In a departure from the usual format, this month we spotlight two self-contained archival collections relating to two distinguished Middle Templars, Sir Peter Edlin (1819–1903) and Sir Henry MacGeagh (1883–1963). While not contemporaries, both men served as Deputy Treasurer of the Inn to Royal Treasurers at the height of their careers, and both personal archives have recently been acquired, rehoused, catalogued and made available by the Archive team.

 

Photograph of Sir Peter Edlin in court dress (MT/20/116/2) 

 

The archive of Sir Peter Edlin, deposited by a descent of his family, primarily reflects his legal career and his relationship with the Inn. At the core of the collection is a scrapbook which contains a wealth of items including letters, certificates, photographs, news clippings, genealogical notes and visually appealing ephemera such as dinner invites, tickets and event programmes. Containing over a hundred pages, the scrapbook was likely compiled by Edlin’s great-grandson, rather than by Edlin himself, as there is manuscript annotation in a different hand throughout, noting the names of the correspondents.  

 

Extracts of scrapbook pages showing (top) Sir Peter Edlin’s family coat of arms, sketches, news clippings and (bottom) an invite to the reception celebrating Prince of Wales’s return from his Indian tour in 1876 (MT/20/116/1) 

 

Of particular interest in the scrapbook are records relating to the sensational murder trial of Constance Kent in the 1860s, in which Edlin defended Kent against a charge of murder. These include Edlin’s notes from his examination of Kent; letters between him and Sir John Eardley-Wilmot, Recorder of Warwick, discussing the case; as well as a letter from Kent to Edlin, thanking for ‘a pretty pair of mittens and the scarf’ after the investigation was suspended in November 1860. Kent was discharged after the trial but would eventually confess to her crime in 1865. In her confession, a copy of which sent to Edlin from Eardley-Wilmot, she admitted that the murder was ‘to avenge my mother whose place had been usurped by my stepmother’. 

 

Notes taken by Sir Peter Edlin of Constance Kent’s first examination, 1860 (MT/20/116/1) 

 

The scrapbook, along with a small quantity of loose papers, also offers insight into Edlin’s judicial career, which was not without controversy. In 1874 Edlin was appointed Assistant Judge of the Middlesex Sessions, a position he held for 15 years. His judgments in two larceny cases in 1878, which some believed to have favoured women of ‘admittedly bad character’, sparked considerable public backlash especially in the newspapers, with surviving correspondence accusing him of ‘partiality and lenience’ to sex workers in some of his judgements.

 

Extract of a newspaper article questioning the judgement of Sir Peter Edlin, September 1878 (MT/20/116/1) 

 

However, the archive does not lack records documenting the more celebratory moments of Edlin’s life. Having been Benched in 1870 and elected Reader in 1876, he became the Inn’s Deputy Treasurer in 1886, the year in which the Prince of Wales, our Royal Bencher, became our first Royal Treasurer, marking his mother Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee the following year. Among the scrapbook’s varied contents are letters from the Prince’s secretary concerning the delegation of the Treasurer’s duties to Edlin and arrangements for various dinners, including a banquet held on the Grand Day in celebration of the Jubilee. The banquet, a menu of which survives, was graced by the presence of Prince of Wales, his son Prince Albert Victor (also a Royal Bencher) and Prince George of Greece, who made their signatures on a piece of card. 

 

Menu of the Grand Day banquet for Trinity term in 1887, in celebration of the Jubilee of the Queen Victoria, 1887 (MT/20/116/4) 
 

Signatures of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Greece made at the Grand Day banquet, 1887 (MT/20/116/4) 

 

After Edlin, the title of Deputy Treasurer was not used at the Inn again for over half a century. The year 1949 saw Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, serve as the Inn’s second Royal Treasurer, and her husband, King George VI, being made Treasurer of the Inner Temple. This arrangement followed a suggestion made by Sir Edward Atkinson, the Inn’s Treasurer the previous year. Sir Henry MacGeagh, then an officer in the army and military court as well as a Bencher of the Inn since 1931, was appointed to deputise for the Queen and perform the duties of Treasurer.

 

Photograph of Sir Henry MacGeagh in ceremonial uniform, [1904] (MT/20/117/6/2) 

 

The archive of Sir Henry MacGeagh, acquired at auction in 2022, is especially rich in letters, photographs and ephemera, with a small selection of family certificates and reports as well as newspaper cuttings. With over a hundred items, it captures some of the most memorable and cherished moments in the lives of the MacGeagh family, spanning three generations – from Sir Henry himself to his grandfather, parents and two younger sisters. 

 

Segment of scrapbook including photographs depicting Sir Henry MacGeagh’s visits to Egypt and India, [1907] (MT/20/117/5/3) 

 

Items of particular relevance to the Inn include those dating to Sir Henry’s Deputy Treausrership at the Inn. One of the most notable occasions during his tenure was the re-opening of Hall in July 1949, following its restoration after the Second World War. The occasion was first commemorated with a visit from the Queen Elizabeth on 6 July, and later in the month a Joint Bench Dinner attended by both the King and the Queen. There are a number of photographs in the archive relating to the two events, some depicting Sir Henry escorting the Queen from the Benchers’ Entrance to Hall for its re-opening ceremony, as well as him standing alongside the Queen, in ceremonial dress, before entering Hall for the dinner. 

 

Photograph of Sir Henry MacGeagh with Queen Elizabeth, later Queen Mother, in ceremonial dress at Joint-Inn Bench Dinner, 20 July 1949 (MT/20/117/1/4) 

 

The good rapport between Sir Henry and the Queen continued after her majesty stepped down from her Treasurership in late 1949. Succeeding as the Inn’s Treasurer for 1950, he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order by the Queen in respect of his services as Deputy Treasurer of the Inn. Sir Henry, in reply to the Queen’s invitation, said it was both ‘an inspiration and a joy’ for him to have served the office. The archive also includes a Christmas card informally addressed to ‘Sir Harry’ and signed by the Queen as the ‘Ex-Treasurer’, further illustrating their friendship. 

 

Christmas card from the Queen Elizabeth to Sir Henry MacGeagh, December 1950 (MT/20/117/1/10) 

 

The remainder of Sir Henry’s archive concerns the wider MacGeagh family. Sir Henry’s ancestors hailed from Ireland, but his grandfather, Benjamin MacGeagh, also a Middle Templar, settled in Tonbridge, Kent. In the late 19th century, Benjamin purchased Hadlow Castle in the village of Hadlow as a family home, where Sir Henry and his two sisters, Hilda and Muriel, conceivably spent part of their childhood. Only the tower of the 18th-century-castle survives today, but the visual materials in the archive, including several postcards, serve as reminders of the neo-Gothic castle that once stood on the site. 

 

Postcard of Hadlow Castle, addressed to Sir Henry MacGeagh, June 1907 (MT/20/117/7/6) 

 

Another member of the MacGeagh family with strong presence in the archive is Sir Henry’s father, Dr Thomas MacGeagh, who trained as a surgeon at University College London. The archive contains the school and marriage certificates of Thomas, as well as several letters received or written by him in his boyhood. Among them is an affectionate New Year’s letter from his father, Benjamin, asking him to ‘be kind to your dear mama’. There is also a handmade storybook based on one of Aesop's Fables, titled ‘An Old Man and His Ass’, presumably owned by Thomas. Accompanied by simple, childlike illustrations, the storybook recounts the journey of a man and his son as they lead a donkey to market, conveying the futility of trying to please everyone. 

 

'The Old Man and His Ass' storybook, 1869 (MT/20/117/4/7) 

 

Sir Henry’s father passed away in 1935, not long after Sir Henry retired from the army upon his appointment as Justice Advocate General of the Armed Forces. The archive does not give an indication regarding Sir Henry’s relationship with his parents, but it does suggest that he had an interest or knowledge in family history research. Among the materials is a letter sent to him from his sister, Muriel, asking him to improve ‘a very rough family tree’ of their maternal side. There are also further family history records, including a chart outlining the MacGeagh paternal line and some genealogical notes in Sir Henry’s hand.  

 

Extract of a letter to Sir Henry MacGeagh from Muriel MacGeagh, [1936] (MT/20/117/4/18) 

 

Sir Peter Edlin and Sir Henry MacGeagh remain the only two individuals to have served as deputies to Royal Treasurers in the Inn’s history. Despite the gap in time between their tenures, both witnessed the pride and prestige bestowed on the Inn as its connection with the Royal Family grew. Their archives, as with those of other individuals held by the Archive, complement the more institutional records relating to the management of the Inn, and are unique resources for understanding the multifaceted lived experience of Middle Templars.