The Inn’s origins

This small, stone archway is the oldest remaining part of the Inn.  It was once a doorway in the palace of the Bishop of Chichester, who was granted this site from the King in 1228.  We still have the original grant document in our archives.  Most bishops kept a palace in London as well as in their own diocese, that way they could continue their business when they needed to be in London.

It is not clear when the Bishop moved out and handed the palace over to barristers, but our records date continuously from 1422.  The 200 or so years in between are shrouded in mystery, as no paper records have yet been found to explain the changes.

Indeed, it is a strange feature of a business so deeply rooted in evidence and seeking out of fact and truth, that none of the 4 Inns of Court (the others are Gray’s Inn, Middle Temple and Inner Temple) have any foundational documents or know what their exact start date is.  This is all the more curious when other institutions such as the first Oxford and Cambridge Colleges, and many of the great trade guilds were being formed at about the same period, and they all have foundational documents such as Royal Charters, or endowments.