Inns of Court

This walker-s guide to London-s unique Inns of Court gives just the right amount of information to encourage the visitor to look more closely at these ancient centres of tranquillity and charm.Several centuries ago the Inns of Court were any of a sizable number of buildings or precincts where barristers traditionally lodged, trained and carried on their profession. Over the centuries the number of active Inns of Court was reduced to the present four: Gray-s Inn, Lincoln''s Inn, The Inner Temple and The Middle Temple. Lincoln''s Inn is able to trace its official records to 1422. However, by tradition, none of the Inns claims to be the oldest of the four. The Inns are near the western boundary of the City of London; nearby are the Royal Courts of Justice. Each Inn is a substantial complex usually with a great hall, chapel or church, libraries, gardens, sets of chambers for many hundreds of barristers covering several acres. The layout is similar to that of an -Oxbridge- college. The -cha