Old Hall

Although we don’t know much about the foundations of the Inn, we know that the members of Lincoln’s Inn rebuilt the Old Hall in about 1485.  The Hall was vital to the everyday life of the Inn.   As well as being a social space for dining, the Hall was the central place for educating students.

From 1737 to 1875 the Old Hall was used as the Court of Chancery.  The chaos which must have occasionally ensued with multiple use eased after 1845 with the opening of the Great Hall.

The Hall’s use as the Court of Chancery led to the Inn’s most celebrated appearance in fiction – in Bleak House by Charles Dickens.  The interminable case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce which lies at the centre of the plot is heard in the Old Hall.

In 1924 the Old Hall underwent extensive restoration revealing the original timbered roof which had been hidden by an 18th century plaster ceiling.   We still use Old Hall today, for dining, lectures and commercial hire.

In the covered passage leading into Gatehouse Court you can see a stone arch embedded in the north wall of the Old Hall.  This is a fragment of the Hall which predates the 1485 building.