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Exhibition now open – Lord Erskine: “The tongue of Cicero and the soul of Hampden”

This exhibition will be on display in the Lincoln’s Inn Library and Upper Vestibule from 5 February to 16 April 2025.

A portrait of Lord Erskine (left) and his heraldic wooden panel from Lincoln's Inn Great Hall (right)

In an age of great legal characters Thomas Erskine (1750-1823) stood out – celebrated (and occasionally derided) for his oratory in the courtroom. He achieved success in the case of R. v. Baillie within months of being called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1778, and became a popular hero through his defence of political radicals in the 1790s and his involvement in many major cases of his day. An exhibition in the Library celebrates the life and career of Erskine, and displays some notable items in the collections of the Library.

This new exhibition in the Lincoln’s Inn Library accompanies a Black Books Society lecture about Erskine by Dr Nicola Phillips, from the History Department at Royal Holloway, University of London. Dr Phillips’ recent research projects include a digital recreation of the C18th Court of King’s Bench, as it would have appeared when the publisher Stockdale was prosecuted for libel in 1789. This can be viewed in the Upper Vestibule while the exhibition is in place, and viewers can hear extracts from the case, including Erskine’s speeches in defence of Stockdale.

Non members who wish to view the exhibition may do so by booking a self-guided tour of the Inn.