[Daily article] November 3: Gray's Inn

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. Located at the intersection of High 
Holborn and Gray's Inn Road, the Inn is both a professional body and a 
place of living and office accommodation (chambers) for many 
barristers. It is ruled by a governing council called "Pension", made 
up of the Masters of the Bench (or "Benchers"), and led by the 
Treasurer, who is elected to serve a one-year term. The Inn is known 
for its gardens, or Walks, which have existed since at least 1597. 
Gray's Inn does not claim a specific foundation date; there is a 
tradition that none of the Inns of Court claims to be any older than 
the others. Law clerks and their apprentices have been established on 
the present site since at least 1370, with records dating from 1391. 
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Inn grew steadily, reaching its 
pinnacle during the reign of Elizabeth I. The outbreak of the First 
English Civil War in 1642 during the reign of Charles I disrupted the 
systems of legal education and governance at the Inns of Court, 
shutting down all calls to the Bar and new admissions, and Gray's Inn 
never fully recovered. Fortunes continued to decline after the English 
Restoration, which saw the end of the traditional method of legal 
education. Although now more prosperous, Gray's Inn is still the 
smallest of the Inns of Court.

Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray%27s_Inn>

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1793: