Between the City and the Thames, in the quiet enclave of the Inns of Court, Middle Temple Hall has raised its extraordinary oak roof for more than four centuries. The heart of one of London's great schools of law, this Elizabethan hall saw Shakespeare's company perform in 1602.
The great hall of the lawyers
The Inns of Court were, and remain, the societies where the kingdom's barristers were trained: here they lodged, studied and dined in common. The Middle Temple, one of these four schools, gave itself a new great hall between 1562 and 1573, worthy of its rank. Under Elizabeth I the finest woodwork was displayed here: a double hammer-beam roof of unheard-of virtuosity, a monumental carved screen, and long oak tables where the young lawyers took their meals. The hall was also a place of festivities, banquets and plays, at the heart of the capital's social and intellectual life.
The stage of a masterpiece
On 2 February 1602, at Candlemas, Middle Temple Hall hosted a performance of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare — one of the very first recorded of the play, acted by the dramatist's own company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. A law student, John Manningham, set down the memory in his diary, a precious first-hand witness. The hall where men of law were trained was thus, on a winter's evening, the theatre of a comedy destined for immortality.
What to see
- The double hammer-beam oak roof, a summit of Tudor woodwork.
- The monumental carved screen of the hall.
- The original long oak tables and the panelling.
- The peaceful setting of the Inns of Court, between the City and the Thames.
Did you know?
It is said that one of Middle Temple Hall's tables, the 'Cupboard', was cut from the timber of Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, aboard which he sailed around the world. On this relic of the age of exploration new barristers still sign, by tradition, the roll of admission to the bar: the timber of a voyage round the world serves as a desk to generations of lawyers.
Practical information
Middle Temple Hall lies in the Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court, between Fleet Street and the Thames (City of London). It is a working place (dinners, ceremonies) that opens to the public only under limited conditions; it is best to check the arrangements and visiting days against the official sources.
Quiz
- Which play by Shakespeare was performed at Middle Temple Hall in 1602?
- Twelfth Night
- Hamlet
- Romeo and Juliet
- What were people trained for at the Middle Temple?
- Barristers
- Priests
- Merchants
- What is admired in the hall's ceiling?
- A double hammer-beam oak roof
- A painted dome
- A stone vault