What was it like working at the Inn during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? This edition explores some aspects of the working lives and conditions of early Middle Temple staff, shedding light on the social history of the Inn in this early period.
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By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Middle Temple had, to some extent, lost its way. Readings, once the centrepiece of legal education, had long since disappeared from the curriculum, and the Inn was no longer at the centre of legal, social or political life in the way it had been.
Exploring the role food has played throughout the Inn's history, from eighteenth century disputes over venison pasties to the Grand Day dinners of today.
Academic Fellowship
To help foster a closer relationship between the practising Bar and academia, Middle Temple is looking to grant Fellowship to Academics who meet the following criteria:
The Inn, two decades into the twenty-first century, is a robust institution which looks to the future and respects its past. The conditions laid out by James I in the 1608 charter (confirmed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2008 with a second charter) – to provide education and accommodation for lawyers – remain at the core of the Inn’s mission, and it strives to serve and support its members at all points in their careers.
The 450 years since Middle Temple Hall was completed have seen many instances of unruly conduct, rule-breaking, bad manners and even violence taking place under its impressive double hammerbeam roof. This month we look back at this varied history of misbehaviour, from sartorial faux-pas to sword-fighting.
The dawn of the 19th century saw little change at the Middle Temple from the previous decades, despite the turmoil in the world outside. The Benchers seemed concerned with passing orders on the cleanliness of forks and smoking tobacco in Hall, and life went on in a rhythm of restful disorder.
Joachim of Fiore (1132-1202) and Anselmus, Bishop of Marsico, Vaticinia, siue prophetiæ Abbatis Joachimi, & Anselmi episcopi Marsicani
Exploring the celebration of Christmas at the Inn during the 16th and 17th centuries, from grand feasting and ceremony to riotous behaviour and forbidden festivities.