Gray’s Inn

 

Gray’s Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. The Inns are professional associations for barristers and judges. Inns also provide offices and accomodation. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns. The Inn at Gray’s Inn dates back to at least the fourteenth century.

 

Charles Dickens and Gray’s Inn.

In May 1827, Charles Dickens started work as  a junior clerk in the offices of Ellis and Blackmore, solicitors of Holborn Court, Gray’s Inn. Whilst working at Gray’s Inn, Dickens learned the Gurney system of shorthand in his spare time, a skill that would prove invaluable later as a reporter and writer.

Dickens worked here until November 1828, leaving to become a freelance reporter at the Doctors’ Commons.

 

Location.

Gray’s Inn is located in the Holborn area of London. The nearest underground station is Chancery Lane (Central Line).

 

 

Nearby.

Close to Gray’s Inn is Furnival’s Inn, a former Inn of Court and where Charles Dickens lived before and immediately after his marriage to Catherine Hogarth.

 

Further Reading.

Click here to view the Wikipedia entry for Gray’s Inn.