Stone Buildings

Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn were constructed from 1774[1] to 1780. The architect was Sir Robert Taylor.[2] Stone Buildings is a Grade I listed building.[3] Stone Buildings appear in The Prime Minister.[4][5]

Not to be confused with Stone Building.

Stone Buildings are so-called from the material with which they are constructed.[6] They were constructed in accordance with an ultimately unrealised plan to rebuild Lincoln's Inn entirely in stone. Their construction was the initial step in that plan.[7]

The working drawings were made by a young man called Leach, then a clerk in Taylor's office, who later became Master of the Rolls. Leach's drawings are preserved in the Library of Lincoln's Inn. Pitt's chambers appear to have been in Stone Buildings[8] from December 1779.[9] Canning's father was "for some time with a Serjeant Walker who then resided in Stone Buildings". The South end was added from 1844 to 1845 under the direction of Philip Hardwick.[8]

Stone Buildings are situate parallel with the west side of Chancery Lane, and the western range of buildings faces the gardens of Lincoln's Inn and the square, with an oblong court between the two buildings. The Chancery Lane side is very plain, but the garden front consists of a rustic basement, with arcades and windows, at the north end of which is a wing consisting of six Corinthian pillars, which support an entablature and pediment. The cornice of the wing is continued through the whole length of the front, which terminates in a balustrade, but the two ranges of windows are entirely plain. The northern entrance is by handsome iron gates in Chancery Lane. The structure is not in keeping with the architecture of the other buildings; but, when viewed through the foliage of the garden, it has a very pleasing effect.[10]

On 23 December 1790, by the violence of the wind at noon, the copper covering of the roof of the new buildings was blown off in one sheet, and hung over the front like a large carpet or mainsail. The noise occasioned by this accident made the neighbourhood conclude the building was falling down. Some of the plates composing this covering were torn off and carried into a yard in Holborn.[11]

Sir Charles Wetherell had chambers in Stone Buildings. The Duke of Wellington took shelter there when he was attacked by a mob[12] on 18 June 1832.[13][14]

The Registers' and Accountant-General's Offices were at 8, 9 and 11 Stone Buildings.[15]

The buildings are faced with Portland stone.[16]

The buildings that comprise Stone Buildings are numbered from 1 to 11. 1 and 11 Stone Buildings are opposite separate sides of 76B Chancery Lane. 7 and 8 Stone Buildings are opposite 10 to 12 Old Square.[17]

2 Stone Buildings

The Library of Lincoln's Inn was located on the ground floor of this building from 1755.[18] Samuel Ireland said that the valuable and extensive library was housed in an elegant suite of apartments, consisting of four rooms, three of which commanded a pleasant view of the gardens. In this collection (which included upwards of 8,000 volumes) were many rare and valuable books, in the most perfect condition. The excellent order in which they were ranged, and the extreme neatness that prevailed throughout the apartments, reflected great honour on those who had the superintendence of them.

There were two portraits in the principal apartment; that over the chimney-piece, to the left of the entrance, was well painted, and represented Sir Richard Rainsford, lord chief justice in the reign of Charles I.; the other, which hung between the windows, was a portrait of Sir John Franklin, master in ordinary of the court of chancery, who, by the inscription, appears to have died in 1707. There were, besides, some fine Italian drawings, and copies in miniature, of the celebrated Venus, by Titian, and other Italian masters. The second chamber contained some very good pictures; among which, that of the Virgin and Child appeared, in point of design, to possess no small degree of merit. Between the windows was a very singular three-quarter portrait, representing a handsome woman loosely attired, holding in her hand a bleeding heart, pierced through with a dart; in the back-ground were two small figures, representing Mars and Venus; applicable, no doubt, to the subject of the picture, which seemed very ancient, and was extremely dirty; unfortunately the name of the lady was not known. The drawings, in this apartment, were by the same Italian masters, as those he before noticed. In this room there were also two large globes, apparently of Elizabeth's time; they were so much defaced as to be perfectly useless by 1800. There was also a three-quarter portrait in the third chamber, of the famous judge Hales, who bequeathed to the honourable society all his valuable manuscripts; and, in the fourth apartment, hung a good picture of the late Lord Mansfield, chief justice of the King's Bench and five old pictures, on the subject of Christ at Emmaus. In an alcove, at the further end of this room, stood a beautiful marble bust of the great Cicero. There were also several pictures, of whose merit nothing could be ascertained, as they were totally obscured with dirt.[19] The Library was removed from this building in 1845.[20]

Arthur Cayley lived here.[21] The United Law Clerks Society was here.[22]

3 Stone Buildings

James Kenneth Stephen had chambers in this building.[23][24][25] The basement of this building became the address of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting on 16 May 1951,[26] and their office was in this building.[27]

It currently houses Three Stone, the Chambers of John McDonnell QC, which is a merger of two chancery-commercial chambers in Lincoln's Inn: Thirteen Old Square Chambers and 3 Stone Buildings.[28]

4 Stone Buildings

Pitt the Younger had chambers here.[29]

The sundial on the west front of 4 Stone Buildings.

There is on the west front of 4 Stone Buildings, facing the garden and just outside the chambers formerly occupied by Pitt, a sundial bearing the inscription "Qua Redit Nescitis Horam", which means "you know not the hour in which he returns". This sundial previously stood on an old gable in Old Buildings, Lincoln's Inn. It was put in its present place in 1794, during Pitt's Treasureship, at which time it was repainted and further inscribed "T. the Rt. hon.ble W.P." It was restored again in 1848. From the different situation of its plane, it only shows the hours from noon till night. During the Second World War, it only just avoided being destroyed by bombs which fell on Stone Buildings.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]

5 Stone Buildings

Sir Charles Wetherell MP resided here.[43] The editorial office of The Law Times was here.[44] In July 1918, the Bar Council acquired new offices at 5 Stone Buildings, of a character more suitable to the duties they were called upon to discharge. It had been found impossible to obtain equally suitable accommodation in the Temple; but it was hoped that the advantages of the new premises would counterbalance any inconvenience which might be felt by a section of the Bar in consequence of the removal from the Temple. The furniture and fittings of the new premises were presented to the Bar Council by their then chairman, Mr P. O. Lawrence KC. The thanks of the council to the donor were expressed and recorded in a resolution dated 11 November 1918.[45]

5 Stone Buildings[46] is a barristers’ set. It currently comprises 24 members, of whom five are Queen's Counsel, whose specialisations include private client, estate planning, tax, probate disputes, partnership, property litigation, professional negligence, pensions and other chancery related commercial matters. The chambers are ranked highly in the legal directory Chambers and Partners.[47]

6 Stone Buildings

The Chancery Subpoena Office was here.[48][49] From 1941, the office of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting was here.[50][51][52][53][54] Sir Thomas Manners Sutton, then Solicitor General, was here.[55]

7 Stone Buildings

This is the part of Stone Buildings that was constructed in 1845.[56] The Exchequer Office of Pleas and the Exchequer Rule Office were here.[57] From 1845, the business of the Court of Exchequer was transacted in the offices which occupied two floors (namely, the ground floor and the basement floor) of this building. The accommodation on the ground floor consisted of a large hall 38 feet by 28 feet, used as a place of business for persons engaged in the taxing of costs and other matters, and as a general waiting-room for witnesses, etc. in attendance on references or other business. Within this space was also contained an office partitioned off for the two clerks in immediate attendance on the masters, and a box for the messengers. On the same floor there were five rooms for the masters varying in size from 23 feet by 10 feet, to 23 feet by 15 feet, together with another room which was used as a library and waiting-room. After the changes introduced by the two Common Law Procedure Acts, and especially in consequence of the frequent references of causes to the masters, the accommodation afforded in 1860 by the masters' rooms, and the space in immediate connexion with them, was often inadequate for the convenience of the counsel, attorneys, parties and witnesses in attendance. On the basement floor, an equal amount of space, but differently divided, was occupied by the writ, appearance, judgment, execution, and rule offices, and by the record room and housekeeper's apartments. The housekeeper had also a bedroom in the attics of the building. The total general area of each of the floors occupied by the offices of the Court was 3,130 square feet, making together a rough total of twice that extent, or 6,260 square feet.[58] In 1880, certain rooms, up to that time used by the Masters of the Exchequer, became common rooms.[59][60] From 1947, the Council of Legal Education was here.[61]

8 Stone Buildings

John Walpole Willis had chambers here.[62] In 2017 it housed a boutique law firm, Candey.[63]

9 Stone Buildings

9 Stone Buildings[64] is a commercial chancery barristers’ set and one of the oldest established chambers in Lincolns Inn with a history dating back to 1893, when it was founded.[65] Currently the set consists of 27 members including 1 Queen's Counsel. Edward Denehan is the Head of Chambers.

10 Stone Buildings

10 Stone Buildings was the home of the Writ of Record Office until 1882 when the premises were acquired by the Inns of Court Regiment.[66][67] The Inns of Court and City Yeomanry Museum is also located in the building.[68]

11 Stone Buildings

11 Stone Buildings was a set of commercial / chancery barristers. They practiced commercial law with specialist groups for all types of contract, company, insolvency, banking & finance and real estate disputes. They acted as advocates, advisers, arbitrators and mediators for law firms, for in-house legal departments and for licensed and public access clients.[69][70] They were also members of the ADR Group, the alternative dispute resolution network.[71] The set consisted of 42 members including 4 Queen's Counsel, and had 16 employees. Head of Chambers was Edward Cohen. Chambers Director was Michael Couling.[72][73]

References and sources

References

1. Hugh H L Bellot. Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. Methuen & Co Limited. London. 1925 . p 177. .
2. Cherry and Pevsner. "Stone Buildings" in London 4: North. Yale University Press. 1998. Page 287.
3. List entries 1379318 and 1379319.
4. Nicholas Shrimpton (ed). "Explanatory Notes" in The Prime Minister. OUP. 2011. p 625.
5. Hibbert, Weinreb, Keay and Keay. "Stone Buildings" in The London Encyclopaedia. 3rd Ed. Pan Macmillan. p 882.
6. Hughson, David. Walks Through London. 1817. No III. p 158 & 159.
7. (1954) 218 Law Times 302 Google Books.
8. Wheatley and Cunningham. "Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn" in London Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and Traditions. John Murray. Albemarle Street, London. 1891. p 319. Google Books.
9. Reilly, Robin. Pitt the Younger 1759-1806. Cassell. 1978. p 46. Google Books.
10. Charles William Heckethorn. Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Localities Adjacent. E Stock. 1896. pp 53 & 54.
11. Charles William Heckethorn. Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Localities Adjacent. E Stock. 1896. pp 54.
12. Thomas Wright. The History and Antiquities of London, Westminster, Southwark, and Parts Adjacent. George Virtue. Paternoster Row, London. 1837. Volume 5. pp 156 & 157.
13. George Robert Gleig and Alexis Henri Brialmont. The Life of Arthur, First Duke of Wellington. 1862. Page 522 et seq.
14. Hurst. A Short History of Lincoln's Inn. Constable. 1946. p 32. Google Books.
15. William Paley Baildon. The Site of Lincoln's Inn. 1902. p 40.
16. Ireland, Samuel. Picturesque Views, with an Historical Account of the Inns of Court. 1800. pp 125 et seq.
17. "Lincoln's Inn". Location. Society of Lincoln's Inn.
18. Hugh H L Bellot. Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. Methuen & Co Limited. London. 1925 p 190.
19. Ireland, Samuel. Picturesque Views, with an Historical Account of the Inns of Court. 1800. pp 157 et seq.
20. Spilsbury, William Holden. Lincoln's Inn; Its Ancient and Modern Buildings: with an Account of the Library. W. Pickering. 1850. p 85.
21. Ioan James. Remarkable Mathematicians: From Euler to Von Neumann. Cambridge University Press. Page 144.
22. (1907) 79 House of Commons Papers 175 Google Books.
23. Deborah MacDonald. The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper. McFarland. 2007. Pages 85 and 87.
24. H S. "Introduction" in Lapsus Calami and Other Verses. Macmillan and Bowes. Cambridge. 1898. Page viii.
25. (1889) 9 Cambridge Review 46; Supplement to the Cambridge Review (2 November 1887) page xx ; (1887) 4 Oxford Magazine 50 ; (1887) 19 Journal of Education 496 .
26. (1951) 95 Solicitors Journal 322 (19 May 1951)
27. "1951: The Law Reports of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division" [1951] P i
28. "Three Stone: commercial chancery barristers". Three Stone. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
29. Arthur St. John Adcock. Wonderful London. Fleetway House. 1926. vol 2. p 208. Google Books.
30. Hurst. A Short History of Lincoln's Inn. Constable. 1946. p 34.
31. Hugh H L Bellot. Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. Methuen & Co Limited. London. 1925 . p 180.
32. Hurst, Gerald Berkeley. Lincoln's Inn Essays. Constable. 1949. p 26. Google Books.
33. Spilsbury, William Holden. Lincoln's Inn: Its Ancient and Modern Buildings. Reeves and Turner. 1873. p 52.
34. Baildon and Roxburgh. The Records of the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn: The Black Books. Volume 5 (1845-1914). Lincoln's Inn. 1968. p xxix. Google Books.
35. Gatty, Margaret. The Book of Sun-dials. 1872. p 86.
36. Timbs, John. Curiosities of London. 1855. p 407.
37. Pearce, Richard Robert. A History of the Inns of Court and Chancery. 1848. p 150.
38. Horatia K F Gatty and Eleanor Lloyd Eden. The Book of Sun-dials. 4th Ed. G Bell and Sons. 1900. p 374. Google Books.
39. Charles William Heckethorn. Lincoln's Inn Fields and the Localities Adjacent. E Stock. 1896. p 19. Google Books.
40. Peter Hampson Ditchfield. London Survivals: A Record of the Old Buildings and Associations of the City. Meuthen. 1914. p 146. Google Books.
41. Taylor, Gladys. Old London Gardens. Batsford. 1953. p 27. Google Books.
42. Edwin Beresford Chancellor. The Romance of Lincoln's Inn Fields and its Neighbourhood. Richards. 1932. p 248. Google Books.
43. A Key to Both Houses of Parliament. Page 300.
44. (1949) 208 Law Times 33 & 122 Google Books.
45. "New Offices of the Council" (1919) 146 The Law Times 174 and 205
46. Homepage: 5sblaw.com
47. Chambers & Partners
48. James Elmes. A Topographical Dictionary of London and its Environs. Whittaker, Treacher and Arnot. Ave Maria Lane, London. 1831. Page 112.
49. Capper, B P (compiler). The British Imperial Calendar for 1811. London. Page 218.
50. "Another Letter from London" (1941) The Bar Bulletin, vols 12 and 13, p 302 (Bar Association of the City of Boston).
51. (1941) 76 Weekly Notes 217 (12 July 1941)
52. "1941: The Law Reports of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: Probate Division: Courts of Probate Divorce and Admiralty" [1941] P
53. Willing's Press Guide 1948. Willing's Press Service. Volume 75. Page 137. Google Books
54. "1949: The Law Reports of the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: House of Lords, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and Peerage Cases" [1949] AC i Google Books
55. "Useful Tables" (1803) 1 The Law Journal 97 at 98
56. "Stone Buildings" in Chambers. Society of Lincoln's Inn. lincolnsinn.org.uk/chambers.asp. Archived Copy from Internet Archive. 24 September 2009.
57. The British Almanac of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for the Year of Our Lord, 1849. Charles Knight. Fleet Street, London. Page 78.
58. W H Walton and W F Pollock. Reports from Commissioners: Sixteen Volumes. Volume 9. Reports from Commissioners: 1860. Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command. Volume 31. Session: 24 Jan to 28 Aug 1860. 1860. "Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Means of Providing Sites for Bringing Together the Superior Courts of Law and Equity etc" [2710]. Appendix C (Appendix to evidence taken before the commissioners appointed to enquire into the expediency of bringing together all the superior courts of Law and Equity etc). No. 5 (2 February 1860). Page 123.
59. Wong, J Y. Origins of an Heroic Image: Sun Yatsen in London 1896-1897. Oxford University Press. 1986. Page 256. Google Books
60. The Records of the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn: 1914-1965. The Black Books: Volume VI. Lincoln's Inn. 2001. Page 31. Google Books
61. "History of the Council of Legal Education" in Council of Legal Education Archive Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London. 26 April 2013.
62. Robert Megarry and Bryan Garner. A New Miscellany at Law: Yet Another Diversion for Lawyers and Others. Hart Publishing. Oxford and Portland, Oregon. The Lawbook Exchange Ltd. Clark, New Jersey. 2005. p 25
63. Candey Home Page
64. Homepage: http://www.9stonebuildings.com/
65. http://www.chambersandpartners.com/uk-bar/firm/10541/9-stone-buildings
66. The Records of the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn: The Black Books. Volume 6. Page 51. Google Books.
67. Law Commission. Statute Law Repeals: Eighteenth Report. 2008. Page 78 (refers to the Six Clerks Office).
68. Beckett, Ian F W. Discovering British Regimental Traditions. Osprey. Page 115.
69. http://www.11sb.com
70. http://www.lawcareers.net/Barristers/11-Stone-Buildings
71. http://www.adrgroup.co.uk/shopimages/documents/corporates/11%20Stone%20Buildings.pdf
72. Chambers & Partners, UK Bar
73. Legal 500

Sources

• Spilsbury, William Holden. Lincoln's Inn; Its Ancient and Modern Buildings: with an Account of the Library. W. Pickering. 1850. pp 36, 83-85.
• "A Prime Minister in Stone Buildings" (1945) 89 Solicitors Journal 422 Google Books.
• Alejandro Bahamón. "Stone Buildings" in London: Atlas of Architecture. Anova Books. Page 23.
• Ian Nairn. Nairn's London. Penguin Books. 1961. p 109. Google Books.

External links