The Calendars of the Inner Temple Records 1505 to 1845 are the transcribed records of the Inner Temple Archives and contain the proceedings of the meetings of the Bench Table and the Inn’s own Parliament. The records cover a vast and fascinating period of English history in which many members of this Inn played an important role and key events are documented within these pages.
During the early years of the Inn’s history the Inn’s business was conducted almost entirely at the Inn’s Parliament, and although there are references to the Bench Table within these minutes, all of these records have entirely disappeared, possibly destroyed in one of the Inn’s numerous fires, with the earliest volume of the Bench Table Order series only beginning in 1668. By this time most of the Inn’s business is considered at these meetings.
Other records held in the Inn’s archive are also transcribed in these volumes and include the Book of Evidences 1568 to 1732, General Account Books 1682 to the 1845, and the General Receipt Books 1682 until 1845, along with other Miscellaneous Account Books. The excellent introductions to the volumes 1505 to 1714 written by F A Inderwick KC and continued by R A Roberts and Celia Charlton provide a wonderful analysis of the volumes and their contents.
The last Calendar finishes in 1845 and transcribes records which were badly burnt during the Second World War, following this date the Bench Table Orders are entirely legible and therefore have been scanned as they are, without transcription, until 1945. A further volume containing a hand written index to these minutes will be included at a later date.