Middle Temple Scholarship Fund

MIDDLE TEMPLE TODAY
The English Bar is a unique institution, which consistently ensures a level of
justice that is the envy of many jurisdictions across the world. If such quality
is to be a central component of the English legal system going forward then
we must ensure that the best aspiring barristers can pursue a career at the
Bar, regardless of financial capability.
Yet today exists a rapidly changing legal and
commercial environment, the Inns of Court are
under pressure to demonstrate their value in
the UK legal system. There is a misperception
by the public to associate the ceremonial dress
and traditions with a profession that is
somewhat antiquated and out of step with the
modern social landscape. This view has been
reinforced by a perception of the Bar as a
bastion of social privilege, a career for those
who have been afforded every opportunity in
life.
The Grayling reforms to legal aid have
stretched the Bar and raised critical issues as
to the standard of justice that can be delivered
by a profession whose international reputation
for upholding the rule of law is second to none.
The Bar needs to adapt to this changing
environment if it is to survive as a profession.
Efforts to modernise the Bar are ongoing and,
in many ways, the outward facing
traditionalism belies a profession seeking to
combine the best elements of both historical
and modern legal practice. These efforts must
continue and expand for the Bar to remain as
the vital institution that it is.
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple | www.middletemple.org.uk | Registered Charity: 314246
HISTORY
13th C The Inns of Court originated as hostels and schools for student lawyers
1501
Earliest surviving records of Parliament held in the archive
1580s
Middle Templar Sir Walter Raleigh sets out to discover The New World
1602
First performance of Shakespeare's ‘Twelfth Night’ in Middle Temple Hall
1608
Temple lands conveyed to Middle and Inner Temple by King James I
1641
Founding of Middle Temple Library following the bequest of Robert Ashley's personal collection
1649
Parliament ordered all the Inn's silver be sold to repay the Under Treasurer
1750
Annual American admissions exceeded British admissions
1769
Middle Templar Sir William Blackstone writes his seminal text 'Commentaries on the Laws of
England’
1840s
Victorian renovation of the Temple Church
1843
Middle Templar Charles Dickens writes ‘A Christmas Carol’
1852
The four Inns established the Council of Legal Education
1922
Helena Normanton becomes the first woman to practise at the English Bar
1930
Lord Rothermere gifted one of the largest private collections of silver in the country, to the Inn
1938
Scholarships committee established
1940
Middle Temple is bombed during the Blitz
1941
Extensive damage was caused, including the destruction of Temple Church and Master's House
1944
Queen Elizabeth becomes the first woman to be called to the Bench
1949
Queen Elizabeth formally opens the restored Hall
1958
Queen Elizabeth (then Queen Mother) opened The Middle Temple Library, designed by Maufe
1998
Inn acquires properties on the boundaries of the Temple due to expansion of the Bar
2006
The Inn celebrated 400th anniversary of the signing of Virginia Charter in Hall
2007
New, secure and environmentally controlled repository for the Archive and rare books
collection, archive offices and a conservation studio were constructed in the roof space of the
Library
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple | www.middletemple.org.uk | Registered Charity: 314246