The London Prat

An exact walking route through London's legal quarter, from Temple through the Royal Courts of Justice and Inns of Court to Holborn Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat present a walk through the only square mile in London where wigs are still working attire. The Legal London Walk Between Fleet Street and Holborn sit the four Inns of Court: Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. These are barristers' professional bodies, dating back to the 14th century, operating out of buildings that look like calm, well-lit Oxbridge colleges. You can walk through most of them quietly. You should. Start and Finish Start: Temple Station. Finish: Holborn Station or Chancery Lane. Distance: 1.5 miles. Time: 1 hour. Exact Directions Exit Temple Station. Walk north on Temple Place, then up the steps into Temple (the quarter, not the Tube). Inner Temple and Middle Temple flank narrow lanes with Georgian townhouses and Dickensian atmosphere. Temple Church (1185, circular, built by the Knights Templar) is the architectural highlight. See templechurch.com. Walk north to Fleet Street. Turn right. The Royal Courts of Justice (1882, Gothic Revival) dominate the corner. The courts are open to the public (silent gallery), Mondays to Fridays. See the Judiciary site. Cross north into Lincoln's Inn via Chancery Lane. Lincoln's Inn Fields (London's largest square) is adjacent. The Inn itself is open weekdays; the Chapel (1623) and Old Hall (1490) are particularly fine. From Lincoln's Inn, walk north-east through Gray's Inn Road to Gray's Inn (1370s). The gardens (the Walks) were laid out by Francis Bacon in 1606. Finish at Chancery Lane or Holborn Station. What to See Temple Church. Middle Temple Hall. Royal Courts of Justice (public gallery). Twinings tea shop (216 Strand, since 1706). Lincoln's Inn. Sir John Soane's Museum (at 12-14 Lincoln's Inn Fields, free, astonishing, see soane.org). Gray's Inn. Coffee, Toilets, Survival Coffee: Department of Coffee, Pret (many). Food: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street (1538 pub, though rebuilt after the Great Fire), Simpson's Tavern. Toilets: Royal Courts lobby, pubs, Sir John Soane's Museum. The Humour Interlude This is the only part of London where you will see a man in full robes and wig walking to lunch while shouting into an iPhone about "disclosure." He is a barrister, and he is having one of his three weekly calls that involves the word "respectfully." A London legal satirist has observed that the Inns of Court are collegiate but also faintly Hogwarts, and anyone who has ever walked into Middle Temple Hall at dusk will recognise this. Lincoln's Inn Fields is where real lawyers eat sandwiches on real benches. The sandwiches cost 9 pounds. The lawyers cost considerably more. Local Wisdom Weekdays only for Inn access. Dress smart-ish; the Inns are technically private. The Royal Courts public gallery is free and operational; random civil appeals can be weirdly compelling. For legal satire, see Private Eye. SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/

Tag: Inns of Court London

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