Clifford's Inn

Clifford's Inn was an Inn of Chancery, and stands between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage, off Fleet Street. Founded in 1344 and dissolved in 1903, with its physical demolition occurring in 1934, it was both the first Inn of Chancery founded, and the last, to be demolished. In its day, Clifford's Inn educated students including Edward Coke and John Selden, along with hundreds of others. With its purpose as an institute of legal education complete, the members unanimously voted in 1903 to dissolve the society and give the funds to the Attorney General for England and Wales, which they did.

History

It is believed that the Inns of Chancery evolved in tandem with the Inns of Court. During the 12th and 13th century the law was taught in the City of London, primarily by the clergy. During the 13th century two events happened which diminished this form of legal education - firstly a decree by Henry III of England that no institutes of legal education could exist in the City of London, and secondly a Papal Bull that prohibited the clergy from teaching the law.^[1] As a result, the system of legal education fell apart, and the lawyers instead settled immediately outside the City of London but as close as possible to Westminster Hall, where the Magna Carta had been provided for at a permanent court. This was the small village of Holborn, where they inhabited "hostels" or "inns", which later took their name from the landlord of the Inn in question.^[1]

The Inns of Chancery sprang up around the Inns of Court, and took their name and original purpose from the chancery clerks, who used the buildings as hostels and offices where they would draft their writs.^[2] For several centuries, education at one of the Inns of Chancery was the first step towards becoming a barrister. A student would first join one of the Inns of Chancery, where he would be taught in the form of moots and rote learning.^[3]

The land the Inn was on was granted to the third Baron de Clifford on 24 February 1310, and it is from this family that the Inn took its name. After the third Baron's death in 1314 the land passed to his brother, Robert; following his death in 1344 his widow granted the land to students of the law for £10 a year. This makes Clifford's Inn the first Inn of Chancery to be established,^[4] although whether it immediately became a formal body is unknown. The Inn formally purchased the land they were on on 29 March 1618 from the then-owner Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland for the sum of £600, with the proviso that they pay him £4 a year rent for some areas of the land and that they keep a set of chambers available for those barristers he selected.^[5] Although the Earldom died out in the next generation, Clifford's daughter married out of the family and these rights were inherited by her, staying valid up until 1800.^[6]

In 1903 it was decided that the Inn was now surplus to requirements, and the members unanimously agreed to dissolve the society, sell the buildings and give the money to the Attorney General for England and Wales, the nominal head of the English Bar, to do with it what he wished.^[7] The auction of the assets took place on 14 May of that year, and the Inn was sold "at a ridiculously low price" of £100,000.^[8] The buildings of the Inn were demolished in 1934, except a gatehouse (on Clifford's Inn Passage) which survives to this day, thought to be by Decimus Burton, who worked at the inn in 1830-4^[9]

Governance and structure

Their coat of arms was a modified form of the Clifford family arms, with "cheque or and azure, a fess gules, a bordure, bezantée, of the third."^[10] The Inn was ruled by the Council, who was led by the Principal. As well as the Principal the Council consisted of twelve barristers, all elected by the Inn members, who had certain rights; they could hold chambers wherever they wanted, and sat at a separate upper table when dining. The Principal was elected by the entire Inn, and was tasked with supervising the Inn's servants. His rights included the right to any one of eighteen sets of chambers that he wanted and an allowance for beer.^[6] Principals were initially elected for life, but following an order dated 15 June 1668 he faced re-election every three years.^[6] It was custom, however, to re-elect the Principal unless he was infirm or had died in office, and as a result between 1668 and the death of the last Principal in 1890, only 21 people held the position.^[11]

Noted students at Clifford's Inn include Sir Edward Coke and John Selden.^[12][13] Although generally considered a dependent of the Inner Temple, its members always maintained that they were independent.^[10] As a note of that "independence" it became custom for the Inner Temple to send them a message once a year, which would be received but deliberately not replied to.^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Watt (1928) P.5
2. ^ Steel (1907) p.586
3. ^ Watt (1928) P.9
4. ^ "The Inns Of Court And Inns Of Chancery And Their Records". Inner Temple. http://www.innertemple.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36%3Ainns-court&catid=22%3Ahistorical-articles&Itemid=30&limitstart=1. Retrieved 2009-08-17. 
5. ^ Norman (1903) p.243
6. ^ ^{a b c} Norman (1903) p.244
7. ^ Norman (1903) p.248
8. ^ Griggs (1903) p.3
9. ^ Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner, London 1: The City of London, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2002, p. 293-4
10. ^ ^{a b c} Loftie (1895) p.262
11. ^ Norman (1903) p.245
12. ^ Woolrych (1826) p.21
13. ^ Norman (1903) p.239

Bibliography

• Griggs, F.L. (1903). "Clifford's Inn and the Protection of Ancient Buildings". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 2 (4). ISSN 0951-0788. 
• Loftie, W J (1895). The Inns of court and chancery. New York: Macmillan & co.. OCLC 592845. 
• Norman, Philip (1903). "Clifford's Inn". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 1 (2). ISSN 0951-0788. 
• Steel, H. Spenden (1907). "Origin and History of English Inns of Chancery". The Virginia Law Register (Virginia Law Review) 13 (8). ISSN 1547-1357. 
• Watt, Francis; Dunbar Plunket Barton, Charles Benham (1928). The Story of the Inns of Court. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 77565485. 
• Woolrych, Humphry William (1826). The Life of the Right Honorable Sir Edward Coke. London: J. & W. T. Clarke. OCLC 5010520. 

Coordinates: 51°30′51″N 0°06′38″W / 51.51421°N 0.11046°W / 51.51421; -0.11046