First JONES to Lincoln's Inn 1557

According to Bellot, the earliest description of the legal institutions which were to become the "Inns of Court" was written by the Governor of Lincoln's Inn in 1425. He list four Inns of Court, and ten Inns of Chancery. Lincoln's Inn is listed with Thavie's or Davy's Inn and Furnival's Inn being attached. The Lincoln's Inn Admission Register begins 1420, but it was not until 1557 that the first admission with the JONES surname occurs. On 13 March 1556/1557, a David Jones is admitted. [folio 315, p.64] No other information is given. It is not until 5 January, 1571-1572 that the second JONES appears, being Walter Jones of "Oxon.". [Assumed to be Oxford.] A Walter Jones [Jhones] did attend Oxford 15 November 1570, and is identified as "possibly a student of Lincoln's Inn 1572. [Alumi Oronienses 1500-1714, p. 831, by Foster.]

Zachary Jones (1580), Gilbert Jones (1582), William Jones (1587), Edward Jones (1589), William Jones (1595), Henry Jones (1599), and Thomas Jones (1599) all appear before the turn of the next century. A few JONES here, and a few JONES there.

Lincoln's Inn Admission Register 1420 -1893, found special collections, University of Alabama, Law School, DA 687.L7 L7, 1896, v.1.

Bellot, H.L., The Temple, Methuen & Co., London, 1914. [Discussion found pp.14-15.]

First JONES to Inner Temple 1556

The Knight Templars were the origin of what became called "The Temple". The name had its roots from the fact that the initial knights were quartet in Jerusalem near the sight of "Solomon's Temple". In 1128, they were given the name "Regle du Temple" by the Pope, and this order spread rapidly throughout Europe. The oldest charter found in England for this Order is under Henry II (1153 AD) and he is responsible for many grants of property. It was in Chancery Lane, on the site of Southampton House, that the Knights Templars were settled in the London area.

The figure to the right is taken from the text by Hugh Bellot titled: The Temple, By Hugh H.L. Bellot, Methuen & Co., London, first published in 1914. It shows The Temple area as it existed in 1900, with its gardens facing the Thames. Both the "Inner Temple" and "Middle Temple" were considered "Inns of Court". The four Inns of Court were active by 1425, and the "Inner Temple Admissions Database" [http://www.innertemple.org.uk/archive ] list the first JONES admission to the "Inner Temple" being Walter Jones, 03/11/1556. There were a total of 60 folks having the surname JONES being admitted between 1547 and 1850. What a deal!

It is also of interest to note that in the Calendar of Inner Temple (Records, Vol. I) 21 Hen VII - 45 Eliz. 1505 - 1603, p. 205 is listed the following:

Parliament held of 10 May, 2 Elizabeth, A.D. 1560. before Anthony Stapleton, Thomas Gawdy, James Renet, George Bromely, & Richard Onslow:

"order that Master Jones shall have Master Wylliam's general admission, due for his readership."

Here, a "Master Jones" was a reader (teacher) as early as 1560, but a full name is not given. Anyone know more about this "Master Jones"?

Helpful references:

Bellot, H.H., The Temple, Methuen & Co. LTD., London, 1914. [Map is copied from inside the front cover.]

Megarry, R., Inns Ancient and Modern, Selden Society, London, 1972.

Prest, W.R., The Rise of The Barristers, A Social History of The English Bar 1590-1640, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1986.

Prest, W.R., The Inns of Court under Elizabeth and the Early Stuarts, 1590-1640, Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, NJ,.

First JONES to Middle Temple 1565

The Middle Temple register of admission begins July 1501. Admissions prior to July 7, 1501 are listed in a reference titled: "Register of Admissions To The Honourable Society Of The Middle Temple", by MacGeach and Sturgess, Vol.I, 1949. Most of these early folks are listed by surname only with the earliest recorded in 1451.

The first admitted with the surname JONES is William Jones, 1565. As listed it states: "Nov. 24, William Jones, son of John Mirydeth of Bergevennye, Monmouth, gent." (p. 30)

This record again demonstrates the complexity of the surname for those of Welsh descent. Here William Jones is the son of John Mirydeth (Meredith). He has taken the surname JONES as William "son of John" who is listed with the surname "Mirydeth". Thus, in this case, the William Jones is connected to the Meredith family by DNA, not surname. In the next two to three generations, this becomes apparently two distinct surnames, and may be lost in the JONES family tree climbing.

Reference: Register of Admissions To The Honourable Society of The Middle Temple, From the Fifteenth Century to the year 1944, Vol. I, compiled under the Direction of the Deputy Treasurer, Sir Henry F. MacGeagh, and the Master of the Bench by H.A.C. Sturgess, London, by Butterworth & Co., LTD, 1949.