Chain Mail to Syrups

Is God a lawyer? Some people asked this question when the Great Fire of London stopped unexpectedly at the Inns of Court. Or perhaps it was just the fear of litigation, either way this is one of the oldest surviving areas of London. The walk starts at Chancery Lane and meanders round the Inns of Court, home to many famous lawyers and other people of note. Formerly though, Lincolns Inn in particular was a place where punishment as well as justice was dispensed, though in the latter years the disembowelling was done after the condemned were dead because the screaming had become unsettling to the neighbours. The area is packed with other historical incidents, King John lived here when he was summoned to sign the Magna Carta, Cromwell and other puritans were kept in Red Lion Square prior to their second "execution" and there is the unfortunate case of the ‘salami’ Lord Russell.

The tour carries on to through Lincolns Inn fields providing historical anecdotes about the development of the area of Holborn as well as how life is lived there today with its mixture of powerful lawyers and homeless people. How the heroin problem might affect the sale of lemons and limes in nearby greengrocers is just one of the odder impacts of the area's narcotic problem and nothing to do with nursery rhymes. The tour takes in some key legal buildings, the Law Society and Royal Courts of Justice as well as pointing out important watering holes and restaurants much loved by the legal profession over the years. Also of course there are the many shops that service the law not least the photocopy shop where David Bowie wrote and first performed Space Oddity.

After the bustle of the busy streets it’s time to turn into the tranquil gardens and courts of the Middle and Inner Temple with a stroll though the grounds pointing out famous chambers, churches and places of incident such as where Tony met Cherie. The walk will highlight links between the legal profession and government showing how English society and English law developed together in the hundreds of years that the Inns have been here. Naturally as well as providing a good deal of legal history there will also be some magnificent architecture to see some fine tales to hear and a pleasant pub at the end of all this ambling.

Meet by Holborn Tube. Walk lasts 2 hours


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