Middle Temple Library

 This morning we had the immense honor of being invited into Middle Temple Inn to receive a brief lesson in Temple history and a tour of the site and it's law library. Our guide was Harpreet Dhillon, deputy librarian, who kept us engaged and informed throughout the excursion. Ms. Dhillon led us through a basic history and overview of the Inns, of which 4 remain: Middle, Inner, Gray's, and Lincoln. Having once been the headquarters of the Knight's Templar, the Inns were overtaken by French rule in the 12th century. Afterwards, King Edward's Court moved from York to Westminster, and needing place for legal education and practice, the legal side of the royal court moved in as new tenants of the Inns. Over time, legal education became a large component, and was standardized during the Victorian Era. Many legal terms, including "The Bar," come from this location, and legal precedents set here went on to influence other legal systems, including America's. 

While the history was interesting enough, the actual physical building, with it's storied history very literally written on the walls, was fascinating. We began our tour in the Prince's Room, so named after the various Princes of England, most recently Prince William. This room looked to be an ordinary, stately room at first, however further inspection revealed multiple hidden doors and keyholes. This was far more exciting until we realized they just lead to various kitchens and bars. 

Once you see the seam, you can't unsee it.

The hidden doors became less fun when someone opened one and entered the room with a water heater.

In the hallways outside the Prince's Room, we were able to view the more recent memorial plaques for Temple readers. The plaques are self-designed coats of arms and cover much of the walls and even windows further in.

Our next stop was the Queen's Room, so named for the Queen Mother. This room had been badly damaged during WWII but rebuilt as authentically as possible. From this room we could see the steps of the old library building, which now lead to nothing. Plaques on the floor mark areas affected by explosive devices during the war. 

The locations of these plaques mark the location of devices dropped into the room during WWII

The next stop was a quick viewing of the Hall. The history in this room is rich with detail and familiar characters. There is the possibility that Shakespeare's first showing of Twelfth Night occurred here, and that decades of lawyers passed the bar here. The Gallery, a loft to one side of the room, had been destroyed during WWII and reconstructed using as much of the original materials as possible, in order to maintain authenticity. The memorial plaques actually begin here, going back hundreds of years. 

A view from the Gallery. The Hall was being set for lunch.

After a quick excursion past the gardens, we were ready to see the library. The Middle Temple Library is 3 floors and acts as an active research and educational library. Individual rooms are available for private work, Wi-Fi is available, and librarians are available to assist as needed. 

The lowest floor is the main collection, with more modern editions pertaining to all facets of law in Britain. The library was full of light and comfortable seats, conducive to research. 

The second floor housed older editions of books housed in the main library, among other more obscure titles. This was considered still necessary but more specialized. 

The third floor's collection is determined by space and availability, but generally houses international law books. This includes texts on EU, Irish, and American law. Additionally, this floor had multiple rooms used for advocacy suites, or education. 

A view of the first and second floors of Middle Temple Library. 

The library itself has its own history within the Inn. Upon his death in 1641, Temple member Robert Ashley left his collection of roughly 9,000 titles and 500 pounds to the Inn in order to form a library. The 500 pounds was to secure a librarian who could care for the collection. Over the years the library has been built and rebuilt. The books have been chained to desks, moved to the countryside, and hidden in the kitchen. Some old texts still contain shards of glass from an explosive fire. Yet, among the history, this is still a working library that is important to the education of current and future lawyers. 

Like so much in this city, the modern and the historical live side by side and feed into each other. The fact that my country is younger than some of these books is not lost on me, and I am so grateful to have had the experience of seeing this part of history, and modern life, all rolled in to one and delivered by such an insightful and engaging guide.