London has been home to more lawyers, for more centuries, than any other city on earth. Paris ran it neck-and-neck until the 18th century, after which London romped away as the national and then imperial capital of a legal system with centralized Royal Courts of Justice, Inns of Court, Courts of Appeal, debtors prisons, the Old Bailey, the Archbishop’s Court at St Mary le Bow, the Bridewell, the notorious Fleet Prison, and the Metropolitan Police. No other city so celebrates, in surviving buildings and institutions, the work of judges, lawyers, litigants, criminals, and the police! This new book does justice to them all. Covering both civil and criminal aspects of the law, the author’s narrative account is enormously expanded by 200 photographs and engravings, each fully captioned; plus maps to show the location of the courts, Inns, prisons, and other places of punishment throughout the metropolis. This fascinating study of the law at work in days gone by is both entertaining and informative. Though of particular value to everyone interested in London history, it will appeal to members of the legal and law enforcement professions everywhere that the "English" system and tradition has left its mark.
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