Lincoln's Inn
/ About
One of the four Inns of Court, Lincoln's Inn occupies eleven acres of gardens, courtyards and halls behind a gatehouse on Lincoln's Inn Fields. The Great Hall, opened by Queen Victoria in 1845, is the estate's headline room: a Victorian Gothic hall under a worked oak ceiling, hung with portraits and heraldry, with a minstrels' gallery above one end and a fresco filling the wall at the other. It seats 280 for dinner, takes 450 for a reception, and the venue's own capacity chart lists a dinner-dance layout for 220, so the floor is designed to be cleared. The estate's other rooms run from the Old Hall, whose Tudor roof timbers date to 1490 and whose crypt is included in the hire, to the MCR in the restored Victorian kitchens beneath it, and out to the North Lawn, where a stretch tent goes up for the summer.
What the Inn offers is a real change of register in the middle of legal London. The halls are lit for candles and uplighting rather than downlights, the garden is walled and quiet, and the whole estate is hired through one in-house team who also do the catering (no outside food is permitted). The Ashworth Centre, the modern underground wing opened in 2018, adds a tiered lecture theatre and ten meeting rooms for anything that needs a daytime programme before the evening starts.
Two things to know before planning a date. The Inn closes for the whole of August and over Easter, and the North Lawn's stretch tent is a June and July fixture only. Evening events run to a bar close and a 00:30 departure at the latest.
/ Rooms Available
The East Terrace
Exclusive HireThe stone terrace running alongside the Great Hall, looking over the private gardens. Used for arrival receptions, summer parties and barbecues, and it works as the outdoor half of a Great Hall hire.
The Great Hall
Exclusive HireOpened by Queen Victoria in 1845 and hired exclusively, with the adjoining Bench Rooms and an east-facing terrace over the private gardens. A minstrels' gallery sits above one end and a fresco fills the wall at the other; the oak ceiling and the portrait-hung panelling take uplighting well. The Inn's own chart lists a dinner-dance layout for 220, and the hall carries a built-in PA and three-phase power.
The North Lawn
Exclusive HireThe Inn's walled summer lawn, under London plane trees with Stone Buildings behind. A stretch tent is installed for the season — it covers up to 300 — and the lawn itself takes up to 450 standing. Available in June and July only.
The Old Hall
Exclusive HireThe Tudor hall of 1490, with its original roof timbers, armorial stained glass and a Hogarth painting. Hired exclusively, and the hire includes the vaulted Crypt beneath it for registration, a breakout or a reception bar. Built-in PA and three-phase power; the Inn's chart lists a dinner-dance layout for 100.
Ashworth Centre Meeting Rooms
PrivateTen rooms across two floors of the Ashworth Centre, lit by skylights and divided by partition walls. Individually they take 10 to 14 boardroom style; opened up, they hold 60 boardroom, 120 theatre or 158 for a reception. The communal foyer has a glass ceiling looking up at the turrets of the Great Hall.
Lecture Theatre
PrivateThe tiered auditorium in the Ashworth Centre, the underground wing opened in 2018 by Queen Elizabeth II and named for Mercy Ashworth, one of the first women called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn. The seating is retractable, so the double-height room converts from 158 tiered seats to a flat floor holding 130 for a reception. Integrated AV and three-phase power.
The MCR
PrivateThe Members' Common Room, built into the Victorian kitchens beneath the Great Hall and restored to its vaulted stone ceilings, with a long bar and a private south-facing terrace. It seats 50 and takes 90 standing.
The Old Court Room
PrivateA green-walled room lined with antiquarian books, used for legal proceedings in the Victorian era and now the Inn's room for a small dinner or a lecture. Daylight on three sides and views across the estate; 44 for dinner, 70 for a reception, 28 boardroom.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
AV Equipment
- – PA System
Catering
- – In-House Luxury Dining
- – Bespoke Menus
- – Canape Service
- – Halal Available
Licensing
- – Full Alcohol Licence
- – TEN Capable
Venue Specs
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Wheelchair Accessible
- – Wi-Fi
- – Outdoor Terrace
- – Cloakroom
- – Load-In Access
/ Getting Here
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