Society of Lincoln's Inn

Society of Lincoln's Inn
Name	Society of Lincoln's Inn
Caption	Old Hall, Lincoln's Inn
Founded	Late 14th century
Type	Inn of Court
Location	Holborn, London

Society of Lincoln's Inn

The Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four historic Inns of Court in London associated with the legal profession and the formation of barristers. It occupies grounds in Holborn adjacent to the Royal Courts of Justice and the Strand, and has been connected with figures from the Tudor period through the Victorian era, the Commonwealth, and modern British jurisprudence. The Society's records intersect with institutions such as the Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Gray's Inn, the House of Lords, Privy Council, and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

History

Lincoln's Inn traces its origins to the late medieval period and the reign of Richard II, developing as a corporate body alongside the expansion of common law linked to the Court of Common Pleas, the King's Bench, and the Exchequer of Pleas. The Inn's archives document connections with Tudor figures like Sir Thomas More, Sir Edward Coke, and Sir Francis Bacon, and later with Stuart-era jurists allied to cases such as the Ship Money disputes and the Trial of Charles I. During the Restoration, Lincoln's Inn hosted jurists who participated in the Clarendon Code debates and in the adjudication of precedents cited before the Glorious Revolution and the drafting of the Bill of Rights 1689. In the 18th century its library and commons were frequented by attorneys serving in matters reaching the Court of King's Bench and the Court of Chancery. The Inn's nineteenth-century expansion paralleled legal reforms including the Judicature Acts and the emergence of professional legal education influenced by figures like Lord Halsbury and Sir James Fitzjames Stephen. In the 20th century members served in wartime cabinets such as that of Winston Churchill and on international tribunals including the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Court of Justice.

Membership and Organization

Admission to the Society historically required patronage from Benchers including prominent jurists, bishops, and statesmen such as Chief Justice Holt, Lord Denman, and Lord Bingham of Cornhill. Governance is vested in elected Benchers who have included members of the Privy Council, House of Commons speakers, and law officers like the Attorney General for England and Wales and the Solicitor General for England and Wales. The Inn's membership roster lists judges from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, presidents of the International Criminal Court, and advocates who argued before the European Court of Human Rights and the House of Lords. Honorary benchers have included diplomats accredited to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, colonial governors from the British Raj era, and jurists from the Commonwealth of Nations such as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada and the High Court of Australia.

Premises and Facilities

Lincoln's Inn occupies historic buildings including the Old Hall, the Chapel, and the Library near landmarks like Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Royal Courts of Justice, and Fleet Street. Architectural features reflect contributions by architects associated with projects such as Inigo Jones, the Office of Works, and Victorian restorers who worked alongside commissioners responsible for the Public Works Loan Board. Gardens and squares have hosted commemorations of figures like Lord Mansfield and memorials to judges who served on international commissions such as the Nuremberg Trials. Facilities include dining halls used by Benchers and barristers, moots and lecture rooms where advocates prepared cases for courts like the Crown Court and the Commercial Court, and an extensive library collection that preserves manuscripts linked to the Year Books and reports cited in decisions of the House of Lords and the Privy Council.

Education and Professional Training

The Society provided formative training for barristers alongside the Inns of Court system, coordinating with bodies like the Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board. Historically education combined dining requirements with lectures given by readers and benchers who referenced canonical texts such as Blackstone's commentaries associated with Sir William Blackstone, treatises by Edward Coke, and procedural works used in pleadings before the Court of King's Bench and the Court of Chancery. The Inn hosted moots and clinical-style advocacy exercises preparing members for practice in forums including the Family Division, the Chancery Division, and tribunals under statutes like the Companies Act 1862. In modern times the Society liaises with faculties at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and professional legal educators who teach courses recognized by the Council of Legal Education and recognized syllabi for call to the Bar.

Traditions and Ceremonies

The Inn preserves ceremonies such as call to the Bar convocations, readings by Benchers, and admittance rituals historically paralleling those at the Royal Courts of Justice and ceremonies involving officers like the Lord Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls. Traditional dinners and feasts have commemorated anniversaries associated with legal luminaries including Sir Matthew Hale, Sir John Doddridge, and Lord Hardwicke. Memorial services in the Chapel have honored jurists who sat on inquiries and commissions such as the Leveson Inquiry and the Royal Commission on the Reform of the Civil Service. The Inn maintains heraldic banners and portraits of members who served in institutions like the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the European Commission, and colonial administrations including the East India Company.

Notable Members

The Society's alumni include jurists, statesmen, and scholars such as Sir Edward Coke, Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Mansfield, Lord Campbell, Lord Denning, Lord Hailsham, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Viscount Sankey, Sir Garfield Barwick, Lord Hoffmann, Sir Alec Jeffreys, Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, Sir Thomas More, Sir Matthew Hale, Sir John Laws, Sir Nicholas Browne-Wilkinson, Sir Robert Megarry, Sir Christopher Greenwood, Lord Sumption, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Lady Hale of Richmond, Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Anthony Eden, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Robin Cooke, Lord Scarman, Lord Steyn, Lord Reid, Viscount Simon, Lord Atkin, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Parker of Waddington, Sir Owen Dixon, Sir Garfield Barwick, Sir Maurice Tomlinson, Lord Hope of Craighead, Sir John Marshall Haines, Sir Raymond Evershed, Sir Michael Kirby, Viscount Dilhorne, Lord Wilberforce, Lord Diplock, Lord Templeman, Lord Goff of Chieveley, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, Sir Thomas Erskine May, Sir Richard Wilberforce, Sir Nicolas Bratza, Lord Goldsmith, Sir David Clementi.

Category:Inns of Court