Britain’s history has been shaped by its island geography, and it has relied heavily on shipping for trade, transportation and warfare. The Middle Temple and other Inns of Court are connected to this rich seafaring legacy through members who were notable mariners and important figures in maritime history. However, before the age of air travel, many others among the membership were forced by circumstance to undertake hazardous but necessary journeys across unpredictable seas.
Photograph of a Middle Temple boat trip to assert ancient rights of access to the River Thames, 21 July 1934 (MT/19/PHO/3/55)
The Middle Temple is particularly known for two maritime connections during the Elizabethan period – Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake. Raleigh was the more officially connected to the Inn of the two, being admitted as a member in 1574, although he was never Called to the Bar. Some of his sailing expeditions started in the years soon after his time at the Middle Temple - in the later part of the 1570s, Raleigh sailed to North America with his half-brother, the explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert. He later established a colony at Roanoke Island that went on to fail, commissioned a ship to be used in the English defence against the Spanish Armada, and went on an expedition to discover the legendary ‘El Dorado’. Unfortunately, due to the paucity of surviving Middle Temple records from the sixteenth century, very little is known about Raleigh’s relationship with the Inn after his admission, though his coat of arms does appear in a stained glass window in Hall
Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh
The same cannot be said for Sir Francis Drake, who appears in the Middle Temple’s records despite being a member of Inner Temple. It is notable that a visit by Drake is recorded in the Inn’s minutes of Parliament as there are no other entries recording visits of important individuals – this includes Queen Elizabeth I’s unannounced visit in 1578, which is undocumented anywhere in the Inn’s archive. Drake is recorded as coming into Hall at dinner time on Thursday 4 August 1586 after a voyage and acknowledging to all present his old friendship with the Society. The membership returned this acknowledgement by congratulating him on his happy return. The ‘voyage’ in question was probably his 1585-1586 expedition against Spain, where he plundered Spanish settlements in the West Indes, wounding Spain’s pride and depriving them of resources. His connection to the Inn is echoed today by ‘Drake’s Cupboard’, a table used for Readings and Call to the Bar, which is traditionally said to have been made from the wood of Drake’s ship, the Golden Hinde.
‘Drake’s Cupboard’, said by tradition to have been made with wood from the Golden Hinde
Though the Middle Temple has some very famous members with maritime connections, archival papers also hint at the nautical links less well-known figures, including individuals who joined the Navy. One death record, a Navy Office certificate, states that the member James Moore (admitted on 7 February 1694) boarded HMS Torbay on 9 April 1702 and was drowned at Vigo Bay on 12 October 1702. HMS Torbay was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy and 1702 falls within the dates of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). During this year of the war, an expedition was led by Sir George Rooke and the Duke of Ormond, also a member of the Middle Temple, against Cadiz, Spain, and on the way back to England they heard news that a large Spanish treasure fleet was harboured in Vigo Bay. They attacked on 12 October, sinking 11 men-of-war, and taking 10 war vessels and 11 galleons as prizes. The date of Moore’s death implies that he died taking part in this battle and therefore this certificate may be one of the earliest records of a battlefield fatality in the Inn’s archive.
Navy Office Certificate recording the death of James Moore, probably in a naval action at Vigo Bay during the War of Spanish Succession, 12 October 1702 (MT/3/BUR/18)
As the membership of the Inn expanded internationally, voyages became more common. Irish members crossed the Irish Sea to attend and members from the American and West Indian colonies braved the long, dangerous journey across the Atlantic. In clear-cut circumstances, petitions relating to ship voyages were quickly granted by the Benchers. In the example of the case of Mr Verner Moore of Cavan, Ireland, submitted to Parliament on 25 November 1803, he pleaded that ‘the vessel he sailed in from Ireland was wrecked upon the Lancashire Coast and that from a blow he received when the vessel struck and from a cold he caught was confined several days which prevented him from coming to London until the Grand Week of this term had elapsed…’ In these exceptional circumstances, Moore was allowed to keep his first term at the Inn despite late attendance.
Petition of Verner Moore to be allowed to keep his first term at the Inn despite arriving late due to being shipwrecked, 25 November 1803 (MT/1/MPA/10)
Prior to their admission as a student, one member survived what is arguably the most famous shipwreck in history – the 1912 sinking of RMS Titanic. Elsie Bowerman was admitted as a member on 11 October 1921, and was one of the first cohorts of women at the Inn after the law was changed to allow their admission in December 1919. Leading up to her experience on the Titanic, she was an active suffragette and member of the Women’s Social and Political Union alongside her mother, Edith Bowerman Chibnall. In 1912, Bowerman and her mother decided to visit friends and family in America and Canada and booked first class tickets on the Titanic. During the disaster, they escaped the wreck in Lifeboat 6 alongside the ‘Unsinkable’ Molly Brown. After the sinking, they spent several hours floating in the Atlantic until they were rescued by the ship RMS Carpathia and taken to New York.
Photograph of Elsie Bowerman, c.1910
In addition to experiencing shipwrecks first hand, judges and barristers were charged with investigating them. The Titanic inquiry was overseen by Middle Temple Bencher, John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, and he was also appointed to oversee the inquiries into the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and RMS Falaba, as well as chairing the inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland. Although the sinking of the Titanic still captures the imagination of the public, the sinking of the Lusitania and the subsequent inquiries would arguably have a greater impact on the course of history. The Lusitania was a passenger liner that was torpedoed without warning by a German U-Boat and sunk on 7 May 1915 during World War One, killing 1198 people. The sinking of this vessel caused a great uproar, particularly as the United States of America was neutral at that time and over one hundred American passengers were on board the ship. Mersey’s report held Germany fully culpable for the sinking, not acknowledging the argument that the ship’s cargo of munitions, alongside civilian passengers, made it a legitimate target for submarine warfare. The report strained US-German relations, and this tense relationship ultimately led the USA to enter the war on the side of the Allied Powers in 1917, a key factor in the defeat of Germany and the rest of the Central Powers during the First World War.
Portrait of John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey
While some individuals left a great impact in maritime history, the personal papers of Walter Stewart, Called at the Inner Temple in 1896 and subsequently working as a barrister working from chambers at Temple Gardens, show a deep personal connection with the sea. Stewart was a keen sailor and travelled around Europe by boat with his son, ‘Boy’. His collection of papers, as well as including records of his practice, also contain nautical, mechanical and engineering notes, correspondence relating to his voyages, poetry by Stewart mainly about boats and sailing, and drawings, diagrams and paintings of boats. From his mid-70s Stewart lived on a small, dilapidated boat named ‘Escapade’ on the canal between Maldon and Heybridge and in 1947, ‘with every appearance of a real ancient mariner wearing spectacles, long grey beard and side whiskers’, told a reporter ‘I was a barrister until my apartments in the Inner Temple were bombed to powder during the war. That was the greatest relief of my life. This is the most uncomfortable boat ever built, but I have got everything I want here’. Despite having been a respected barrister during his lifetime, Walter Stewart was clearly a mariner at heart.
Watercolour by Walter Stewart entitled ‘Easy Sail’, painted at 6pm near Cork Lighthouse, c.1930s (GD/52)
One notable mariner member was Sir Francis Chichester, who was made an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple in 1967. Chichester was made famous by his achievements in aviation and sailing, and on 28 May 1967 became the first person to complete a true solo circumnavigation of the world from west to east via the Great Capes. After his achievement, he was knighted by the Queen using the sword used by Queen Elizabeth I to knight Sir Francis Drake. When he was Called, much was made in the press about the Inn’s connection with Sir Francis Drake, with many newspapers stating that he would ‘take his seat at Drake’s Table’. In 1968 he donated the forehatch of his ship, Gypsy Moth IV, to the Inn to make into an occasional table, mirroring the tradition behind Drake’s Table. The table can currently be seen in the Prince’s Room and is topped by a weather chart of the South Atlantic annotated in pencil, possibly by Sir Francis himself.
Occasional Table made from the forehatch of the ship Gypsy Moth IV, donated by Sir Francis Chichester in 1968
While there have been very famous mariners associated with the Middle Temple and the Inns of Court, many other members have been closely related to the sea, some by choice, others by necessity. There have been sailors of the Navy, passengers on long and arduous journeys, and those who found quiet enjoyment in recreational travel. While developments in technology have weakened the country’s traditional connection with ships and the sea, it will always continue to have an important role in trade, defence and the hearts of the British people.