Lincoln's Inn

I recently joined the Canadian Women's Club here in London just to see what they had on offer and signed up for my first event to go and see Lincoln's Inn. It's called an inn, but actually I would consider it to be more of a private club for lawyers.
Our guide was very informative, but despite his detailed explanation on the differences between them, I still don't understand why the English have the delineation between barristers and solicitors.
In any case, the grounds were impressive, with some parts of it dating back to it's inception in 1422. With a Great Hall, Library, Chapel and offices and flats, it was like a mini-campus for law students and their alumni. I could go through the tour with you, but like everything here in London, I'd be hard-pressed to describe Lincoln's Inn with any other adjectives than: "grand", "beautiful", "historic" or "steeped in tradition".

So instead, I will regale you with the little trivial bits that I picked up instead. It seems that Cherie and Tony first met here at the Inn, while they were waiting for a scholarship interview, and thus the bench that you can see in outside the door of the room we are in (behind the gentleman in the trenchcoat) is called the "Blair bench". (You may have to enlarge the photo to see it.)

On our way to the Chapel, we were told that this little building is the smallest 'listed' building in England. First used by the Coachmen to direct horse traffic, it fell into disuse with the introduction of the new main gates and automobile use. They then tried to pawn it off on the grounds gardener, who insisted that she didn't want to work in a "fishbowl". When she came back from maternity leave, it suggested for use as a creche. (I think that was a joke - ha, ha.)

This photo is the "undercroft" of the chapel, where several members of the Inn have been buried into the floor. It was also used by the poor, who would leave their children behind to be looked after by the Inn, and eventually trained in clerkship or service. These children were all given the surname "Lincoln", which makes me wonder about Abraham Lincoln's antecedents?

One last one is an example of 'graffiti in art'. The coat of arms in the photo belongs to William Pitt the Younger, prime minister of England in the 18th century. The artist who made the this stained glass version of his coat of arms, did not like his propensity for capital punishment and scrawled "Gallows Billy" into one of the yellow dots of the shield. Whether it was too difficult or expensive to remove, for some reason the Chapel left it as is.

There are other stories to do with the chapel, and John Donne, its most famous preacher, who wrote about the famous Cadiz bell atop the chapel: "...and therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." (From which Hemingway wrote his famous novel: 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'.

We were also told that this is a great area for filming, because of the Inn's enclosed historic site is perfect for creating movie sets without disrupting local traffic. I will have to see "Miss Potter" with Renee Zellwegger, to check out if I recognise the buildings in scenes where she visits her publisher.