The Inns of Court and Royal Courts of Justice Walking Tour

Here is the starting point

Middle Temple Hall

Built in 1573 and said to be "the most perfect" example of an Elizabethan building remaining in Central London. So much of English history revolves around this building.

Inner Temple

We will stop outside Inner Temple Hall. Shakespeare's Henry VI Part 1 suggests that the War of the Roses originated with the picking of red and white roses in Temple Gardens. The garden is usually open to the public during the week in the afternoon.

Temple Church

Built in 1162 by the Knights Templar, in fiction it featured in Dan Brown's book and film, the Da Vinci Code, and in fact in the Magna Carta negotiations, when King John used the Temple as one of his two bases in London. Temple Church will usually be open after the morning tour - admission is £5.00.

Royal Courts of Justice

Opened in 1882 by Queen Victoria, the building was originally designed to house 19 courts and now there are around a hundred. We will go inside the building.

Lincoln's Inn

This Inn produced eleven prime ministers. The Old Hall was built around 1490 and was sometimes used as a Court of Chancery.

Staple Inn

Is a former Inn of Chancery. The front was erected in 1586 and is the finest example of a Tudor timber framed building in Central London.

Gray's Inn

The hall was built in 1560 and reconstructed after bomb damage with a substantial contribution from the American Bar Association. In the square there is a statue to the Inn's most prominent former member. Hear his story and decide whether there should have been a statue to him.