April 2004: Outing to the Inns Court, London EC

On 29th April after making our way to London by train our group met at Holborn Underground station and first walked to The Ship Tavern, a traditional City pub dating from 1549, for lunch.

Afterwards we started our two hour tour of the Inns of Court – the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court having supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. They also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional accommodation. Each Inn has a church or chapel attached to it and is a self-contained precinct where barristers traditionally train and practise.

We started in Grays Inn and, walking through quiet courtyards and gardens just a stone’s throw from bustling City streets, we discovered a truly eclectic architectural rattle-bag and a glorious roll-call of British eccentrics: the Wits, the Windbags and Wayward Wigs as we pass through Grays Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.