26 Facts About Gray's Inn

Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London.

The Gray's Inn is known for its gardens which have existed since at least 1597.

Gray's Inn continued to prosper during the reign of James I and the beginning of that of Charles I, when over 100 students per year were recorded as joining.

The Gray's Inn remains a collegiate self-governing, unincorporated association of its members, providing within its precincts library, dining, residential and office accommodation, along with a chapel.

The records of Gray's Inn itself are lost until 1569, and the precise date of founding cannot therefore be verified.

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Outside records from 1437 show that Gray's Inn was occupied by socii, or members of a society, at that date.

In 1506 the Gray's Inn was sold by the Gray family to Hugh Denys and a group of his feoffees including Roger Lupton.

William Shakespeare performed at the Gray's Inn at least once, as his patron, Lord Southampton, was a member.

Central to Gray's was the system shared across the Inns of Court of progress towards a call to the Bar, which lasted approximately 12 to 14 years.

Fortunes of Gray's Inn continued to decline after the English Restoration, and by 1719 only 22 students were joining the Inn a year.

David Lemmings considers it to have been more serious than that, for two reasons; firstly, Inner Temple and Middle Temple had actually shown an increase in membership following the Restoration, and secondly because Gray's Inn had previously had far more "common" members than the other Inns.

In 1733 the requirements for a call to the Bar were significantly revised in a joint meeting between the Benchers of Inner Temple and Gray's Inn, revisions accepted by Lincoln's Inn and Middle Temple, although they were not represented.

Gray's Inn itself suffered more than most; as in the 18th century, the fortunes of its members declined, and many barristers who had been called to the Bar at the Inn transferred to others.

Gray's Inn was the smallest of the Inns during the early 20th century, and was noted for its connection to the Northern Circuit.

In 2008 Gray's Inn became the first Inn to appoint "fellows"—elected businesspeople, legal academics and others—with the intent of giving them a wider perspective and education than the other Inns would offer.

At the time Gray's Inn was the odd one out amongst the Inns; the others did not recognise Ancients as a degree of barrister and had Benchers roughly corresponding to the Readers used at Gray's Inn.

Pension at Gray's Inn is made up of the Masters of the Bench, and the Inn as a whole is headed by the Treasurer, a senior Bencher.

The term originally referred to one who sat on the benches in the main hall of the Gray's Inn which were used for dining and during moots, and the term originally had no significance.

The Gray's Inn originally used a variant of the coat of arms of the Grey family, but this was changed to the griffin at some time around the 1590s.

Records show that prior to the rebuilding in 1687, the Gray's Inn had been "so incommodious" that the "ancients" were forced to work two to a chamber.

In 1941 the Gray's Inn suffered under The Blitz, which damaged or destroyed much of the Gray's Inn, necessitating the repair of many buildings and the construction of more.

Gray's Inn has had a Chaplain since at least 1400, where a court case is recorded as being brought by the "Chaplain of Greyes Gray's Inn".

Gray's Inn still employs a Preacher; Michael Doe, former Bishop of Swindon and more recently General Secretary of the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, was appointed in 2011.

Walks are the gardens within Gray's Inn, and have existed since at least 1597, when records show that Francis Bacon was to be paid £7 for "planting of trees in the walkes".

Library of Gray's Inn has existed since at least 1555, when the first mention of it was made in the will of Robert Chaloner, who left some money to buy law books for the Library.

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In 1750 the Under-Steward of the Gray's Inn made a new catalogue of the books, and in 1789 the Library was moved to a new room between the Hall and the Chapel.