Black Books Society
The Black Books Society was founded to promote an appreciation of the history and possessions of Lincoln’s Inn through a series of talks and lectures by members, researchers, and academics.
The Black Books are the minutes from the meetings of the Inn’s Council, which date back to 1422. They are so called because they are bound in black leather. Council is the Inn’s overarching governing body, which is comprised of our Benchers, and meets ten times a year. The published Black Books are available in six volumes, covering the period 1422 to 1965 and digitised copies can be viewed here.
The Society holds a number of events per year. These usually take the form of a lecture by a guest speaker, followed by a drinks reception, and the majority of these events are open to members and non-members of Lincoln’s Inn. Previous lecture topics have included ‘Women Spies, Lies and 17th Century Espionage’ and ‘Lord Haldane: Lawyer, Statesman and Philosopher’.
Information and booking details for the Society’s events are available on our What’s On section and are circulated by email to those on our mailing list. To stay informed about Black Books Society events, Lincoln’s Inn members can log in to their online account and subscribe to the ‘Inn Events’ mailing list. Non-members, please email [email protected] to be added to the mailing list for public Black Books Society events.
The Inn’s YouTube channel (@LincolnsInnOfficial) has recordings of several guest lectures presented by the Black Books Society. These can be found under the ‘Black Books Society Lectures’ playlist.