Venue Type & Location
Performance Spaces
Overview
Located on the W side of Chancery Lane, the main entrance to Lincoln's Inn was through a gatehouse. In the 16th c. the Inn was comprised of an irregular red brick quadrangle, now known as Old Buildings, with the hall on the W side, the chapel on the N and chambers on the S.
Unlike the other 3 Inns, Lincoln's Inn did not suffer from WW II bombing. The Old Hall was essentially reconstructed from original materials in the early 20th c. and is now used for special functions.
Performance History
A few late 15th and 16th c. performance records exist for various entertainers at Lincoln's Inn.
Current Status
History of the Venue
mid-14th c. Lincoln's Inn founded on former site of the bishop of Chichester's palace.
1489--92 New hall built.
1518 Gatehouse facing Chancery Lane built.
1524--34 Chambers at the S end running W and N from the hall completed.
1549--50 New screen added to the hall (Girouard, 'Inns of Court' 146).
1580 Freehold of the site granted to the Benchers of Lincoln's Inn.
1582--3 Hall enlarged by the addition of the S bay; 2 bay windows added to parallel those at the high end. The resulting extension of the roof copied the 15th c. original. The screens passage was rebuilt with 2 chambers above (Summerson, 'Old Hall' 9--11).
1609 Some chambers at the S end of the old square rebuilt.
1620--3 Chapel rebuilt.
1624 New screen and screens passage with gallery added at the low end, possibly 10' forward from its current position (Summerson, 'Old Hall' 11--12).
1685 Chapel restored.
late 17th c. Buildings erected in the New Square.
ca. 1720 A heavy plaster barrel vault ceiling was added to the Tudor hall, concealing the original timber roof (Summerson, 'Old Hall' 14--15).
1737 Hall began to be used as a court of law during long vacations.
1774--80 Chambers known as 'Stone Buildings' built N of the chapel, including the Library.
1818--19 New passageway created at the S end of the hall incorporating the Jacobean screens passage in order to extend the dining space. The gallery above was removed and the screen was probably moved to the S wall.
Stucco added to the E exterior of the hall to correspond with stucco on the W side added previously (date uncertain).
mid-19th c. New hall and library on the E side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields completed. Original glass in the old hall transferred to the new hall. A new main gateway from the Fields and the SW block of Stone Buildings were added. Buttery and pantry converted into chambers.
1883 The block of chambers W of the hall demolished and the W end of the hall rebuilt. Gothic facade added on N side. Chapel restored and extended W by 1 bay.
1890s Chambers N of the original gatehouse demolished and replaced.
20th c. Further buildings added.
1924--8 Plaster ceiling and exterior stucco removed but the walls of the hall were found to be cracked longitudinally. The hall was carefully reconstructed using the original bricks by Sir John Simpson. New lantern light added over the original louvre opening and reproduction linenfold panelling added along the interior walls (Summerson, 'Old Hall' 18--21).
1990--1 Hall renovated.
Record Source
REED Inns of Court 1.25, 29, 93, 103
Patrons who owned this venue
[No data found.]
Bibliographic Sources
- Bellot, Hugh H.L. Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1925
- Burkhart, Robert E. ‘The Playing Space in the Halls of the Inns of Court.'. South Atlantic Review 56.4 (1991): 1--5.
- Burkhart, Robert E. 'The Surviving Shakespearean Playhouses: The Halls of the Inns of Court and the Excavation of the Rose.'. Theatre History Studies 12 (1992): 173--96.
- Cherry, Bridget, and Nikolaus Pevsner. London 4: North. London: Penguin Books, 1998
- Girouard, Mark. 'The halls of the Elizabethan and early Stuart Inns of Court'. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2011 The Intellectual and Cultural World of the Early Modern Inns of Court 138--53.
- Herbert, W. Antiquities of the Inns of Court and Chancery. London: npub, 1804
- Ireland, Samuel. Picturesque Views, with an Historical Account of the Inns of Court, in London and Westminster. London: R. Faulder and J. Egerton, 1800
- Megarry, Robert. Inns Ancient and Modern. London: Selden Society, 1972
- Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in London. 5 vols. London: HMSO, 1924--30
- Simpson, John W. Some Account of the Old Hall of Lincoln's Inn. Brighton: The Dolphin P, 1928
- Summerson, John. 'The Old Hall of Lincoln's Inn'. Transactions of the Ancient Muniments Society 28 (1984): 8--21.