Lincoln's Inn Fields

As the sun comes out and the cobwebs of winter are cleared away, what better subject to blog about that one of London’s best loved out door spaces, complete with beautiful blossom trees, lashings of grass to sit on and even a tennis court. Lincoln’s Inn Fields is the largest public square in London and is thought to have been one of the inspirations of Central Park, New York. It was laid out in part by Inigo Jones and opened to the public after its acquisition by London County Council in 1895.

The name is taken from the adjacent Lincoln’s Inn, but should not be confused with the private gardens of Lincoln’s Inn itself – if you try and have a picnic on the green in there you might get an irate barrister flapping at you to get off the grass.

The square is surrounded by a number of interesting spots – at number 13, on the north side of the square, is the architect Sir John Soane’s Museum, on the same side, at number 7, is Thomas More
Chambers, a leading set of barristers’ chambers and there’s also Cancer Research UK, the Royal College of Surgeons and HM Land Registry so it’s quite a busy spot.

There’s tennis and netball courts and even a bandstand. There also used to be a theatre – Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre – that that was there from 1661 to 1848 when it was demolished.

The innocent looking picnic spot also has some rather gory events attached to it: Lincoln’s Inn Fields was the site, in 1683, of the public beheading of Lord William Russell, son of the First Duke of Bedford, following his implication in the Rye House Plot for the assassination of King Charles II. The executioner was Jack Ketch who made such a poor job of it that four axe blows were required before the head was separated from the body and, after the first stroke, Russell looked up and said to him “You dog, did I give you 10 guineas to use me so inhumanely?”  Enjoy your picnic!