Stone Buildings are so-called from the material with which they are constructed.[6] They were constructed in accordance with an ultimately unrealised plan to rebuild Lincoln's Inn entirely in stone. Their construction was the initial step in that plan.[7]
The working drawings were made by a young man called Leach, then a clerk in Taylor's office, who later became Master of the Rolls. Leach's drawings are preserved in the Library of Lincoln's Inn. Pitt's chambers appear to have been in Stone Buildings[8] from December 1779.[9] Canning's father was "for some time with a Serjeant Walker who then resided in Stone Buildings". The South end was added from 1844 to 1845 under the direction of Philip Hardwick.[8]
Stone Buildings are situated parallel with the west side of Chancery Lane, and the western range of buildings faces the gardens of Lincoln's Inn and the square, with an oblong court between the two buildings. The Chancery Lane side is very plain, but the garden front consists of a rustic basement, with arcades and windows, at the north end of which is a wing consisting of six Corinthian pillars, which support an entablature and pediment. The cornice of the wing is continued through the whole length of the front, which terminates in a balustrade, but the two ranges of windows are entirely plain. The northern entrance is by handsome iron gates in Chancery Lane. The structure is not in keeping with the architecture of the other buildings; but, when viewed through the foliage of the garden, it has a very pleasing effect.[10]
On 23 December 1790, by the violence of the wind at noon, the copper covering of the roof of the new buildings was blown off in one sheet, and hung over the front like a large carpet or mainsail. The noise occasioned by this accident made the neighbourhood conclude the building was falling down. Some of the plates composing this covering were torn off and carried into a yard in Holborn.[11]
Sir Charles Wetherell had chambers in Stone Buildings. The Duke of Wellington took shelter there when he was attacked by a mob[12] on 18 June 1832.[13][14]
The Registers' and Accountant-General's Offices were at 8, 9 and 11 Stone Buildings.[15]
The buildings that comprise Stone Buildings are numbered from 1 to 11. 1 and 11 Stone Buildings are opposite separate sides of 76B Chancery Lane. 7 and 8 Stone Buildings are opposite 10 to 12 Old Square.[17]
2 Stone Buildings
The Library of Lincoln's Inn was located on the ground floor of this building from 1755.[18] Samuel Ireland said that the valuable and extensive library was housed in an elegant suite of apartments, consisting of four rooms, three of which commanded a pleasant view of the gardens. In this collection (which included upwards of 8,000 volumes) were many rare and valuable books, in the most perfect condition. The excellent order in which they were ranged, and the extreme neatness that prevailed throughout the apartments, reflected great honour on those who had the superintendence of them.
There were two portraits in the principal apartment; that over the chimney-piece, to the left of the entrance, was well painted, and represented Sir Richard Rainsford, lord chief justice in the reign of Charles I.; the other, which hung between the windows, was a portrait of Sir John Franklin, master in ordinary of the court of chancery, who, by the inscription, appears to have died in 1707. There were, besides, some fine Italian drawings, and copies in miniature, of the celebrated Venus, by Titian, and other Italian masters. The second chamber contained some very good pictures; among which, that of the Virgin and Child appeared, in point of design, to possess no small degree of merit. Between the windows was a very singular three-quarter portrait, representing a handsome woman loosely attired, holding in her hand a bleeding heart, pierced through with a dart; in the background were two small figures, representing Mars and Venus; applicable, no doubt, to the subject of the picture, which seemed very ancient, and was extremely dirty; unfortunately the name of the lady was not known. The drawings, in this apartment, were by the same Italian masters, as those he before noticed. In this room there were also two large globes, apparently of Elizabeth's time; they were so much defaced as to be perfectly useless by 1800. There was also a three-quarter portrait in the third chamber, of the famous judge Hales, who bequeathed to the honourable society all his valuable manuscripts; and, in the fourth apartment, hung a good picture of the late Lord Mansfield, chief justice of the King's Bench and five old pictures, on the subject of Christ at Emmaus. In an alcove, at the further end of this room, stood a beautiful marble bust of the great Cicero. There were also several pictures, of whose merit nothing could be ascertained, as they were totally obscured with dirt.[19] The Library was removed from this building in 1845.[20]
It currently houses Three Stone, the Chambers of John McDonnell QC, which is a merger of two chancery-commercial chambers in Lincoln's Inn: Thirteen Old Square Chambers and 3 Stone Buildings.[28]
The sundial on the west front of 4 Stone Buildings.
There is on the west front of 4 Stone Buildings, facing the garden and just outside the chambers formerly occupied by Pitt, a sundial bearing the inscription "Qua Redit Nescitis Horam", which means "you know not the hour in which he returns". This sundial previously stood on an old gable in Old Buildings, Lincoln's Inn. It was put in its present place in 1794, during Pitt's Treasureship, at which time it was repainted and further inscribed "T. the Rt. hon.ble W.P." It was restored again in 1848. From the different situation of its plane, it only shows the hours from noon till night. During the Second World War, it only just avoided being destroyed by bombs which fell on Stone Buildings.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]
5 Stone Buildings
Sir Charles Wetherell MP resided here.[43] The editorial office of The Law Times was here.[44] In July 1918, the Bar Council acquired new offices at 5 Stone Buildings, of a character more suitable to the duties they were called upon to discharge. It had been found impossible to obtain equally suitable accommodation in the Temple; but it was hoped that the advantages of the new premises would counterbalance any inconvenience which might be felt by a section of the Bar in consequence of the removal from the Temple. The furniture and fittings of the new premises were presented to the Bar Council by their then chairman, Mr P. O. Lawrence KC. The thanks of the council to the donor were expressed and recorded in a resolution dated 11 November 1918.[45]
5 Stone Buildings[46] is a barristers' chambers. It currently comprises 24 members, of whom five are Queen's Counsel, whose specialisations include private client, estate planning, tax, probate disputes, partnership, property litigation, professional negligence, pensions and other chancery related commercial matters. The chambers are ranked highly in the legal directory Chambers and Partners.[47]
This is the part of Stone Buildings that was constructed in 1845.[56] The Exchequer Office of Pleas and the Exchequer Rule Office were here.[57] From 1845, the business of the Court of Exchequer was transacted in the offices which occupied two floors (namely, the ground floor and the basement floor) of this building. The accommodation on the ground floor consisted of a large hall 38 feet by 28 feet, used as a place of business for persons engaged in the taxing of costs and other matters, and as a general waiting-room for witnesses, etc. in attendance on references or other business. Within this space was also contained an office partitioned off for the two clerks in immediate attendance on the masters, and a box for the messengers. On the same floor there were five rooms for the masters varying in size from 23 feet by 10 feet, to 23 feet by 15 feet, together with another room which was used as a library and waiting-room. After the changes introduced by the two Common Law Procedure Acts, and especially in consequence of the frequent references of causes to the masters, the accommodation afforded in 1860 by the masters' rooms, and the space in immediate connexion with them, was often inadequate for the convenience of the counsel, attorneys, parties and witnesses in attendance. On the basement floor, an equal amount of space, but differently divided, was occupied by the writ, appearance, judgment, execution, and rule offices, and by the record room and housekeeper's apartments. The housekeeper had also a bedroom in the attics of the building. The total general area of each of the floors occupied by the offices of the Court was 3,130 square feet, making together a rough total of twice that extent, or 6,260 square feet.[58] In 1880, certain rooms, up to that time used by the Masters of the Exchequer, became common rooms.[59][60] From 1947, the Council of Legal Education was here.[61]
From 1893 until 2024, 9 Stone Buildings housed a chambers of the same name, specialising in commercial-chancery law. At the time of its dissolution, it was the oldest set of chambers in Lincoln's Inn.[64]
11 Stone Buildings was a set of commercial / chancery barristers. They practiced commercial law with specialist groups for all types of contract, company, insolvency, banking & finance and real estate disputes. They acted as advocates, advisers, arbitrators and mediators for law firms, for in-house legal departments and for licensed and public access clients.[68][69] They were also members of the ADR Group, the alternative dispute resolution network.[70] The set consisted of 42 members including 4 Queen's Counsel, and had 16 employees. Head of Chambers was Edward Cohen, whilst the Chambers Director was Michael Couling.[71][72]
The set was dissolved in October 2015 because the barristers felt their practices would be best served by moving to more specialised chambers.[73]
↑ Reilly, Robin. Pitt the Younger 1759-1806. Cassell. 1978. p 46. Google Books.
↑ Charles William Heckethorn. Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Localities Adjacent. E Stock. 1896. pp 53 & 54.
↑ Charles William Heckethorn. Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Localities Adjacent. E Stock. 1896. pp 54.
↑ Thomas Wright. The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent. George Virtue. Paternoster Row, London. 1837. Volume 5. pp 156 & 157.
↑ George Robert Gleig and Alexis Henri Brialmont. The Life of Arthur, First Duke of Wellington. 1862. Page 522 et seq.
↑ Hurst. A Short History of Lincoln's Inn. Constable. 1946. p 32. Google Books.
↑ William Paley Baildon. The Site of Lincoln's Inn. 1902. p 40.
↑ Ireland, Samuel. Picturesque Views, with an Historical Account of the Inns of Court. 1800. pp 125 et seq.
↑ Arthur St. John Adcock. Wonderful London. Fleetway House. 1926. vol 2. p 208. Google Books.
↑ Hurst. A Short History of Lincoln's Inn. Constable. 1946. p 34.
↑ Hugh H L Bellot. Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. Methuen & Co Limited. London. 1925 . p 180.
↑ Hurst, Gerald Berkeley. Lincoln's Inn Essays. Constable. 1949. p 26. Google Books.
↑ Spilsbury, William Holden. Lincoln's Inn: Its Ancient and Modern Buildings. Reeves and Turner. 1873. p 52.
↑ Baildon and Roxburgh. The Records of the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn: The Black Books. Volume 5 (1845-1914). Lincoln's Inn. 1968. p xxix. Google Books.
↑ "1949: The Law Reports of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: House of Lords, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and Peerage Cases" [1949] AC i Google Books
↑ "Useful Tables" (1803) 1 The Law Journal 97 at 98
↑ "Stone Buildings" in Chambers. Society of Lincoln's Inn. lincolnsinn.org.uk/chambers.asp. Archived Copy from Internet Archive. 24 September 2009.
↑ The British Almanac of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for the Year of Our Lord, 1849. Charles Knight. Fleet Street, London. Page 78.
↑ W H Walton and W F Pollock. Reports from Commissioners: Sixteen Volumes. Volume 9. Reports from Commissioners: 1860. Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command. Volume 31. Session: 24 Jan to 28 Aug 1860. 1860. "Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Means of Providing Sites for Bringing Together the Superior Courts of Law and Equity etc" [2710]. Appendix C (Appendix to evidence taken before the commissioners appointed to enquire into the expediency of bringing together all the superior courts of Law and Equity etc). No. 5 (2 February 1860). Page 123.
↑ Wong, J Y. Origins of an Heroic Image: Sun Yatsen in London 1896-1897. Oxford University Press. 1986. Page 256. Google Books
↑ The Records of the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn: 1914-1965. The Black Books: Volume VI. Lincoln's Inn. 2001. Page 31. Google Books
↑ Robert Megarry and Bryan Garner. A New Miscellany at Law: Yet Another Diversion for Lawyers and Others. Hart Publishing. Oxford and Portland, Oregon. The Lawbook Exchange Ltd. Clark, New Jersey. 2005. p 25
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. It is located in the wider Temple area of London, near the Royal Courts of Justice, and within the City of London. As a liberty, it functions largely as an independent local government authority.
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these inns. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple, and Gray's Inn.
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, a person must belong to one of these Inns. It is located in the wider Temple area, near the Royal Courts of Justice, and within the City of London. As a liberty, it functions largely as an independent local government authority.
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these inns. Located at the intersection of High Holborn and Gray's Inn Road in Central London, the Inn is a professional body and provides office and some residential accommodation for barristers. It is ruled by a governing council called "Pension", made up of the Masters of the Bench and led by the Treasurer, who is elected to serve a one-year term. The Inn is known for its gardens, which have existed since at least 1597.
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.
Barnard's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures.
Sir George Jessel, was a British barrister, politician, and judge. He was one of the most influential commercial law and equity judges of his time, and served as the Master of the Rolls. He was the first Jew to be a regular member of the Privy Council and to hold high judicial office.
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes. The original plan for "laying out and planting" these fields, drawn by the hand of Inigo Jones, was said still to be seen in Lord Pembroke's collection at Wilton House in the 19th century, but its location is now unknown. The grounds, which had remained private property, were acquired by London County Council in 1895 and opened to the public by its chairman, Sir John Hutton, the same year. The square is today managed by the London Borough of Camden and forms part of the southern boundary of that borough with the City of Westminster.
Sir John Leach was an English judge, and Master of the Rolls.
Horace Davey, Baron Davey, PC, FRS, FBA was an English judge and Liberal politician.
Furnival's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which formerly stood on the site of the present Holborn Bars building in Holborn, London, England.
Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage in the City of London. The Inn was founded in 1344 and refounded 15 June 1668. It was dissolved in 1903, and most of its original structure was demolished in 1934, save for a gateway which survives. It was both the first Inn of Chancery to be founded and the last to be demolished. The mansion block was built in the late 1930s preserving the name.
Chancery Lane is a one-way street that forms part of the western boundary of the City of London. The east side of the street is entirely within the City, whilst the west side is in the City of Westminster south of Carey Street and the London Borough of Camden north of that street. The route originated as a 'new lane' created by the Knights Templar from their original 'old Temple' on the site of the present Southampton Buildings on Holborn, in order to access to their newly acquired property to the south of Fleet Street sometime before 1161.
Thavie's Inn was a former Inn of Chancery, associated with Lincoln's Inn, established at Holborn, near the site of the present side street and office block still known as Thavies Inn Buildings. Thavie's Inn is one of the earliest Inns of Chancery on record, both by date of establishment and dissolution. It remains a well-known City of London landmark, where Lloyd's Bank is situated, on the opposite side of Holborn Circus from Ely Place.
Pump Court is a courtyard in Temple, London, now primarily housing barristers' chambers. It is the first on the left in Middle Temple Lane from 6 Fleet Street, leading to Inner Temple Lane and Lamb's Buildings. Its name referred to the pump in the middle.
Sir William Anthony Blackburne is a retired High Court Judge at the Royal Courts of Justice in London who is presently the Chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Blackburne was Called to the Bar in 1966 from Inner Temple, although a year or two later he joined Lincoln's Inn and eventually became a Queen's Counsel in 1984. He practised from 13 Old Square. Blackburne became a High Court judge in the Chancery Division on 1 October 1993 and retired on 27 October 2009. Since retiring Blackburne sat as a High Court Judge on a part-time basis. He also served as Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn.
King's Bench Walk is a street in Temple, in the City of London. It is mainly made up of barristers' chambers.
Charles Beavan (1805-1884) was a British barrister and law reporter.
The Royal Commission on the Inns of Court carried out an investigation into the Inns of Court and associated Inns of Chancery between 1854 and 1855. The inns were medieval guild-like institutions that provided accommodation for lawyers and had developed gradually into centres for legal education. All barristers in the country had to be a member of one of the inns. It included many of the leading lawyers and jurists of the time. The commission found many of the inns, particularly the Inns of Chancery, were ineffective at educating students and recommended the creation of a single university of law. Steps were taken to accomplish this and a parliamentary bill was prepared but it was never achieved. The commission did, however, have an influence on legal education for decades and was a factor in the establishment of modern law schools at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London.
Auncienty is a term used to describe a system of precedence, for instance through years and continuance in the Houses of the Inns of Court, or among the ranks or degrees of the Officers of Arms. In many ways equivalent to Eldership, deriving from the Norman French noun "ancien" preserved in the French concept of Ancienneté, it has a meaning of ceremonial seniority. This is slightly distinct from the obsolete usage of the word simply to mean "Antiquity".
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