Clifford's Inn
Encyclopedia
Clifford's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which is located between Fetter Lane
and Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street
, EC4
.
Founded in 1344 and dissolved in 1903, most of the original structure was demolished in 1934. It was both the first Inn of Chancery to be founded and the last to be demolished.
Through the ages, Clifford's Inn was engaged in educating student
s, such as Edward Coke
and John Selden
to name but two from hundreds of others, in Jurisprudence
.
Having long-served its purpose as an institute
of legal education
, in 1903, its members unanimously voted to dissolve its incorporation
and donated the remaining funds to the Attorney General for England and Wales
.
s of Chancery
evolved in tandem with the Inns of Court
. During the 12th and 13th centuries the Law
was taught in the City of London
primarily by the clergy
.
However, during the 13th century
two events happened which diminished this form of legal education: firstly, a decree by Henry III of England
stating that no institutes of legal education could exist in the City of London
; and, secondly, a Papal Bull
prohibiting clergy from teaching Law in the City
.
Consequently, the system of legal education dispersed, with lawyers instead settling immediately outside the City of London
boundaries, but as close as possible to Westminster Hall where the Magna Carta
had been provided for, or established, as a permanent Court
.
The neighbourhood of what had been the small village of Holborn
then developed into habitations, ie "hostels" or "inns", which thereafter took their name from the relevant landlord of the Inn.
The Inns of Chancery sprang up around the Inns of Court, and took their name and original purpose from the Chancery
Clerks, who used the buildings as accommodation and places of work, from where they could draft their writs. Since the Middle Ages, education at one of the Inns of Chancery has been the customary step towards becoming a barrister
. A student or pupil
would first join one of the Inns of Chancery, where he would be taught in the form of moots
and rote learning
.
The land which Clifford's Inn is situated was granted to the third Baron de Clifford on 24 February 1310, and it is from this family that the Inn took its name. After the third Baron's death in 1314 the land passed to his brother, Robert; following his death in 1344 his widow granted the land to students of the law for £10 a year. Thus Clifford's Inn is the first recorded Inn of Chancery, although whether it immediately became a formal body is not recorded. The Society of Clifford's Inn formally purchased its freehold on 29 March 1618 from its then owner Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland
for the sum of £600, with the proviso that it should pay him £4 a year rent for some areas of the land and that it keep a set of chambers
available for those barrister
s he selected. Whilst the earldom became extinct in the next generation, Clifford's daughter married out of the family and her rights and privileges remained with her descendants until 1800.
In 1903 it was decided that the Inn was now superfluous to requirements, so its members unanimously agreed to dissolve the society, selling the buildings and giving its residue to the Attorney General for England and Wales
, the nominal head of the English Bar, to do with it as it so wished. The auction of the assets took place on 14 May of that year (i.e. 1903), and the Inn was sold "at a ridiculously low price", in the sum of £100,000. The buildings of the Inn were later demolished in 1934, except for its gatehouse (at Clifford's Inn Passage) and which survives till this day. This gatehouse is thought to have been designed by Decimus Burton
, who worked at the Inn in 1830-4
was a modified version of the Clifford family arms, namely: "chequé or and azure, a fess gules, a bordure, bezantée, of the third."
The Inn was ruled by the Council, who was led by the Principal. As well as the Principal the Council consisted of twelve barristers, all elected by the Inn members, who had certain rights; they could hold chambers wherever they wanted, and sat at a separate upper table when dining. The Principal was elected by the entire Inn's membership and was tasked with overseeing its day-to-day running and supervising the Inn's servants. His rights included the right to any one of eighteen sets of chambers that he wanted and an allowance for beer. Principals were initially elected for life, but following an Order dated 15 June 1668 he faced re-election every three years. It became custom, however, to re-elect the Principal unless he was infirm or had died in office, and as a result between 1668 and the death of the last Principal in 1890, only 21 men held this position.
Noted students at Clifford's Inn include Sir Edward Coke
and John Selden
. Although generally considered a dependent of the Inner Temple
, its members always maintained that they were separate. As a note of that "independence" it became custom for the Inner Temple to send them a message once a year, which would be received but deliberately not replied to!
Fetter Lane
Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in London England. It runs from Fleet Street in the south to Holborn in the north.The earliest mention of the street is "faitereslane" in 1312. The name occurs with several spellings until it settles down about 1612. There is no agreement...
and Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, EC4
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Founded in 1344 and dissolved in 1903, most of the original structure was demolished in 1934. It was both the first Inn of Chancery to be founded and the last to be demolished.
Through the ages, Clifford's Inn was engaged in educating student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s, such as Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
and John Selden
John Selden
John Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
to name but two from hundreds of others, in Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
.
Having long-served its purpose as an institute
Institute
An institute is a permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Often it is a research organization created to do research on specific topics...
of legal education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, in 1903, its members unanimously voted to dissolve its incorporation
Incorporation
Incorporation may refer to:* Incorporation , the creation of a corporation* Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county...
and donated the remaining funds to the Attorney General for England and Wales
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
.
History
It is believed that the InnINN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
s of Chancery
Chancery
Chancery may refer to:* Chancery , the building that houses a diplomatic mission, such as an embassy* Chancery , a medieval writing office* Chancery , in Ceredigion, Wales...
evolved in tandem with the Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
. During the 12th and 13th centuries the Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
was taught in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
primarily by the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
.
However, during the 13th century
13th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 through 1300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era...
two events happened which diminished this form of legal education: firstly, a decree by Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
stating that no institutes of legal education could exist in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
; and, secondly, a Papal Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
prohibiting clergy from teaching Law in the City
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Consequently, the system of legal education dispersed, with lawyers instead settling immediately outside the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
boundaries, but as close as possible to Westminster Hall where the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
had been provided for, or established, as a permanent Court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
.
The neighbourhood of what had been the small village of Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
then developed into habitations, ie "hostels" or "inns", which thereafter took their name from the relevant landlord of the Inn.
The Inns of Chancery sprang up around the Inns of Court, and took their name and original purpose from the Chancery
Court of equity
A chancery court, equity court or court of equity is a court that is authorized to apply principles of equity, as opposed to law, to cases brought before it.These courts began with petitions to the Lord Chancellor of England...
Clerks, who used the buildings as accommodation and places of work, from where they could draft their writs. Since the Middle Ages, education at one of the Inns of Chancery has been the customary step towards becoming a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
. A student or pupil
Pupil
The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the retina. It appears black because most of the light entering the pupil is absorbed by the tissues inside the eye. In humans the pupil is round, but other species, such as some cats, have slit pupils. In...
would first join one of the Inns of Chancery, where he would be taught in the form of moots
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
and rote learning
Rote learning
Rote learning is a learning technique which focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition by which students commit information to memory in a highly structured way. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the...
.
The land which Clifford's Inn is situated was granted to the third Baron de Clifford on 24 February 1310, and it is from this family that the Inn took its name. After the third Baron's death in 1314 the land passed to his brother, Robert; following his death in 1344 his widow granted the land to students of the law for £10 a year. Thus Clifford's Inn is the first recorded Inn of Chancery, although whether it immediately became a formal body is not recorded. The Society of Clifford's Inn formally purchased its freehold on 29 March 1618 from its then owner Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland
Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland
Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676....
for the sum of £600, with the proviso that it should pay him £4 a year rent for some areas of the land and that it keep a set of chambers
Chambers (law)
A judge's chambers, often just called his or her chambers, is the office of a judge.Chambers may also refer to the type of courtroom where motions related to matter of procedure are heard.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :...
available for those barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s he selected. Whilst the earldom became extinct in the next generation, Clifford's daughter married out of the family and her rights and privileges remained with her descendants until 1800.
In 1903 it was decided that the Inn was now superfluous to requirements, so its members unanimously agreed to dissolve the society, selling the buildings and giving its residue to the Attorney General for England and Wales
Attorney General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...
, the nominal head of the English Bar, to do with it as it so wished. The auction of the assets took place on 14 May of that year (i.e. 1903), and the Inn was sold "at a ridiculously low price", in the sum of £100,000. The buildings of the Inn were later demolished in 1934, except for its gatehouse (at Clifford's Inn Passage) and which survives till this day. This gatehouse is thought to have been designed by Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
, who worked at the Inn in 1830-4
Governance and structure
Clifford's Inn's coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
was a modified version of the Clifford family arms, namely: "chequé or and azure, a fess gules, a bordure, bezantée, of the third."
The Inn was ruled by the Council, who was led by the Principal. As well as the Principal the Council consisted of twelve barristers, all elected by the Inn members, who had certain rights; they could hold chambers wherever they wanted, and sat at a separate upper table when dining. The Principal was elected by the entire Inn's membership and was tasked with overseeing its day-to-day running and supervising the Inn's servants. His rights included the right to any one of eighteen sets of chambers that he wanted and an allowance for beer. Principals were initially elected for life, but following an Order dated 15 June 1668 he faced re-election every three years. It became custom, however, to re-elect the Principal unless he was infirm or had died in office, and as a result between 1668 and the death of the last Principal in 1890, only 21 men held this position.
Noted students at Clifford's Inn include Sir Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
and John Selden
John Selden
John Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
. Although generally considered a dependent of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, its members always maintained that they were separate. As a note of that "independence" it became custom for the Inner Temple to send them a message once a year, which would be received but deliberately not replied to!