UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 1'RINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY EDINBURGH AXD LONDON LI NCOLN'S I N N WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIBRARY BY WILLIAM HOLDEN SPILSBURY LIBRARIAN Postea verb quam TYRANNIC mihi libros disposuit, nens addita videtur nicis ajdibus. CICERO itiott, Mt|j Qttttt&cmt anb Corrtctions LONDON REEVES AND TURNER ioo CHANCERY LANE AND 196 STRAND J873 T)A L.7S 1873 PREFACE. g CO Z ca EARLY a. quarter of a century has elapsed since the appearance of the first edition of this little work, and within that period many changes have taken place with regard to the buildings belonging to the Society, whose local habitation it has been the chief object of these pages to describe, as well as in its internal arrangements, not the least important of these being the plan just adopted for the promotion of legal study, and the more complete education of the student in the several branches of law and jurisprudence. Of those Benchers of the Society whose names were prefixed to the volume on its publication in 1850, about two-thirds have passed away from the scene of human life, many of whom had graced the seat of justice by their talents, or enlivened the social meetings in the Hall by their genial converse ; 424042 vi PREFACE. but a glance at the present list will show that the roll has been amplified by many worthy accessions, and that some of the earlier names yet remain to adorn the annals of the Society. In this edition of the account of Lincoln's Inn, the work has been reduced in bulk, so as to bring it more within the reach of the inquiring visitor who may wish to know something of the history of those Inns of Court whose edifices he admires, wherein have been trained many of the distinguished men whose eloquence has charmed the forum or the senate, or whose wisdom and integrity have digni- fied the administration of justice for many centuries in this kingdom. With this object such portions of the work as contained bibliographical details relating to various classes of books not belonging to the law have been omitted or greatly curtailed, while all that relates to the peculiar features of Lincoln's Inn, or to the earlier law writers, has been retained, and at the same time many additions relative to the more recent changes in the buildings and in the arrangements of the Society have found place in its pages. An index, which has been thought desirable, is added to this edition. LINCOLN'S INX, June 1873. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Antiquity of the Laws of England, I. Magna Charta, n. Inns of Court, 1 6. Legal Educa- tion, 20. Serjeants-at-Law and Queen's Counsel, 26. CHAPTER II. EARLY HISTORY, 34. THE OLD BUILDINGS, 44. THE GATE-HOUSE, 46. Courts and Chambers, 48. THE OLD HALL, 52. Visit of King Charles II., 58. Tan- cred's Students, 60. THE CHAPEL, 62. Mural Tablets, 79. Preachers, 82. Warburtonian Lectures, 89. NEW SQUARE, 91. THE STONE BUILDING, 94. THE GARDENS, 96. CHAPTER III. THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. Foundation, 100. Exterior, 103. Interior of the Hall, 113. viii CONTENTS. Kitchen and Cellars, 120. Council-Room an Draw- ing-Room, 122. Interior of the Library, 128. In- auguration by Her Majesty, 131. CHAPTER IV. THE LIBRARY. Original foundation, 139. Dona- tions, 142. Catalogue, 145. Arrangement, 147. ENGLISH LAW : Early Treatises and Abridgments, 149. Reports : Year Books, Coke, Plowden, &c., 178. Statutes, 192. Trials, 206. CIVIL LAW, 208. Theo- dosian Code, 210. Corpus Juris Civilis, 212. Basilica, 217. Canon Law, 223. Feudal Law, 223. FOREIGN LAW, 226. THEOLOGY, 228. ENGLISH HISTORY, 230. Prynne's Records, 235. TOPOGRAPHY, 238. FOREIGN HISTORY, 239. GREEK AND LATIN CLASSICS, 240. DICTIONARIES, 241 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 242. BENC HERS OF THB HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF LINCOLN'S INN. TRINITY TERM, 1873. THE RT. HON. LORD ST LEONARDS. THE RT. HON. SIR RICHARD TORIN KINDERSLEY. THE RT. HON. SIR WILLIAM GOODENOUGH HAYTER, BART. THE RT. HON. SIR JOHN STUART. THE RT. HON. VISCOUNT EVERSLEY. ROBERT PRIOLEAU ROUPELL, ESQ. LOFTUS TOTTENHAM WIGRAM, ESQ. THE RT. HON. SIR EDWARD RYAN. JOHN BILLINGSLEY PARRY, ESQ. THE RT. HON. LORD HATHERLEY. MONTAGU CHAMBERS, ESQ., M.P. THE HON. SIR JAMES BACON, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Judge in Bankruptcy. THE RT. HON. SPENCER HORATIO WALPOLE, M.P. EDWARD JOHN LLOYD, ESQ. THE RT. HON. LORD SELBORNE, Lord Chancellor. THE HON. SIR RICHARD MALINS, Vice-Chancellor. CHARLES SPRENGEL GREAVES, ESQ. JOHN WILLIAM WILLCOCK,. ESQ. WILLIAM THOMAS SHAVE DANIEL, ESQ. JOHN BAILY, ESQ. BRENT SPENCER FOLLETT, ESQ. WILLIAM BULKELEY GLASSE, ESQ., Treasurer. x BENCHERS OF LINCOLN'S INN. RICHARD DAVIS CRAIG, ESQ. THE RT. HON. SIR WILLIAM MILBOURNE JAMES, Lord Justice. EDMUND BECKETT DENISON, ESQ. WILLIAM OVEREND, ESQ. THE RT. HON. LORD CAIRNS. ALLAN MACLEAN SKINNER, ESQ. EVELYN BAZALGETTE, ESQ. SIR FRANCIS HENRY GOLDSMID, BART., M.P. RICHARD PAUL AMPHLETT, ESQ., M.P. JOHN SHAPTER, ESQ. SIR TRAVERS Twiss, D.C.L. JOHN HINDE PALMER, ESQ., M.P. WILLIAM ANTHONY COLLINS, ESQ. JOHN FRASER MACQUEEN, ESQ. JOSIAH WILLIAM SMITH, ESQ. SIR RICHARD BAGGALLAY, M.P. THOMAS WEATHERLEY PHIPSON, ESQ. ARTHUR HOBHOUSE, ESQ., Legal Member of the Council in India. THOMAS WEBSTER, ESQ. JOHN PETER DE GEX, ESQ. JOSHUA WILLIAMS, ESQ. SIR GEORGE JESSEL, Solicitor-General. JAMES DICKINSON, ESQ. RICHARD GARTH, ESQ. HARRIS PRENDERGAST, ESQ. CHARLES GREVILE PRIDEAUX, ESQ. BENJAMIN HARDY, ESQ. JOHN PEARSON, ESQ. HENRY COTTON, ESQ. EDWARD KENT KARSLAKE, ESQ. EDWARD EBENEZER KAY, ESQ. HENRY MATTHEWS, ESQ. CLEMENT TUDWAY SWANSTON, ESQ. BENCHERS OF LINCOLN'S INN. xi SIR ROBERT STUART, Chief Justice N.W. Provinces, India. CHARLES PARKER BUTT, ESQ. ARTHUR SHELLY EDDIS, ESQ. DOUGLAS BROWN, ESQ. GEORGE OSBORNE MORGAN, ESQ., M.P. EDWARD FRY, ESQ. THE HON. SIR JOHN WICKENS, Vice-Chancellor. THOMAS CHARLES RENSHAW, ESQ. LEOFRIC TEMPLE, ESQ. CHARLES WILLIAM WOOD, ESQ. WILLIAM JOHN BOVILL, ESQ. JOSEPH NAPIER HIGGINS, ESQ. THOMAS HALHED FISCHER, ESQ. THEODORE ASTON, ESQ. ALEXANDER EDWARD MILLER, ESQ. CHARLES ARTHUR RUSSELL, ESQ. FARRER HERSCHELL, ESQ. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. EFORE entering upon an inquiry into the history of Lincoln's Inn, the most ancient of the Inns of Court, it may not be improper to advert briefly to the origin and antiquity of the Laws of England ; since it was for the accommodation of the students and professors of those laws that such inns or societies were first established. But the source of these laws, according to Sir Matthew Hale, is as undiscoverable as that of the Nile ; and like the traveller who, in tracing the course of that celebrated river, exulted in the pleas- ing delusion that he had ."fathom'd with his lance The first small fountains of that mighty flood " * * Above a century has elapsed since the exploration of the branches of this river by Bruce ; but, notwithstanding all the researches of more recent travellers, crowned by the A 2 INTRODUCTION. the inquirer may imagine that he has arrived at the head of the stream, while he has only been exploring one of its branches. Though the spirit of modern research has thrown more light upon the history of the law, there is still much controversy among eminent historians and jurisconsults respecting the origin of the legal institutions of this kingdom, some writers confidently maintaining that the source of our legislation must be sought in the streams which flowed from imperial Rome, and were thence distributed over the world, whilst others believe that our laws are mainly derived from the Teutonic nations from which our Anglo-Saxon ancestors originally sprang. " There is no good reason to doubt," observes Mr. J. M. Kemble,* "that at the period when the Teutonic tribes first attracted the attention of the south, they already possessed, more or less fully developed, the principles and germs of that system of polity, which has at length found its completion in the institutions of this country, in spite of all its changes still the most true to its Germanic proto- type." labours of the indefatigable Livingstone, the discovery of the true source of the Nile seems to be one of those geo- graphical problems which have not yet attained their solution. * Codex Diplomaticus JEvi Anglo-Saxonici, vol. I. Pre- face, p. iv. INTRODUCTION. 3 By Lord Bacon it is observed, that " our laws are as mixed as our language, and as our language is so much the richer, the laws are the more com- plete ; " and an examination of the various elements that enter into the composition of these laws proves, in the words 'of a recent writer, that "Roman, Saxon, Dane, and Norman in turn brought their learning, their customs, and their wisdom into the channel in which the law of England was to flow." There are still extant several monuments of ancient legislation in this country, which may be here briefly enumerated. Passing over the periods which belong rather to the domain of fable than of history, wherein are dimly descried through the mists of obscurity the names of Dunwallo Molmu- tius (Dyvnwal Moelmud), king of the Britons,* and of Mercia, queen of the same nation, who are said to have enacted laws before the Christian era, we find the earliest specimen of legislation to be the * The Molmutian laws are contained in the Welsh Triads, and though the authenticity of these historical documents may be questioned, they are not to be regarded as entirely unworthy of attention. Sir J. Mackintosh observes, in his History of England, that "the credit of the Welsh poems called ' Triads ' has been unduly abated by some in conse- quence of injudicious attempts to exaggerate their anti- quity. . . . They are certainly the work of an early age ; and parts of them, if we had the means of distinguishing, would probably be found to be of an origin not much less than has been claimed for the whole. Vol. I. p. 85. 4 INTRODUCTION. code of laws framed by Ethelbert, king of Kent A.D. 561-616, which is the OLDEST EUROPEAN CODE extant in any modern or ' barbarous ' lan- guage. Next occur the laws of Hlothasre and Eadric, A.D. 673-685, and of Wihtraed, A.D. 690- 725, also kings of Kent.* To these succeed the laws of Ina, king of the West Saxons A.D. 688-725, and those of Alfred, Edward the Elder, Athelstan, Edmund, Edgar, Ethelred ; and the code of Canute, which embodied with improvements most of the provisions in the codes of his predecessors. This monarch has been celebrated for his justice and equity ; and, when in the person of Edward the Confessor the crown was restored to the line of Cerdic, the " Anglo-Saxon monarch was required by the clergy and nobility of the nation to engage that the laws of the Danish king should be inviolably observed. Hence the older body of laws acquired the name of the Laws of the Confessor, not because he enacted them, but because they received a new and efficient sanction from his authoritv."t * The laws of the Kentish kings are contained in the Textus Roffensis, a manuscript preserved in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester, and compiled under the direction of Ernulf, bishop of that see from 1115 to 1125. They have been published by Hearne. J Palgrave's Rise and Progress of the English Common- wealth, part I. 48. INTRODUCTION. 5 Of the legislation of William I. the principal por- tion extant is contained in a statute or capitulary agreed upon in an assembly of the principal persons of the realm, held about the year 1070. On this occasion the English, with one accord, demanded the restoration of the laws and customs which had prevailed in the days of the Confessor " not re- ferring, as was afterwards supposed, to any code or statute which the Confessor had penned or granted, but demanding the laws which had subsisted under the last legitimate king of Anglo-Saxon race."* The statute framed in accordance with this demand bears the following title : " These are the laws and customs which King William granted to the people of England after the conquest of the country ; being the same which King Edward, his cousin, held before him." The text of this body of laws is in the Latin and Romance languages ; and both versions are given, with a learned commen- tary, by Sir Francis Palgrave, and also in the "Ancient Laws and Institutes of England," pub- lished by the Record Commission. This document must be considered as the principal source,f whereby the written Anglo-Saxon Law was first diffused into the Common Law.J * Palgrave's Rise and Progress, I. 54, 55. j- Ibid. Proofs and Illustrations, Ixxxviii. J The Law of England is divided into two kinds, the lex 6 INTRODUCTION. Domesday Book, compiled in the reign of Wil- liam I., though not strictly belonging to legislation, may be mentioned here, as one of the most ancient records of England, and the Register from which judgment was to be given upon the value, tenure, and services of the lands therein described. It contains an account of all the lands of England, except the four northern counties, from a survey taken by order of the king, and describes particu- larly the quantity and value of them, with the names of their possessors. The original manu- script, in two volumes, is preserved in the Chapter House at Westminster, and the work has been made public by order of the House of Lords, having been printed with types resembling the ori- ginal in 1783, in two volumes, folio. An Index was published by the Record Commission in 1816, and a supplemental volume in 1817. A valuable Introduction, with Indexes of the names of tenants, and numerous notes and illustrations by Sir Henry scripta (as contained in the Statutes or Acts of Parliament) and the lex non scripta, or unwritten law, forming the com- mon or municipal laws of the kingdom. By the Common Law, which includes not only general, but also particular laws and customs, the proceedings and determinations in the king's ordinary- courts of justice are directed and guided. These laws are not merely traditional, but are extant in the records of the several courts, in the reports of judicial decisions, treatises, &c. preserved from ancient times. See Sir Matthew Hale and Blackstone. INTRODUCTION. 7 Ellis, was published in 1833, in two volumes 8vo.* The code of laws ascribed to Henry I., though, not believed to have been compiled by authority, " preserves many fragments of Anglo-Saxon law, of which traces nowhere else are known to exist, either in original or translation." t With this code or treatise, a transcript of which is deposited in the Exchequer, the era of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence is said to be terminated. Henry I. acquired the surname of " The Lion of Justice," from his suc- cessful exertions in abolishing the system of rapine prevalent among the aristocracy. This was effected by subjecting the great proprietors of land to the supreme government of the law, and by enforcing with vigour the adjudications of his court of jus- tice.* The laws of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs were first collected by William Lambard, an eminent lawyer and antiquary in the time of Queen Eliza- * During the last few years fac-si miles of this ancient record, in separate counties, reproduced by the photO- zincographic process, have been published under the direc- tion of Colonel Sir Henry James, at the Ordnance Survey Office ; and a literal extension, with an English translation, has been published of several counties. f- Preface to "Ancient Laws of England.'' by Mr. Thorpe, p. xv. 8vo. Sharon Turner's History of England. 8 INTRODUCTION. beth, and published under the title of Archaionomia in 1568, 410. They were afterwards published by Abraham Whelock, Professor of Arabic in the Uni- versity of Cambridge, in 1644, folio ; again, with additions, by Dr. Wilkins, in 1721, folio ; and more recently by the Record Commission, with a Preface by the late Mr. Benjamin Thorpe, who was emin- ently distinguished by his knowledge of the Anglo- Saxon language. A few fragments of legislation in the troubled reign of Stephen are preserved by Sir Henry Spel- man in his " Codex Legum" appended to Dr. Wil- kins' edition of the Anglo-Saxon Laws. The reign of Henry II. is distinguished by the enactment of the " Constitutions of Clarendon " (so called from the palace of Clarendon, in Wiltshire, * This edition was printed in 1840, in folio, and also in two volumes, 8vo. An edition of these laws was also pub- lished at Leipzig in 1832, and again in 1858, 8vo, with a translation into German and notes by Dr. Reinhold Schmid, Professor of Law at Jena. The first edition by Lambard does not contain the laws of the kings of Kent, nor those of William I. and Henry I. ; that by Professor Whelock con- tains the laws of William and Henry ; and in the edition of Dr. Wilkins, the laws of the Kentish kings appear for the first time, and to these is added Spelman's Codex Legum Veterum Statutorum Regni Angliag, containing the laws from William I. to 9 Henry III. The laws of Canute, edited from the Colbert MS., with observations by the learned Jan. Laur. Andr, Kolderup-Rosenvinge, were printed at Copenhagen in 1826. 410. INTRODUCTION. 9 where the council or parliament was held), by which a check was placed on the pretensions and en- croachments of the clergy.* Justices itinerant were also first appointed in this reign, and great improve- ments made in the municipal laws. It is said of this monarch, that " his exactness in administering justice had gained him so great a reputation, that even foreign and distant princes made him an arbiter, and submitted their differences to his judgment"! The oldest treatise extant on the laws of England was compiled in this reign, and has been generally attributed to Ranulph de Glanville, chief justiciary of England, but there is much controversy respect- ing the authorship. Another treatise, entitled " Dialogus de Scaccario," which contributed greatly to illustrate the state and history of our law, was also compiled in this reign. It is attributed by Mr. Madox to Richard Fitz-Nigel, Bishop of London. The celebrated code of maritime laws known by the name of the " Laws of Oleron," and adopted by most of the nations of Europe, has been often ad- * The " Constitutions of Clarendon " are to be found in Wilkins* Concilia, I. 435 ; Spelmanni Concilia, II. 63 ; and in Matth. Paris. Hist. 84, edit. 1684. There is also an English translation in Lyttelton's Life of Henry II., vol. iv. 31. 83. f Hale's Hist, of the Common Law. Note by Mr. Ser- jeant Runnington, 163. io INTRODUCTION. duced as a specimen of the legislative capacity of Richard I., being supposed to have been compiled by that prince in the island of Oleron, in the bay of Aquitaine, on his return from the Holy Land. This statement, repeated by most legal historians from Coke and Selden till a recent period, is mani- festly disproved by the well-known fact of Richard's shipwreck and captivity, and the evidence of his return to his own dominions, on his liberation, by way of Flanders. In the Introduction to the " Black Book of the Admiralty," the text of which has lately.been printed among the historical publications of the Master of the Rolls, a suggestion is made by the learned editor, Sir Travers Twiss, in his exami- nation of the arguments relating to the tradition, that the proper construction of a certain document or memorandum in the Roll, entitled "Fasciculus de Superioritate Maris," hitherto relied upon in sup- port of the tradition, is probably this viz., that King Richard I., upon his return to England from the Holy Land, sanctioned those judgments which had been previously published at Oleron, as rules proper to be observed by the admirals of his fleet for the punishment of delinquencies and the redress of wrongs committed on the seas.* Other speci- * THE BLACK BOOK OF THE ADMIRALTY, edited by Sir Travers Twiss, 8vo. 1871. Introd. p. Iviii. In this edition INTRODUCTION. u mens of the legislation of this monarch may be found in the work of Sir H. Spelman before men- tioned. Magna Charta is of itself sufficient to confer celebrity on the reign of John in the annals of legislation ; yet it is not to that Great Charter as originally promulgated, but as confirmed by his successor, Henry III., and afterwards by Edward I., that reference is made as the " palladium of liberty," and the basis of our laws and constitution. Sir James Mackintosh, in his animated eulogium on the Great Charter and its authors,* says : "To have produced it, to have preserved it, to have matured it, constitute the immortal claim of Eng- land on the esteem of mankind. Her Bacons and Shakespeares,her Miltons and Newtons, with all the truth which they have revealed, and all the generous virtue which they have inspired, are of inferior value when compared with the subjection of men and their rulers to the principles of justice ; if, the Laws of Oleron are printed, with the ancient English translation of these judgments, contained in a very rare book, called "The Rutter of the Sea," printed at London in 1536. The English version of these laws in Godolphin's "View of the Admiral Jurisdiction," is translated from " Le Grant Routier de la Mer," published by Pierre Garcie alias Ferrande, and contains many more articles than that in the " Black Book," from which it differs in several respects. * History of England, I. 222. 12 INTRODUCTION. indeed, it be not more true that these mighty spirits could not have been formed except under equal laws, nor roused to full activity without the influence of that spirit which the Great Charter breathed over their forefathers." The same author's remarks on the language of the Charter are also worthy of notice : " It is observable that the lan- guage of the Great Charter is simple, brief, general without being abstract, and expressed in terms of authority, not of argument, yet commonly so reasonable as to carry with it the intrinsic evidence of its own fitness. It was understood by the simplest of the unlettered age for whom it was intended. It was remembered by them ; and though they did not perceive the extensive consequences which might be derived from it, their feelings were, however unconsciously, exalted by its generality and grandeur." In the first year of Henry III., A.D. 1216, the charter of King John was confirmed, renewed in the succeeding year, with several remarkable additions and improvements, and again confirmed in the ninth year of his reign. The Charter of the Forest was also granted at the commencement of this reign ; another confirmation of both charters in the twenty-first, and another in the forty-ninth year. The final and complete establishment of the two INTRODUCTION. 13 charters,* which had undergone many changes, and had been often endangered, took place in the 29th year of Edward I., having been established, con- firmed, and commanded to be put into execution by thirty-two several acts of parliament.t In the reign of Henry III. appeared the Treatise of Bracton on the Laws of England, exhibiting " a great advance of the law over that of Glanville." This work is attributed to Henry de Bracton, who was formerly supposed to have been Chief Justice of England in this reign ; but it is now believed that he was a Doctor of Laws, who delivered lec- tures in the University of Oxford, and sat once as justice itinerant.^ * A copy of the charter was anciently deposited in every county or diocese. Two of the original charters of John are preserved in the British Museum, having been formerly in the Cottonian Library. The original of the charter of i Henry III. is in the Cathedral of Durham, with the seals of Gualo the legate, and William, Earl of Pembroke, the great seal of King John having been lost in passing the washes of Lincolnshire, and a new seal not made till two years after. The original of the first Charter of the Forest is lost ; that of the second, 9 Henry III., is in the cathedral of Durham. Originals of several of the charters remain in public libraries ; and of the last confirmation 29 Edw. I., an original is in the Bodleian library, one in the library of Christ Church, Oxford, and four manuscripts were found by Prynne in the Tower of London. t Sir E. Coke, 2 Inst. Proem. Penny Cyclopaedia, art. Bracton. 14 INTRODUCTION. In the reign of Edward I., so great and rapid was the improvement made in legislation, and in the settlement of the administration of justice, that this monarch has obtained the distinctive appellation of the " English Justinian." But the propriety of the title is in the present day much questioned ; for, as is observed by Lord Campbell, " the Roman Em- peror merely caused a compilation to be made of existing laws,"* whereas the attention of Edward was directed " to correct abuses, to supply defects, and to remodel the administration of justice." " But if he is to be denominated the English Jus- tinian," observes the same noble author, " it should be made known who were the Tribonians employed by him ; and the English nation owes a debt of grati- tude to the Chancellors, who must have framed and revised the statutes which are the foundation of our judicial system who must, by explanation and argument, have obtained for them the sanction of parliament and who must have watched over their construction and operation when they first passed into law." His lordship attributes much of the merit of the reforms and improvements made by Edward in the law to his Chancellor, Robert Burnel, who had been his chaplain and secretary while Prince of Wales, and attended him in his expe- * Lives of the Chancellors, I. 165. INTRODUCTION. 15 dition to the Holy Land. By Professor Savigny it is thought probable that King Edward was also assisted in his reforms by Franciscus Accursii, law professor and lecturer at Bologna, who came over to England, and was much employed in state affairs. No statutes of great importance were passed in the reign of Edward II., and with this reign closes the series of what are termed the Ancient Statutes in the early printed collections commencing with Magna Charta. From the reign of Edward III. the acts of the legislature have been more carefully preserved than in former periods, and may be found in the Statute- book, the compilation of which now assumed a more correct and regular form, in a continued series down to the present time ; and here it may be ob- served, in conclusion, that a firm foundation having been laid by the authors of Magna Charta, the fabric of English liberty, gradually cemented by the labour of successive ages, though exposed to many assaults and sometimes in much peril, attained its completion by the framing of the Bill of Rights and the Act of Succession, as expressed in the words of the poet : " And now, behold ! exalted as the cope That swells immense o'er many-peopled earth, And like it free, my fabric stands complete, The palace of the laws." THOMSON. 16 INTRODUCTION. With respect to the origin of the Inns of Court, the researches of legal historians have failed to ascertain the precise date of their foundation. They have not been incorporated by charter, but are " voluntary societies, which for ages have sub- mitted to government, analogous to that of other seminaries of learning."* In the thirteenth century, when the clergy, who were forbidden by episcopal canons to practise as advocates in the temporal courts, had withdrawn to the Universities of Ox- ford and Cambridge, where they could pursue their study of the canon and civil law, the profes- sors of the municipal, or common law, to which the laity adhered, were brought together in one place, in consequence of a provision of Magna Charta, which established the Court of Common Pleas. The supreme court of justice, having been always held in the anla regis, or hall of the king's palace, was bound to attend the person of the sovereign in whatever part of his dominions he might happen to be resident ; and it was then ordained by an article of the charter that common pleas should no longer follow the king's court, but be held in some certain place. A separate court was thus estab- lished, and judges appointed, for the determination * Lord Mansfield's Judgment in the case of The King v. Gray's Inn. Douglas, 354. INTRODUCTION. 17 of pleas of land and all civil causes between subject and subject, and this court being fixed, or rendered stationary, in Westminster Hall, the professors of the common law formed themselves into societies, and established themselves in convenient places between Westminster and the City of London ; and before the end of the reign of Edward III. these societies appear to have divided themselves into the several inns or colleges of Lincoln's Inn, the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, and Gray's Inn, having obtained tenements either by grant or purchase. In the Year Book of the 2pth Edward III. there is ex- press mention of the apprentices (a term given to pro- fessors of the law) in the Inns of Court.* The term Inn formerly denoted the residence of a nobleman, and these legal colleges are said by Fortescue to have been called " Inns of Court," because the stu- dents therein did not only study the law, but used such other exercises as might make them more serviceable to the king's court. But the derivation seems more probably to have arisen from their being places of study preparatory to practising in the courts of law, anciently held in the aula regis^ or hall of the king's palace. In the earliest times the Inns of Court were filled with the sons of the aristocracy, who were sent thither not so much for the purpose of acquiring * The Inns of Chancery will be spoken of in a future page. B 1 8 INTRODUCTION. proficiency in the law as for the sake of mental discipline ; and the expensive style of living in these legal seminaries was of itself sufficient to confine them exclusively to this class of students. At a later period also, there was an order made by King James I. in the first year of his reign, signed by Sir E. Coke, Lord Bacon, and other persons, that " none be from thenceforth admitted into the society of any House of Court that is not a gentle- man by descent." In the reign of Henry VI. there were from eighteen hundred to two thousand students in the Inns of Court and Chancery about one hundred in each of the Inns of Chancery, of which there were ten at that time, and two hundred in each of the Inns of Court. At present, the number of members of the four Inns of Court is upwards of eight thousand, nearly six thousand of these being barristers, and the rest students. There are three ranks or degrees among the members of the Inns of Court : Benchers, Baris- ters, and Students. The Benchers are the superiors of each house, to whom the government of its affairs is committed,* and out of the number one annually fills the office of Treasurer. There was formerly * Many ordinances relating to dress and other matters are extant in the registers of Lincoln's Inn, and fines and other penalties were imposed for transgression. INTRODUCTION. 19 a distinction between utter and inner barristers, and there seems to be some perplexity as to the meaning of the terms, which are variously explained by different writers. Blount, in his Law Diction- ary, published in 1679, says : " They are called Utter Barristers, that is, Pleaders without the Bar, to distinguish them from Benchers, or those who have been Readers, who are sometimes admitted to plead within the bar, as the King, Queen, or Prince's counsel are." This definition has been adopted in most of the Law Dictionaries, but the details of proceedings given by Sir W. Dugdale, who does not allude to the etymology of the word, lead to the inference that it is derived from local arrangements in the halls of the Inns of Court. It seems that the term " Utter Barrister," which occurs for the first time in the reign of Henry VIII., was a title conferred on those who, after five or six years' study in the house, had been called upon to argue some disputed case before the Benchers. In the year 1596 the term of study was extended to seven years, and the number to be called in each house was limited to four in a year. The degree, when obtained, did not of itself give the person holding it the privilege of pleading at the bar of the supreme courts of law. Persons under the degree of utter barrister were called " No Utter Barrister ; " but that designation seems to have 2O INTRODUCTION. been discontinued before the year 1574, when the term " Inner Barrister " was used as synonymous with student. It is also stated by Dugdale that " the Benchers are those Utter-Barristers which, after they have continued in the house by the space of fourteen or fifteen years, are by the elders of the house chosen to read, expound, and declare some estatute openly unto all the company of the house, in one of the two principal times of their learning, which they call the grand vacations in summer ; and during the time of his reading he hath the name of a Reader, and after of Bencher." * Mootings were questions on doubtful points of law argued before the Reader between certain of the Benchers and Barristers in the hall. There was also another exercise in the Inns of Court called bolting, which was a private arguing of rases by some of the students and barristers. The word has been supposed to be derived from the Saxon bolt, a house, because the exercise was done privately in the house for instruction, or rather from bolter, a sieve in reference to the sifting and debating of cases. The course of legal education at the Inns of Court consisted principally of readings and moot- ings, which have been described by Dugdale, Stow, * Dugdale's Orig. Jurid. 194. 312. Foss's Judges of England, vol. v. 108. 424. I INTRODUCTION. 2 1 and other writers. In times when the works of the learned, existing only in manuscript, and guarded in libraries with jealous care, were not easily ac- cessible to the student, the necessity of oral instruc- tion by such exercises is obvious. The readings, delivered in the hall with great solemnity by men experienced in the profession, were expositions of some important statute or section of a statute. Many of them have been published, and some of these contain most profound juridical arguments, such for instance as Lord Bacon's Reading on the Statute of Uses, and that of Mr Serjeant Callis on the Statute of Sewers. These readings being attended with costly entertainments, their original object was forgotten in the splendour of the tables, ' and it became the duty of the Reader rather to feast the nobility and gentry than to give instruc- tion in the principles of the law. From this cause they were eventually suspended ; but after the lapse of nearly a century readings were revived in Gray's Inn, by Danby Pickering, Esq., in 1780; in Lincoln's Inn, by Michael Nolan, Esq., in 1796 ; and in 1799 the lectures delivered by Sir James Mackintosh, on the Law of Nature and Nations, "filled the hall of Lincoln's Inn with an auditory such as never before was seen on a similar occasion."* * " All classes were there represented kwyers, members 22 INTRODUCTION. As during the last few years the important sub- ject of legal education has excited much interest in the public mind, as well as among the members of the profession, a brief statement of the steps which have lately been taken for the promotion of this object may not be inappropriate in this place. In the year 1833 lectureships were instituted by the Society of the Inner Temple, but so thin was the attendance thereon, that they were given up after two years. In 1847 the experiment was again tried, and lectures were established by the Socie- ties of the Middle Temple and Gray's Inn, which continued till the year 1851, when the several Inns of Court came to an agreement ; and, having appointed a Council of Legal Education, adopted certain regulations which, with some slight varia- tions, have been maintained until the promul- gation of the new scheme, which will be presently noticed. Under these regulations lectures were established, at which the attendance of the students was made compulsory, except in the case of those who should submit themselves to voluntary examination. In the year 1854 a Royal Commission was appointed " to inquire into the arrangements of the of Parliament, men of letters, and country gentlemen, crowded to hear him." Life of Mackintosh, I. 107. INTRODUCTION. 23 Inns of Court and Inns of Chancery for promoting the study of the law and jurisprudence." Among many other suggestions made in the Report of these Commissioners, it was recommended that examina- tions should be required for the call to the bar, and that, for the purpose of these examinations and of conferring degrees, the four Inns of Court should be united in one University, the constituent mem- bers of which should be " the Chancellor, Bar- risters-at-Law, and Masters of Law." The recom- mendations of the Commission have not been acted upon, except that by a resolution of the four Inns of Court, the principle of compulsory examination has been adopted. In Michaelmas Term 1869, " Consolidated Re- gulations of the four Inns of Court" were issued by their authority ; and in December 1871, the prin- ciple of compulsory examination, as already men- tioned, was adopted. In July 1872, a scheme was promulgated by the Council of Legal Education, by which it was provided that a permanent Com- mittee of eight members should be appointed by the Council, to be called the Committee of Education and Examination, and that the Com- mittee, subject to the control of the Council, should superintend and direct the examination of students; that the students should be provided with the means of education in the general 24 INTRODUCTION. principles of law, and in the law as practically administered in this country, for which purpose instruction should be given by means of lectures and private classes, but that the attendance of students on such lectures and classes should not be compulsory ; that there should be a board of six Examiners, to be appointed by, and to hold office during the pleasure of the Council ; and that no person should receive from the Council the certifi- cate of fitness for call to the bar required by the Inns of Court, unless he should have passed a satisfactory examination in the following subjects, viz. i. Roman Civil Law ; 2. The Law of Real and Personal Property ; 3. Common Law and Equity.* It is further provided by this scheme that, as an encouragement for the study of Jurisprudence and Civil Law, twelve studentships of one hundred guineas each be established.f The Benchers of the four Inns of Court have subsequently passed the following resolution : That, in the opinion of this Bench, it is expedient * In June 1871, an order was made by the Society of the Inner Temple, that a sum of 2000 a year should be devoted to the payment of additional lecturers and tutors for the exclusive benefit of students of that Inn. t For the full details of the scheme, see the printed copies issued by the Council. INTRODUCTION. 25 that the Council of Legal Education be authorised, if they think fit, to admit persons not being mem- bers of any Inn of Court to attend lectures of the professors appointed under the new scheme, subject to such regulations, and to the payment of such fees as the Council of Legal Education may make and impose. Before quitting this subject, it may be proper to notice another movement that has been made in the profession, an association having been formed, in the year 1870, "for the purpose of obtaining a better organised system of legal education in this country." This Association comprised some of the most eminent members of both branches of the profession, barristers, and attorneys or solicitors, under the presidency of Sir Roundell Palmer (now Lord Selborne), and adopted the name of " the Legal Education Association." Several meet- ings have been held by this body, and they declare as their principle " the establishment of a central school of law, open to students for both branches of the profession and to the public, and governed by a public and responsible board." * As considerable misapprehension has existed in some quarters respecting the precedence of the * During the year 1871, public Law Schools were estab- lished at Manchester and Liverpool. 26 INTRODUCTION. different members of the Bar, whether in Court or elsewhere, I was induced to make application to Mr Greaves, Q-C, knowing that he was familiar with matters of legal antiquity, for any information on the subject he might be willing to give ; and this gentleman, after a careful consider- ation of the authorities, has drawn up the following statement, in order to place the matter in a clear light, and has kindly permitted me to introduce it into this work, the limits of which precluded any reference to the early history of the Bar, containing so much that is curious and interesting,* except in such points as might throw light on the present state of things. The degree of Serjeant-at-Law is the most ancient, and formerly was the highest in the Law. The future Serjeant was required by the King's writ to take the office ; and in former times his admission to it was attended with much ceremony, and with very costly entertainments. But these have passed away ; whilst the ancient custom of presenting golden rings, with mottoes, to the Sove- * For such information the reader may consult Dugdale's Origines Juridiciales, Manning's Serjeant's Case, Wynne on the Antiquity and Degree of Serjeants-at-Law, Foss's judges of England, &c. INTRODUCTION. 27 reign, the Lord Chancellor, the Judges, and others, still remains.* On his creation, the new Serjeant quits his Inn of Court, receiving a purse of ten guineas as a retaining fee on its behalf, and becomes a member of Serjeants' Inn. Down to the year 1834, the Serjeants had exclu- sive audience in the Court of Common Pleas ; but that Court was then thrown 'open to all the Bar, and the Serjeants of that day were granted pre- cedence next after the then last King's Counsel. Formerly, the Serjeants were not admitted within the bar of the Courts of King's Bench and Ex- chequer during term time ; but this privilege has recently been granted to them. Of the Serjeants, one was formerly created the King's Premier Serjeant by special patent, and others were created King's Serjeants ; and the senior of these was called " The King's Ancient Serjeant." All the Serjeants formerly ranked be- fore the Attorney and Solicitor-General ;t but * With regard to the coif and dress worn by the Serjeants on occasions of ceremony, some curious and quaint obser- vations made by Lord Chief Justice Popham on their sig- nification may be found in his Reports, p. 45. ) This precedence made it necessary for a Serjeant to be discharged of his office before he could be made Solicitor or Attorney-General. See the discharge of Serjeant Fleming, who was not a Queen's Serjeant, in Nichols' Progresses of Q. Elizabeth III. 370. 28 INTRODUCTION. James I., in 1623, granted them rank next after the two most ancient King's Serjeants ; and this precedence continued until 1814, when George III. granted them precedence before all the King's Serjeants.* At one time, it was considered that the King's Advocate-General had precedence of the Attorney- General ; but his precedency is now after the At- torney-General The Lord Advocate of Scotland also at one time claimed precedence of the Attorney-General ; but his claim was not allowed. It was admitted, how- ever, that he ranked before the Solicitor-General. Queen's Counsel rank next after the Queen's Serjeants, if there are any ; otherwise next after the Solicitor-General. Sometimes a patent of precedence is granted to a Serjeant or Barrister, and the patent specifies the rank it gives, which is usually next after the then last Queen's Counsel.t The Attorney and Solicitor-General, the Queen's * This promotion was obtained by Sir S. Shepherd, in order to prevent his discharge from the office of King's Serjeant, when he was appointed Solicitor-General. Ex rdatione Manning, Q. A. S., and see 2 Maule and Selw, Rep. 253. f In Cro. Car. 376, there is an instance of a King's Counsel being given precedence of a Solicitor-General. INTRODUCTION. 29 Serjeants, and Queen's Counsel, are sworn to do their duty to the Crown, and consequently they cannot act in any case against the Crown without a special licence ; which, however, is rarely refused. Other Serjeants are merely sworn to do their duty to their clients, and Counsel holding patents of precedence, are not sworn at all ; and both may act against the Crown. When the Sovereign is a King, the Attorney and Solicitor-General of the Queen rank with the King's Counsel. The Recorder of London ranks after the Ser- jeants ; and the Advocates of the civil law after the Recorder, and lastly come Barristers. With regard to the precedence of Serjeants out of court, neither the writ by which they are created, nor the oath which they take, affords any assistance. The writ simply requires the counsel to take upon himself " the state and degree of a Serjeant-at law;" and the oath is truly to "serve the king's people as one of the Serjeants-at-law.'' Their rank, however, is certainly considerable. It does not seem certain whether in former times all Ser- jeants were summoned to attend the House of Lords ; but King's Serjeants have always been so summoned ; and Serjeant Manning, the last Queen's Serjeant, regularly attended the House accordingly. In former times Serjeants were ranked after Knights 3o INTRODUCTION. Bachelors in some royal processions, but at Lord Nelson's and Mr Pitt's funerals, they were ranked before them.* Queen's Counsel rank before Serjeants both in court and elsewhere. Sir F. Bacon was the first Queen's Counsel, and he was created (as Privy Councillors are) merely by the nomination of Queen Elizabeth :t but in the beginning of the reign of James I. he was created King's Counsel by patent, with precedence " in our courts or elsewhere " [in curiis nostris vel alibi] ; and the same form of creation has continued ever since. It is clear, therefore, that the precedence of Queen's Counsel prevails everywhere. Since the preceding paragraph was written, one of the Queen's Counsel has been appointed a Justice of the Peace ; and the opinion of the present Lord Chancellor (Lord Selborne) having been asked by the officers of the Crown Office as to where the Queen's Counsel's name ought to be placed in the Commission of the Peace, his lordship replied that Queen's Counsel ought to have precedence every- where. Ever since the patents have been in English, the * See 9 Carrington and P. 372. t Ratione verbi Regii Elizabethse. Recital in Bacon's Patent, 2 Jac. I. INTRODUCTION. 31 words of the appointment of a Queen's Counsel have been, " one of our Council" [not Counsel] " learned in the law." Lord Cranworth, when Chancellor, wished the word Council to be altered in future to Counsel ; but Lord Lyndhurst was of opinion that Council was correct, and no alteration was made; and Lord Lyndhurst was clearly right ; for the words are a translation of part of Bacon's patent, which runs " appunctuamus Franciscum Bacon consiliarium nostrum ad legem, sive unum de consilio nostro erudite in lege ;" where consiliarius means Counsel, and consilium means a Council i.e., a body of persons appointed to advise the king. So that Bacon was appointed King's "Counsel at Law," and also "one of the Council learned in the law." It is commonly supposed that the words " learned in the law " apply to the Counsel appointed by the patent ; but this is an error ; they refer to the Council of the king ; for the word erudito agrees with consilio, and cannot refer to Franciscum Bacon in his patent ; and the English word must have a similar reference.* Lord Hale t tells us that the consilium ordi- * It is to be remarked that the patents now have no words that can represent consiliarium ad legem ; but the Counsel is simply appointed "one of our Council learned in the law. 1 ' t Jurisdiction of the Lords House, or Parliament, p. 6. 32 INTRODUCTION. narium of the king included, amongst others, " the Judges of both Benches, Barons of the Exchequer, Masters in Chancery, the King's Serjeant and Attorney-General ; and from the mixture of those it was many times called legale Consz'h'um." Now legale Consilium, the legal Council, and Consilium eruditum in lege, the Council learned in the law, are such similar names, that it seems very probable that the Council mentioned in Bacon's patent was the Council described by Lord Hale. Formerly King's Counsel were sometimes sum- moned to attend the House of Lords. The names of Queen's Counsel and Serjeants, who are Justices of the Peace, are placed, in their proper rank amongst themselves, next after Knights Bachelors, and before Doctors of Divinity and other Esquires, in the Commission of the Peace. No dignity or title confers any rank at the Bar. A Privy Councillor, a Peer's son, a Baronet, a Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Knight, merely rank at the Bar according to their legal precedence. Our remarks on these subjects are necessarily confined to England. *See Croke, Jac, I. 2. INTRODUCTION. 33 The Inns of Court are four in number : viz., the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. There are also several inferior Inns, called Inns of Chancery, which were formerly under the control of the Inns of Court with respect to legal education, and students were required to pass some time here previous to admission into the Inns of Court; and these Inns comprised not only such students, but also the whole body of attorneys and solicitors. At present admission to the Inns of Chancery is of no avail as regards the time and attendance required by the Inns of Court. They appear in the time of Fortescue to have been ten in number, but are now reduced to seven ; three of these viz., Clifford's Inn, Clement's Inn, afltt Lyon's Inn are or have been in connection with the Inner Temple ; New Inn belongs to the Middle Temple; Furnival's Inn to Lincoln's Inn; and Staple Inn and Barnard's Inn are or have been in connection with Gray's Inn. Thavie's Inn, which formerly belonged to the Society of Lincoln's Inn, was sold in 1769 to Mr. Middleton. CHAPTER II. EARLY HISTORY. THE OLD BUILDINGS. THE GATE- HOUSE. THE OLD HALL. THE CHAPEL. NEW SQUARE. THE STONE BUILDING. THE GARDENS. HE contemplation of buildings and places associated with the memory of departed worth or genius has been interesting to tfll reflecting portion of mankind in all ages and countries. It is admitted that " whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses ; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings." The prevalence of this feeling is attested by the visits paid to many a spot conse- crated to fame by genius, both in foreign climes and in our own land. For the lawyer, it may be imagined that the buildings of the inns of Court, fraught with a thousand reminiscences of the glory and dignity of his profession, must possess peculiar interest. As he treads their courts, and views the memorials of the past around him EARLY HISTORY. 35 those old chambers, with their strange angular projections and winding staircases, where many a sage has toiled in study through the silent hours of night, ere he rose to eminence ; those ancient halls, wherein at one time was heard the grave and learned argument, and at another was held the " solemn revel," when princes, nobles, and high officers of state were entertained as guests ; those sacred edifices, with their storied windows and fine carved work, where so many generations of his illustrious predecessors have knelt and prayed ; all these, as the shades of Coke, Bacon, Hale, and Selden, with other distinguished names, rise before the mental vision of the student, must kindle his enthusiasm, and excite him to emulation. Among the antiquities of London the Inns of Court are pre-eminent. By a glance at the earlier maps of the metropolis, it may be seen that the space of ground between Temple Bar and West- minster was not, as in our own days, crowded with rows of houses, but presented a few noblemen's mansions, with fields and gardens interspersed ; and, if the imagination be carried back to the thirteenth century, in the neighbourhood of Chancery Lane, at that time named the " New Street, leading from the Temple to Old-bourne, may be observed the palace of the Bishops of Chichester, three of whom have held the Great 36 LINCOLN'S INN. Seal of England ; the mansion of Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, the friend of K. Edward I. whom, while Prince of Wales, he probably accompanied as a crusader to Palestine;* and the beautiful Church of the Knights Templars, then in all its pristine glory. At this early period of English history, the ground now occupied by the buildings of Lincoln's Inn was the site of the mansions of persons of the highest eminence in the state, namely, that of Ralph Neville, Bishop of Chichester, Lord High Chan- cellor of England in the reign of Henry III. ; and Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, Constable of Chester, &c. From this nobleman, distinguished by his regard for the professors of the law, and the friend of a monarch who on account of his improvement of the law has been named the English Justinian, the possessions of Lincoln's Inn have derived their name. It is said also that William de Haverhyil, Canon of St. Paul's and Treasurer to king Henry III., had a house on this site. The palace built by Ralph Neville on this spot is described as magnificent, and in this place the bishop " lived in a degree of splendour, from the amount of his political and ecclesiastical prefer- * This is inferred from the cross-legged figure on his monument. EARLY HISTORY. 37 ments, equal to any of his contemporary prelates." * It appears from the following entry on the Close Rolls, that the bishop possessed land on both sides of Chancery Lane, formerly called New Street : The king granted to Ralph bishop of Chichester, Chancellor, that place with the garden which John Herlirumf forfeited in that street called New Street, over against the land of the said bishop in the same street," &c. This prelate is much eulogised by historians for his admirable qualities as a judge. As Chancellor of England, he " behaved himself in that office to great commendation, being very remarkable for the equity and expedition of his decrees. He was a person of that integrity and fortitude that neither favour, money, or greatness could make any impression upon him." The following summary of his character is given by Mr. Foss, in his accurate work on the Judges of England, vol. I. 428 : " That Ralph de Neville was an ambitious man none can deny ; that he accumulated vast riches is equally certain ; but that he misused the one, or that the other led him into degrading * Dallaway's Sussex, I. 45. f The name sometimes occurs as Herlicum or Herlizun. J Cart, it Hen. III. cited in Strype's edition of Stow, 1755, II. 68. Collier's Ecclesiastical History, I. 433. 424042 38 LINCOLN'S INN. courses there is no evidence. On the contrary, the highest character is given to him by contemporary historians, not only for his fidelity to his sovereign in times of severe trial, but for the able and irreproachable administration of his office. He was as accessible to the poor as to the rich, and dealt equal justice to all." Lord Campbell, though he does not give quite so favourable a view of the prelate's character, yet cites the testimony of Matthew Paris, who " speaks of him as one who long irreproachably discharged the duties of his office, and afterwards warmly praises him for his speedy and impartial adminis- tration of justice to all ranks, and more especially to the poor."* To Ralph Neville was also granted by the king the Chancellorship of Ireland, the only instance, it is believed, of the Chancellorship of England and Ireland being held at the same time by the same individual.f After the death of Neville, his mansion was occupied by Richard de la Wich, his successor in the bishopric, who was eminent for his learning, piety, and charity. He was engaged by Innocent IV. in the cause of the crusades, and was canonised some years after his death by Pope Urban IV. * Lives of the Chancellors, I. 133. f Ibid. I. 131. J Died 1253. Canonised 1262. EARLY HISTORY. 39 At the translation of his remains in Chichester Cathedral 1275, king Edward I., with his court and many prelates, attended the ceremony. He was the last English prelate canonised, and his festival still remains in our calendar. He had also filled the professor's chair of law at Bologna. The old chapel of Lincoln's Inn was dedicated in his honour. There is a fine monument to his memory in Chichester Cathedral, which has been recently restored. The shrine of St. Richard was especially ordered to be destroyed by the commission of Henry VIII. on account of the superstitious resort of the people, in consequence of the miracles attributed to the relics of the saint. With respect to William de Haverhyll, named as the owner of a mansion in this place, it is stated by Sir George Buck,* that a part of Lincoln's Inn " was of old time the messuage or mansion-house of a gentleman called William de Haverhyll, Trea- surer to king Henry III., who was attainted of treason and his house and lands confiscated to the king, who then gave his house to Ralph Neville, Chancellor of England, and Bishop of Chichester, and he built there a fair house for him and his successors, Bishops of Chichester," &c. Sir G. * Discourse or Treatise on the third University of Eng- land, appended to Stow's Annals, 1615, folio. 40 LINCOLN'S INN. Buck says that he is indebted for his information to Sir James Ley, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland, and one of the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn, afterwards Earl of Marlborough. This is the only account that can be found of William de Haverhyll as the possessor of this property, and the statement of his attainder is at variance with all that is related of him by Matthew Paris and other historians. He had throughout his life been greatly in favour with king Henry III.,* from whom he received various preferments, and at the time of his death, in 1252, he was Canon of St. Paul's, and " treasurer to the king, in whose service he had with great diligence spent many years." His epitaph is thus given by Matthew Paris : Epitaphium Willielmi de Haverhulle. Hie Willielme jaces, Protothesaurarie Regis, Ilinc Haverhulle gemis, non paritura talem. Fercula culta dabas, empyrea vina pluebas, A modo sit Christus cibus et esca tibi. In Dugdale's History of St. Paul's Cathedral is the following passage, and it is probable that to the employment of William de Haverhyll as the king's almoner allusion is made in the foregoing epitaph : " For the celebration of the festival of the con- * Dugdale's History of St. Paul's. In Xewcourt's Re- pertorium is a list of the successive preferments enjoyed by William cle Haverhyll between 1228 and 1252. EARLY HISTORY. 41 version of St. Paul, king Henry III. by his precept dated at Dover, i;th January, in the 28th year of his reign, and directed to William de Haverhulle, then lord treasurer, commanded him to feed 15,000 poor people in St. Paul's churchyard upon that festival, and to provide 1500 tapers, then to be placed within the church ; the charge whereof to be allowed out of the profits of the bishoprick of London, at that time in the king's hands, by the death of Roger Niger, the late reverend bishop of this see." In the reign of Edward I. the house and grounds which had belonged to the ancient monastery of Black Friars in Holborn, upon the removal of that community to the quarter which now bears their name, were granted to Henry Lacy, Earl of Lin- coln, and in this place the earl built his mansion- house,* where he generally resided, and where he died in 1312. He was interred in St. Paul's Cathedral, to which he had been a great benefactor, and over his remains was erected a monument, bearing his cross-legged figure clad in mail, which perished in the Great Fire of London, but has been perpetuated by the hand of Hollar. " Henry de Lacy, the last and greatest man of * Dugdale's Baronage, 1. 105. Stow's London, by Strype, II. 70. 42 LINCOLN'S INN. his line . . . was the confidential servant and friend of Edward I., whom he seems not a little to have resembled in courage, activity, prudence, and every other quality which can adorn a soldier or a statesman. In 1290, he was appointed first commissioner for rectifying the abuses which had crept into the administration of justice, espe- cially in the court of common pleas, an office in which he behaved with exemplary fidelity and strictness." * In a communication read by Mr. T. Hudson Turner at one of the meetings of the Archaeolo- gical Institute, " On the State of Horticulture in England in Early Times," are the following curious particulars respecting the Earl of Lincoln's garden : "There is preserved in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster an account rendered by the bailiff of Henri de Laci, Earl of Lincoln, of the profits arising from, and the expenditure upon, the earl's garden in Holborn, in the suburbs of London, in the 24th year of Edward I. We learn from this curious document that apples, pears, large nuts, and cherries were produced in sufficient quantities, not only to supply the earl's table, but also to yield a profit by their sale. The comparatively large sum of nine pounds two shillings and threepence, in money of that time, equal to about one hundred and thirty-five pounds of modern currency, was received in one year from the * Whitaker's Hist, of Whalley, 1818, p. 179. EARLY HISTORY. 43 sale of those fruits alone. The vegetables cultivated in this garden were beans, onions, garlic, leeks, and some others, which are not specifically named. Hemp was also grown there, and some description of plant which yielded verjuice, possibly sorrel. Cuttings of the vines were sold, from which it may be inferred that the earl's trees were held in some estimation. The stock purchased for this garden comprised cuttings or sets of the following varieties of pear-trees viz., two of the St. Regie, two of the Martin, five of the Caillou, and three of the Pesse-pucelle. It is stated that these cuttings were for planting. The only flowers named are roses, of which a quantity was sold, producing three shillings and twopence. It appears there was a pond, or vivary, in the garden, as the bailiff expended eight shillings in the pur- chase of small fish, frogs, and eels, to feed the pikes in it. This account further shows that the garden was enclosed by a paling and fosse ; that it was managed by a head gardener, who had an annual fee of fifty-two shillings and twopence, together with a robe or livery : his assistants seem to have been numerous, they were engaged in dressing the vines and manuring the ground : their collective wages for the year amounted to five pounds."* The Earl of Lincoln is said to have assigned his residence to the professors of the law ; but this tradition, mentioned by Dugdale, does not seem to be in accordance with the statement of the same writer, in his Baronage of England, that the Earl died in his mansion in 1312, 5 Edward II. t It is, however, the opinion of Francis * Archaeological Journal, 1848. t Dugdale's Baronage, I. 105. 44 LINCOLN'S INN. Thynne,* a learned antiquary in the reign of Elizabeth, that Lincoln's Inn became an Inn of Court soon after that nobleman's death. The exist- ing records of the Society begin with the second year of the reign of Henry VI. The greater part of the estate of the see of Chichester on this spot appears to have been leased about the same time to students of the law, the bishops reserving only a certain portion for them- selves as their residence on coming to London. In the 28 Henry VIII., Richard Sampson, Bishop of Chichester, passed the inheritance to William Suliard, one of the benchers of the society, and his brother Eustace ; and by Edward, the son of the latter, it was transferred to the community of Lin- coln's Inn in the 22d year of Elizabeth. THE OLD BUILDINGS. THE precincts of LINCOLN'S INN comprise the OLD BUILDINGS (so called), with the courts in which are situated the old hall and chapel ; NEW * A member of Lincoln's Inn, and Lancaster Herald. He assisted Speght in his edition of Chaucer, to which he prefixed some verses on the portrait of the poet. THE OLD BUILDINGS. 45 SQUARE, or Serle Court ; THE STONE BUILD- ING ; THE NEW HALL and LIBRARY, with THE GARDENS. The old buildings, erected at various periods be- tween the reigns of Henry VII. and James I., have their chief frontage on the east, about 500 feet in extent in Chancery Lane, formerly called New Street, and afterwards Chancellor's Lane. This street existed in the reign of Henry III., and in the time of Edward I. was in so miry a condition that John Briton, Custos of London, set up a barrier to prevent accidents to passengers, which barrier was kept up for some years by the Bishops of Chichester, but was removed, upon com- plaint being made of the obstruction. The street was not paved till 1542. Since the erection of the magnificent New Hall and Library, the west front facing the great square and gardens of Lincoln's Inn Fields must now un- questionably be regarded as the chief front of the Inn, the taste and skill displayed in the design of these structures and the splendour of their position having contributed in the most remarkable degree to adorn the metropolis. New Square, or Serle Court, on the southern extremity of the Old Buildings, was erected about 1683 ; and the Stone Building from designs by Sir Robert Taylor, about 1780, at the north-eastern 46 LINCOLN'S INN. extremity, forming another court, in which are the entrances to -the various apartments, having the Six Clerks' Offices on the east. A new wing was added by Mr Hard wick in 1845. The whole ex- tent of Lincoln's Inn, from north to south, is now about loco feet. The last mentioned structures neither accord with each other in the style of archi- tecture adopted, nor bear the least resemblance to the pristine erections. THE GATE-HOUSE. THE Gate-house, forming the principal external feature of the old buildings in Chancery Lane, has always been admired, and, though its appearance may be somewhat altered, has sustained little dimi- nution of its parts by the occasional repairs which it has undergone. The gate-house formed one of the principal objects in the arrangement of col- legiate edifices, and this fine piece of architecture is now almost the only specimen in London of so early a date. The magnificent gate-house of Lam- beth Palace, built by Cardinal Morton, archbishop of Canterbury, of somewhat earlier date ; one of the gateways of the ancient priory of the Knights of St. John in Clerkenwell ; and that of St. James's Palace, built for king Henry VIII., with this of THE GATE-HOUSE. 47 Lincoln's Inn, are now all that remain in the metropolis.* Sir Thomas Loyell, K.G., one of the Benchers of this Society, and Treasurer of the Household to king Henry VII.,f contributed most liberally towards its erection. The massive towers by which the entrance is flanked are square and lofty, rising four stories above the ground floor, giving height and importance to the general design of the build- ings on what was then the principal front of the Inn. They are constructed of brick, the favourite mate- rial of the Tudor period, and the surface is relieved by the intersection of dark-coloured or vitrified bricks. The entrance, under an obtusely pointed arch, was originally vaulted, but the groined ceiling is now removed. Over this arch is a rich heraldic compartment, painted and gilt, a mode of decora- tion much esteemed at the period, consisting of the royal arms of king Henry VIII. within the garter * It is to be lamented that this structure also will probably ere long disappear, its removal being rendered necessary for the construction of the suites of chambers now in progress for the use of the members of the society. ^ Sir Thomas Lovell was also a great benefactor to the Nunnery of Haliwell or Holywell, in the parish of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, and built a chapel there, oa the windows of which were inscribed these verses : All the nunnes of Halywel Pray for the soul of Sir Thomas LoveL 48 LINCOLN'S INN. and crowned, having on the dexter side the arms of Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln ; and on the sinister side, the arms and quarterings of Sir Thomas Lovell, K.G. ; beneath, on a riband, ?Cnno Ooni 1518. Lower down is a tablet denoting an early repair, in- scribed: "Insignia haec refecta et decorata Johanne Hawles Armig. Solicitat. General. Thesaurario 1695." The mouldings of the recess of the arch are of stone, and well preserved. The original doors of oak, which were .not put up till 6th Eliz. 1564, still remain ; a postern, on the northern side of the entrance, has lately been constructed. All the' gates of entrance to the Inn are closed every night. There is a tradition that Oliver Cromwell had cham- bers in or near the gate-house, but his name does not appear in the registers of the Society. His son, Richard, was admitted as a student 23 Car. I. The gate-house opens upon a court, of about 150 feet by 100 feet in dimension, having immediately in its front, on the western side of the court, the ancient hall the oldest structure in the Inn and the old kitchen, recently converted into chambers. Over the archway are the arms, with the initials, of John Hawles, Treasurer during the repairs men- tioned above. The north side of the court is occu- pied by the chapel, and the south side by chambers. In the centre is a temporary building erected in 1841, for the courts of the two Vice-Chancellors THE GATE-HOUSE. 49 Sir James Lewis Knight Bruce, and Sir James Wigram. On the northern side of the chapel is a Second court, having an access in the rear of the chapel, of about the same dimensions as the first court, and entirely occupied by chambers excepting its western side, which is open to the garden. There are also two smaller courts open towards the garden, the southernmost bounded on the east by the old Hall ; and the northern entirely occupied by cham- bers, which on its eastern side abut upon the western or principal front of the chapel. Such a conceal- ment of an important feature of a beautiful edifice is much to be regretted ; and in this respect the chapel has shared a similar fate with the more ancient and celebrated structure of the Temple Church, which had been shorn of its impressive dignity by the abutment of chambers on its front ; but by the rebuilding of these chambers a few years ago, they have been so constructed that a complete view of the edifice may now be obtained ; and in the re-erection of the chambers now in progress at Lincoln's Inn, the chapel will doubtless be opened to the view. The suites of chambers which now occupy the courts were chiefly erected about the time of king James I. ; and notwithstanding that square-headed doorways have superseded the arches, and sashed 5o LINCOLN'S INN. window-frames have taken the place of the original lattices and mullions, the buildings retain much of their ancient character more, indeed, than might be expected, when it is borne in mind that they have been for so long a time occupied by persons living in different periods, and individually of varied dispositions and habits.* In one of these chambers, No. 13, which had belonged to John Thurloe, Secretary of State to Oliver Cromwell, was dis- covered, in the reign of William III., a collection of papers concealed in a false ceiling of the apartment. These form the principal part of the collection afterwards published by Dr Birch, known by the name of the Thurloe State Papers.t In the reign of James I., the four courts just described were named the North Court, the East Court, the South Court, and the Middle Court. * It is intended that these suites of chambers shall be taken down, and rebuilt in an appropriate style of archi- tecture. They will be built in divisions, so as to avoid the displacement of tenants before the new rooms are ready for occupation ; and the first division is now in the course uf erection on the vacant ground in one of the courts. f- In one of the rooms in a suite of chambers (now num- bered as 13 of the New Square, though belonging to the old buildings), occupied by the present Treasurer of the Society, W. Bulkeley Glasse, Esq., by whom it was kindly brought under my notice, there is an oaken beam, painted and varnished, traversing the ceiling of the room, on which are carved the initials T. S. with the motto "Sans Dieu rien, ' and the date 1596. The initials are doubtless those of the THE GATE-HOUSE. 51 They have also had other names, but at present have no other designation than that of Old Build- ings, or Old Square. It might, perhaps, not be. an inappropriate distinction if the first court were named Lovell's Court, another Neville's Court, and so forth, from the several founders or benefactors. On the fronts of two of the old gables are vertical sun-dials, an almost exploded embellishment of ancient houses. A southern dial, restored in 1840, in the treasurership of William Selwyn, Esq., shows the hours by its gnomon from six in the morning to four in the evening. On this dial is the following inscription : Ex HOC MOMENTO PENDET ^ETERNI- TAS. Another, a western dial, restored in 1794, in the treasurership of the Right Hon. William Pitt, and again in 1848, in the treasurership of Clement name of Thomas Sanderson, whose arms are carved on the fine antique mantel-piece in the same room, and also on that of another apartment. He was one of the Benchers of the Society, who had contributed liberally to the fund for the building of the new chapel, in the west window of which his arms may be seen, and also on the pedestal under the figure of Abraham, in the third window on the north side of the same chapel, united with those of Christopher Brooke, with an inscription stating that the care of the erection of the sacred edifice had been intrusted to those Masters of the Bench. (See page 76 of this work, and pages 235, 237, and 240 of Dugdale's Origines j but the arms of Sanderson, with the motto, which are on the pedestal, as well as the inscription, are omitted in Dugdale's engraving.) 52 LINCOLN'S INN. Tudway Swanston, Esq., from the different situation of its plane, only shows the hours from noon till night. This dial bears the inscription : QUA REDIT, NESCITIS HORAM. It is satisfactory to mention that the more modern repairs of the chambers are conducted bysimply adhering to the forms of the Tudor period, involving no sacrifice of comfort for the sake of a more stately exterior. THE OLD HALL. THE ancient hall of the Society, situated in the first court, opposite the gate of entrance from Chan- cery Lane, is the oldest edifice of the Inn now remaining, having been erected in the 22d Henry VII. A.D. 1506. Respecting the earlier structure, which had become ruinous, and was pulled down in 8 Henry VII. to make room for the present edifice, there is no record as to its dimensions or character. A louvre for carrying off the smoke from the fire in the centre of the hall a common arrangement at that time one of the necessary and characteristic features of ancient halls, was placed on the ridge of the roof in 6 Edward VI. 1552. This louvre has a large vane on the sum- mit, and was formerly enriched with the heraldic THE OLD HALL. 53 distinctions of the Earl of Lincoln, which were removed on the occasion of some repairs. In the year 1818 the louvre was renewed, but not improved in design. The hall has on each side three large windows of three lights each, the heads of which are arched and cusped, besides the two great oriels at the extremities. The oriels have four lights each, tran- somed, with arched heads and cusps. The walls are strengthened by buttresses ; and the parapet is embattled. The entrance, till the recent alteration, was under an archway at the southern extremity, and opposite to this entrance was the old kitchen, now converted into chambers. The exterior was extensively repaired and stuccoed by Bernasconi, in 1800. An arcade, built in 1819, affords a con- necting corridor to the Vice- Chancellor of Eng- land's Court, erected at the same time, and situated on the western side of the Hall towards the garden. On the death of Sir Lancelot Shadwell, on the loth of August 1850, the title of Vice-Chancellor of England was discontinued. On account of the increase of business in the Court of Chancery, two additional vice-chancellors had been appointed by statute in the year 1841 ; and ten years afterwards, to relieve further the Lord Chancellor's labours, two new judges were appointed, called Lords Justices of the Court of Appeal, by whom, either sitting 54 LINCOLN'S INN. together, or with the Lord Chancellor, all appeals from the decisions of the other Equity Courts were to be decided. The hall is about 71 feet in length, and 32 feet in breadth ; the height about equal to the breadth. Although extremely just in its proportions, and termed by old writers " a goodly hall," it certainly is not equal in stateliness to the hall of the Middle Temple ; but it has of late been curtailed of its fair proportions, having been divided near the centre by a temporary partition, to form two courts for the sittings of the Lord Chancellor and the Lords Justices, the benchers having granted the use of the hall for these purposes until such time as suitable accommodation shall be provided by the country for the sittings of the Courts of Justice. On the dais at the northern end is the seat of the Lord Chancellor, who now holds his sittings here both during term and vacation. Having been disused as a dining-hall since the erection of the New Buildings, the apartment is now only used for the sittings of the Courts of Chancery and Appeal. On the side of the dais is a corridor of communi- cation with the old Council-chamber, the windows of which, before the erection of the Vice-Chancellor of England's Court, faced the garden. Above the panelling of the dais is the picture of Paul before Felix, painted for the Society in 1750 THE OLD HALL. 55 by Hogarth.* This picture is noticed by Mrs Jameson as curiously characteristic, not of the scene or of the chief personage, but of the painter. St. Paul, loaded with chains, and his accuser Ter- tullus, stand in front ; and Felix, with his wife Drusilla, is seated on a raised tribunal in the back- ground ; near Felix is the high priest Ananias. The composition is good, the heads are full of vivid expression wrath, terror, doubt, attention ; but the conception of character most ignoble and commonplace, t At the lower end of the room is a massive screen, erected in 1565, decorated with the grotesque carv- ings which at that time had entirely superseded the purer forms of the earlier work. The heraldic achievements of King Charles II., with others of the nobility, formerly emblazoned on this screen , have been removed to the New Hall, as have also the armorial bearings of the most distinguished members of the Society, formerly on the panels of this hall. * By the will of Lord Wyndham, Baron of Finglass, and Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, the sum of 200 was bequeathed to the Society, to be expended in adorning the Chapel, or Hall, as the Benchers should think fit. At the recommendation of Lord Mansfield, Hogarth was engaged to paint the picture, which was at first designed for the Chapel. t Sacred and Legendary Art. 56 LINCOLN'S INN. Alterations were made in this hall in the years 1625, 1652, and 1706; and in 1819, increased accommodation being required, the room was lengthened about ten feet. The coved ceiling of plaster was then substituted for the open oak roof, quite out of character with the original building ; and other alterations were made not in accordance with the period of erection. The windows were enriched with heraldic achieve- ments,* in stained glass ; but these decorations have likewise been removed to the New Hall, where they have been arranged in the eastern oriel, by Mr. Willement. At the end of the present northern division of the hall, opposite the dais, is a statue by Westmacott of Lord Erskine, who was Lord Chancellor in 1806. The expression of the countenance in this statue attests the skill of the sculptor ; it is one of his finest works. In 1843, when still further accommodation was required, and the erection of a New Hall was determined upon, the judgment and taste of the Benchers were evinced in the adoption of the same picturesque style of architecture which prevailed in the more ancient part of Lincoln's Inn, and by * The earlier armorial bearings are all engraved by Hollar in Dugdale's Origines Jnridiciales. THE OLD HALL. 57 the skill and masterly arrangements of the architect who was selected, the new structures have been made to surpass the earlier edifices as much in magnificence of design and embellishment as they exceed their prototypes in extent of plan. In this ancient hall were held all the revels of the Society, customary in early times, in which the Benchers themselves, laying aside their dignity, also indulged at particular seasons. The exercise of dancing was especially enjoined for the students, and was thought to conduce to the making of gentlemen more fit for their books at other times.* One of the latest revels, at which king Charles 1 1. was present, is noticed both by Evelyn and Pepys in their Diaries. At these entertainments the hall cupboard was set with plate, amongst the ancient pieces of which now belonging to the Society are a silver basin and ewer, presented in 1652 by the Right Hon. Philip Lord Wharton, and Mrs. Elizabeth Wharton, in memory of Sir Rowland Wandesford, whose daughter was married to Lord Wharton ; a silver cup and cover, presented by Edward Rich, Esq., in 1665 ; a silver basin and ewer, by Arthur, Earl of Anglesey, in 1675 ; a large silver cup with two handles, the gift of Sir Richard Rainsford, in 1677 ; * Dugdak's Origines, 246. 58 LINCOLN'S INN. a large silver college-pot for festivals, the gift of John Greene, Esq., Recorder of London, c. 1692 ; and a large silver punch-bowl with two handles, presented by William Fellowes, Esq., in 1718. On a second visit of Charles II., in company with his brother the Duke of York, Prince Rupert, the Duke of Monmouth, and others of the nobility on apth February 1671, the whole company were enter- tained in this Hall, and those illustrious and dis- tinguished personages were admitted as Members of the Hon. Society of Lincoln's Inn. The cere- mony of his Majesty's reception and entertainment, abridged from the Admittance Book of the Society, in which the signatures of his Majesty and suite are preserved will be found the best illustration of the state used on these occasions : The King with his attendants made his entrance through the garden at the great gate in Chancery Lane, where the Benchers waited his coming, and attended his Majesty up to the terrace, next the Fields, trumpets and kettle-drums sounding all the while. From the garden his Majesty went to the Council Chamber, the barristers and students in their gowns standing on each side. After a little rest his Majesty viewed the Chapel, returned to the Council Chamber, and thence was conducted into the Hall, where he dined under a canopy of state, the Duke of York sitting at the end of the table THE OLD HALL. 59 on his right hand, and Prince Rupert at the other end. The noblemen of his Majesty's suite dined at tables on each side of the hall, the barristers and students waiting upon them. The Reader and some of the Benchers waited near his Majesty's chair, and four of the Benchers, with white staves, waited as Comptrollers of the Hall. The banquet, at the King's table, was served by the barristers and students on their knees, violins playing all the time of dinner in the gallery. Towards the end of dinner, the King and his suite entered their names in the Admittance Book of Lincoln's Inn, thus being pleased to enrol themselves as Members of the Society. The noblemen, before his Majesty rose from dinner, borrowing gowns of the students, put them on, and waited on his Majesty, much to his delight. After pledging the welfare of the Society, the King retired to the Council Chamber, and con- ferred the honour of knighthood on two of the Benchers, Mr. Nicholas Pedley, and Mr. Richard Stote ; one of the barristers, Mr. James Butler ; and one of the students, Mr. Francis Dayrell ; each degree and order thus receiving testimony of royal favour. On his departure, his Majesty expressed his satisfaction and returned his thanks to the Reader ; and two days afterwards four of the Benchers waited on the King at Whitehall, and acknowledged the honour vouchsafed to the Society. 6o LINCOLN'S INN. In the hall were also performed plays and masques. These on particular occasions as in 1613, at the celebration of the nuptials of the Pals- grave and the Princess Elizabeth were performed in the presence of the sovereign at Whitehall. In the year 1633, a masque of magnificent character was presented there by the four Inns of Court, as a counter-demonstration of the feelings of the members, in opposition to the sentiments expressed by Prynne in his Histrio-mastix. An animated description of this pageant is given by Whitelock in his Memorials. As the annual orations of the Tancred's students were delivered in this hall before the erection of the New Buildings, this may be a fitting place to mention the particulars of Mr. Tancred's bequest in favour of those who are called TANCRED'S STUDENTS. THESE students are elected to partake of a bequest made in the year 1754, by Christopher Tancred, of Whixley, in Yorkshire, Esq., who bequeathed a considerable property to be vested in trustees for the education of twelve students, four in divinity, at Christ's College, Cambridge ; four in physic, at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge ; and four TANCRED'S STUDENTS. 61 in common law at Lincoln's Inn. The trustees named in Mr Tancred's will are the Master of Christ's College, and the Master of Gonville and Caius College, in Cambridge ; the President of the College of Physicians ; the Treasurer of the Hon. Society of Lincoln's Inn ; the Master of the Charter House ; the Governors of Greenwich and Chelsea Hospitals. The persons elected must not be less than sixteen years of age ; must be natives of Great Britain ; of the Church of England ; and not capable of obtaining the education directed by the settlement without such assistance. The annual value of each studentship was originally fifty pounds, but is now of about double that amount ; and this aid is con- tinued for three years after the student has taken the degree of bachelor of arts, bachelor in physic, or barrister at law; and to keep in remembrance the liberality of the donor, a Latin oration on the subject of his charities is ordered to be annually delivered by one of the students in each branch, in the halls of the colleges before mentioned, and of Lincoln's Inn respectively. Candidates for the studentship must apply by petition to the governors and trustees ; and every person elected one of the Tancred's law students must, within one month after such election, be entered as a member of the Society of Lincoln's 62 LINCOLN'S INN. Inn, and keep commons for twelve terms in the hall, according to the rules of the Society. THE CHAPEL. THIS edifice, independently of the sacred pur- poses to which it is dedicated, possesses features of peculiar interest to the architect and antiquary. Erected at a period when architecture of a mixed character prevailed in most of our ecclesiastical structures, it has been the subject of much criticism, and has called forth various opinions both as regards its merits and its antiquity. Horace Walpole has remarked that Inigo Jones, the reputed architect of the building, " was by no means successful when he attempted Gothic.* The Chapel of Lincoln's Inn has none of the characters of that architecture. The cloister seems oppressed by the weight of the building above." The late Mr. John Carter, an architect of reputa- tion, who claims an early date for the foundation of the chapel, states his opinion that in the lines of the edifice, after its many alterations, an unpreju- diced mind may discover that the first work was a * The impropriety of the term Gothic is now generally admitted, but was little understood when Walpole wrote. THE CHAPEL. 63 beautiful design of the reign of Edward III. or Richard II.* Mr. Carter founds his arguments for the antiquity of the edifice mainly on the affinity of the crypt to that of St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster ; the form of the buttresses ; the tracery of the windows ; and the vestiges of groins with elaborate tracery on the ascent to the chapel Conceiving that Inigo Jones, on being applied to for the necessary repairs of the chapel, introduced what he regarded as improvements, Mr. Carter gives a detailed view of the alterations which he supposes that eminent architect to have effected, more particularly in the crypt. An antiquarian friend, who has devoted much time and attention to an examination of the edifice, following out the views of Mr. Carter, conjectures that the chapel owed its foundation to the Bishops of Chichester as an essential part of their princely residence in London, and was probably built by William Rede, who held that see from 1369 to 1385, and was distinguished by his skill in archi- tecture. This prelate designed the Library of Merton College, Oxford, and in the eastern window of the Chapel of that College may be observed the circular form sometimes termed the Catherine * Gentleman's Magazine, 1812. 64 LINCOLN'S INN. wheel, the same as in the great eastern window of Lincoln's Inn Chapel. This opinion is advanced in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for December 1849, and the circumstance of the chapel being built on a crypt is regarded as strong presumptive proof of the antiquity of the edifice. An eminent living architect, however, in support of the assertion respecting the prevalence of a mixed architecture in the seventeenth century, the time when Lincoln's Inn Chapel is stated to have been built, has kindly furnished me with several examples of the imitation of mediaeval architecture at this period. Among the more remarkable are the following, which are to be found at Oxford : The Chapel of Brasen Nose College, built in 1656, and the Library of the same College, in 1663, where maybe observed, in the head of the eastern window, the radiated circle as at Lincoln's Inn ; the Chapel of Exeter College, 1624 ; the buildings of Oriel College, all after 1620 ; most of the buildings of Jesus College, between 1616 and 1640 ; and the Chapel of Lincoln College, by Dr. John Williams, Archbishop of York, which was consecrated in 1631. Examples might be easily multiplied, but these may be sufficient for the purpose. " All these," observes this gentleman, " are genuine original designs i.e., not restorations of any previously existing fabric ; but, as far as their THE CHAPEL. 65 art goes, imitations of a style used in a previous century. They all possess the same characteristics informs of the various parts of the building, such as the windows, doors, buttresses, and roof being imitations, not copies of mediaeval art. The details of the various parts, the profiles of the mouldings, &c., are in like manner imitations of older forms, but are not usually so closely or so skil- fully imitated as the general forms and larger masses. The Chapel at Lincoln's Inn is a very interesting instance of this sort of architecture a ' renais- sance' not paralleled by any architecture of any other time or country unless, indeed, we except the present practice of the art in England and France." Having thus placed in juxtaposition the opinions of professional men respecting this interesting edifice, I may now add further that the existing records of the Society completely disprove the opinions advanced on the antiquity of the building, however extraordinary it may appear that Inigo Jones should have erected a building in this style, at the very time when he was directing the national taste in the adoption of the Italian models. The records referred to clearly prove that the chapel was not restored or repaired, as has been supposed, but that a new edifice was erected in the reign of James I., and that the old chapel, the ruinous condition of which had rendered a new one E 66 LINCOLN'S INN. necessary, was standing when the new building was finished and consecrated in 1623.* The instrument of consecration, preserved among these records, gives the same evidence, particularly by the occur- rence of the words : " noviter jam erigi, edificari et construir There is also, in the first volume of a work presented to the Library in 1621 by Dr. John Donne, an inscription in his own hand-writing, declaring that the first stone of the edifice was laid by his hand. Although it does not appear quite certain from the records that Inigo Jones was the architect em- ployed, there can be little doubt that such was the case. In the year 1617, the Society having deter- mined upon the erection of a new chapel, it is stated that " the consideration of a fit model for the chapel is commended to Mr. Inditho Jones [jzV];" and in another entry it is said that the estimate was upwards of ^2000, but there is no further mention of the name of Jones. John Clarke was the mason employed. The first mention of Inigo Jones * The new Chapel was consecrated on the feast of the Ascension, in 1623 ; and there is an entry in the registers of the Society, on the igth of June in the same year, stating that Mr. Noy, one of the Masters of the Bench, was entreated to attend the archbishop for the purpose of obtaining a faculty or dispensation for the demolishing of the old chapel, and in the mean season none to work there, but the door to be locked up. THE CHAPEL. 67 as the architect in any printed notice of the edifice appears in the engraving by Vertue in 1751 ; and afterwards in the fourth edition of Ralph's View of the Public Buildings of London, printed in 1783. The name does not occur in the first edition of that work in 1734. But in one of the Harleian MSS. No. 5900, written about the year 1700, it is stated that Inigo Jones built the chapel of Lincoln's Inn, " after the Gothick manner, in imitation of that of St. Stephen's at Westminster." With respect to the elevation of the chapel on a crypt, of which it is said there are very few examples remaining in this country, it may be observed that this mode of arrangement, connected with certain ritual observances, is sometimes found in towns, or wherever space was to be economised. Whatever may have been the original object in the case of Lincoln's Inn Chapel, whether the design were copied or not from the earlier edifice, or from that of St. Stephen's, it is evident that about the period of erection it was used as an ambulatory, or place for lawyers " to walk in, to talk and confer their learning," from the allusions to this custom by Butler and Pepys cited by Mr Cunningham in his Handbook for London : " Retain all sorts of witnesses That ply i' th' TEMPLES under trees, Or walk the ROUND with Knights o' th' Posts About their cross-legged knights their hosts, 68 LINCOLN'S INN. Or wait for customers between The pillar-rows in LINCOLN'S INN." HUDIBRAS, part iii. canto 3. " To Lincoln's Inn, to see the new garden which they are making, which will be very pretty, and so to -walk under the chapel \>y agreement."' PEPYS' Diary. It may be proper to mention, before leaving this subject, that in the year 1 822, in digging below the foundations of the chapel, a sculpture was found, of which an engraving is given in Mr. Lane's Guide. It apparently represents the Annunciation, is about one foot square, and, at the time of its discovery, the colours and gilding with which it was decorated were well preserved. It probably formed one of the ornaments of the old chapel. A perfect view of this religious edifice is, owing to the contiguity of the surrounding buildings, somewhat difficult of attainment. That usually important feature, the western front with its large window, is in this chapel entirely concealed from view by chambers erected immediately before it ; and the entrance is to be sought under an archway over which is carved the Lion of the Earl of Lincoln, with the initials of Marmaduke Alington, Esq., Treasurer of the Society in 1737. A turret with cupola, surmounted by a weather-vane, rises at the south-western angle of the chapel, and con- tains an ancient bell, which is said by tradition to have been brought from Spain about 1596, forming THE CHAPEL. 69 part of the spoils acquired by the gallant Earl of Essex at the capture of Cadiz.* An inspection of the bell, however, reveals the inscription, "Anthony Bond made mee, 1615," with the initials of Thomas Hitchcock, who was Treasurer of the So- ciety in that year ; and how far this fact refutes, or may be made to accord with the tradition, may be left for the inquiries of the curious. The open crypt or ambulatory, on which the chapel is elevated, consists of three obtusely-pointed arches, in the longest sides, and two massive piers in the centre. It is now inclosed with iron railings, and is used as a place of interment for the Benchers. On each of the sides of the chapel, are three large windows, the mullions and tracery of which, as well as the form of the massive buttresses between them, resemble the style of architecture which pre- vailed in the time of king Edward III. The but- tresses are graduated, and are now terminated with small battlements, an improvement on the mode in which they were previously terminated by huge vases with flames issuing from them, as represented in the print published by Vertue in 1751. The large and very fine eastern window is divided by * In this expedition the Earl was accompanied by Dr. Donne, formerly one of the students of Lincoln's Inn, who laid the first stone of the chapel, and preached the sermon at the consecration. 70 LINCOLN'S INN. mullions into seven lights, with one transom, and in the beautiful tracery in the arched head is a circle divided into twelve tre-foiled lights by mullions radiating from the centre. The ascent to the chapel is by a flight of steps under the archway before mentioned, leading to a porch erected by Mr. Hardwick in 1843. The appearance of the chapel on entering is remarkably impressive, an effect produced -by the chastened light transmitted by the stained glass in the very fine windows, the beautiful colours of which far surpass the generality of works in this style of art. The carved oaken seats merit attention for their design and very superior execution, as spe- cimens of the taste of the reign of James I. The altar, which is raised, is inclosed by balus- trades, and to it belong two large silver flagons and salvers, presented by Nicholas Franklyn, Esq., in 1700, and two silver gilt chalices, given to the chapel by Sir James Allan Park in 1806. There was a small screen (which has been lately removed) raised on the end of the last pew near the altar, not an uncommon arrangement in the seventeenth century, and very frequently found in the churches built by Sir Christopher Wren in the eighteenth century. This is a restoration of the ancient division of churches by the rood-screen into nave and chancel. The THE CHAPEL. 71 length of the chapel is sixty-seven feet, the breadth forty-one feet, and its height about forty- four feet. The interior underwent great alterations in 1794-6 under the direction of Mr. James Wyatt, when the ceiling of timber was removed, and one of stucco by Bernasconi substituted, in presumed accordance with the decorated style of architecture. The Organ, in a gallery at the western end, was erected by Messrs. W. Hill and Son, in 1856, taking the place of one which had been previously built by Messrs. Flight and Robson in 1 820. It has much sweetness of tone, combined with great power, but this power is so modulated by the skill of the organist, Dr. Steggall, that the volume of sound is not disproportioned to the moderate size of the building. The choral service, to which much care and attention is devoted, is very impressive, ex- emplifying the assertion of Hooker,* that church music is " the ornament of God's service, and a help to our own devotion." The windows on the north and south sides are filled with a series of figures of Prophets and Apostles in brilliant stained glass, executed by Bernard and Abraham Van Linge, Flemish artists, whose works are among the most celebrated of * It may be interesting to remember that Hooker was Master of the Temple Church, where ecclesiastical music has been so effectively revived. 72 LINCOLN'S INN. their period. The windows in the Chapels of University and Balliol Colleges at Oxford, by Abraham, and those at Wadham College, by Ber- nard, are remarkably fine. In this chapel, the windows are not all equally rich in their effect, nor of equal merit in the drawing and composition. The colours are generally well preserved, and increased in brilliancy by the strong contrast -of bright lights and opaque shadows a characteristic of the work of the Van Linges. Each window has four lights, and the subjects represented are arranged as follows, each figure bearing its appro- priate attribute. South Side. First Window. i. St. Peter, with a key in his right hand. 2. St. Andrew, with a book open in his left hand, turning the leaves with his right ; behind him, his cross. 3. St. James the Great, habited as a pilgrim, with staff, and holding a closed book. 4. St. John, the Apostle and Evan- gelist, bearing in his left hand a cup, from which a serpent is issuing. These figures are on pedestals, and under very elaborate and curiously formed canopies ; the head of each is en- circled by a nimbus, and beneath is the name in Latin. Above, in the arched heading of the window, are figures of angels holding tablets, on which are the crests of the arms depicted beneath. In the third light of this window, at the left corner of the pedestal, is the date 1623 ; and in the fourth light, at the base of the pedestal, on the left THE CHAPEL. 73 / side, is inscribed Jo. Donne, Dec. Paul. F. F. ; and just above this inscription is a cipher composed of the letters R. B. This cipher is also in the second light, at the right corner of the pedestal. The front of the pedestals is covered by figures of angels, bearing the arms of i. Henrici Comitis Southampton. 2. Gulielmi Comitis Pembrochiae. 3. Johannis Comitis Bridgewater. 4. Jacobi Comitis Caerlile. South Side. Second Window. I. St. Philip, bearing in his right hand a cross, and in his left a closed book. 2. St. Thomas, with a carpenter's square in his right hand, and a closed book in his left. 3. St. Bartholomew, holding in his right hand a large knife, the instrument of his martyrdom. 4. St. Matthew, holding a lance. These figures are on hexagonal pedestals, under rich canopies, and the head of each is encircled by the nimbus. In the spaces of the arched heading of the window are here also figures of angels holding tablets with the crests of the arms depicted beneath. In the second light, on the upper corner of the pedestal, are the letters R. B. In the fourth light, in the same position, is a monogram. Under the pedestals are the following inscriptions : i. Georgius, Baro de Abergaveny et Maria Filia Edwardi Due. Buckingh. ; with the arms on the pedestal between the symbolical figures of Faith and Hope. 2. Fra : Fane, unus Socioru hujus hospitii, Eques Balnei, Com. Westmorland, Baro de Despencer et Burghersh, cujus impensis &c. hsec quatuor lumina vitrseis adornantur depictis, et Mariae filise et heredis Antho. Mildmay, Militis. Ano. Dni. 1623. Arms between the figures of Temperance and Justice. 3. Henric 5 . Baro d' Aber- gaveny ; et Francisca, fil. Tho. Com. Rutland. Arms 74 LINCOLN'S INN. between the figures of Charity and Prudence. 4. Thos. Fane, Eques Auratus, et Maria, Uxor ejus, Baronissa Le Despencer. Arms between the figures of Wisdom and Fortitude. The date of 1623 is on all these pedestals. South Side. Third Window. I. St. James the Less, holding a fuller's club in the left hand, and an open book in the right. 2. St. Simon, bearing a saw in his right hand, and a closed book in the left. 3. St. Jude, holding in his right hand a closed book. 4. St. Matthias, bearing in his right hand an axe, and a closed book in his left hand. This window differs in some respects from the two just described. There are no canopies, but a continued land- scape forms the back-ground, with the representation of a city in the distance, and near the centre is a building, bearing much resemblance to Lincoln's Inn Chapel, with its ambulatory, and the buttresses terminating in pinnacles. The figures are finely relieved against the sky and clear water of the landscape, and the attitudes of each are studiously varied, as is the case indeed with the figures in the other windows. The pedestals differ from the others, being square, and the front covered by the arms. In the tracery above are angels holding the armorial bearings of the Spencer and Compton families. In this window the figures of the angels are nude ; in the others, draped. Beneath the figures are coats of arms thus inscribed : I. Robert, Lord Spencer of Wormleighton. 2. Sir Henry Compton, Knight. 3. Thomas Spencer, of Claverdon, Esq. 4. John Spencer, of Offley, Esq. North Side. First Window. i. King David, crowned, playing on the harp ; over his other drapery, a scarlet robe lined with ermine. 2. The THE CHAPEL. 75 prophet Daniel, with a golden verge or rod in his left hand. 3. Elias, with a sword resting on the ground. 4. Esaias, holding a book in his right hand ; with his left, a saw. These figures are on hexagonal pedestals, and under rich canopies. Above, in the arch of the window, are kings in robes, crowned. Beneath the figures, in front of the pedestals, are coats of arms, with the following inscrip- tions : I. Jacobus Ley, Miles et Baronettus, Capitalis Justiciarius Domini Regis ad Placita coram ipso Rege tenenda assignatus et quondam Capitalis Justiciarius Capitalis Band in Hibernia. 2. Humphridus Winch, Miles, unus Justiciariorum Domini Regis de Banco, ac quondam Capitalis Baro Scaccarii in Hibernia, et postea Capitalis Justiciarius Capitalis Banci in Hibernia. 3. Johannes Denham, Miles, unus Baronum Curiae Scaccarii in Anglia, et quondam Capitalis Baro Scaccarii in Hiber- nia', et unus Dominorum Justiciariorum in Hibernia. 4. Willielmus Jones, Miles, unus Justiciariorum Dni Regis de Banco, ac nuperime Capitalis Justiciarius Capitalis Banci in Hibernia. North Side. Second Window. I. The prophet Jeremias, with a staff in the right hand, and ewer in the left. 2. Ezekiel, in the vestments of a priest, mitred, with the model of a church in his left hand. 3. Amos, clothed as a shepherd, with a crook and wallet. 4. Zacharias, the prophet. These figures, also, are on hexagonal pedestals, under canopies of different form from the first window. In the tracery above are kings in robes, crowned, in beautiful colours. On the first and third pedestals is the date 76 LINCOLN'S INN. 1624. Beneath the figures, in front of the pedestals, are coats of arms with the following inscriptions : -I. Ranul- phus Crew, Miles, Serenissimi Dni Jacobi Regis Serviens ad Legem. 2. Thomas Harrys, Baronettus, et Serviens ad Legem. 3. Tho. Richardson, Miles, Serviens ad Legem et Conventionis Parliament! inchoat. et tent, tricesimo die Januarii Ano Dni 1620, et ibm. continuat. usque octavum diem Februarii Ano Dni 1621, et tune dissolut. Prolocutor. 4. Johannes Darcie, Serviens ad Legem. North Side. Third Window, i. Abraham, with a sword in his right hand, his left resting on the head of his son Isaac ; the intended sacrifice above, in the background. 2. Moses, with his rod, and the Two Tables of the Decalogue in his hands ; above, Moses receiving the tables on the Mount. 3. St. John the Baptist, habited in a camel's skin, with a staff in his right hand ; and at his feet a lamb. In the upper part the baptism of Christ is shown. 4. St. Paul, holding a sword. Above is the conversion of Saul. These figures are on pedestals, on which the names are thus inscribed: ST S ABRAHAM, PATER FIDELIUM; S!; s MOSES, LEGISLATOR ; S 1 ? Jo : BAFT. PRECURSOR DOMINI ; ST S PAULUS, DOCTOR GENTIUM. In the tracery above are the figures of Temperance, Prudence, Charity, Hope, Faith, Justice. Beneath the figures are coats of arms borne by angels in front of the pedestals, with these inscriptions: I. Xpr s . Brooke et Thomas Saunderson, Magri de Banco, quoru fidei hujus sacrse Fabricse cura credita fuit fieri fecerunt, 1626. 2. Ro- landus Wandesford, Ebora. Ar. et unus Magrom de THE CHAPEL. 77 Banco sumptu proprio fieri fecit 1626. 3. Gulielmus Noye de St. Buriens, Com. Cornub. Armiger, unus Magru de Banco fieri fecit 1626. Teg yw heddwch.* 4. Johannes Took, Armiger, hujus hospicii ad Bancum associatus ; et Curiae Regi Curioe sure pupillorum a rationibus fieri fecit, 1626. The latter part of some of the inscriptions is not now. visible, the glazing of the windows having been removed during the repairs of the chapel, and these parts having been either lost or obscured in replacing the glass. The great eastern and western windows, viewed in comparison with those on the sides, are very inferior in point of decoration. The large and beautiful eastern window is chiefly interesting from its admirable proportions, the disposition of the mullions and tracery, and the circular form with radiating divisions which occupies the centre of the head. It contains a finely executed heraldic embellishment,! the arms of King William III., the same as previously used by King James II., with an escutcheon of pretence bearing the arms of Nassau, with the supporters borne by the house of Stuart, and the motto, Je meintiendray. This armorial * " lively is peace," in allusion to the crest of Noy, a dove bearing an olive branch. \ It has been thought worthy of selection as a specimen of the period, by Mr. Willement, who has introduced it in his " Regal Heraldry." 78 LINCOLN'S INN. bearing occupies the three central lights below the transom. In the upper part of the central light above the transom are the arms of the Hon. Society of Lincoln's Inn. Both these embellish- ments were put up in 1703. The remainder of the window is filled with the arms of the Benchers who' have been Treasurers of Lincoln's Inn from the year 1680, the time of the discontinuance of the Readers. There are sixteen of these in each light, excepting the central, making one hundred and seventy in the whole number, besides eleven coats of arms in the upper tracery of the window, ending with those of Kenyon Stevens Parker, Esq., Treasurer in 1862. The glazing of the great circle above is composed of pieces of stained glass, in- serted without any regard to design or arrangement of colour. It must be admitted that the glazing of this window is far from satisfactory, and that it forms a remarkable contrast to the side lights. In the great western window the circle is of uncoloured glass, and the other portions contain the arms of eminent members of the Society who have been Readers. To these have been lately added the arms of the Treasurers from 1863 to 1872, inclusive. In the porch is placed a cenotaph to the memory of the Rt. Hon. Spencer Perceval, with a mural tablet of marble, which was originally affixed to the THE CHAPEL. 79 wall of the chapel, bearing the following inscrip- tion : M. S. viri honoratissimi SPENCER PERCEVAL, socii nostri desideratissimi, hanc tabulam Hospitii Lincoliiiensis Thesaurarius et Magistri de Banco P. P. Quis et qualis fuerit, qua gravitate, fide, constantia, quo acumine, et facundise impetu, mitem illam sapientiam, et suavissimam naturae indolem, ad officia publica strenue obeunda, erexerit et firmaverit ; quanto denique suomm, et patrire et bonorum omnium luctu, vitam innocuam, probam, piam, unius scelus intercluserit, annales public! mandabunt posteris ; nos id tantum agimus, ut quern privata necessi- tudine nobis conjunctum habuerimus, privata pietate prosequamur. On the ascent to the chapel is also a marble tablet to the memory of Eleanor Louisa, daughter . of the late Lord Brougham, a Bencher of this Society, with an inscription by the late Marquis Wellesley, written in his Sist year : Memoriae Sacrum ELEANORS Louisa BROUGHAM, Henrici Baronis de Brougham et Vaux, summi Angliae nuper Cancellarii, et Marise Anna?, Uxoris eius, Filise unicse et dilectissimae. Decessit pridie Kal. Dec. anno sacro M DCCC XXXIX ; setatis sux XVIII. Blanda anima ! e cunis heu ! longo exercita morbo, Inter maternas heu ! lacrymasque patris, Quas risu lenire tuo jucunda solebas ; Et levis, et proprii vix memor ipsa mali : I, pete crelestes, ubi nulla est cura, recessus ! Et tibi sit nullo mista dolore quies ! " WELLESLEY. Near this tablet has recently been erected another to the memory of the late Sir Henry Wilmot Seton, 8o LINCOLN'S INN. Kt. Judge in the Supreme Court of Bengal, who died in July, 1848, on his passage from Calcutta to England, with this inscription : In memoriam HENRICI WILMOT SETON, Equitis Aurati, qui Londini natus, Schola Westmonasteriensi postea Coll. Trin. apud Cantabrigienses bonis literis baud mediocriter imbutus, mox hujusce Societatis edicto in patronorum ordinem cooptatus, tandem ad Judicis locum in suprema Bengalensi curia evectus, postquam munere judicial! fere per decennium summa cum laude ac reverentia strenue functus esset, coeli intemperie et fori laboribus confectus, domum sero revertens, medio in itinere mortem obit A. D. 1848. setatis suss 64. Viro solerti, simplici, verecundo, erga Deum pietate, erga amicos comitate, studio, constantia, erga omnes homines benignitate insigni, tabulam amoris ac desiderii monu- mentum, sodales aliquot superstates poni curaverunt. By the side of this tablet is another in memory of Sir Francis Simpkinson, who was Treasurer of the Society at the time of the inauguration of the New Hall and Library, and died in July 1851. The inscription is as follows : Memorise Sacrum JOHANNIS AUGUSTI FRANCISCI SIMPKINSON, Equitis Aurati, Jurisconsult! Regii, hujusc. Societatis e Prasfectis Consessoribus qui Thesaurarius anno M DCCC XLV creatus, Reginam Victoriam JEdes Collegii magnificentius extructas inaugurare dignantem publico hospitio prasses excepit, annuo, qui apud suosest, magistratu singulari cum honore functus. Vir legum peritissimus, plurimis literis ornatus, benignus, fidelis, verax, summa probitate, simulatione virtutum nulla, ita ad majora se in Deum officio paratius accessurum THE CHAPEL. 81 credebat, si suos pietate, bonos omnes observantia, inopes misericordia prosequeretur. Genevae natus matre Hel- vetica prid. Kal. Dec. MDCCLXXX, obiit Londini octav. Id. Jul. M DCCC LI. anno oetat. Ixxi. Subter hoc sacellum sepultus jacet ; monumentum hoc uxor et filii moerentes posuerunt." Among the remarkable persons buried in the cloister under the chapel are John Thurloe, Secretary of State to Oliver Cromwell ; the inde- fatigable William Prynne, to whom English history is indebted for the preservation of many of the public records ; William Melmoth, author of the "Great Importance <3f a Religious Life;" John Coxe, a great benefactor to the Society ; Sir John Anstruther, Chief Justice of the Court of Judicature in Bengal, who was one of the managers in the impeachment of Warren Hastings ; Francis Har- grave, the learned author of Notes on Coke's Commentary upon Littleton and many other valu- able juridical works. The time occupied in the erection of the chapel was five years, and the edifice was consecrated on the feast of the Ascension, 1623, by Dr. George Mountaine, Bishop of London. A sermon was de- livered by Dr. Donne, formerly Preacher to the Society, but at that time Dean of St. Paul's, from the text : " And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter." St. John, cap. 10. v. 22. A contemporary letter states that on F 82 LINCOLN'S INN. this occasion " there was great concourse of noble- men and gentlemen, whereof two or three were endangered and taken up dead for the time with the extreme press and thronging." * Within the walls of this sacred edifice many of the most distinguished and eloquent divines of the Church of England have exercised their ministry in the office of Preacher to the Society, amongst whom shine conspicuously the names of Donne, Usher, Gataker, Tillotson, Hurd, Warburton, Heber, &c. The earliest entries in the Register of Lincoln's Inn relative to the appointment of a Preacher, for- merly called a Divinity Reader or Lecturer, occur in the year 1581, when a letter was written by the Masters of the Bench to one of the Lords of the Privy Council, stating that having been long de- sirous to have a Preacher in their House, " like as is in other Houses of Court," they had chosen MR. CHARKE for that office. Mr. Charke was a fel- low of Peter House, Cambridge, and is said by Strype to have been " a person disaffected to the habits of the clergy, and to the present govern- ment of the church by metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, &c." * Letter of J. Chamberlain, Esq. to Sir D. Carleton. See "Court and Times of James I." vol. ii. p. 402. THE CHAPEL. PREACHERS. 83 The next appointment was that of DR. RICHARD FIELD, 1 6th January 1594. This eminent divine, the intimate friend of Hooker and Sir Henry Sa- ville, was " a powerful preacher, and profound schoolman." In 1599 MR. PULLEY was appointed Preacher ; and was succeeded 22d April 1602, by the learned THOMAS GATAKER, u one whom a foreign writer has placed among the six Protestants most con- spicuous^in his judgment, for depth of reading."* In 1612 MR. HOLLOWAY was appointed Preacher, and held the office for four years. DR. JOHN DONNE was elected Preacher 24th Oct. 1616. He had been a student of Lincoln's Inn, and was for some time chief secretary to Lord Chan- cellor Ellesmere. Having been Preacher above five years, he was appointed Dean of St. Paul's, and on taking leave of the Society presented to them in token of his affection a copy of the Commentary of Nicholas de Lyra on the Bible, in six volumes, folio ; with an inscription alluding to his change of life, and transition from the study of the law and various other pursuits to the sacred office of thfe ministry. DR. JOHN PRESTON succeeded, 2ist May 1622. He is noticed by Echard as " the head of the Puri- tan party, an exquisite preacher, a subtle disputant, * Hallam's Literature of Europe, iv. in. 84 LINCOLN'S INN. and a deep politician, who once was highly in favour with the Duke of Buckingham." The next Preacher was DR. EDWARD REY- NOLDS, afterwards Bishop of Norwich, elected i6th Oct. 1628. Dr. Reynolds was one of the Assembly of Divines, which sat at Westminster during the Great Rebellion. The REV. JOSEPH CARYL was appointed Preacher 5th June 1632. He was one of the ministers who went with the Commissioners ap- pointed by Parliament, to treat of peace with King Charles I. at Newport, in the Isle of Wight, where he preached before them on 3Oth January 1648. The venerable ARCHBISHOP USHER was ap- pointed Preacher in 1647, being then in the 68th year of his age. This prelate was the intimate friend of Sir Matthew Hale. DR. REEVES was chosen Preacher, gih May 1654 ; and was succeeded by The REV. THOMAS GREENFIELD, ist Nov. 1657. JOHN TILLOTSON, D.D., Archbishop of Canter- bury, was appointed Preacher 26th November 1663. The esteem in which this eminent prelate was held by the public is well known. He was no less admired and loved by'the Society. EDWARD MAYNARD, D.D., i3th November 1691. The public are indebted to Dr. Maynard THE CHAPEL. PREACHERS. 85 for the second and enlarged edition of Dugdale's History of St. Paul's, with the life of the author prefixed. FRANCIS GASTRELL, Bishop of Chester, gth November 1699. The bishop was a man of great learning, and an excellent preacher ; he was one of the Boyle Lecturers. WILLIAM LUPTON, D.D., i;th April 1714. The Sermons of Dr. Lupton have been published, in one volume, 8vo. London, 1729. THOMAS HERRING, D.D. Archbishop of York and of Canterbury, 23d January 1726. Archbishop Herring's Sermons on public occasions were pub- lished in 1763, and his Letters in 1777. REV. MR. CRANKE, 28th Nov. 1733. REV. GEORGE WATTS, 6th June 1735, after- wards Master of the Temple. WILLIAM WARBURTON, D.D., Bishop of Glou- cester, 1 6th April 1746. The author of the Di- vine Legation of Moses is too well known by his varied learning, and his sagacity and zeal in contro- versy, to need further mention here. His character is well set forth by his friend and biographer, Bishop Hurd. THOMAS ASHTON, D.D., 8th April 1761. Dr. Ashton's Sermons were printed in 1770, in one volume, 8vo, with a portrait in mezzotinto by J. Spilsbury, from a painting by Sir J. Reynolds. 86 LINCOLN'S INN. RICHARD KURD, D.D., Bishop of Lichfield and of Worcester, 6th Nov. 1765. Bishop Kurd is well known by the elegance of his writings, and his inti- mate friendship with Bishop Warburton. The poet Langhorne was assistant preacher to Dr. Kurd. DR. WOODCOCK, elected Preacher 28th Novem- ber 1776. DR. CYRIL JACKSON, i7th May 1779. He be- came afterwards Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, where, says Mr. Alexander Chalmers, " he presided with almost unexampled zeal and ability." DR. WILLIAM JACKSON, brother of Dr. Cyril Jackson, Qth July 1783. He became Bishop of Oxford, after having held the office of Preacher for nearly twenty-nine years, and discharged its duties " in a faithful and exemplary manner, and to the en- tire satisfaction of this house." Archdeacon Nares was assistant preacher to Dr. Jackson for nearly sixteen years. WILLIAM VAN MILDERT, Bishop of Llanclaff, afterwards translated to the see of Durham, ap- pointed i8th April 1812. CHARLES LLOYD, Bishop of Oxford, 2ist June 1819. Bishop Lloyd was the editor of the beautiful little Greek Testament printed at the Clarendon Press, which is used in the chapel of Lincoln's Inn. He was buried in the cloister under the chapel. REGINALD HEBER, Bishop of Calcutta, 2510. THE CHAPEL. PREACHERS. 87 April 1822. On the occasion of Bishop He- ber's last sermon in Lincoln's Inn Chapel, on the eve of his departure for India, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, in a letter to the bishop's widow, speaks of the feeling which the sermon of that day diffused through the audience as a light indication of the powerful and salutary influence exercised by the bishop during his whole course in India,* ". EDWARD MALTBV, D.D., i8th April 1823, Bishop of Chichester in 1831, translated to the see of Durham in 1836. JOHN LONSDALE, D.D., 1 3th January 1836, Bishop of Lichfield in 1843. Bishop Lonsdale had been admitted as a student of Lincoln's Inn in 1811, but after a short time, like his predecessor, Dr. Donne, and many other eminent men, ex- changed the study of the law for that of divinity, and was ordained deacon in 1815. During the twenty-four years in which he held the see of Lichfield (1843-1867), so untiring was his zeal in the discharge of the duties of his high office, united with qualities of mind and heart which endeared him to the clergy of his large diocese, as well as to all who were brought within the sphere of his influence, that it is justly observed by his biographer, Mr. Denison, that his episcopate " will * Bishop Heber's Life, by his Widow, ii. 134. 88 LINCOLN'S INN. be memorable while the Church of England stands."* Besides an "Account of the Life and Writings of the Rev. Tho. Rennell," and some Dis- courses and Sermons, Bishop Lonsdale published the Four Gospels, with annotations, in conjunction with the Ven. Archdeacon Hale. REV. JAMES S. M. ANDERSON, elected i2th January 1844. Mr. Anderson published several volumes of Sermons and Discourses, and the His- tory of the Church of England in the Colonies and Foreign Dependencies of the British Empire, in three volumes, 8vo. WILLIAM THOMSON, D.D. i6th April, 1858. Dr. Thomson was appointed Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol in December 1861, and in 1862 was promoted to the archiepiscopal see of York. The archbishop has published some of his Discourses ; and his " Outline of the Necessary Laws of Thought " is used as a text-book on logic in the University of Oxford. FREDERICK CHARLES COOK, Canon of Exeter, the present preacher, was appointed on the ijth Feb. 1862. Mr. Cook has published some Sermons preached at Lincoln's Inn, and is the editor of the Commentary on the Bible, with a revision of the * See "The Life of John Lonsdale, Bishop of Lichfield ; with some of his Writings. Edited by his son-in-law, Edmund Beckett Denison, LL.D., Q.C." 8vo, 1868. THE CHAPEL. PREACHERS. 89 authorised version by bishops and other clergy of the Anglican Church, now in the course of publi- cation. It should be mentioned here that, for the exercise of the sacred ministry in the Society, besides the Preacher, there is an Assistant Preacher, and a Chaplain, the latter of whom, in addition to his duties in the chapel on Sundays and certain other days, attends in the hall during term time, a seat being allotted to him at the first bar table. The office of Chaplain is the oldest ecclesiastical office in the Society, having certainly existed in the time of Henry VI., and probably from the time when the first chapel was dedicated in honour of St. Richard, Bishop of Chichester, whereas the first Preacher appears to have been appointed in 1581. In the chapel of Lincoln's Inn are also delivered the Warburtonian Lectures, founded by Bishop VVarburton in 1768, for the purpose of proving " the truth of Revealed Religion in general, and of the Christian in particular, from the completion of the Prophecies in the Old and New Testament which relate to the Christian Church, especially to the Apostasy of Papal Rome." These Lectures have been delivered annually, pursuant to the will of the founder, on the first Sunday after Michaelmas Term, and on the Sunday 93 LINCOLN'S INN. immediately before and after Hilary Term, but latterly on the Sundays after Michaelmas and Hilary Terms, and the first Sunday in March, sub- ject to occasional exceptions. An erroneous belief seems to have prevailed for some years that the ap- pointment of the Lecturer belonged to the Arch- bishop of Canterbury, but a recent investigation proved this belief to have been a mistake. The appointment is, in fact, vested in three trustees, and in the choice of the Lecturer preference is to be given to the Preacher of Lincoln's Inn.* The Lec- turer holds the office for four years, and is required by the endowment deed to publish his lectures. The first Lecturer was Bishop Hurd; and the following are the names of the succeeding Lec- turers who have published their Discourses : Dr. Samuel Halifax, Bishop of Exeter ; Dr. Lewis Bagot, Bishop of St. Asaph ; Dr. East Apthorpe ; Archdeacon Nares (who was assistant preacher of Lincoln's Inn) ; Dr. Edward Pearson ; Rev. Philip Allwood; Rev. John Davison ; Archdeacon Lyall ; Dr. Frederick Nolan ; Dr. Alexander M'Caul ; Archdeacon Harrison ; Rev. Frederick Denison Maurice ; Rev. E. B. Elliott, author of the " Horse Apocalypticae ;" Rev. William Goode, D.D., Dean * See pages 153-4 of Mr. Denison's Life of Bishop Lons- dale, before mentioned. NEW SQUARE. 91 of Ripon ; Rev. Benjamin Morgan Cowie, now Dean of Manchester. The following are the Lec- turers who have not published their Discourses : Dr. Nicholson ; Dr. Layard ; Rev. Thomas Ren- nell ; Rev. M. Raymond ; Rev. Henry Venn Elliott ; Rev. Frederick Charles Cook. The present Lec- turer is the Rev. Hamilton Edward Gifford, D.D. NEW SQUARE. IT has been stated in some of the topographical accounts of London that the houses forming New Square, or Serle Court, were built upon an open space of ground southward of the ancient buildings of Lincoln's Inn known as Little Lincoln's Inn Fields, or Fickett's Fields (properly Fickett's Croft), thus distinguished from the larger area of Lincoln's Inn Fields ; and this ground is so named in the articles of agreement entered into between Mr. Serle and the Society of Lincoln's Inn in the year 1682. But by an inspection of the plan laid down in the map published by Mr. Parton in his Account of the Parish of St. Giles in the Fields, and in that of the Ordnance Survey of the Metropolis now in progress, on the scale of five feet to the mile, it appears that the ground originally formed part of the Coneygarth or Cotterell Garden. Fickett's 92 LINCOLN'S INN. Croft in these maps lies to the west of this spot, southward of Fickett's or Lincoln's Inn Fields, and comprises what is now the site of Portugal Street, King's College Hospital, &c.* The vacant space of ground in question, or a part of it, having been claimed by Henry Serle, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, certain agreements were entered into between this gentleman and the Society, under the terms of which Mr. Serle erected eleven houses of brick, each appropriated to suites of chambers, forming three sides of the area now named New Square, but originally Serle Court, the northern side being left open to the garden. The size of the area is about three hundred feet on its longer side, and about two hundred on the shorter. This square at the time of its erection was greatly * From these maps it appears that the site of the Old House of Blackfriars, afterwards the mansion of the Earl of Lincoln, was from the south end of the Stone Building (to the north of this was open ground) to the south end of Old Square, extending eastward to Chancery Lane ; while that of the Bishops of Chichester, including John Herlirum's Garden, extended from the end of Old Square to the south- east as far as the ground which is now named Chichester Rents. It may perhaps be not without interest to remember that an episcopal palace was built in this vicinity by Robert de Chesney, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1147, adjoining the site of the Old Temple in Holborn. This afterwards belonged to the Earls of Southampton, and was called Southampton House. NEW SQUARE. 93 admired. The houses are large and substantial, but there seems to have been little pretension to decoration in the architecture. At the south- eastern angle of the square, is an elliptical arched way opening upon Carey Street, enriched with an architrave and broken pediment. Above this are two shields, bearing the lion of the Earl of Lin- coln, and the arms of Henry Serle, Esq., with the date of 1697, and the initials of William Dobyns, Esq. Lower down are the initials of Nathaniel Gooding Clarke, Esq., 1818, Treasurer when some repairs were executed, and over the arch those of C. T. Swanston, Esq., 1848, Treasurer when the recent alterations and improvements were made. In the centre of New Square was formerly a Corinthian column on which was raised a vertical sun-dial ; and at the base of the shaft, four jets cfeau arose from infant Tritons holding shells. The open space was inclosed by railings in the year 1845, and planted in compartments with trees and shrubs, having in the middle a basin for an intended fountain.* * It may be well to preserve here the following in- scriptions on the walls of houses in the New Square. The first is on a stone tablet in the east wall of No. n : Solum super quod haec structura erigitur, ab australi parte hujus saxi 54 pedes cum pollice septentrionem versus continens, pertinet ad Societatem hanc. Ac etiam tota terrae portio ab hoc saxo orientem versus usque ad limitem veteris 94 LINCOLN'S INN. THE STONE BUILDING. THE Stone Building, so called from the material of which it is constructed, is at the north-eastern extremity of Lincoln's Inn, and presents an im- posing appearance from the garden. This is only part of a vast design, in 1780, for rebuilding the whole Inn, which fortunately was not persisted in. The drawings, still in the possession of the Society, are said to have been executed by Sir John Leach, Master of the Rolls, who was originally a pupil of the architect. Sir Robert Taylor, whose design here appears to the greatest advantage, had previously acquired reputation by his additions to the Bank of England, with the same intention of rebuilding the whole edifice, but both his designs were finally abandoned. structures horto culinari proximum. Above the inscription are the initials of the Treasurer, Henry Long, Esq., with the date of 1691, and the lion of the arms of Lincoln's Inn in the left hand corner. On the north wall of the same house is the inscription : " This Terrace Walk was finished and compleated in the year of our Lord 1694. Ed- ward Byde, Esq., Treasurer." The third inscription is on a stone tablet in the north wall of No. i, and is as follows: "This wall is built upon the ground of Lincoln's Inn. No windows are to be broken out without leave." Above are the initials of John Greene, Esq., Treasurer, with the lion in the left hand corner, and beneath is the date of 1692. THE STONE BUILDING. 95 " By keeping out of view all consideration of the impropriety of placing Corinthian architecture, in stone, in such immediate connection with the early picturesque gables of the adjacent houses, which were only of brick, this building has been highly praised for its elegance and simplicity. Much of this commendation is owing to its extent of fa$ade and to the Portland stone used in its erection, combined with the advantage of a beautiful situation unequalled at that time in London. Having been left for above sixty years in an unfinished state, it was completed in 1845 by Mr. Hardwick, who in the southern wing followed the original design ; and the two wings, the only attempt at relief to the length of facade, conform with each other. They are enriched with a Corinthian hexa- style, with pilasters of the same order at the angles, which preserve the unity of the composition better perhaps than the Greek antae now more generally used. In these, and in the entablature, here sur- mounted by a pediment, the details are executed with much correctness. The entrances to the apartments are all on the eastern front, and the windows are plain openings, without a finishing ornament. A rustic arcade on the ground floor, and a parapet with balustrade hardly compensate for the want of some efficient breaks in its length ; and the whole front, even now, materially as it has 96 LINCOLN'S INN. been improved by completion, is still somewhat tame in character. The Library of the Society was in the northern- most wing, occupying several rooms on the ground floor, previously to its removal in 1845. As an improvement of this part of Lincoln's Inn, the Society, in the year 1848, caused the erection of stone piers and handsome iron gates, with a porter's lodge, forming the northern entrance from Chancery Lane. Over the gates are the arms of the Society, and on the lodge the initials of Clement Tudway Swanston, Esq., Treasurer. THE GARDENS. THE Gardens of Lincoln's Inn were famous of old time, but have been greatly curtailed by the erection of the New Hall and Library, before which the venerable trees have fallen, and " the walks under the elms " celebrated by Ben Jonson, to which Isaac Bickerstaff delighted to resort, and indulge in quiet meditation, have disappeared. Enough, however, even now remains to give a very cheerful aspect to the surrounding buildings ; and some compensation has been made by the planting of the area of New Square with trees and shrubs. In i and 2 Philip and Mary, the walk under the THE GARDENS. 97 trees in the Coneygarth * or Cottrell Garden was made, and in 15 Car. II. A.D. 1663 the garden was enlarged, a terrace-walk made on the west side, and the wall raised higher towards Lincoln's Inn Fields. In the passage before cited (p. 68) from Mr. Pepys' Diary, 2yth June 1663, mention is made of this enlargement of the Garden. In the erection of the garden-wall, probably on that part which separated the garden from Chancery Lane, which has since been displaced by other buildings, it is said Ben Jonson was employed in the early part of his life, assisting his father-in-law in his business, and working, as Fuller imagines, with a trowel in his hand, and a book in his pocket. The play of " Every Man out of his Humour" is dedicated by Ben Jonson to " the noblest nurseries of humanity and liberty, the Inns of Court." At the south end of the gardens, memorial gates were erected in 1872 by subscription of the Inns of Court Rifle Volunteers, in honour of the late Colonel Brewster (son of the ex- Lord Chancellor of * The name of Coneygarth was derived from the quantity of rabbits found here, and by various ordinances of the Society in the reigns of Edw. IV. Hen. VII. and Hen. VIII. penalties were imposed on the students hunting them with bows and arrows or darts. It is said that this garden had been given to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem in the year 1186 by William Cotterell. See Parton's Account of St. Giles in the Fields, p. 181. 410, 1822. G 98 LINCOLN'S INN. Ireland), who had been the commander of that corps. They were designed in Belgium, and consist of a large central gate and two similar side ones ; the fabric is light and elegant, and the screen-work represents memorial flowers. On the top of the central gate are the colonel's arms, with his name and the date of 1863 ; and on each of the other gates is the monogram of the Inns of Court Volunteers. In the view of the remaining buildings, the visitor will scarcely have occasion to regret the failure of Sir Robert Taylor's grand project for the recon- struction of the whole Inn. Here the decided advantage of recurring to ancient models has not been overlooked, and the effect of good taste is abundantly apparent in the result. The four Inns of Court were once pleasantly characterised in the following distich : Gray's Inn for walks, Lincoln's Inn for wall, The Inner Temple for a garden, and the Middle for a hall. But it will now doubtless be admitted that the architecture of Lincoln's Inn is deserving of notice for something beyond its wall ; and in the splendour of its noble hall is enabled not merely to vie with, but to surpass the Middle Temple. The New Hall, Library, and Council Rooms must now be regarded as the principal front of the Inn, and have obtained perhaps the most felicitous site for architectural effect which London affords. CHAPTER III. THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. T the commencement of the year 1843, the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn having determined upon the erection of a new Hall and Library on a scale commensurate with the requirements of the age, adopted the masterly designs submitted to them by Mr. Hardwick, an architect who had given evidence of talents of a superior order in the erection of the noble Doric propylseum at the Railway Terminus in Euston Square,* Goldsmiths' Hall, and other edifices. By the skill of this gentleman, combined with the munificence of the Benchers, a magnificent struc- ture has arisen within the precincts of Lincoln's * Since that time at the same terminus has been erected, from Mr. Hardwick's designs, the magnificent hall, or vestibule, one hundred and thirty feet in length, sixty-two feet in width, and sixty-four in height, with decorations of corresponding grandeur. ioo LINCOLN'S I NX. Inn, which forms one of the chief ornaments of the metropolis, and the style of which is in accordance with the venerable associations belonging to the early history of the Society, and the character of the more ancient buildings of the Inn. The foundation stone of the new building was laid on the 2Oth of April 1843, by the Right Hon. Sir J. L. Knight Bruce, Vice-Chancellor, then Trea- surer of the Society. On this occasion the Benchers, with the dignitaries who attended as visitors to witness the ceremony, formed a procession, which consisted of the Lord Chancellor (Lord Lyndhurst); Sir J. L. Knight Bruce,Vice-Chancellor ; the Bishop of Durham (Dr. Maltby, formerly Preacher to the Society) Archdeacon Lonsdale (afterwards Bishop of Lichfield, at that time Preacher) ; the Vice- Chancellor of England (Sir Lancelot Shadwell) ; Vice-Chancellor Sir James Wigram ; some of the Judges ; a large body of Benchers ; the Rev. Charles Browne Dalton, the chaplain ; Mr. Hard- wick, the architect ; Mr. Baker, the contractor for the works, &c. At the soutnern extremity of the garden, where a great number of barristers and students had assembled, the Treasurer took his position at the head of the stone prepared for the foundation, and briefly addressed -the visitors, observing that the Benchers, finding that further accommodation was THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 101 necessary, in consequence of the increasing number of their members and the continued additions made to their collection of books, and with a view to supply these wants, and at the same time to have due regard to the associations connected with the older structures, determined to preserve these buildings and to erect a new Hall and Library. After this address, the chaplain offered a prefa- tory prayer. A glass box was then deposited in the stone, containing specimens of the current coins of the realm, over which was laid a brass plate with the following inscription in old English characters : Stet lapis arboribus nudo defixus in horto Fundamen pulchrse tempus in omne domiis Aula vetus lites et legum senigmata servet Ipsa nova exorior nobilitanda coquo. xii Cal. Mail MDCCCXLIII. Mr. Hardwick then presented to the Treasurer a silver trowel, on which the following words were inscribed : Hac trulla usus vir amplissimus J. L. Knight Bruce, Hospitii Lincolniensis Thesaurarius Novze Auloe fundamentum jecit xii Cal. Mali. MDCCCXLIII.* Having laid the stone, the Treasurer congratu- * The inscriptions were written by the Vice-Chancellor of England. 102 LINCOLN'S INN. lated the Benchers and the Society on the presence of the eminent persons who had honoured this interesting ceremonial, and expressed his earnest hope that the same good feeling and good fellow- ship which had characterised the old hall would reign in the new. In conclusion, he requested Archdeacon Lonsdale to implore on their labours a blessing from above, without which no human efforts can ever hope to prosper. The archdeacon having offered an impressive prayer, the ceremony was concluded by a benediction, delivered by the Bishop of Durham. The new building, which claims attention not less for its architectural beauty than for its magni- tude, was completed within the short space of two years and a half from the foundation.* Standing on an elevated terrace which affords a spacious promenade of nearly fifty feet in width, the edifice is so happily situated as to form one of the most conspicuously placed architectural objects in the metropolis, one that shows itself advantageously * Mr. George Baker, of Lambeth, was the contractor for the work, and of the effective and conscientious manner in which this work was carried out, evidence has lately been given by the labour undergone by the workmen in the dis- jointment of the masonry and brickwork necessary for the extension of the eastern end of the Library, when a solidity of construction was manifested that might be worthily com- pared with that of the best ancient edifices. THE NEW HALL. 103 from every point of view. The accessories of foliage and vegetation by which it is surrounded, harmonise and contrast admirably with the building, pre- senting an agreeable scene of very picturesque character. In the pages next ensuing the reader is invited to begin his survey of the exterior of the edifice from the entrance gate on the south-west from Lincoln's Inn Fields, proceeding eastward, and then turning round along the eastern front by the north to the western front of the building; and afterwards to begin the view of the interior by the principal entrance to the Hall in the southern tower. Southward of the line of building is an entrance gate, with a porter's lodge adjoining. The arch, within a square arrangement of mouldings and projecting dripstone, has its spandrels enriched, and is flanked by turrets square at the base, but terminated octagonally, with crocketted cupolas. These turrets are so- constructed as to allow the massive oaken gates to recede within them. Over the arch, and between the turrets is an embattled parapet, having in the centre a panel containing a shield charged with the arms now used by the Society of Lincoln's Inn ;* and on the * These arms are : Azure, fifteen fers-de-moline, or ; on io4 LINCOLN'S INN. eastern side of the arch are the arms of Sir Francis Simpkinson. The Lodge is on the right of the entrance, and on each side is a postern. Over the northern postern, on the west side, is sculptured a lion holding a shield charged with the milrine ; and on the west side an eagle, the crest of Sir Francis Simpkinson. Over the gable are the arms of Philip Hardwick, Esq., the architect. This entrance, like the whole range of building, is of brick, with stone dressings. All the stone used in the exterior enrichments, which are numerous, was quarried at Anston, in Yorkshire ; but for the interior work, Caen stone was pre- ferred. The gate from Lincoln's Inn Fields opens upon the south front of the hall, towards New Square, which exhibits the lofty gable of its roof rising between two very fine large square towers of three stories in height, with embattled parapet. Beneath this parapet is an enriched panelled course, containing small shields in the compartments, charged with lions and milrines alternately, the badges or ensigns of the Society, derived from the figures in their armorial bearings. Between the massive towers is the great window of the Hall, the design of which is very beautiful a canton of the second, a lion rampant, purpure ; as blazoned by Guillim. THE NEW HALL. 105 and original. The taste and ability displayed in its construction have made this large feature of the front perfectly equal, if not superior to any of the grand windows of the sixteenth century. The seven lights of which it consists are divided by transoms ; and the space above, in the arched heading, is filled with elegantly arranged mullions, in the tracery of which small quatrefoils are employed with unusual advantage. Above the apex of the great gable of the Hall is a large highly ornamented niche, containing a statue of her Majesty, Queen Victoria, the work of Mr. John Thomas, celebrated for his numerous productions in the decorative parts of the new Houses of Parliament. In this, the southern elevation of the Hall, the chimney shafts, all of moulded bricks of various ornamental patterns, give the most pleasing variety of outline to the fabric, and, rising above the battle- ments of the towers, produce a very fine effect. The brickwork is not without its decoration, the red bricks here, as throughout the building, being intersected by .dark-coloured bricks, forming a chequered pattern.* The base of the building is * In the gable formed of these dark-coloured bricks, are the letters P. H. the initials of the architect with the date of the foundation, 1843. io6 LINCOLN'S INN. entirely of stone, as well as the wall of the espla- nade extending along the eastern front. This noble and spacious Hall consists of six bays, or divisions formed by buttresses, beyond the towers, including the oriel. On the south-east the tower affords an entrance to the building, having an ascent to the porch on this side by a double flight of granite steps, well planned for convenience, and very picturesque in their arrange- ment. The arch of entrance, designed in the style which pervades the whole edifice, is four-centred, with square moulded heading, the spandrels being ornamented with quatrefoils ; and in the jambs are small shafts. Over the porch are the arms of the Society in a panel, above which is a clock, novel in its design, under a canopy of delicate workmanship. Five of the bays of the Hall con- tain the large windows, and beneath these are the smaller windows of the offices. The sixth and last bay is filled by the stately projecting oriel, a peculiar feature of the ancient dining-halls. The windows of the Hall are of four lights each, transomed and square-headed, each light arched, without cusps. Immediately above the windows is a string-course, enriched by grotesque and foliated ornaments, and above this is an embattled parapet. The stone coping, on the top of the merlons of the battlement, being carried over the embrasures, THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 107 gives it an air of embellishment, aided by the buttresses, which, rising above the parapet, termi- nate in small octagonal pinnacles. The large oriel in the last bay or division of the hall, is square in its projection, with buttresses at the angles. Its window is of five lights on the front, with two transoms, and one light on the return. The lofty roof of the Hall, of high pitch, was originally covered with lead, but slate has since been substituted, in consequence of the decay of the lead from chemical causes, and from the centre of the ridge rises an octagonal louvre, formed of wood, of two stages in height ; the windows are square-headed, mullioned, and transomed ; and at every angle are pinnacles bearing small banners. The cupola by which it is surmounted is ribbed with crocketted mouldings, ornamented with gur- goyles, and terminated by a large weather-vane. At the termination of the Hall, on the northernmost gable of the roof, is a clustered group of ornamental chimney-shafts, one of the principal characteristics of the architecture of the sixteenth century, and here employed with the happiest effect. Between the Hall and the Library, which are the most prominent features of the pile, the line of building is lower, but is elevated in the centre by a large octagonal embattled lantern, the windows of which give light to the noble corridor communi- io8 LINCOLN'S INN. eating with the grand apartments, and opening upon the council-room on the east, and the drawing-room on the west. On either side of this intermediate building is a large projecting oriel window, of six lights, transomed, with buttresses at the angles ; these are the windows of the council-room and drawing-room. The Library, in consequence of the want of space for the accommodation of books, owing to the rapid increase since the erection of the building in 1845, has just received an addition of fifty-one feet to its length. The general design of the enlarge- ment and alterations having been made by E. B. Denison, Esq., one of the Benchers, the execution of the work was entrusted to Sir Gilbert Scott,* by whom the extension has been carried out in the same style of architecture as the original building, with the exception that windows are placed on the southern side of this extension ; and as there had been heretofore a deficiency of light in the apart- ment, plain cathedral glass has been substituted on the northern side for the beryl glazing originally adopted, which has now been transposed to the south side. * The building was begun in August 1871, by the con- tractors, Messrs. Jackson and Shaw ; but, owing to several unforeseen causes, the completion has been delayed until May 1873. THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 109 Beneath this extended portion of the Library new offices have been built, and a spacious lecture and class-room has been provided for the students ; and an open passage, affording a short commu- nication through the building, to avoid a circuit round the extended library. On the eastern front of the Hall, close against the Library, is a large porch twenty-four feet long internally, reached by a double flight of granite steps, which forms the entrance to the Benchers' council-rooms, and was until lately the only approach to the Library. Over the archway of the porch is a panel containing the arms of William Fuller Boteler, Esq., Master of the Library at the time of its erection. The gable over the doorway also bears the lion of the Earl of Lincoln holding a banner. The pleasing view of the terrace originally presented to the eye on ascending the flight of steps, is now interrupted towards the north by the extension of the build- ing eastward, at the extremity of which is the oriel of the Library, of elaborate design, and pro- ducing a very beautiful effect. Its projection is semi-octagonal, with a stone roof rising high, and seen above its parapet. The principal division of the window is of four lights, tran- somed, with arched heads, cusped, and spandrels enriched ; the splayed sides have only one light i to LINCOLN'S INN. each.* In the ornamental parapet above the win- dow the buttresses at the angles enter into the composition, and terminate in octagonal pinnacles with crocketted caps. At the apex of the great gable of the roof of the Library is a circular shaft, surmounted by an heraldic animal supporting a staff and banner. At the south-eastern angle a turret has been built, containing a spiral staircase leading from the gar- den up to the Library, and affording an approach to the new lecture-room beneath it, thus relieving the main building from much of the traffic inci- dental to the use of the Library. This structure is octagonal in form, three stories in height, and in the first and second stories windows are placed in alternate faces of the octagon to give light to the staircase within. The embellished string-course which runs above the windows of the Library is continued round the second story, with gurgoyles at the angles. The third story has windows with richly moulded tracery, divided by long narrow transoms, forming a kind of lantern story. Im- mediately above the heads of these windows is a handsome carved cornice, with moulded tracery and corbels, surmounted by a richly traced parapet, * During the progress of the extension, the whole of this fine window was taken down with great care, stone by stone, and re-erected without alteration fifty feet onward. THE NEW HALL. 1 1 1 canopied and embattled, finished with much ex- quisite detail. The turret is roofed in by a spire, covered with lead, panelled by rolls into chequered work, surmounted by a gilt vane. The northern front of the Library, not less deserving of notice than the Hall, being perhaps richer in external embellishment, and forming an equally conspicuous feature in the magnificent group of buildings, is divided by buttresses into eight large bays. These buttresses are terminated by pillars, surmounted by heraldic animals. The ample windows have the lights in two stages separated by stone compartments, each boldly sculptured with richly designed heraldic achievements of King Charles II. ; James, Duke of York, K.G. ; Queen Victoria ; Prince Albert, K.G. all of whom have honoured the Society as visitors ; Albert Edward, Prince of Wales ; the Earl of Mansfield ; Lord Lyndhurst ; and the Earl of Hardwicke. On the southern side of the building, in a corresponding position between the lights of the windows, are the achievements of the Chancellors, Earl Cowper, Earl Camden, and Lord Brougham. At the north- western angle of this front is an octagonal turret, four stories in height, having small openings to give light to a staircase within ; and abutting on the Library is a projecting building, containing some of the steward's apartments. To the south of the ii2 LINCOLN'S INN. oriel is a smaller turret, also containing a staircase from the floor of the Library to the upper gallery. The western front of the range of building, towards Lincoln's Inn Fields, differs but little in architectural arrangement from the opposite side towards the garden, the main difference being the absence of the porches and doors. The fine oriel of the library on this front is more enriched, chiefly by- variations in the battlements and in the panelling of the parapet over it. Here, however, the grouping of the architecture and the clustered chimneys have the best effect, and the advantage of their introduc- tion as prominent objects is decidedly apparent. On this side the building is separated from Lincoln's Inn Fields by a low brick wall, with stone coping ; and over a small entrance gate near the north front of the Library are the arms of Clement Tudway Swanston, Esq., Master of the Walks at the time of the erection. The porch of the principal entrance to the Hall on the eastern side of the southern tower, opens upon a wide corridor, separated from the stately Hall by an open-worked and glazed screen, in the centre of which is the doorway. This corridor is arranged precisely on the ancient plan, continued in the college halls of the Universities, a disposition combining grandeur with [convenience, and well adapted to the purposes of a large society. At the THE NEW HALL. 113 opposite extremity of the corridor is the buttery- hatch, and a flight of stairs communicating with the kitchen and other offices. The magnificent dimensions of the Hall are of themselves sufficient to excite admiration, while in architectural beauty the room will bear comparison with the most admired examples.* The screen * A comparison of the dimensions of some of the largest existing halls may here perhaps be not without interest. Length. Width. Height, feet. feet feet. Lincoln's Inn . . . 120 45 62 Inner Temple ... 92 40 56 Middle Temple . . ' . 100 42 47 Gray's Inn . .' .--.. 70 35 47 Westminster Hall . . 258 66 no Guildhall, London . . 153 48 55 Christ's Hospital . . . 187 51 47 Lambeth Palace . . . 93 38 Freemasons' Hall ... 96 & 37 Euston Square Terminus . 130 62 64 Hampton Court . . . 106 40 45 Eltham Palace . . ' . 101 36 54 Christ Church, Oxford . . 115 40 50 Trinity Hall, Cambridge . 102 43 50 New Hall, Boreham, Essex . 90 50 40 Hatfield Hall, Durham . 180 50 St. George's Hall, Liverpool . 170 74 82 Town Hall, Birmingham . 140 65 65 Hall in the Baths of Diocletian, now the Church of S. Maria degli Angeli, Rome . 308 74 84 Palazzo Vecchio, Florence . 184 73 70 Palazzo della Ragione, Padua 240 80 80 Palazzo della Ragione, Vicenza 169 69 Palazzo del Podesta, Bologna 170 46 ii4 LINCOLN'S INN. of this hall, a design of extreme richness, and one of its most beautiful features, is of carved oak, in five divisions, comprising a central doorway, and two compartments on each side, formed of arches and tracery, with the interstices glazed. The upper part of the screen, above the line of the height of the corridor, is an open arcade the front of a gallery ; the buttresses rising from the base of the screen between the arches of the gallery, terminate in pedestals, supporting six figures of the size of life in dignified attitudes, representing eminent members of the Society. These figures, in high canopied niches, are of graceful proportion and elegant in detail, and were designed and executed by Mr. John Thomas, who has shown much taste and perception of propriety in the management of the various costumes. The persons thus represented are : Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, to whom the Library is indebted for a most valuable collection of legal manuscripts ; John Tillotson, D.D., Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the Preachers of Lincoln's Inn ; William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench ; Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke, Lord High Chancellor of England ; William Warburton, D.D., Bishop of Gloucester, one of the Preachers, and founder of the Warburtonian Lectures on Prophecy, delivered THE NEW HALL. 1 1 5 in Lincoln's Inn Chapel ; Sir William Grant, Master of the Rolls. The whole of this screen, with its ornaments, is finished with scrupulous attention. The sides of the hall are panelled with oak, in small compartments, to the height of about twelve feet from the floor ; the panelling is surmounted by a cornice, enriched with gilding and colours. Five large stained glass windows on either side contain in the upper lights above the transoms, the arms, crests, and mottoes of distinguished members of the Society, chronologically arranged, from the year 1450 to 1843 ; and the lower divisions of each window are diapered with the letters L. I., the latter formed by the milrine,part of the armorial bearings of the Inn. Above the windows, on the summit of the walls, is a cornice, in which colour and gilding are employed with success on the mouldings and carved ornaments. In the south window are now placed the royal arms designed by Mr. Willement, which have been removed from the Library ; and the other divisions of the window are diapered with the letter L and the milrine. The splendid roof of the hall is designed with so much artistic feeling that it may vie with any of the examples of ancient open timber roofs now remaining. The form is simple, and the pitch of considerable height. Its length is divided into ii6 LNCOLN'S INN. seven bays, or severeys. Each bay is divided by a vast arch, springing from stone corbels on the walls, having within it another arch, supported by two spandrels or segments of arches, exhibiting the principle of the construction of the fine roof in Westminster Hall, but admitting in its design various combinations in regard to the divisions and tracery by which the main timbers are relieved. The various effects of this beautiful timber-framed roof can only be appreciated by viewing it from different points in the room. The pendants are enriched with gilding and colour. The intricate and skilful disposition of the numerous timbers of this pendant roof, in which lightness, strength, and ornament are combined, is perhaps best appre- ciated from the dais or upper end of the hall, where the whole length of the roof, showing the octagonal lantern, is presented in one view ; and the great southern window, with its beautiful and intricate tracery, is seen over the screen and gallery. On the northern wall, above the panelling of the dais, is a noble fresco painting by Mr. George Frederick Watts, executed in 1859. The work represents an imaginary assemblage of the great early lawgivers of various nations, from Moses down to Edward I., and has been entitled " The School of Legislation," as bearing some analogy to Raphael's fresco of the " School of Athens" in the THE NEW HALL. 117 Vatican. The dimensions are 45 feet in width, and 40 feet in height in the centre.* Along the dais, on either side of the folding doors, are the busts, in marble, of Lord Brougham, Lord Denman, and Lord- Lyndhurst ; the two first sup- ported on finely carved brackets of wood, the latter on a temporary pedestal. The bust of Lord Brougham, executed by Behnes, was presented by his lord- ship's brother and successor in the peerage ; that of Denman, by Jones, was presented by the Hon. G. Denman ; and that of Lyndhurst, by Morton Edwards, was executed at the expense of the Society. * " Not only by its dimensions, but by its aim and the treatment of its subject, this fresco by Mr. G. F. Watts, the designer of the Caractacus, crowned at the first Westminster Hall competition, fairly merits the designation of a great work. . . . This fresco is conspicuously distinguished from all the mural decorations hitherto executed in this country by its architectural character. . . . Mr. Watts's fresco seems to fit into and form part of the hall it adorns. . . . But the great and most gratifying characteristic of Mr. Watts's work is its intellectual elevation. In the election and disposition of his personages, the painter has manifested a comprehen- sive conception of a noble subject, just as much as he has given evidence of the finest qualities as a designer in his execution of the figures. We are confident that we are only pronouncing a judg- ment which will be endorsed by all competent and unpreju- diced judges, when we congratulate the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn on the possession of a work which is worthy the historic renown of their body, and the noblest purposes of the building which contains it." From " THE TIMES " of Dec. 28th, 1859. n8 LINCOLN'S INN. On the panelling of the dais are the full heraldic achievements, removed from the old hall, of King Charles II., James, Duke of York, Prince Rupert, the Earl of Manchester, the Earl of Bath, Lord Henry Howard, and Lord Newport, with the date of February 29th, 1671. Beneath these are the armorial bearings of legal dignitaries who have been members of the Society, and these are con- tinued, together with the arms of bishops who have held the office of Preacher, along the panels on either side of the hall, ranged in chronological series from 1750 to the present time. On either side of the dais is a large and splendid oriel, about 18 feet in width, having a stone seat round it, and containing side-boards for the use of the upper table. The other tables ranged in grada- tion, two cross-wise, and five along the hall, are for the barristers and students, who dine here every day during Term. The average number who dine on one day is two hundred, and of those who dine on one day or the other during the Term, " keeping commons," is about five hundred. The western oriel window contains, in the upper lights, the armorial bearings of Ralph Neville, Bishop of Chi- chester, Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, William de Haverhyll, treasurer to King Henry III., Edward Sulyard, Esq., by whom the inheritance of the premises of Lincoln's Inn was transferred to the THE NEW HALL. 119 Society in 1580 ; and those of Lincoln's Inn, beneath which is the motto : " Longa Possessio est Pacis Jus."* In the middle of the window are the arms of King Charles II., within the garter, and sur- mounted by the crown, with the supporters and motto ; also the arms of James, Duke of York, and of Prince Rupert. On either side the quarrels of the whole window are diapered, like the other windows of the hall, with the milrine and the letter L. The oriel window on the eastern side contains all the stained glass removed from the old hall, consisting of the armorial insignia of noblemen, legal dignitaries, &c. All the heraldic decorations, with the exception of the eastern oriel, are the work of Mr. \Villement, by whom the windows of the Temple Church, St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and the Hall at Hampton Court, were likewise designed. From Hilary Term 1853 to the present time, lectures have been delivered in this hall during each educational Term to the students of the four Inns of Court ; and the annual oration of the Tancred's Students t is also delivered here in Hilary Term. * The introduction of the arms of the early occupiers of the ground on which Lincoln's Inn is built, and the adoption of the motto, were suggested by R. W. E. Forster, Esq., to whom the Society is indebted for the list of names from which the selection was made of the members whose armorial bearings are emblazoned in the other windows of the hall. t See page 60, ante. 120 LINCOLN'S INN. The apartment is warmed, as is also the Library, by pipes containing hot water, carried beneath iron gratings along the floor. Another apartment, forming an essential appen- dage to all collegiate establishments, and without which even the splendid hall would be only suited for the imaginary feast of the Barmecide, is' the Kitchen. This spacious and lofty room is forty-five feet square, and twenty feet high ; the ceiling is vaulted, and supported on massive pillars and bold arches. Besides the vast fire-place, one of the largest in England, the kitchen is well furnished with stoves, and all necessary appliances for the exercise of the culinary art. There is also a vast range of apartments in the basement story, connected with the kitchen and other offices, and cellars capable of holding upwards of a hundred pipes of wine. Above these again are butlers' pantries, &c., and a spacious apartment originally designed as a. reading-room. From the dais of the Hall, large folding-doors of oak open into the spacious vestibule communi- cating with the Library and other apartments. The effect of this vestibule is more particularly striking if entered by way of the north-eastern porch, in which case the approach being made through another corridor it discloses itself unex- pectedly to the view of the visitor. The dimensions THE NEW HALL. 121 are fifty-eight feet in length by twenty-two in width. In the centre it takes an octagonal form, and the arches are supported by clustered pillars, from which spring the ribs of the vaulting that forms the groined roof of the lantern, enriched with bosses at the intersections of the ribs. At the south-west angle is an open recess or bay, lighted by a lofty window, of three lights, transomed, with arched heads and cusps, and forming the upper part of a staircase leading to the offices in the basement. The newel forms a pedestal to the parapet of the staircase, which is solid ; the hand-rail is cut out of the wall. Here are emblazoned, in stained glass, the arms of the Rt. Hon. Sir James Lewis Knight Bruce, William Fuller Boteler, Esq., and Sir John Augustus Francis Simpkinson, the Treasurers of 1843, 1844, and 1845, during the time of the building of the hall. Over the door of the libra- rian's room is a fine bust of Cicero,* bequeathed, * On a small marble pedestal beneath the bust is the following inscription : Sed vigilat consul, vexillaque vestra coercet. Municipals Eques galeatum ponit ubique . . Presidium attonitis, et in omni gente laborat. Tantum igitur, muros intra, toga contulit illi Nominis et tituli, quantum non Leucade, quantum Thessaliae campis, Octavius abstulit udo Csedibus assiduis gladio : sed Roma parentem, Roma patrem patrioe Ciceronem libera dixit. JUVENAL, Sat. VIII. 122 LINCOLN'S INN. together with a large collection of books, several pictures, &c., in 1785, by John Coxe, Esq., one of the Benchers of the Society. On the eastern side of the vestibule is the Council Chamber, and opposite to it on the western side, the Drawing-room. These rooms, though without much decoration, are admired for their noble pro- portions. The dimensions of each room are thirty- two feet by twenty-four, and twenty-one feet in height. A large square-headed oriel window is the principal feature in each, and the lower parts of the spacious lights are filled with plate glass, an agreeable variation from the ancient mode of glazing with small quarrels of glass, generally adopted throughout the building. The chimney- pieces, of Caen stone, are large, and of handsome design ; that in the Drawing-room projects into the apartment, having panels sunk, with prominent shields, and small octagonal pillars at the angles, supporting upright heraldic animals, executed in a very spirited manner. The rooms are panelled in small compartments, to the height of about ten feet. The ceilings are flat, ribbed, and panelled, with bosses at the intersections ; they are formed of deal, stained and varnished. The large oriel of the Drawing-room affords a pleasing view of the gardens of Lincoln's Inn Fields, laid out with much taste, where flourishing plantations, with a profusion of DRAWING-ROOM AND COUNCIL CHAMBER. 123 gay flowering shrubs, give to the room an aspect cheerful beyond expectation in the heart of a crowded city. On the walls of the Drawing-room are the following portraits of legal dignitaries and eminent members of the Society : JOHN GLANVILLE, Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, 1598. A three-quarter. SIR JOHN GLANVILLE, Speaker of the House of Commons, 1640. A three-quarter. SIR MATTHEW HALE, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, 1671. A three-quarter, by M. Wright. Acquired by the Society at the same time with his collection of manuscripts. SIR RICHARD RAINSFORD, Lord Chief Justice, K.B. 1676. ^Etat. 74. A three-quarter, painted by Gerard Soest. Bequeathed to the Society by Richard Buckley, Esq., one of the Masters of the Bench, in 1718. The Rt. Hon. EARL BATHURST, Lord High Chancellor of England, 1771. A full-length, by Sir N. Dance. Presented by the late body of Sworn Clerks in Chancery, 1848. SIR JOHN SKYNNER, Lord Chief Baron, 1777. A three-quarter, by Gainsborough. The Rt. Hon. HENRY ADDINGTON, Speaker of the House of Commons. Presented by John Hodg- son, Esq., one of the Masters of the Bench, 1848. 124 LINCOLN'S INN. SIR WILLIAM GRANT, Master of the Rolls. A three-quarter, by Harlow. Presented by Francis Vesey, and Edward V. Utterson, Esqrs. FRANCIS HARGRAVE, one of the Masters of the Bench, Treasurer in 1813. A half-length, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. SIR ALEXANDER THOMSON, Baron of the Ex- chequer 1787, Lord Chief Baron 1814. A three- quarter, by Opie. The Rt. Hon. SIR LANCELOT SHADWELL, Vice- Chancellor of England, 1827-1850. A three-quarter, painted by Phillips, R.A.. 1844. Presented by his family in 1854. The Rt. Hon. W. PITT. A three-quarter, by Gainsborough. Presented in 1868 by Lady Turner, in accordance with the wish and intention expressed by Lord Justice Sir George James Turner. Here are likewise two half-length portraits, in oval frames, attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller; one of them resembling Lord Somers, the other a lady unknown. There is also in this room a large drawing in water-colours by Joseph Nash, of the Interior of the Hall, as at the ceremony of inauguration. To the adornments of this room there has been lately added a large picture of MILO OF CROTONA, by Giorgione, presented by Robert P. Roupell, Esq., one of the Benchers of the Society, DRAWING-ROOM AND COUNCIL CHAMBER. 125 in 1870. The dimensions are about six feet in height, by seven in breadth.* The moment chosen by the painter for his subject is that when the athlete, with his hands imprisoned by the rebound of the trunk of the tree which his strength had riven asunder, is attacked by the lion. " He, who of old would rend the oak, Dream'd not of the rebound ; Chain'd by the trunk he vainly broke Alone how look'd he round? He fell, the forest- prowlers' prey." BYRON. In the Council-room are the following por- traits : SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, with this inscription : Sir John Franklin, of Mavourn, in the county of Bedford, Knight, one of the Masters in ordinary of the * This picture was formerly in the Orleans Gallery, the principal part of which collection came to this country after the first French revolution, and was sold by Mr. Christie by public auction early in the present century, when the picture was bought by Lord Darnley. Lord Darnley sold it by auction at Christie's a few years ago, and it was bought at that sale by Mr. Roupell, by whom it was presented to the Society of Lincoln's Inn. Mr. Roupell states that he had it carefully cleaned, and that it is now in finer condition than during the period of its possession by the Duke of Orleans. Extract from Mr. Roupell' s Letter, July jih, 1870. The rare engraving by Nicollet accompanied the picture ; the engraving is attributed traditionally to the hand of Giorgione himself. 126 LINCOLN'S INN. High Court of Chancery for the space of thirty-three years, obiit August the 7th, 1707, and lies interred in the parish church of Bonehurst, in the county of Bedford. The Rt. Hon. PHILIP YORKE, EARL OF HARD- WICKE, Lord High Chancellor of England, 1737. A three-quarter. Copy from a portrait by Ramsay. Presented by the Earl of Hardwicke in 1847. JOHN COXE, one of the Masters of the Bench, Treasurer in 1775. A three-quarter. EDWARD RUSSELL, Admiral, 1690. Bequeathed by F. A. Carrington, Esq., 1860. A three-quarter. The Rt. Hon. SIR DUDLEY RYDER, Knt., Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 1754-1757. Presented by his descendant, Dudley, second Earl of Harrowby. A full-length. There are also several copies from the old masters, as Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola ; Christ breaking bread with the disciples at Emmaus, after Titian ; &c. Besides these, there is a portrait of a lady with a guitar, by William Etty, R.A., pre- sented by the late Charles Purton Cooper, Esq., one of the Masters of the Bench. In the Drawing-room has been placed, in testi- mony of the regard and esteem in which he was held by his brethren of the Bench, a marble bust of the late Clement Tudway Swanston, Esq., executed by Evan Thomas, supported on a pedestal of polished granite, with the following inscription : THE LIBRARY. 127 Amicorum opera positum est marmor, faventibus Thesaurario caeterisque collegis suis, quos in hoc sodalitio Lincolniensi omnibus bonis officiis sibi devinxerat ; ut superesset ad posteros, cum memoria candidissimi animi et multiplicis doctrince, forma etiam et vultus tarn cari viri CLEMENTIS TUDWAY SWANSTON. A.D. MDCCCLVI. The walls both of the Council-room and Drawing- room are adorned with a very extensive and valu- able collection of engravings from portraits of legal dignitaries, eminent prelates, &c., from an early period, a great number of whom have been connected with the Society. At the north-eastern angle of the vestibule is the corridor of approach to the Library from the terrace in the garden. This is groined and arched in stone, and divided into an inner and outer porch by folding- doors, glazed.* The folding-doors of the Library are of oak, resembling those of the Hall, to which they are directly opposite. On entering, immediately in front of the doors, was seen till lately the rich stained glass window, containing the arms of Queen Victoria, which has been removed to the south * It should have been mentioned in the description of the exterior of the building that the approach to this entrance is through iron gates opening on a carriage-way into the garden. On the north side of these gates a porter's lodge was built in 1852, having the arms of Christopher Temple, Esq. , Treasurer, over the doorway, and the arms of Lin- coln's Inn on the sides. 128 LINCOLN'S INN. window of the Hall. This is one of the most beau- tiful heraldic compositions ever executed ; the brilliant colours, and the broad treatment of the design, make it one of the finest examples of this splendid mode of embellishment. This window, as well as the other armorial insignia now transposed to the windows on the south side of the room, was designed by Mr. Willement. This noble apartment, containing the valuable collection of Books belonging to the Society, is now one hundred and thirty-one feet in length from east to west, exclusive of the depth of the great oriels at the extremities, which are each about six feet more, and form three sides of an octagon ; their width is about seventeen feet. The breadth of the Library is forty feet, and its height forty-four feet. The roof, of open oak, differs in composition from that of the Hall, but is equally remarkable for skill and elegance in its design, which exhibits much originality. It is in eight divisions, formed by trusses with very large pendants, with a series of arches against the side walls, supported on stone corbels. The timbers are relieved by deep mouldings, and there is some carving both on the corbels and pendants ; the ceiling above the frame- work is in long panels, the ribs of which are moulded enrichments which show a judicious attention to the most ancient models. THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 129 The admiration excited by the lofty propor- tions of this room is heightened by the excellence of the plan of its arrangement, the whole of its internal decoration, and the size and bold projec- tion of the magnificent oriel windows with their enriched soffits, mouldings, and clustered pillar- shafts. In fact, it would be difficult to name a library that would not lose by comparison with this admirable specimen of architecture, though it is ex- ceeded by some collegiate libraries in dimensions.*' The recesses of the oriel windows are elevated above the level of the floor, and reach in height above thirty feet ; the ceilings are groined, having pendants on a small scale, and roses carved at the intersection of the ribs of the vaulting. These beautiful features of ancient architecture are enriched with heraldic insignia, each window displaying arms of the present Benchers of Lincoln's Inn. On the northern side the Library is lighted by eight large square-headed windows of three lights, arched, divided by a transom. The three windows on the southern side of the extension have also three lights, and contain three * The Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, is 200 feet in length, 42 feet in width, and 37 feet in height ; that of All Souls, Oxford, is 198 feet in length, 32 feet in width (51 in the central recess), and 40 feet in height. The length of the New Library at Guildhall is 100 feet, the width 65 feet, and the height 50 feet. I ijo LINCOLN'S INN. heraldic achievements in each light arms of some of the present Benchers.* The glass of these win- dows is worthy of notice, consisting of small circular panes termed beryl glazing, by the peculiar manu- facture of which a sparkling brilliancy is produced when the rays of the sun fall upon them.t The book-cases, of handsome design, in projecting piers brought out at right angles to the walls on each side, form separate recesses about ten feet square. To the upper shelves convenient access is afforded by light iron galleries, and above the book-cases is another gallery against each wall extending through the whole length of the room. Access to the upper galleries is afforded, by stone staircases at the west end of the room ; and to the lower galleries by four iron spiral staircases of light and elegant construction, one at each corner. To the eastern end of the south upper gallery access is also afforded by the staircase in the new turret ; and to the eastern end of the north upper gallery, by the construction of a staircase through one of the book-cases. At one end of the room is a lectern of oak, of appropriate design, on which is placed a copy of the printed Catalogue of the Books, mounted * The same arrangement of arms has been adopted in the hall of Trinity College, Cambridge. f Perhaps the best view of this fine room is obtained from either of the extremities of the upper gallery, where the line of view is quite unbroken. THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 131 on writing paper of folio size, with blank columns opposite to each printed page, so that all additions may be inserted in their proper order. The valu- able collections of manuscripts belonging to the Society, a considerable portion of which was bequeathed by Sir Matthew Hale, are deposited in two rooms opening from the upper gallery on the south side of the Library. On the completion of the buildings, in 1845, the ceremony of inauguration took place on the 3Oth of October in that year, being honoured by the pre- sence of her Majesty, Queen Victoria. A brief nar- rative of the ceremonial observed on this occasion, compared with the description of the entertainment given to K. Charles II., may serve to illustrate the difference of manners in the nineteenth century. On the appointed day, the Benchers and Barris- ters having assembled in the hall, the Queen, with H.R.H. Prince Albert, attended by her ladies in waiting, and the high officers of her household, arrived at the Inn about half-past one o'clock, with a military escort, and were received at the south- eastern entrance by the Treasurer, Benchers, and Cabinet Ministers. Her Majesty, amidst loud and hearty acclamations, proceeded up the central avenue of the hall to the Council-room, and thence to the Library, where she held a brief levee, the Benchers, four senior Barristers, four of the 132 LINCOLN'S INN. Students, and Mr. Hardwick, the architect, being severally presented to her, after which the following address was read by the Treasurer on his knee : " To THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. " The humble Address of the Treasurer and Masters of the Bench, and the Barristers and Fellows of the Society of Lincoln's Inn. " Most Gracious Sovereign, "We, your Majesty's faithful subjects, the Treasurer and Masters of the Bench, and the Barristers and Fellows of the Society of Lincoln's Inn, entreat your Majesty's permission humbly to testify the joy and gratitude inspired by your august presence. " The edifice, in which under such happy aus- pices we are for the first time assembled, is adorned with memorials of many servants of the Crown eminent for their talents, their learning, and their integrity. To the services, as recorded in history, of these our distinguished predecessors, we appeal in all humility for our justification in aspiring to receive your Majesty beneath this roof. " Two centuries have nearly passed away since the Inns of Court were honoured by the presence of the reigning Prince. We cannot, therefore, but feel deeply grateful for a mark so conspicuous of your THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 133 Majesty's condescension, and of your gracious regard for the profession of the law. " It is our earnest desire to deserve this proof of your Majesty's favour by a zealous execution of the trust reposed in us to guard and maintain the dignity of the Bar of England. " In our endeavours to this end we shall but follow in the course which it has been your Majesty's royal pleasure to pursue. Signally has your Ma- jesty fostered the independence of the Bar and the purity of the Bench, by distributing the honours which you have graciously bestowed on the profes- sion among the members of all parties in the state. " Permit us, also, most gracious Sovereign, to offer to your Majesty our sincere congratulations on the great amendments of the law which have been effected since your Majesty's accession to the throne throughout many portions of your vast empire. " The pure glory of these labours will be dear to your Majesty's royal heart, for it arises from the welfare of your subjects. " That your Majesty may long reign over a loyal, prosperous, and contented people is our devout and fervent prayer to Almighty God." To this address her Majesty was graciously pleased to return the following answer : " I receive with cordial satisfaction this dutiful address. 134 LINCOLN'S INN. " My beloved Consort and I have accepted with pleasure your invitation, for I recognise the services rendered to the Crown at various periods of our history by distinguished members of this Society ; and I gladly testify my respect for the profession of the law, by which I am aided in administering justice, and in maintaining the prero- gatives of the Crown and the rights of my people. " I congratulate you on the completion of this noble edifice ; it is worthy of the memory of your predecessors, and of the station which you occupy in connection with the Bar of England. " I sincerely hope that learning may long flourish, and that virtue and talent may rise to eminence within these walls." The address and the answer having been read, the honour of knighthood was conferred upon the Treasurer, and his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, was invited to become a member of the Society, to which he at once assented. Her Majesty was then pleased to write her name in the Admittance Book recording the names of the royal and illustrious visitors in the reign of Charles II. The Prince entered his name after that of her Majesty ; and to the royal autographs were added those of the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Exeter, the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Liverpool, the Earl De La Warr, the Earl of Jersey, the Earl THE NEW HALL AND LIBRARY. 135 of Hardwicke, the^Earl of Lincoln, Lord George Lennox, Sir James Graham, the Hon. Col. Grey, the Hon. Captain Alexander N. Hood, Col. Bouverie, and Captain Francis Seymour. The ceremony in the Library being concluded, the Queen, with Prince Albert, the other illustrious guests, and the Benchers, proceeded to the Hall, where, occupying a chair of state on the dais, her Majesty, having granted permission to the assembly to be seated, partook of the banquet prepared for the occasion. On the right of the Queen sat Prince Albert ; next to his Royal Highness, the Lord Chancellor, supported by the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Aberdeen. On the left of her Majesty sat the Treasurer; then one of the ladies in waiting ; and next, the Earl of Hardwicke, and others of the court. Opposite to his Royal High- ness Prince Albert was seated William Selwyn, Esq., one of the senior Benchers of the Society, under whose direction the Prince had studied the principles of English law. At the close of the banquet, the Treasurer, having received permission, proposed successively the health of " Her Majesty, the Queen," and that of " His Royal Highness, Prince Albert, who had that day become a member of the Society." His Royal Highness, after returning thanks, said that he had received her Majesty's commands to propose as a 136 LINCOLN'S INN. toast, " Prosperity to the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn." The Queen departed about three o'clock, having been pleased to declare herself highly gratified, and proceeded down the centre of the hall, attended by the Ministers and Benchers in the same order as on her Majesty's arrival, Prince Albert wearing a student's gown over his field- marshal's uniform. The gallery in the hall was occupied by ladies ; and beneath the gallery was stationed the band of the Colclstream Guards, who played during the repast. About four hundred members of the Society sat at the tables, which were ranged along the hall transversely to the upper table. This royal visit must be regarded as a memorable event in the annals of Lincoln's Inn, and " this festival," it has been observed, " was not one merely of pageantry. It was not a repetition of that which took place after the restoration of Charles II. The days have gone by when such might have been its exclusive character. It was one in which the Monarch honoured by her presence an event in- teresting to the people, and, in graciously accepting and acknowledging their cordially expressed loyalty, heard and responded to sentiments which at once dignify and confirm it." CHAPTER IV. THE LIBRARY. FOUNDATION, PROGRESS AND ARRANGEMENT. T the time of laying the foundation of the noble pile of building described in the preceding pages, an inscription was deposited with the stone, intimating that a structure was about to arise which would be ennobled by the banquetings and festive meetings to be held within its walls. If the magnificent apartment which now forms the dining-hall of the Society be honoured by such uses, how much more highly dignified is that portion of the building appropriated to their Library, where the taste and skill of the architect have been exerted to provide a suitable repository for their valuable collection of books ; where stores of intellectual wealth from every clime and age are accumulated ; where the mind of the student may be enlightened by the writings of the learned of his own profession, animated and guided 138 LINCOLN'S INN. in the onward path of duty by the lessons of the divine, and encouraged by the bright examples recorded in the pages of the historian. The long prevalent opinion, which had been regarded in the profession almost as an axiom not to be questioned, that law must be divorced from literature, has given way to juster views of the character of legal science. " From Lord Bacon, whose legal acquirements formed a massive frame- work for those visions of future wisdom in which he half anticipated the discoveries of ages, down to the present time, the annals of the bar are rich in histories of men who have loved literature not only well, but wisely. The old lawyers exulted in blending their classical recollections with their professional learning." * The great importance of literature and science to the practical lawyer is ably demonstrated in an essay on Legal Education in the Law Review. The writer maintains that a foundation should by all means be laid broad and deep of general learning ; that the classics ought chiefly to be studied, as the most efficient means of refining the taste and attaining proficiency in the oratorical art ; and that the moral and physical sciences are also very essential, the former being eminently useful to those who have to reason upon evidence * Law Magazine. THE LIBRARY. 139 and probabilities, to discuss points of duty, and to discriminate between shades of guilt ; and the physical sciences demanding attention, because cases continually occur in the courts of justice which turn upon principles of natural philosophy and niceties in the mechanical and chemical arts.* The same writer adds that no man can be an accomplished lawyer without a knowledge of history, especially that of his own country, and some acquaintance with the legal systems of other countries ; and that they who have studied the ablest arguments in our courts must be aware what sources both of reasoning and illustration the comparative view of other systems has afforded. The original foundation of the Library of Lincoln's Inn is of earlier date than that of any now existing in the metropolis. In the i3th year of the reign of Henry VII. A.D. 1497, "John Nether- sale, late one of this Society, bequeathed forty marks, partly towards the building of a Library here for the benefit of the students of the laws of England, and partly that every priest of this house, * The importance of a knowledge of chemistry was exem- plified in a case which occurred some years ago at Caermar- then on a charge of uttering two counterfeit sovereigns, when the solicitor employed for the defence proved the coins to be genuine by immersing them in nitric acid, by the action of which the coating of mercury, with which the gold had become accidentally amalgamated, was removed. 140 LINCOLN'S INN. in the celebration of divine service every Friday, should sing a mass of requiem, &c. for the soul of the said John." This building, the site of which is not now known, was finished in the 24th Henry VII. Previously to their removal to the edifice in which they are now commodiously arranged, the books occupied a suite of rooms in the Stone Building, to which they had been transferred in the year 1787 from the Old Square. There are various entries in the records of the Society relating to the Library in the reign of Elizabeth. It seems, however, that little progress was made in the accumulation of books ; for, at a Council held in 6th James I. A.D. 1608, "because the Library was not well furnished with books, it was ordered that for the more speedy doing thereof, every one that should thenceforth be called to the Bench in this Society should give twenty shillings towards the buying of books for the same Library ; and every one thenceforth called to the Bar, thirteen shillings and fourpence, all which sums to be paid to Mr. Matthew Hadde, who, for the better ordering of the said Library was then made Master thereof." Three years afterwards it was ordered that Mr. Hadde, thus constituted the first Master of the Library, an office now held in annual rotation by each Bencher, " should buy and provide for the Library ' Fleta' and such other old books and THE LIBRARY. 141 manuscripts of the Law, and to cause those that be ill bound to be new bound." At a subsequent meeting it was ordered "that ten pounds should be paid by Mr. Hadde out of the money received from Sir William Sedley for copies of ' Corpus Juris Civilis/ in six volumes, and ' Corpus Juris Canonici,' in three volumes, and that he should cause them to be bound with bosses without chains,* and pay the charges of binding out of that money." The Library has been enriched at various periods by donations from members of the Society. One of the earliest of these benefactors was Ranulph * It was formerly the custom in public libraries to fasten books with chains to the shelves or book-cases ; and many of the volumes in Lincoln's Inn Library still retain, attached to their covers, the iron rings by which they were secured. In these cases an iron rod was passed through the rings of the books as they were ranged on the shelves, and fastened by a padlock at the end ; an usage practised till the last century in most collegiate and public libraries. A curious instance of what certainly has some appearance of laxity in the custody of libraries in former times is thus naively related by Dugdale, in his account of the Middle Temple : ' ' They now have no Library, so that they cannot attaine to the knowledge of divers learnings, but to their great charges, by the buying of such bookes as they lust to study. They had a simple Library, in which were not many bookes besides the Law ; and that Library, by meanes that it stood allwayes open, and that the learners had not each of them a key unto it, it was at the last robbed and spoiled of all the bookes in it." Origines Juridicialcs, p. 197. ed. 1680. 142 LINCOLN'S INN. Cholmeley,* Serjeant at Law, and Recorder of the City of London, and three times Reader at Lincoln's Inn, in the reigns of Edw. VI., Philip and Mary, and Elizabeth. To him the Library is indebted for several rare volumes of the early Year Books,t four of which had belonged to William Rastell, nephew of Sir Thomas More, and one of the Judges of Common Pleas, and contain his auto- graph ; a very beautiful copy of the first edition of Fitzherbert's Abridgement, with Rastell's Tables to the same ; a MS. ofBracton, of the I4th century, on vellum ; three volumes of early Statutes, MSS. on vellum ; and two volumes of MS. Reports of various years in the reigns of Edw. III. Ric. II. and Hen. IV. Besides copies of his own multifarious writings, including his invaluable " Records," the celebrated * Ranulph Cholmeley died in 1563. In the inscription on his monument in St. Dunstan's Church is the following passage : Non deerant artes generoso pectore dignae, Doctus et Anglorum jure peritus erat. f The Year-Books, as well as the other volumes presented by Ranulph Cholmeley, chiefly in the original oak binding, have a small paper label, contain! i g the title of the work with the name of the donor curiously fastened on the side of the covers under a piece of transparent horn. These volumes, on account of the decay of the oak covers, have been lately re-bound. These are respectively, i Edw. III. 3 Hen. V. ; i Hen. IV. 20 Hen. VI. ; i Edw. III. 19 Hen. VII. THE LIBRARY. 143 William Prynne presented to the Library a copy of the works of St. Augustine, in eight vols. folio, and two volumes of Acts, Declarations, &c. of 12 Car. II. Many of the volumes given by Prynne contain inscriptions in his own handwriting. In the year 1676 the Society acquired by the bequest of Sir Matthew Hale the large collection of Manuscripts made by that eminent person. This collection, besides a great number of valuable legal and historical documents, including various tran- scripts of Public Records, contains some writings of Archbishop Usher, and many papers in the handwriting of Selden, the legal MSS. of that great scholar not having been sent to the Bodleian Library with the rest of his books. There is only one volume of Sir Matthew Hale's own writings. This is a large folio, closely written, in the manner of a law common-place book, and is called by him " The Black Book of the New Law." * A collection of Pamphlets, chiefly theological and political, some of them very curious, forming * The following manuscripts in the handwriting of Sir Matthew Hale have been recently acquired by the Society : A Treatise De Praerogativa Regis, folio. Incepta de Juribus Coronse, folio. A Treatise on the Judicature of the King's Council and Parliament, 410. The Jurisdiction of the Lords' House or Parliament considered according to Ancient Records, 4to. A Tract on the Leading Principles of the Law of Nature, 410. 144 LINCOLN'S INN. thirty-nine volumes in 410. and folio, was given to tne Library in 1706 by John Brydall, Esq., author of many legal works. The Library of John Coxe, Esq., a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, consisting of many manuscripts in his own handwriting, together with about 5000 volumes of printed books in legal, historical, and various other branches of literature, became the property of the Society in 1785, by his bequest. William Melmoth, Esq., bequeathed to the Society in 1799 six volumes of MS. Reports, and a seventh containing a Table of Matters, compiled by his father, William Melmoth, consisting of Chancery Cases from 1700 to 1742. A munificent donation was made to the Library in 1843, by Charles Purton Cooper, Esq., who pre- sented a collection of books on the civil law and on the laws of foreign nations, consisting of nearly 2000 volumes, in various languages, many of them of great rarity and in very fine condition. Mr. Cooper had also previously given a valuable collection of Ameri- can Law Reports, consisting of about 150 volumes. Several MSS. of Lord Colchester, Speaker of the House of Commons, consisting of thirty-one volumes, chiefly containing Reports of Cases in Law and Equity in his lordship's handwriting, were presented in 1848, by his son's widow, the Hon. Frances Cecil Abbot. One or two of the volumes THE LIBRARY- 145 appear to consist of. original Reports, by the Hon. Philip Abbot, the second son of Lord Colchester. Many other donations have been made by the liberality of individuals, by the directors and curators oflibraries and institutions, and by public authorities, but want of space prevents the enumera- tion here of the names of the various donors. In 1808, the collection of legal MSS. of Mr. Serjeant Hill, consisting chiefly of Notes of Cases by himself or his learned contemporaries, was purchased of his executors. In 1818, the legal MSS. of John Maynard, Esq., King's Serjeant in the reign of Charles II., and one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal in the reign of William and Mary, which had passed through various hands, were purchased by the Society. At the time of the removal, the books (including the manuscripts) were about 18,000 in number, but have since been increased to the number of nearly 40,000 ; and, in addition to a collection of law books, ad- mitted to be the most complete in this country, here are to be found many works of great importance and interest to persons whose pursuits are directed to the study of the history and antiquities of the kingdom. A Catalogue of the Books, containing a very small portion of the present collection, was printed in the year 1835 ; and a Catalogue of the Manu- K 146 LINCOLN'S INN*. scripts, by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, in 1838. In 1859 another Catalogue of the Books was printed ; it is alphabetically arranged, with an index of subjects. Three Supplements have since been printed, the last in 1872. A few observations on the much agitated question of the arrangement of Catalogues may not be entirely out of place here. " As indexes have been called the soul of books, so catalogues may be styled the soul of libraries. Without them the largest collection would be comparatively useless. It is desirable that every catalogue should contain a succinct, and, at the same time, full abstract of the title-pages of the different books, with the number of the editions, the names of the authors and editors or annotators at length, the place and date of publication, the size of the volume, and the name of its printer, if it be an ancient copy. It may not unfrequently happen, in the course of our studies, that it will be desirable to consult a particular edition of a book perhaps to verify the text of the edition we possess ourselves, or to observe the comments of the editor. A good catalogue should enable us at once to determine whether the library contains the edition in question, and should exhibit a complete bibliographical view of all the works therein. The alphabetical arrangement has always seemed much preferable to any arrangement made THE LIBRARY. 147 with reference either to the subjects or to the sizes of the volumes. The main object of a catalogue is to facilitate the use of the library ; of course, such arrangement should be adopted as will best sub- serve this end ; and this appears to be the alpha- betical arrangement. The inquirer can turn, as readily as in a dictionary, to the name of the author he wishes to find."* The books are arranged on the shelves in classes, and on taking a survey of the Library from the entrance near the east oriel window, the eye of the visitor may range over a vast collection of Treatises on every branch of English jurisprudence from the earliest period to the present day ; then over the Reports of Cases argued in all the Courts of Law ; and then over the voluminous collections of the Journals of the Houses of Parliament, and the Cases heard on Appeal before the House of Lords and the Privy Council, passing on to the volumes con- taining the Statutes of the Realm, Public, Local, and Private. On the opposite side of the room the observer may notice a goodly assemblage of the works of English and foreign divines, with editions of the Bible in various languages ; the poets ; historians, philosophers, and orators of Greece and Rome ; dictionaries of various languages, and other * American Jurist, xiii. 383-4. 148 LINCOLN'S INN. philological works; the principal writers, ancient and modern, on English History and Topography ; Foreign History; and a selection of works on Civil and Foreign Law. In the Upper Gallery is ranged a collection of books on Civil and Foreign Law, occupying nearly the whole of one side of the room ; and on the opposite side of the gallery may be observed the more voluminous historical works, such as Graevius and Gronovius, Muratori, &c., with the Memoires de 1'Academie, and that monu- ment of the wondrous extension of the Papal power and dominion, the Bullarium Romanum. In his notice of the various classes of books, in the former edition of this work, the librarian had thought fit to begin the description with the class of Theology, as forming the basis of laws and social institutions ; but as this library is designed expressly for the prosecution of legal studies, he now deems it more appropriate to begin the survey with the books on jurisprudence, giving bibliogra- phical details of the earlier writers on English Law, with some notice of those on Civil and Foreign Law, and, owing to the narrow space imposed by the limits of this work, touching but slightly on the class of Theology, and passing very briefly over the other classes of Literature. THE LIBRARY. 149 ENGLISH LAW. I. TREATISES. 2. REPORTS. 3. STATUTES. 4. TRIALS. So well stored are the shelves of the Library with books on every branch of English jurispru- dence, that some hesitation may be for a moment felt in making a selection for primary notice. How vast has been the increase of books on the study and practice of the law since the days of Lord Coke, the following extract from the Preface to the third part of his lordship's Reports may be suf- ficient to show : " Right profitable are the ancient books of the common law yet extant, as Glanville, Bracton, Britton, Fleta, Ingham (Hengham), and Novae Narrationes ; and those also of later times, as the Old Tenures, Old Natura Brevium, Little- ton, Doctor and Student, Perkins, Fitzherbert's Natura Brevium and Staunford." After mention- ing with commendation the Abridgments of Fitz- herbert and Sir Robert Brooke, as also that of Statham, the Book of Assises, and the "great Book of Entries," and the " exquisite and elaborate Commentaries of Master Plowden, the summary and fruitful observations of Sir James Dyer, and his own simple labours," the Lord Chief Justice continues : " then have you fifteen books or trea- 150 LINCOLN'S INN. tises, and as many volumes of the Reports, besides the Abridgments of the Common Law ; for I speak not of the Statutes and Acts of Parliament, where- of there be divers great volumes." In addition to the fifteen treatises mentioned by Lord Coke, the Library contains about 1200 volumes of Treatises on the Law ; about as many volumes of Reports ; of Abridgments of the Law about fifty volumes ; and the Statute Law is extended to forty-seven volumes in quarto, con- tinued since the year 1869 in octavo. Law books were among the earliest works that issued from the press in England on the invention of the art of printing. It does not appear, however, that any of these were given to the public by the Father of the English press, with the exception of the Statutes of Henry VII. printed by William Caxton shortly before his decease. By Lettou and Machlinia were printed Littleton's Tenures, about the year 1481, the " Vieux Abridgement des Statuts '' and some of the Year Books. By Wynkyn de Worde were printed Lyndewode's Provinciale, Carta Feodi Simplicis, and a few other law books ; by Pynson, Littleton's Tenures, Liber Assisarum, Liber Intrationum, some of the Year Books, &c. Statham's Abridgment was printed either by or for Pynson. By John Rastell were printed Little- ton's Tenures, Tables to Fitzherbert's Abridgment* THE LIBRARY. 151 Abridgment of the Statutes, &c. ; by Redman, the first edition of Britton, and many other treatises ; by Berthelet, some of the Year Books, Littleton, Natura Brevium, the Statutes, &c. Richard Tottel, who enjoyed a special licence for the print- ing of law books, printed the first edition of Bracton, and most of those which had appeared previously were by him again given to the public. The first edition of Fitzherbert's Abridgment has been attributed both to Wynkyn de Worde, and to Pynson. The earliest of the ancient writers mentioned by Lord Coke in the passage just cited is Glanville, and 'it may be convenient to notice these works nearly in the order in which they are there enu- merated ; with the addition of Home's Mirror of Justices, Fortescue, and Lambard. GLANVILLE. Tractatus de Legibus et Consue- tudinibus Regni Angliae, tempore regis Henrici secundi compositus, Justiciae gubernacula tenente illustri viro Ranulpho de Glanvilla, Juris Regni et antiquarum Consuetudinum eo tempore peritis- simo. It is supposed that this summary or digest of the laws of England was drawn up by the command of king Henry II., in order to perpetuate the im- provements he had made in the Norman laws, and to render the practice of the law more uniform 152 LINCOLN'S INN. throughout the kingdom ; but notwithstanding its general title, the treatise is confined to such mat- ters as were the objects of jurisdiction in the king's court. The study of this writer is necessary to those who would obtain a critical knowledge of the state of the English constitution in the first century after the conquest, before the modifications conse- quent upon the charter of King John.* There has been much controversy concerning the authorship of this work. It has been generally attributed to Ranulph de Glanville, who was Chief Justice in the reign of Henry II. This eminent person was also distinguished in a military capacity, having been the commander who took the King of Scots prisoner at the battle of Alnwick. After the death of King Henry, he fought under the banner of the Cross in the Holy Land, and died at the siege of Acre in 1190. By some writers the work has been ascribed to a justice itinerant in the same reign ; and by others it has been thought that the name of Glanville was only prefixed to it because he presided over the law at this period. A full account of Glanville and of the controversy may be read in the Preface to Mr. Beames's translation, published in 1812, 8vo. The work was not printed * Reeves's History of the English Law; and Penny Cy- clopaedia. THE LIBRARY. 153 till 1554, when it was given to the public at the suggestion of Sir William Staunford. It was printed again in 1557, 1604, 1673, 1780, in I2mo. There is a MS. copy of the I4th century, on vellum, with illuminated capitals, in Lincoln's Inr. Library, presented by William Selvvyn, Esq., ii 1795- BRACTON. Henrici de Bracton de Legibus et Consuetudinibus Anglias Libri quinque, in vario tractatus distincti. Of Bracton's treatise, termed by Mr. Reeves the great ornament of the reign of Henry III., it is said that while Glanville's work is little more than a sketch, confined to the proceed- ings in the king's court, Bracton's is a finished and systematic performance, giving a complete view of the law, in all its titles, as it stood at the time it was written. The style is infinitely superior to that of Glanville, and much beyond the generality of writers of that age. " For comprehensiveness, for lucid arrangement, for logical precision," observes Lord Campbell,* " this author was unrivalled during many ages ; and it is curious that in tht most disturbed period of this turbulent reign, then was written and given to the world the best treatise upon law of which England could boast till the publication of Blackstone's Commentaries, in the * Lives of the Chancellors. 154 LINCOLN'S INN. middle of the eighteenth century," In the opinion of many eminent modern jurists the treatises of Glanville and Bracton, as well as those of Britton, Fieta, and the Mirror of Justices, have borrowed largely from the Roman law. The author is stated to have been a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and Chief Justice of Eng- land, but the authorship, like that of Glanville, has been much questioned. It is thought probable that the treatise was composed by Henry de Bracton, Doctor of Civil Law, who delivered lectures in the University of Oxford, and sat as justice itinerant in the reign of Henry III. The author has gone by the names of Brycton, Britton, Briton, Breton, and Brets ; and it has been doubted whether all these names are not imaginary. The estimation in which the work was held is manifested by the nu- merous copies made before the invention of print- ing. Only two editions, however, have been printed ; one in 1569, folio, and the other in 1640, 410. There are three MS. copies on vellum in the Library of Lincoln's Inn, one of the time of Edward I.,* one of the latter part of the fourteenth century, given byRanulph Cholmeley, and another presented by Arthur Hobhouse, Esq., O.C., in 1866. This is also of the fourteenth century, and had belonged to * This manuscript belonged, in the reign of Edward I. THE LIBRARY. ' 155 Mr. Le Neve, according to an inscription on the vellum fly-leaf, and subsequently to Mr. P. C. Webb, having been sold by auction with his books in 1771. It is stated in Latin on the last leaf, that the manu- script differs in certain passages from the edition of Bracton printed in 1569. BRITTON. This is a French treatise on the law supposed to have been compiled under the direction of king Edward I. Its singular form seems to countenance such a supposition ; for the contents of the whole book are put into the king's mouth, and the law so delivered has the appearance of being promulgated by the immediate voice of the sovereign. * This treatise, which set the example, followed for nearly four centuries, of writing law-books in French, engages the curiosity of the modern reader in a particular manner. In the writings of Bracton and Fleta, says Mr. Reeves, to Sir Alan de Thornton, of whose transactions there are some curious memoranda on the fly-leaves, and especially in relation to swans. He appears to have resided in Lin- colnshire, and was probably a relation of Gilbert de Thorn- ton, who was Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the reign of Edward I. The motto on the first page, ire pi iraJTOs TI\V 'K\fv9fpiav, seems to mark it as having once belonged to Selden. HUNTER'S Catalogue of MSS. in Lincoln's Inn Library. The Greek motto, signifying " Liberty above all things," was usually inscribed in Selden's books. * Reeves's History of the English Law. 156 LINCOLN'S INN. everything is seen as it were through a cloud, disguised in the terms and phraseology of the Latin tongue ; whereas Britton addresses you in the technical, proper style of the law. The work is attributed, among other authors, to John Le Breton, Bishop of Hereford, who died in 3 Edward I. ; but this opinion cannot be correct, as the statutes of the thirteenth year of that reign are quoted in the treatise. By some writers it is supposed that the treatise received the title of Britton as being one of the names assigned to Bracton himself. There are numerous MSS. of this work, as well as of Bracton. The first edition was printed by Robert Redman, in 1540, and the next by Edmund Wingate, in 1640, 8vo. It was in contemplation by the late Record Commission to prepare an edition from a collation of the existing MSS., and a speci- men of the intended work may be seen in Mr. C. P. Cooper's work on the Public Records. In 1762, a translation as far as the 25th chapter was published by Mr. Robert Kelham, but the work did not receive sufficient encouragement. Mr. Kelham translated the remaining portion, and the MS. remained in his hands till 1807, when being at that time senior member of Lincoln's Inn, and eighty- nine years of age, he presented it to the Library. A copy of Wingate's edition, full of his manuscript notes, with some account of the MS. copies of THE LIBRARY. 157 Britton in the British Museum, was also presented by Mr. Kelham.* In 1865, the French text, with an English translation, introduction, and notes, by Mr. F. M. Nichols, was printed at Oxford, in two volumes Svo. FLETA ; seu Commentarius Juris Anglicani, sub Edwardo I. ab anonymo conscriptus : editus, cum dissertatione historica ad eundem, per Jo. Selde- num. This is a commentary in Latin on the entire body of the English law, as it stood at the time when the author wrote, which is supposed to have been about 13 Edward I. The author is unknown, and gives as a reason for the title of his book that it was written during his confinement in the Fleet Prison. His design seems to have been to give a concise account of the law, with such alterations as had been made since the time of Bracton, to whose treatise his work thus serves as an appendix and often as a commentary. The President Renault refers to Fleta as an historical authority. The work was first published by Selden in 1647, 4to., from a MS. in the Cottonian Library, together with a treatise in French entitled from its initial words " Fet assavoir " (a collection of notes concern- * Mr. Kelham also published a translation of Selden's Dissertation on Fleta, 1771, Svo. ; a Dictionary of the Norman or old French language, 1779, Svo ; and Domes day Book illustrated, 1788, Svo. 158 LINCOLN'S INN. ing proceedings in actions), and a learned disserta- tion by Selden himself. Another edition was published in 1685, 4to., but no others have been printed in England. There is a MS. copy of the 1 7th century, in Lincoln's Inn Library, supposed to be a transcript of a MS. of the reign of Edward II. This was the gift of John Glover, Esq. The treatises of Glanville, Britton, Fleta, and the Mirror, as well as the Anglo-Saxon Laws, Spelman's Codex Legum, and Sir John Skene's collection of the Laws of Scotland, with a preliminary Disserta- tion and Notes, were 'published at Rouen, in 1776, four vols. 4to., by M. Houard, "Avocat" in the parliament of Normandy. Of the four authors just described the compara- tive merit appears very different in the eyes of a modern reader. The learning and copiousness of Bracton place him very high above the rest ; but while due praise is given to the father of legal learning, what Bracton as well as posterity owe to others must not be forgotten. Britton delivered some of this writer's matter in the proper language of the law, and Fleta illustrated some of his obscu- rities ; while Glanville, who led the way, is still entitled to the veneration due to those who first open the paths to science.* * Reeves. THE LIBRARY. 159 HENGHAM. Radulphi de Hengham, Edwardi regis Primi Capitalis olim Justitiarii, Summas, Magna Hengham et Parva vulgo nuncupatae. This is a collection of notes treating of the ancient forms of pleading in essoigns and defaults. Sir Ralph de Hengham was Chief Justice in the reign of Edward I. The work had been translated into English, but this being in the language of the time of Edward II. or Edward III., it was thought advisable to print it in the original Latin, which was done by Selden, who published it with the treatise of Fortescue on the Laws in 1616, adding some few notes of his own in English. There are in Lincoln's Inn Library several MSS. of Hengham of the I4th century. HORNE'S MIRROR OF JUSTICES. This book, which treats of all branches of the law, whether civil or criminal, when read with certain reserva- tions, is a curious, interesting, and in some degree authentic tract upon our old law.* There is much contrariety of opinion as to its antiquity and authorship. From internal evidence it appears that it was written after Fleta and Britton, and it is accordingly ascribed to the reign of Edward II. " The most extraordinary of our ancient law books is the Mirror of Justices, hitherto most inaccurately * Reeves. 160 LINCOLN'S INN. published. Only one ancient manuscript of this work is known to exist, which is in the Library of C. C. C. Cambridge." * There are two transcripts in the Library of Lincoln's Inn, one of the reign of James I. The work was first printed in 1642. I2mo., in French, and an English translation by W. Hughes, in 1646 and 1649, I2mo., and in 1768, 8vo. Andrew Home, the reputed author, a native of Gloucester, and Chamberlain of the City of London in the reign of Edward II. compiled a book, still preserved in Guildhall, which has not been printed. It is entitled " Liber Horn," and contains charters, customs and statutes relating to the city.t Mr. Daines Barrington, in his Observa- tions on the Statutes, has pointed out the remark- able coincidence of several European states in adopting the title of " Mirror " in their early law books. THORNTON. A summary or abridgment of Bracton was written by Gilbert de Thornton, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the reign of Edward I. The work is cited bv Selden in his Dissertation * Cooper on the Public Records. t LIBER HORN appears on the title-page of the second volume of the " Munimenta Gildhallce Londoniensis," pub- lished by the Master of the Rolls in 1860, but it does not appear that any further steps have been taken for its publication. THE LIBRARY. ' 161 on Fleta, from a MS. in his possession, but has not been printed. NOV^E NARRATIONES. This work, written in the reign of Edward III., contains the forms of counts, declarations, pleas, &c. It was first printed in French by Pynson, in folio, without date, and afterwards by Rastell, Redman, and Tottell. The first edition, given by Ranulph Cholmeley, is in the Library, and that of Tottell, 1561, I2mo., with "Articuli ad Novas Narrationes,"and the "Diver- site* des Courtes." OLD TENURES. This work, so called by way of distinction from Littleton's Tenures, was written in the reign of Edward III., and gives an account of the various tenures of land, the nature of estates, and some other incidents to landed property. It is a very brief treatise, but has the merit of having led the way to Littleton. It was first printed in French by Pynson, in folio, without date, and again by him, in 1625, i6mo. Both these editions are in the Library. Several other editions have been printed. OLD- NATURA BREVIUM. This work, called old, like the former, as a distinction from Fitzher- bert's Natura Brevium, was written about the same period as the preceding ; and contains the writs most in use at that time, annexing to each a short comment respecting their nature, application, &c. It became a model to Fitzherbert, in writing his 1 62 LINCOLN'S INN. valuable treatise on the same subject. It was first printed in French by Pynson, in folio, without date, and again by him, in 1525, i6mo. Both these are in the Library. Upwards of twenty editions, either in French or English, have been printed. The last was in 1584, I2mo., in French. LITTLETON'S TENURES. This work combines the qualities of clearness, plainness, and brevity, in a degree that is not only extraordinary for the rude age in which its author wrote, but renders him superior, as to purity of style, to any writer on Eng- lish law who has succeeded him. Notwithstanding the alterations of the law since his time, from the absolute necessity of a knowledge of what was the state of the law with respect to property in land, in order to understand thoroughly what it now is, Littleton is still indispensable to the student of English law.* The author, Thomas Littleton, was a Jud;4e of Common Pleas, in the reign of Edward IV. The first edition of Littleton's Tenures is sup- posed to be that which was printed by Lettou and Machlinia, in folio, without date, but probably about 1481. Another edition was printed by Machlinia alone, also without date. Neither of these editions are in Lincoln's Inn Library; that of Pynson, with the portrait of Henry VII. on his * Penny Cyclopaedia. THE LIBRARY. 163 throne, in folio, without date, is there, and also that of 1525, by Pynson, i6mo. The folio edition, as well as that of the Old Tenures and Natura Brevium, was given by Ranulph Cholmeley ; the latter, by Joshua Williams, Esq. There is also a MS. of the I5th century. There is scarcely any law-writer whose work has gone through so many editions, upwards of thirty having been printed in French, and nearly as many in the English lan- guage. The last was by T. E. Tomlins, Esq., in 1841, 8vo., from the text of the earliest edition by Lettou and Machlinia, and the translation from that used by Sir Edward Coke. The text of Little- ton, with a French translation or paraphrase, notes, glossary, and ' Pieces Justificatives,' was published at Rouen in 1776, two vols. 4to., by M. Houard. The learned and laborious Commentary of Lord Coke upon Littleton will be admired, says Fuller, " by judicious posterity, while Fame has a trumpet left her and any breath to blow therein." The chief merit of this inestimable book is the light which it throws upon the system of our ancient law. The grounds and reasons of that system are there expounded with the most profound learning and ingenuity, so that the student may resort to it as to an inexhaustible spring of legal knowledge. With all its want of method, and its occasional ob- scurity, it stands alone in his library, the only Insti- 164 LINCOLN'S INN. tute or general Text-book of the old law.* " There is not," says Mr Butler, " in the whole of the golden book, a single line which the student will not in his professional life find, on more than one occasion, eminently useful." This commentary was first printed in 1628, in folio ; again in 1629, and very frequently since. Nineteen editions have been published ; the most valuable are those containing the notes of Mr Har- grave and Mr Butler, including those of Sir Mat- thew Hale and Lord Chancellor Nottingham, first printed in 1794, three vols. 8vo. The nineteenth edition, printed in 1832, two vols. 8vo., is furnished with an elaborate Index, by Mr T. Canning, to the notes of Hargrave and Butler, but is without the Norman-French text of Littleton.t FORTESCUE de Laudibus Legum Anglias. This work the compilation of a lawyer distinguished both by his professional learning and classical attainments is said to have been written while * Notes on North's Study of the Laws. \- Coke's Commentary upon Littleton is also entitled, the First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England ; the Second Part contains the Exposition of many ancient and other Statutes; the Third treats of High Treason and other Pleas of the Crown ; and the Fourth Part treats of the Jurisdiction of Courts. They have been several times printed between 1642 and 1797, the second, third, and fourth parts having been printed in four vols. 8vo., to range with Hargrave and Butler's edition of the first Institute. THE LIBRARY. 165 the author, who had been Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the reign of Henry VI., was in exile with the Prince of Wales, and others of the Lancastrian party in France. Sir John was then made Chancel- lor, and in that character supposes himself holding a conversation with the young prince on the nature and excellence of the laws of England compared with the civil law and the laws of other countries. The treatise was first printed in Latin by Edward Whitchurch, early in the reign of Henry VIII., without date, in i6mo. ; it was again printed, with an English translation by Robert Mulcaster, in 1567, and several times reprinted ; in 1616 it was printed with Selden's notes, and the addition of the treatise of Hengham ; in 1737, 1741, and in 1775 it was printed with an English translation, and an his- torical preface by F. Gregor, Esq. ; and in 1825, 8vo., with notes by A. Amos, Esq.* MARROW'S Justice of the Peace. This author, quoted with commendation by later writers, as Fitz- herbert and Lambard, was a lawyer in the reign of Henry VII. His work has not been printed. DOCTOR AND STUDENT ; or Dialogues between * In 1869, a very beautiful edition of the first complete collec- tion of the works of Sir J. Fortescue was printed for private distribution by his descendant Thomas (Fortescue), Lord Clermont, with a history of the family of Fortescue, in two vols. 4to. A copy of this work was presented by his lordship to the library of Lincoln's Inn. 1 66 LINCOLN'S INN. a Doctor of Divinity and a Student in the Laws of England, concerning the Grounds of those Laws. Christopher Saint Germain, the author of this work, a native of Warwickshire, was a member of the Inner Temple, and died in 1539, in the 8oth year of his age. Of this author Fuller says: "Reader, wipe thine eyes, and let mine smart if thou readest not what richly deserves thine observation ; seeing he was a person remarkable for his gentility, piety, chastity, charity, ability, industry, and vivacity." The work was cited as authority by the Judges in the trial of Hampden. It was first printed in Latin by John Rastell, in 1523, and has gone through above twenty editions ; the last was by W. Muchall, in English, printed in 1815. PERKINS. A profitable booke of Master John Perkins, Fellow of the Inner Temple, treating of the Lawes of England. This book, which treats of the various branches of conveyancing, is, perhaps, says Mr. Reeves, "as valuable a performance as any of this reign" (Hen. VIII.). It was first printed in 1528 in French, and has been frequently re- printed both in French and English. The last edition was by R. J. Greening, in 1827, I2mo. FITZHERBERT. The new Natura Brevium, by Sir Anthony Fitzherbert. This work, on the na- ture of writs, is of the greatest authority. It was first printed in French, in 1534, 8vo., and has THE LIBRARY. 167 been frequently reprinted. The last edition was in 1794, two vols. 8vo., in English. The author was a Judge of Common Pleas in the reign of Henry VIII. STAUNFORD. The Pleas of the Crown, by Sir William Staunford, 410. This is the first work which treats the subject of criminal law professedly and in detail. It was first printed in 1583, in French, and there have been several editions of it. The author was a Judge of Common Pleas in the reign of Queen Mary. " In Master Staunford there is force and weight, and no common kind of style : in matter none hath gone beyond him, in method none hath overtaken him." * STATHAM'S Abridgment of the Law, folio. In French, without title or date. This work, the first of the Abridgments of the Law, is a kind of digest, containing most of the titles of the Law, arranged in alphabetical order, and comprising under each head adjudged cases, abridged from the Year-Books in a concise manner ; it has served as a model to others in later times, but was superseded by the Abridgment of Fitzherbert, which came out about the same period. The author, Nicholas Statham, was Baron of the Exchequer in the reign of Ed- ward IV. There is only one edition, which is in folio, without date, and is supposed to have been * Fulbecke on the Study of the Law. 168 LINCOLN'S INN. printed by \V. Tailleur, at Rouen, for Pynson ; at the end of the table are the words : " per me, R. Pynson," and at the end of the volume is Tailleur's device. This Abridgment is comprised in 380 pages : the Abridgment of Mr Charles Viner, published about the middle of the last century, is in twenty-four volumes, folio, of which a second edition was pub- lished in twenty-four vols. Svo., 1791-4, and a sup- plement in six vols. Svo., 1799-1806. FITZHERBERT'S Grand Abridgment of the Law. This is one of our most ancient and authentic legal records, containing a great number of original authorities, quoted by different authors, which are not extant in the Year-Books, or elsewhere to be met with in print. It has also the advantage of being a very copious and useful commonplace-book or index to the Year-Books. The Library possesses a beautiful copy of the first edition of this work, printed in 1516, presented by Ranulph Cholmeley, and as there seems to be some uncertainty respect- ing the date of the first edition, some bibliographers having stated that it was printed in 1514, it may be worth while to give a description of this copy. This edition is in three parts, each having a frontispiece. Prefixed to the first part is a wood- cut of the king on his throne, crowned, holding the sceptre and mound, and over this cut are the words : THE LIBRARY. 169 Prima pars hujus libri. To the second part is pre- fixed a wood-cut of the royal arms, crowned, sup- ported by a dragon and greyhound, with a portcullis on each side of the arms ; above, two angels, bear- ing scrolls with an inscription encircling a rose ; and over this cut are the words : Sequitur secunda pars. The third part has the same frontispiece as the second, and over it the words : Ultima pars hujus libri. U The price of the whole boke (XLJ.) which boke con- teyneth iii. grete volumes. At the end is the following colophon : Finis tocius istius operis finit xxi die Decembf. A. dni Millecimo quingentesimo sextodecimo. Beneath the colophon is a cut of the royal arms, but of smaller size than the former, and with some variations. From the evidence of the wood-cuts, the same having been used in the " Fructus Temporum " printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1515, Mr Her- bert concludes that the work was either executed by that printer, or printed for him in France. It is worthy of notice, however, that the same type is used by John Rastell in the Tables to this Abridg- ment printed by him in the following year, 1517, the smaller letter being used in the Prologue, and the larger chiefly in the Tables. A copy of this 1 70 LINCOLN'S INN. work was also presented to the Library by R. Cholme- ley. In a notice of an edition of the Abridgment supposed to have been printed by Pynson in 1514, Mr. Herbert says there is a copy in Lincoln's Inn Library. This is erroneous ; for it is the edition of 1516, as just described, which is in that Library ; nor can an edition of 1514 be traced in either of the Libraries of the Inns of Court, the Bodleian Library, or the British Museum. There is a copy at Holkham of the edition of 1516. The copy in Lincoln's Inn is bound in three volumes, in a modern binding. On the inside of the covers of the first and second parts is pasted a paper label with the inscription of the donor : Ex dono Ranulphi de Cholmeley, &c. ; and on one of the fly-leaves of the second part is the following quaint inscription : " Of your charity pray for the soul of Robert Crawley, sometime donor of this book, which is now worm's meat, as another day shall you be that now art full lustye, that remember, good Christian brother. Farewell in the Lord. 1534." At the end of the third part, also on one of the fly-leaves, is a Latin inscription in the same handwriting, nearly to the same effect. The Abridgment was again printed by R. Tottell in 1565, two vols. folio ; and with additional gene- ral Table by J. Rastell, in 1577, 4to. BROOKE'S Grand Abridgment of the Law. In THE LIBRARY. 171 this work, which is disposed under more titles than that of Fitzherbert, many readings are abridged which are not now extant, except in a work entitled Brooke's New Cases. Of this author, in comparison with Fitzherbert, Fulbecke says, " In the facilitie and compendious forme of abridging cases hee carrieth away the garland." Sir Robert Brooke was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the reign of Philip and Mary. The first edition was printed in 1568, 4to. ; it was reprinted in 1570, and in 1576; in 1573 it was printed in two vols. folio, by R. Tottell, and again in 1586. ROLLE'S Abridgment of Cases and Resolutions in the Law. Mr. Hargrave speaks of this work as excellent in its kind, and in point of method, succinctness, legal precision, and many other respects, fit to be proposed as an example for other abridgments of the law. There is a Preface addressed to young students in the law of England, by Sir Matthew Hale. Henry Rolle was Chief Justice of the Upper Bench from 164810 1655. The work was printed in 1668, in two volumes folio, in French. BOOK OF ASSISES. Le Liver des Assises et Plees del Corone, moves et dependauntz devaunt les Justices, en temps le Roy Edwarde le tierce. This book, containing proceedings upon writs of assize of novel disseisin in the reign of Henry III., is often quoted and referred to by ancient writers, 172 LINCOLN'S INN. and examples are cited from it by Littleton. It contains a Prologue by John Rastell in praise of the laws. It was first printed in 1580, by R-Tottell ; and forms the fifth volume of the edition of the Year-Books published in 1679. BOOK OF ENTRIES. The earliest work under this title is the Liber Intrationum printed by Pynson in 1510, and again by Henry Smythe in 1546, folio. The latter edition is in the Library. In 1566 a Collection of Entries, Declarations, Bars, Replica- tions, Rejoinders, &c., by William Rastell, in Latin, was printed by Tottell, and again in 1574, folio. The edition printed by J. Yetsweirt, 1596, is in the Library. Afterwards was published in 1614, folio, a Book of Entries, by Sir Edward Coke. This is in the Library. In the preface Sir E. Coke says, that the former Book of Entries being published at that time when the author was beyond the seas, could not so exactly and perfectly be done as if he had been at the fountain's head itself; and that none of the precedents herein have been by any published heretofore. REGISTRUM OMNIUM BREVIUM, tarn Origin'a- lium quam Judicialium. This work, containing writs adapted to the purpose ^of redress in every possible case of injury to the person or property, is said by Sir Edward Coke to be the most ancient book in the English Law, an assertion for the truth THE LIBRARY. 173 of which there seems to be some probability, on a comparison with the writs contained in Glanville and the earliest law-writers. " It is not more cer- tain than extraordinary, that the forms of writs were very early settled, in their substance and lan- guage, nearly in the manner in which they were drawn ever after." * The book was first printed by William Rastell in 1531, folio ; it was reprinted in 1 5S3) 1 59S> I 6j4, and the last edition in 1687, folio. LAMBARD. This author, whose Archaionomia has been already mentioned,t is also commended by Sir E. Coke. His Eirenarcha, or Office of Justices of the Peace, first printed in 1581, and reprinted eleven times, the last in 1619, is recommended to students by Sir W. Blackstone. His Duty of Constables, printed in 1 582, was also reprinted six times. He was likewise author of Archeion ; or a Discourse upon the High Courts of Justice in Eng- land, twice printed in the same year, 1635, 8vo. " Mr. Lambarde's paines, learning, and law ap- peare by his bookes, which are conducted by so curious methode, and beautified by such flowers of learning, that he may wel be sorted amongst those to whom the law is most beholden." The preceding works which, with some volumes * Reeves. f Page 8, ante. J Fulbecke. 174 LINCOLN'S INN. of Law Reports to be presently noticed, constituted the library of the English lawyer in the days of Sir Edward Coke, still form the study of those who wish to become acquainted with the history of English law. Speaking of the changes undergone by the law between the reigns of Henry VII. and Charles II., Mr. C. Butler remarks : " There is no doubt but during the above period, a material alteration was effected in the jurisprudence of this country, but this alteration has been effected not so much by superseding, as by giving a new direction to the principles of the old law, and applying them to new subjects. Hence a knowledge of ancient legal learning is absolutely necessary to a modern lawyer." * In the same division of the Library with these ancient authors are ranged numerous volumes containing the labours of successive generations of lawyers from the reign of James I. to the pre- sent day, an enumeration of whom, with even the slightest indication of their various merits, would require a volume of much more ample dimensions than the present. This brief notice of some of the principal legal writers may be concluded with the mention of the Commentaries of Sir William Blackstone, the value * Preface to i3th edition of Coke upon Littleton. THE LIBRARY. 175 of which is also indicated by the numerous editions that have been given to the public. The first edition was published at Oxford in 1765-9, four vols. 410., and the twenty-first, the last edition which contains the text of Blackstone unaltered, in 1844, four vols. 8vo., by Mr. J. F. Hargrave, Mr. G. Sweet, Mr. R. Couch, and Mr. W. N. Welsby. The twenty-third edition, ' incorporating the alterations down to the present time,' by James Stewart, was printed in 1854 ; and three editions, adapted to the present state of the law, have been published by Robert Malcolm Kerr, LL.D. ; the first in 1857, the last in 1 86 1. Besides these, there are six editions of Mr. Serjeant Stephen's Commentaries partly founded on Blackstone, four vols. Svo., the first printed in 1842-5, the sixth in 1868. Notwithstanding its high reputation and the repeated eulogiums bestowed upon it by eminent jurists, the changes that of late years have taken place in the law have diminished the value of this celebrated work. " The cannonade which has for the last twenty years been playing on the Com- mentaries, exposing as they do so wide a front, has rendered them, as they were left by their author, a mere wreck. Edition after edition has been called for, and given by editors more or less eminent. But in spite of all the alterations, much still re- mains, not only unaltered, but unequalled for cor- 176 LINCOLN'S INN. rectness and beautiful statement." * " Blackstone's Commentaries," says Sir William Jones, " are the most correct and beautiful outline that ever was exhibited of any human science, but they alone will no more form a lawyer than a general map of the world will make a geographer." To Sir W. Black- stone belongs the merit of having been the first to array in attractive garb the harsher features of legal science, and in criticising its merits, it must be borne in mind that "its principal object is to present an orderly and systematic view of a science, the outlines of which are not to be found as briefly, yet completely delineated, in any other work." f In Colonel Fremont's account of his disastrous exploring expedition across the Rocky Mountains, there is an interesting note relative to his perusal of these volumes. He states that while encamped on the side of the wintry mountain on a spot never before traversed by man 12,000 feet above the level of the sea with the thermometer at zero, and the country buried in snow the vo- lumes of Blackstone's Commentaries, which he had taken from the library of his wife's father, formed his Christmas amusements. He read them * Law Review. t Hoffman's Course of Legal Study. THE LIBRARY. 177 to pass the time and kill the consciousness of his situation. You' 4 may well suppose, adds the Colonel, that my first law lessons will be well remembered.* The Library contains a collection of the princi- pal writers on the Law of Scotland, including the works of Sir George Mackenzie, Lord Stair, Mac- douall (Lord Bankton), Erskine, &c. ; with the Decisions of the Court of Session from the earliest period, Morison's Dictionary, and all the modern Reports. There are also many works relating to the practice of the law in Ireland, besides the col- lection of Irish Statutes, and the Reports of the Courts of Law in that kingdom. The works of some of the most eminent of the American jurists are likewise to be found in the Library, including those of the late Judge Story, some of them presented by himself ; the Treatise on Evidence of Professor Greenleaf, presented by the author ; the Commentaries of Mr. Chancellor Kent ; the treatises of Angell on Tide Waters, c., those of Bishop on Marriage and Divorce, those of Hilliard on the Law of Contracts and of Torts, those of Parsons on Shipping, of Redfield on the Law of Wills, of Duer on Marine Insurance, and of Wash- burn on the American Law of Real Property, c. * Athenasum. M 178 LINCOLN'S INN. Besides these, there is a large collection of the American Reports. ENGLISH LAW. 2. REPORTS. THE next division of the Library is that wherein are contained the volumes of the Reports of Argu- ments and Decisions in Courts of Justice. "The practice of collecting judicial decisions," says M. Dupin, " is of great antiquity. Craterus, the fa- vourite of Alexander the Great, was the author of a work, the loss of which is much regretted by the learned ; it was a collection of Athenian laws, amongst which were the decisions of the Areopagus, and the Council of Amp*hictyons. The Roman lawyers often quote the judgments of the Praetors, and the ordinances of other magistrates." That this practice prevailed at an early period in Eng- land is shown by a passage in Chaucer : " In termes hadde he cas and domes alle That from the time of King Will, weren falle." " English Jurisprudence has not any other sure foundation, nor consequently, the lives and proper- ties of the subject any sure hold, but in the maxims, rules, principles, and juridical traditionary line of decisions, contained in the notes taken fr~>m time THE LIBRARY. 179 to time, and published mostly under the sanction of the Judges, called Reports."* These reports are histories of cases with a short summary of the proceedings, which are preserved at large in the records of the courts of justice, the arguments on both sides, and the reasons the court gave for its judgment, noted down by persons present at the determination. The reports are extant in a regular series from the reign of Edward II. inclusive ; and from his time to that of Henry VIII. they were taken by the prothonotaries or chief scribes of the court, at the expense of the crown, and published annually, whence they are known under the deno- mination of the Year-Books.t As the Library of Lincoln's Inn contains copies of all the Reports that have been published, besides a large collection of Manuscript Cases, including some of the earliest Year-Books, a summary notice of them may be here given. The Year-Books were first printed, and for the most part in separate Years and Terms, by Mach- linia, Pynson, &c. The whole series, with the ex- ception of the reign of Edward II., was reprinted about 1600 ; and this edition was so much in re- quest that copies were sold for a very high price until the publication of another in 1679, including * Burke. t Blackstone. i8o LINCOLN'S INN. the reign of Edward II. by Serjeant Maynard, in eleven volumes, folio. There are in the Library twenty-five volumes of the original editions of the Year-Books printed by Pynson, Redman, Berthelet, Tottell, &c. ; but it will be proper to notice first a Manuscript on vellum acquired some years ago by the Society, containing Reports of the reign of Edward I.* On the inside of the cover is the fol- lowing autograph note of Mr. Samuel Heywood, the former possessor of the volume : This book, according to the certificate on the first leaf, contains Reports of Cases in all the years of Edward I., and it appears from the Report of the Committee for examining Records appointed by the House of Commons in 1800, that there is no copy of these Reports extant in any of the Public Libraries. At the end is a very ancient copy of part of Britton, signed also by \Vm. Fleetwood, who was Recorder of the City of London in the reign of Elizabeth, to whom this volume in its present state pro- bably belonged formerly, as well as my MS. copy of Re- ports in the reign of Edward III. S. H. The following is the certificate referred to in the foregoing note : Hie liber Francisci Tate de Medio Templo continet in se omnes annossive Repertorium Regis Edwardi Primi. Teste W. Fletewoode. At the end of the volume also is the signature : Wil- * There are also in the Library some other volumes in MS. containing Reports of the 30, 31, 32, and 33 years of Edward I. ; as well as some others containing Reports of the reign of Edward II. THE LIBRARY. 181 liam Fletewoode. The Manuscript, a small folio, contains 288 pages, exclusive of the portion of Britton bound with it.* Of the early printed volumes twelve, in the ori- ginal oak binding, were presented by Ranulph (or Randall) Cholmeley, and some of these had belonged to William Rastell, as appears by the fol- lowing inscription on the inside of one of the covers : Sayd that I Wm Rastell the xvi day of March in the xxx yere of Kyng Henry the viii have sold to Randall Cholmeley my fyve t gret boke of yeres whereof this is * The statement that this volume contains Reports of Cases in all the years of Edward I. has been found to be erro- neous, by the careful examination the Manuscript has under- gone at the hands of Mr. J. Horwood, by whom some Reports of this period have been edited for the series of his- torical publications of the Master of the Rolls. It appears that the cases are chiefly of the 3151 and 32d years of Edward I., with a few reports of some other years. Mr. Horwood states that the handwriting is of the reign of Edward II., and is of a beauty far surpassing that of any Manuscript Year-Book which has fallen under his notice. The Reports from the Year-Books which Mr. Horwood has edited con- sist of three volumes ; those of the 30 and 31 Edward I., printed in 1863 from three MSS., two in the Library of Lin- coln's Inn, the third in the British Museum ; those of 32 and 33 Edward I., printed in 1864 from the MSS. in Lincoln's Inn Library; and those of 20 and 21 Edward I., in 1866, from a MS. in Cambridge University Library. t There are only four volumes with Rastell's name, which is written several times on the leaves, and sometimes in very neat Greek characters. 1 82 LINCOLN'S INN. one for the some of xxxiiii 5 viii d whych the same day he hath payd me. To one of the volumes are prefixed copies of Olde Teners, Natura Brevium, Lyttelton, and Novae Narrationes, printed by Pynson, without date. In another volume at the end of 17 Edward III., without printer's name: "The price of thys boke is xvi d. unbownde;" and at the end of 18 Edward III., also without printer's name : " The price of thys boke is xii d. unbound." In another of the volumes, at the end of 14 Henry VII., printed by T. Berthelet in 1529, the following curious evi- dence of the zealous desire of the printer to obtain the approbation of the public occurs in the colo- phon : " Si non adhuc nihilominus spero me olim satisfacturum delicatissimo palato. Scio per Jovem non omnino displiciturum hunc libellum." At the end of the following year, the printer puts forth the following laconic charge to the reader : "Hunc erne et lege, et disperiam si non placebit." It ap- pears that his meritorious efforts were not unre- warded ; for two years afterwards, in 1532, the colophon bears evidence that he had been appointed printer to the king. It is believed that he was the first who enjoyed that office by patent. The press of Berthelet was distinguished by the value as well as the number of the works which issued from it. L Three of the volumes of Year-Books were given THE LIBRARY. ' 183 to the Society in 1604 by Thomas Antrobus, and have his arms emblazoned on the fly-leaves. Three of them belonged to Lord Bacon, and have his initials on the title-page of the first volume, and numerous marginal notes in his hand-writing.* They contain part of the reign of Edward III. and the whole of that of Edward IV. At the end of 10 Edward IV., apparently printed by Rastell or Pynson, consisting of forty pages, are the words : The price of thys boke is iiii d - unbounde. This year, as well as the two years before mentioned with prices, appears to be printed with the same types as the Fitzherbert's Abridgment of 1516, and the circumstance of the price being printed also on that work confirms the opinion that it may have issued from the same press. * These volumes were purchased in 1845 at tne sale of the Library of the late Benjamin Heywood Bright, Esq., a member of Lincoln's Inn. This gentleman's rich and ex- tensive library abounded in works of the highest historical and literary interest, and in bibliographical curiosities ; and in this collection was a copy of Selden's Titles of Honour, presented by the learned author to William Cam- den, "the nourice of antiquitie," and a copy of his Treatise De Diis Syris, presented to Ben Jonson, which was ren- dered still more interesting by the manuscript notes of the dramatist. "There is nothing which brings us more im- mediately into the presence of the honoured dead than the possession of a book which once belonged to them, and which exhibits proof that it had been perused, if not studied, by them." 1 84 LINCOLN'S INN. With respect to the compilation of the Year- Books, it has been said, " that almost everything relating to them is involved in so much obscurity that it is believed even the names of the reporters are unknown." * This does not appear to be strictly the case, for Selden, in his Dissertation annexed to Fleta, speaks of the Law Annals of King Edward II. as transcribed from the manuscript of Richard de Winchedon, who lived at that time. Again, in the Year-Books, at the end of one of the Terms (M. T. 21 Edward III. p. 50), is the following passage : Icy se finissent les Reportes du Mons' Horewode. It is probable also that some manu- script reports extant in the time of Sir James Dyer, Chief Justice of Common Pleas in the reign of Elizabeth, and cited under the names of Tanfield, Warberton, &c., were by the Annalists, or com- pilers of the Year-Books. t Mr. Plowden, in the Preface to his Commentaries, written in the same reign, supposes the number of these official reporters to have been four, and that they received an annual stipend from the crown. When the ten volumes of the Year-Books were printed by subscription in 1679, they were recom- mended by the Judges to all students and professors * Douglas' Reports, Preface. f Vaillant's Preface to Dyer's Reports. THE LIBRARY. 185 of the law, as an essential part of their study. These books undoubtedly, says Bp. Nicolson, "give us the best history of our judges of both benches ; setting forth their opinions, in cases of intricacy, and, by consequence, good probable grounds for guessing at the learning and accomplishments of the men." * Lord Mansfield said that when he was young, few persons would confess that they had not read at least a considerable part of the Year- Books ; and, though of late years less attention has been paid to them, their importance is acknowledged by eminent jurists, and Sir Frederick Pollock has adverted to the extent of information derivable from those early authorities the fountain-heads of the law the Year-Books and old Reports. In a letter written in 1843 to Matthew Davenport Hill, Esq., by the late enlightened and lamented American Judge, the Hon. Joseph Story, occurs the following passage : " Looking to the gradual but certain decline of a knowledge of the old Norman Law French, I cannot but hope that Parliament may be induced to order a translation and publication of all the Year-Books (the unpublished as well as the published), as well as all the records of the early * Serjeant Maynard is said by Roger North to have had such a relish of the old Year-Books, that he carried one in his coach to divert his time in travel, and chose it before any comedy. 1 86 LINCOLN'S INN. cases decided in Chancery ; they would contain invaluable materials for an exact history of Com- mon Law and of Equity which, I fear, in a few years will be wholly inaccessible to the bulk of our profession." * BELLEWE'S CASES TEMP. Ric. II. supply the chasm in the Year-Books between the fifth part of these books (Edward III.) and the reign of Henry IV. The volume is termed by Dugdale,t " The Year-Book of King Richard the Second's time containing Cases adjudged." The Cases were selected from the abridgments of Statham, Fitz- herbert, and Brooke, by Richard Bellewe, of Lincoln's Inn, and printed in 1585, 8vo. Having become very rare, the book was admirably reprinted in 1869, and published by Messrs Stevens and Haynes, who have also reprinted some other volumes of the early reports. The labours of the official reporters employed in the compilation of the Year-Books were discon- tinued after the 27th Henry VIII., or probably earlier, for the cases printed of that reign are said to be collected with very little judgment. After that time a considerable period elapsed before the appearance of any new Reports. The first were * The correspondence between Mr. Hill and Mr. Justice Story will be found in the Law Review. fOrigines Jurid. p. 58. THE LIBRARY. 187 those of EDMUND PLOWDEN, Serjeant-at-Law, " the most accurate of all reporters." They con- tain cases in the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, and were first published in French under the name of Commentaries in 1684, folio ; four times reprinted in French, and an English translation published in 1761, folio. The next were those of SIR JAMES DYER, containing select cases from 4 Henry VIII. to 24 Elizabeth, published by his nephews in 1585, folio, in French. Their " grandeur and dignity," in the opinion of Sir Harbottle Grim- stone, " are an ample recompense for any failure in the number of persons reporting." They were five times reprinted, and an English translation was first published by Mr. John Vaillant, in three volumes, 8vo. 1794, with a life of the author from a MS. in the Library of the Inner Temple. In the year 1602, followed the Reports of MR. ROBERT KEILWEY, edited by John Croke,* Serjeant-at- Law, and Recorder of the City of London, brother of the Reporter of that name, containing Cases in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. not reported in the Year- Books. To the Reports of SIR EDWARD COKE has been given as an especial distinction the title of THE REPORTS ; and particular importance is at- * Speaker of the House of Commons, afterwards created a Knight, and Judge of the King's Bench. 1 88 LINCOLN'S INN. tached to them as comprising the decisions of our courts of justice at a time when the law was, as it may be said, in a state of transition. Had it not been for these Reports, it is said by Lord Bacon that " the law by this time had been almost a ship without ballast." * They are in thirteen parts, eleven only of which appeared during the author's life-time, between the years 1601 and 1616, in French ; the twelfth part appeared in 1658, and the thirteenth in 1677, folio. They were printed in English in 1658 and in 1680 ; and in 1697 reprinted in French. In 1727 these Reports were printed in seven volumes 8vo. with the pleadings in Latin ; in 1738, with the pleadings in English, in seven vols. 8vo. ; in 1776, with notes by Mr. Serjeant Wilson, in seven vols., Svo. The last edition was in 1826, with Notes by J. H. Thomas, and J. F. Fraser, in six vols., Svo. The rapid increase of Reports during the Com- monwealth is thus alluded to by BuLSTRODE,t whose Reports were published in 1657 : " Of late we have found so many wandering and masterless reports like the soldiers of Cadmus, daily rising up and jostling each other, that our learned Judges have been forced to provide against their multiplicity * Proposal for amending the Laws of England, t Dedicatory Epistle to his second volume. THE LIBRARY. 189 by disallowing of some posthumous Reports ; well considering that as laws are the anchors of the republic, so the Reports are as the anchors of laws, and therefore ought to be well weighed before put out." The Reports of SIR GEORGE CROKE, containing cases in the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles I., and regarded as of high authority, were published by Sir Harbottle Grimstone in 1657-61, in three volumes, folio. Having been published while the Ordinance of Parliament was in force, commanding the publication of law books in English, the editor was compelled reluctantly to translate them into English, but still enjoyed the satisfaction of print- ing them in black letter^ which he considered the proper letter of the law. The last edition, the fourth, was by Thomas Leach, Esq., in 1790-92, four vols., 8vo. Upon the Restoration, a check was given to the indiscriminate printing of Reports by the Statute which prohibited the publication of law-books with- out the licence of certain of the Judges. In the reign of Charles II., Reports were published by HENRY ROLLE, WILLIAM LEONARD, SIR THOMAS JONES, and SIR JOHN VAUGHAN. In the reign of James II. appeared the Reports of Sir Edmund Saunders, who was termed by Lord Mansfield the Terence of Reporters. The value of this work 190 LINCOLN'S INN. has been so much augmented by the annotations of Mr. Vaughan Williams, that the Terence has been aptly said to have met with a Bentley for his annotator. The regular periodical publication of Reports did not take place till the latter part of the last century, MR. DURNFORD and MR. HYDE EAST having led the way by publishing in conjunction the .Cases adjudged in the Court of King's Bench within a short time after each Term, under the name of Term Reports. This example was followed by many other barristers, and the number of reporters mul- tiplied so rapidly that before the end of the reign of George III. they amounted to upwards of sixty in the different courts. In the year 1866 a new system of reporting was established, under the direction of a body named the Council of Law Reporting, consisting of the Law Officers of the Crown, who are ex- officio members, and of representatives appointed by Serjeant's Inn, the four Inns of Court, and the Incorporated Law Society. This Council owes its existence to a scheme for the amendment of the sys- tem of reporting judicial decisions adopted by the Bar at a meeting held on the 28th November 1864, under the presidency of Sir Roundell Palmer, then Attorney General, and now Lord Chancellor (Lord Selborne). The object of this scheme was "the THE LIBRARY. 191 preparation under professional control through the medium of the Council, by barristers of known ability, skill, and experience, acting under the super- vision of editors, of one complete set of Reports, to be published with promptitude, regularity, and at moderate cost, in the expectation that such a set of Reports would be generally accepted by the pro- fession as sufficient evidence of case law ; so that the judge in decision, the advocate in argument, and the general practitioner in the advice he gives to his client, may resort to one and the same standard of authority." This scheme has received the support of the profession ; and the number of volumes pub- lished annually, comprising Reports of Cases in all the Courts, is about ten.* The Library possesses also a large collection of the Cases heard on Appeal before the House of Lords, as the supreme court of judicature in the kingdom, from the year 1664 to the present time, forming about 160 volumes in folio and 1 1 1 volumes in 410. Besides these, there is a collection of Cases heard before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, from 1847 to the present time, forming 128 volumes in folio. *The independent periodical publication of the Law Journal, the Law Times, the Solicitors' Journal, and the Weekly Reporter is still continued. 192 LINCOLN'S INN. ENGLISH LAW. 3. STATUTES. THE next division of English Law to be noticed is the Collection of the Statutes or Acts of Parlia- ment, the great importance of which in the study of history, as well as in the attainment of a scientific knowledge of the law, is very evident. " Our Acts of Parliament/' says Bishop Nicolson, "give often such fair hints of the humours most prevailing at the time of their being enacted, that many parts of our history may be recovered from them, especially if compared with the writers, either in divinity or morality, about the same date." Mr. Daines Bar- rington observes, that our old acts of parliament are the very best materials for English history, and that they are strongly descriptive of the manners of the times. Mr. Raithby * says : " When it is considered that the Statute Book of England con- tains the best and surest history of the constitution of this country, it must be regretted that it is sel- dom perused but from the necessity of reference, or regarded in any higher light than a naked for- mulary of municipal regulations ; and it is much to be desired that the study of it should be regularly * Preface to the Statutes at Large. THE LIBRARY. 193 incorporated into the system of, British educa- tion." Statutes, or Acts of Parliament, compose that part of the law of England known by the denomi- nation of written laws in contradistinction to the common law, which is unwritten, and depends on immemorial custom. The general name for all laws anterior to the date of the earliest statutes now extant was either Assisae or Constitutiones. Statutes were originally founded upon petitions of the Commons, referred to certain tryers, being Lords of Parliamentj and afterwards maturely con- sidered and replied to by the king, with the assist- ance of his responsible advisers. The statute itself was drawn up with the aid of the judges and other grave and learned persons, and was entered on a roll called the Statute Roll. The tenor of it was afterwards transcribed on parchment, and sent to the sheriffs of every county for proclamation. In 2 Henry V. the Commons, in consequence of a corrupt practice of making alterations at the time of entering the bill on the Statute Roll, contended that, since they were assertors as well as petitioners, * In China, all persons holding official situations are required to be perfect in the knowledge of the laws, and their deficiency at the annual examination by their superiors subjects them to the loss of a month's salary, and the inferior officers are punished with forty blows. BARRETT'S Code Napoleon. N i94 LINCOLN'S INN. statutes should be made according to the tenor of the writing of their petitions, and not altered. This petition, memorable on many accounts be- sides its intrinsic importance, is deserving of notice as the earliest instance in which the House of Commons adopted the English language. They had noble sentiments to utter, and they must have presently discovered that they were able to embody them in suitable expressions ; that there was no want of copiousness or of energy in the vernacular tongue.* The Statutes were originally either in Latin or French ; and a memorandum of the time and place of meeting of the Parliament was usually prefixed. The acts passed during one session formed one statute. The division into chapters, with titles, was an arbitrary invention of subsequent editors ; and the practice commenced in the 5th year of Henry VIII. In the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV. the language of the Statutes was sometimes English, but more commonly French ; the Statutes of Henry VII. were the first that were all drawn in English. The printed promulgation of the Statutes in the form of sessional publications began in the reign of Richard III. ; at which period it has been errone- ously supposed that the distinction between public * Dwarris on Statutes. THE LIBRARY. 195 and private acts originated. Numerous instances of the passing of acts of a private nature, are to be found in Riley's Placita Parliamentaria, and in the six volumes of the Rolls of Parliament, printed in 1767; but from the period mentioned, the division has been adopted in the Tables to the collections of the Statutes at Large. The first division of the Statutes is into Ancient and Modern ; those from Magna Charta to the end of the reign of Edward II. being called Vetera Statuta, those from the beginning of Edward III. Nova Statuta. The Vetera Statuta include some which are termed incerti tetpporis, because it is not known whether they should be assigned to the reign of Henry III., Edward I. or Edward II. From some accidental circumstance of collection or publication they are divided into two parts. Modern Acts of Parliament are divided into the classes of Public General, Local and Personal, Private Acts printed by the King's Printer, and Private Acts not so printed; but 'as some variations have from time to time taken place in the mode of division, the following statement derived from the Sessional Tables prefixed to the volumes of Statutes printed by authority, may be found useful. i. From the reign of Richard III. to 25 George II. the division is simply into Public and Private Acts. 196 LINCOLN'S INN. 2. From 26 George II. to 37 George III. after the list of Public Acts is a list of Acts termed Public Acts not printed in this collection ; and then follows the list of Private Acts. 3. From 38 George III. to 42 George III. the division is into three classes, termed Public General Acts ; Public Local and Personal Acts ; and Private Acts. 4. From 43 George III. to 54 George III. the classes are termed Public General Acts ; Local and Personal Acts to be judicially noticed ; and Local and Personal Acts not printed.* 5. From 55 George III. to the present time, the division is fourfold, under the following terms : Public General Acts ; Local and Personal Acts declared Public, c. ; Private Acts printed by the King's Printer ; and Private Acts not printed. From 31 and 32 Viet, to the present time, the Public Acts of a local character have been printed with the Local and Personal Acts, the letter P. being placed in the margin of the list of those Acts to distinguish them ; although Public Acts, * The term "not printed" means that the Acts are not printed by the king's or queen's printer ; these Acts, which relate principally to inclosurcs, estates, &c., are printed at the expense of the parties concerned. THE LIBRARY. 197 they do not appear in the list nor in the in- dex of the Public Acts, but only in the list and index of the Local and Personal Acts. The principal editions of the Statutes may now be noticed in chronological order, most of these, with the exception of the rarest and earliest of them, being in the Library of Lincoln's Inn. In the earliest Collections and Abridgments, all the Statutes previous to the reign of Henry VII. were printed in Latin or French, the languages in which they were respectively passed. The first of these, entitled Vieu Abregement des Statuts, in folio, contains the Statutes in Latin and French, in alphabetical order, to 33 Henry VI. A.D. 1455, and is supposed to have been printed by Lettou and Machlinia before 1481. Nova Statuta, i Edward III. to 22 Edward IV. in Latin and French, supposed to have been printed by Machlinia after the preceding, about 1482, folio. Statuta apud Westmonasterium edita anno primo regis Ricardi III. ; printed in French, by Caxton or Machlinia, in 1483, folio, immediately on being passed. This is the first instance of sessional pub- lication by the king's printer, a practice continued to the present time. Statutes of Henry VII. A complete series of the Statutes, from i to 7 Henry VII., the period of 198 LINCOLN'S INN. Caxton's decease, was published by that printer, in folio, without date. It consists of eighty-two pages, and is described in the Bibliotheca Spenceriana by Dr. Dibdin, who says, it may be questioned whether there are three perfect copies in existence. Several portions of the Statutes of Henry VII. were printed by Wynkyn de Worde. Between 1497 and 1504, the Statutes from i Edward III. to 12 Henry VII. inclusive, were printed by R. Pynson, in folio, in Latin and French respectively, those of Henry VII. only being in English. In 1508, Pynson printed in I2mo. the Statutes previous to i Edward III. which are usually called Antiqua Statuta or Vetera Statuta, those passed subsequently to that period being termed Nova Statuta. These were several times reprinted, and are the earliest printed copies known of these Statutes. In 1531, Berthelet printed in i6mo. an edition of Antiqua Statuta, similar to Pynson's, with addi- tions ; and in 1532 he printed a small collection of other Statutes previous to Edward III. which he entitled, Secunda Pars Veterum Statutorum. Of these two collections, several editions were after- wards published ; the principal are those of Tottell, 1556, 1576 and 1587, and that of Marshe, 1556. THE LIBRARY. 199 In the Alphabetical Abridgment of the Statutes by William Owen, of the Middle Temple, printed by Pynson in 1521 and 1528, I2mo., not only the Acts previous to, and in the reign of Richard III. are in Latin or French, but the Abridgment of those of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. is in French, although they were passed and printed in English. Rastell's Abridgment. The first English Abridg- ment of the Statutes was translated and printed by John Rastell, in 1519, folio, with a Preface on the propriety of the laws being published in English. This preface indicates the period when the Acts were first "endited and written" in English, ascrib- ing that measure to Henry VII. Ferrers' Translation. The earliest printed trans- lation, not abridged, of the Charters, and of several Statutes previous to I Edward III. was made by George Ferrers, member of parliament. It was first printed in 1534, in 8vo. by Redman, and re- published in 1 540 and 1542-, with some amendments and additions. This translation was generally adopted in subsequent editions of the Statutes. In 1543, a volume of Statutes, in English, from Magna Charta to 19 Henry VII. was printed by Thomas Berthelet, the king's printer, in folio, and a second volume soon afterwards, containing those of Henry VIII. This is the first complete chrono- logical series, either in the English, or the original 2oo LINCOLN'S INN. languages, and the first translation of the Statutes from I Edward III. to i Henry VII. The first volume was reprinted in 1564, and the second in 1544, 1551, 1563, and 1575. Between 1541 and 1548 "The Great Boke of Statutes " in English, from i Edward III. to 34 Henry VIII. was printed as far as 24 Henry VII. by R. Myddylton, and thence by Berthelet, in folio. Rastell's Collection of Statutes. In 1557, a Collection of Acts from Magna Charta to that period, in alphabetical order, was published by William Rastell, Sergeant-at-Law, afterwards Chief Justice of K. B. The Statutes to the end of the reign of Richard III. are given either in Latin or French, as first published, and all subsequent in English. This collection was reprinted in 1579, and frequently afterwards, with the Acts prior to Henry VII. translated into English. In the edition of Statutes in English, printed by C. Barker, in 1587, folio, the Title affords the earliest instance of the term, Statutes at Large. In the " Collection of Sundry Statutes frequent in use," ending with 7 James I. published by Ferdi- nando Pulton in 1618, folio, the editor first intro- duced a regular series of titles at the head of every chapter, apparently of his own invention. In 1618, the Statutes at Large, in English, were THE LIBRARY. 201 published by the king's printers, Norton and Bill, in folio. This Collection, professing to contain all the Acts at any time extant in print until 6 James I. is usually called Rastell's Statutes, although Rastell had been long deceased. An authentic Collection of the Acts and Ordi- nances passed from 1640 to 1656, by Henry Scobell, Clerk of the Parliament, was printed in 1658, folio. Partial collections of these were printed by Husband in 1646, by Field in 1651, &c. After the Restoration, the Statutes of the reign of Charles I. and Charles II. by Thomas Manby were printed in 1667, folio. Respecting the various editions of the Statutes at Large, by Joseph Keble in 1676 ; by Mr. Ser- jeant Hawkins, in 1735, six vols. folio ; by John Cay in 1758, six vols. folio ; by Owen Ruff head, in 1762-1800, eighteen vols. 4to. ; by Danby Picker- ing, in 1762, twenty-three vols. 8vo. continued annually ; as well as those above noticed, full information is contained in the Introduction to the Statutes of the Realm published by the Record Commission. This valuable publication, containing all the Charters, with engraved fac-similes, and the Statutes from that of Merton, 20 Henry III. to the end of the reign of Anne, in their original languages, with translations, under the editorial care of Sir T. E. Tomlins, J. Raithby, &c. was printed in 1810-1828 in 2O2 LINCOLN'S INN. eleven volumes folio, with Alphabetical and Chrono- logical Indexes. In the Introduction it is stated, that no complete Collection has been printed con- taining all the matters which at different times, and by different editors, have been published as Statutes ; and that no one complete printed trans- lation of all the Acts previous to the reign of Henry VII. exists. The quarto edition of the Statutes by Ruffhead was continued by Tomlins, Raithby, Simons, and Rickards successively, from 1801 to 1869, when the publication in that form was discontinued, and the place is supplied from 1870 to the present time by the octavo edition published by the Council of Law Reporting. The folio edition of the Statutes, published ses- sionally by authority, printed in black letter till 33 George III. and continued in the Roman character, is in the Library, commencing with 21 Jac. I. ; and also the Local and Personal Acts from 38 George III., and the Private Acts from i George II. 1727 to the present time. In the year 1870, in compliance with the letter of the Lord Chancellor (Cairns) to Sir John G. Shaw Lefevre, Clerk of the Parliaments, dated Qth July 1868, appeared the first volume of a revised edition of the Statutes, containing only such Acts as are in force. They are under the editorship of Mr. Arthur THE LIBRARY. 203 John Wood, Mr. G. K. Rickards, Mr. P. Vernon Smith, and Mr. W. L. Selfe, and are printed in royal octavo ; three volumes have now been pub- lished,* and it is expected that the Acts will be comprised in about eighteen volumes. With this edition has also been published by authority a Chronological Table and Index to the Statutes, the second edition of which reaches to the end of the Session of 1872; the Table being framed by Mr. A. J. Wood, the Index by Mr. Henry Jenkyns with the assistance of Mr. Chaloner W. Chute. By the kind courtesy of the public authorities, a considerable collection of the Statutes of the various colonies of Great Britain, comprising those of Canada, Jamaica, Australia, Barbados, Mauritius, New Zealand, &c., &c., now have a place in the Library. The Library of Lincoln's Inn possesses several volumes of the Statutes in manuscript, the gifts of various benefactors. Most of them are written on vellum, in fine preservation, and some illuminated ; they are chiefly of the fourteenth century. STATUTES OF SCOTLAND. The first general collection of these Statutes, published by authority, was edited by Dr. Edward Henryson, and printed * VoL I. Henry IIL-James II., 1235-36-1685. Vol. II. William and Mary-io George III., 1688-1770. Vol. III. n George III. -41 George III., 1770-1800. 204 LINCOLN'S INN. at Edinburgh in 1556, by Robert Lekpreuik, in folio. From the character in which they are printed, these are usually termed the " Black Acts." But this collection contains only the Acts from the return of James I. to Scotland in 1424 to the last parliament of Queen Mary in 1564. Another edition, containing the Acts from the same period to December 1597, was published in that year by Sir John Skene, Clerk of Register. In 1609, a col- lection of the Laws of Scotland from the reign of Malcolm II. A.D. 1004 to that of Robert III. A.D. 1400, was published by Sir John Skene, in the original Latin, and a Scottish translation was printed at the same time, both in folio, with the treatises of " Regiam Majestatem " and " Ouoniam Attachiamenta," * so called from their initial words. This translation was reprinted in 1613, and again in 1774, 4to. In the year 1681, the Acts from 19 James I. 1424 to 33 Charles II. 1681, were published in folio, by Sir Thomas Murray of Glen- dook, Clerk of the Council. There is also an edition, commonly called "the Scotch Acts," in three vols. I2mo., containing the Acts from 1424 to 1707. An edition has likewise been published by the Record Commission in eleven volumes, folio, con- * This consists chiefly of rules of proceedings in Court. THE LIBRARY. 205 taining all the Acts of Parliament from the reign of David I. A.D. 1124 to 1707, the year of the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland. This edition was published under the superintendence of Mr. Thomas Thomson, Deputy Clerk Register of Scotland,* the first volume, which was not printed till 1844, being brought to completion by Mr. C. Innes. The date of the other volumes is 1814- 1824. In the first volume is a collation of the Regiam Majestatem with the treatise of Glanville, by which it is shown to contain the same matter almost in the same words. The Regiam Majes- tatem professes to be compiled by a private individual, by the command of King David ; t but the period of its compilation is now ascertained to be about two centuries later. Except in the manu- script collections which contain the treatise itself, there is no mention of the work earlier than in the ordinance of the Parliament of James I. in 1425. , The earliest copies now extant were written about the end of the I4th century. * Under the same superintendence were published in 1839, the Acts of the Lords Auditors of Causes and Com- plaints, from 1466 to 1494, and the Acts of the Lords of Council in Civil Causes, from 1478 to 1495. f The early collectors of the laws of Scotland have con- curred in ascribing a large body of ordinances to King David I. as the Justinian of that kingdom. 2o6 LINCOLN'S INN. The first general collection of the STATUTES OF IRELAND was made under the authority of Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of that kingdom in the reign of Elizabeth, and contains the Acts from 10 Henry VI. to 14 Elizabeth. It was printed at London by R. Tottell in 1572, folio. In 1621, a Collection of Acts from 3 Edward II. to 13 James I. made by Sir Richard Bolton, Recorder of Dublin, was printed in that city, in folio. This was reprinted by the king's printer in 1678, and again in 1723. In 1765, the Statutes from 3 Edward II. were printed by authority in Dublin, in seven vols. folio, with an eighth volume of Tables. A republication of these took place in 1786, and was continued to 40 George III. 1800, forming, with two volumes of Indexes by William Ball, twenty-one volumes, folio. ENGLISH LAW. 4. TRIALS. THE Library possesses, besides several editions of the State Trials, an extensive collection of cri- minal and other trials. Such collections are valu- able not only to the lawyer, but afford rich materials for the study of history, indicating in some degree the character of the times in which they occur, the manners and habits of the people, as well as their THE LIBRARY. 207 moral and intellectual condition. The trials of former times give life and reality, and what may be termed dramatic effect, to history ; and exhibit a great variety of character under circumstances of difficulty and danger. The State Trials were first collected and printed in 1719, with a Preface by Mr. Salmon, in four volumes, folio. The second edition was in 1730, with a Preface by Mr. Emlyn, in six volumes, folio ; reprinted in 1742. Two supplemental volumes were printed in 1735, an d two additional volumes in 1766. A fourth edition was given to the public by Mr. Hargrave, in eleven volumes, folio, 1766-81 ; and a new edition by W. Cobbett, T. B. Howell, and J. B. Howell, with an Index by David Jardine, in thirty-four vols. 8vo., 1809-28. This last collection commences with the proceed- ings against Archbishop Becket, 9 Henry III. A.D. 1163. In the Library is a Collection of Papers, printed and manuscript, relating to the memorable trial of Warren Hastings. This trial, remarkable on many accounts, is distinguished by the display of talent in the managers and advocates engaged in the cause, and called forth some of the most brilliant speeches of Burke, Fox, and Sheridan. The Collection con- tains all the Reports of Committees, the Minutes of Evidence, and various other documents, with the 2o8 LINCOLN'S INN. whole of the Proceedings at the Trial, which lasted 130 days, continued at intervals from 1788 to 1794. These Papers, with Indexes, are bound in fifty-eight volumes, folio ; of these, thirty-eight containing the Report of the Trial, are in manu- script, copied from the short-hand notes of Mr. Gurney ; and amongst them is an unpublished speech of Sheridan. The collection was purchased of Mr. Adolphus, by whom it had been used in his interesting narrative of the Trial in his History of the Reign of George the Third. ^ Here is also a Collection of the Trials at the Sessions of the Old Bailey, now the Central Cri- minal Court, from the year 1730 to the present time, in 122 vols. 4to. and 76 vols., 8vo. A part of this set was formerly in the magnificent library of John, Duke of Roxburghe. In the Library of Lincoln's Inn there is likewise a Collection of all the publications relating to the celebrated Douglas Cause, including all the Speeches and Arguments in the case, and the various pamphlets written on the occasion. ROMAN OR CIVIL LAW. THE next department of the Library to be no- ticed is that devoted to Civil and Foreign Law, and in this division the number of works is scarcely inferior to that of the writers on the Law of Eng- THE LIBRARY. 209 land. The importance of the study of the Civil or Roman Law, and the great influence which that law has exercised over the judicial institutions of Eng- land, as well as of other European nations, are now generally admitted. By Sir Matthew Hale it is observed " that the true grounds and reasons of law were so well deli- vered in the Digest, that a man could never un- derstand* law as a science so well as by seeking it there." By Sir John Holt,* Lord Chief Justice of K. B. in the reign of William III. it was con- fessed that the principles of our law are borrowed from the Civil Law, and therefore grounded upon the same reason. All that is now extant of Roman legislation consists of some fragments of the Laws of the Twelve Tables ; the Theodosian Code ; the Corpus Juris Civilis ; the Institutions of Gaius ; the re- mains of legislation before the time of Justinian, which are preserved in the Quatuor Fontes Juris Civilis by Godefroy, Jurisprudentia Vetus Ante- Justinianea, by Schulting, Jus Civile Ante-Jus- tinianeum, by Hugo, and Juris Romani Ante-Jus- tinianei Fragmenta Vaticana, by Angelo Mai ; to which may be added the Leges Regiae collected by * The name of Holt can never be pronounced without veneration, so long as wisdom and integrity are revered among men. SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. O 210 LINCOLN'S INN. Lipsius and others, and laws attributed to Romulus, published by Balduinus. With respect to the Laws of the Twelve Tables, though there is much controversy regarding their origin, there is none about their existence. At the beginning of the fourth century after the founda- tion of the city of Rome, the old laws were reduced to writing by a supreme council appointed for the purpose, with additions chiefly from the Greek laws and customs. Ten tables thus formed, afterwards increased to twelve, were the foundation of the Roman Law. The praetors, moreover, upon their entrance into office, promulgated an edict, or body of the rules which they intended to follow in deciding causes. Commentaries were afterwards written upon these edicts by the lawyers ; and in the course of time the number of law-books in- creased to an enormous extent, in consequence of which the great work of reducing them to the form of a digest was undertaken by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century of the Christian era. In A.D. 438, the emperor Theodosius the Second caused a body of laws to be compiled, which from him is named the THEODOSIAN CODE. It contains the edicts and rescripts of sixteen emperors, from the year 312, the era of the first Christian emperor, to 438, and was promulgated both in the eastern and western empire. The emperor had been preceded in THE LIBRARY. 211 the compilation of a body of laws by two lawyers Gregorianus and Hermogenianus, some fragments of which have been preserved. After the establish- ment of the kingdom of the Visigoths, a digest of Roman law was framed by the authority of Alaric II. in the year 506, for the use of the Roman inhabit- ants of that kingdom. This compilation, named the Breviary,* comprises extracts from the Theodosian Code, from the Novels of Theodosius and other emperors, from the works of the jurists Gaius and Paulus, and from the Gregorian and Hermogenian codes, with an interpretation which accommodated these dispositions of the Roman Law to the existing state of society. This interpretation is of the highest historical value, giving a faithful picture of the political condition of the Romans.t The Theodosian Code was first printed at Basle in 1528, folio, under the care of John Sichard ; the second edition was by Jean du Tillet, Paris, 1558, 8vo. This edition is more complete than the former, but omits the ancient commentary. It was followed by that of Cujacius, printed at Lyons, in 1566, folio; again at Paris, in 1586, folio, and * This name was given to the work in the i6th century, when it was called the Breviary of Anianus, by whose signature the copies dispatched to the different districts were authenticated. J 1 Quarterly Jurist. 2i2 LINCOLN'S INN. at Geneva in 1586, 410. Various other editions were printed, but all were eclipsed by that of James Godefroy, who was engaged for the space of thirty years in the work, and died in 1652, before its completion. The edition was committed to the press by Anthony Marville, professor of law in the university of Valence, who had purchased the library of Godefroy, including his manuscripts. " Immortale opus est, quod Gothofredus perficit," is the testimony of Hugo, the eminent German civilian, to the merit of the work. Gibbon also speaks in the highest terms of its usefulness as a work of history as well as of jurisprudence. The Code was republished at Leipsic, in 1736-45, in six volumes, folio, by John Daniel Ritter, professor of philosophy, eminently qualified for the task. By subsequent additions * from recently discovered manuscripts, the first five books of the Theodosian Code, which had long appeared defective, are greatly improved. The Roman Law contained in the CORPUS JURIS CiviLlS consists of the Code, Digest, and Insti- tutes of Justinian, with the Novelise or Novel Con- * Some additions, from a MS. in the Vatican, were published some years after Ritter's edition, by Zirardini and Amaduzzi ; and some fragments have been more recently discovered in other libraries by the professors Peyron and .Clossius. These new materials have received additional illustration from Dr. Wenck, professor of civil law in the university of Leipsic. THE LIBRARY. 213 stitutions and thirteen edicts of that emperor, to which have been subsequently added the Novellae of Leo and other emperors, and the Feudorum Consuetudines. In A.D. 528, a commission was appointed by Justinian, at the head of which was placed his minister Tribonian, for the purpose of compiling a new Code. The collection made by this commission, containing the edicts and rescripts of emperors from Hadrian to Justinian, was com- pleted and sanctioned in the year 529; but some new decisions having been found necessary, the code was revised, the first edition suppressed, and a new one, with these laws inserted, sanctioned in 534. In the year 530, Tribonian was appointed, with sixteen associates, to prepare a digest of legal science, from writings of the highest reputation ; and the work thus compiled was published A.D. 533 under the title of Digests or Pandects. Tri- bonian was also employed, in conjunction with Theophilus, professor of law at Constantinople, and Dorotheus, professor at Berytus,* to prepare * The city of Berytus, beautifully situated on the coast of Syria, was celebrated for its school of jurisprudence, founded during the third century. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the year 554, and near the ancient site another town named Beirout was founded by the Druses, and possessed by the Emirs as their capital till their expulsion by Djezzar, Pasha of Acre. The name has become again famous from its connection with the memorable destruction 214 LINCOLN'S INN. an introduction to the study of the law. This was sanctioned in 533, and published under the title of Institutes. " This little work," says Dr. Bever, " is so truly admirable, both for its method and conciseness, as well as for the elegance of its composition, that it has been imitated by almost every nation in Europe that has ever made any pretence to reduce its own laws to a regular and scientific form." It is formed on the model of the Institutions of Caius or Gains, a jurist who lived about the time of Antoninus, the recent discovery of which is regarded, from the illustrations it affords of the Roman Law, as forming a new era in the history of jurisprudence.* The Institutions of Gaius, a work of which only some fragments had been previously known, was discovered by Niebuhr in the Cathedral Library of Verona. An extract from the manuscript was communicated to Professor Savigny, of Berlin, who easily ascertained that it formed a portion of the work of Gaius. Professors Goschen and Bek- of Acre, under Sir Charles Napier, in 1840. Since that period a British consul has been resident there. * In a volume just published (Oxford, 1873), entitled : "The Institutes of Justinian, edited as a recension of the Institutes of Gaius," by Mr. T. E. Holland, of Lincoln's Inn, the editor has shown, by the use of a distinctive type in printing, what proportion of text is common to both works, and thus hopes that by the comparison " some light may be thrown upon the historical development of Roman law." THE LIBRARY. 215 ker, members of the university of Berlin, were dispatched by the Royal Academy of that city to Verona, to execute a transcript of the MS.,* a task in which they were aided by Dr. Bethmann Hollweg, professor of law at Bonn. The work was published by Goschen at Berlin in 1820, and reprinted in 1824, in 8vo., and edited subsequently by Bocking, Gneist, Huschke, &c. ; and by its restoration much light has been thrown upon the Roman law, many doubts have been elucidated, and difficulties, before regarded as hopeless, cleared up.f There are also some English translations of the work. The Institutes of Justinian were first printed at Mentz, by Schoeffer, in 1468, folio ; the Code, in 1475, by the same printer ; and the whole of the Pandects in 1489, at Venice. Portions of the Pandects were printed in 1475. I* 1 the Library of Lincoln's Inn is a fine copy of the Digestum Novum, t printed by Jenson at Venice in 1477 ; of * This ancient manuscript, supposed to have been written before the compilation of Justinian, is a codex rescriptus, and to a considerable extent bis rescriptus, and could not be deciphered without the aid of a chemical process. t Dr. Irving's Introduction to the Study of the Civil Law ; and Smith's Greek and Roman Biography. J In the i5th century the Digest was divided into three parts, the Digestum Vetus, Infortiatum, and Digestum Novum. Various conjectures have been given respecting the etymology of the word Infortiatum. The division so 216 LINCOLN'S INN. the Digestum Vetus, printed by Baptist de Tortis at Venice in 1494 ; the Code by the same printer in 1493, and by Nicolas de Benedictis at Lyons, in 1506. All these are in folio, in the original oak binding. There is also a copy of the edition of the Pandects, by Laelius and Francis Taurelli, beautifully, printed by Torrentino at Florence in 1553, folio, from the celebrated manuscript pre- served in the Medicean Library. The story, long prevalent, respecting the discovery of this manu- script at the capture of the city of Amalfi, and its subsequent removal to Florence, has been shown to be unfounded, and is now universally discredited. It is, however, regarded as the most authentic manuscript, and volumes of controversy have been written on the subject. Among the editions of the Corpus Juris Civilis in the Library, is that with the gloss, or interpretation of Accursius, printed at Lyons in 1627, in six volumes, folio ; and that with the notes of Denis Godefroy, printed by Elzevir at Amsterdam in 1663, two volumes folio, edited by Simon Van Leeuwen. A Greek paraphrase of the Institutes was written by Theophilus, one of the compilers of the original named begins with the third title of the twenty-fourth book, '' Soluto Matrimonio," and ends with the thirty-eighth book. The word Pandects, derived from the Greek, denotes the comprehensive nature of the work. THE LIBRARY. 217 work. Of this paraphrase several editions have been printed ; the most complete is by William Otto Reitz, printed at the Hague in 1751, in two volumes, 410. In the opinion of Haubold, profegsor of law at Leipsic, this is unequalled by any similar publication, except Kilter's edition of the Theodo- sian Code. The Pandects and Code were likewise translated into Greek. The BASILICA is a body of law chiefly compiled from that of Justinian for the government of the eastern empire. Its name is derived, either from the emperor Basilius, or from its containing imperial constitutions (Baper, C. P., 144. Hale, Sir M., 143. Melmoth, W., 144. Donne, Dr John, 66, 81, 229. Drawing-room, 122. Edward the Confe>sor,Lawsof,4- Edward I., Legislation, 14. English Law Treatises, 149-177. Reports, 178-191. Statutes, 192-206. Trials, 206. Entries, Book of, 172. Erskine, Lord, Statue of, 56. Escutcheons, see Armorial bear- ings. Ethelbert, Code of, 4. Extravagantes, 220. Ferrers' Translation of Statutes, 199. Feudorum Consuetuumes, 225. Fitzherbert, Abridgment, 168. Natura Brevium, 166. Fleta, 157. Foreign Law, 226. Fortcscue, 164. Fresco in Hall, 117. Gains, 214. Gardens, The, 96. Gate-house, 46. Glanviile, QJ.ISI. Gratiani Decretum, 219. Gregorianus, 211. Gregorii Decretalia, 219. Hadde. W., 140. Hale, Sir Matthew, MSS., 143. Hall, The Old, 52. Hall, The New, and Library- Foundation, 99. Exterior, 103. Interior, 113. Halls, dimensions of several, 113. Hastings, Warren, Trial, 207. Haverhyil, William de, 39. Hengham, 159. Henry I., Laws of, 7. Heriirum, John, 37. Hermogenianus, 211. Hill, Serjeant, MSS., 145. History, English, 230. Foreign, 239. Hoffman's Lexicon, 240. Hogarth, painting by, 55. Holinshed, Chronicles, 231. Home's Mirror of Justices, 159. " Liber Horn,' 1 160. Horwood, J., Year-Books of Edward I., 181. Inns of Court, 16. Chancery, 33. Inscriptions in New Square, 93. Interments in Crypt, 81. Ireland, Statutes of, 206. Jones, Inigo, 66. Jonson, Ben, 97. Journals of House of Lcrds, 232. Commons, 232. Justinian Institutes, 214. Code, 213. Digest or Pandects, 213. Kentish Kings, Laws of, 4. King's or Queen's Counsel, 28. Kitchen, The Old, 53. The New, 120. Lacy, Henry, Earl of Lincoln, 41. Lambard, 8, 173. Lancelottus, 221. Law Reporting, NewSj stem of, 190. Lectures, 21. Legal Education, 20. Legatine Constitutions, 221. Lex Scripta, 6. Library Original Foundation, 139. Donations, 142. Catalogue, '145. Arrangement, 148. i Lindenbrog, Codex Legum, 223. Littleton's Tenures, 162. Lords Justices, 53. Lovell, Sir Thomas, 47. Lyndwood, Provinciale, 222. Lyra, Nicholas de, 228. Alackintosh, Sir J., Lectures, 21. Magna Charta, n, Marculf, Formularies of, 224. Marrow's Justice of the Peace. 165. Masques, 60. Maynard, Serjeant, MSS., 145. Melmoth MSS., 144. Miloof Crotona, 124. INDEX. 251 Mill mu ti.-in Laws, 3. Mootings, 20. Monumental Inscriptions Spencer Perceval, yy. E. L. Brougham, 79. H. W. Seton, 80. Sir J. Simpkinson, 80. Natura Brevium, Old, 161. New, 166. Nethersale, John, 139. Neville, Ralph, Bishop of Chi- chester, 36. New Square, 91. Novz Narrationes, 161. Ogilby, John, 229. Old Bailey Sessions Papers, 208. Old Buildings, The, 44. Old Tenures, 161. Oleron, Laws of, 9. Pandects, 213. Parliament, j^ Sessional Papers. Paul before Felix, 55. Perceval, Spencer, Cenotaph. 78. Perkins' Profitable Book, 166. Portraits, 123-126. Preachers, 82-88. Provinciale, 222. Prynne's Records, 246. Donations, 142. Pulton's Statutes, 200. Queen's or King's Counsel, 28. Rastell's Statutes, 199. 200. Record Commission, 233. Registrum Brevium, 172. Reports Bellewe, 186. Bulstrode, 188. Coke, 187. Croke, 189. Dyer, 187. Durnford and East, 190. Keilwey, 187. Plowden, 186. Saunders, 189. Term Reports, 190. Year Books, 142, 179. Revels, 57. Rolls, Master of the, Publica- tions. 231. Rolls of Parliament, 232. Rolle's Abridgment, 171. Roman or Civil Law, 208. Scobell's Acts of Parliament, 301. Scotland, Laws of, 177. Scotland, Statutes of, 203. Selden, Dissertation on Fleta, 157- Books, 155, 183. Selwyn, W., 135, 153. Serjeants-at-Law, 26. Sessional Papers, 233. State Papers, 231. Statham's Abridgment, 167. Statutes, 192-203. revised edition, 202. mode of division into classes, 195. Staunford, 167. Stone Building, The, 94. Suidas, 241. Sulinrd, W., 44. Sundials, 51. Swanston, 126, 244. Tancred's Students, 60. Textus Rofiensis, 4. Theodosian Code, 210. Theology, 228. Theophilus, Paraphrase, 216. Thornton, 160. Thurloe, J., chambers, 50. interred in crypt, 81. Topography, 238. ' Trials, 206. Twelve Tables, Laws of, 210. Vacarius, 218. Vestibule in New Building, 120. Vice-Chancellor's Courts, 48, 53. Victoria, Queen, Visit of, 131. Warburtonian Lectures, 90. Watts, G. F., Fresco, 117 Webb, P. C, 244. Welsh Triads, 3. Wich, Richard de la, 38. William I., Laws of, 5. William III., Arms in Chapel, 77. Year Books, 179. given by R. Cholmeley, 142. edited and translated by J. Horwood, 181. PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND CO EDINBURGH AND LONDON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below Form I,-9 25m -2, '43(5203) DA L7S7 .875 Spil sbu; Lincoln f s Inn. DA 687 L7S7 1873