GRAY'S INN		THE HALL As long as it has existed the Inn has had a Hall, the centre of the communal life of its members. Little is known about its origins, but it is known that it was 're-edified' in 1955&58 and then assumed its present appearance. Brutally mutilated by bombs in 1941, it was faithfully restored in 1951 to its previous style, largely through the generosity of the American Bar Association, who also presented the additional south oriel window bearing the inscription Verus amicus est tanquam alter idem. The mellow brickwork, which partly survived the bombing, gives the Inn a warm and intimate feeling, unmatched by the larger Halls of the other Inns. It is in fact the smallest of the Inn Halls, being 75 feet long. The handsome cupola was copied in 1722 by a member of the Inn for an identical replica at the State House of Philadelphia. Within, the carved woodwork and timber roof, although the chief victim of the incendiaries, were carefully renewed after the war. (It is pleasant to imagine a delegation of 'hand-picked' Benchers making their way to Kent to hand-pick the 106 oaks of antiquity to be felled for this purpose.)