Investigating the recordkeeping practises of earlier generations at the Inn and the how documents gradually moved from the Treasury to their final home in the Archive Repository.
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Although we know that the Inn had a small library prior to 1540, an early account about the Inns of Court states that Middle Temple ‘had a simple library in which were not many bookes besides the law and that library by meanes that it stood always open, and that the learners had not each a key unto it, it was at last robbed of all the bookes in it’!
The Library subscribes to electronic journals, law reports and the legal databases listed below. Access to subscription-based resources is only available in the Library, apart from Bloomsbury Professional Online, Kluwer Arbitration, Lexis Practical Guidance and Oxford Legal Research Library which can be accessed remotely, upon application to the Library, by Middle Temple members who hold a practising certificate as a barrister in England and Wales AND/OR are on the
This month we will look at the history of Middle Temple, quite literally, through the window exploring their involvement in the Inn's history through the stained glass in Hall, window taxes, repair works and unwitting participation in misdemeanours around the Inn.
The Bar in England and Wales is divided into six regions, which are more commonly known as ‘Circuits’. The Circuits provide important sources of support, advice and representation for barristers practising in those areas.
Robert Ashley, a member of the Middle Temple, died in 1641, bequeathing all of his books to the Inn to found a library there, and £300 to employ a Library Keeper. While Ashley did practise as a lawyer, he was more successful as a translator and bibliophile. William Cox was one of the executors of Ashley’s will and was commissioned to create a catalogue of his books; Cox was the first Library Keeper from 1642 to 1655.
Uncovering the history of the Hardwicke Society, a subsidiary membership organisation of the Inns of Court marked by its distinguished membership, vibrant debating culture and robust library of advocacy.
Exploring the archival legacies and sketching the stories of four early and pioneering Black members of the Middle Temple, who came from diverse backgrounds and whose paths led them to remarkable achievements.
Topically, for December’s Archive of the Month, we will look at how winter has played it part in life at the Inn, from frost fairs, the arrival of snow and struggling to heat freezing chambers.