The Inner Temple Admissions Database records that two children of Sir John Crompton, a knight of Skerne, Yorkshire were admitted to the Inn. They were:

• John Crompton, whose occupation was given as 'armiger', that being an 'armour bearer for a knight - a squire, or a person entitled to heraldic arms'. He was specially admitted to the Inn on 21 May 1613.
• Robert Crompton, whose occupation was given as 'gentleman' who was also specially admitted to the Inn on 16 February 1618. At this time Robert Crompton's address is given as the City of London.

The Inns of Court

The origins of the Inns of Court remain obscure. However, it is certain that by the mid-fourteenth century lawyers had begun to congregate in the Temple, to the south of Fleet Street, in the City of London, occupying buildings erected there by the Knights Templar and subsequently acquired but not used by the Knights Hospitaller. In due course, two societies of lawyers were formed there, each occupying one of the two halls built by the Templars on the site, and there is evidence that they had adopted the names of the Inner and the Middle Temple by 1388. … It was not until nearly a century later (about 1425) that we find them referred to as the 'inns of court' - inns because they provided accommodation for lawyers and law students, and 'of court' because their members appeared in the king's courts. However, it is clear that, once established, they offered not only residential accommodation and hospitality to their members, but also, more importantly, legal training. Indeed, in the early modern period, the inns of court and chancery became collectively known as 'the third university of England'.

The Inns of Court as "finishing schools for gentlemen"

Until the 18th century, the majority of students were the sons of country gentry who attended the Inns of Court as "finishing schools" rather than as intending barristers. The Inns provided a form of general education, including the art of dance, as well as legal training and also enabled students to cultivate advantageous contacts.

Common law

For those destined for the legal profession, the Inns trained students in the common law, employed in the royal law courts, including the Courts of Common Pleas and the King's Bench, rather than the canon/civil law in use in the church courts and Court of Admiralty. Canon, and subsequently civil, law was studied at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and at Doctors Commons in the City of London.

Term-time

During the four legal terms of Michaelmas, Hilary, Easter and Trinity, when the Central Law Courts at Westminster were in operation, bar students attended the courts to learn about court procedures and the art of advocacy. In addition, they would attempt to obtain a placement in a set of barristers’ chambers to observe the profession in practice. This form of pupilage was informal and is not recorded in the records.

Source: Rider Clare, The Archivist, ‘The Inns of Court and Inns of Chancery and their records’, Inns of Court Archives vol. XXIV no. 101 (1999) published for the British Records Association

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This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass	Version A.1 Updated 21 June 2006