Gray's Inn - Structure and Governance

Structure and Governance

Gray's Inn's internal records date from 1569, at which point there were four types of member; those who had not yet been called to the Bar, Utter Barristers, Ancients and Readers. Utter Barristers were those who had been called to the Bar but were still studying, Ancients were those who were called to the Bar and were allowed to practise and Readers were those who had been called to the Bar, were allowed to practise and now played a part in educating law students at the Inns of Chancery and at Gray's Inn itself. At the time Gray's Inn was the odd one out amongst the Inns; the others did not recognise Ancients as a degree of barrister and had Benchers roughly corresponding to the Readers used at Gray's Inn (although the positions were not identical).

The Inn is run by Pension, its ultimate governing body. The name is peculiar to Gray's Inn—at Lincoln's Inn the governing body is called the Council, and at the Inner and Middle Temples it is called the Parliament. The name was used for the governing bodies of three of the Inns of Chancery—Barnard's Inn, Clement's Inn and New Inn. In Gray's Inn the Readers, when they existed, were required to attend Pension meetings, and other barristers were at one point welcome to, although only the Readers would be allowed to talk. Pension at Gray's Inn is made up of the Masters of the Bench, and the Inn as a whole is headed by the Treasurer, a senior Bencher. The Treasurer has always been elected, and since 1744 the office has rotated between individuals, with a term of one year.