  :for the lincoln's inn society at harvard law school see lincoln's inn society.  thumb|250px|the library (left) and benchers' rooms (right). the honourable society of lincoln's inn is one of four inns of court in london to which barristers of england and wales belong and where they are called to the bar. the other three are middle temple, inner temple and gray's inn. it is believed to be named after henry de lacy, 3rd earl of lincoln. lincoln's inn is situated in holborn, in the london borough of camden, just on the border with the city of london and the city of westminster, and across the road from royal courts of justice. the nearest tube station is holborn or chancery lane. ==history== during the 12th and 13th century, the law was taught in the city of london primarily by the clergy. during the 13th century, two events happened which destroyed this form of legal education: first, a decree by henry iii of england on 2 december 1234 that no institutes of legal education could exist in the city of london,douthwaite (1886) p.2 and, second, a papal bull that prohibited the clergy from teaching the common law, rather than canon law.watt (1928) p.133 as a result the system of legal education fell apart. the common lawyers migrated to the hamlet of holborn, the nearest place to the law courts at westminster hall that was outside the city. thumb|250px|left|a map showing the boundaries of the inn in 1870. as with the other inns of court, the precise date of founding of lincoln's inn is unknown. the inn can claim the oldest records - its "black books" documenting the minutes of the governing council go back to 1422, and the earliest entries show that the inn was at that point an organised and disciplined body.watt (1928) p.7 the third earl of lincoln had encouraged lawyers to move to holborn, and they moved to thavie's inn, one of the inns of chancery, later expanding into furnival's inn as well.watt (1928) p.256 it is felt that lincoln's inn became a formally organised inn of court soon after the earl's death in 1310.spilsbury (1850) p.32 at some point before 1422, the greater part of "lincoln's inn", as they had become known, after the earl, moved to the estate of ralph neville, the bishop of chichester, near chancery lane. they retained thavie's and furnival's inn, using them as "training houses" for young lawyers, and fully purchased the properties in 1550 and 1547 respectively.watt (1928) p.257 in 1537, the land lincoln's inn sat on was sold by bishop [[ric
Bar_of_England_and_Wales Buildings_and_structures_in_Camden English_law Grade_I_listed_buildings_in_London Grade_I_listed_law_buildings Inns_of_Court Legal_buildings_in_London Legal_organizations Professional_education_in_London