The fayrest inne

Document description

These days, the title of University has come to be so widely used that there is no longer much dignity or magic in it. Yet there was a time, long ago, when England had but three Universities. Two of them, as we would expect, were Oxford and Cambridge. In addition, there was, in London, a Third University of England, commonly described in those words. This Third University was a University of the Law. Its colleges were: at a senior level, the Four Inns of Court and, in a supporting role, the Inns of Chancery, numbering about nine. Our pleasant concern is with the story of one of those Inns of Chancery, for that is what Staple Inn was. At the threshold of our study, we should note, most particularly, that Staple Inn was, centuries ago, described as "the Fayrest Inne of Chancerie in this University".