In the novels, Matthew Shardlake reaches his chambers by passing under the towers of the Great Gate of Lincoln’s Inn into Gatehouse Court. The gatehouse is dated to 1518 [1] and was constructed using bricks dug and made in the Inn.
C.J. Sansom places Shardlake’s chambers specifically in Gatehouse Court, which is now called Old Square. In the area behind the gatehouse, numbers 21, 22 and 23 Old Buildings were all built in the early 17th century [2] and were therefore built after Shardlake’s time.
Leaving the area behind the gatehouse and going through the passage between the Old Hall and number 17 (which was built around 1524 and altered in 1583 when chambers were added to the old kitchens), one comes to 18, 19 and 20 Old Buildings, which were also built around 1524, when Shardlake would have been in his early twenties. Although number 20 was built around 1524, it was altered in 1583 when chambers were built over the old kitchen. Numbers 18 and 19 Old Buildings have had fewer alterations [2] and are therefore more representative of what Shardlake’s chambers would have looked like.
Hear more stories like this on our Legal London walking tour of the Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court.
Sources
[1] Historic England, National Heritage List entry 1379313
[2] Historic England, National Heritage List entry 1379311