Editing Middle Temple (section)

== Buildings ==

The Middle Temple owns 43 buildings, many of which are [[listed building]]s. The ones in the Temple itself are still held under the 1608 [[letters patent]] of James I, but some others just outside the Temple were bought subsequently.<ref>[http://www.middletemple.org.uk/estates-services/buildings "Buildings,"] Middle Temple website, retrieved 12 November 2017.</ref> Some buildings are modern, replacing ones which were destroyed in [[The Blitz]], but others date back to the 16th century. (There is a list [https://www.middletemple.org.uk/estate here], showing the dates of construction, architect, and listed status.) The Inn is also jointly responsible, with Inner Temple, for [[Temple Church]] and the Master's House next to the church, a Georgian townhouse built in 1764.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 231</ref>

=== The Hall ===
[[File:cmglee London Middle Temple hall.jpg|thumb|left|Interior of the hall and its double-hammerbeam roof]]
Construction of Middle Temple Hall began in 1562 and was completed in the early 1570s. Its [[hammerbeam roof]] has been said to be the best in London.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 281</ref> [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;I]] visited the hall in 1578, unannounced, to inspect the new building and listen to a debate between barristers. This is the earliest known visit of a reigning monarch to an Inn of Court.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Sir John |date=2017 |journal=The Law Quarterly Review |volume=133 |title=A Royal visit to the Temple in 1578 |pages=535–537}}</ref> One of the tables at the end of the hall is traditionally said to have been made from the timbers of the ''[[Golden Hinde]]'', the ship used by [[Francis Drake|Sir Francis Drake]] to circumnavigate the world.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 282</ref> Above the table is a massive painting of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] thought to be a copy by [[Peter Lely]] of the original by [[Anthony van Dyck]],<ref>[https://www.middletemple.org.uk/archive-history/archive-month/september-2018-royal-paintings-middle-temple-hall "Royal Paintings in Middle Temple Hall"] (retrieved 19 February 2021).</ref> and also portraits of Charles II, James II, William III, Elizabeth I, Queen Anne and George I.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 283</ref> On the walls are panels bearing the coats of arms of [[Reader (Inns of Court)|Readers]] (senior members<ref group=note>Readers are [[Bencher]]s of the Inn, who traditionally were appointed to give a 'Reading.'</ref>) dating back to 1597.<ref>[https://www.middletemple.org.uk/archive/archive-month/february-2021-behind-armorial-panels-their-history-preservation-and-conservation "Behind the Armorial Panels - Their History, Preservation and Conservation,"] Middle Temple website, retrieved 20 September 2024.</ref>

The first recorded performance of Shakespeare's play ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' occurred in the hall on 2 February 1602.<ref>[https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/photograph-of-middle-temple-hall-the-location-for-the-first-recorded-performance-of-twelfth-night British library website] (retrieved 3 November 2017).</ref> Shakespeare himself was probably present.<ref>Bellot (1902), pp. 286-288</ref>

The hall survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, but was damaged by bombing in the Second World War.

Middle Temple Hall is at the heart of the Inn, hosting several events per year for members of the Inn (and sometimes their guests), some of which also count as [[#Qualifying sessions|qualifying sessions]] for student members.

Middle Temple Hall is also a popular venue for banqueting, weddings, receptions and parties. In recent years, it has become a much-used film location, as has Middle Temple generally, because of its cobbled streets, historic buildings and gas lighting.

=== Library ===
Little is known about the original library, which was probably just a room in a barristers' chambers. All the books were stolen prior to the reign of Henry VIII. In 1625 a new library was established at the site of what is now Garden Court, and in 1641 it was enlarged when a member of the Inn, [[Robert Ashley (writer)|Robert Ashley]], died and left his collection of books and £300 to the Inn. This library was demolished in 1830. After an interval of three decades, a new library was built, in a [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]] designed by architect H. R. Abraham. It was opened by [[Edward VII|The Prince of Wales]] on 31 October 1861.<ref>Bellot (1902), pp. 290-293</ref> This Victorian library was badly damaged during the London [[The Blitz|Blitz]] in 1940, and was demolished following the war. A new Library was constructed in the 1950s to a design by [[Edward Maufe]] and opened by [[the Queen Mother]] in 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.middletemple.org.uk/library/history-of-the-library |title=History of the Library|publisher=Middle Temple |access-date= 20 September 2024}}</ref> The building still houses the Inn's library and archives as well as various administrative offices, and is now known as the Ashley Building.

Middle Temple Library possesses [[Emery Molyneux]]'s [[Emery Molyneux#Middle Temple globes|terrestrial and celestial globes]], which are of particular historical [[cartography|cartographical]] value.

=== Gatehouse ===

The present gatehouse, on [[Fleet Street]] on the northern boundary of the Inn, was built in 1684 by [[Christopher Wren|Sir Christopher Wren]]. It replaced an earlier one which had been allowed to decay until it had to be demolished.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 269</ref> It leads into Middle Temple Lane, which proceeds southwards through the Inn to end at gates on the [[Victoria Embankment]], south of the Temple. All of the buildings in the Temple lying west of the lane belong to Middle Temple; the buildings to the east belong to one Inn or the other.

=== Chambers ===
==== West of Middle Temple Lane ====

Proceeding south from the Fleet Street gatehouse, Middle Temple Lane passes Brick Court to the west, so called because it is said to consist of the first brick buildings to be built in the Temple, in the reign of Elizabeth I. [[William Blackstone|Sir William Blackstone]] worked here before becoming the first professor to lecture in law at Oxford University. The poet and playwright [[Oliver Goldsmith]] also lived here from 1765 (having earlier resided in Garden Court), and is buried in the Temple Church. Blackstone, living on the floor below Goldsmith's chambers, complained about the noise made by Goldsmith's raucous parties, which were attended by many celebrities of the time, including [[Samuel Johnson]]. Blackstone later moved to Pump Court; whether because of the parties or for some other reason is unknown.<ref>Bellot (1902), pp. 276-280</ref>

Next to Brick Court are the buildings called Essex Court, which actually form part of the same courtyard. The earliest record of Essex Court is from 1640, but the original buildings were replaced in 1656 and 1677.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 301</ref> Today Essex Court and Brick Court are occupied by barristers' chambers. Through a passageway to the west is New Court, built by Wren, and a gate leading out of the Temple into [[Devereux Court]] and Essex Street. (Another passageway to the north leads through [[Outer Temple]] to Fleet Street.)

{{wikisource|The Vow of the Peacock and Other Poems/The Middle Temple Gardens|'The Middle Temple Gardens',<br> a poem by L. E. L.}}
South of New Court and Essex Court lies Fountain Court. The fountain there was described by [[Charles Dickens]] in ''[[Martin Chuzzlewit]]''.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 275</ref> In her notes to her poem ''The Middle Temple Gardens'', [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]] says of it: 'it is the poetry of the place, or, rather, the voice of the poetry with which it is filled'. To the south of Fountain Court are, from west to east, Garden Court (where the old library used to be), Middle Temple Gardens (which extend to the southern perimeter of the Temple), and Middle Temple Hall. The current buildings of Garden Court, which lie along the western edge of the Temple, were constructed in 1883.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 293</ref> South of Garden Court are Blackstone House, Queen Elizabeth Building, and a gate leading out of the Temple (and a short distance from [[Temple tube station]]).

South of the hall, and east of the gardens, are Plowden Buildings, built in 1831, which contain the Treasurer's office. South of that is the current library, and then, at the end of Middle Temple Lane, are the buildings called Temple Gardens, built on both sides of the lane by both Inns in 1861.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 294</ref> The western part belongs to Middle Temple, and the eastern part is Inner Temple's. The lane passes through the middle of Temple Gardens via an archway and leads out of the Temple.

==== East of the lane ====

Along the east side of Middle Temple Lane (proceeding northwards from the southern archway), the buildings belong to Inner Temple, until the lane reaches Lamb Buildings. Lamb Buildings belong to Middle Temple, which bought the land from Inner Temple after the Great Fire of 1666. Inner Temple needed the money because it found itself short of funds due to the extensive property destruction. Lamb Buildings are built on the site of Caesar's Buildings, which were destroyed in the fire, and which had belonged to Inner Temple.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 304</ref> The [[Lamb of God]] is the symbol of Middle Temple and is engraved above the entrances to the building.

Behind Lamb Buildings, further east, is Elm Court, built in 1880.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 298</ref> The buildings on the south and east sides of Elm Court are part of Inner Temple; the west and north buildings are Middle Temple. Further north is [[Pump Court]], one of the oldest courts in the Temple.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 300</ref> Most of the buildings here belong to Middle Temple, except those in the north west corner. Further east are Middle Temple's [[cloister]]s, leading to Church Court between Temple Church and Inner Temple Hall. North of Pump Court is Inner Temple's Hare Court, and then more buildings belonging to Middle Temple, until the lane ends at the gate to Fleet Street.

Parallel with and to the east of Middle Temple Lane lies Inner Temple Lane, which runs from Fleet Street to Church Court. On the east side of Inner Temple Lane, and opposite Hare Court, is Goldsmith Building, so named because of its proximity to Goldsmith's tomb in the adjacent Temple Church. Despite its location in the Inner Temple, Goldsmith Building actually belongs to Middle Temple, for reasons which are no longer remembered. It was built in 1861.<ref>Bellot (1902), p. 303</ref>