Gray's Inn, Middlesex Genealogy

Guide to Gray's Inn, Middlesex ancestry, family history, and genealogy: Parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
Gray's Inn, is on the north side of Holborn, opposite Middle Row, and on the west side of Gray's Inn Lane. Gray's Inn derives its name from having been formerly the residence of the ancient and noble family of Gray of Wilton, who, in the reign of Edward III, demised it to several students of law. It occupies the site of the mansion of the ancient manor of Portpool, one of the prebends belonging to St Paul's Cathedral, which, in 1515, becoming residence of the before mentioned family, it received from it the name of Gray's Inn. It reverted, however, to the monks till the dissolution of the religious houses, when it was granted by Henry VIII, in 1541, to the students and their successors.

The principal entrance to Gray's Inn is from Holborn, and it consists of several spacious courts, a large square, opening into Gray's Inn lane, some airy gardens wherein was the favourite summer house of Sir Francis Bacon, and two very handsome rows of new buildings northward. It is one of the four inns of court, and is inhabited by barristers, solicitors and students of law, and by gentlemen of either professions and of independence, for the sake of studious retirement.

Gray's Inn Chapel was established in 1695. It was an extra-parochial place exempt from jurisdiction.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

1693-1694 Four Shilling in the Pound Aid

 * Gray's Inn at British History Online - free.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Middlesex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain