The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known simply as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns. The Inn has existed for over 600 years. Its members have included many noted lawyers and judges, such as Francis Bacon,[1] Lord Slynn, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Hoffmann, Lord Pannick and others. Outside the Bar and judiciary of England and Wales, members have included the clergy (including five Archbishops of Canterbury),[2] the industrialist John Wynne, the astronomer John Lee, media figures, such as Huw Thomas,[3] and members of the Bar and judiciary of other nations, such as Yang Ti-liang (former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong) and Aitzaz Ahsan (former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan).[4][5] As well as full members, the Inn also offers honorary membership to particularly distinguished members of society. During the Second World War, for example, both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill became honorary Benchers, and therefore members.[6] Other than honorary members, this list only contains those individuals who were called to the Bar, not those who simply joined but left before qualifying.
Lawyers
edit| Call | Name | Noted for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1540 | Nicholas Barham | Serjeant-at-Law who investigated and prosecuted the Ridolfi plot | [7] |
| 1583 | Thomas Ashe | legal writer and qualified barrister, although he never practised the law | [8] |
| 1585 | Henry Finch | legal writer | [9] |
| 1674 | William Atwood | Lawyer and writer | [10] |
| 1792 | John Bell | Considered the best equity barrister of his age, even though he could "neither read, write, walk, nor talk" | [11] |
| 1918 | Dhirendra Mohan Dhar | Indian barrister, lawyer practiced at High Court of Calcutta. | [12] |
| 1922 | B. R. Ambedkar | Indian polymath, jurist, economist, politician and social reformer and the father of the Indian Constitution | [13] |
| 1937 | Jack Hamson | legal writer and jurist of comparative and common law, President of the International Academy of Comparative Law | [14] |
| 1940 | V.T.
Thomas |
Indian advocate, jurist and philanthropist. | |
| 1959 | Christopher Bathurst | English barrister with a successful practice who became a Queen's Counsel in 1978 before inheriting a hereditary peerage and joining the House of Lords | [15] |
| 1961 | Samuel Eson Johnson Ecoma | former Chief Judge of Cross River State, Nigeria. | |
| 1967 | Aitzaz Ahsan | Pakistani advocate, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan | [4] |
| 1967 | Michael Mansfield | King's Counsel and head of chambers at Nexus Chambers | |
| 1977 | Francis Chang-Sam | Seychelles advocate, former Registrar General of Seychelles and Attorney-General of Seychelles. He also headed the secretariat of the Constitution of the Third Republic of Seychelles. | |
| 1980 | Noor Dean | Fiji Indian lawyer and politician | [16] |
| 1988 | Roger Tan Kor Mee | Malaysian advocate & solicitor, former member of the Malaysian Bar Council and now a Water Commissioner of Malaysia. |
Judiciary
editPoliticians
editClergy
edit| Call | Name | Noted for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1520 | William Atwater | Bishop of Lincoln | [2] |
| 1555 | Stephen Gardiner | Bishop of Winchester | [2] |
| 1588 | Richard Bancroft | Archbishop of Canterbury | [91] |
| 1589 | Lancelot Andrewes | Bishop of Winchester | [2] |
| 1592 | John Whitgift | Archbishop of Canterbury | [91] |
| 1615 | William Laud | Archbishop of Canterbury | [91] |
| 1615 | Joseph Hall | Bishop of Exeter | [2] |
| 1622 | Thomas Morton | Bishop of Lichfield | [2] |
| 1623 | James Ussher | Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland | [2] |
| 1635 | William Juxon | Archbishop of Canterbury | [91] |
| 1663 | Gilbert Sheldon | Archbishop of Canterbury | [91] |
Other
edit| Call | Name | Noted for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1599 | Eubule Thelwall | Principal of Jesus College, Oxford | [92] |
| 1602 | Simon Archer | antiquary | [93] |
| 1639 | Bartholomew Beale | Auditor of the imprests | [94] |
| 1669 | John Wynne | industrialist | [95] |
| 1841 | Gilbert Abbott à Beckett | Humorist and police magistrate | [96] |
| 1863 | John Lee | Astronomer | [97] |
| 1882 | Arthur William à Beckett | Journalist and humorist for Punch | [98] |
| 1905 | Gurusaday Dutt | Civilian | |
| 1913 | Joseph Ball | Intelligence officer with MI5 and first Chairman of the Conservative Research Department | [99] |
| 1913 | Thomas Williams Phillips | Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour | [100] |
| 1929 | Sophy Sanger | labour law reformer and internationalist | |
| 1951 | Huw Thomas | presenter for ITN News | [3] |
| ? | John Finnis | legal academic and philosopher |
Honorary members
edit| Call | Name | Noted for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1590 | John Amy | Civil lawyer | [101] |
| 1606 | Francis Barrington | Member of Parliament for Essex | [2] |
| 1942 | Winston Churchill | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | [6][102] |
| 1943 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | President of the United States | [6][102] |
| 2004 | Geoffrey Ma | Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong | [6] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Peltonen, Markku (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Bacon, Francis (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/990. Retrieved 27 August 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Douthwaite (1886) p.195
- 1 2 "Huw Thomas - Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- 1 2 "Aitzaz Ahsan elected Honorary Fellow of Downing College". Indopia. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ↑ "Gray's Inn - Benchers". Gray's Inn. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 Ruda 2008, p. 116
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Barham, Nicholas (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Ashe, Thomas (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Finch, Henry (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Atwood, William (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Bell, John (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/2015. Retrieved 28 August 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Pollock, Frederick (1918). The Weekly Notes. Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales. pp. 210, 211.
- ↑ Pritchett, Frances. "In the 1910s" (PHP). Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Hamson, Charles John Joseph (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Viscount Bledisloe - Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ↑ "The U.S. in Fiji - A Coup In Question" (29 ed.). The Pacific: Covert Action Information Bulletin. December 1988. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ↑ Watt (1928) p.145
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.290
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.777
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.94
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.435
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.136
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.359
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.254
- 1 2 Foss (1870) p.13
- ↑ Brooks, Christopher W (September 2004). "Turner, Sir Timothy (1585–1677)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70488. Retrieved 30 May 2007. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.53
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.80
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.728
- ↑ Lee, Sidney. . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 06. pp. 176–181.
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.530
- 1 2 3 Foss (1870) p.12
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.50
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.351
- ↑ "Clark, Thomas (CLRK721T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.63
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Bacon, James (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.567
- ↑ Wells, Nathan (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Ross, Sir John (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35837. Retrieved 7 September 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Lewis, Geoffrey (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Atkin, James (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30492. Retrieved 28 August 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ "Akbar, Mass Thajoon (AKBR900MT)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ↑ "Gray's Inn - Augustus Uthwatt". Gray's Inn. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ "Hilbery, Sir (George) Malcolm". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ North China Herald, August 23, 1919, p496 and London Gazette, 11 October 1927, p1129
- 1 2 3 4 "Gray's Inn". Bar Council. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ↑ "His Honour Colin Sleeman". The Daily Telegraph. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ "Sir John Vinelott". The Daily Telegraph. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ Jones, His Honour (John) Geoffrey. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U22389. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
Called to Bar, Grey's Inn, 1956
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ↑ Blom-Cooper, Louis (21 May 2009). "Obituary: Lord Slynn of Hadley". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ "Criminal Courts Review - Lord Justice Auld". Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ↑ "Senior judge set to retire after 50-year law career". Irish News. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
- ↑ "Sir Mark Potter - Times Online". The Times. London. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Gray's Inn - Masters of the Bench". Gray's Inn. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Commonwealth Secretariat - Justice Richard Banda". Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
- ↑ "Jacob's CV on University College of London website". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "Lady Hale appointed next President of Supreme Court, alongside three new Justices". Supreme Court UK. 21 July 2017.
- ↑ "Sir Michael Hart - Times Online Obituary". The Times. London. 2 March 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "The Hon'ble Chief Justice". Government of Lahore. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Privy Council Appointment (Sir John Joseph Sheil)". Government of the United Kingdom. 20 December 2004. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ Watt (1928) p.146
- ↑ Watt (1928) p.114
- ↑ master (6 June 2014). "History".
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Bacon, Sir Nicholas (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ Foss (1870) p.778
- ↑ Lyall, Andrew (2004). "Oxford DNB article:Snagge, Thomas (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25971. Retrieved 7 September 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Brograve, Sir John (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Bacon, Edward (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/989. Retrieved 28 August 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Bacon, Francis (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/990. Retrieved 28 August 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Bacon, Nathaniel (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ Prest, Wilfrid (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Cook, John (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6141. Retrieved 8 September 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley and D. W. Hayton, ed (2002). The House of Commons, 1690-1715. vol. III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 173-174.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Brodrick, Sir William (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "WILLIAMS, Sir WILLIAM (1634-1700)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ Foster (1889) p.318
- ↑ Hayton, David; Cruickshanks, Eveline; Handley, Stuart (2002). The House of Commons, 1690-1715. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-521-77221-4.
- ↑ William Retlaw, Williams (1895). The parliamentary history of the principality of Wales, from the earliesr times to the present day, 1541-1895. E. Davis and Bell. OCLC 6997262.
- ↑ Wallis, Frank H. (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Whalley, George Hammond (subscription needed)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29158. Retrieved 7 September 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Camp, William (1960). The Glittering Prizes - A Biographical Study of F. E. Smith, First Earl of Birkenhead. London: Macgibbon & Kee. p. 28. OCLC 2323156.
- ↑ "Archivist, Gray's Inn". 23 April 2019.
- ↑ Beloff, Michael (2004). "Oxford DNB article: Shawcross, Hartley William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92268. Retrieved 7 September 2009. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Adams, Sir Grantley Herbert (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- ↑ Ooi, Keat Gin (2004). Southeast Asia: a historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor. Vol. 3. ABC. p. 197. ISBN 1-57607-770-5.
- ↑ Abeynaike, H. B. W.; Ameratunga, H. P. (1970). Parliament of Ceylon, 1970. Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited.
- ↑ "Emrys Roberts Records". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ "NOOR HASSANALI (1918-2006)".
- 1 2 3 "The President of the Republic of Cyprus".
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article:Adams, John Michael Geoffrey Manningham (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- ↑ Dissanayake, S.N. (27 November 2002). "Lalith Athulathmudali - a talented leader snuffed out in his prime". Daily News. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ↑ "Labour Online - Vera Baird QC". Labour Party. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ↑ "The Honourable Stuart Young M.P. appointed as Senior Counsel | The Office of the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago". otp.tt. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Douthwaite (1886) p.194
- ↑ "Thelwell, Eubule (THLL573E)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Archer, Sir Simon (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- ↑ "Beale, Bartholomew (BL639B)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ↑ Jenkins, Robert Thomas (1959). "Wynne, John (1650–1714), industrial pioneer". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: A Beckett, Gilbert Abbott (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- ↑ "Fiott (post Lee), John (FT801J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: A Beckett, Arthur William (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Ball, Sir (George) Joseph (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Phillips, Sir Thomas Williams". Who Was Who (online edition). Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ↑ "Oxford DNB article: Amy, Sir John (subscription needed)". Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- 1 2 Gray's Inn, "List of Honorary Benchers of Gray's Inn since 1883", http://www.graysinn.org.uk [Accessed: 25 March 2019]
Further reading
edit- Douthwaite, William Ralph (1886). Gray's Inn, Its History & Associations. Reeves and Turner. OCLC 2578698.
- Foster, Joseph (1889). Register of admissions to Gray's Inn, 1521-1889 together with the register of marriages in Gray's Inn Chapel, 1695-1754. Hansard Publishing Union. OCLC 271771277.
- Foss, Edward (1870). A Biographical Dictionary of the Justices of England (1066 - 1870). Spottiswoode and Company.
- Ruda, Richard (2008), A Visitor's Guide to the four Inns of Court in Central London, Washington D.C.: American Inns of Court