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Pump Court is a courtyard in
Temple, London The Temple is an area of London surrounding Temple Church. It is one of the main legal districts in London and a notable centre for English law, historically and in the present day. It consists of the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, which a ...
, now primarily housing
barristers' chambers In law, a barrister's chambers or barristers' chambers are the rooms used by a barrister or a group of barristers. The singular refers to the use by a sole practitioner whereas the plural refers to a group of barristers who, while acting as sol ...
. It is the first on the left in Middle Temple Lane from 6 Fleet Street, leading to Inner Temple Lane and Lamb's Buildings. Its name referred to the pump in the middle. In the year following 1 Car 1 (1625), brick buildings were erected in the Pump Court. In 1637 (13 Car 1), the rest of the brick buildings in the Pump Court were set up. Many famous figures have lived in Pump Court including
William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family in ...
, William Cowper,
Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
, Lord Russell of Killowen and Viscount Alverstone, his successor as Lord Chief Justice of England. There is a sundial with a motto that reads "shadows we are and like shadows depart" to remind the residents of the ephemeral character of their occupancy. This sun dial was put up in 1686, and there is an entry in the accounts in respect of it which reads "25th Nov. 1686 Sun Dial in Pump Court £6. 5. 0." It is renovated periodically, and on each of these occasions it was customary for the year and the initials of the Treasurer for the time being to be placed in the centre of the dial.(1903) 116 The Law Times 7 (7 November 1903
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/ref> It was restored in 1861. After it was renovated and repainted in 1903, the inscription in the centre read "T. Sir R. B. F. 1903" the Treasurer of the Middle Temple for that year being the Attorney General, Sir Robert Finlay. The insignia of the Middle Temple, the Lamb and Flag, "stood out very boldly" in gold at the top, and the motto was at the bottom. The inscription in the centre was subsequently replaced with "T O M 1686".


1 Pump Court

Joseph Chitty the elder trained in succession in his pupil room here "a great number of the most eminent lawyers". The Filazers', Exigenters' and Clerk of the Outlawries' Office for the
Court of King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of common ...
was here. These officers were so called from the French word ''Fil'', or thread, because they filed or threaded the writs. Thomas Kenyon was Filazer, Exigenter and Clerk of the Outlawries, and Andrew Edge was Filazer for Essex and Monmouthshire.


3 Pump Court

The Warrant of Attorney Office was here. This was an address of William Draper Best MP. This is now home to the Chambers of Oba Nsugbe QC SAN and has been a western circuit set of barristers chambers since approximately 1943. It now comprises 99 barristers and 12 clerks.


4 Pump Court

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
lived here.


5 Pump Court

5 Pump Court Chambers is one of the oldest established
barristers' chambers In law, a barrister's chambers or barristers' chambers are the rooms used by a barrister or a group of barristers. The singular refers to the use by a sole practitioner whereas the plural refers to a group of barristers who, while acting as sol ...
in London. It has been in continuous existence since 1870. It now comprises 57 barristers and 8 clerks. Morris Simeon Oppenheim had chambers here, where he committed suicide on 3 January 1883.Rubinstein, William D. "Oppenheim, Morris Simeon" in ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History''. Palgrave Macmillan. 2011
Page 732


References and sources

References Sources *Bellot, Hugh. The Inner and Middle Temple: Legal, Literary, and Historic Associations. Methuen & Company. 1902
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*"Notes on Pump Court" (1935) 180 The Law Times 279 & 31
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*Richardson, John. "Fire at the Middle Temple" in ''The Annals of London''. University of California Press. 2000
Page 155
Streets in the City of Westminster Inns of Court {{coords, 51.5129, -0.1110, display=title