Lincoln's Inn Fields

History

When originally laid out, Lincoln's Inn Fields was part of fashionable London. The completion of the houses that surrounded it proceeded at a leisurely pace, interrupted by the English Civil War: In 1659 James Cooper, Robert Henley, and Francis Finch and other owners of "certain parcels of ground in the fields, commonly called Lincoln's Inn Fields", were exempted from all forfeitures and penalties which they might incur in regard to any new buildings they might erect on three sides of the same fields, previously to the 1st of October in that year, provided that they paid for the public service one year's full value for every such house within one month of its erection; and provided that they should convey the 'residue of the said fields' to the Society of Lincoln's Inn, for laying the same into walks for common use and benefit, whereby the annoyances which formerly have been in the same fields will be taken away, and passengers there for the future better secured." The oldest building from this early period is Lindsey House, 59–60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was built in 1640 and has been attributed to Inigo Jones. The builder may have been David Cunningham, 1st Baronet of Auchinhervie, a friend of the mason-sculptor Nicholas Stone, who also supervised the rebuilding of Berkhamsted Place for Charles I. It derives its name from a period of ownership in the 18th century by the earls of Lindsey.

Another seventeenth century survival is now 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields, which was built for Lord Powis and known as Powis House. The charter of the Bank of England was sealed there on 27 July 1694. It was in 1705 acquired by the Duke of Newcastle (whereupon it became known as Newcastle House) who had it remodelled by Sir John Vanbrugh (following earlier work by Sir Christopher Wren after a fire in 1684). It remains substantially in its circa 1700 form, although a remodelling in 1930 by Sir Edwin Lutyens gives it a curiously pastiche appearance.

Up to the 17th century, cattle were grazed upon the fields. Turnstiles were placed around the square to enable pedestrians to enter without the animals escaping. Shops and other businesses developed along these footpaths and some of these alleys still exist – the Great and Little Turnstile.

As London fashion moved west, Lincoln's Inn Fields was left to rich lawyers who were attracted by its proximity to the Inns of Court. Thus, the former Newcastle House became in 1790 the premises of the solicitors Farrer & Co who are still there: their clients include much of the landed gentry and also Queen Elizabeth II.

The Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre was located in the Fields from 1661 to 1848 when it was demolished. Originally called the Duke's Theatre, it was created by converting Lisle's Tennis Court, to become the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in 1695. The theatre presented the first paid public performances of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 1700, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera in January 1728, and Handel's final two operas in 1740 and 1741.

Lincoln's Inn Fields was the site, in 1683, of the public beheading of Lord William Russell, son of the first Duke of Bedford, following his implication in the Rye House Plot for the attempted assassination of King Charles II. The executioner was Jack Ketch who made such a poor job of it that four axe blows were required before the head was separated from the body and, after the first stroke, Russell looked up and said to him "You dog, did I give you 10 guineas to use me so inhumanely?".

Sometime after 1735 the Fields were enclosed within an iron railing, on account of the then Master of the Rolls, Sir Joseph Jekyll being ridden over by a horse. An alternative version of the story claims that Jekyll was attacked for his support of an Act of Parliament raising the price of gin.

From 1750 to 1992, the solicitors Frere Cholmeley were in premises on the north side of Lincoln's Inn Fields, after which their buildings were taken over by a leading set of commercial barristers' chambers, known as Essex Court Chambers after their own former premises at 4 Essex Court in the Temple. Essex Court Chambers now occupy five buildings, nos. 24–28 Lincoln's Inn Fields. Other barristers' chambers have since then also set up in Lincoln's Inn Fields, but solicitors' firms still outnumber them there.

In Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House, the sinister solicitor to the aristocracy, Mr Tulkinghorn, has his offices in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and one of its most dramatic scenes is set there. The description of his building corresponds most closely to Lindsey House. After a spell as a patent agents, Lindsey House has become home to the leading civil liberties barristers' chambers, Garden Court Chambers, together with the neighbouring building at 57–58, which includes some features designed by Sir John Soane, including a geometric staircase.

The London School of Economics and Political Science has recently moved onto the square, taking ownership of 50 Lincoln's Inn Fields, on the corner of Sardinia Street in 2003. At the end of 2008, both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh officially opened in Lincoln's Inn Fields a new £71 million state-of-the-art building housing the LSE's Departments of Law and Management, being the first time that LSE has re-located one of its major academic departments to actual frontage on the park. In 2009, the institution also took over ownership of Sardinia House, and in 2010 purchased the former Land Registry Building at 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields to house its Department of Economics and associated research centres. Most recently, it purchased the freehold of 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, currently the home of Cancer Research, and 5 Lincoln's Inn Fields to further expand its portfolio of buildings to six on the square.

Notable premises

Aside from Lindsey House and Powis House, at number 12, 13 and 14, on the north side of the square, is Sir John Soane's Museum, home of the architect. On the same side, at number 7, is Thomas More Chambers, led by Mr Geoffrey Cox QC MP. Organisations with premises on the south side of the square include the Royal College of Radiologists, Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute and the Royal College of Surgeons (including the Hunterian Museum exhibiting the intriguing medical collections of John Hunter). There is a blue plaque marking the home of the surgeon William Marsden at number 65. On the west side, the London School of Economics and Political Science owns 50 Lincoln's Inn Fields and has new premises at Stuart House, which opened in September 2008, as well as offices and a medical centre at Sardinia House It has also recently purchased the Land Registry Building at 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields for academic purposes, and will take ownership of 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields in 2015. Aside from the Royal College of Surgeons, the School will then own the entire south side of the square. There is a statue by Barry Flanagan, an abstract called Camdonian, in the North East corner of the square. Also located at 67–69 is the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, the commercial law research and teaching centre of Queen Mary, University of London. 16 Lincoln's Inn Field is occupied by the PR company Brunswick Group, owned by Sir Alan Parker.

Homelessness

In the 1980s, Lincoln's Inn Fields attracted many homeless people, who slept there overnight. In 1992, they were cleared out and fences were raised, and since the re-opening of Lincoln's Inn Fields with its new railings in 1993, gates have been locked every night at dusk. However, although homeless people no longer liver there, soup vans still continue to visit Lincoln's Inn Fields nightly, along the east side, adjacent to Lincoln's Inn, to provide free food to queues of homeless people who assemble at dark to collect the food and hot drink and then disappear. The vans are operated by a variety of religious organisations, and on Sundays by Imperial College London's Soup Run society.

During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Muslims attend the Fields at sunset to feed the local homeless.

Nearest stations

The nearest London Underground stations are Holborn and Chancery Lane.