Unveiling the Portrait of The Master of The Temple
Private Guest Night 10 June 2026
On 10 June, guests at Private Guest Night were treated to a ‘private viewing’ of a portrait by Richard Foster RP of the Master of the Temple, the Reverend Robin Griffith-Jones. Commissioned by the Inn to mark the retirement of the Master of the Temple, the portrait now hangs on the staircase of the Treasury Building overlooking Church Court. Before unveiling the painting, the Treasurer, the Master of Pictures, Master Simon Davenport, and Master Oliver Sells spoke about the significance of the portrait, and how the commission came about.
MASTER TREASURER
Good evening. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Helen Davies, and I have the honour of being Treasurer of the Inn this year.
I am delighted to welcome you all to this particularly special Private Guest Night when shortly we will be unveiling a portrait of the Master of the Temple – our much loved and respected Reverend Robin Griffith-Jones. We extend a particularly warm welcome to Robin and Tethys this evening.
It is entirely fitting that, thanks to help from Master Oliver Sells, the Inn commissioned this portrait to mark Robin’s distinguished tenure as Master of the Temple. Spanning nearly 27 years, Robin’s tenure very sadly comes to its conclusion at the end of July. As they say, all good things must eventually come to an end!
The Inn has much to thank Robin for and it is wonderful that we will have a lasting memory of all that he has done through this portrait.
The portrait has been painted by renowned artist, Richard Foster, whom I am also delighted to welcome this evening. We are very grateful to Richard Foster for completing the portrait in time for you all to enjoy on this special occasion.
Whilst I have the opportunity, it would be remiss of me not to mention that we have finally this afternoon been able to announce that Robin’s successor will be the Reverend Dr Andrew Bowyer. Tonight is not the night to say more than that – but I know that whilst he undoubtedly has very big shoes to fill, Andrew is looking forward to taking up his position in September.
But returning to Robin – tonight is the first of several occasions before the end of July on which we will be celebrating Robin’s tenure. Before I hand over to the Master of the Pictures, Simon Davenport KC, I should like to mention one specific such occasion – namely 22 July. That will be Robin’s last evensong, which will be followed by a jazz band playing in Church Court. It would be lovely to see many of you there.
Helen Davies KC
Master Simon Davenport – Master of Pictures
This is an exciting time for portrait commissioning at the Inn; with the completion last year of the portrait of the Lady Chief Justice which, those of you unfamiliar with the Inn will see when we dine in Hall later this evening, and now Richard Foster’s portrait of the Master of the Temple. In early autumn, we look forward to the start of a portrait of Supreme Court Justice, Lady Ingrid Simler by Louise Pragnell, the Treasurer’s guest this evening, Next in line will be a portrait of Her Excellency Judge Joanna Korner.
Commissioning gives us the opportunity to celebrate distinguished members of the Inn, and the increasing number of distinguished women.
Commissioning gives us the opportunity to celebrate distinguished members of the Inn, and the increasing number of distinguished women.
From a personal point of view, Robin has been a dear friend to me and my family, having participated in the baptisms of all my four children by the Bishop of London; I am delighted that after such a distinguished ministry at the Temple Church, Robin has been honoured in this way.
Simon Davenport KC
MASTER OLIVER SELLS
I am very grateful to have the opportunity to say a few words about the origins of this commission and its artist.
The original idea for this commission came to me about a year ago: I realised that whilst we have many paintings of distinguished lawyer members, not for centuries have we had a portrait of the Master of the Temple.
Robin’s tenure of this ancient office has been most distinguished, and we have all been in our different ways beneficiaries of his wonderful ministry for over a quarter of a century.
We will all have and treasure our own personal memories. For me the marriage of my daughter last year in the church was an unforgettable day.
I took the idea of this portrait to Master Foster, the then Master of Pictures. She was immediately of a like mind, having already proposed such a commission to the Executive Committee. We were very keen that the artist should be someone of distinction in their field and I did not have to go very far to find the right person.
Just down the road from both Robin and my family in Norfolk lives Richard Foster whom we have both known for many years. A past President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, he is well-known across his world for a range of thoughtful and illuminating works. Indeed, this is not his first commission for the Inn.
This work speaks of the very best of Christian values: a deeply thoughtful and warm human being with real spirituality as well as a man of great intellect.
I hope very much that it will hang in this Inn as a lasting legacy of Robin’s time here, for which we are all immensely grateful.
Oliver Sells KC
