Things you didn't know about... Gray's Inn

Centuries of legal eagles
Gray's Inn is home to one of the four Inns of Court. All barristers must join an Inn of Court before practising. Lawyers first began lodging at a manor house in Gray's Inn as early as 1388. More than 600 years later Gray's Inn Hall remains a major legal institution.

Eat 12 dinners on your way to the Bar
The Hall in South Square of Gray's Inn might be seen as its centre. Indeed, tradition insists that in order to be called to the Bar, you still have to have eaten 12 dinners in the Hall. The building was badly damaged when Gray's Inn was targeted in the Blitz, when all but the exterior walls was destroyed.

Shakespeare was here (probably)
William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors was first performed in Gray's Inn Hall in 1594. The playwright was probably among the actors in the production.

The Inn crowd
Throughout the past 500 years powerful people such as Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas Cromwell, Lord Burleigh (Queen Elizabeth 1's First Minister), Lord Howard of Effingham (the Admiral who defeated the Armada) and Sir Walter Raleigh have been linked with Gray's Inn.

Growth industry
Sir Francis Bacon paid £7 15s 4d to plant elm trees in the gardens of Gray's Inn, known as the Walks.

Gray's Inn has a long motto
Gray's Inn's motto is (hold your breath): Integra Lex Aequi Custos Rectique Magistra Non Habet Affectus Sed Causas Gubernat. This roughly translates as "impartial justice, guardian of equity, mistress of the law, without fear or favour rules men's causes..."

Screen on the Inn
A wooden screen, at the west end of the Hall, is described as Gray's Inn's most precious possession. It is believed to have been stripped from a ship belonging to the Spanish Armada and was given to Gray's Inn by Queen Elizabeth I.

A duel attraction
Despite its legal surroundings, Gray's Inn has been the site of many duels, one of which in 1701 resulted in a conviction for manslaughter. Presumably, the defendant had no trouble finding a lawyer...