Located in the heart of Central London, Lincoln's Inn and the Royal Courts of Justice is a serene refuge from the hissing traffic and crowded sidewalks of High Holborn and Carey Streets, which make up the northern and southern borders of the ancient grounds. Though public access to the Inn and most of the Court Halls is prohibited, the medieval structures are still a sight to see and carry more than 700 years worth of legal history in London.
Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court, the others being Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Gray's Inn. According to Sir Robert Megarry, a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, the Inns of Court are four and five centuries old, distinct bodies of lawyers holding the power to call to the Bar their qualified members for the rank of Barrister-at-Law. This power also includes the power to disbar as well. Although such power today is carried out by joint bodies, the four Inns remain distinct, each functioning singularly. Together, over time, the four Inns have made Chancery Lane the hub of London's legal scene, with Gray's Inn to the north, Lincoln's Inn to the west, and Inner and Middle Temple to the south. The Royal Courts of Justice, which were opened on December 4, 1882, by Queen Victoria, are situated to the west. Basically, the Inns and the Royal Courts of Justice where used as a gathering place and served as medieval "office buildings" for the elite of the English legal profession.
The first of the four Inns to be established, Lincoln's Inn is an ancient structure that dates back beyond the early 1400s, though its formal records begin in 1422. It has been said the Inn was actually founded in 1292 as a result of an ordinance of Edward I. The four Inns were created as an initiative to separate Church and State, as a place where the newly emerging barristers and solicitors could congregate and study under the control of the judges, ending the reign of the clergy as lawyers in the King's courts. At the time "Inn" meant a town house or mansion that was particularly used as inexpensive living quarters for students.
Though the Inn is one of the oldest tourist attractions in London, it is more than just a historical landmark. It houses the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, an active group of barristers and judges who actually do spend much of their professional lives inside the ancient quarters. The Inn and Courts still provide an efficient yet relaxing environment, only now for the Society and its potential members rather than the barristers of old.
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