London - Temple

Barristers (who are entitled to plead in the higher courts of England but have no direct contact with their clients - in contrast to the other branch of the legal profession, the solicitors, who deal directly with the clients and "instruct" the barristers but are not themselves allowed to plead in the higher courts) must be trained in one of the four Inns of Court, which are in effect law schools with the exclusive right to admit candidates to practice as barristers. The two inns within the Temple are known as the Middle Temple and Inner Temple; the other two are Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn. The Inns of Court were first established in the reign of Edward I, when the clergy had ceased to practice in the law courts and had been succeeded by professional lawyers.

Each of the inns has a large complex of buildings, comprising legal chambers (offices) which are let to barristers and solicitors and extensive gardens as well as the actual teaching facilities (libraries, lecture rooms, dining halls, etc.), laid out around a number of courts. In order to become a barrister a student must pass the examinations of one of the halls and must also fulfillll the traditional requirement of dining in hall at least three times a term for 12 terms in all. Each inn is governed by a committee of "benchers". All judges of the High Court automatically became benchers; other benchers are elected from among senior barristers (Q.C.s). The benchers of each inn are presided over by a treasurer, who is elected anually. Once every term the treasurer admits successful candidates to the bar on a ceremonial occasion known as Call Night.

Inner Temple Hall, the dining and assembly hall of the Inner Temple, was destroyed by bombing in 1941 and rebuilt in 1952-55. It has a heated marble floor and stained-glass windows with the arms of former members of the inn. At the west end are a vaulted room and crypt dating from the 14th century.

The Inner Temple Gardens, reaching down to the Thames, are not open to the public. In these gardens are still grown the white and red roses which according to tradition were plucked here at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses and became the emblems of the houses of York and Lancaster.

The Temple is entered from Fleet Street through a handsome Wren gateway. To the west of Middle Temple Lane is the Middle Temple, the members of which have included such notable figures as Sir Walter Raleigh, John Pym, Henry Fielding, Thomas Moore, Thomas de Quincey. W. M. Thackeray and R. B. Sheridan. The Middle Temple Hall was built during the reign of Elizabeth I, in 1576, as a dining and assembly hall. After suffering severe bomb damage during the Second World War it was restored in the original style, and still preserves much of the original paneling, a carved screen of Elizabethan style, a magnificent double hammerbeam roof, armorial glass and a serving table made from the timbers of Drake's "Golden Hind". The large windows bear the coat of arms of those members of the Temple who once belonged to the House of Lords, and an equestrian picture of Charles I. Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" was performed here on second February 1601. Judges and barristers still lunch in the hall, and here, too, the students dine during term.

Fountain Court, to the north, leads into Garden Court, from which there is a gate opening on to the Embankment. On the east side of Middle Temple Lane is the entrance to Pump Court (1680), which gives access to the Inner Temple.

To the north of Inner Temple Hall is the Temple Church, which serves both inns. The original Norman church (1185), the "Round", circular in plan like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, had an oblong chancel in Early English style added in 1240. The church was renovated by Wren in 1682, and was carefully restored after suffering damage in the Second World War. The chancel is supported by clustered marble columns. The church contains fine recumbent marble figures of Templar knights, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, one of which is thought to be William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke (d. 1219), brother-in-law of King John and Regent for Henry II. Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74) is buried in the churchyard. The Temple Church has its own incumbent. It is used for the marriages of members of benchers' families, and memorial services are held here for deceased benchers.