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Survey of London (1598): Schools and Houses of Learning
Survey of London (1598): Orders and Customs
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58
Students of the Common Law.
Houses of students of the Com
mon Lawe.
BUt besides all this there is in and about this
Citie a whole Uniuersitie
A vniuersity of
students in &
about this
Citie.
(as it were) of
students, practisers or pleaders and Iudges
of the laws of this realme, not liuing of com
mon stipends (as in other Uniuersities it is
for the most part done) but of their own pri
uate maintenance, as being altogether fedde
eyther by their places, or practise, or other
wise by their
Houses of stu
dents of the
commō lawes
and Iudges.
proper reuenew, or exhibition of parents and friends:
for that the younger sort are eyther gentlemen, or the sonnes of
gentlemen, or of other most wealthie persons. Of these houses,
there be at this day 14. in all, whereof 9. do stand within the liber
ties of the Citie, and 5. in the subburbes thereof, to wit:

Within the liberties.{
} for Iudges &
Sergeants only
Sergeants Inne in Fleetstreet
Sergeants Inne in Chancery lane
}in Fleetstreete, houses of
Court.
The Inner Temple
The Middle Temple
} houses of
Chauncerie
Cliffords Inne in Fleetstreet
Thauies Inne in Oldborne
Furniuals Inne in Oldborne
Barnards Inne, in Oldborne
Staple Inne in Oldborne
Without the liberties.{
}houses of
Court
Grayes Inne in Oldborne
Lincolnes Inne, in Chancerie, lane by
the old Temple in Oldborne.
}houses of Chauncerie, without
 Temple barre.
Clements Inne
New Inne
Lyons Inne
One
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Students of the Common Lawes.
59
One other Inne of Chauncery sometime there was, called
Chesters Inne,
Chesters Inne
or strand Inne
for the néerenes to the Bishop of Chesters house,
but more commonly tearmed Strand Inne, for that it stoode néere
to the Strand bridge without temple Barre: the which and o
thThis text has been supplied. Reason: Smudging dating from the original print process. Evidence: The text has been supplied based on an external source. (MR)e1r dwelling houses néere adioyning, were pulled downe in the
raigne of king Edward the sixt, by Edward Duke of Sommerset
and Protector of the realme, who in place thereof raised that beau
tifull (but yet vnperfect house) called Sommerset house. There
was moreouer in the raigne of King Henrie the sixt, a tenth house
of Chauncerie, mentioned by Iustice Fortscue in his booke of the
Lawes of England, but where it stood or when it was abandoned
I cannot finde, and therefore I will leaue it, and returne to the
rest.
The houses of Court
Houses of
Court what
they be.
bee replenished partly with young stu
dentes, and partly with graduates and practisers of the law: but
the Innes of Chauncery being as it were, prouinces, seuerally
subiected to the Innes of Court, be chiefly furnished with Officers
Atturneyes, Soliciters, and clarkes, that follow the courtes of
the Kings Bench, or common place: and yet there want not some
other being young students, that come thether sometimes from
one of the vniuersities, and sometimes immediatly from Gram
mer schools, and these hauing spent some time in studying vpon the
first elements and grounds of the lawe, and hauing performed the
exercises of their owne houses (called Boltas Mootes, and putting
of cases) they procéed to be admitted, and become students in some
of these foure houses or Innes of Court, where continuing by the
space of seuen yeares (or thereaboutes) they frequent readinges,
méetinges, boltinges, and other learned exercises, whereby grow
ing ripe in the knowledge of the lawes, and approued withall to
be of honest conuersation, they are eyther by the generall consent
of the Benchers (or Readers) being of the most auncient, graue,
and iudiciall men of euery Inne of the Court, or by the special pri
uiledge of the present reader there, selected and called to the degrée
of Vtter Barresters, and so enabled to bee common counsellers, &
to practise the lawe, both in their chambers and at the Barres.
Of these after that they be called to a further steppe of prefer
ment, (called the Bench) there are twaine euery yeare chosen a
mong
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60
Of Orders and Customes.
mong the Benchers, of euery Inne of Court, to be readers there,
who do make their readings at two times in the yeare also: that
is, one in Lent, and the other at the beginning of August.
And for the helpe of young students in euery of the Innes of
Chauncery, they do likewise choose out of euery one Inne of court
a Reader (being no Bencher) but an Vtter Barrester there, of 10
or 12. yeares continuance, and of good profite in studie. Nowe
from these of the said degrée of CouncellThis text has been supplied. Reason: The text is not clear for some reason not covered by other values of @reason. Evidence: The text has been supplied based on an external source. (MR)o2rs (or Vtter Barrester)
hauing continued therein the space of fourtéene or fiftéene yeares at
the least, the chiefest and best learned, are by the benchers elected
to increase the number (as I said) of the Bench amongst them,
and so in their time doe become first single, and then double rea
ders, to the students of those houses of Court: after which last
reading they be named Apprentices at the lawe,
Apprentizes at
the law.
and in default
of a sufficient number of Sargeantes at law, these are (at the
pleasure of the prince) to be aduaunced to the places of Sergeants:
out of which number of Sergeants also the void places of Iudges
are likewise ordinarily filled, albeit now and then some be aduan
ced by the speciall fauour of the Prince, to the estate, dignitie and
place, both of Sergeant and Iudge, as it were in one instant. But
from thenceforth they hold not any roome in those Innes of court,
being translated to one of the said two Innes, called Sergeantes
Innes, where none but the Sergeants and Iudges do conuerse.
Survey of London (1598): Schools and Houses of Learning
Survey of London (1598): Orders and Customs

Notes

  1. Ink smudged. (MR)↑
  2. Underinking. (MR)↑

Cite this page

MLA citation

Stow, John, and William fitz-Stephen. Survey of London (1598): Students of the Common Law. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 30 Jun. 2021, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/stow_1598_law.htm.

Chicago citation

Stow, John, and William fitz-Stephen. Survey of London (1598): Students of the Common Law. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 6.6. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed June 30, 2021. mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/stow_1598_law.htm.

APA citation

Stow, J., & fitz-Stephen, W. 2021. Survey of London (1598): Students of the Common Law. In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London (Edition 6.6). Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/editions/6.6/stow_1598_law.htm.

RIS file (for RefMan, RefWorks, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

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A1  - Stow, John
A1  - fitz-Stephen, William
ED  - Jenstad, Janelle
T1  - Survey of London (1598): Students of the Common Law
T2  - The Map of Early Modern London
ET  - 6.6
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/06/30
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/stow_1598_law.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/6.6/xml/standalone/stow_1598_law.xml
ER  -

TEI citation

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