To enable researchers to access frequently-consulted material in the archive without necessitating a visit in person, the department is undertaking an ongoing programme of digitisation. The digitised series are listed below, and links lead through to further details as well as the records themselves. Please note that, due to limited staff resources, assistance with questions regarding terminology or (where the records are handwritten) palaeography is not available.
Registers of Admissions (1501 – 1975)
These published registers record the names of members admitted to the Inn between 1501 and 1975, giving some details of their age on admission, family and geographical background and, where applicable, date of Call to the Bar. They are a useful resource for family and social historians alike.
Minutes of Parliament (1501 – 1919)
These volumes record the minutes of Parliament, the Inn’s senior governing body, between 1501 and 1919. The minutes concern discussions had and decisions made on a vast range of subjects, including the appointment of office-bearers at the Inn, the admission of members, chambers and shops, discipline at the Inn, staff recruitment and wages, legal education, food and drink, the Inn’s relationship with other institutions, life at the Inn during the First World War, and a range of other matters.
Treasurers’ Receipt Books (1637 – 1922)
This series gives a remarkably complete record of the Society’s expenditure over a period of several centuries. The volumes, each of which corresponds to the year of office of a Treasurer of the Inn, contain either copies of or original receipts / bills, chronologically arranged, for a wide range of transactions, including building work, decoration, tradesmen’s bills, attorney’s bills, payments for the purchase of silver, pictures, furniture, books and stationery, servant’s wages, the cook’s bill, payments for commons, charges for supplies such as ale, wine and food, for plants for the garden, utilities and a great deal more. They are mostly handwritten and not, at this stage, searchable.
Bench Book (15th Century - 1937)
This printed volume records details of each Master of the Bench at the Inn from the earliest fifteenth century records to the year 1937. Biographical information recorded includes places and dates of birth and death, details of admission and Call at the Inn, legal and political positions held, honours and titles granted, publications and details of coats of arms.
These books contain a daily or weekly record of the names of members dining in Hall, including Grand Day guests. Later volumes record the number of messes below the Bench each evening, and some also include extracts from minutes of Parliament and fines for non-performance of exercises.
These four series - Students' Ledgers, Barristers' Ledgers, Benchers' Ledgers and Members' Ledgers - represent the financial relationships between the Middle Temple and its individual members - recording payments of termly Commons bills and duties, Call fees, rent and other expenses such as repairs to chambers.
Library Manuscript Catalogues (1684-1696/7)
This set of Library catalogues is the earliest surviving record of the contents of Inn's Library, founded in 1641 by the bequest by Robert Ashley of his collection of books. They cover a wide array of subjects, including medicine, moral philosophy, philology, mathematics, divinity and, of course, law.
A catalogue of members of the Middle Temple possessing claims to distinction not just in the Law, but in politics, art, history, mathematics, journalism, science, theology, music and more. Published in 1902, and digitised by the Internet Archive, it provides biographical information on hundreds of significant members of the Inn.