quaint
staircases give access to the upper rooms, those on each
floor forming a complete set of chambers.
Here in the eighteenth century numerous well-known
BFILDINCtS in the middle temple 2/1
works were published, such as Rowe's edition of Shake-
speare ; The Devout Christian's Companion, by Archbishop
Tillotson(i709); La Bruyere's Theophrastns {i^oc}); Swift's
Tale of a Tub (1739); W'hitelocke's Mcinoria/s of Eni^lis/i
Affairs ; the works of the Earls of Rochester and Ros-
common, and Sir Roi^er L'Estrangfe'syt>ir/»/(//^.
272 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
The old business of law stationers, printers, and pub-
lishers is still carried on by Messrs, Abram and Sons, in
whose family it has now been since 1774. In the course
of centuries the firm has accumulated a larg-e store of
ancient MSS., consisting" of old rolls, records, royal
gfrants, and deeds, dating from the reign of Elizabeth,
Irish army rolls of the Commonwealth, numerous letters
of historic interest, many relating to the naval war with
France at the end of the eighteenth century. Amongst
the books are two folio volumes in manuscript, illustrated
with most beautiful drawings by hand, containing a de-
scription of the castles, churches, and abbeys of England.
The drawings are dated 1772, and were executed by
Lieutenant Bond, whose son entered the service of the
firm when fourteen, and died whilst still in their employ-
ment aged eighty-four.
The present head of the firm is Mr. Ernest Abram, who
is always delighted to show his treasures to strangers
who appreciate such things.
The iron pillars upon which the house partly rests are
said to be those which Johnson, with that eccentricity not
always confined to genius, religiously touched on his way
through the Lane.
Nos. 2 and 3, Middle Temple Lane, were also standing
in 1733, and were probably in existence, together with the
Old Post House, at the time of Pawlet's gate-house.
CHILD'S PLACE
Immediately opposite, on the site of a modern extension
of Child's Bank, stood a row of small houses known as
Child's Place, so called after the wealthy goldsmith of
Charles II. 's time, whose premises with the sign of "Ye
Marygold" in Fleet Street adjoined the Temple. Entrance
was gained by a narrow passage from Fleet Street.
In 1739 F. Child is charged los. for a drain running from
the Palgrave's Head Court, now the site of Lloyds Bank.
BUILDINGS I\ THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 273
At Child's Bank, then " Blanchard and Child, Gold-
smiths," Charles himself banked, and Nell Gwynne,
Samuel Pepys, and Prince Rupert, whose valuable jewels
were disposed of by Francis Child in a lottery, the King"
himself distributing the tickets amongst the lords and
ladies of the Court. In the old ledgers may still be read
the items of the sums paid to Charles for the sale of
Dunkirk to the French.
Here too Roger North took the Lord Keeper Guilford's
fees, which were kept in his skull caps, the gold in one,
the silver crowns, half-crowns, and smaller coins in
others.
In his Tale of Two Cities Dickens has described Child's
Bank under the name of " Telson's " : —
"Thus it had come to pass that Telson's was the
triumphant perfection of inconvenience. After bursting
open a door of idiotic obstinacy with a weak rattle in its
throat, you fell into Telson's down two steps, and came
to your senses in a miserable little shop with two little
counters, where the oldest of men made your cheque
shake as if the wind rustled it, while they examined the
signature by the dingiest of windows, which were always
under a shower bath of mud from Fleet Street, and which
were made dingier by their own iron bars and the heavy
shadow of Temple Bar. If your business necessitated
your seeing ' the House,' you were put into a species of
condemned hold at the back, where you meditated on a
misspent life until the House came with hands in its
pockets, and you could hardly blink at it in the dismal
twilight."
THE DEVIL'S TAVERN
Child's Place was on part of the site of the ancient
Devil's Tavern, which had stood next to Child's on the
east since the days of James I., and here the firm erected
the row of houses mentioned above.
The Devil's Tavern, or No. 2, Fleet Street, flaunted the
sign of St. Dunstan tweaking the devil's nose. Here Ben
T
274 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Jonson presided over the Apollo Club, one of the first
institutions of the kind in London, and here with Shake-
speare, Fletcher, and Beaumont and other kindred spirits,
must have spent many a merry evening.
In Charles II. 's days the " Devil" became the haunt of
the lawyers and doctors. Here Steele and Bickerstaff
used to meet. Here Swift dined with Addison and Garth,
and here Colley Cibber, the poet laureate, used to recite
his verses.
Nearly a century later the Royal Society held its annual
dinner here, and in 1751, at the invitation of Dr. Johnson,
a supper was given by the club to Mrs. Lennox, in
celebration of her first novel, The Life of Harriet Stuart.
In 1788 the old tavern was pulled down and absorbed by
the bank.
On the east side of the Temple Gate was a shop said
to have been once occupied by the famous printer and
publisher, Wynkyn de Worde, recently rebuilt, and now
the premises of Messrs. Clowes and Sons, the well-known
law publishers. This statement, for which Pennant is
responsible, seems more than doubtful. In 1491 Wynkyn,
who succeeded Caxton in his business at Westminster,
removed to two houses next to St. Bride's Church, Fleet
Street, in one of which he carried on his printing business.
It was known by the sign of the "Sun." Shortly after
he opened another shop in St. Paul's Churchyard, at the
sign of " Divae Marie Pietatis." Even there his business
increased so much that he was obliged to give out much
of his work, so that it is quite possible that some of his
works were printed, if not published, at the shop next to
the Temple gateway.
FOUNTAIN COURT
Perhaps the most effective entrance into the Middle
Temple is through the little wrought-iron gate out of
Devereux Court in Essex Street into New Court, when
Bl'ILDINGS IX THE MIDDI>E TEMPLE 275
turning to the right we have at our feet Fountain Court,
with its fountain immortalised by Charles Dickens in
Martin Chuzslewi/, where John Westlock met Ruth
Pinch: "Brilliantly the Temple Fountain sparkled in
the sun, and laughing-ly its liquid music played, and
merrily the idle drops of water danced and danced, and.
The Little Gate of iiie iMiduli; Te.mim.e in New Court.
peeping out in sport among the trees, plunged lightly
down to hide themselves, as little Ruth and her companion
came towards it." And as we stand with our minds full
of such recollections, we are recalled to the stern realities
of life by the sight of the tired faces of men and women
seated on the benches beneath the trees, who come to this
little oasis of old-world peace, to escape, for but a brief
2^6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
moment, the noise and turmoil of the vast city outside
its walls.
Upon this scene Godfrey Turner has written in his
"Temple Fountain," published in W. G. Thornbury's
Two Centuries of Song —
" And — when others fled from town to lake and moor and mountain —
I have laid my trouble beside the Temple Fountain.
Pledg-e me straight the Benchers all, and pledg-e them in a brimmer.
May their lives be gladdened by the Fountain's pleasant shimmer,
May their shadows not be less while hereabouts they linger,
Holding friendlv button with communicative finger ;
May the Fountain ages hence keep babbling still their praises ;
Babbling, too, of pastures green, lambs, lovers' walks, and daisies."
And beyond them all the terrace with its ancient Hall,
where Queen Elizabeth danced and Shakespeare played ;
the green garden slope, decked here and there with gay
flower-beds ; the spot where Goldsmith wrote his Good-
Natured Man, the stately library, the home of learning ;
and further still the Embankment and the river, once the
highway between Westminster and the City.
Here is a beauty all its own ; no other place rivals its
peculiar charm.
BRICK COURT
Retracing our steps and continuing down the lane, we
come on our right to Brick Court, formerly known as
Brick Buildings, so called, it is said, from being the first
erections in brick in the Temple, and to which Spenser is
supposed to allude in the lines from the Prothalamion,
when, speaking of the wedding retinue of the Ladies
Somerset, they reached at last —
" Those bricky towers.
The which on Themmes brode aged back doe ride.
Where now the studious lawyers have their bowers,
There whilome went the Temple Knights to bide,
Till they decayed through pride."
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 277
If this be so, then Brick Buildings, said to have been
erected in the eleventh year of Elizabeth, rival the "Old
Post House " in antiquity, and here Goldsmith wrote his
immortal works and revelled, whilst the learned Black-
stone toiled below, and next door, a century later, Mr.
Nos 1 ^ i •
Brick Cov/rt *
Charles Russell "got up" his briefs, the greatest advocate
of modern times, destined to be known as one of the
greatest of a long line of eminent Chief Justices.
Goldsmith's first chambers in the Temple were on the
old library staircase, the present site of 2, Garden Court,
which he is said by Prior to have shared with Jeffs, the
butler of the Inn. He then appears to have removed to
278 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Gray's Inn in 1764, and shortly after, according to both
Prior and Mitford, took chambers for a short period at
3, King's Bench Walk. In 1765, however, he was
permanently established in chambers at 2, Brick Court,
up "two pair right." Flush with the proceeds of the
Good-Natured Man, he had purchased these chambers for
^400, and furnished them extravagantly with furniture up-
holstered in blue velvet, showy carpets, and gilt mirrors.
Here he spent his money faster than he made it, in dinners
to Johnson, Percy Reynolds, Bickerstaflf, Francis, Dr.
Arne, and other literary celebrities, and in supper parties
to young people of both sexes, much to the discomfiture
of the studious Blackstone, whose chambers were then
just below, and who, then hard at work on the fourth
volume of his famous Cojumentaries, complained
bitterly of the racket made "by his revelling neighbour."
Blackstone's successor, Mr. Children, made a similar
complaint.
Goldsmith describes how from his window he used to
watch the rooks. "I have often," he writes, "amused
myself with observing their plan of policy from my
window in the Temple that looks upon a grove where
they have made a colony in the midst of a city." The
elms in Elm Court were the "grove," long since cut
down.
In these chambers Goldsmith died in 1774, to the grief
of all those in the Temple, to whom he had endeared
himself, and was carried to his last resting-place in
Churchyard Court through groups of weeping women.
So little did the Benchers value him that all trace of his
tomb disappeared, and the low tombstone now in position
only approximately covers his remains.
In these chambers twenty years later a Miss Broderick
shot her lover, Mr. Eddington, who had deserted her.
The sundials are a special feature of the Temple, with
their quaint moral precepts.
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 279
"Swift flew the busy hours and swift
Their quiet shadows round the dials moved,
That in the Temple courtyards faced the sun."
Here in Brick Court the passer-by is informed that
"Time and tide tarry for no man," and from this time-
piece Goldsmith must often have taken the hour. This
sundial replaced an older one which perished in the fire
Goldsmith's
Tomb*
at the beginning- of the eighteenth century, a fire com-
memorated by the following inscription : " Phoenicis instar
revivisco: Martino Ryder, Thesaurario, 1704." The earlier
dial bore the odd motto, " Begone about your business,"
said to have been addressed by an absent-minded Trea-
surer of the dav to the lad from the dial-maker, who had
come for an appropriate inscription.
This explanation is ingenious, but highly improbable.
28o THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
This motto is one well known to archaeologists, and is
characteristic of such reminders of the flight of time and
the necessity of punctuality. It may be seen to-day on
the sundial upon a buttress of the church of St. James at
Bury St. Edmunds, as well as elsewhere.
Goldsmith, like Johnson, although living in the midst of
the law, does not appear to have held a very high opinion
of the lawyers of his day, for we find him saying in
The Good-Natiired Man that ' ' lawyers are always more
ready to get a man into troubles than out of them."
The name of Blackstone is now inseparably connected
with the study of English law, although we must not
forget the obligations under which he lies to his pre-
decessors, Viner, Comyns, Bacon, Hawkins, Hale, and
RoUe, from whose works, after the manner of legal
writers, whole paragraphs are bodily lifted.
Called by the Middle Temple in 1746, his progress at
the Bar was slow, and it was his lectures, which formed
the basis of his great work, that brought him into public
notice.
In 1763 he became Solicitor-General to the Queen and
a Master of the Bench. Returned in the new Parliament
of 1768, he declined the office of Solicitor-General, but in
1770 accepted a judgeship. His Commentaries appeared
in the years 1768-9.
Whether driven away by his roistering neighbour or
for some other reason, Blackstone left Brick Court and
occupied the ground floor left at 3, Pump Court, the
window of his room looking out into Elm Court.
Though a sober man, Blackstone is said by Lord
Stowell to have composed his Commentaries with a bottle
of port before him, and to have had his mind invigorated
and supported in the fatigue of his great work by a
moderate use of it. Other days, other manners. Few
modern physicians would prescribe this medicine for a
tired brain.
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 281
At Oxford Blackstone became the first Vinerian Pro-
fessor, an office founded upon the bequest of the copy-
rig-ht of Viner's Abridgment to the University by the
author.
Another disting-uished occupant of Brick Court a century
later was Sir Wilham Reynell Anson, Bart., m.p., a suc-
cessor of Blackstone in the Vinerian Chair, a well-known
figure in modern Oxford, whose book on Contract is in-
dispensable to law students. Sir William was called to
the Bar in i86g by the Inner Temple. He occupied
chambers at No. i, rendered famous by the names of
Coleridge and Bowen.
THE HALL
Below the terrace lies the noble Hall of the Middle
Temple. It was commenced in 1562, completed ten years
later during the Treasurership of Plowden, the famous
jurist, and opened in 1576 by Elizabeth in person. In
1757 the exterior was " improved " in wretched taste by a
casing of stone, and its original red-brick character thus
destroyed. But even so it remains a fine building. The
interior, fortunately, has escaped the "improver's"
sacrilegious hand. The hammer-beam roof is considered
by competent architects to be "the best Elizabethan roof
in London," and the oak screen, erected 1574, is a
magnificent piece of Renaissance workmanship. Its
cost must have been something very considerable, and
for many years the Benchers were hard put to in finding
the wherewithal to discharge their liabilities. But in this
instance we may well pardon such reckless extravagance.
In the assessment for the screen "the common attorneys"
are included in the list, and are assessed at \os. a head,
which would seem to show that the rule of the Inner
Temple excluding attorneys from the fellowship of their
House had not yet been adopted.
282 THE INNEll AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
The following" doggerel certainly hits oflF the chief
physical characteristics of each society : — ■
" Gray's Inn for walks,
Lincoln's Inn for a wall,
The Inner Temple for a g^arden.
And the Middle for a hall."
This fine chamber measures lOO feet in length and 42
in breadth, whilst from the floor to the spring of the
louvre is 50 feet. The entrance tower is a comparatively
recent addition. It was erected from the designs of
James Savage the architect, in 1831. Below the windows
formerly stood bronze busts of the twelve Caesars, but
these have been replaced by sets of body armour and
weapons dating from the seventeenth century, and
perhaps forming part of the armoury of the military
companies attached to the Inn. In the middle of the
Hall below the dais is a serving table, made from the
timbers of Drake's ship, the celebrated Golden Hind.
The walls are wainscoted up to the window-sills, and,
as in the sister Hall, the arms and names of the Readers
are painted upon the paneUing, commencing with Richard
Swain, Reader in 1597.
The Hall was refloored in 1730, and when the old boards
were removed nearly one hundred pairs of small dice,
yellow with age, which had dropped through the chinks,
were discovered. The present tables and forms were
provided at the same time. The ancient louvre or lantern
in the roof, to give vent to the smoke from the great pile
of charcoal beneath, gave place in 1732 to "a new cupola
with a vane," which is represented in the engravings in
the works of Ireland and Herbert, but which in its turn
has been displaced in favour of the present louvre by
Hakewill, a restoration to be highly commended. The
ancient hearth and louvre were, as we learn from the
Gentleman's Magazine, still in use in the year 181 2. In
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 283
the two bay windows flanking either side of the west end
are some fine examples of ancient heraldry, one at least
dating" back to 1540, probably a relic from the old Hall.
Amongst others are the arms of Chancellors Cowper,
Somers, and Hardwicke, Lord Chief Justice Kenyon,
John Dunning, Lord Ashburton, Sir Richard Pepper
Arden, William Scott, Lord Stowell and his brother.
Lord Chancellor Eldon. Plowden's arms are to be found
in the middle of the top lights, beneath which is an
inscription in a pair of hexameters, with the date 1573,
commemorating his zealous attention in the erection of
the Hall : "Hoc perfecit opus legum cultoribus hujus
maxima cura viri ; sit honos hiis omne per aevum,"
In the south bay is a large leaden coffer with the lid
made from the timber from the old Temple Bridge or
Stairs, first erected, as the inscription asserts, by the
Knights Templars, restored by order of Edward HI. in
1 33 1, and repaired with the aid of Elizabeth in 1584.
The arms of His Majesty King Edward VH. will be
found in the middle window on the south, set there when
he was Prince of Wales, whilst adjoining are those of
the late Duke of Clarence, who, like his father, was also
a Bencher of the Middle.
Above the Bench table hangs the celebrated portrait of
Charles I. by Van Dyck. The attendant in this painting
holding the King's helmet is thought by some to be the
Duke d'Epernon, but it is more probably Mons. de
St. Antoine, equerry to the King of France, who was
sent to England by Louis XHI. with six horses as a
present to Charles. Other portraits are those of
Charles H., by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and of his brother
James, Duke of York, of William HI., of Anne, by
Murray, of Elizabeth, and of the first two Georges.
Above these paintings hang two colours, one belonging
to an old Inns of Court corps, and the other an old Jack
prior to the Union in 1801. A recent addition is the
284 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
electric light in the form of groups of flambeaux stuck
on the walls in the ancient fashion.
The esteem in which this historic chmaber was held
soon after its erection is shown by the fact that in 1610
the Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, modelled their
beautiful Hall after that of the Middle Temple, following
in its erection almost precisely the same scale of measure-
ment.
From the floor of the Minstrel Gallery is suspended a
handsome brass lantern, said to be of equal antiquity
to the Hall, the glass lights bearing the arms of Elizabeth,
Raleigh, Drake, and the two crests of the Knights
Templars, the two men on one horse and the Agnus
Dei.
A curious discovery was made in the Hall in the autumn
of 1894, during the process of installing the electric light.
When the wires were being carried up the structural walls
of the Hall a box was found concealed in a recess of the
wall near the roof, containing a skeleton in a state of
perfect preservation. From its appearance, it is surmised
that it must have been hidden here for upwards of 200
years. Whether it had been used to illustrate anatomical
lectures or was the victim of some tragedy will probably
never be determined.
In connection with dining in Hall a curious old custom
still survives in the Middle Temple. The panyer-man was
the official whose duty it was to fetch the bread from
Westminster, and then sound his horn in all the courts to
call members to dinner from their chambers. To this
day at 5.30 p.m. the panyer-man in full uniform, with his
silver-mounted ox-horn, solemnly summons the members
to dinner. The waiters in the Inner Temple are still
called panyer-men.
On the outside, at the west end of the Hall, formerly
stood a row of shops or sheds, six in number. In 1731
these were in the occupation of two persons, a barber
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 285
and a stocking-weaver. These shops are shown in the
early eighteenth -century prints, but do not appear in
Ireland's engraving- of the Hall in 1800.
THE PARLIAMENT CHAMBERS
The Benchers' chambers are gained through a pair of
ancient carved oak doors, relics of the old Hall in Pump
Court. A long corridor leads to the Parliament Chamber,
a fine room where hang portraits of Edward Hyde, Earl
of Clarendon, the great historian ; Sir Walter Raleigh ;
John Scott, Lord Eldon ; Lord Chancellor Somers ;
Richard Bethell, Lord Westbury ; Lord Chancellor Hard-
wicke ; Earl Cowper, Lord Chancellor ; Frederick, Prince
of Wales, father of George HI., who expended ^21,000
on a Readers' Feast, lasting over a week ; and Francis
North, Baron Guildford. Here also hangs a full-length
portrait of His Majesty King Edward VH. from the brush
of Mr. Frank Holl, r.a,, painted in 1884. The walls of
the corridor are hung with ancient armour and weapons,
and lined with engravings of eminent lawyers connected
with the Inn. There are also numerous engravings and
prints of the Temple Church and old buildings and courts
in the Temple. Here, too, is the original oil painting of
Fountain Court by Nichols.
Just outside the door of the Parliament Chamber stands
a pedestal covered with ancient tiles taken from the floor
of the church. Upon this pedestal rests a Greek sepul-
chral monument, which was brought to light during the
excavations about the church at the restoration in 1842.
It belongs to the third century, as is shown by the
formation of the letters, by the sign of *^ for the Roman
Denarii, and by the penalty for violating the tomb to be
given partly to the Imperial Treasury. The inscription in
Greek, so far as it has been deciphered, runs as follows: —
" I have erected this monument to my husband, M.
Curtius Theseus, and I will not allow any other to be
286 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
placed herein — and if any shall do so, let him pay to
the (Imperial) Treasury 2,500 Denarii and to the city of
Histioea 2,500 more.
"A Thracian I was of noble birth, named M. Curtius
Theseus, and I married a daughter of Seia of Orea, a girl
innocent and rich."
Histicea was a city in Boeotia, and Orea was a neigh-
bouring town. The stone is evidently a relic of the
Roman occupation of Britain, but how it came upon the
Temple land remains a mystery.
Another object of interest is a cabinet made from the
wood of a catalpa tree, said to have been planted by Sir
Matthew Hale, which formerly grew on the site of the
modern buildings known as Temple Gardens.
In one of the rooms is a painting known as "The
Judgment of Solomon," an early Venetian work said to
be by Palma Vecchio.
A fresh interest was added to this historic building by
the discovery in 1828, among the Harleian Manuscripts at
the British Museum, of the diary of a student of the Inn,
John Manningham, On the 2nd February, 1602, he
writes : " At our feast we had a play called Twelve Night,
or What You Will, much like the Comedy of Errors^ or
Mencechmi in Plautus ; but most like and neere to that in
Italian called Inganni.'''' This performance formed part
of the Post Revels, which immediately followed the Christ-
mas Revels.
John Manningham was the adopted son of Richard Man-
ningham, a City merchant, of Bradbourne, near Maidstone.
Richard was twice married, first to a Dutch lady, a con-
nection of Lady Palavicini, wife of Sir Oliver Cromwell,
uncle of the Protector, and secondly to a Kentish widow,
by neither of whom had he any issue. John, his heir,
was admitted as member of the Middle in 1597. He
married Anne, the sister of his chamber-fellow, Edward
Curie, a protege of Sir Robert Cecil, through whom he
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 287
became auditor of the Court of Wards. Their son Richard,
upon his succession to the family estate of Bradbourne,
sold it in 1656 to Mr. Justice Twisden, of the Inner.
A fellow-student with John Manning^ham was John
Pym, the famous statesman and orator. He was ad-
mitted in 1602, and Manning-ham in his diary gives the
MDDLE • TEMPIX * HALL*
following description of him at this period : — " I was in
Mr. Nich. Hare's companie at the King's Head. A gallant
young gentleman like to be heir to much land : he is of a
sweet behaviour, a good spirit, and a pleasing discourse."
•'After dinner," says Charles Knight, the Shakespearian
enthusiast, "a play, and that play Shakespere's Twelfth
288 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPEE
Night. And the actual roof under which the happy com-
pany of benchers, barristers, and students first listened to
that joyous and exhilarating- play, full of the truest and
most beautiful humanities, especially fitted for a season of
cordial mirthfulness, is still standing. Here Shakespere's
Twelfth Night was acted in the Christmas of 1601 ; and
here its exquisite poetry first fell upon the ear of some
secluded scholar, and was to him as a fragrant flower
blooming amidst the arid sands of his Bracton and his
Fleta ; and here its gentle satire upon the vain and the
foolish penetrated into the natural heart of some gfrave
and formal dispenser of justice, and made him look with
tolerance, if not with sympathy, upon the mistakes of less
grave and formal fellow-men ; and here its ever-gushing-
spirit of enjoyment — of fun without malice, of wit without
g-rossness, of humour without extravagance — taught the
swaggering, roaring, overgrown boy, miscalled student,
that there were higher sources of mirth than affrays in
Fleet Street or drunkenness in Whitefriars."
That Shakespeare on this occasion took an active part
is not improbable, since he was then a member of the
Globe company, which alone was capable of producing
his plays. In any case, he may well have been present.
And here, too, Elizabeth must have come, accompanied
by her Court, to witness the plays, or to lead the dance
with Christopher Hatton or some equally comely courtier.
We can well picture the Virgin Queen in this stately Hall,
the centre of a brilliant group of statesmen and lawyers,
soldiers and sailors, poets and courtiers. The figures are
before us of the prudent and wise Burleigh, and the g-rave
Lord Chancellor Hatton ; the skilful Cecil, first Earl of
Salisbury, the one-time friend of Raleigh ; Raleigh him-
self, statesman, soldier by land and sea, scholar, poet,
historian, philosopher, and courtier ; Francis Drake, the
g-allant seaman ; the chivalrous Sidney ; Thomas Sackville,
Chancellor of Oxford ; William Howard, Lord High
BIII.UINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 289
Admiral, and a host of others of greater or less renown.
Under what different circumstances had many of these
previously met and were yet to meet again !
In Westminster Hall, on the 19th February, 1600, sat
Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, as High Steward of
England, for the trial of Essex and Southampton for
high treason, and with him sat Lord Chief Justice
Popham, who succeeded Plowden as Treasurer of the
Middle, and Lord Chief Justice Anderson, a former
Treasurer of the Inner, other puisne judges, and Raleigh
amongst the Commissioners. For the Crown appeared
Serjeant Yelverton and Sir Edward Coke, Attorney-
General, and among their witnesses were Robert Cecil
and Walter Raleigh.
A few years later, and the scene shifts to the Com-
mission of Oyer and Terminer holden at Winton, on the
17th November, 1603, and the prisoner at the bar is
Sir Walter Raleigh. Amongst the Commissioners sat
Robert Cecil, now Earl of Salisbury, who had made his
peace with James, Popham, and Anderson ; and in the
jury-box an obsequious jury. Serjeant Heale and Sir
Edward Coke were for the Crown, but so weak was the
case for the prosecution that Coke had to eke out the
poverty of his cause by the vilest personal abuse ever
used, I trust, by any counsel, not even excepting the foul-
mouthed Jeffreys. Raleigh's conduct, on the contrary,
was dignified and refined, and his ready wit never deserted
him. Amongst other choice epithets used by Coke were
"monster," "foul viper," and "spider of hell."
"Thou Viper, I thou thee, thou Traitor! " cried Coke.
To which Raleigh replied with a dignity that the Bench,
as a whole, sadly lacked, " It becometh not a man of
Quality and Virtue to call me so; but I take comfort in it,
it is all you can do."
The trial was a mere judicial farce, the evidence was of
the flimsiest, and Sir John Popham seems to have thought
u
290 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
so too when, in delivering- the judgment of the Court, he
said, " I never saw the like Tryal, and hope I shall never
see the like again,"
Raleigh took the objection that two witnesses were
necessary to prove a charge of high treason, and that
they must both be produced in Court, but the objection
was overruled by Popham. This had been enacted by 5
and 6 Edw. VI. c. xi., but was supposed to have been
repealed by i and 2 Ph. and M. c. 10. Raleigh's con-
tention was confirmed by 7 and 8 Wm. III. c. 3,
And so he passed to the Tower, for fourteen weary
years a State prisoner. Then came his expedition to
Guiana, destined from the first to failure by the treachery
of the pusillanimous James, and on the 29th October,
1618, in Old Palace Yard at Westminster, he fell a victim
to the undying vengeance of a cowardly and avaricious
king, for James never forgave Raleigh's share in obtain-
ing the conviction of Essex.
And the Benchers recognised his greatness, for Raleigh
was a Middle Templar, by holding a banquet in his
honour. How the students must have made the old Hall
ring again with cheers for the guest of the evening !
Raleigh actually resided in chambers in the Temple in
the year 1576, as appears from the dedication of a satire
inscribed to him by George Gascoyne.
THE LIBRARY
The new library lies at the foot of the slope south-
west of the Hall. It is a Gothic structure, and was
desio-ned by Mr. H. R. Abraham. Viewed from Fountain
Court, its proportions appear perfectly symmetrical, but
from the gardens its height is so out of proportion to its
size as to be positively unsightly. The library itself
forms the second floor, the ground and first floors being
used as offices, chambers, and lecture rooms.
Crossing a bridge, the archway of which gives access
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 291
to the garden, and ascending a winding staircase in an
octagonal tower, the visitor enters somewhat unexpectedly
a remarkably fine chamber, with an open hammer-beam
roof, the principal ribs of which rest on massive stone
corbels, very similar in design to those in Westminster
Hall. This apartment measures 85 feet in length by 42
in width, and 63 feet to the apex of the roof. At the
south end is a fine oriel window projecting 10 feet. This
is decorated with heraldic glass containing the arms of
the royal princes from Richard Coeur de Lion to his
present Majesty when Prince of Wales. The windows at
the north end and at the sides are similarly enriched.
The new building was opened by His Majesty when
Prince of Wales on October 31st, 1861, when the Duke
of Cambridge, Lord Brougham, Lord Westbury, and
other distinguished men were present.
Of the original library we have not much knowledge.
It was probably only a room in a set of chambers.
That there was such a library prior to the reign of
Henry VI H. we learn from the Cotton MSS., which
contain the following reference : —
" They have now no library, so that they cannot attaine
to the knowledge of divers learnings, but to their great
charges by the buying of such bookes as they lust to
study. They had a simple library, in which were not
many bookes besides the law, and that the library by
meanes that it stood alwayes open, and that the learners
had not each of them a key unto it, it was at last robbed
and spoiled of all the bookes of it."
This reproach, however, was wiped out in the reign of
Charles I. by the generosity of Robert Ashley, a collateral
ancestor of the late Earl of Shaftesbury, and for upwards
of fifty years a Fellow of the Middle. Dying in 164 1, he
bequeathed his library to the Inn, together with ^300,
" by the interest whereof some able student being chosen
by the Bench to be the Governour or Keeper of the said
292 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Library might be better maintained." Another benefactor
was William Petyt, of the Inner, who bequeathed ;^5o.
A library had already been erected in the year 1625,
on the site of the present buildings in Garden Court,
where, as we have seen, Goldsmith first lived. It is
described by Worsley as being over the kitchen at No. 2,
Garden Court. This building probably owed its existence
to Sir Robert Ashley's exertions. A portrait, said by
Sir William Musgrave to be that of Sir Robert, used to
hang in this building, and is now in the new library.
At this period the space below the old library was
a mere piece of waste, but in the year that the " Martyr
King " perished on the scaffold it was laid out at the
expense of the younger members of the Inn as a garden.
An account of the condition of the library in 17 17
is given by Henry Carey, a member of Lincoln's Inn,
in a letter of complaint to his patron, the Earl of Oxford.
Carey had been appointed Clerk to the Chapel of Lincoln's
Inn, and at the same time Keeper of the Library of the
Middle Temple. Apparently for political reasons he was
dismissed from those appointments ; hinc illae lacrimae.
In the library, he says, " I employed myself in regulating
and reducing to decency and order a place which, through
long neglect, was become a perfect chaos of paper and
a wilderness of books, which were mixed and misplaced
to such a degree that it was next to an impossibility
to find out any particular book without tumbling over the
whole. This undertaking cost me above twelve months'
hard labour and pains, besides money out of my own
pocket to transcribers. However, I went forward with
the greater alacrity, because Mr. Ludlow, then Treasurer,
encouraged me by repeated promises (which I now may
call specious and empty) of reward when completed,
as now it is, I having made a new catalogue in five
alphabets with columns (all of my own invention) of all
the tracts contained in the library, which catalogue
u
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o
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O
Q
5
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o
o
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 293
is in 100 sheets in folio, and the books are now so
reg'ularly ranged and the catalogue so plain, easy, and
exact, that anybody may go directly from it to any
required book or pamphlet without any difficulty or
hesitation ; so that not only the catalogue but even the
library itself are evident demonstrations of my labour
and instances of their ingratitude to me, who egged
me on to this work without rewarding me for it."
In this sad case, so far as I know, virtue was the sole
reward.
At the commencement of the last century John Herbert,
author of the Antiquities of the Inns of Court and Chancery^
was librarian.
The library now consists of 40,000 to 50,000 volumes,
but neither in extent nor in comfort and seclusion can
it compare with that of the Inner Temple. As a piece
of architecture, however, the Middle easily carries avv'ay
the palm. The present librarian is Mr. John Hutchinson,
who may fittingly lay claim to the title of the "Temple
Bard."
GARDEN COURT
Upon the site of the present fountain lay the Benchers'
Garden, the remainder of Fountain Court between the
Hall and the chambers in Essex Court and Brick
Court being known as the Hall Court. Just south of
the Benchers' Garden stretched another garden, as
shown in Ogilby's Plan, and upon this buildings were
subsequently erected. Here the old library was lodged,
and here Goldsmith lived, as we have seen, with Jeffs,
the butler.
In 1830 all these old buildings east of the garden were
swept away and new edifices erected in their stead. The
latter, in their turn, were displaced in 1883 by the present
buildings, which are in pleasing harmony with their
surroundings.
294 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
TEMPLE GARDENS
At the foot of Middle Temple Lane, almost upon the
site of the old Temple Stairs, rises an enormous pile of
building-s, erected in 1861 at the ioint expense of the
two societies. Through the archway over which it
stands access is gained to the Embankment. In its
erection a great opportunity was lost. A finer site
could not be conceived. In the place of a Renaissance
building more in touch with the genins loci we have a
structure only vulgar in its ornateness, and entirely out
of place. Contrast this with such buildings as the
Bishop's Palace at Evreux, the Palais de Justice at
BUILDINGS IN THE xMIDDLE TEMPLE 295
Chateauroux, the Hotel de Ville at Compiegne, the early
Renaissance portion of the Chateau of Blois, the
Chateau of Azay le Rideau, the beautiful facade of Hotel
Jacques Coeur at Bourges, and a score of other equally
beautiful types, with this vulgar monstrosity, and one
is appalled at the utter lack of taste shown by the
Benchers of the day.
Of the so-called Outer Temple I have already spoken.
Some of it now forms an integral portion of the Middle.
This locality appears to have derived its name from the
fact that it stood outside the City boundaries, beyond
Temple Bar.
We learn from Stow's Annals that the Outward Temple
was got by Stapleton, Bishop of Exeter, in the reign of
Edward II., and was then called Exeter Inn. From
Stapleton it passed to Lord Paget, from whom it was
purchased by the Duke of Norfolk, who conveyed it to
the Earl of Leicester, the "Sweet Robin" of Queen Bess,
from whom it passed by devise to Sir Robert Dudley, who
in turn sold it to the Earl of Essex.
Then arose Essex House, fronting the Strand on the
north, with its water-gate on the south, still standing at
the bottom of the new Essex Street, and with its garden
running down through Essex Court, Fountain Court, and
Garden Court. Here the Earl took measures for raising
London against the Queen, and here, on the failure of his
plans, he shut himself up, and here he surrendered, and
hence was led away to his trial and execution.
It was of this mansion that Spenser wrote the lines : —
" Near to the Temple stands a stately place,
Where I gayned giites and the goodly grace
Of that great lord who there was wont to dwell,
Whose want too well now feels my friendless case ;
Hilt, ah ! here fits not well
Old woes."
296 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Upon the attainder of Essex it reverted to the Crown,
but was restored by James L to his son, on whose death
without issue it passed to his sister, the Duchess of
Somerset, and to his other sister's son. Sir Robert
Shirley. Partition was made of the Essex estates, and
Essex House fell to the Duchess, who by will devised it
to Thomas Thynn, Viscount Sidmouth, by whom it was
sold to Dr. Barbon, brother of "Praise God Barebones."
In 1676 Barbon sold a portion of it to the Middle Temple,
viz. the site of the west building-s in Garden Court, the
whole of New Court, and a strip of Essex Court. Upon
the other portion he built Essex Street in 1680. The
water-gate at the bottom is said to be that belonging to
Essex House, but its appearance is more in consonance
with the later date of 1680.
Part of Essex House was standing in 1777, and here
Essex, the great Parliamentarian general, was born and
also died ; and here Sir Orlando Bridgman lived when
holding the Great Seal.
Thus has perished an historic house, with many
another along the river's side. Well may we join in
Gay's lament : —
" Here Arundel's famed structure reared its frame;
The street alone retains an empty name.
There Essex's stately pile adorned the shore ;
There Cecil's, Bedford's, Villiers' — now no more."
MIDDLE TEMPLE LANE
Barbon's Buildings, as we learn from a letter dated
October 9th, 1689, from Ralph Palmer to Richard Verney,
Esq., stood by the water-gate at the bottom of Middle
Temple Lane on the western side. Palmer, who writes
from "No. 3 up the steps and one pair of stairs, in
Barbon's Buildings," relates how there were many false
pressmen about, one of whom he saw "pumped last
OLIVER GOLDSMITH
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 297
nig-ht in the Temple," from which it would appear that
the Temple pumps were not always used for their natural
and legitimate purposes. This would place these build-
ings just below the present No, 3, Plowden Buildings, the
water-gate standing much higher up the lane than the
IvUDDLE TLMPLi: LiVNE ' South'
present archway. Barbon's Buildings may have been the
" good fair fabrick " erected in 1653.
The first half of the seventeenth century was a busy
one for building operations by the Middle Temple in the
lane. In 161 1 a brick building on the east side was
erected at the joint expense of Sir Walter Cope and Sir
Arthur Gorge, but so flimsy was its construction that in
1629 it was ordered to be rebuilt.
298 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
ELM COURT
The new building thus erected would appear to have
been the west side of Elm Court, in which more chambers
were built in 1630, together with those over the church
porch.
The brothers North had chambers in here. By the
year 1879 all these buildings were so dilapidated as to be
in danger of falling by their own weight. They were
accordingly pulled down, and the present chambers erected
in the following year. Serjeant Talfourd, the intimate
friend of Lamb, had chambers at No. 2.
LUTHER BUILDING
A brick building, called Luther Building, was erected in
163 1 near the Middle Temple Gate by one Anthony Luther,
an Utter barrister of the House. It seems to have vanished
in the fire of 1678, and I am unable to identify its site.
PLOWDEN BUILDINGS
In the first year of Charles I. the brick buildings
adjoining the Hall were constructed. These represent
the present Nos. i, 2, and 3, Plowden Buildings. They
probably replaced earlier structures. The present build-
ings, in which the offices of the treasury of the society
are situated, were erected in 1831, after the designs of
Henry Hakewill, the architect.
VINE COURT
Between Fig Tree Court and the Cloisters, with a
passage leading into Pump Court, lay Vine Court.
Chambers were erected here in 1630 over the Cloisters,
three stories in height, by Francis Tate, a member of the
Middle, described as "of great learning in the laws, and
eminent for his knowledge in antiquities."" Here in
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 299
1675 was the shop of Henry Twyford, the pubhsher of
Brownlow and Goldesborough's Reports. Vine Court
disappeared for ever in the fire of 1678.
PUMP COURT
One of the oldest courts in the Temple is said to be
Pump Court. Its name and the fact that the old Hall of
the Middle formed one side lend considerable weight to
this tradition.
R/MP(ovrh
In 1630 a brick building completing the western side
abutting on the lane was erected, and seven years later
the remaining buildings in Pump Court and between Vine
Court and Elm Court, and between Pump Court and the
lane, were finished, thus completing the courts as we
now know them, though some portions were afterwards
destroyed by fire and rebuilt.
300 THE LNNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
The total cost of these building-s was ^4,668 11^. c)d.
Each gentleman deposited ;^8o for a whole chamber and
^40 for a half share. The balance came out of the Inn
treasury, which put the House much in debt.
Many celebrities have lived in Pump Court, amongst
whom may be mentioned Cowper, Fielding, Blackstone,
Sundial in Pump Court.
Lord Russell of Killowen, and his successor, the present
Lord Chief Justice.
Nor must the sundial here be forgotten, with its motto,
"Shadows we are and like shadows depart," to remind
the residents of Pump Court of the ephemeral character
of their occupancy.
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 301
ESSEX COURT
The earliest record of Essex Court occurs in the diary
of John Evelyn, who with his brother was admitted a
member of the Middle Temple about the year 1640. " I
repaired," he writes, "with my brother to the Tearme
to go into the new lodgfing (that was formerly in Essex
Court), being- a very handsome apartment just over
WIG'MAKE^'S SHOP IN ESSEX CgVRI'
against the Hall Court, but four payre of stayres high
w'ch gave us the advantage of the fairer prospect."
This building was replaced in 1656 by "a very large,
high, spacious brick building," the present No. i or
No. 2, Essex Court.
The remaining buildings were erected in 1677, after
the purchase of the site from Dr. Barbon. In 1883,
however, the block of buildings on the north, which also
302 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
forms part of Brick Court, was rebuilt. On the north
still stands a little shop where Albin the wig-maker carries
on his business, one of the two survivors in the Temple of
the barbers' shops.
NEW COURT
New Court consists of only one buildings, erected by
Wren after the purchase of the land from Barbon. It is
chiefly remarkable for the view obtained from here of the
Middle Temple, a view unique in London, and for its
g-ateway into Devereux Passage.
THE CLOISTERS
The old Cloisters were destroyed in the fire of 1678.
These were " low mean building-s," about half the present
width, and were not built over except at the end nearest
the Hall.
At the rebuilding after the fire the Benchers of the
Middle wished to utilise the Cloisters themselves for
ground-floor chambers, but this was prevented by Chan-
cellor Finch, "who would," as Roger North relates,
"by no means give way to it, and reproved the Middle
Templars very wittily and eloquently upon the subject of
students walking in evenings there, and putting cases,
which he said was done in his time as mean and low
as the buildings were then, however it comes, said he,
that such a benefit to students is now made so little
account of."
The Cloisters, as they now stand, are the work of Sir
Christopher Wren. In Pump Court the following in-
scription may be seen : —
" Vetustissima Templariorum Portion Igne consumpta
An°. 1678. Nova haec sumptibus medij Templi extructa
An°. 1681. Guilelmo Whitelocke : Arm. Thesaur°."
Next to the staircase of No. i, with a window looking
into Pump Court, is the shop of another wigmaker, a
BUILDINGS IN THE ^MIDDLE TEMPLE 303
successor to Dick Danby, the barber, a well-known
character and gossip of the time of Lord Chancellor
Campbell, who refers to him in his Lives of the Chief
Justices. He it was who cut the future Lord Chancellor's
hair and made his wig's, and, as Campbell adds, "aided
him at all times with his valuable advice."
THL CLOISTEJ^"
GOLDSMITH BUILDING
Like Lamb Building, Goldsmith Building, for some un-
explained reason, although well within the huier Temple
territory, is the property of the sister society. It has
no connection with the poet beyond its proximity to his
grave, and occupies the site of chambers which formed
part of Churchyard Court. The present building was
erected in 1861. Here Mr. Justice Bigham, when the
leading " silk " in commercial cases, had chambers.
304 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
LAMB BUILDING
The origin of Lamb Building' has already been referred
to. Situated well within the boundaries of the Inner
Temple, according to tradition, it became the property
of the Middle Temple by purchase from the sister society,
owing to the latter being short of ready cash. This
change probably took place after the Great Fire, when
Caesar's Buildings, which it replaced, were burned down.
The court in which Lamb Building stands was origin-
ally known as Cloister Court from its proximity to the
Cloisters, which formed the western side, and is so
described in Ogilby's Plan of 1677.
To the north against the walls of the church, built in
between the buttresses, was a row of chambers and
shops, which were swept away in the improvements to
the church in 1827, whilst on the south, against the Hall,
stood a row of one-storied chambers known as Twisden's
Buildings, belonging to the Inner Temple.
About this time apparently, if not before, the court
became known as Lamb Court, after the principal building
there, which was popularly called Lamb Building, from
the crest of the Agnus Dei over the entrance. It is a
fine example of Jacobean architecture. Its principal
feature is the doorway, reached by a flight of steps,
guarded by plain iron railings. Above rests a wooden
hood supported on brackets, ornamented with lions'
heads, and on the pediment figures a gilded lamb and
flag.
Here that brilliant Oriental scholar. Sir William Jones,
was an inmate after his call to the Bar by the Middle
Temple in 1774. From here we find him dating his
letters to Burke in the years 1779 to 1783, when he left
for India upon his appointment as judge of the High
Court at Calcutta. He was regarded by his contem-
poraries as a prodigy of learning.
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 305
A colleg^e friend and chamber-fellow of Sir William,
Thomas Day was called by the Middle Temple in 1775,
but althoug-h he became a g-ood lawyer he never sought
to practise. He was the gentle and eccentric author of
that well-known book of our boyhood, Sandford and
JLlvil aiAO/
Merton. Of his eccentricities not the least amusing- was
his method of building- after a serious study of architec-
ture. He astonished his builder by having- the walls built
first and the windows knocked out afterwards !
His last residence was at Anningsley Park, near Addle-
stone, in Surrey, where he was regarded with anything
but favour by the local gentry and farmers. Yet Day
X
306 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
was no prig. At Charterhouse he was a good boxer, and
there fought WiUiam Seward, author of the Anecdotes.
Discovering his antagonist to be no match for him, Day
at once stopped the fight and shook hands with him.
His ideas upon matrimony were as eccentric as those
upon building. Whilst still in early manhood he con-
ceived the remarkable project for providing himself with
a wife. Selecting a blonde beauty, aged twelve, from
an orphan asylum at Shrewsbury, and a corresponding
brunette from the Foundling Hospital in London, he
undertook to maintain and educate both, to marry one
and provide for the other. Lucretia, the brunette, turned
out invincibly stupid, so she was apprenticed to a milliner,
and eventually married to a linendraper. The flaxen-
haired Sabrina's career was less commonplace. To test
her nerve, her eccentric guardian used to fire blank
charges at her pretty ankles, and to drop melting sealing-
wax on her bare arms. Of course Sabrina screamed, and
was thus adjudged unequal to the high honour designed
for her. She married Day's intimate friend Bicknell, and
Day not only paid the forfeit — a dot of ^^500 — but after
her husband's death settled an annuity upon her of ^^30,
A member of Lincoln's Inn, Judah Philip Benjamin
carried on his practice from the Temple. His chambers,
too, were in Lamb Building, ground floor north. Called
to the Bar at New Orleans in 1832, he was in high repute
as a lawyer and an advocate. Later he did a leading
business, chiefly at Washington, becoming Senator for
Louisiana and Attorney-General of the Confederate States
under President Davis. Escaping with difficulty after the
break-up of the Confederacy, he came to England, and in
1866 was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Lin, the usual
three years' probation as a student being waived. He
was a pupil for a time of the late Baron Pollock, at
5, Child's Place. Subsequently this relationship was
altered, Pollock frequently finding his way to Lamb
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 307
Building- to obtain instruction on points of Anglo-
American jurisprudence.
On one occasion Benjamin gave Pollock the whole of
the law and practice upon a new system in the export
trade from New York to Liverpool. Shortly after, in a
case dealing with this very system, Pollock and Benjamin
were on opposite sides, and judgment was given in favour
of the former, who had used the arguments of the latter !
Benjamin's success at the Bar was phenomenal under
the circumstances, and it speaks well for the members of
the profession that not a single trace of jealousy ever
appeared. In 1875 Benjamin became a Queen's Counsel,
and there is little doubt he would have been raised to the
Bench but for fear of offending American susceptibilities.
On his retirement from practice through ill-health, a
banquet in his honour was given in 1883 in the Inner
Temple Hall.
His magnum opus, known familiarly as Benjamin on
Sale, will keep his memory alive for many generations of
lawyers yet.
No truer picture of Temple life has been penned than by
Thackeray in Pendennis. It was in Lamb Building that
Pen and Warrington occupied a set in the attics over the
chambers of old Grump, of the Norfolk Circuit, whom
they awakened every morning with the roar of their
shower-baths, part of the contents of which used to
trickle through the ceiling upon the unwashed Grump,
who daily cursed such new-fangled, dandified folly. There
is, it is true, a Pump Court and a Fountain Court, but
no one ever heard of a Bencher disporting in the latter.
"Nevertheless," writes Thackeray, "those venerable
Inns, which have the lamb and flag and the winged
horse for their ensigns, have attractions for persons who
inhabit them, and a share of rough comforts and freedom
which men always remember with pleasure. I don't know
whether the student permits himself the refreshment of
3o8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
enthusiasm, or indulg-es in poetical reminiscences as he
passes by historical chambers, and says : ' Yonder Eldon
lived ; upon this site Coke mused upon Lyttelton ; here
Chitty toiled ; here Barnewall and Alderson joined in their
famous labours ; here Byles composed his great work
upon bills, and Smith compiled his immortal leading-
cases; here Gustavus still toils, with Solomon to aid him ';
but the man of letters can't but love the place which has
been inhabited by so many of his brethren or peopled by
their creations, as real to us at this day as the authors
whose children they were ; and Sir Roger de Coverley
walking in the Temple Garden and discoursing with
Mr. Spectator about the beauties in hoops and patches
who are sauntering over the grass is just as lively a
figure to me as old Samuel Johnson rolling through the
fog with the Scotch gentlemen at his heels on their way
to Dr. Goldsmith's chambers in Brick Court ; or Harry
Fielding, with inked ruffles and a wet towel round his
head, dashing off articles at midnight for the Covent
Garden Journal^ while the printer's boy is asleep in the
passage." It was to these chambers, three pair up "a
nasty black staircase," that Major Pendennis groped his
way one foggy day. Set down by the conductor of a
City omnibus at the Temple Gate, " he was directed by a
civil personage with a badge and a white apron through
some dark alleys and under various melancholy archways
into courts each more dismal than the other, until finally
he reached Lamb Court." Several of these "dismal
courts" have disappeared, but "the civil personage with
a badge and a white apron " may still be found to guide
the stranger who so easily loses his way in the maze of
the Temple courts.
The original of George Warrington is said to have been
George Stovin Venables, one of the greatest anonymous
journalists of his day. Thackeray and Venables were
together at Charterhouse, and on one occasion were the
BUILDINGS IN THE MIDDLE TEMPLE 309
principals in a "mill" on the Lower Green, when the
latter broke Thackeray's nose, causing a permanent dis-
figurement. The injury might have been remedied had
the doctor been summoned in time, but, like a boy of
pluck, Thackeray made light of the incident. In after
life he used to point to a statuette of himself, which his
mother had had made before her boy went to Charter-
house, as proof of what he would have been but for
Venables' fatal blow. But for this defect, Thackeray
would have been the handsome man nature intended. It
is quite possible that Venables, who was called to the
Bar by the Inner Temple in 1836, occupied chambers in
Lamb Building, since his first address in the Linv List
is No. 2, Mitre Court Buildings, in the year 1840. In
due course Venables took " silk." In spite of the fine
character given to George Warrington, Thackeray and
Venables do not appear ever to have been very intimate.
CHAPTER XVII
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE
Plowden's Tomb.
OWING to the lack of printed
records relating to the Middle
Temple, I have been unable to deal
with the buildings and their inmates
with the same detail as with those
of the sister society. From the
biographies, however, of its great
men, some knowledge of the life of
the Inn may be gathered.
If the Inner had a Selden, the
i Middle could boast of a Plowden.
These two great men were singu-
larly alike, both in the fulness of knowledge and strength
of character. Edmund Plowden was admitted in 1538,
and in 1553 was returned as M.P. for Wallingford.
Staunch Catholic as he was, he with thirty-eight other
members withdrew from the House in 1554 rather than
support the extreme measure of Mary and her priests.
For this proceeding information for contempt was filed
against him, but more prudent counsels prevailing, no-
thing was done. The oflfer by Elizabeth of the Woolsack
if he would renounce his faith met with a dignified refusal.
In 1 561 he was chosen Treasurer of his Inn. Standing
apart from the Court party, he was frequently employed
in cases to oppose the authorities, and he gained the
310
HISTORICAL SKETCH 311
reputation of the greatest and most honest lawyer of his
time.
The Hall and Plowden Building's still keep his memory
green in the Temple.
John Popham, like many other great men, is said to
have commenced his life in the Middle Temple by con-
sorting with the wild young bloods of the town, and
even to have played the part of a footpad — a pastime
corresponding to the wrenching off of door-knockers
and boxing the jarvies in later times. When Solicitor-
General he was elected Speaker of the House of Commons,
and his ready wit is shown by his reply when the Queen
asked him what had passed in the Lower House. " If
it please your Majesty," he answered, "seven weeks."
"Let the Commons work more and speak less, or they
shall hear of it," was her imperious Majesty's warning
comment.
As Attorney-General he took part in all the great
criminal trials, in which he does not appear to have
exceeded the licence of those days.
Upon the rising of Essex, Popham, then Chief Justice,
was sent with Lord Keeper Egerton to remonstrate, and,
being admitted, they were surrounded by armed men,
who, after hearing the Queen's message, wished to kill
them. Essex, however, took them into a back chamber,
and locked them in, telling them he was going to see
the Lord Mayor, and would return in half an hour.
Here they were detained from ten of the morning till
four in the afternoon, when they were released by Sir
Fernando Gorges, who saw that the game was up.
Popham had refused to leave without his companions,
declaring that, "as they came together, so would they
go together or die together." Essex returned from his
abortive expedition to the City by water, only to find
his house surrounded by troops under Sir Robert Sidney.
Upon the arrival of battering-rams from the Tower,
312 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Essex, with his fellow-conspirator, the Earl of South-
ampton, Shakespeare's friend and patron, submitted to
" unconditional surrender."
Popham sat at Essex's trial in the combined character
of judge and witness. He also presided at the trial of
the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, and of the
Jesuit priest, Garnett, dying shortly after the execution
of the latter.
John Ford, the dramatist, was admitted a member
of the Middle Temple in 1602. His mother was sister
to Lord Chief Justice Popham. His best-known play
is The Lover's Melancholy^ "acted at the Private House
in the Blacke Friers, and publikely at the Globe by
the King's maiesties servants."
Fellow-members with Plowden were Edward Montague
and Richard Rich.
Edward Montague of the Middle was one of the
Serjeants who gave the splendid feast at Ely House,
described in the Survey of Henry VHI. In 1537 he was
appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and in
1545 transferred as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
He, together with Mr. Justice Bromley and the Attorney-
and Solicitor-General, were obliged to attest the will of
Edward VI. nominating Lady Jane Grey as his successor.
For this Montague suffered imprisonment and lost his
office. His grandson. Sir Henry Montague, became the
first Earl of Manchester.
The name of Richard Rich — Lord Rich — brings little
credit to the Society of the Middle Temple. Upon his
perjured evidence Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More
were done to death. As Speaker of the House of
Commons, he distinguished himself by his fulsome
flatteries of Henry VIII. Through the influence of the
Protector, Somerset, he attained the Woolsack, and when
the fall of his patron became imminent he at once joined
his opponents and attested Edward's will nominating
HISTORICAL SKETCH 313
Lady Jane Grfiy. By a timely profession of the Catholic
faith he made his peace with Mary, and was actually
nominated as one of the commissioners to try the Duke
of Northumberland for the offence to which he himself
had been a party.
Truly a despicable character. As he had made his peace
w'ith his Queen, so he attempted to do with his God, by
founding and endowing schools and almshouses in his
parish of Felstead.
From the Black Books of Lincoln's Inn we learn
that many gentlemen of the Middle Temple, in the year
1568, went to dance the Post Revels with the gentlemen
of their ancient ally, and that the sum paid to Mr. Hickes
for their "victuals" amounted to _^3 6^-. ^d.
Such was the increase of members at this period that
the Government thought it necessary to restrict it for the
future. In an Order of the Privy Council and Justices
of the Queen's Bench and Common Pleas, promulgated
in Easter Term, 1574, and dealing with the government
of the Inns of Court, it was ordered that no more
chambers should be built, "saving that in the Middle
Temple they male converte theire olde Halle into chambres
not exceedinge the nombre of tenne chambres." The
new Hall, it will be remembered, was commenced in
1562, and was now nearing completion. The first
Serjeants' feast to be held in the new Hall was apparently
that held in Michaelmas Term, 1587, of which Dugdale
gives a full description, with the speeches by Sir Nicholas
Bacon, Sir James Dyer, and Sir Christopher Wray.
histead of the customary ring from each serjeant,
Elizabeth received one "for them all in common,"
weighing £6 \t,s. 4^/.
In 1 58 1 the gentlemen of the Middle Temple were
entertained at a banquet in Lincoln's Lin on the Eve of
the Purification, which was apparently one of the days
set apart for the revels.
314 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
It is interesting to note the number of members at this
period. From a return of 1586, it appears that the
Middle Temple possessed 138 chambers, occupied by 200
members. The Inner Temple and Lincoln's Inn had then
each the same number, whereas Gray's Inn with 356
easily led the way as the most popular and fashionable
society. The total number of members belonging to the
four Inns and Inns of Chancery amounted to 1,703.
Whilst the Benchers and members were sitting at
dinner on February 9th, 1597, John Davies, a member
of the Inn, entered the Hall with his hat on, and, going
up to the barristers' table, struck one Richard Martin so
violently with a cudgel as to break it in pieces on his
head. For this outrage he was expelled the House,
but upon his humble submission four years later he was
restored, became Attorney-General for Ireland, and would
have been Chief Justice of the King's Bench in West-
minster Hall but for his death.
Sir John was the author of Nosce te ipsjivi, a fine poem
on the immortality of the soul. Martin became a learned
law3'er, Recorder of London, member of Parliament,
and a friend of Selden. His monument is now in the
Triforium in the Round, To him Ben Jonson dedicated
his play The Poetaster.
In the same year, on November 29th, a " compotacion "
between the gentlemen of the Inn and those of Lincoln's
Inn " was ordered to be kept as usual " in the Hall of the
latter society. This drinking bout appears to have been
an annual aflFair, the earliest mention in the Black Books
occurring in 1441.
Other notable members of the Middle Temple in the
sixteenth century were Sir Robert Broke, who in 1554
was Speaker of the House of Commons which sanctioned
the marriage of Philip and Mary. He then became Chief
Justice of the Common Pleas, and presided at the trial of
Lord Stourton for the murder of the Hartgills, being
SIU WAI.IKU UAI.l;ll.lI
HISTORICAL SKETCH 315
obliged to threaten the prisoner with the terrible punish-
ment of peine et forte if he did not plead.
Broke is best known as the author of La Graiinde
Abridgement, published in 1568, which was based on
a similar work by Fitzherbert. He was a zealous
Catholic.
The others were Serjeant William Fleetwood, who may
be described as the Progressive M.P. for London, the
author of a scheme for housing the poor and maintaining
open spaces ; Sir Francis Moore, politician and member
of Parliament in the reigns of Elizabeth and James,
serjeant-at-law, and reporter ; Sir James Dyer, the famous
Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench ; and last, but not
least, Sir Francis Drake, one of the founders of our
colonial empire. He is claimed by both societies.
Upon January 28th, 1581, Drake was specially admitted
a Fellow of the Liner. He had but recently returned
from his voyage round the world, and the Golden Hind
was then lying in the Thames, from the timbers of which
an oak table in the Middle Temple Hall is said to have
been made. On board this vessel he was knighted by
Elizabeth a few months later. Descended from John
Drake, of Otterton, Devon, and Agnes Kelloway, through
the latter family he was connected with our House, for
the Kelloways had been Fellows and Benchers of the Lin
for generations. And the Drakes of Ashe, in Devon-
shire, who were also members, were probably related.
Sir Francis was with Raleigh in 1586 entertained to
banquets in the Halls of both societies. In the corridor
leading to the Parliament Chamber hangs his portrait,
with a copy of the order of the Bench for this enter-
tainment.
Li 1597, sad to relate, one Blomer, described as a
"counsellor del Middell Temple," was by order of the
Star Chamber committed to the Fleet for suborning
witnesses. He was reported by the Lord Keeper to be
3i6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
a man of no learning and of no honesty, but having great
volubility of speech, great audacity, and " impudencye. "
He is only mentioned here to throw into greater relief his
fellow-members. But perhaps the Star Chamber was
mistaken. Its reputation for justice does not stand very
high.
The Templars were too intimately connected with the
Court to escape the prevailing extravagance in dress.
Against the Middle Templars then sumptuary statutes
were passed under Philip and Mary, forbidding any
member to "thenceforth wear any great bryches in their
hose made after Dutch, Spanish, or Almon fashion, or
lawnde upon their capps, or cut doublets, upon pain of
2S. ^d. for first default, and for second expulsion from the
House."
By Elizabeth white in doublets or hose, and velvet
facings on gowns, were forbidden, and all students were
ordered to walk abroad in sad-coloured gowns !
From 1604 to 161 1 Sir Edward Phelips, of the Middle
Temple, was Speaker of the House of Commons, and
rivalled the King in the ponderous quality and inordinate
length of his orations. He assisted in the prosecution of
Sir Walter Raleigh, and opened for the Crown in the
Gunpowder Plot trial. He became Master of the Rolls,
and built the celebrated Montacute House in Somerset.
He it was who took a leading part in the masque given
at Whitehall by the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn,
upon the marriage of Princess Elizabeth with the Count
Palatine of the Rhine.
This masque was celebrated on February 15th, 161 2.
It was composed by George Chapman, and the properties
prepared under the direction of Inigo Jones. The
masquers went in procession from the Rolls House in
Chancery Lane to Whitehall.
Henry Montague, first Earl of Manchester, was, like
his grandfather, the Chief Justice, a member of the
HISTORICAL SKETCH 317
Middle Temple. Like Scarlett, two centuries later, he
was defendant in a suit for words spoken by him as
counsel, when it was held that such words, when pertinent
to the issue, were privileg-ed.
He succeeded Coke as Chief Justice of the King-'s
Bench in 1616, and in 1618 he had the painful duty of
pronouncing execution upon Sir Walter Raleigh, in an
affecting address. " Fear not death too much," he said,
"nor fear not death too little: not too much, lest you
fail in your hopes ; not too little, lest you die pre-
sumptuously."
Notwithstanding his reputation for piety, he did not
scruple to offer p/^TO,ooo for the lucrative post of Lord
Treasurer. He had, however, to pay Buckingham double
that sum. He was a staunch supporter of Charles I.,
but died before the troubles.
In 1636 a Serjeants' feast took place in the Middle
Temple Hall. Only two general calls were held during
the reign of Charles.
The Parliament Chamber of the Middle Temple was
used in the reign of James L by the House of Commons
for the sittings of committees.
Mr. Bagshawe, Lent Reader in 1639, who was thought
to touch too much on politics, was commanded by the
King not to proceed with his reading. He seems to have
been a person of considerable position, for he shortly
after left town with a retinue of forty to fifty horse. A
member for Southwark in the Long Parliament, he joined
the King at Oxford. Being subsequently captured, he
was imprisoned and expelled the House.
With the great ship-money case the Middle Temple
was connected in the persons of John Bramston and
Robert Berkeley. Bramston, chamber-fellow of Edward
Hyde, after a brilliant career at the Bar, was appointed
Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1635. He supported
the opinion in favour of the King, but ruled against him
3i8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
on the technical point that by the record it did not
appear to whom the money assessed was due. Although
impeached, together with Berkeley and four other judges,
by the Long Parliament and held to bail for ^10,000, he
escaped punishment, since he appears to have signed the
opinion only for the sake of uniformity. Dismissed by
the King for refusing to join him at York, he also rejected
all appointments offered by Parliament.
Berkeley was not so fortunate. He was fined ;^io,ooo
and for ever disabled from holding office. In his case his
opinion in favour of the King was the result of convic-
tion. His house at Spetchley was seized and occupied
by Cromwell, and subsequently burned to the ground by
his old enemies, the Presbyterians. Berkeley had suc-
ceeded Sir James Whitelocke, father of the better-known
Bulstrode Whitelocke, both members of the Middle
Temple.
It was Sir James who, in the first years of Charles I.,
adjourned the Court to Reading on account of the great
plague which was then raging. Arriving early in the
morning at Hyde Park Corner, " he and his retinue dined
on the ground with such meat and drink as they had
brought in the coach with them, and afterwards he drove
fast through the streets, which were empty of people and
overgrown with grass, to Westminster Hall, where the
officers were ready, and the judge and his compan}' went
straight to the King's Bench, adjourned the court, re-
turned to his coach, and drove away presently out of
town." He was one of the judges who refused to bail
the five members. But though a conscientious supporter
of the King's prerogative, he was a strenuous advocate
of the rights of the people.
Nicholas Hyde, Treasurer of the Middle in 1625, was
two years later appointed Chief Justice of the King's
Bench. He also was one of the judges who refused to
bail the Five Knights who declined to pay the forced
HISTORICAL SKETCH 319
loan of 1627. He died of gaol fever caught on circuit in
1631. He was uncle to Edward, the famous historian.
When the Chief Justice rode the Norfolk Circuit in the
summer of 1628 he took his nephew wnth him, partly
on account of the small-pox, which was then raging-
furiously in town. Young Hyde, however, fell sick
at Cambridge, and was moved out of Trinity College,
where the judges were lodged, to the Sun Inn. Whether
the disease was small-pox is not clear, but it "had so far
prevailed over him that for some hours both his friends
and physician consulted of nothing but of the place and
manner of his burial."
Talbot Pepys and Richard, his nephew, were both
Treasurers of the Middle Temple. The latter became
Chief Justice of the Upper Bench in Ireland. Their family
is best known as the stock from which Samuel Pepys, the
diarist and Secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns of
the last two Stuarts, was descended.
Under the Commonwealth the lawyers were at first
very unpopular, so many having sided with the King.
All, whether judges or students, who had been against
the Parliament were ordered to be removed from their
chambers. Shortly after this order, says Whitelocke,
"there was a great peek against the lawyers, inasmuch
as it was again said, as it had been formerly, ' that it was
not fit for lawyers, who were members of Parliament, to
plead or practise as lawyers during the time that they sit
as members of Parliament.'"
A highly beneficial innovation, however, was carried
out, viz. the substitution of English for Latin in pleadings
and in all proceedings in Court. The business Latin of
the Middle Ages had degenerated into bad Latin and
worse French, together with a mixture of English. But
with the Restoration the old practice was resumed.
Bulstrode Whitelocke has already been referred to as
representing with Edward Hyde the Middle Temple in
320 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the famous masque g-iven by the four Inns at Whitehall.
Whitelocke was born at the house of his uncle, Sir
Georg-e Croke, in Fleet Street, and was called to the
Bar in 1626. It is interesting to learn that at the
commencement of his legal career Whitelocke was
elected chairman of the Quarter Sessions at Oxford in
1635, although, as he says, he was " in coloured clothes,
a sword by his side, and a falling band, which was
unusual for lawyers in those days."
Returned for Marlow, he made a spirited defence of
his father for his share in refusing to bail the Five
Knights, and succeeded in vindicating his memory.
Chairman of the committee of management for the
impeachment of Strafford, he was complimented by the
Earl for having used him like a gentleman. Whitelocke
took a very active part in public, and always on the side
of peace. In 1645 he was appointed governor of Henley-
on-Thames and the fort of Phillis Court, with a garrison
of 300 foot and a troop of horse. Upon the conclusion
of hostilities he resumed his practice at the Bar, which
became very large.
In 1648 he became one of the Commissioners of the
Great Seal. Owing to the disturbances at Westminster,
these commissioners transacted their judicial business in
the Middle Temple Hall. Until his advice to Cromwell
to restore the crown to Charles II., with strict limitations,
Whitelocke had been a prime favourite with the Protector,
who did little of importance without his advice. It was
into Whitelocke's ear that Cromwell dropped the ever-
memorable question, "What if a man should take upon
him to be King ? " He was accordingly sent as
ambassador to Sweden, and his Journal, published a
century after his death, gives an interesting account of
the condition of the country and the customs of the
period. He was accompanied by his cousin, Charles
Croke, a member of the Inner, who held a commission
HISTORICAL SKETCH 321
in his brother Unton Croke's troop of horse, and who was
the author of YoutJi's Vanities^ pubHshed in 1667,
Upon his return he found he had been again named one
of the Commissioners of the Great Seal. So popular,
however, did Whitelocke become, not only in the House,
but in the country, that Cromwell's jealous temperament
found it necessary to find a pretext for his dismissal. In
the rapidly changing politics till the accession of Charles,
Whitelocke played an equally shifty part, changing
sides whenever his party was in danger.
He owed his preservation at the Restoration partly to
his own moderation when in positions of power, and
partly to his long friendship with Edward Hyde. White-
locke's Memorials of English Affairs is indispensable for
the study of this eventful period.
A contemporary of Whitelocke at the Middle Temple
was Henry Ireton, the celebrated Cromwellian general,
of whom Anthony Wood said that "he learned some
grounds of the common law at the Middle Temple, and
became a man of working and laborious brain." Another
well-known Middle Templar of this period was Sir Simonds
d'Ewes, who in his autobiography gives an account of
the condition of education at the Inns of Court and
Chancery in the reign of Charles I.
With the trial of Colonel Lilburne in October, 1649, the
Middle Temple is connected in the person of Philip Jermyn,
a Justice of the King's Bench, and one of the com-
missioners. He took a prominent and violent part against
the prisoner. The prosecution was conducted by Edmund
Prideaux, Attorney-General, a member of a family which
for generations was connected with distinction with the
Inner Temple. He was M.P. for Lyme Regis and
Postmaster-General under the Commonwealth.
On January 15th, 1641, Evelyn was present at the
trial of Strafford in Westminster Hall, and on May 12th
"beheld on Tower Hill the fatal stroke which severed the
V
322 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
wisest head in England from the shoulders of the Earl of
Strafford." In July he went to Leagure, in Holland,
where he joined the army as a volunteer in Colonel Goring's
regiment. His military career, however, was very brief,
for, as he naively puts it, the " service was too hot for a
young drinker as I then was." On his way home he met
at Amsterdam the exiled Lord Keeper, John Finch.
Landing at Arundel Stairs, he retired to his lodgings in
the Temple, and the following Christmas was appointed
one of the comptrollers of the Middle Temple Revels.
In 1642 we hear of him again in the Temple, " studying
a little, but dancing and fooling more."
On the morning of October 17th, 1660 — the day of the
execution of the regicides at Charing Cross — Evelyn
relates how on his way to the Temple he was disgusted
to "meet their quarters, mangled and cut and reeking,
as they were brought from the gallows in baskets on the
hurdle."
Although present at the Christmas Revels as late as
1668, Evelyn was losing his taste for such pastimes, for
he describes them as "an old but riotous costome which
has no relation to virtue or polity."
An intimate friend of Evelyn was the founder of the
Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. He describes being
present at a great feast given by Ashmole at Lambeth,
other guests being Lady Clarendon, the Bishop of
St. Asaph, and Dr. Tenison.
Ashmole was originally a solicitor of Clement's Inn,
with an "indifferent good practice." In the Civil War
he took the side of the Royalists, was at Oxford in 1645,
and subsequently Commissioner of Excise at Worcester
and captain of horse and ordnance.
Admitted to the Middle Temple in 1657, his chambers
in Middle Temple Lane, between Pump Court and Elm
Court, were broken into by the soldiers on pretence of
searching for Charles II. In 1660 he was called to the
HISTORICAL SKETCH 323
Bar, and in 1668 married as his third wife, in Lincohi's
Inn Chapel, EUzabeth, daug-hter of Sir William Dugdale,
the celebrated antiquary.
The bulk of his collection of antiquities came from
John Tradescant, the botanist and antiquary, who by
deed of gift dated December 15th, 1659, presented
Ashmole with his house and physic garden in South
Lambeth, together with his collection. His own collection
of medals and coins, which were at his chambers in the
Temple, suffered in the great fire of 1678, but Evelyn,
writing ten years later, was unable to say whether any
had escaped.
Ashmole presented his collection to the University in
1682, when it was removed to Oxford in twelve wagons.
Evelyn is also a link with another famous collection,
the original of the British Museum. He relates how,
on December i6th, 1686, he carried his patroness, the
Countess of Sunderland, to see the rarities of one Mr.
Charleton in the Middle Temple. This collection, which
he describes as the best he had ever seen in all his travels
abroad, was afterwards purchased by Sir Hans Sloane,
and, together with additions made by the latter, formed
the nucleus of the British Museum, being offered to the
nation at a certain price under Sir Hans' will, the Govern-
ment in 1754 raising the sum of ^100,000 by lottery for
its purchase, together with the Cottonian Library, then
housed at Montague House. To this George HI. added
his "King's Library," which was eventually graciously
presented to the nation by George IV., after he had
secretly sold it to the Government and received his price.
To Evelyn may be ascribed the credit of discovering
Grinling Gibbons. Chancing to see him at work, he
w^as so struck with his productions that he introduced
him to Charles H. and to Sir Christopher Wren, by whom
he was largely employed.
Evelyn's was not an altogether estimable character.
324 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Like most diarists, his nature was somewhat small and
petty. He was, moreover, inclined to sycophancy.
When Jeffreys was at the height of his power he
assiduously cultivated his acquaintance, and is careful
to relate how on June 14th, 1688, he actually dined with
the great Chancellor. It is only fair, however, to mention
that Jeffreys when Chief Justice had dined with Evelyn.
On May 2nd, 1672, Evelyn's son, John, was specially
admitted a student of the Middle Temple, his father's
intention being that he should make a serious business of
the law, an intention, however, which does not appear to
have been fulfilled.
In 1668 the City once more claimed jurisdiction over
the Temple. The garrulous Pepys tells us how when
the Lord Mayor, Sir William Peake, was invited by
Christopher Goodfellowe to his Reader's feast in the
Inner Temple Hall, he came "endeavouring to carry his
sword up. The students pulled it down and forced him
to go and stay all day in a private Councillor's chambers
until the Reader himself could get the young gentlemen
to dinner, and then the Lord Mayor did retreat out of the
Temple by stealth with his sword up."
The City then complained to the King in Council
whether the Temple was within the City or no, but the
King, unwilling to lose the favour of either party, gave
no decision, and the only result of the suit was the
direction to the Chamberlain to pay the Town Clerk ^23
14^. 6^., disbursed by him for counsel.
But although the lawyers so far had the best of it, the
dispute was to cost them dear shortly afterwards. In
1678 a fire broke out in the chambers of one Thornbury,
in Pump Court, and was far more disastrous even than
the Great Fire. Breaking out at midnight, it continued
until noon next day, destroying the whole of Pump Court,
Elm Court, Vine Court, the greater part of Hare Court
and Brick Court across the lane, the Cloisters, and part
X
T H
JOHN OGILBY's TLAN OF THE TliMl'Lli, 1677
HISTORICAL SKETCH 325
of the Inner Temple Hall. The Thames was frozen and
the water supply stopped by the frost, so that the engines
had to be fed with beer from the Temple cellars. This
liquid was soon exhausted, and the church and remaining
buildings to the east were only saved by blowing up the
intervening houses with gunpowder.
During the fire Sir William Turner, Lord Mayor,
arrived with assistance, but could not lose so good an
opportunity of assisting the City's claim by endeavouring
to have his sword borne up before him. Distracted as
the lawyers were, they would have none of it, and beating
it down, the Lord Mayor departed in wrath, and wreaked
his vengeance by turning back a fire engine on its way
from the City, and then soothed his outraged dignity by
getting right royally drunk at a neighbouring tavern.
The original Cloisters which were then burnt were on a
level with St. Anne's Chapel, with which a door at the
west end communicated. At the south end they passed
through the Chapel of St. Thomas to the Hall door, thus
enabling the Templars to pass from the refectory into
the church under cover. By the lawyers they had been
used as a meeting-place for the students to argue "cases."
After the fire the Middle Temple, thinking to gain more
chambers, wished to rebuild from the ground, but were
strongly opposed by Heneage Finch, Attorney-General,
of the Inner Temple, who "reproved the Middle Templars
very bitterly and eloquently upon the subject of students
walking there and putting 'cases,' which, he said, was
done in his time, mean and low as the buildings were
then."
The Cloisters were in consequence rebuilt as we now
see them, by Sir Christopher Wren, in the Treasurership
of William Whitelocke, eldest son of Hulstrode, who
also superintended the construction of the fountain in
1 68 1. William entertained the Prince of Orange on his
march to London and was knighted by him on April loth.
326 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
1689. Vine Court, at the south end of the Cloisters, now
finally disappeared.
Chaloner Chute, chosen Treasurer of the Middle Temple
in 1655, enjoyed great reputation at the Bar. He defended
Sir Edward Herbert, Archbishop Laud, and the eleven
members charged by Fairfax as delinquents. Retained
for the defence of the Bishops in 1641, when impeached
for making canons, only he and Serjeant Jermyn appeared
at the trial. Asked by the Lords whether he would
plead for them, he answered, "Yea, so long as I have
a tongue to plead with."
He is described by Whitelocke as "an excellent orator
and man of great parts and generosity, whom many
doubted that he would not join with the Protector's party,
but he did heartily." In fact, so heartily did he join
that he was elected Speaker of Richard's Parliament,
which met on January 27th, 1659. On March 9th he
obtained leave of absence on the ground of ill-health,
dying on April 15th following.
According to his nephew, Roger North, Chute was
a man of great wit and stately carriage. He was
singularly independent in his profession. If he had a
fancy, says North, not to have the fatigue of business,
he would say to his clerk, "Tell the people I will not
practise this term." And when he returned to his practice
he was as busy as ever.
Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, will be remembered
rather as a politician and historian than as a lawyer,
although even at the Bar he made a respectable figure,
due, no doubt, to a large extent to his family influence.
An adherent of Charles I., he was the faithful minister
of his exiled son, receiving from him the Great Seal in
1654.
At the Restoration he became practically Prime Minister,
and, in spite of the jealousy of the Queen-Dowager,
Henrietta, continued for seven years the ruling power.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 327
The first attempt to bring- about his downfall was made
upon the discovery of the secret connection between his
daughter Anne and the Duke of York, which failed upon
the publication of the marriage, and resulted in his
further advancement. A second attempt, in 1663, by
charging him with high treason, met with no better
success. But Charles gradually wearied of Clarendon's
constant reproaches and ill-timed lectures, and his
enemies were not slow to take advantage of the situa-
tion, and in 1667 he was commanded to surrender the
Great Seal. Impeachment and banishment followed, and
even in France refuge was at first refused, and when
passing through the old cathedral town of Evreux he
was assaulted and wounded by a party of English sailors,
though what the latter were doing so far from the coast
does not appear. He died at Rouen in 1674.
Clarendon's cousin, Robert Hyde, was also a member
of the Middle Temple, and through the influence of his
illustrious kinsman he became a Justice of the Common
Pleas. He sat as one of the commissioners of the
regicides, and in the following year condemned a mother
and her two sons to be hanged for the murder of
William Harrison, although the body had not been
found. Some years after the execution Harrison returned
from the plantations to which he had been carried.
George Bradbury, a member of the Middle Temple
and Cursitor Baron of the Exchequer under William,
will be best remembered in connection with Lady Ivy's
case before Jeffreys. Complimented by the Chancellor
for the ingenuity of a point he had made, he repeated
it later in the case. "Lord, sir," exclaimed Jeffreys,
"you must be cackling too; we told you your objection
was very ingenious, but that must not make you trouble-
some ; you cannot lay an egg but you must be cackling
over it."
William Montague, called to the Bar by the .Middle
328 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Temple in 1641, was appointed Lord Chief Baron of the
Exchequer in 1676, and accompanied Jeffreys on the
Bloody Assizes. There is no evidence that he took any
personal share in the brutalities of his colleague. He
was removed by James for refusing to support the
abolition of the Test Act. If he had endeavoured to
restrain even in the smallest degree the outrageous
conduct of Jeffrey's on the bench, he would be more
entitled to our respect.
In dismissing Montague James was only continuing
the policy adopted by Charles II. in the middle of his
reign, of endeavouring to destroy the independence of
the Bench. Of the judges appointed by James, they
were, as Jeffreys truly once said to Clarendon, "mostly
rogues."
Francis North, Lord Guilford, was admitted a member
of the Middle Temple in 1655, and occupied the moiety
of a petit chamber, purchased by his father, Lord North.
His uncle, Chaloner Chute, Speaker of the House of
Commons under Protector Richard, was then Treasurer
of the Inn, and swept the admission fee into the student's
hat, saying, "Let this be a beginning of your getting
money here."
He commenced his practice in a chamber in Elm Court,
and it was soon a lucrative one. His first appearance to
attract public notice was in the House of Lords, on a writ
of error by the five members who had been convicted of a
breach of the peace in holding down Speaker Finch on
that memorable occasion when Sir John Eliot moved his
resolution.
Upon his appointment as Reader, the expense of his
Reader's feast was so extravagant — costing him at
least ;^i, 000— that this practice of public reading was
abolished. Passing through the usual grades of Solicitor-
and Attorney-General, he fulfilled the duties of Chief
Justice of the Common Pleas with marked ability and
HISTORICAL SKETCH 329
discretion. His conduct, however, at the trial of Stephen
Colledg"e, when he refused to restore the papers provided
for the prisoner's defence, cannot be defended.
In 1682 he received the Great Seal from Charles with the
words, " Here, take it, my lord; you will find it heavy " —
a prophecy which he afterwards acknowledged by saying
that since he had held it he had not enjoyed one easy or
contented minute.
In spite of Jeffreys' assiduous endeavours to supplant
him. North retained the confidence of both Charles and
James. Fortunately perhaps for him, he died before the
latter had been on the throne a year, and before he had
commenced his more extreme unconstitutional measures.
Without any special genius or talent, North may be
favourably contrasted with the bulk of his contemporaries
with respect to his character. If, as his biographer,
Roscoe, says, he "never rose above the prejudices and
feelings of the age, he did not, like many of his contem-
poraries, sink without shame into those corrupt practices
with which the higher ranks of society were infected."
The panegyrics of his brother Roger may be equally dis-
missed with the vituperations of Lord Campbell, by whom
he is styled "one of the most odious men who ever held
the Great Seal."
Upon his marriage he took "the great brick house near
Serjeants' Inn, in Chancery Lane, which was formerly
Lord Chief Justice Hyde's."
Roger North is known rather as a biographer and
historian than as a lawyer. But he was no mean lawyer,
and as he tells us himself, his income at the Bar was over
^4,000 a year. Called in 1675, the year his brother
Francis became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, he
soon acquired a large practice, and was elected Treasurer
of the Inn in 1683. It is pleasing to find Roger North
singled out. Of him the second Earl of Clarendon wrote
on January i8th, 1689: "I was at the Temple with
330 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Mr. Rog^er North and Sir Charles Porter, who are the
only two honest lawyers I have met with."
With the accession of James and the rise to power
of Jeffreys, North's chances of further legal promotion
vanished. He retired to the country, where he combined
the life of a country squire and a man of letters. His
Lives of the Norths is a classic, not only for its authority
upon the period, but for its intrinsic charm. His adula-
tion of his brother must, of course, be taken cum grano.
He shared his brother's chambers in Elm Court.
Of the elder North, Evelyn had the highest opinion.
Upon his accession to the Woolsack, the diarist went to
congratulate him, and under date January 23rd, 1683, he
writes of the object of his admiration: "He is a most
knowing, learned, and ingenious person, and besides
having an excellent person, is of an ingenuous and sweete
disposition, very skillful in music, painting, the new
philosophy, and political studies."
A member of the Middle Temple who took a prominent
part in the Civil Wars was Nicholas Lechmere, of Hanley
Castle, Worcestershire. He was present at the surrender
of Worcester in 1646, and in 1648 he became a member of
the Long Parliament.
When Charles II. seized Worcester in 165 1, Hanley
Castle was occupied by Scotch troopers, and in the battle
that followed Lechmere had his revenge. A staunch
supporter of Cromwell and his son, Lechmere took a
leading part in all public affairs, but he managed never-
theless to make his peace with Charles II., and upon the
accession of William was made a Baron of the Exchequer,
where he sat for eleven years.
John Somers, who gained his first step in the legal
world at the trial of the Seven Bishops, was the son of an
attorney practising at Worcester, who had commanded a
troop of Cromwell's horse up to the battle of Worcester.
Six months before the battle young Somers was born, and
HISTORICAL SKETCH 331
was carried by his mother for safety to the house of the
White Ladies, an ancient nunnery outside the city, and
here Charles II. lay after the battle just before his escape.
Somers was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in
1669, and appears to have soon acquired a considerable
practice. As chairman of the committee to which the
Declaration of Rights was referred, it is said that this
charter of our country's liberties owes much of its value
to him.
Somers rose rapidly to office. As Attorney-General he
conducted the prosecution of Lord Mohun for the murder
of Mountford, the actor, by whom the prologue of Shad-
well's play The Squire of Alsatia was spoken. A Captain
Hill was paying his addresses to Mrs. Bracegirdle, the
celebrated actress, and he believed Mountford enjoyed her
favours. Accordingly he and Mohun, after failing to
carry off Mrs. Bracegirdle in a coach from Drury Lane,
waited in Norfolk Street by the hitter's lodgings, and
upon Mountford's appearance Hill ran him through the
body. Mohun was acquitted, but fell in a duel with the
Duke of Hamilton shortly afterwards, killing the Duke
with his last effort.
In 1693 Somers received the Great Seal, and four years
later became Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of
Evesham.
In spite of his high reputation and judicial impartiality
he was driven from office by Tory faction, and subse-
quently impeached for that "by advising His Majesty
in the year 1698 to the Treaty of Partition of the Spanish
Monarchy, whereby large territories were to be delivered
up to France." This impeachment fell through owing to
disagreement between the two Houses.
Personally obnoxious to Anne, Somers was, however,
eventually admitted into the Ministry of 1708 as Lord
President of the Council, which office he held for two
years. Although dismissed with the rest of the Whigs,
332 THE LNNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
he seems to have gained the confidence of Anne, who
declared she could always trust Somers, for he had never
deceived her.
His learning was only equalled by his eloquence, and
his judgment by his honesty, and he was withal modest
and singularly sweet-tempered. He was the patron of
Sir Isaac Newton, Locke, Addison, and Boyle. Rymer's
Foedera and The History of the Exchequer, by Madox,
were published under his patronage. It is interesting
also to recall that Addison, in recognition of the part
he played in the trial of the Seven Bishops, dedicated
to him the Spectator.
Bartholomew Shower has already been mentioned in
connection with the trial of the Seven Bishops. He was
an adherent of the Court party, and made an unseemly
attack on Lord William Russell's dying vindication.
After the Revolution he became a rancorous opponent
of William. He is described by Garth as —
" Vasellius, one reputed long'
For strength of lungs and pliancy of tong'ue. "
He died in Middle Temple Lane.
A contemporary and fellow-student of Shower, but of
very different calibre, was Thomas Vernon, Treasurer
of the Inn in 1717. He practised chiefly in the Chancery
Courts, and his Reports of Cases Decided in Chancery ^
1681-1^18, are still recognised as authoritative. He was
considered the ablest man at the Bar. In politics he
was a Whig, and sat in the House of Commons as
member for the county of Worcester, where he had
an estate.
Richard Wallop, of the Middle Temple, was retained
in numerous State trials during the reigns of the last
two Stuarts against the Government, but he will be
chiefly remembered for the courageous manner in which
he stood up to Jeffreys.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 333
Perhaps one of the most famous lawyers of the Middle
Temple was John Maynard, who, admitted in 1619, was
returned as M.P. for Chippenham in 1625 whilst still a
student.
As a young- man he was an enthusiastic patriot, but
gradually crystallised into the mere lawyer. He was
engaged in the impeachment of Strafford and the pro-
secution of Laud, and was constantly consulted by
Cromwell. His knowledge of law was undoubtedly
profound. Once when arguing before Jeffreys the judge
coarsely told him "he had grown so old as to forget
his law."
" Tis true. Sir George," he retorted, "I have for-
gotten more law than ever you knew."
Created a serjeant by Cromwell, he followed in his
funeral procession a few months later. At the Restora-
tion he so conducted himself that he was confirmed in
this degree, and rode in the coronation procession of
Charles. Although a member of Parliament throughout
the reigns of Charles and James, he was not very active
until the extreme encroachments by the latter monarch
commenced. Upon the arrival of William, Maynard
headed the lawyers who crowded to pay their court to
the new king. To the Prince's observation that "he
had outlived all the men of law of his time," he wittily
replied he "had like to have outlived the law itself if
His Highness had not come over." Although in his
eighty-eighth year. Sir John Maynard was appointed
First Commissioner of the Great Seal. He died the
following year, maintaining his physical and mental
vigour to the end.
Quite a group of dramatists became members of the
Middle during the latter part of the seventeenth century.
Thomas Southorne, admitted in 1678, brought with him
The Uival BrotJier, with which he sought to gain the
favour of the Duke of York. He obtained a commission
m
334 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPEE
in Princess Anne's Regiment (8th Foot), and had gained
his company when the Revolution destroyed his prospects
at Court. Driven back to the drama, he produced The
Fatal Marriage and The Oroonko ; or. The Royal Slave,
the most successful play of the day, which held the
boards at Drury Lane for nearly three years. Southorne
was a prot^g^ of Dryden.
The son of Serjeant Rowe, a member of the Middle
Temple, Nicholas was called by his father's Inn about
the year 1688, and was favourably noticed by Sir George
Treby, then Lord Chief Justice. Becoming independent
by the death of his father, he devoted himself to letters,
especially to the drama, without, however, forsaking his
residence in the Temple. His tragedy The Amhitioiis
Stepnwther was played at Lincoln's Inn Fields, and,
according to Cibber, young Rowe fell in love with Mrs.
Bracegirdle, who had contributed to its success. After
a highly successful career as a dramatist, Rowe in 1715
was appointed Poet Laureate.
Thomas Shadwell, dramatist, succeeded Dryden as •
Poet Laureate at the Revolution. He was the son of
John Shadwell, also a member of the Middle Temple,
who had lost heavily in the Civil War.
Shadwell's play The Squire of Alsatia was published
in 1688.
William Congreve, the dramatist, admitted a member
of the Middle Temple in 1691, was schoolfellow of Swift
at Kilkenny, and with him at college, where a more
enduring friendship was cemented.
Congreve soon deserted the study of law for the pursuit
of literature, but maintained his connection with the
Temple, as we have seen.
In 1744 the Masters of the Bench resolved not to allow
the use of the Hall for any public entertainments uncon-
nected with the profession of the law, following apparently
the example of the Inner Temple. From this date, there-
HISTORICAL SKETCH 335
fore, until modern times we hear no more of stag^e plays
being acted in the Hall, which accounts to some extent
for the falling off of dramatic authorship among-st the
members of the Inn.
Of the more strictly professional entertainments, Evelyn
relates how on August 3rd, 1668, he was invited by Mr.
Bramston, son of the judge, his old fellow-traveller and
then Reader at the Middle Temple, to his Reader's feast,
"which was so very extravagant and gfreate as the like
had not been scene at any time. There were the Dukes
of Ormond, Privy Seal, Bedford, Belasys, Halifax, and
a world more of earls and lords." The following year
Evelyn was again present at a Reader's feast as the
guest of Sir Henry Peckham, the new Reader, which he
describes as "a pompous entertainment," perhaps owing
to the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lord
Winchelsea was there, "a prodigious talker," and the
Venetian Ambassador, with both of whom the diarist
had "much discourse."
On the first day of Michaelmas Term the Courts at
Westminster Hall were formally opened by the judges,
and they and the Serjeants used to attend in regular pro-
cession, and the ceremony is kept up to this day by the
judges and "silks" breakfasting with the Lord Chancellor
at the House of Lords, and driving thence in carriages to
the Law Courts, where they form a procession and walk
up the Great Hall, before separating to their respective
Courts. Up to the middle of the sixteenth century the
judges appear to have ridden mules, a survival, doubtless,
of the times when all lawyers were ecclesiastics. There
is an old print of Cardinal Wolsey riding down Chancery
Lane on a white mule to the Courts at Westminster on a
similar occasion. Although the mule was typical alike of
clerical humility and clerical tenacity of purpose, the
proud Cardinal overshadowed the former by the more
than regal appearance of his ostentatious progress.
Z^6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Seated on a saddle furnished with housings of crimson
velvet and gilded stirrups ; clad in crimson robes sur-
mounted by a tippet of sumptuous sables, and holding
in his hand the doctored orange which served him for
a vinaigrette, the delicate and haughty ecclesiastic
delighted the populace and infuriated his enemies by the
magnificence of his openings of term. Unable to equal
such displays, the judges made one alteration in this
ancient practice. In 1546 Sir John Whiddon, of the
Inner Temple, a Justice of the King's Bench, persuaded
the judges to go to Westminster on horseback. In
Elizabeth's reign Hatton, and in the days of James I.
Francis Bacon, in this fashion proceeded to Westminster,
gladdening the lawyers and the sightseers by the gallant
state with which they opened term. The latter Chancellor
wore a suit of purple satin, and was attended by Prince
Charles, the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Privy Seal, and
a host of noblemen, knights, judges, and counsel.
In the more civilised days of the seventeenth century,
however, another innovation took place, and the lawyers
went in coaches — lumbering vehicles drawn by four or six
horses. In fact, during the Commonwealth the judges
and leading counsel were so seldom seen in mounted
processions that they were represented by lampoonists as
having lost the equestrian art, and the following account
lends some colour to this representation.
In 1672 that gay minister of Charles II., Anthony
Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury, on obtaining the
Great Seal, sought to restore the ancient ceremony to
its pristine splendour. We are told by Roger North that
a sudden freak seized him to make this procession on
horseback, and accordingly the judges and counsel were
told to get the necessary horses and garments. Notice
having been given, all the town was there to see. At
first all went well with the stately cavalcade. "But
when they came to straights and interruption, for want of
HISTORICAL SKETCH 337
gravity in the beasts, and too much in the riders, there
happened some curvetting" which made no little disorder.
Judge Twisden, to his great afifright and the consternation
of his grave brethren, was laid along in the dirt." "This
accident," concludes North, "was enough to divert the
like frolic for the future, and the very next term after they
fell to their coaches as before," and so they have continued
till the present day.
In the old days the Lord Chancellor, as the supreme
chief of the legal profession, was received upon his
arrival at St. Stephen's by the Serjeants, who stood at
the north-west end of the Hall, with their backs to their
Court of Common Pleas. Thus standing in single file,
they awaited the Chancellor and the judges, each of
whom shook each serjeant by the hand, saying, " How
d'ye do, brother? I wish you a good term."
Twisden, who was one of the shining lights of the
Inner Temple, never heard the last of his unlucky tumble.
His chambers were under the north windows of the Inner
Temple Hall, in a small, low building, named Twisden
Buildings in his honour. He was one of the judges who
sat at the trial of the twenty-nine regicides in 1660. His
portrait hangs in the Parliament Chamber of his Inn.
In the year following the disastrous fire in the Middle
Temple of 1678 the gentlemen of Lincoln's Inn showed
their sympathy with their ancient ally by deciding not to
hold the Revels on the Feast of the Purification.
With the accession of William the independence of the
Bench was secured, the statute 12 and 13 Will. III.
c. 2 finally settling that their commissions should be
held " Quamdiu se bene gesserint" and that only upon an
address by both Houses of Parliament could they be re-
moved. In this reign too it was provided that in cases
of treason prisoners should be allowed counsel.
William was entertained at a banquet in the Hall,
followed by a masque under the management of Beau
z
338 THE INNER AND MIDDEE TEMPLE
Nash, a student of the Inn. Upon the King- offering in
return to make the latter a knight he respectfully refused,
saying, " Please, your Majesty, if you intend to make me
knight, I wish it may be one of your Poor Knights of
Windsor, and then I shall have a fortune at least to
support my title."
With the plot to assassinate the King in the Fulham
Road on his return from the chase in Richmond Park the
Temple is connected in the person of Sir William Perkins,
one of the conspirators, who was the same evening
arrested within the Temple precincts and committed to
Newgate. Sir William was tried and convicted at the
Old Bailey, and executed at Tyburn.
William Cowper became a student of the Middle Temple
in 1681. Bred to Liberal principles and to a hatred of
Popery, he joined the Prince of Orange on his march to
London "with a band of thirty chosen men," but upon
the cessation of the troubles returned to the more peaceful
pursuits at Westminster Hall.
In the State trial of Lord Mohun for the murder of
Richard Coote young Cowper established his reputation as
an advocate, and in Parliament he at once took a leading
position. Returned for Hertford, where his family in-
fluence lay, his position was for a time endangered by an
unfounded charge against his brother Spencer of the
murder of a young Quakeress named Sarah Stout, who
had clearly committed suicide upon the rejection of her
advances.
Cowper inaugurated his appointment as Lord Keeper
by refusing to accept the customary New Year's gifts
presented by the officers of the Court and the members of
the Bar, amounting, it is said, to ;^i,5oo.
As a reward for his labours in the union with Scotland
he became Lord Chancellor in 1707.
With the fall of the Whigs upon the useless impeach-
ment of Dr. Sacheverell, Cowper followed his party into
HISTORICAL SKETCH 339
opposition, but upon the accession of George I. was
reinstated in the office of Lord Chancellor. At the trial
of the rebels of '15 he presided as Lord High Steward,
and sustained his reputation for impartiality.
A striking- instance of his courtesy and good feeling
occurred when he rebuked counsel for making harsh
personal remarks against Richard Cromwell in a cause
to which the latter was a party, and invited the old
Protector to a seat beside him on the bench.
Joseph Jekyll, called by the Middle Temple in 1687, is
described by Pope as an
"Odd old Whig
Who never changed his principles or wig,"
for during a period of forty years of political life he
steadfastly adhered to his party, an exceptional occurrence
in those days. As a reward for those services, and for
his zeal in prosecuting the rebels of '15, notably the Earl
of Wintoun and Francis Francia, he was appointed
Master of the Rolls.
In Parliament he took a leading part in exposing the
South Sea Bubble and in prosecuting the fraudulent
speculators. Having introduced a measure for the taxa-
tion of spirits, he was attacked by the mob in Lincoln's
Inn Fields, an attack which nearly terminated fatally. It
had one useful result, however, as this open space was
railed in and laid out as a garden.
He married a sister of his friend Somers.
In the trial of the aged Lord Lovat for high treason
arising out of the troubles of '45 the Society of the
Middle Temple was well represented. Philip Yorke, Lord
Chancellor, presided as Lord High Steward at the trial in
Westminster Hall, which commenced on March 9th, 1746,
and lasted seven days. The Attorney-General, who con-
ducted the case for the Crown, was Dudley Ryder, another
member of the Middle Temple, assisted by the Solicitor-
General, William Murray, of Lincoln's Inn, the celebrated
340 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPEE
Lord Mansfield, and Sir John Strange, of the Middle.
Other counsel for the Crown were Charles Yorke, the
Chancellor's second son, afterwards himself Lord Chan-
cellor, Lyttelton, and Legfge.
The counsel assigned to Lovat were Starkie, Forrester,
Ford, Wilmot, and Hamilton Gordon ; but as these could
only speak on questions of law, and as only one or two
such points were raised, they had little to do.
The case was briefly opened by two of the managers
for the House of Commons, and then Sir Dudley Ryder
opened for the Crown, and Sir John Strange summed up
the evidence, Lovat's written defence was allowed to be
read by the clerk, to which Murray replied, followed by
Ryder.
The peers brought in a unanimous verdict of guilty,
and the prisoner was sentenced, in the barbarous language
of the time, to be drawn, hanged, disembowelled, and
quartered. Although thus sentenced, Lovat was merely
beheaded on Tower Hill, meeting his death with fortitude
and spirit, jesting up to the last. He complained bitterly
that his conviction should have been obtained upon the
evidence of his own immediate personal attendants.
This trial was conducted wnth conspicuous fairness by
all concerned, and not least by the great Chancellor, who
allowed the prisoner every latitude in his power.
Philip Yorke was called in 1715, and had chambers in
Pump Court. He became in due course Solicitor-General,
Bencher, Treasurer, and Autumn Reader of the Middle
Temple. So phenomenal was his rise, that within nine
years from his call he was appointed Attorney-General, in
which office he amassed a large fortune, out of which he
purchased the Hardwicke estate in Gloucestershire.
When Attorney-General it fell to his lot to prosecute
Lord Chancellor Macclesfield, to whose son he had been
tutor, and to whom he owed his rapid advancement.
Torn by the conflicting sentiments of personal gratitude
nm.ii' YOKk-r:, kari. of HARDwrcKK
HISTORICAL SKETCH 34 1
and public duty, he was, with reluctance, excused by the
House from this ungracious task.
Upon the resignation of Lord Chancellor King in 1733,
public opinion and the ordinary "usage of professional
promotion pointed to him as the successor. The Govern-
ment, however, left this important matter to be settled
between him and Sir Charles Talbot, the Solicitor-General.
Sir Philip Yorke accordingly waived his superior claim
and accepted in lieu of the higher office that of the Chief
Justiceship of the King's Bench, and upon Talbot's death,
four years later, he was appointed Lord Chancellor upon
the nomination of Sir Robert Walpole.
During his nearly twenty years' occupation of the Wool-
sack Lord Hardwicke applied himself so assiduously to
the business of his Court that he succeeded in moulding
equitable principles into such a consistent body of doctrine
as to earn for this period the appellation of the golden
age of the Court of Chancery. As a proof of his trans-
cendent judgment, only three of his decrees during the
whole of this time were appealed from, and even those
were affirmed by the House of Lords.
This remarkable testimony to the correctness of his
decisions is discounted by his detractor Lord Campbell,
who asserts that Hardwicke always managed to arrange
that he should be the only law lord sitting.
By his contemporaries, with the solitary exception of
Horace Walpole, he was naturally regarded as the ablest
lawyer of his day, and as a judge he still ranks primus
inter pares. It is interesting to observe that the principles
laid down by him in the leading case of Chesterfield v.
Janssen have been adopted in the Money-lenders Act, 1900,
as applying to all money-lending transactions.
He married Mary, a niece of Lord Somers. She was
the daughter of Mr. Cocks, a Worcestershire squire, and
when young Yorke asked for her hand the old gentle-
man demanded his rent roll. it consists, replied the
342 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
suitor, of " a perch of ground in Westminster Hall," a
reply characteristic of his ready wit and assurance.
Hardwicke also presided at the trials of Lords Kilmar-
nock, Cromarty, and Balmerino.
His second son, Charles, was in his turn appointed
Lord Chancellor, an office, however, which he did not
live to enjoy.
Dudley Ryder became Lord Chief Justice of the King's
Bench in 1754, and died two years later.
Sir John Strange was called to the Bar in 1718, and in
1725 made an able defence in the impeachment of the
Earl of Macclesfield. He succeeded Ryder as Solicitor-
General, but resigned on account of his health in 1742,
William Murray taking his place, hi 1750 he was ap-
pointed Master of the Rolls. After holding this office
with distinction for four years, he died and was buried in
the Rolls Chapel. Sir John is the author of some well-
known Reports. Upon his tombstone in Lowlayton
Church, in Essex, the following epitaph is indicative of
his sterling character : —
'• Here lies an honest law}'er, that is Strange !"
CHAPTER XVIII
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE
{continued)
ANOTHER member of the
Xjl Middle Temple who became
Lord Chancellor of Ireland was
James Hewitt, who as Serjeant
Hewitt so bored the House of
Commons with his dry and leng"thy
oratory. On one occasion as
Charles Townshend was leaving"
the House he was asked whether
the House was up. "No," replied
Townshend, "but the Serjeant is."
Thomas Clarke, also a member of this society, succeeded
Strange as Master of the Rolls. He was an intimate of
the second Earl of Macclesfield, and a proteg'e of Lord
Hardwicke.
In the Causidicade he is thus described as a candidate
for the Solicitor-Generalship : —
"Then CI — ke, who sat snug all this while in his place,
Rose up, and put forward his ebony face.
' I have reiison,' quo' he, ' now to take it amiss,
That your Lordship han't call'd to me long before this."
Called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1713, Arthur
Onslow was in 1728 unanimously elected Speaker of the
House of Commons, an office to which he was re-elected
four times, retiring in 1761, when a unanimous vote was
343
344 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
accorded him "for his constant and unwearied attendance
in the chair during^ the course of above thirty-three years
in five successive parliaments."
Sir Fletcher Norton was called to the Bar in 1739 by
the Middle Temple, making his way to the front as much
by his want of principle as by his undoubted natural
abilities. A great advocate, he was yet said to take
money from both sides, and earned for himself the title
of Sir Bull-face Double-Fee. Elected M.P. for Appleby,
his election was declared void by the House.
As Solicitor-General he exhibited the information against
Wilkes for publishing the notorious "No. 45 " of the North
Briton. In the following year he became Attorney-General,
and appeared against William, Lord Byron, for the murder
of William Chaworth. He was also concerned in the
famous Douglas case in 1769.
In the House he on one occasion accused Pitt of
sounding the trumpet to rebellion, exclaiming, " He has
chilled my blood at the idea." Pitt's reply was rather an
argiunetitiim ad hominem than an answer to this accusation.
"The gentleman says I have chilled his blood. I shall be
glad to meet him in any place with the same opinions,
when his blood is warmer." Sir Fletcher was too discreet
to take any notice of this pointed invitation.
In 1770 Norton was elected Speaker of the House of
Commons. His ten years' occupancy of the chair was
remarkable for two incidents widely differing in approba-
tion. When the King's revenue in 1777 was increased
by ^^100,000, Sir Fletcher, in presenting the Bill to
George III., said :—
"Your faithful Commons have, in a time of public
distress, full of difficulty and danger and labouring under
burdens almost too heavy to be borne, granted you a
supply and great additional revenue, great beyond ex-
ample, great beyond your Majesty's highest wants, but
hoping that what we have contributed so liberally will be
employed wisely."
HISTORICAL SKETCH 345
Three years later, in a debate in Committee, he com-
plained that the Duke of Grafton had promised him the
Great Seal upon the next vacancy, and that Lord North
had been privy to this bargain, and yet had broken it
by offering a large pecuniary bribe to Lord Chief Justice
de Grey to quit that post in favour of Wedderburn. After
some debate, saj-s Horace Walpole, "the dialogue de-
generated into Billingsgate between Lord North and Sir
Fletcher Norton."
Norton was created a peer by a side-wind. Mr.
Dunning having been raised to the peerage on the
recommendation of Lord Shelburne, a mere Secretary
of State, Lord Rockingham, Prime Minister, insisted
upon the King bestowing a similar favour on a nominee
of his own. Such a dearth was there just then of gentle-
men proper to be peers, that the choice fell almost of
necessity upon Sir Fletcher Norton. He died at his house
in Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1789.
William de Grey, a member of a very ancient family,
was called by the Middle Temple in 1742.
In 1766 he succeeded the Hon. Charles Yorke as
Attorney-General, and in 1770 he spoke in the House
against the legality of the return of Wilkes for Middle-
sex. As law officer he conducted the proceedings against
Wilkes after his conviction in 1768. His wife was a
daughter of William Cowper, M.P. for Hertford, and
first cousin of the poet.
For nearly ten years he presided over the Court of
Common Pleas, and upon his retirement in 1780 he was
created Lord W^alsingham.
On September 23rd, 1768, the Temple was honoured
by a visit from the half-imbecile King of Denmark,
Christian VII., on his way to a banquet at the Mansion
House. Taking boat at Whitehall, the King landed at
a platform specially constructed for the occasion and
"matted on purpose" at the Temple Stairs, where he
346 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
was received by the Benchers of both societies and con-
ducted to the Middle Temple Hall, where "an elegant
collation " was awaiting- him. Christian had recently
married Princess Caroline, sister of George III, Owing
to his mental condition, which bordered on imbecility, he
had been sent on a tour through England and France,
and was accompanied by Struensee, who, obtaining com-
plete influence over him, and becoming the paramour of
Caroline, usurped the supreme authority in the kingdom.
Having aroused all classes against him by his energetic
measures of reform, Struensee fell from power, was cast
into prison and executed. Caroline was also placed in
confinement in the Castle of Cronsberg, and, confessing
her guilt, was divorced and conveyed to Celle in Hanover,
where she shortly afterwards died.
Richard Pepper Arden, Lord Alvanley, was called by
the Middle Temple in 1769. He joined the Chancery
Bar, and occupied chambers in Stone Buildings, Lincoln's
Inn, upon the same staircase upon which those of
William Pitt are said' to have been. Becoming an
intimate friend of the great statesman, in spite of the
enmity of Lord Thurlow, Arden advanced rapidly in
the profession. He became successively Solicitor- and
Attorney-General, Chief Justice of Chester, and Master
of the Rolls. Upon Lord Eldon accepting the Great Seal,
he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
In his early career he was constituted one of the judges
on the South Wales Circuit in conjunction with Daines
Barrington.
In a case before Thurlow the age of a lady was
in question, and Arden, in his excitement, said to his
opponent, " I'll lay you a bottle of wine she is more than
forty-five." Recognising his impropriety, he hastened
to apologise to the Chancellor, declaring that he had
forgotten where he was. " I suppose," growled Thurlow,
"you thought you were in your own Court."
HISTORICAL SKETCH 347
It was Lord Alvanley who decided the famous Thellussoii
will case, by which an absurd accumulation of property
contemplated by an eccentric testator was declared
invalid.
A document which, in spite of its rhythmic form, met
with a better fate, was the last will and testament of one
John Hedg-es, who died in 1737. It is as follows : —
"The fifth day of May
Being- airy and sjay,
And to hyp not inclined,
But of vigorous mind
And my body in health,
I'll dispose of my wealth
And all I'm to leave
On this side the grave
To some one or other,
And I think to my brother,
Because I foresaw
That my brethren-in-law.
If I did not take care.
Would come in for their share.
Which I no wise intended
Till their manners are mended.
And of that, God knows, there's no sig-n ;
I do therefore enjoin,
And do strictly command.
As witness my hand.
That nought I have got
Shall go into hotch-pot.
But I give and devise,
As much as in me lies,
To the son of my mother.
My own dear brother,
To have and to hold
All my silver and gold.
As the affectionate pledges
Of his brother,
John Hedges."
This extraordinary will was duly proved, and passed
a very considerable personal estate.
348 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Another inmate of Brick Court was Lloyd Kenyon,
who was called by the Middle Temple in 1756. His
slender means obliged him to practise the strictest
economy, which hardened into a parsimony lasting all
his life. In later years he frequently boasted of dining
with Dunning and Home Tooke at a small eating-house
near Chancery Lane for "j^d. a head.
After devilling for Thurlow, when the latter became
Chancellor he was appointed Chief Justice of Chester,
and within the next eight years became member of Parlia-
ment, Attorney-General, Master of the Rolls, Chief
Justice of the King's Bench, and a peer. He defended
Lord George Gordon at the Old Bailey, with Erskine as
his junior ; but although a great lawyer, he could not
compare with the latter as an advocate. He succeeded
Lord Mansfield as head of the Court of King's Bench.
Like Thurlow, he was not very even-tempered.
"Pray, Mr. Kenyon," said Lord Mansfield, "keep
your temper." "Your lordship," interposed Mr. Cowper,
who was seated near, "had better recommend Mr. Kenyon
to part with it altogether."
John Dunning was elected Treasurer of the Middle
Temple in 1779. As we have seen, as a student he
was not overburdened with cash, but less thrifty than
Kenyon, for, as Tooke adds to the story of their dinners,
"As to Dunning and myself, we were generous, for we
gave the girl who waited upon us a penny apiece, but
Kenyon, who always knew the value of money, some-
times rewarded her with a halfpenny and sometimes
with a promise."
Called in 1756, Dunning at first met with little success.
It is an ill wind that does no one any good, and Serjeant
Glynn, placed hors de combat by the gout on circuit, left
all his cases to Dunning, who, making the most of his
opportunity, rose rapidly in the profession. As a Whig,
he took a prominent part in the political questions of
HISTORICAL SKETCH 349
the day, and was rewarded by his party with the post
of Solicitor - General. Upon his resig-nation he was
succeeded by Thurlow. In opposition, he strenuously
and continuously resisted the mad policy of the Govern-
ment which lost us the New England colonies, and in
1780 moved his famous resolution that "the influence
of the Crown has increased, is increasing-, and ought
to be diminished," which he carried, and in 1782 he
supported Conway's motion against the further prose-
cution of the American War, His subsequent acceptance
of office with Fox and Burke was accompanied by a
patent in the peerage as Baron Ashburton. But for the
King's obstinate retention of Thurlow, Dunning would
have ascended the Woolsack. The joint authorship of
Jujiius's Letters has been attributed to him. Dunning
lived in Pump Court, "two pair up."
Treasurer of the Middle Temple in 1785, James Mans-
field was connected with two notable cases. In 1768 he
was one of the counsel for John Wilkes, and in 1776
defended the Duchess of Kingston in the bigamy trial.
As Solicitor-General he appeared for the Crown in the
prosecution of Lord George Gordon, and had the dis-
advantage of replying to Erskine's splendid speech, which
procured the acquittal of the prisoner. Mansfield succeeded
Lord Alvanley as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
The Middle Temple may well be proud of having pro-
duced such a man as Robert Gifford. The son of a
grocer and linendraper, he was, like Lord King, an
entirely self-made man. Called in 1808, (iifford became
Solicitor-General in 1817, and after distinguishing himself
in the prosecution of James Watson for high treason, and
in the trials of the Luddites at Derby, he was appointed
Attorney-General two years later, in which capacity he
conducted the prosecution of Arthur Thistlewood and the
other Cato Street conspirators. He also opened the
charges against Queen Caroline.
350 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
After holding- the post of Lord Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas for a few months, he was removed to the
Rolls. But for his premature death at the age of forty-
seven he would undoubtedly have succeeded Lord Eldon
as Chancellor. His chambers were at 6, Stone Buildings,
Lincoln's Inn.
William Draper Best was called by the Middle Temple
in 1784, and after a busy professional and political life,
was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in
1824. In politics at first a Whig, he turned and became
a zealous supporter of the Tories, and through his friend-
ship with the Prince Regent and his conversion to Toryism
was, a few years later, raised to the Bench. He was
regarded as an indifferent judge, and allowed his political
sentiments to bias his judicial conduct.
No man more distinguished than John Scott has graced
the history of either Inn. A pupil of his elder brother,
William, then fellow and tutor of University College,
young Scott soon made his way to the front at Oxford,
but sacrificed his prospects there to a runaway match
with Bessie Surtees, daughter of a banker at Newcastle,
his native town, by placing a ladder to her window, down
which Bessie descended into his arms "with an unthrift
love."
Leaving Oxford, he entered the Middle Temple. Called
in 1776, he moved with his wife and child into Carey
Street. It was from this house that John Scott escorted
his lovely young wife through the Gordon rioters for safety
to the Temple. Before they reached the Middle Temple
gateway her dress was torn, her hat lost, and her ringlets
hanging in confusion down her shoulders.
"The scoundrels have got your hat, Bessie," cried her
husband, "but never mind — -they have left you your hair."
He was on the point of leaving town, so slow was his
progress, when by a lucky decision in his favour in a case
in which he was engaged, briefs began to pour in.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 351
Elected M.P. for Weobly on Thurlow's recommendation,
he made his presence powerfully felt in the House, and
became an indispensable supporter of Pitt's ministry.
As Attorney-General he conducted the prosecution of
Hardy, Home Tooke, and Thelwall. After his acquittal
Tooke declared that if it should be his misfortune to be
tried again for high treason he would plead guilty rather
than listen to the long speeches of Sir John Scott !
It was during these trials that Lord Eldon was again in
danger from a London mob. "The mob," he says,
"kept thickening round me till I came to Pleet Street,
one of the worst parts that I had to pass through, and
the cries began to be threatening. ' Down with him !
Now is the time, lads ; do for him ! ' and various others
horrible enough ; but I stood up and spoke as loud as I
could : * You may do for me if you like, but remember,
there will be another Attorney-General before eight o'clock
to-morrow morning, and the King will not allow the trials
to be stopped ! ' Upon this one man shouted out, ' Say
you so? You are right to tell us. Let us give him three
cheers, my lads!' So they actually cheered me, and I got
safe to my own door."
After holding the oflice of Lord Chief Justice of the
Common Fleas for two years, in 1801 Lord Eldon received
the Great Seal, which he held till 1806, when he resigned
it into the hands of Lord Erskine. Reappointed the
following year, Lord Eldon retained the Seal for no less
than twenty years, a period full of political and national
trouble and anxietv.
In the Corn Law riots of 1816, the mob broke into
Lord Eldon's house in Bedford Square, from which, with
the assistance of four constables, he afterwards drove
them, capturing two with his own hands.
As a judge he was declared, even by his bitterest
political opponents such as Brougham and Romilly, to
be one of the greatest. As a politician his conservative
352 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
apprehensions of political reforms have, as usual, proved
to be groundless.
In 1783, Scott had chambers at No. 9, Holborn Court,
Gray's Inn.
His brother William, the eccentric and learned Lord
Stowell, was an intimate friend of Dr. Johnson, a friend-
ship formed at Oxford, and lasting until the Doctor's
death.
Like Blackstone, a University lecturer, William Scott
took chambers at 3, King's Bench Walk. After obtain-
ino- in 1779 his D.C.L., he was admitted an advocate
at Doctors' Commons, and called to the Bar by the
Middle Temple the following year. His profound know-
ledge of history and civil law acquired at Oxford soon
brought him business in abundance, and he became Judge
of the Consistory Court of London, and later Judge of
the High Court of Admiralty, a post which he held from
1790 to 1828, and in which he gained his great renown as
a jurist.
At the time of his resignation Sir Walter Scott writes :
"Met my old and much esteemed friend. Lord Stowell,
looking very frail and even comatose. Quantum mutatus!
He was one of the pleasantest men I ever knew."
Although convivial and fond of mixing in good society,
which to a wit and scholar such as Dr. Scott was always
open to him, he was singularly parsimonious.
His second marriage with the Dowager Lady Sligo was
not wanting in dramatic interest. It fell to Sir William
Scott to pronounce sentence upon her son, the Marquis,
convicted of enticing two man-of-war's men to join the
crew of his yacht at Malta. Upon the marriage Sir
William removed to her house in Grafton Street, taking
his own door-plate with him and placing it under his wife's.
Jekyll thereupon condoled with Sir William for having
<'to knock under," so the plates were transposed, when
Jekyll observed, "You don't knock under now?"
SlU WILLIAM l-.I.ACKMUNIi
HISTORICAL SKETCH 353
" Not now," said Sir William. *' Now you knock up."
Upon Sir Henry Halford, the well-known physician,
asserting that at forty every man was either a fool or
a physician. Lord Stowell with an arch smile retorted,
** May he not be both. Sir Henry? "
Henry Fielding", the novelist, became a student of the
Middle Temple in 1737, and three years later, upon his
call to the Bar, "chambers were assigned to him in Pump
Court." He was connected with the law in the person of
his grandfather, Sir Henry Gould, a Justice of the King's
Bench, and was descended from William Fielding, first
Earl of Denbigh.
Up to his entrance to the Temple Fielding had been a
playwright of doubtful character, and when the Act of
1737 to restrict the licence of the stage was passed he
found his occupation gone.
Joining the Western Circuit, he assiduously attended
sessions, but without success. Whilst a student he had
contributed to periodical literature, and upon the appear-
ance of Richardson's Pamela Fielding parodied the book,
to the great disgust of the author.
Appointed a police magistrate for Westminster in 1748,
Fielding, after a hard struggle, in which he had lost his
wife and child, gained timely relief from pecuniary em-
barrassment, and the opportunity to show his real
capabilities.
The immediate result was Tom Joties, that immortal
work, in which the original of "Sophia" was his first
wife. Miss Craddock.
In 1749 Fielding was elected Chairman of Quarter
Sessions held at Hicks's Hall, now Clerkenwell Sessions
House.
He died at Lisbon, where he had gone for his health, in
1754-
On the 6th of April, 1773, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
became a member of the Middle Temple, and a week
2 A
354 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
later married Miss Linley, whom he had previously
rescued from an unworthy admirer, and for whose sake
he had fought two duels.
Statesman and advocate as he was, he will be best
remembered as the author of The Rivals and The School
for Scandal. Already an Under - Secretary of State,
Sheridan's speech upon the charges against Warren
Hastings relating to the begums occupied five hours
and forty minutes, and was regarded as one of the most
memorable in the annals of Parliament,
His speech as one of the managers of the impeachment
before the Lords in Westminster Hall was the topic of the
day. As a politician of wide and liberal views, as a
supporter of all social measures of reform, as a dramatist
unrivalled since Shakespeare, as an orator in the first
flight in the age of Burke, Pitt, and Fox, and as a man
of unstinted generosity and sturdy independence, he is a
member of whom any society might well be proud.
In 1799, when twenty years of age, Thomas Moore
entered himself at the Middle Temple, taking with him
his Anacreon, which was published the following year,
but he does not appear ever to have occupied chambers
here.
That strange literary curiosity Thomas de Quincey
began to keep his terms at the Middle Temple in 1808,
apparently without any idea of practising.
In 1 82 1 he returned to London, and formed an intimacy
with Lamb and Talfourd, whose acquaintance he had
formerly made in the Temple.
The principal events affecting the legal profession
during the short reign of William IV. were an increase
in the number of the judges, and the abolition of the
office of a Welsh judge.
Many of these latter appointments were held by briefless
barristers, and the title of a " Welsh judge " had become
a term of reproach.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 355
The Hon. Mrs. Georg-e Chappie Norton was doubly
connected with the Middle Temple. Herself the grand-
daughter of Sheridan, her father being Tom Sheridan, the
eldest son, she married Norton, himself a member of
this society, and brother of Lord Grantley, a descendant
of Sir Fletcher Norton, also a Middle Templar.
The Nortons came of an ancient race. Richard Norton
and his brothers, Christopher, Marmaduke, and Thomas,
joined the rising in the North of 1569, were convicted of
high treason and attainted. This event is recorded by
Wordsworth in his White Doe of Ryhtone ; or, The Fate of
the Nortons.
The Hon. George was M.P. for Guildford from 1826 to
1830. His chambers were at i, Garden Court. \\\ 1827
he married "Carry" Sheridan. The latter and her two
sisters were celebrated society beauties of their day, like
the three Miss Wyndhams of our own time, but Carry
was specially known as the wit. "You see," said
Helen, the eldest, afterwards Lady Dufferin, " Georgy's
the beauty and Carry's the wit, and I ought to be the
good one, but I am not " — a modest disclaimer which was
far from the truth, for Lady Dufferin was as good as she
was beautiful. Georgy became Lady Seymour.
Through the influence of his wife, who was a connection
of Lord Melbourne, Mr. Norton was appointed police
magistrate for Whitechapel, from which he was subse-
quently transferred to Lambeth. Mrs. Norton contributed
largely to periodical literature, and attained some reputa-
tion as a novelist. Her earnings with the pen, at any
rate, formed the larger portion of their joint income, but
her husband continued to feel aggrieved that she had not
used her influence with Lord Melbourne to better effect.
The latter was a constant visitor at their house in George
Street, Westminster. In fact, in addition to frequently
dining with the young couple, he was sufficiently in-
discreet to pay almost daily visits to Mrs. Norton in her
356 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
husband's absence. Whether Mr. Norton really believed
in the charges he presently made against his wife or not,
he allowed himself to be made the tool of the political
enemies of the Prime Minister, amongst whom not the
least violent was his brother, Lord Grantley.
These charges culminated in an action for crim. con.
against Lord Melbourne. The case came on for trial on
June 22nd, 1836, in Westminster Hall, before Lord Chief
Justice Tindal and a Middlesex special jury. Sir William
FoUett led for Mr. Norton, and Sir John Campbell,
Attorney-General (afterwards Lord Chancellor), Serjeant
Talfourd, and Frederick Thesiger appeared for the de-
fence. The trial commenced at 9.30 a.m., and Campbell
finished his reply of three hours and a half at 10.30 p.m.
Then the judge summed up at some length, and the jury
in a few seconds found for the defendant amid tumultuous
bursts of applause. Lord Grantley occupied a seat on the
bench, but was not called. He was severely trounced
by Campbell, and must have passed a most unpleasant
quart dlieiire. The Court rose at 11.30.
Trials in those days were truly trials to all besides the
parties more immediately concerned.
The weak attack by Follett is said to have suggested
to Dickens, who was then writing the Pickwick Papers,
the character of Serjeant Buzfuz. The evidence against
Mrs. Norton was of the weakest. At the same time,
judging merely from the report of the case, it is doubtful
whether in a petition for a divorce under modern con-
ditions the result might not have been otherwise. The
relationship between the parties was, to say the least, in-
discreet. Mrs. Norton is the original of Diana Warwick
in George Meredith's powerful novel Diana of the Cross-
ivays. Mr. Warwick is, of course, Norton, and Lord
Dannisburgh the Prime Minister Melbourne. Norton is
said to have ill-treated his beautiful wife, and he cer-
tainly appears to have been a jealous, bad-tempered,
HISTORICAL SKETCH 357
vindictive fellow. As Meredith puts into the mouth of
Diana: "He took what I could get for him, and then
turned and drubbed me for getting it."
Indolent and inattentive to the duties of his post, he
had only himself to thank for not obtaining the promotion
he sought from Lord Melbourne, and the refusal by the
latter to further assist him may have been one of the
motives in his attempt to pillory his wife and the Prime
Minister to the public gaze.
There is no foundation whatever for connecting the
name of Mrs. Norton with the sale of the secret of Sir
Robert Peel's intended abolition of the Corn Laws to the
editor of the Times. Mr. Meredith has made dramatic
use of this incident, but in recent editions has withdrawn
the insinuation.
After the death of her husband Mrs. Norton married
Sir William. Stirling Maxwell in 1876, and died within a
few months of her marriage.
Her second son, Thomas Brinsley, succeeded as fourth
Lord Grantley.
It was in Mrs. Norton's drawing-room in George Street,
as her nephew, the late Lord Dufferin, has often recounted,
that Disraeli met Lord Melbourne for the first time. This
was the moment when Disraeli, consumed with ambition,
had just returned from an unsuccessful attempt to enter
Parliament. Lord Melbourne, after listening to the young
politician's story of frustrated schemes, good-naturedly
asked, "Well, now, tell me, what do you want to be?"
"I want to be Prime Minister," came the unabashed
reply.
We have already referred to Talfourd as the friend and
biographer of Lamb. A member of the Middle Temple,
Serjeant Thomas Noon Talfourd was not only distinguished
as a powerful advocate, but as a successful politician,
dramatic author, and writer.
In the House he materially helped to carry two great
358 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
measures : one securing to a mother the right of access
to her children as long as her character is unchallenged,
and the other securing to an author for an extended period
the results of his labours. Appointed to the Court of
Common Pleas in 1849, he died on the Bench of apoplexy
at the Stafford Assizes in 1854.
Talfourd's chambers were at 2, Elm Court, but when
he made Lamb's acquaintance he was living in Inner
Temple Lane.
He was still a serjeant when in 1840 his last play,
Glencoe, was produced by Macready. To his Honour
Judge Parry, a Bencher of the Middle, appears to belong
the distinction of being the first to produce a dramatic
work whilst still holding judicial office.
Winthrop Mackworth Praed, the poet, was a younger
son of Serjeant William Mackworth Praed. After a
brilliant career at Cambridge, where he read classics
with Macaulay, he was called to the Bar by the Middle
Temple in 1829, and joined the Norfolk Circuit. He
entered Parliament in 1830 as the purchaser of a rotten
borough, abolished by the Reform Act, to which he was
opposed.
Whilst without a seat he contributed both prose and
verse to the Morning Post, which became — it is said in
consequence of his contributions — the leading Conservative
paper.
It is strange to-day to find the Duke of Wellington
furnishing Praed with materials wherewith to defend
him in the Mornuig Post against the attacks of the
Times! Returned at the General Election of 1834 for
Great Yarmouth, Praed's subsequent political career was
not conspicuous. He died of consumption in 1839. His
chambers were at 2, Brick Court.
That famous soldier Sir Henry Havelock became a
member of the Middle Temple in 181 3, and was a pupil
of Joseph Chitty, whose chambers were at 6, Pump
HISTORICAL SKETCH 359
Court, and a fellow-student of Talfourd. The following
year, owing" to a misunderstanding with his father, he
was obliged to abandon the law, and entered the service
as second lieutenant in the 95th Regiment, his captain
being Sir Harry Smith, of South African fame. What
was lost to the law was gained to the service. The
capture of Cawnpore and the relief of Lucknow link
Havelock's name indissolubly with some of the most
notable events in our national history.
With chambers at 5, Essex Court, but a member of
the Inner Temple, Serjeant Alexander Pulling will go
down to posterity rather as the author of Tlie Order of
the 6'y//"than as a lawyer. He also wrote numerous other
treatises, the most notable of which is The Laws^ Customs,
and Regulations of the City and Port of London. Called
in 1843, he went the Western Circuit, where he eventually
became leader. He died in 1895.
Upon the death of Lord Abinger in 1844, Sir Frederick
Pollock, a member of a family highly distinguished both
in arms and in law, succeeded him as Lord Chief Baron
of the Exchequer. Called by the Middle Temple in 1807,
after a brilliant career at Cambridge, where he was
Senior Wrangler, he at once forced himself to the front
as an advocate, and in 1834 was appointed Attorney-
General by Sir Robert Peel. Sir Frederick's chambers
were at 18, Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street.
Sir John Jervis, chosen Treasurer of the Middle Temple
in 1846, commenced life with a commission in the
Carabineers, but, leaving the service, was called to the
Bar in 1824. He was a member of the first Reformed
Parliament and a constant supporter of the Liberal
party. As Solicitor- and Attorney-General, he was con-
cerned in the numerous political prosecutions of the
"forties." His conduct in the Chartist trials was so
moderate as to earn for him the respect of all parties,
and in 1850 he was deservedly raised to the position
36o THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
of Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, where his
judgments were said to be "models at once of legal
learning, accurate reasoning, masculine sense, and
almost faultless language." Jervis had chambers in
New Court and at 3, Essex Court.
Called to the Bar in 1819 by the Middle Temple, Sir
William Erie, ten years senior to Sir Alexander Cock-
burn, succeeded the latter as Lord Chief Justice of the
Common Pleas in 1859. For seven years Erie occupied
this position with the greatest distinction and dignity,
earning the well-deserved title of the best judge who
ever sat on the Bench. Few men were more beloved,
either in Court or in his own home, than Chief Justice
Erie. Lord Coleridge declared him to be the finest
advocate of his time.
Erie's chambers were at 14, Paper Buildings.
A member of the Middle Temple who figured unhappily
in the Parliament of 1858 was Edward Auchmuty Glover,
who was accused of having made a false declaration of
his property qualification as member of the House of
Commons. This declaration had become a mere formality,
but someone had to be the scapegoat, and the lot fell
on the unfortunate Glover, whose election was declared
void, and who was prosecuted, convicted, and sent to
Newgate. This incident led to the immediate abolition
of the property qualification.
Glover's chambers were at i, Plowden Buildings.
Sir William Erie's successor, William Bovill, was also
a member, and at that moment Treasurer, of the Middle
Temple. He is best remembered by the public as the
judge who tried the first Tichborne case, when he directed
the prosecution of the plaintiff for perjury. As an
advocate at Nisi Prius he was said to be second to none,
and although not a great judge, he scarcely deserves
the ill-natured comment made by Lord Westbury, who,
on looking in at the Tichborne trial, remarked, "Ah,
HISTORICAL SKETCH 361
poor Bovill, if he only knew a little law, he'd be the very
worst judge on the bench."
Bovill had chambers at 3, Essex Court.
Sir Alexander Cockburn was called to the Bar by the
Middle Temple in 1829, and had chambers at 3, Harcourt
Building-s. A strong supporter of the Liberal party in
the House, he was selected to succeed Sir John Romilly
as Solicitor-General in 1850, and upon the latter's pro-
motion to the Rolls took his place as Attorney-General.
From 1856 he presided in the Court of Common Pleas for
nearly three years, and upon Lord Campbell accepting
the Great Seal succeeded him as Lord Chief Justice of
the Queen's Bench.
It was said of him by Serjeant Shee, that in high legal
attainments Cockburn was surpassed by none of his pre-
decessors, that he owed his distinction not to backstairs
influence, not to political intrigue, not to political sub-
servience, but to his endowments, superior talents, and
strength of character.
A story is related by Croker of going with young
Cockburn to visit Sir Robert (then Mr.) Peel. On being
told that Mr. Peel was out of town Cockburn, said, " Oh,
no, I know he came to town this morning." This reply
altered the porter's demeanour, and most respectfully he
asked, "Sir, are you the Lord Chancellor?" "Why, no
— not yet," replied Cockburn, "but I hope to be soon."
"Oh, sir," said the porter, "in that case my master has
desired that you should be admitted," and admitted he
was, to the great astonishment of Peel and amusement of
Croker.
As an advocate he first came into public notice for his
eloquent defence of McNaghtcn, the mad murderer of
Drummond, Peel's private secretary. In the House he
made his reputation by the brilliant speech defending
Palmerston's spirited demand of compensation for Don
Pacifico, a British subject resident at Athens, whose
362 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
house had been wrecked in an anti-Semite riot. Although
an advocate rather than a lawyer, Cockburn, once on
the Bench, became a great judge. His award on the
Alabama case entitles him to a high place as a jurist.
Amongst the causes celebres tried before Cockburn, the
Tichborne case stands first. After summing up, a judg-
ment which fills two volumes of eight hundred pages
each, he administered a well-deserved rebuke to the
defendant's counsel. Dr. Kenealy.
At a banquet given by the Bar in 1864 to M. Berryer,
the great French advocate, Lord Brougham had said that
"the first great quality of an advocate is to reckon
everything subordinate to the interests of his clients."
In replying to the toast of "The Judges," Cockburn's
speech is the best index to his character.
"Much as I admire," he said, "the great abilities of
M. Berryer, to my mind his crowning virtue — as it ought
to be that of every advocate — is that he has throughout
his career conducted his cases with untarnished honour.
The arms which an advocate wields he ought to use as
a warrior, not as an assassin. He ought to uphold the
interests of his client per fas and not per nefas. He
ought to know how to reconcile the interests of his client
with the eternal interests of truth and justice."
At the banquet were also present Sir Roundell Palmer,
the then Attorney-General, afterwards Lord Chancellor,
in the chair ; Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the
Exchequer ; Sir Fitzroy Kelly, Lord Bramwell, and Lord
Hatherley.
Cockburn's chambers were at 3, Harcourt Buildings.
Richard Bethell for a time followed closely in the foot-
steps of his fellow-Templar, Sir Alexander Cockburn,
being Solicitor-General with him and taking his place as
Attorney-General, when he was promoted to the chiefship
of the Common Pleas in 1856.
Upon the death of Lord Campbell in 1861, Sir Richard
HISTORICAL SKETCH 363
Bethell succeeded to his high office, which he held with
the greatest distinction as a judge till 1865, when he felt
bound to resign owing to some scandal connected with
his patronage, in which there does not appear to be any-
thing affecting his honour beyond culpable looseness in
its administration. As an advocate Bethell's success was
phenomenal, his annual income amounting to as much as
^24,000. His wit was sparkling, and his powers of
repartee such as to render him dreaded as an opponent.
But these powers bordered on the rude, and showed a
lack of nice feeling and good taste. Unlike most men of
great assurance at the Bar, Bethell was also a great
lawyer. A member of the Liberal party, he promoted
several great measures of reform, and laboured strenu-
ously in the cause of statute law revision and legal
education.
When Chief Justice Erie had retired from the Bench
Bethell once remarked to him, " I wish, Erie, you would
sometimes come in to the Privy Council and relieve me
from my onerous duties there, for we can't get on without
three, and there is no one else I can apply to." Erie
replied that as he was getting a little deaf he feared he
would be of no use. "Not at all, my dear fellow," said
Bethell. " Of my two usual colleagues is as deaf
as a post and hears nothing, is so stupid that he can
understand nothing he hears, and yet we three together
make an admirable Court."
Bethell occupied chambers at No. 9, New Square,
Lincoln's Inn.
The Middle Temple was amply represented in the
Tichborne case. The proceedings commenced with an
ejectment suit in Chancery, and then came before the
Court of Common Pleas in the shape of an issue as to
whether the claimant was or was not the heir to Sir John
Tichborne. In this case, besides Bovill on the bench,
the Solicitor-General, Sir John Duke Coleridge, Henry
364 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Hawkins, Q.c, Sir George Honeyman, Q.c. , and Charles
Synge Christopher Bowen, who appeared for the defence,
were all members of the Middle Temple. Henry
Matthews, Q.c, of Lincoln's Inn, now Viscount Llandaff,
held a watching brief. For the claimant were Serjeant
Ballantine and Hardinge Stanley Giffard, Q.c, now Lord
Chancellor, with Pollard and Francis Jeune as juniors.
In the trial at Bar on the criminal charge of perjury
before Cockburn, Mellor, and Lush, the Crown was
represented by Hawkins, Q.c, Serjeant Parry, Chapman
Barber, J. C. Mathew, and Charles Bowen.
For the defence appeared Dr. Kenealy, Q.c, and Patrick
McMahon, both of Gray's Inn, and Cooper Wyld, of the
Inner Temple.
John Duke Coleridge, like Simon Harcourt and Heneage
Finch, was deservedly styled the "silver-tongued," for with
the exception of Cockburn, Gladstone, Sir Robert Peel,
and Father Burke, according to the late Lord Russell, he
had no superior in beauty of voice and power of rhetoric.
From Oxford he brought with him to the Temple a
great reputation. Of him Principal Shairp penned these
lines in his Balliol Sc/wlars, 1840-3 :—
" Fair-haired and tall, slim, but of stately mien,
Another in the bright bloom of nineteen
Fresh from the fields of Eton came.
Whate'er of beautiful or poet sung,
Or statesman uttered, round his memory clung,
Before him shone resplendent heights of fame,
With friends around to bind ; no wit so fine
To wing the jest, the sparkling tale to tell."
It was not until he took silk and became a Bencher
that Coleridge appeared prominently in the Courts at
Westminster, but from that time his services were eagerly
sought in all the causes celebres of the day.
It is with the Tichborne case that the name of Coleridge
will be best remembered. In the opinion of that master
HISTORICAL SKETCH 365
of the art of cross-examination, Lord Russell, his cross-
examination was the best piece of work Coleridgfe ever
did, although not of the brilliant character of Hawkins'
effort with the witness Baigent. Its full effect was dis-
covered when the facts as they ultimately appeared in the
defendant's case were fully disclosed.
This cross-examination of " Tichborne " lasted twenty-
one days, and of the speech Lord Russell says, "A more
masterly exposition of complicated facts, combined with
a searching criticism of the claimant's evidence, has rarely,
if ever, been delivered."
On the death of Bovill in 1873 Coleridge was appointed
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and in 1880 he
succeeded Cockburn as the first Lord Chief Justice of
England.
hi the libel action brought by Mr. Adams, his son-in-law,
son of Serjeant Adams, against him and his son Bernard,
the present Lord Coleridge, it was curious to see him enter
the witness-box and offer himself for examination in his
own Court.
By his visit to the United States with Hannen, Bowen,
and Russell, he easily gained the heart of the American
public. As a conversationalist Lord Coleridge was un-
surpassed.
hi the House of Commons he was a better speaker
than a debater. On one occasion he had made a graceful
and impressive speech in favour of Women's Rights, of
which that humorous hishman, Serjeant Dowse, speedily
destroyed the effect. " My honourable and learned
colleague," said he, "seems to think that because some
judges are old women, all old women are qualified to be
judges."
As a judge his only defect was that he did not make
the most of his high office ; but this was perhaps due to
loss of physical energy, for when he took the pains, none
of the qualities essential to a great judge were lacking.
366 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
His chambers were at i, Brick Court, which Bowen
shared with him, the entrance to which is shown in the
accompanying- sketch in the building to the right.
But for the loss of his sight, "Handsome Jack"
Karslake would have risen to the highest office in the
Passage uetweex Essex Couki and Brick Court.
profession. As it was, he became Solicitor- and Attorney-
General and one of the leading advocates of the day.
He was the one-time rival of John Duke Coleridge.
Born in the same year, called to the Bar by the Middle
Temple in the same year, they began to practise together
at the Devon Sessions and were made Queen's Counsel in
the same year. In politics they differed, and opposed
each other in contesting Exeter.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 367
His chambers were at 2, Essex Court.
An amusing story is told of Karslake, who stood six
feet four in his stockings. Mr. Sam Joyce was as re-
markably short as Karslake was tall, and when he rose
to address the Court, Lord Campbell said : —
" Mr. Joyce, when counsel address the Court it is usual
for counsel to stand up."
" My lord," protested Mr. Joyce, " I am standing up."
A little later Mr. Karslake rose from a bench at the
back of the Court, which, sloping upwards, gave him
even greater apparent height. Thereupon Lord Campbell
remarked : —
"Mr. Karslake, although it is usual for counsel to
stand up when they address the Court, it is not necessary
for them to stand on the benches."
One result of Bowen's almost superhuman efforts in
this case, the ramifications of which he had at his finger-
tips, was his appointment by Sir John Coleridge as
Attorney-General's devil, a sure stepping-stone to pro-
fessional advancement. Another result was the sowing- of
the seeds of ill-health produced by the enormous strain
of three years' incessant labour in this case. In 1879 he
was raised to the Queen's Bench, and in 1882 succeeded
Lord Justice Holker in the Court of Appeal. Here he
was more in his element. His mind was too subtle for
the rough and tumble of the Common Law Courts. He
regarded law not as a collection of mere rules, but as the
embodiment of the conscience of the nation, to be modified
to meet the developments in a growing people. Lord
Bowen died on the loth of April, 1894, a few months
before his old friend and leader. Lord Coleridge.
Sir Henry Hawkins, now Lord Brampton, was popularly
known as "the hanging judge," but this merely repre-
sented the general feeling that no really guilty person
ever "got off" before liiin, for he is by nature one of
the kindest of men.
368 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Serjeant Robinson relates an amusing story of rowing
down the river from Guildford and coming upon Hawkins
and Edwin James in a most undignified position. They
were standing on the middle of the lock gates, the one
a fat, fussy figure, the colour of a lobster, with nothing
but his hat on, and the other thin and spare, of a pale
blue tint, with only a pair of boots in his hand. They
had just undressed preparatory to a bathe when they
were attacked by a bull, which proceeded to mutilate
the clothes they had been unable to save.
Sir Henry's chambers were at i. Crown Office Row.
Serjeant Parry had already made his name before the
Tichborne case, in the trials of Manning in 1849, of
Miiller in 1864, and in the Overend and Gurney
prosecution of 1869. His chambers were at 8, King's
Bench Walk.
Like his great predecessor Lord Mansfield, Lord Russell
of Killowen was a member of Lincoln's Inn, and, like him,
occupied chambers for the greater part of his professional
life in the Temple. Called in 1859, he was till 1866 at
5, Pump Court, when he moved to 3, Brick Court, where
he remained until his migration to 10, New Court, Carey
Street, in 1885.
Russell commenced life as a solicitor. He was articled
to Mr. Cornelius Denvir, of the firm of Hamill and
Denvir, of Newry, and finished his articles with Mr.
O'Rourke, at 14, Donegal Street, Belfast. Upon the
termination of his articles he took two rooms at 73,
Donegal Street, where he commenced to practise, and
soon came into public notice for his successful conduct
of the Cashendall disturbances cases during the years
1854-6.
Married to Miss Ellen Mulholland in August, 1858,
Russell settled in London, and soon got together a
practice at the Bar, which steadily increased. Going
the Northern Circuit, the story is told that when dining
VlliW OK MIDDLE Tli.Ml'l.li !■ KO.M .NKW COURT
HISTORICAL SKETCH 369
with Herschell, afterwards Lord Chancellor, and Gully,
the present Speaker, all three resolved to seek their
fortunes in the colonies, so disheartening were their
prospects at the English Bar, This story, though long
accepted, is not wholly true, as we now know from
Russell himself, who disclaims any intention of leaving
this country. "Gully and Herschell," says Russell,
"were in a desponding mood. They almost despaired
of success in England, Gully — I think it was Gully —
proposed going to the Straits Settlements, and Herschell
to the Indian Bar."
In Russell's first year his fees amounted to ;^ii'j, in
his second to ^261, in his third ;^44i, and in his fourth
;j^i,oi6. In 1870 his income rose to ^4,230, and ulti-
mately to p^20,000.
The statement that Russell was in his earlier years a
reporter in the House of Commons is entirely unfounded,
Russell wrote regularly for several papers and used to
resort to the gallery for journalistic purposes.
Taking silk in 1872, Russell, in spite of such powerful
opponents as Holker, Benjamin, and Herschell, became
the head of his circuit, and in town his services were soon
retained in almost every important case. His great
speech in the Parnell Commission is regarded as a master-
piece of eloquence, such as to place him upon a level with
Erskine and Berryer,
In the true sense of the term Russell was not an
orator, but he was a great speaker upon facts. His
motto was, "Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts," not merely
"Words, words, words," He truly applied the ancient
Greek aphorism —
"Words witliout lliouglit to heaven never fly."
As he used to say, " The words will come if you have the
thoughts in you," So keenly did Russell throw himself
heart and soul into his cases that when a great trial, like
2 B
370 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the Maybrick case, went against him, his spirit was for
the moment almost broken.
For a brief period a Lord of Appeal, on the death of
Lord Coleridge he succeeded him as Lord Chief Justice of
England, and of him we may truly say that a greater
judge never adorned the Bench, His power of getting at
the truth of the case was phenomenal, and in causes
celebres, such as the Jameson trial at Bar, where he pre-
sided with the late Baron Pollock and Hawkins, j., he
was seen at his best. In dignity, in abstention from all
vain personal intrusion, in prompt and firm grasp of facts,
he was at least the equal, some say the superior, of his
brilliant predecessor Cockburn.
No one who saw him will forget how he rose to the
magnitude of the occasion. A weaker man might, by
acquiescing with the scarcely concealed wish of the
Government and of the public to shield the defendants,
have shattered at one blow the independence of the Bench
and the fair name of England for justice.
The acknowledged advocate of his time, the master of
the art of cross-examination, a great judge, he is also
known on the Continent and in the United States, through
his services as counsel at the Behring Sea Arbitration,
and as an arbitrator at the Venezuelan Arbitration, as a
leading English jurist.
Russell, too, had a ready wit, and once only have I seen
him worsted. It was a breach of promise case, before
Denman, j., just after the Parnell Commission, and
Kemp, K.c, was his opponent. Russell, producing a
copy of the Times, proceeded to read some extract in his
client's favour, when Mr. Kemp interposed with the
innocent remark, "I suppose. Sir Charles, you do not
rely upon the accuracy of the Times?'' The effect was
electrical ; the whole Court, including the judge, laughed
till it could laugh no more, whilst Russell, throwing his
brief on the desk, sat down and bore the laughter with
HISTORICAL SKETCH 371
every sign of irritation and discomposure. As an instance
of Russell's ready wit the following may be quoted. Asked
by a junior what was the penalty for bigamy, the famous
lawyer promptly replied, "Two mothers-in-law."
He was, as his friend William Court Gully says, a
many-sided man, and "had he inherited an income such
as the exercise of his abilities at the Bar enabled him to
command, we should never have known his capabilities
as an advocate or a judge, and his ambition would have
been to lead a party in the House of Commons and to win
the Derby ; and so great was his force of character that
possibly he would have done both."
Of him Lord Coleridge once said, " He is the biggest
advocate of the century." But he was even more than
this. He was a man of exceptional force of character.
A lover of truth, he hated all that was mean and paltry.
To a clear head and sound judgment were added a strong
will, an imperious temper, and an independent spirit,
which nothing could daunt. Whether he worked or
whether he played, he did it with all his soul. He
loathed idleness as he loathed deceit.
To his imperious temper may be attributed his brusque-
ness and even rudeness to his clients, and many are the
stories told of this failing. " Sit down, you old fool," he
once cried to his client, a venerable, white-haired solicitor,
the doyen of an assize town, who persisted in interrupting
him in his conduct of a case. Like most Irishmen, how-
ever, Russell failed to see the humour of such situations.
He had no intention of being rude, and never appeared to
recognise the brusqueness of his language or manner.
A kinder-hearted man never breathed. \n Russell we
have prematurely lost not only a great judge but a great
man.
Lord Russell, curiously enough, has been succeeded by
Sir Richard Webster, now Lord Alverstone, like Russell
himself and Mansfield a member of Lincoln's Inn and an
372 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
inmate of the Temple. Lord Alverstone's name still
appears on the door of 2, Pump Court, ground floor left.
Like Lord Esher, Sir A. L. Smith, and Sir Joseph Chitty,
Richard Webster was a great athlete, winning the two
miles in the Oxford and Cambridge sports of 1865 in
10 min. 38I sec, beating the Dark Blue representative by
forty yards.
It was as an advocate at Doctors' Commons that
Robert J. Phillimore started on his brilliant career. As
successor to Dr. Lushington and Lord Stowell, Sir
Robert Phillimore added to the reputation of his Court
by his learning and dignity. A master of ecclesiastical
law, he was equally at home in maritime law, but it is
as a jurist in international law that his services not only
to this country, but to the world at large, will be best
remembered. He was the last judge of the old Admiralty
Court, the lineal descendant of the Court of the Lord
High Admiral of England, first held on board ship in
the reign of Edward L, and more permanently estab-
lished on the riverside by Edward HL
Phillimore was elected Treasurer of the Middle Temple
in 1869. His chambers were in the College at Doctors'
Commons.
Called in 1848, James Hannen soon acquired an
extensive commercial practice, and became known to the
public through his successful appearance for the claimant
in the House of Lords in the celebrated Shrewsbury case.
Raised to the Queen's Bench in 1868, he succeeded Lord
Penzance as Judge of the old Court of Probate and
Divorce. He will be best remembered as President of
the Parnell Commission of Inquiry. His chambers were
at 2, Essex Court.
With Hannen and A. L. Smith on the Parnell Com-
mission sat Sir John Day, who was called in 1849. A
story is told that when going the Northern Circuit he
wished to try the effect of the treadmill, and that the warder.
HISTORICAL SKETCH 373
either for the humour of the things or for some other
reason, after setting the machine in motion, affected not
to hear the learned judge's request to be set free, with
the result that he had to complete his fifteen minutes'
turn bathed in perspiration. Day was particularly fond
of proceeding from one assize town to another on horse-
back, and in order to have more time for his journeys
frequently sat late in Court.
On one occasion, the dinner-hour having passed and
Mr. Justice Day having shown no signs of rising, a
member of the Bar wrote the following lines, which
quickly reached the bench : —
" Try men by night ! My lord, forbear :
Think what the wicked world will say !
Methinks I hear the rogues declare
That justice was not done by Day ! "
The judge's name naturally gave scope to puns of this
character. In Liverpool he was known as "Judgment
Day," and now that he has retired he has been re-
christened "Day of Rest."
A distinguished member of the Middle, of whom many
good stories are related, was His Honour Judge Digby
Seymour, q.c. When at the Bar he was one day con-
versing in very audible tones in Court, much to the
annoyance of an Irish barrister, endowed with a rich
brogue, who was addressing the jury. " Be quiet, Mr.
Saymour ! " exclaimed the irate Irishman. "My name
is Seymour, sir," replied that gentleman. "Well, then,
see more and say less," came the witty retort.
MASTERS OF THE BENCH
At the head of the list of the Masters of the Bench
stands the name of His Majesty King Edward VII. As
Prince of Wales, on October 31st, 1861, he opened the
new library — a Gothic building of rather unwieldy pro-
374 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
portions — was called to the Bar, and elected a Bencher
of the Inn.
After the library had been declared opened, a service
was held in the church, followed by a magnificent banquet
in the Hall, at which the Prince gave the toast, to
a distinguished assembly, of "Domus," amidst great
applause.
On more than one public occasion, when Prince of
Wales, His Majesty appeared in the Inn as a Bencher
of the Society.
After the opening of the Royal Courts of Justice by
Queen Victoria on December 4th, 1882, a brilliant com-
pany was entertained to luncheon in the Hall. Amongst
other distinguished guests were the Duke of Cambridge,
the Duke and Duchess of Teck, and Mr. Gladstone,
Prime Minister. A marquee, capable of accommodating
1,100 persons, had been erected in the garden, and here
the lesser members of the Inn received their relations
and friends to a similar repast.
Other distinguished Benchers are the Right Hon. Lord
Young, one of the judges of the Court of Session, Scot-
land ; the Right Hon. Lord Brampton, better known as
Sir Henry Hawkins ; the Right Hon. Lord James of
Hereford, called in 1852, Postman of the Court of Ex-
chequer, Solicitor- and Attorney-General under Gladstone,
who, when the Great Seal was within his grasp, went
over to the Unionists ; the Right Hon. Baron Lindley,
called in 1850, now a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, one of
our greatest living masters of equity jurisprudence; and
the Right Hon. Sir R. Henn Collins, called in 1867, the
new Master of the Rolls, who had an enormous practice
as a "silk." A man of immense legal attainments, he is
regarded as one of our leading lawyers. He represented
Great Britain at the Venezuela and British Guiana Arbi-
tration of 1897.
When at the Bar, Hawkins occupied chambers at
HISTORICAL SKETCH 375
Crown Office Row; James at i, New Court; Lindley at
16, Old Square, Lincoln's Inn; whilst the name of Sir
Richard Henn Collins may still be found on the door-
post of 4, Brick Court, in company with that of Mr.
Montag-ue Lush, the well-known advocate and Treasurer
of Gray's Inn, son of Sir Robert Lush, a Lord Justice
of Appeal.
Others who occupy seats on the Bench are Sir Alfred
Wills, called in 1851 and appointed a judge of the Queen's
Bench in 1884, Sir John C. Big-ham, called in 1870, and
Sir Walter G. F. Phillimore, called two years earlier, the
son of the well-known ecclesiastical and Admiralty judge.
Sir Robert Phillimore, both raised to the Bench in 1897.
Amongst the counsel marked out for promotion are
the present Attorney-General, Sir Robert B. Finlay, and
J. Fletcher Moulton, K.c. , the leading- authority in patent
cases and an ardent politician.
Among^st other names to be mentioned are those of
Sir Richard Couch, a well-known Indian judge ; Lord
Coleridge, K.c, eldest son of Lord Chief Justice Coleridg-e,
who occupies chambers with his fellow-Bencher, Mr. Robert
Wallace, k.c, m.p., at No. 3, King's Bench Walk; Sir
Forrest Fulton, k.c, Recorder of the City ; and Sir E. H.
Carson, K.c, the Solicitor-General.
CHAPTER XIX
CONCLUSION
E'
VEN these rough
sketches bear wit-
ness to the closeness of
the bond which unites the
Temple and all its name
implies with the life of the
nation. From its heart has
pulsated the life-blood of
the people. Here the men
who built up our constitu-
tion and the laws under
which we live and have our
being, worked and died ;
.HVR^H^ here those who interpreted
and administered these laws on the Bench or in the
Cabinet received their training ; and here, too, toiled those
who contributed to our pleasure on the stage, or earned a
bare subsistence in the study, that our recreations might
be enlarged and our labours lessened.
As we pace the well-worn pavements by the hoary
walls and dingy chambers, what memories crowd upon
memories of the dead past which lives again ! Once
more in the Round we see the novitiate kneel before the
patriarch as he casts the veil of purity upon his head, and
his two sponsors, the mailclad Templar Knights in their
376
CONCLUSION 377
white cloaks stamped with the red cross of the Order,
stand on either side with upHfted swords. Or we watch
the procession of new-created Serjeants in their white
lawn coifs and parti-coloured gowns wending- their way
from the Temple Hall to make their offering at the shrine
of St. Thomas of Acre in Cheapside. Anon we see the
form of Coke hurrying along the narrow passage in Ram
Alley to Serjeants' Inn, from his chambers in Fuller's
Rents ; or we stand with Plowden as he superintends the
building of the great Hall, where Christopher Hatton led
out the Queen to head the dancers, and Shakespeare saw
staged his immortal plays. We see Lyttelton with the
Great Seal, and many another Cavalier, flying to join the
King at Oxford, whilst a Prideaux and a Whitelocke
remain behind to carry on the business of the Inns and to
assist in legalising the Commonwealth. We may follow
Sawyer, Pollexfen, and Somers to Westminster Hall and
witness, in the trial of the Seven Bishops, the great
struggle for civil and religious liberty. The features of
the terrified Jeffreys, disguised as a coal porter, peeping
through the dingy windows of a riverside tavern, recall
to us the Bloody Assize and sweet Alice L'Isle, and the
pusillanimous James, as with petty spite he casts the
Great Seal into the Thames. Harcourt Buildings remind
us of the silver-tongued advocate and Lord Chancellor
who defended De Foe at the Old Bailey, and at Coke-
thorpe was the patron and host of Pope and Gay, Prior
and Swift.
In the Middle Temple Hall we may see Beau Nash
making his bow to William of Orange, and declining
the honour of knighthood. The fall of Macclesfield recalls
the bursting of the South Sea Bubble and the trial of
Lord Lovat, with Hardwicke as Lord High Steward and
Mansfield as prosecuting counsel, the memories of '45.
With the names of Burke, Sheridan, and Edward Law
are associated the famous trial of Warren Hastings and
378 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
the comedy of The School for Scandal. Eldon, the great
Lord Chancellor, reminds us of the Gordon rioters, and
of all the leading political events of the early part of the
nineteenth century. From a window in Crown Office
Row we may with Lamb once more look down upon the
old Benchers as they gravely pace the terrace below, and
in Lamb Building we may visit the chambers tenanted by
Thackeray's immortal creations. Brick Court is once
more peopled by that famous group of whom the leaders
were Goldsmith, Fielding-, and Reynolds, which a century
later is replaced by a group of men equally distinguished
in another direction, led by Coleridge, Bowen, and Russell.
By such memories as these the dullest must be stirred,
the idlest and most frivolous must be stimulated to emulate
the actions of those great men.
As Judge Willis truly says, " Every man who means to
live well in the present must know the past, and every
great man has sought to inspire men by unrolling the
names of the illustrious dead."
This thought cannot be more beautifully expressed than
by Longfellow's lines in his Psalm of Life : —
" Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our own sublime,
And departing- leave behind us
Footprints in the sands of Time."
Surrounded by such associations — legal, literary, and
historic — saturated in these time-honoured traditions, no
one can be a member of either of these two Honourable
Societies without becoming a fuller and a better man.
To us a great trust has been handed down. For us a
roll of names, stretching through the centuries, has been
unfolded — names imperishable in law, in literature, in
history — names cherished by the whole English-speaking
race throug-hout the world. Shall we then be unfaithful
to this trust? Shall we not rather, inspired by such
CONCLUSION 379
recollections, be the more zealous in upholding the honour
of our House and in maintaining the honourable traditions
of our profession ? We cannot all achieve fame, but even
the least distinguished amongst us can so direct his course
that though through him no glory shall accrue, yet through
him at any rate no stain is cast upon the honour of his
House.
FINIS
\
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386 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
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"Temples in General, Of the." Tetyt MSS. No. 538, vol. xvii.
p. 400.
Thomas (Percy). " The Temple, London." See .\in_ger.
Thornbury (Walter). " Old and New London." 410. Lond. n.d.
Thorpe (W. (i.). " The Still Life of the Middle Temple, with some of
its Table Talk." 8vo. Lond. 1892.
" Middle Temple Table Talk, with some Talk about the Table
itself." Svo. Lonil. 1894.
392 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Townsend (W. C). "The Lives of Twelve Eminent Judges of the
Last and Present Century." 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1846.
Twiss (Robert). "The Public and Private Life of Lord Chancellor
Eldon, with Selections from his Correspondence." 2nd ed.
3 vols. Svo. Lond. 1844.
Welsby (W. N.). "Lives of Eminent English Judges of the Seven-
teenth and Eighteenth Centuries." 8vo. Lond. 1846.
Whitelocke (Bulstrode). "Memorials of English Affairs." Fol.
Lond. 1682.
Willcocks (W. K.). "Devonshire Men at the Inner Temple, 1547-
1660." [Trans, of Devonshire Assoc, for the Advancement of
Science, etc. 1885. Vol. xvii. pp. 246 65.]
Williams (Montagu). "Leaves of a Life." 2 vols. 8vo. Lond.
1890.
" Later Leaves." 8vo. Ibid. 1S91.
Willis (William). "The Society and Fellowship of the Inner Temple."
An address delivered in the Inner Temple Hall, Monday,
May 24th, 1897. 4to. Lond. 1897.
Willock (John). "Legal Facetiae: Satirical and Humorous." 8vo.
Lond. 1887.
Wilson (James Holbert). "Temple Bar, the City Golgotha." A
narrative of the historical occurrences of a criminal character
associated with the present Bar. By a member of the Inner
Temple. 410. Lond. 1853. [Sec A\ and Q. April, 1870, p. 359.]
Woolrych (H. W. ). "Memoirs of the Life of Judge Jeffreys, Lord
High Chancellor of England." 8vo. Lond. 1827.
Yarker ( — ). " Notes on the Orders of the Temple and St. John."
Manchester, 1869.
INDEX
ABBREVIATIONS
G.I. = Gray's Inn.
H.C. = House of Commons.
I.T. = Inner Temple.
l-.C = Lord Chancellor.
L.C.I). = Lord Chief Baron.
L.C.J. = Lord Chief Justice.
L.I. = Lincoln's Inn.
L.J. = Lord Justice.
M.R. = Master of the Rolls.
M.T. =Middle Temple.
T.G.I. =Treasurer Gray's Inn.
T.I.T.= „ Inner Temple.
T.L.I = „ Lincoln's Inn.
T.M.T.^ „ Middle Temple.
Abbotl, Charles, Baron Tenterden
of Ik-mloii, 159, 161
Ahinger, Baron. See Scarlett
Adams, Serjeant, 161, 365
Adams, ~, 365
Addison, Joseph, 255, 274, 332
Adelniare, Caesar, 51
Agnus Dei, 28
Alabama Award, 362
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.
Sec Edward VII.
Alderson, Edward Hall, Baron, 69,
308
Alfred, King, 41
Alienation Office, 54, 57, 58, 85,
'43
Allybone, Sir Richard, 145-6, 150
Alsatia, 203
Alsatians, 203-5
Altar in Temple Church, 225
Alvanley, Lord. Sec Arden
Alverstone, Lord. See Webster
Alvey, Dr., 220, 221
Anderson, Sir Edmund, i,.c.j., 99,
128-9, 289
Anne, Queen, wife of Henry VIII.,
95
Anne, Queen, 46, 114 15, 140, 152,
155- 235, 261, 263-6, 283, 331-2
Anson, Sir William Reynell, 28 1
Anteroom to Parliament Chamber,
LT.,49
Anticjuaries, Society of, 114
Apollo Club, 274
Aj)])rentices of the law, 21
Apprent kilts ad Barros, 38
Appieiiticii ad Ici^cvt, 2, 24, 39
Appsciilicii de banco, 232
Appreiitiiii uobi/iores, 39, 232
Arden, Richard Pepj^er, Lord Al-
vanley, 283, 346-7, 349
Armada, The great, 129
Arne, Dr., 278
Arnold, Col., 262
Arnold, King's Brewer, 150
Arrest of Five Members, 260,
328
Arundel, Earl of, 137
Arundel Stairs, 322
Ashburton, Lord. See Dunning
Asliby V. White, 152
Ashley, Sir Robert, 291, 292
Ashmole, Elias (1617-92), 322-3
Aske, Richard, 138
As(iuith, Right Hon. II. IL, 67
Assassins, (Jrder of, 207-S
Atkins, Samuel, 104
Atkynstm, William, 55
Attorneys, 126, 233, 235, 281
Audele, Thomas, 52
393
394 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Audley, Thomas, Speaker H.C.,
L.C., 48, 125
Aumbry, 216
Austin, John, 160
Aylesford, Earl of. See Finch
Ayloff, John, 144
Ayrton, William, 75
Babington's Rents, 48, 50
Bacheler, Brother Walter le, Grand
Preceptor of Ireland, 217
Bacon, Sir Francis, 132, 185, 245,
336
Bacon, Sir Nicholas, 34, 313
Baker, Sir John, t.i.t., 116, 125,
220
Baker, Robert, T.I.T., 88
Ball, Dr. Richard, 231
Ballantine, Serjeant William, 50,
108, 364
Banks, John, 87, 88, 249
Bankside, The, 185
Banquets, I.T. , 42, 45, 307
— M.T., 290, 315, 374
Bar, English, 38, 59, 67
— Call to the, 36
— French, 59
— Outer, 36
Barbon, Dr., 296, 301
Barbon's Buildings, 296-7
Barnard's (Bernard's) Inn, 49, 242-6
Barnes, Sir J. Gorell, 164
Barriers, or sham tournament, 130
Barrington, Hon. Daines, T. I.T.,
27, 71. 76-7, 103, I59> 218, 346
Barristers, 2, 3, 38-9
— imprisoned in the Fleet, 36
Barton, J. B., 78
Barton, Thomas, Bencher i.T. , 78
Bates, Thomas, 130
Baxter, Richard, 223
Baylis, T. Henry, t.i.t., 14, 27,
164, 212, 230
Beauclerk, Topham, 108
Beaumont, Francis, dramatist, 53,
185, 196, 274
Beaumont, John, M.R. , 125
Beaumont, Sir Francis, 53, 120
Beauseant,Le,Beauceant,Bauceant,
27, 216
Becket, Thomas a, 6, 31, 168
Bedloe, William, 104
Behn, Mrs. Aphra, 203
Bells, Temple Church, 224, 225
Belwood, Roger, 105
Bench, Independence of the, 337
— Masters of the, i.T., 36, 37,
38, 48, 54, 55, 163-S
— Masters of the, M.T., 373-5
— Table, 38
Benchers' Garden, privy garden or
little garden, i.T., 58, 170
M.T., 293
— Walk, or the Great Walk, 248
Benjamin, Judah Philip, 306-7,
369
Bennett, John, Sergeant-at-Arms,
III, 113
Benson, Christopher, Master of the
Temple, 47
Bentham, Jeremy, 160
Bere, Sir George, 242
Berengar's seal, 21, 228
Berkeley, Robert, 317-18
Bernard, Lionel, 243
Berryer, Maitre, 362
Best, William Draper, 350
Bethell, Richard, Lord Westbury,
L.C., 285, 291, 360, 362-3
Bickerstaff, Isaac, 274, 278
Bicknell, James, 306
Bicknell, Sabrina, 306
Bigham, Sir John, 303, 375
Bird's Eye View, 1671, 85
1755,85
Bishops, Impeachment of, 138
Black Books, L.i., 122, 179, 185,
265, 313-14
— Boy, The, 235-6, 251
— Buildings, 57
— • Cap, The, 167
Blackburn, Colin, Lord of Appeal,
64
Blackstone, Sir Wdliam, 219, 228,
277, 278, 280, 281, 300, 352
Blagrave, Daniel, regicide, 139
Blake, Thomas, 83
Bloody Assize, The, 102, 103, 148,
225, 377
Bloomsbury and Inns of Court
Association, 262
Blount, Sir Walter, 137
INDEX
395
Blount, Thomas, 137
Boleyn, Anne, 125
Bosanquet, Fred. All^crt, Common
Serjeant, 165
Boswell, James, 105, 107, 108. 308
Bourchier, Henry, 57
Bourchicr, Robert, 258
Bovill, Sir William, t.m.t. , 45,
360-1, 363, 365
Bowen, Charles Synge Christopher,
I..J., 281, 364-7, 378
Bowes, Sir Robert, m.k., 116
Bracegirille, Mrs., 331, 334
Bradbury, George, 327
Bradford, John, 126
Bradshaw, Henry, T. i.r., 48, 51
Bradshaw's Rents, 48, 50, 51
Brampton, Lord. See Hawkins
Bramston, John, 317-18
Bramwell, George W., Baron, 83
Brandon, Charles, Duke of Suffolk,
125
Brawl in the Temple Gardens, 121,
122
Brawls, The, 194
M.T., 182
Brewery, Inner Temple, 44, 100
Brick Buildings. See Brick Court
— Court, 80, 82, 161, 270, 276-81,
293. 302, 308, 348, 358, 366,
368, 375. 378
Bridgman, Sir Orlando, Lcjrd
Keeper, 84, 140, 296
Broke, Sir Robert, 314-15
Bromley, Edward, Baron, 269
Bromley, Sir Thomas, L.C., 54,
218, 312
Brooke, David, r. i.r. , 51
Brougham, Lord, l..c., 64, 160,
29'. 351. 362
Browne, William, 137, 186
Browning, Robert, 200
Brownrigg, Dr. Ralph, 223
Bruce, Rol)ert, 258
Bruyere, La, 271
Buc, Sir George, 22
Buckluirst, Lord. See Sackville
Buckingham, Duke of, 67, 132,
142, '317
Buckley (Bulkeley), Master William,
120
Bucknill, Sir Thomas T. , 64, 164
Bulstrode, Edward, 89
Burljage, Richard, actor, 185, 196
Burgh, Hubert de. Earl of Kent,
12, 257
Burke, Edmund, 108, 115, 304,
349, 354> 377
Burke, Father, 364
Burleigh, Lord. See William Cecil
Burney, Martin, 75
Burton, Humphrey, 126
Butler, Samuel, 223
Buttery, The, i.T., 43-4, 117
Byles, John Barnard, 82, 83, 308
Byron, Lord, 156
Byron, Lord, the poet, 69
Byron, William, Lord, 344
C?esar's Buildings, 51, 144, 304
Ctesar, Sir Julius, Master of the
Rolls, 51
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 119, 120, 121
Cairns, Lord, 45
Cambridge, Duke of, 230, 291, 374
Camden, Lord. See Pratt
Campbell, John, L.C. , 50, 64, 70,
173, 262, 303, 329, 356, 361-2,
367
Canning, George, 60, 69
Canterljury, Archbishop of, Robert
Winchelsey, 17 ; George Abbott,
138 ; Gilbert Sheldon, 335
Carew, John, regicide, 139
Carew, Sir Randolph, 47
Carleton, Sir Dudley, 131
Caroline, Princess, 346
Caroline, Queen Consort of George
n., 46
Caroline, Queen Consort of George
IV., 68, 161, 349
Carr, Sir Robert. See Earl of
Somerset
Carson, Sir E. II., Sol. -Gen., 109,
375 .
Catherine of Aragon, Queen, 124-5
Cato Street Conspirators, 349
Cawley, William, regicide, 139
Cecil, Sir Robert, Earl of Salisbury,
286, 288-9
Cecil, Lord Robert, Marcpiis of
Salisbury, 69
396 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Cecil, Lord Robert, K.c. , 69
Cecil, William, Lord Burleigh, 99,
24s, 288
Challoner, Thomas, regicide, 139
Chamberlain, John, 131
Chancery Lane, 7, 8, 11, 26, 97,
112. 114, 156, 172-3, 186, 211,
228, 261, 316, 329, 335
Chancery suit between Inner and
Middle Temple, 91
Channell, Sir A. M., 161, 164
Channel], Sir William Fry, 50, 161
Chapman, George, 316
Chapman, Sir John, Lord Mayor, 103
Charles L, 35, 90, 91, in, 113,
131-5. 138-9, 173, 181-3, 187,
190-1, 222-3, 259, 260, 265, 283,
291-2, 29S, 317-18, 321, 326-7,
336, 377
Charles II., 25, 57, 98, 136-43,
172, 196-7, 240, 255, 265, 272,
283, 319, 320, 322, 324, 328-32,
336
Charter or patent of James I., 215,
203, 221
Charter, The Great, 10, 31
Chartist Trials, 359
Chatham, Lord. See William Pitt
Chauncy, Sir Henry, T. M.T.
Chelmsford, Lord. See Thesiger
Chester's Inn. See Strand Inn
Chief Butler i.t., 50, 120
Child, Sir Francis, 204, 272-3
Child's Bank, 266, 272-3
Child's Place, 272-3, 306
Chitty, Joseph, special pleader, 69,
83, 308, 358
Chitty, Sir Joseph, L.j., 262, 372
Choir, Temple Church, 10, 207,
215-17, 222
Christian VII., King of Denmark,
345-6
Church of the Holy Resurrection,
Jerusalem, 206
Churchill, Hon. George, 261
Church porch, The, 109
Churchyard, The, 109-1 r, 201-2
— Court, 109, no, 303
South, no, 139
Chute, Chaloner, T. M.T., Speaker
H.c. . 326, 328
Gibber, Colley, 61, 274, 334
City Imperial Volunteers, 263
City of London Court, 164
Civil War, The, n3, 129, 260, 322,
334
Clarendon, Constitutions of, 6
Clarendon, Earl of. See Hyde
Clarendon, second Earl of, 329
Clarendon, Lady, 322
Clarke, Sir Edward, 262
Clarke, Thomas, M.R. , 343
Clarkson, Edward, 207-8, 210, 213
Clement V., Pope, 13-16
Clement's Inn, 3, 233-4, 23S-40,
251, 322
Clement's Lane, 235
Clerkenwell, St. John's Priory, 169
Cleveland, Duchess of, 142
Clifford's Inn, 3, 56, 134, 173, 233,
234, 235, 237-8, 244
Clifford, Lady Isabel, 232
Cloister Court, 50, 51, 304
Cloisters, The, 43, 48, 50-1, 214,
220, 302-3, 324-6
Cobham, Eleanor, Duchess of
Gloucester, 254
Cock, William, 261
Cockburn, Sir Alexander, l.c.j.,
361-2, 364
Cockpit Players, The, 196
Coffey, Charles, dramatist, 157
Coif, The, 167
Brothers of, 166
Order of, JT, 145, 166-73, 377
Coke, Sir Edward, 24, 35, 47, 54-6,
84, 130, 132, 152, 169-70, 173,
218, 289, 308, 317, 377
Coleridge, Bernard, Lord, K.C,
365. 375
Coleridge, John Duke, Lord, 262,
281, 360, 363-7, 370-1, 375, 378
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 76, 235
Collar of "SS," 123
Colledge, Stephen, 329
Collins, Sir Richard Ilenn, U.K.,
374-5
Colman, George, the elder, 78
Colman, George, the younger, 78
Comedy of Errors, 181, 286
Common Law, conflict with Civil
Law and Canon Law, 29-36
INDEX
397
Common Pleas, Offices of, lOO
Comnionwealth, The, 135, 138-9,
223-4, 249, 272, 319, 321, 336,
377
Comiinmion Plate, Tlie, 230
Condell, Henry, 196
Congreve, William, 157, 334
Coningsljy, Humphrey, 123, 172
Constable, Sir William, regicide,
139
Conway, General, 137, 349
Cook, Captain, 75
Cooke, George, 199
Cooke, John, Sol. -Gen., 138
Cooper, Anthony Ashley, Earl of
Shaftesbury, L.C., 336
Cope, Sir Walter, 297
Corn Law Riots, 351
— Laws, The, 82, 357
Corridor, m.t., 315
Cottington, Francis, Lord, 136
Cotton, Lord Justice, 262
Cotton MSS., 291
Couch, Sir Richard, 375
Council Chaml)er of Duchy of Corn-
wall, 112, 113
Court of Wards and Liveries, 98-
100, 136, 287
Courtney, Nicholas, T. i.t. , 227
Coventrees Inn, 23S
Coventry, Sir Thomas, Lord Keeper,
78, 84, 90, I T,2, 222, 245, 254
Coventry, Thomas, Kencher i.t.,
7', 78
Coverley, Sir Roger de, 251, 255,
308
Cowper, Major, 95
Cowper, Spencer, 338
Cowper, Theodora, 95
Cowper, William, L.C., 283-5,338-9
Cowj-H-'r, William, poet, 91, 94-5,
100, 246, 300
Cowper, William, M.P., 345
Cox, Dr., Bishop of London, 194-5
Cox, Serjeant, 173
Cozens- 1 lardy, Lor<l Justice, 164
Craddock, Miss, 353
Cranmer, Archbishop, 193
Cranwortli, Lord Chancellor, 82
Craven, Earl of, 100
Cressingham, Hugh dc, 257
Cresswell, Sir Cresswell, 82
Croke, Charles, 320
Croke, Sir George, T. i.t., 89, 90,
230, 320
Croke, Lady George, 90
Croke, Henry, 89
Croke, Sir John, 89, 90, 130, 134
Croke, John, son of Sir John, 134
Croke, Serjeant Unton, 134
Croke, Unton, son of Serjeant
Unton, 134, 321
Croker, John Wilson, 361
Crompton, Serjeant Charles, 50
Cromwell, Elizabeth, 134
Cromwell, Oliver, 35, 134-6, 260,
265, 286, 318, 320-1, 326, 330,
333
Cromwell, Richard, 326, 32S-9, 339
Cromwell, Sir Henry, 134
Cromwell, Sir Oliver, 286
Crown Office, The, 83, 84, 249
Row, 71-87, 160, 250, 368,
375. 378
Cudworth, Ralph, 140
Danby, Dick, wigmaker, 303
Danby, Robert, C.J., 172'
Dangerfield's narrative, 147
Darling, Sir C. J., 164
Davies, Sir John, 314
Davis, President, 306
Davison, Sir Henry, 66
Davison, William, 128
Day, Sir John, 162, 164, 372-3
Day, Thomas, 305-6
Deane, Bargrave, 61
Deane, Sir James Parker, 61
Declaration of Indulgence, 150
Dedication of Temple Church, 185-6
— Inscription of, 226
De Foe, Daniel, 152, 265-6, 377
Denbigh, Earl of, 136
Denman, Lord, L.C.J. , 173
Denman, Hon. George, 370
Derby, P2arl of, 45, 64
Despencer, Hugh le, 20
Devereux, Robert. See Earl of
Essex
Devereux Court, 20, 270, 274
Devil's Own, The ; or, 141I1
Middlesex, 257-263
398 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Devil's Tavern, The, 273-4
Dick's Coffee House, 100
Dickens, Charles, 65, 165, 241,
245, 273, 275, 356
Dickens, Henry Fielding, 165
Digby, Sir Everard, 130
Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beacons-
field, 45, 66, 163, 357
Doctors' Commons, 352, 372
Dolben, Sir William, t. i.t. , 104
Dorset, Earl of, 192-3
Downes, John, regicide, 139
Dowse, Serjeant, 365
Drake, Sir Francis, 282, 28^, 2S8,
315
Drake, John, 315
Drama, The, 190-200
Drogheda, Countess of, 142
Drury Lane Theatre, 331, 334
Dryden, John, 197, 204
Dudley, Robert, Earl of Leicester,
19, 27, 54, 175, 236, 239, 295
Dudley, Sir Robert, 295
Dufferin, Lady. See Sheridan
Dufferin, Lord, 357
Dugdale, Elizabeth, 323
Dugdale, Sir William, 22, 46, iii,
137, I75> 177-8, 242, 313, 323
Duncumbe, Mrs., 52
Dunning, John, Lord Ashburton,
283, 345, 348-9
Dupont's Buildings, 141
Dyer, George, 75, 235
Dyer, Sir James, 313, 315
Dyer, Sir Thomas, 128
Dyot, Anthony, 1 71
Dyott, Major Anthony, 137
Dyotts' Chambers, The, 90, 137
Eady, Sir Charles Swinfen, 164
Edward L, 12, 32, 33, 41, 232,
257, 372
Edward H., 13-16, 19-20, 258, 295
Edward HI., 20, 23, 40-1, 219,
232, 253, 283, 372
Edward the Black Prince, 18
Edward IV., 122-3
Edward VI., 33, 51, 96, 126, 240,
312
Edward VII,, 283, 291, 373-4
Effigies, 210 13, 227
Effigies, cross-legged, 213
Egerton, Thomas, l.c, 259, 311
Egerlon Papers, 259
Eldon, Lord. See Scott
Eleanor, Queen, 10, 215
Eliot, Sir John, 140, 328
Elizabeth, Queen, 51, 54, 89, 98-9,
137-8, 184, 220, 230, 242, 254,
265, 270, 272, 276-7, 283-4,
29s, 310-11, 313, 315-16, 336,
377
Ellenliorough, Lady, 68
Ellenborough, Lord. See Edward
Law
Ellerkos, John, Serjeant, 170
Ellesmere, Earl of, 259
Elm Court, 21, 24, 100, 149, 268,
278, 280, 299, 322, 324, 328, 358
— — Door, 91
Ely, Bishop of, 53, 105, no, 172
Ely Place, 123-4, 169, 185-6, 188,
194-5
Erie, Sir William, 360, 363
Ermsted, Rev. William, 220
Erskine, Lord, L.c, 261-2,349, 351
Esher, Lord, 372
Essex, Robert Devereux, Earl of,
20, 89, 129, 193, 289, 290, 295-6,
311-12
Essex, Robert Devereux, Earl of,
Parliamentary general, son of
Robert Devereux, 136, 137, 296
Essex Court, 20, 278, 293, 295,
296, 301-2, 360-1, 367, 372
— House, 20, 53, 295-6
Stairs, 248, 255
— Street, 7, 20, 248, 274, 295
Evelyn, John, 254-5, 265, 301,
321-4, 330, 335
Evelyn, John, son of John, 324
Everden, Silvester de. Bishop of
Carlisle, 216
Ewes, Sir Simonds d', 321
Exeter Inn, 19, 295
Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 326
Falcon Court, 202
Faringdon House, 135
Farrar's Building, 53, 105, no, 161
Faryndon Inn or Serjeants' Inn,
Chancery Lane, 168, 172
INDEX
399
Fauconbridge, Lady, 197
Ferrers, Earl of, 156
Fetter Lane, 234, 243, 244, 246
Fickctt's Field, 7, 253
Field, Barron, 76
Field, William, 50
Fielding, Basil, Lord, 136
Fielding, Henry, 300, 353, 378
Fielding, William, Earl of Denbigh,
353
Fig Tree Court, 80, 81, 83, S9-95,
144, 298
Finch, Serjeant Heneage, Speaker
n.c, 140
Finch, Heneage, Earl of Notting-
ham, I..C., 140-1, 302, 325, 364
Finch, Heneage, Earl of Aylesford,
141
Finch, Sir John, Speaker H.c. ,
140, 318, 322, 328
Fine Oflice, 222
Court, 97
Finlay, Sir Robert B., Attorney-
General, 375
Fire, Great, of 1666, 58, 59, iii,
143-4, 171, 224, 231, 234, 270,
304
— of 1677, 59, 144, 224
— of 1678, 100, 224, 299, 302,
324-5, 337
— of 1683, 60
— of 1704, 279
— of 1736, 158
— of 1838, 70
Fisher, Thomas, Bishop of London,
.125, 312
Fitzgerald, Richard, 257
Fitzherbert, Sir Anthony, 315
FitzStephen, Geoffrey, Master of
the Temple, 10
Fitz-William, William, 124-5
Fleet Prison, 36, 142, 315
— River, 8
— Street, 7, 8, 26, 52, no, 113,
201, 204-5, 220, 232, 234, 244,
269, 274, 288, 351
No. 2, 273-4
No. 15, 115
No. 16, 115
No. 17, IU-15
Fleetwood, Serjeant William, 315
Fleming, Sir Thomas, 130
Fleta (supposed to have been written
in the Fleet by one of the corrupt
judges imprisoned by Edward L),
288
Fletcher, John, playwright, 185,
196, 274
Follett, Sir W. W., 44, 64, 356
Font, The, 213
Ford, John, dramatist, 312
Fortescue, Sir John, 26, 232-3, 258
Foster, Robert, 141
Fountain Court, 274-6, 285, 290,
293, 295, 307
— Tavern, The, 113, 114
Fox, Charles James, 69, 349, 354
Franklin, Benjamin, 158
Frederick, Prince of Wales, 199,
285
Freemasonry, 207-10
French Revolution, 261
Friars' Wall, 58, 171, 247
Frost Fair, The Great, 254-5
Fulham Road Plot, 338
Fuller, John, T.I.T., 54, 175
Fuller's Rents, 53, 54, 55, 56, 132,
141, 143, 169
Fulton, Sir Forrest, Recorder of
London, 375
l'"urnival. Sir William, 240
Furnival's Inn, 240, 241, 244
Garden Court, 277, 292, 293, 296
Gardens, The Temple, 121-2, 247-
Gardiner, Bishop, 97
Garnet, Henry, 130, 312
Garth, Sir Samuel, 104, 274, 332
Gate-house, Lincoln's Inn, 99
— M.T. ; or. The Great Gate,
269-70
Gay, John, 152, 296, 377
Gauden, Dr. John, 224
Gaudy, Mary, 218
George I., 113, 141, 152, 154, 155,
205, 261, 270, 339
George II., 46, 57, 100, 155, 157,
261
George III., 94, 156, 159, 261,
285, 323, 344, 346, 351
George IV., 77-8, 323, 350
400 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Geoffrey of Constance, 257
Gerrard, Edward, 238
Gil)l)ons, Grinling, 49, 225, 323
Giffard, Hardinge Stanley, Earl of
Ilalsbury, L.c, 46, 87, 163
Giftbrd, Robert, M.R., 349-50
Gillingham, Roger, r. m.t., 227
Gladstone, W. E., 45, 83, 362,
364, 374
Globe Company, Bankside, 288
— Theatre, Bankside, 185-6, 196
Wych Street, 236
Glover, Edward Auchmuty, 360
Glynne, Serjeant, 135, 348
Godwin, William, 75
Gold cup presented to James I., 25
Golden Hind, The, 282, 315
Golden Salmon, The, 114
Goldsmith Building, 52, 109, 155,
Goldsmith, Oliver, 82, 108, 218,
276-80, 292-3, 308, 378
Gordon, Lord George, 349
Gordon, Lady Duff, 160
Gordon Riots, 158, 245-6, 350, 377
Gorge, Sir Arthur, 297
Gorges, Sir Fernando, 311
Goring, Colonel, 322
Goulburn, Serjeant, 161
Gould, Sir Henry, 353
Gower, John, 119, 120
Grafton, Duke of, 93, 345
Grant, John, 130
Grant, Sir William, m.r., 261-2
Grantham, Sir William, 164, 200,
262-3
Grantley, Lord, 355-6
Gray, Lord Edmund, of Wilton,
241
Gray, Thomas, 194
Gray's Inn, 63, 134, 140, 145, 168,
iSi, 185, 187, 190-1, 241-6,
250, 270, 278, 282, 314, 375
Fields, 26
Gardens, 250
Road, 242
Great Gate, Inner Temple Gardens,
250
Grey, Earl, 45
Grey, Lady Jane, 51, 312, 313
Grey, Sir Thomas, 172
Grey, William de. Lord Walsing-
ham, 345
Griflin, The, 267
(juernsey, Baron. See Finch
Guilford, Lord Keeper. See Francis
North
Guildhall, The, 130, 156, 234.
Guilds, 2, 25, 32, 34, 37, 39
Gully, Sir William Court, Speaker
H.c, 46, 163, 369, 371
Gunpowder Plot, 129, 312, 316
Gwynne, Nell, 197, 273
Hakewill, Henry, 298
Hale, Sir Matthew, 32, 47, 67,
173. 234-5. 280, 286
Halford, Sir Henry, 353
Hall Chambers, 44
— Court, 293, 301
— Dining in, 39, 79, 80, 284
— of the Master of the Temple,
or Priests' Hall, 43
— Stairs, Chambers under, 44
Hallam, Henry, historian, 159
Hallam, Henry, son of Henry, 159
Halsbury, Earl of. See Giffard
Halys, Edward, 52
Hamilton, Duke of, 331
Hampden, Anne, 136
Hampden, John, 35, 67, 90, 132-4,
153. 261
Hampden, William, 134
Hampson's Buildings, 59
Hanmer, Sir Thomas, T. I.T., loi
Hannen, Sir James, 365, 372
Harcourt Buildings, 87-8, 153, 249,
362, 377
Harcourt, Sir Simon, T.i.T., L.c,
47, 88, 1 5 1-3, 364, 377
Harcourt, Sir William Vernon, 262
Hardwicke, Earl of. See Yorke
Hardwicke Society, 58
Hardy, Thomas, 351
Hare Court, 72, 79, 82, 95-104,
270, 324
Pump, 72, 103-4
Hare, Hugh, 97, 237
Hare, John, 97
Hare, Sir Nicholas, 95
Hare, Nicholas, son of Sir Nicholas,
95, 116, 2j6-7, 287
INDEX
401
Hare, Ralph, 97
Hailcian Charier, 21
— MSS., 243, 286
Harley, RoI)ert, Earl of Oxfonl,
153
Harris, Rcnatus, 225
Harrison, Colonel, regicide, 234
Harrison, Thomas, 58
Harrison, William, 327
Harrison's Buildings, 58
Hartgills, The, 314
Hastings, Richard de, Master of
the Temple, 6
Hastings, Warren, 68, 354, 377
Hatherley, Lord, L.c, 45, 362
Hatton, Christopher, i,.c.,27, 175-
6, 193-4, 288, 336, 377
Havelock, Sir Henry, 263, 358-9
Havvarde, John, 131
Hawarde, John, junior, 131
Hawarde, Lady Marllia, 131
Hawarde, vSir William, 131
Hawarde, William, junior, 131
Hawkins, Sir Henry, Lord Bramp-
ton, 86, 364-5, 367-8, 370, 374-5
Hawkins, Sir John, 108
Hayley, William, 246
Hay market Theatre, 198
Hazlitt, William, 75
Heale, Serjeant, 289
Heath, Archbishop, 97
Heath, Sir Robert, 132-3, 260
Hedges, John, his will, 347
Hemming, John, 196
Henley, Robert, i..c. , Lord North-
inglon, 155 6
1 lenrietta Maria, ([ucen of Charles I.,
139. i^o-i, 326
Henry L, 5, 6, 11, 30, 216
Henry H., 6-8. 21, 31-2, 215, 216
Henry, son of Henry H., 216
Henry HL, 5, 7, 10, 12, 31-2, 46,
207, 212, 217, 254
Henry V., 8, 236, 242
Henry VL, 24, 38, 47, 170, 232
Htnry VH., 123, 241
Henry VHL, 25, 33 5, 48, 57, 84,
95. 98, 112, 122, 167, 201, 234,
240, 242, 264, 291, 312
Henry, Prince of Wales, son of
James I., 112, 113, 130
Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem,
8, 21, 206, 215, 226
Heraldic glass. Inner Temple Hall,
45
Middle Temple Hall, 283
Herbert, Sir Edward, I„C.J., Lord
Keeper, 103, 139, 145, 187, 326
Herschell, Lord, i,.c., 163, 262, 369
Heton, Ur. Martin, 195
Hewitt, James, L.c, Ireland, 343
Hey ward, Edward, 67
Heyward's Buildings, 67
Hicks, John, preacher, 102
High Court of Admiralty, 68, 352
Hill, Alexander Staveley, 262
Hill, Captain, 331
Ilinde, Rowlantl, 55
Hogarth's paintings, I.T. , 50
Holborn, 23, 234, 243 4
— Bars, 7, 186, 264
— Court, Gray's Inn, 352
Holland, Lord, 183
Holland House, 74
Holies, Denzil, 67
Holker, Lord Justice, 367, 369
Holloway, John, t.i.t. , 109, 155
Holloway, Sir Richard, 102, 146,
150
Holt, Sir John, 149, 245
Holy Se|ndchre, Jerusalem, il, 12,
21, 206, 208
Honeyman, Sir Ceorge, 364
IL)oker, John, Master of the
Temple, 216, 221
Hopton, Sir Hugh, 126
Howard, Catherine, 125
Howard, Lady Elizabeth, 197
Howard, Lady P'rancis, 137, 191
Howar<l, Lady Margaret, 192
Howard, I'hilip, Earl of Arundel,
128
Howard, Sir Rnliert, 197
Howard, Thomas, Uuke of Norfolk,
192
Howard, William, Lord High
i Admiral, 129, 28S 9
Huddleslon, Sir Ednnmd, 130
Huddleston, Henry, 130
, Hunt, Leigh, 95
' Hutchinson, John, 252, 293
Hutton, John, 134
402 ^J'HE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Hyde, Anne, 327 I
Hyde, Edward, Earl of Clarendon,
L.C, 140, 172, 187, 285, 317,
319. 321, 326-7, 329
Hyde, Nicholas, 318-19
Hyde, Robert, 327
Inderwick, F. A., 47, 52, 164, 185,
192, 196
Inner Temple, 22, 24-5, 27, 36-8,
40-1, 54, 62, 69, 282, 293, 304,
314-15, 320-1, 325, 336
Gardens, 235, 248-51
Gateway, the, III-15, 144.
270
Hall, 21, 40-5, 47, 50-1, 53,
59, 100, 121, 140-1, 144, 151-3.
163, 169, 192, 194-200, 235, 263,
270, 307, 324-5, 337
Lane, 71-2, 74, 104-9, 243,
266, 358
Inner Tempie Masque, The, 186
Inner Temple Plate, 43, 1 16-17
Inn of Court, Constitution of, 36-9
Inns of Chancery, 2, 3, 23, 26, 37,
125, 133, 232-46, 314, 321
— of Court, 2, 26, 32, 34-6, 39,
98, 116, 125, 131, 133, 174, 184,
186, 1S8, 190-1, 196-7, 225, 232,
259, 261-3, 265, 269, 313-14, 321
Masquers, 186-91
Volunteers, 109, 257-63,
283
Ireland, 8, 15
— Grand Preceptor of, 217
— Lord Chancellor of, 343
— Templars in, 16
Ireton, Henry, 321
Ivy, Lady, 327
Ivy, Simon, 187
Jackson, Randle, Bencher M.T.,
71, 78, 218
Jackson, William, 78
James I., 25, 98, no, 113, 129,
137-8, 185, 259, 273, 289, 296,
315, 317, 336
James II., 138, 140-1, 143, 147,
150, 196-7, 266, 283, 319, 327,
329, 333, 377
James, Younp; Pretender, 261
James, Edwin, 368
James, Llenry, Lord James of Here-
ford, 374-5
Jameson Trial, 37°
Jeffreys, or Jefferies, Sir George,
L.C, 47, 101-3, 104, 145, 148,
149, 151, 154, 197, 225-6, 289,
324, 327-9, 332, 377
Jeffs, the butler, 277, 293
Jekyll, Joseph, M.R., 339
Tekyll, Joseph, T.I.T., 40, 71, 77-8,
167, 352
Jelf, Sir Arthur, 164
Jermyn, Serjeant, 326
Jervis, Sir John, t.m.t., 359-60
Jeune, Sir Francis, 164
Jewkes, Richard, 218
Jewkes, Roland, 67
John, King, 10, 12, 217, 232, 257
Johnson, Dr. Samuel, 105-8, 156,
243, 266, 272, 274, 278, 280,
30S, 352
Johnson's, Dr., Buildings, 109
Jones, Inigo, 113, 185, 241, 316
Jones, Sir William, 304
Jonson, Ben, 197, 223, 274, 314
Junius's Letters, 349
Justinian, Emperor, 4
— The English, 32
Karslake, John, 366-7
Kaye, Joseph, 262
Keeley, Miss, 86
Keeley, Mr. and Mrs. Robert, 86
Keelyng, John, 141
Kellewaie, Kelloway, Kelway, Kail-
way, Keylwey, or Cay 1 way,
Robert, 89, 175
— Agnes, 315
Kelly, Sir Fitzroy, 362
Kelly, Miss, 75
Kemp, Thomas Richardson, 370
Kenealy, Dr., 362, 363, 364
Kennet, White, Bishop of Peter-
borough, 145
Kenny, James, dramatist. 75
Kenyon, Lloyd, Lord, 283, 348
Kenyon-Parker, T.L.I., 263
King, Peter, Baron King of Ock-
ham, L.C, 155, 173, 341. 349
King's Bench Buildings, 59
INDEX
403
King's Bench Office, 59, 85
Walk, 53, 55, 57-9, 61, 64,
84, 143-4, 220, 251, 255
No. I, 54, 60
No. 2, 61, 84
No. 3, 58, 85, 161, 171,
278, 375
No. 4, 59, 77, 144
No. 5, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64,
76, 145
No. 6, 77, 86
No. 8, 64, 36S
No. 9, 64
— No. 10, 64, 247-8
— No. II, 58
No. 12, 58, 64
No. 13, 163
Kingston, Duchess of, 158, 349
Kneller, Sir (jodfrey, 46, 102, 151,
283
Knights Ilospit.illers, 4, 12, 19, 22,
25, 46, 219, 220, 228
Knights Temiihus, History of, 4- iS
— — Abolition of Order of, 19
Arms of, 27-8
Brewery of, 44
Burial ground of, 51
Effigies, 210, 211
Hall of, 24, 40
Idol of, 41
Initiation of,4i, 213-14,376-7
Meniliers of Secret Society,
207-8
Punishments of, 36, 41, 217
Shields of, 46
Statues of, 46
Toniljs of, 201, 227, 228,
252 3, 257-8, 276, 376
Worship of, 167, 219-20
Labori, Maitrc, 59
Lamb, Charles, 28, 42, 57, 70-8,
103, 108, 218, 235, 354, 358, 378
Lamb, John (Lovell), father of
Charles, 71
Laml), John, brother of Charles, 75
Lamb, Mary, 71-2, 75-6
Lamb Building, 51, 303-9, 378
— Court, 51, 304, 308
Lambert. Major-General, 141
Lambeth Palace, 123, 169
Lancaster, Thomas, Karl of, 20, 22
Lane, Sir Richard, Lord Keeper,
Langford, William de, 20, 22, 24
Langhorne, Richard, 104-5
Laud, Archbishop, 326, 333
Law, Edward, Lord Ellenborough,
60, 68, 377
Law Courts, 7, 267
Great Hall of, 335
— Guilds, 34, 232
Lawes, Henry, 1S7
Lawes, William, 187
Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 173
Lechmere, Nicholas, 330
Lcdsome's Chambers, 84
Legal Association, The, 262
Legh, Gerald, 27, 1 75 6
Leicester, Earl of, 19, 85
Leicester House party, 155
Lely, Sir Peter, 103
Lennox, Mrs., 274
Levinz, Serjeant Cresswell, 105
Levinz, .Sir Cresswell, 47, 145, 148
Lewis, Sir George, 195
Library, Inner Temple, 42, 43, 47,
48, 49, 50> 104, 159
Lilburne, John, Colonel, 135, 321
Lincoln's Inn, 7, 23, 25, 45, 47,
68, 92, 99, 127, 130, 184-5, 187,
190, 240-2, 259, 261-2, 265, 282,
292, 306, 313-14, 337, 371
Chapel, 292, 323
Fields, 140, 245, 334, 339
Gateway, 261
Hall, 314
Lindley, Nathaniel, Baron, 374-5
Link extinguishers, 172
Linley, Miss, 354
LTsle, Alice, 102, 14S, 377
L'Isle, John, 102
Liston, Charles, 75
Literary Club, The, 107, loS
Little Gate of the M.r., 274
Lloyd, Charles, 75
Locke, John, 332
Lockhart, John Gibson, 15S
Lockwood, Sir Frank, <.|.C., 70
Longfellow, Henry W. , 378
Long Parliament, 134, 317-18
Lopes, Lord Justice, 262
404 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Louise, Princess, 44
Lovat, Lord, 339-40, 377
Lovell. See John Lamb
Lowe, Robert, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, 45
Luddites, The, 349
Ludlaw, Gabriel, regicide, 139
Ludlow, Henry, t.m.t., 292
Lush, Montague, t.g.i., 375
Lush, Sir Robert, 364, 375
Lushington, Henry, 159
Lushington, Stephen, Judge of the
High Court of Admiralty, 68,
372
Luther, Anthony, 298
Luther Building, 298
Luttrell, Narcissus, 100, 204-5, 226
Lutwyche, Sir Edward, 145
Lyndhurst, Lord, L.C., 66, 160, 173
Lyon's Inn, 3, 54, 68, 175, 233,
236-9
Lyttelton, or Littleton, Anne, 218
Lyttelton, or Littleton, Edward, 218
Lyttelton, or Littleton, Sir Edward,
Lord Keeper, 90, 131, 133, 138,
173, 260, 377
Lyttelton, Dr. John, 222-3
Lyttelton, James, 133
Lyttelton, Sir Thomas, 38, 47,
122-3, 308
Lyttelton, Timothy, 133
Macaulay, Lord, 10, 77, 145-7,
204, 358
Macclesfield, Earl of. See Thomas
Parker
McNaghten, John, 361
Macready, W. C, 358
Mackworth's Inn. See Barnard's
Inn
Mackworth, John, Dean of Lincoln,
243
Mackworth of Mackworth, 243, 246
Madox, Thomas, 332
Magnaville, or Mandeville, Geoffrey
de, Earl of Essex, 211
Maitland, W. F., 31, 34
Malcolm, Sarah, 52
Manchester, Earl of. See Henry
Montague
Manciple, The Temple, 119
Manners, Lord John, 45
Manners, Oliver, 130
Manning, Thomas, 72
Manningham, Anne {iic'e Curie), 286
Manningham, John, 286-7
Manningham, Richard, 286
Manningham, Richard, son of
John, 287
Mansfield, James, t.m.t., 349
Mansfield, Lord. See Murray
Manwood, Sir Roger, L.c. B., 27,
SI. 175-6
Mareschal, Gilbert, 212
Mareschal, William, Earl of Pem-
broke, 46, 212, 257
Mareschal, William, the younger,
212
Margery, d. of Archbishop Cran-
mer, 193 _
Marigold window, 228, 230
Marlborough, Duke of, 261
Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of,
62, 265
Marten, Sir Henry, Dean of Arches,
139
Marten, Henry, regicide, 139
Martin, J., 172
Martin, Richard, 218, 314
Martin, Ryder, t.m.t., 279
Martyrs, Army of, 126
Mary of Orange, Queen, 46, 151
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, 52,
127-8, 192-3
Mary Tudor, Queen, 126-7, 220,
265, 310, 313
Maseres, Baron, 78
Masonic symbols in Temple Church,
208-10
Masque, The, 181, 184-91
Great, 1633, 139, 1S6-91, 259,
316, 320
— of Flowers, 191
Masque of Heroes, The, 186
Master of the Templars, 10, 217,
219
New Temple, 219, 220
Temple, 10, no, 198, 217,
219-31
Master's garden, 223, 231
— house, The, in, 144, 220, 221,
225, 231
INDEX
405
Masters of the Bench, i.T. , 59, 61,
163-5
M.T., 373-5
Masters, Dr. Thomas, 221
Mathevv, J. C, L.J., 364
Mathews, Charles Willie, 86
Matilda, Queen, 6
Matthews, Henry, Viscount Llan-
daft", 364
Maule, Sir John, 70
Maynard, Sir John, 147, 173, 333
Mayne, Simon, regicide, 139
Meal Tub Plot, The, 147
Melbourne, Lord, 64, 355-7
Mellor, Sir John, 364
Melon Cup, The, 116
Merricke, Christopher, 135
Michaelmas Term, First Day of,
335-6
Micklethwaite, Dr. Paul, ill, 222-3
Middle Temple, 7, 22, 24, 28, 5 1,
54, 79, So, 86, 91, 119-20, 126,
148-9, 175, 185, 187, 190, 202,
206, 218, 222, 235, 238, 240, 262,
268
Garden, 247, 251-2, 290-1,
374 ,
Gateway, 274, 298
Hall, 50, 79, 171, 195, 241,
263, 268, 276, 281-90, 311,
313-15. 317, 320, 374, 377
Lane, 21, 52, 53, loi, 248-9,
253. 272, 294, 296-7, 322, 332
Library, 252, 276, 290-3,
••^73-4
Milton, Sir Christopher, 195
Mikon, John, 184, 187, 195
^tinf;ay, James, Bencher l.r. , 71,
77
Minstrel gallery, i.i. Hall, 39,46
M.T. Hall, 284
Mitre Court, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 203
Buddings, 72, 77-8, 82, 84,
159. 309
Gate, 55
Mohun, Lord, 33 '.,338
Molay, James de. Grand Master of
Knights Temjilars, 13, 14
Monmouth, Duko of, loo, 103, 266
Montague, Basil, 75
Montague, Edward, 312
Montague, Sir Henry, 268, 312,
316-17
Montague, Sir Sidney, 182
Montague, William, 327-8
Monteagle, Lord, 129
Montgomery, General, 262
Moore, Thomas, 354
Moots, 37, 233
More, Sir Thomas, 125, 240, 312
More, William de la. Grand Master
of Knights Templars in England,
16-17, 219
Morris, Catherine, 78
Morton, Robert, Earl of, 257
Mostyn, Sir Roger, 137, 151
Moulton, J. Fletcher, 375
Mulholland, Ellen, Lady Russell,
368
Murray, William, Lord Mansfield,
61, 62, 173, 245, 283, 339-40,
342, 348, 368, 377
Nando's Coffee House, 114-15
Nash, Beau, 338, 377
Neville, Richard, 258
New Court, 274, 296, 302, 360, 375
— — Gary Street, 368
— Inn, 3, 234, 236, 238, 239-40
— Palace Yard, 266
— Place, Stratford-on-Avon, 195
— Sf[uare, L. i., 164, 363
- Temple, 8, 10, 23, 237, 253
Newgate, 8, 62, 338, 360
Newton, Sir Henry, 137
Newton, Sir Isaac, 332
Nicholas, Robert, 1 34-5, 138
Norfolk, Duke t)f, Tlu.mas Howard
^ 19, 192, 295
North, Rising in, 127
North, Sir Francis, Lord Guilford,
L.C., 103-5, 172,273,328-9
North, Sir Ford, 164
North, Roger, t.m.t., 172, 273,
326, 329, i37
Northampton, Earl of, 130, 137
Northern Circuit, 307, 319, 358,
368, 372
Northund)erland, Earl of, 127
Norton, Christopher, 355
Norton, Sir Fletcher, Speaker H.C,
344-5. 355
4o6 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEINIPLE
Norton, Hon. George Chap]ile, 64,
335^7
Norton, Hon. Mrs. G. C. {ncc
Carry Sheridan), 335-7
Norton, Thomas, 192-3
Norton, Thomas Brinsley, Lord
Grantley, 357
Noy, or Noye, William, Att.-Gen.,
132, 187, 189
Gates, Titus, 104, 105, 147, 265
Office of Arms, 176
Ogilby's Plan, 109, no, 144, 293,
304
Old Bailey, 30, 62, 86, 103, 104,
139, 152, 163, 338, 377
" Old Benchers of the Inner Temple,
The," 42, 71, 378
Old Churchyard, 217
— Hall, I.T., 21, 39, 41-7, 53, 59
— Hall, M.T., 24, 299, 313
— Palace Yard, Westminster, 98,
130, 290
— Post House, 270-2, 277
— Square, L. I., 160, 375
— Temple, The, 7, II, 211, 228
Onslow, Arthur, Speaker H.C.,
343-4
Onslow, Richard, Speaker h.c,
137, 153. 175
Onslow, Sir Richard, 137
Organ, The, 215, 225, 226
Otway, Thomas, 198
"Our Ladye Inn," 239, 240
Outer or Utter Bar, 38-9, loS
— Garden, 52, 53
— Temple, 19, 21-2, 52, 95, 295
Overburye, Nicholas, T. mt., 230
Overburye, Sir Thomas, 52, 90, 230
Oxford, Earl of, 137, 292
Packington, Sir John, T. i.t., 48,
247
Packington's Rents, 48, 50
Paganis, Hugh de, 4
Paget, Lord, 19, 295
Palaphilos, Prince of Sophie, 27,
175
Palgrave's Head Court, 272
Palmer, Sir Roundell, Lord Sel-
liorne, L c.
\<oz
Panter, a baker, 177
Panyer, panyere, pannier, payner,
paner, a bread-basket, 284
Panyer-man, pannier, panyere, ser-
vant who cuts bread, etc., 284
Paper Buililings, 53, 67-71, 248
No. I, 67
No. 2, 70
No, 4, 69
No. s, 86, 163
No. 6, 68
No. 14, 68-9, 78, 360
Parke, James, Baron VVensleydale,
160-I
Parke, Sir James Allan, 160
Parker, Thomas, Earl of Maccles-
field, L.c , 154-5, 340, 342, 377
Parliament Chambers, I.T. , 38,
46-9, 118, 129, 155
M.T., 2S5-6, 315, 317
Parnell Commission, 162, 369, 372
Parry, Edward Abbott, judge, 358
Parry, Serjeant, 64, 364
Parson's Court, no, in
— Lane, 72, 73
Partition Treaty, 152
Paston, John, 121
Paston, William, 121
Pawlett, Sir Amisius or Amias,
T.M.T., 269
Pay, Raymond du, 21
Peake, Sir William, 324
Peel, Sir Robert, 357, 359, 361,
364
Pegasus, 27, 46, 104, 151
Pemberton, Francis, 104. 144-5,
148
Pembroke, Earl of, 20
Pendennis, Artliur, 251, 307-8
Pendennis, Major, 308
Penitential Cell, 36, 217
Penruddock, Colonel, 134
Pepys, Richard, 319
Pepys, Samuel, 148, 273, 319, 324
Pepys, Talbot, 319
Perkins, Sir William, 338
Petre, Edward, Father, 147
Petyt, Sylvester, 49, 245
Petyt, William, t.i.t., 49, 218, 292
Petyt bequests, 49, 50
— MSS., 49, 212
INDEX
407
Phelips, Sir Ivlwanl, .M.K., Speaker
H.C., 136, 185, 316
Phelips, Robert, 136
riiilip Ic Bel, 13-15, 19, 208
I'hilip and Mary, 79, 96, 169, 314,
316
Phillimore, Sir Robert J., t.m.t.,
372
Phillimore, Sir Walter G. F., 375
Pierson, Peter, Bencher i.r., 71,
78,218
Pillars, Serjeants', 168
Pillory at Temple Bar, 135, 265-6
Pim, De, 21, 228
Piscina in Priests' Hall, 43
Piscina, Double, Temple Church,
216
Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham,
157, 344, 346, 351, 354
Plague, The, 124, 143, 318
Plantagenet, William, 212
Plate, The Church, 230
— The Inner Temple, I16-17
Plays, Stage, 192-200
Plowden, Edmund, T.M.T., 35, 21S,
281, 283, 289, 310-12, 377
Plowden Buildings, 297-8, 311,
360
Poland, Sir Harry Bodkin, K.C.,
T.I. I"., viii., 103
Pole, Sir William, T.I.T., 129, 175
Pollard, Sir Lewis, 170
Pollexfen, Henry, 148-9, 377
Pollock, Sir Frederick, l.c.b. ,
306-7, 359' 370
Pollock, Sir Frederick, 31
Pope, Alexander, 61, 115, 152, 199,
266, 377
Popham, Sir Juhn, i.M.r., 130,
289-90, 31 1- 1 2
Porch, The, 214-15
Portcous Riots, 61
Postman of Court of Exchequer,
108, 162, 374
Powell, Sir John, 146, 150
Powis, Sir Thomas, Alt. -Gen., 146,
148
Praed, Serjeant William Mack-
worth, 358
Praed, Winthrop Mackworth, 82,
35^
Pratt, Charles, Lord Camden, L.C.,
153. 156 7. 173
Pratt, Sir John, i..c._i., 153, 173
Prideaux, Edmund, 1. 1 T. , 104,321,
377
Priests, The Temple, 220
— Hall, I.T., 42, 43
— Lands, 21
Prince's Arms. See No. 17, Fleet
Street
Prior, James, 277-8
Prior, ALalthcw, 152, 199, 377
Procter, Bryan Waller, 75
Prynne, John, 35, 135, 191
Pulling, Serjeant Alexander, 77,
359
Pultock, Robert, 235
Pump Court, 21, 24, 94, 268, 2S0,
285, 298-300, 302, 307, 322, 324,
340, 349, 358, 368, 372
Pye, Edmund, 136
Pye, James, 136
Pye, Sir Robert, 135-6
Pye, Robert, son of Sir Robert, 136
Pye, Sir Walter P., t.m.t., 99
Pye, Sir William, 136
Pym, John, 287
Pyx, the, 228
Queen Dowager, Duchess of Kent,
230
Quincey, Thomas de, 354
Radcliffe's Chambers, 90
Rainbow, The, 1 15
Raleigh, Sir Waller, 89, 2S4, 285,
288-90, 315, 317
Raleigh, William, Canon of St.
Paul's, 31
RamAlley, 55, 132, 141, 143,202-3,
377
Reader, 37, 38, 54, 68, 98, 233, 328
— Double, 38
Reader's Feast, 37, 328, 335
Rebels of '15, 339
— heads at Temple Bar, 266
Reception, The, 33-5
Reformation, The, 25, 32, 35, 168,
201, 203, 220
Regiciiles, The, 102
Regulations as to Women, 126
4o8 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Renaissance, 26, 33, 34, 35, 281
Restoration, The, 139, 191, 196,
326, 333
Revels, The, i.t., 42, 157, 174-82,
193, 198
L.I., 313, 337
M.T., 182-3, 286, 322
Revolution of 1688, 261, 266, 334
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 62, 108, 173,
378
Reynolds, Percy, 278
Rich, Sir Robert, Earl of Warwick,
137,312-13
Richard I., 9-10, 216, 291
Richard II., 120, 166-7, 240
Richardson, Samuel, 353
Rickman, H. C, 75
Riderfort, Gerard de. Grand Master,
8
Ridley, Sir Edward, 164
Ridley, Sir Matthew White, 160
River Wall, 4S, 247-8, 251
Robinson, Serjeant, 66, 368
Rochester, Earl of, 271
Rogers, Samuel, 69, 70
Rolle, Henry, 1 34-5, 138, 2S0
Rolls House, 316
Romilly, Sir John, m.r. , 351, 361
Ros, De, 212, 213
Roscarrock, Nicholas, 126
Roscommon, Earl of, 271
Rosse, Sir Robert, 212
Round, The, 8, 11, 12, 21, 40, 43,
109-10, 206-10, 213, 215, 216,
217, 218, 222, 223, 226, 227,
228, 314, 376
— Churches, 1 1-12
Rowe, John, Serjeant, 334
Rowe, Nicholas, 334
Royal Society, 204, 274
Royalists, The, 134, 260, 322
Royalist members, 134-6
Rudhale, William, Serjeant, 123,
170
Rupert, Prince, 141, 273
Russell, Charles, Lord Russell of
Killowen, L c.j. of England, 148,
163, 277, 300, 364-5, 36S-71,
378
Russell, Lord William, 145 332
Ryder, Dudley, L.C.J., 339, 340, 342
Rye House Plot, The, 144
Ryvett, James, Bencher I.T., 97
Sacheverell, Dr., 152, 154, 338
Sackville,Robert,son of Thomas, 193
Sackville, Thomas, Lord Buckhurst,
Earl of Dorset, 192-3, 288-9
Sackville, Thomas, son of Thomas,
^93.
Sackville, William, son of Thomas,
193
St. Andrew's Church, Holborn, 32,
168
St. Anne's Chapel, 43, 213-14,
222, 228, 230, 325
St. Botolph's Church, 16, 217
St. Clement, 235
St. Clement Danes Church, 235,
^ 237, 252
St. Clement's Inn, 235. See Cle-
ment's Inn
St. Dunstan's Church in the West,
115, 170, 192, 234
Sign, 273
St. Erkenwald's Shrine, 168
St. George's Inn, 24, 25, 32, 239
Lane, 239
St. James's Church, 280
St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, 153
St. John, Oliver, 261
St. John of Jerusalem, Order of, 19
St. John's Priory, Clerkenwell,
169, 219, 220
St. Martin's Church, Aldersgate,
16, 114, 217
St. Maur, Master of the Temple, 10
St. Paul's Cathedral, 130, 168, 214,
227, 265
Churchyard, 274
Parvis, 222
St. Sepulchre's Church, Cambridge,
II
London, 32, 239
Northampton, li
St. Thomas of Acre, 167-8
St. Thomas's Chapel, Cheapside,
377
Inner Temple, 43, 168,
214, 220, 325
Salisbury, Marchioness of, 69
— Marquis of. See Robert Cecil
INDEX
409
Salmon, Mrs., 114
Salt, Samuel, Bencher I.T. , 71
Sancroft, Archhishop, 149
Sanctuary, Right of, 201-5
Saunders, Chief Justice, 235
Savage, Edward, 84
Savage, James, 282
Sawyer, Sir Robert, T. I.T., I45-8,
225, 377
Scarlett, James, Baron Abinger,
60, 6r, 316, 359
Schmidt, Bernard (Father Smith),
215, 225-6
Scotland, 5, 8, 15, 16, 144
— Campaign in, 13
— Reception in, 34
— Union with, 152
Scott, John, Lord Eldon, L c. , 156,
173, 283, 285, 308, 346, 350-2
Scott, Sir Walter, 136, 203, 235,
280, 283, 352
Scott, William, Lord Stowell, 283,
350, 352-3. 372
Screen, i.r. Hall, 39, 46
— M.T. ILall, 281
— Temple Church, 215, 224
Scroggs, Sir William, L.c.y., 104-5,
145'
Scroope's (Scrope) Inn, 168
Scrope, Richard le, 258
Seals of the Knights Hospitallers,
21, 228
Knights Templars, 27-8
Secret Societies and the Knights
Templars, 207-10
Selborne, Lord. See Palmer
Selden, John, 35, 38, 67, 133, 137,
139, 1S6-7, 216, 218, 233, 310,
314
Serjeants, 2, 3, 35, 39, 45, 166-
173. 214, 337, 377
— Feasts, 123-4, 167, 169, 171,
3\3, 317
— (lowns, 98, 166-7
— Inn, Fleet Street, 5, 56, 58, 1 14,
167, 169-172, 359, 377
Chancery Lane, 167, 1 72-3,
234, ^^29
Garden, Chancery Lane, 172
Fleet Street, 171
— Inns, 2-3
Serjeants' Place ; or, Scroope's Inn,
168
— Rings, 50, 169, 313
Seven Bishops, Trial of the, 141,
145-150
Seymour, Lady, Sec Sheridan
Seymour, Digby, 373
Shadwell, John, 334
Shadwell, Thomas, dramatist, 203-4,
331. 334
Shaftesbury, Earl of, 291
Shakespeare, William, 121, 122,
186, 195-6, 236, 258, 271, 274,
276, 288, 312, 354, 377
Sharpe, Richard, 69
Shee, Serjeant, 361
Shelburne, Lord, 345
Sheldon, Gilbert, Archbishop of
Canterbury, 335
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 69
Shelley, William, Serjeant, 123, 170
Shepherd, The, 236
"Shepherd's Inn," 235-6
Sheridan, Caroline. See Norton
Sheridan, Georgy, Lady .Seymour,
355
Sheridan, Helen, Lady Dufferin,
355
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 69,
78, 353-5, 377
Sheridan, Tom, 355
Sherlock, Dr. Thomas, Bishop of
Bangor and London, 19S, 227,
231
Sherlock, Dr. William, 231
Ship-money case, 90, 132, 134,
317-18
Shirley, James, 197, 270
Shirley, Sir Robert, 296
.Shower, Sir Bartholomew, 148, 332
Shrewsbury bells, 126
— case "^72
Sidney,' Sir Philip, 288
Sidney, Sir Roliert, 311
Skellon, Sir John, 95
Slaughter, Colonel Etlward, 137
Sloane, Sir Hans, 323
Smirkc, Sir Robert, 172, 228
Smirke, Sir Sydney, 44, 45
Smith, Sir .Archibald Levin, NT.R..
162 3. 372
4IO THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Smith, Judge Lumley, 164
Smith, Dr. Thomas, 33
Smyth, Sir Hugh, 64
Somers, John, Baron Somers, L. C. ,
22, 149, 152, 204, 283, 2S5, 330,
331, 339. 377
Somerset, Duchess of, 296
Somerset, Lady Francis, Countess
of, 52, 90, 191
Somerset, Robert Carr, Earl of,
52, 90, 137-8, 191
Somerset, Earl of, 12 1-2
Somerset, Lord Protector, 3, 35,
193, 238-9, 312
Somerset, The Ladies, 276
South Sea Bul)l;)le, 154, 339, 377
Southampton, Earl of, 2S9, 312
Southerne. Thomas, 333-4
Southey, Robert, 235
Spectator, Mr., 251, 308
Spenser, Edmund, 193, 276, 295
Stage Plays, 192-200
Staple Ilall, 242
— Inn, 105, 233, 242, 243
Stapleton, Anthony, 171, 175
Stapleton, Walter de. Bishop of
Exeter, 19, 295
Stapleton Inn, 19
Stapeley, Anthony, regicide, 139
Star Chaml)er, 33, 96, 125, 128,
135. 315-16
Statues, Knights Templars, i.T.
Hall, 46
Steele, Richard, 274
Stephen, King, 6, 11, 32, 211, 216
Stewart, General Herl)ert, 263
Stone Buildings, L. i., 346, 350
Stourton, Lord, 314
Stowell, Lord. See W. Scott
Strafford, Thomas Went worth, Earl
of, 138, 320-2, 333
Strand, 7, 20, 153, 1S7, 234, 253,
267, 295
— Inn, 3, 238-9
Strange, Sir John, M.R., 340, 342
Strangwig, Jacolj, 172
Styrrell, Henry, 202
Suffolk, Earl of, 121, 122
Sumptuary Laws, 124, 127, 316
Sundials, The Temple, 250, 278-9,
300
Sunderland, Lord, 149
Sunderland, Countess of, 323
Surtees, Bessie, 350
Sussex, Countess of, 260
Sutton, Master, 116
Swift, Dr. Jonathan, 152, 271, 274,
334, 377^
Talbot, Charles, L.C., 157, 198, 341
Talfourd, Thomas Noon, 64, 74, 76,
235. 354,. 356, 357-9
Tanfield, Sir Lawrence, 51 2, 269
Tanfield Court, 49, 5 1 -2, 144
Taylor, Joseph, 186
Taylor, Sarah, 160
Taylor, Tom, 80, 8r, 159
Teck, Mary, Duchess of, 374
Teck, Duke of, 374
Temple Bar, 150, 264-7, 295
— Bruere, 7, 12
— Charter of 1608, 25
— Church, 43, 50, 51, 52, 53, 67,
11. 94, 97, 139, 164, 176, 194,
201, 206-30, 258, 261, 285, 304,
325. 376
— Court, 1 10
— Crests, 27, 307
— Flower Show, 199
— Fountain, 275-7, 325
— Gardens, The, 57, 247-52, 257-8,
308
(Buildings), 286
— Gate, 28-9, 135, 308
— inventory, 17
— Manor, Stroud, Kent, 28
— Master of the, 6, 7, 10, 12, 16-17
— The old, 7, 1 1
— The Paris, 6, 8
— Solomon's, 4, 208
— ■ Stairs, Pier or Bridge, 140, 185,
247, 253-6, 294, 345
— Street, 255
— vineyards, 14
— walks, 153
Ten Crown Office Row, 80, 81
Tenison, Dr., 322
Tennyson, Lord, 159-60
Terrace, The, IT., 154
Test Act, 327
Thackeray, William Makepeace, 28,
79, 80-2, 165, 235-6, 307-9
I
INDEX
411
Thavie, Alice, 24
Thavie or Thaive, John, 23-4
Thavie's Inn, 22-3, 25, 32, 240
Thcllusson case, 347
Tliclwall, Jolin, 351
Thesiger, lion. AllVcil 1 Iciiiy, L.J.,
162, 262
Thesiger, FVederick, Lord Chelms-
ford, L.C., 63-5, 162, 356
Tlionison, Archlnshop of York, 45
Tliornhill, Sir James, 104, 152
Throckmorton, P'rancis, 12S
Throckmorton, Sir John, 97, 128
Throckmorton, John, jun., 128
Throckmorton, Sir Nichokxs, t;4,
96 7
Thurlow, I'',iI\vard,Li>rd Cliancellor,
94, 106, 115, 158, 227, 346, 349
Thurlow, Dr. Thomas, Bishop of
Durham, 227
Thurstell, — , 237
Thynn, Thomas, V^iscounl Siil-
moulh, 296
Tichhornc trial, 360, 362-5, 36S
Tillotson, Archjjishop, 204, 271
Tindal, Lord Chief Justice, 356
Tooke, John Home, 62, 69, 92, 34S,
35'
Torches f)r l\evels, iSl
Tower, The, 16, 56, 95, 103, 122,
126, 12S, 129, 139, 193, 311
Townshend, Charles, 77, 343
Tradescant, John, 323
Travcrs, Walter, 221
Treasure House of Teinpic, 12, 41
Treasurer's House, Inner Teni])le,
48, 50
Treaty of Partition, 331
Treaty of Utrecht, 152
Trehy, Sir (Jeorge, H8-9, 334
Tresham, Francis, 129
Tresham, Lewis, 129
Tresham, Sir Thomas, 129
Tresham, William, 129
Trevor, Mark, Viscount Dungannon
and Haron Rostrevor, 136
Trevor, Sir John, T. i.r. , m.k.,
Speaker li.c, 151
Trevor, Sir Thomas, r. i.i., 131, 153
Trial of Seven Hishojis, 330, 332,377
Tiifmium, 78, 217, 218-19, 3H
Trinder, Serjeant Henry, 148
Tubman of the Exchequer Court,
108
Turner, Godfrey, 276
Turner, Sir William, 324
'Jwelfth Nighl, 286, 287-8
Twisden, Mr. Justice, 287, 337
— Buildings, 304, 337
Twyford, Henry, 299
Underhill, William, 195
Unton, Sir Henry, 129
Valence, A}-mcr de, Earl of I'em-
broke, 20
Van Dyck, Sir Anthony, 283
Van .Somer, 57
Vane, Sir Henry, 141
Vaughan, Sir John, 67
Vecchio, Pal ma, 286
Venables, George Stovin, 79, 159,
308-9
Venezuelan Arliilration, 370, 374
Vernoy, Sir Richard, 260, 296
Vernon, Thomas, r.M.i"., 332
Victoria, Queen, 42, 44, 262, 264,
^.267, 374
Vienne, Council of, 19, 219
Vine Court, 298-9, 324-6
Wadham, Nicholas, 129
Wagstaffe, Sir Joseph, 134
Waleynliam, William, 'I'.c.l., 242
Walker, Tiiomas, T. i.'i"., 49
Wallace, Rol)ert, 375
Waller, Sir William, 103
Wallop, Richanl, 332
Walpole, Horace, 341
Walter, Sir Jolin, Sol. -Gen., 84
Walton, John Lawson, 50
War of American Indc])en<lence, 349
Wardsand Liveries, Court of, 97- lOO
Warren, Samuel, T. I.T., 64, 66, 83
Warrington, (jeorge, 307-8
Wars of the Roses, 121, 122, 258
Warwick, Earl of, i;6, 121, 122
Wat the Tyler, 1 18-19, 258
Watergate, 23, 83, 91, 296
Webster, Sir Richard, Loril Alvcr-
stone, i..<:.j. of England, 163,
200, 300, 371-2
412 THE INNER AND MIDDLE TEMPLE
Wedderburn, Alexander, L.C, 158-g
Wellington, Duke of, 60, 151, 358
Wentworth, Thomas. See Strafford,
Earl of
Western Circuit, 353, 359
Westminster, 7, 23, 32, 108, 136,
154, 254, 260, 274, 276, 320, 353
Westminster Abbey, 41, 62, 131, 136
Westminster Hall, 18, 35, 83, 98,
129, 130, 132, 135, 145, 150, 266,
289, 291, 318, 321, 335, 336-9,
342, 354, 356
Westminster Tournament, 123
Wharry, John, Bencher I.T., 71,
78, 218
Wharton, Philip, Baron, 147
Whiddon, Sir John, 336
Whitechapel Bars, 264
Whitefriars, i, 7, 53, 67, 203-5, 288
— Gate, 53, 59, 204
Whitehall, 130, X40, 183, 185-6,
188, 190-1, 193, 316, 345
Whitelocke, Bulstrode, 90, 182, 187,
191, 271, 302, 318-19, 321, 325-6,
377
Whitelocke, Sir James, 318
Whitelocke, R. H., 182
Whitelocke, William, 325
Wilberforce, Bishop of Winchester,
45
Wilde, John, Serjeant, 138
Wilde, Thomas, Baron Truro, L.c. ,
161-2
Wilkes, John, 92, 94, 156, 158, 345
Willes, Sir James Shaw, 108, 109,
262-3
Willes, Sir John, L.c.j. Com. Pleas,
261
William III., 46, 103, 136, 140,
146, 148, 149, 150, 181, 245, 261,
266, 283, 325, 330, 332-3, 337-8,
377
William IV., 354
Williams, Edward, 57
Williams, Montagu, Q.C., 85-7
Williams, Sir William, Speaker,
146-8
Willis, William, T.I.T., 55, 61, 161,
164, 378
Wills, Sir Alfred, 375
Winged Horse, 27, 28, 42
Winter, Capt., 204
Winter, Robert, 129, 130
Withers, Mr. Justice, 265
Wolsey, Cardinal, 95, 112, 124-5,
269, 335-6
Wood, Sir Evelyn, v.c, 263
Worsley, Master Charles, 24, 271,
292
Wray, Sir Christopher, L.c.j., 99,
313
Wren, Sir Christopher, 144, 225,
269, 302, 323, 325
Wright, Nathan, Lord Keeper, 148
Wright, Sir Robert, L.C.J., 103, 145,
149, 164
Wroth, Anthony, 91
Wroth, John, 91
Wroth, Sir Peter, 91
Wroth, Sir Thomas, M.P., 91
Wyatt, John, T.I.T., 88
Wyatt's rebellion, 54, 96
Wycherley, Daniel, 142
Wycherley, William, dramatist,
141-2, 197
York, Richard, Duke of, 121, 122
York and Lancaster, Houses of,
246, 258
York and Lancaster Roses, 247
Yorke, Charles, Earl of Hardwicke,
L c. , 340, 342, 345
Yorke, Philip, Lord Hardwicke,
L.C, 102, 283, 285, 339, 343, 377
rLYMOUTH
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