Clifford's Inn

Clifford’s Inn stands between Fetter Lane and Clifford’s Inn Passage in the City of London. It began in 1344 as the first Inn of Chancery, a place where law students learned their craft. The name comes from the Clifford family, who granted the land for legal study. By the 17th century it had become a recognised centre for training barristers. Notable figures such as Edward Coke and John Selden studied there. The novelist Samuel Butler also lived and worked within its walls. The Inn’s history reflects wider changes in legal education. In 1903 its members decided it had served its purpose and voted to dissolve. The buildings were sold and most demolished in 1934, though the gatehouse by Decimus Burton still stands. After 1903 the site housed offices and later residential flats. Virginia Woolf, a High Court judge and a Lord Mayor all lived above the ground-floor rooms. The Senior Courts Costs Office once occupied part of the complex. Today the surviving gatehouse marks the entrance to a quiet corner of the legal quarter. The mansion block built in the late 1930s preserves the name and some of the old boundaries. A short passage leads from Fleet Street to Chancery Lane, keeping the memory of the Inn alive. The gatehouse itself shows the simple elegance of early 19th-century design. Visitors can stand where students once argued cases and writers set scenes. The spot remains a subtle reminder of London’s legal past.