Clifford's Inn

Clifford's Inn

Clifford's Inn in 1885
Type	Law
Active	1344 (1344)–1903 (1903)
Founder	Isabel, Dowager Lady de Clifford
Location	Fetter Lane, Farringdon Without, London, England EC4 51°30′51″N 0°06′38″W / 51.51421°N 0.11046°W / 51.51421; -0.11046

Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of London. The Inn was founded in 1344 and refounded 15 June 1668. It was dissolved in 1903, and most of its original structure was demolished in 1934, save for a gateway which survives. It was both the first Inn of Chancery to be founded and the last to be demolished. The mansion block was built in the late 1930s preserving the name.

Originally, Clifford's Inn was engaged in educating students in jurisprudence, Edward Coke and John Selden being two of its best known alumni. It also accommodated graduates preparing for ordination, such as the novelist Samuel Butler^[1] and those studying for other professions. In 1903, the members of Clifford's Inn reached the view that the establishment had outlived its purpose in education, and unanimously voted to dissolve its incorporation. Its remaining funds were donated to the Attorney General for England and Wales.

Subsequent to its dissolution as an Inn of Chancery, Clifford's Inn has housed offices, such as The Senior Courts Costs Office.^[2] In apartments above, Virginia Woolf, Sir John Stuttard (679th Lord Mayor), Sir Ernest Ryder (High Court Judge) and Lord Denning have been residents.