Middle Temple Library holds three exhibitions a year to highlight special collections held by the Inn. Below you can find the latest exhibition and also view previous exhibitions online.
Lichens at Middle Temple
This exhibition examines the somewhat obscure topic of lichens: their role in the natural world, and surprising presence at Middle Temple. It features unique artworks by Amanda Cobbett and was co-curated by Gabriel Dorey, Kate Jenrick, and Renae Satterley.
Lichens are not single organisms but rather an alliance between an alga (which can photosynthesise) and a fungus (which provides the structure), showing how cooperation can bring about successful evolution (rather than the traditional Darwinian perspective of zero-sum competition). For this reason, in fact, lichens inspired the coining of the word symbiosis.
In this exhibition we explore the presence of lichens in the Library’s Rare Book Collection, and in Archive materials, interspersed with Amanda’s artworks.
This exhibition is available to view from September until December 2026 on the first floor of the Library and is also available to view online.
Previous Exhibitions
This exhibition explored the role played by members of the Middle Temple in this historic event and the Inn’s enduring American connections, from the pivotal moment of Magna Carta to the intertwined histories of empire, education, revolution and the ongoing importance of the Library’s US collection.... View online
The exhibition traced Middle Temple Library's history from its Tudor conception to its modern day setting, using items from both the Library’s rare book collection and various items from the Archive.... View online
This exhibition was curated in collaboration with Art Responders, a community arts organisation that develops free public exhibitions on social justice and human rights themes. The curators were Daryl Stenvoll-Wells, the founding director of Art Responders, and Lauren Cummings, Assistant Librarian at Middle Temple Library... View online
2025 marks eighty years since the end of the Second World War. Using material from the Inn’s Archive and Library collections, this exhibition explores the wartime experience of the Middle Temple and its members... View online
This exhibition celebrates Middle Temple Library's significant collection of sixteenth and seventeenth century books published in Spain, and includes some items from the Inn's Archive on the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701 - 1714... View online
It was common for a learned gentleman to amass a private library consisting of thousands of volumes in the sixteeth and seventeenth centuries. This exhibition displays some of Middle Temple Library's rare books, including those donated from such private collections, visualising what a gentleman's bookshelf looked like in these earlier centuries... View online
This exhibition explores a range of pre-1700 books from the Library, and items from the Inn’s Archive, highlighting topics such as recreation, literary culture at the Inns, religion and preaching, learning the law and verbal skills, travel and exploration endeavours... View Online.
An exhibition exploring how this important document has evolved over the centuries to arrive at its current form. From Plea Rolls to Year Books, manuscripts to nominates, to digitisation and beyond...View online
Last year, the Inn celebrated 450 years since the completion of Middle Temple Hall. This exhibition told the story of the Hall, from its construction in the reign of Elizabeth I to the present day, via renovations and reinventions, blazes and bombing raids.
An exhibition exploring astronomical manuscripts from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, European translations of the Quran, verses from the Quran relating to astronomy and Renaissance books...View online
An exhibition exploring the impact of epidemics on public health law. From plagues to the present, this display looks at the way public officials manage the spread of disease, as they try to understand the causes of illness...View online
Plants provide the foundation for nearly all life on earth. The chloroplasts in green plants provide some 70% of our breathable oxygen and sit at the centre of countless ecosystems. By the same token, plants are essential to human life and...View online
The story of policing in London is a mutable and ever-changing one. The earliest recorded effort to establish a formal system of policing can be traced back to the reign of King Edward I in his statute of 1285...View online
2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919. The passing of this Act allowed women to become practising solicitors and barristers in an official capacity...View online