L There and Back Again

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

By The Librarian and The Deputy Librarian

I took up the post of Librarian and Keeper of Manuscripts midway through the redevelopment of The Inner Temple’s Treasury building. For the next year and a half I found myself, like Bilbo Baggins, having an adventure which certainly involved “doing and saying things altogether unexpected”. The adventure began in November 2020 but the adventures faced by the Library date back many years, resulting in a fascinating and exciting history and culminating in the newly reopened Library we have today.

There and back again

THE STORY BEGINS

In May 2019 in an office block on Fetter Lane there lived a library. Not a lovely, oaken, carpeted, homely library: it was a temporary library, and that means practical.

After almost three years the arduous trip across Fleet Street to Fetter Lane and back again to The Temple is finally completed. The temporary library at Fetter Lane has now become another notch on the timeline of The Inner Temple Library history. It was a functional, well-appointed space, but fundamentally ‘removed’ from its home of many decades.

Starting with a single room in 1506 there have been many versions of The Inner Temple Library over the years due to various destructions: fire in 1666, blown up with gunpowder as a fire break in 1679, war in 1941–42. It will come as no surprise then that Fetter Lane was not the first temporary library of The Inner Temple. Following wartime destruction, a temporary library was opened in 2 King’s Bench Walk. The calamities outlined inevitably took their toll on the library collections and much had been lost over the years particularly in the early 1940s:

Temporary Library at 2 King’s Bench Walk

“It was not until after severe damage was done to the building and several thousand volumes destroyed that the order was given to evacuate the Library… By May 1941 approximately half the book stock had been moved to a dozen country houses. The remainder of the stock was destroyed by fire on May 10th, 1941.”

innertemplelibrary.org.uk/inner-temple/library-history/

However, that was not the end of the story as there was further misfortune during the evacuation itself. The 1841 volume of the British Almanac carries a note:

“This book was among those volumes which collided with an army gun carriage during evacuation of part of the library in the 1939–45 war, on the London-Oxford road.” It is reportedly the sole survivor of this collision.

Fast forward to the present day and the library collections have returned to the heart of The Inn. If you were writing a slightly contrived Tolkien themed article, you might be forgiven for claiming the Arkenstone of the Inn had returned…

The process of reinstalling the Library collections following the redevelopment of the Treasury Building has been complex and exhausting for all of the team. We did not have five armies to help with the job. Instead, we had the Library staff and the assistance of the Jamie Briggs moving team. It is indeed a dangerous business going out of your door (as seen above), but our collections have made it back safely. More than 1,600 ‘tea’ crates were required to move the collections on their epic journey of a full 215 meters from Fetter Lane ‘back home’ to the Temple. Thousands of books have been recalled from storage in Oxfordshire and, although the route may have been similar to that used for the 1940s book evacuation, thankfully no gun carriage collisions were reported. Fast forward to the present day and the library collections have returned to the heart of The Inn. If you were writing a slightly contrived Tolkien themed article, you might be forgiven for claiming the Arkenstone of the Inn had returned…

Room A with new sofas

Room D Now that we have returned, we continue to look to the future of the Library service because it’s the “only thing to do! On we go!” The way we support users present and future and the very alignment of the Library within The Inn as a whole are our key targets looking ahead. A new user charter outlines what you, as users, can expect from us and what we hope to receive in return from you. The best way for us to meet your needs is for us to work in partnership with you to enhance your library experience and improve our service provision. Feedback is always welcome.

The Library continues to be a world class law library with vast collections of hard copy materials as well as access to many databases. In a library the size of ours you will still find what you need quickly and easily. After all “there is nothing like looking if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something”.

So, despite being fairly restrained with the Tolkien theme, all that remains to be said is “if ever you are passing my way, don’t wait to knock! Tea is at four; but any of you are welcome at any time!”. Tea isn’t actually at four, it is welcome all day in the Library as long as you have a drinks container with a lid!

*quotes taken from The Hobbit

Rob Hodgson

Librarian and Keeper of Manuscripts

Tracey Dennis Deputy Librarian