Part of Gray's Inn Square 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] 1922 B. R. Ambedkar Indian polymath, jurist, economist, politician and social reformer and the father of the Indian Constitution [12] 1937 Jack Hamson legal writer and jurist of comparative and common law, President of the International Academy of Comparative Law [13] 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 [14] 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 [15] 1988 Roger Tan Kor Mee Malaysian advocate & solicitor, former member of the Malaysian Bar Council and now a Water Commissioner of Malaysia.
Judiciary [ edit ] Politicians [ edit ] Call Name Noted for Notes 1355 Robert Ashton Lord Chancellor of Ireland , Lord High Treasurer [59] 1515 Robert Aske Politician and rebel who led the Pilgrimage of Grace [60] 1524 Thomas Cromwell Chief minister to King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540 [61] 1533 Nicholas Bacon Lord Keeper of the Great Seal [62] 1552 Christopher Yelverton Speaker of the House of Commons [63] 1554 Thomas Snagge Speaker of the British House of Commons and Attorney-General for Ireland [64] 1560 John Brograve Member of Parliament for Preston , Attorney General of the Duchy of Lancaster [65] 1565 Edward Bacon Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth and Tavistock [66] 1582 Francis Bacon Politician and statesman who served as Lord Chancellor and Attorney General [67] 1617 Nathaniel Bacon Member of Parliament for Ipswich [68] 1631 John Cooke Solicitor General [69] 1644 Levinus Bennet Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire [70] 1648 William Brodrick Member of the Sealed Knot , Surveyor General of Ireland, Member of Parliament for Dungarvan in the Irish House of Commons [71] 1658 William Williams Solicitor General and Speaker of the House of Commons [72] 1673 Thomas Allen Lord Mayor of the City of London [73] 1682 Alexander Pendarves Member of Parliament for Penryn , Saltash , Helston , and Launceston [74] 1718 Hugh Williams Member of Parliament for Anglesey [75] 1839 George Hammond Whalley Member of Parliament for Peterborough [76] 1871 William Bowen Rowlands Member of Parliament for Ceredigion 1885 Sidney Webb Member of Parliament for Seaham , President of the Board of Trade , Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs , Secretary of State for the Colonies , Co-founder London School of Economics 1894 F.E. Smith Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for India [77] 1910 Khabeeruddin Ahmed Member Bengal Legislative Council [78] 1922 David Maxwell Fyfe Solicitor General, Attorney General, Lord Chancellor and Home Secretary [44] 1922 Hartley Shawcross Attorney General [79] 1923 Grantley Herbert Adams Premier of Barbados [80] 1924 Ba Maw Prime Minister of Burma [81] 1933 Leslie Goonewardene Sri Lankan independence activist and founder of the nation's first political party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party . Also served in cabinet post. [82] 1935 Elwyn Jones Attorney General, Lord Chancellor [44] 1944 Emrys Roberts Member of Parliament for Merioneth [83] 1948 Noor Hassanali The first Indo-Trinidadian to hold the office of President of Trinidad and Tobago and was the first Muslim Head of State in the Americas [84] 1950 Glafcos Clerides Fourth President of the Republic of Cyprus [85] 1954 Spyros Kyprianou Second President of the Republic of Cyprus [85] 1954 Tassos Papadopoulos Fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus [85] 1959 John "Tom" Adams Premier of Barbados [86] 1959 Lalith Athulathmudali Sri Lankan Member of Parliament and Minister of Education [87] 1974 Roy Roebuck Member of Parliament 1975 Vera Baird Solicitor General for England and Wales [88]
Honorary members [ edit ] See also [ edit ] References [ 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 or UK public library membership required.) ^ a b c d e f g h Douthwaite (1886) p.195 ^ a b "Huw Thomas - Telegraph" . The Daily Telegraph . 9 April 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009 . ^ a b "Aitzaz Ahsan elected Honorary Fellow of Downing College" . Indopia. Retrieved 27 August 2009 . ^ "Gray's Inn - Benchers" . Gray's Inn. Retrieved 27 August 2009 . ^ a b c d 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 University Press. 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2009 . ^ 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 ^ a b 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 or UK public library membership required.) ^ Foss (1870) p.53 ^ Foss (1870) p.80 ^ Foss (1870) p.728 ^ Lee, Sidney. "Bradshaw John (1602-1659)" – via Wikisource. ^ Foss (1870) p.530 ^ a b c 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 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 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. 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 ^ a b c d "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 ^ 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. Retrieved 8 September 2009 . ^ "Gray's Inn - Masters of the Bench" . Gray's Inn. 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. 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 ^ "Oxford DNB article:Snagge, Thomas (subscription needed)" . Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 7 September 2009 . ^ "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 or UK public library membership required.) ^ "Oxford DNB article:Bacon, Francis (subscription needed)" . Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2009 . ^ "Oxford DNB article: Bacon, Nathaniel (subscription needed)" . Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009 . ^ "Oxford DNB article: Cook, John (subscription needed)" . Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2009 . ^ 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 . ^ "Oxford DNB article: Whalley, George Hammond (subscription needed)" . Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 7 September 2009 . ^ 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. ^ "Oxford DNB article: Shawcross, Hartley William" . Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 7 September 2009 . ^ "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)" . ^ a b c "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 . ^ a b c d e 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 . ^ a b 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 ]