The Brewster Gates

These gates commemorate Colonel John Brewster, a member of the Inn, and the first Commanding Officer of the Inns of Court Volunteer Rifle Corps, who died in 1864

The Inn has a very long history of military support.  The first volunteer regiment was raised in 1584 to help defend Elizabeth I from the approaching Spanish Armada.  Today, the Inn hosts 68 (Inns of Court & City Yeomanry) Signal Squadron.  The Squadron’s role is to provide Information Communication Systems (ICS) in support of military aid to the emergency services and local government in times of emergency.

You might observe that on either side of the gates there are old water pumps.  These used to be sources of water for the Inn’s members and residents.  In 1866 the Inn was required to close down the pumps. Although there had been no outbreak of cholera directly associated with them, all pumps in the local area had been closed down and the fear was that the water sources were connected. It was only a decade before this that the association between cholera outbreaks and use of communal water pumps had been observed.