Our Vappu-Valborg lunch is set again for 1 May 2026 with a tour of the art at Gray’s Inn also being organised with our guide Timothy Shuttleworth, a Bencher of Gray’s Inn.
The price is £41 per head plus a small booking charge (for members and their guests) for a welcome glass of sparkling wine in the Bridge Bar followed by a 3-course lunch with a glass of wine.
This includes a guided tour of the Gray’s Inn art collection. The tour of the portrait collection at Gray’s Inn will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Bingham Room so we will meet our guide in the Bridge Bar at about 11:25 am or slightly earlier than that. The rest of the art tour will be after the lunch.
We can accommodate up to 25 attendees. The lunch will take place from 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. (last entry at 2 p.m.). The welcome drinks will be from 12.00 midday. Menu choices for the lunch are below and must be notified to the Hon. Secretary at secretary@anglofinnishsociety.org.uk with any dietary requirements by 21 April:
| Starters | Grilled chicken salad | Contains Mustard, Sulphites |
| Smoked salmon salad | Contains Fish, Mustard, Sulphites | |
| Pea falafel, houmous and black olives (ve) | Contains Sesame | |
| Mains | Spiced Lamb and prune pie topped with filo pastry, served with skin on fries and seasonal vegetables | Contains Gluten [Wheat], Soya |
| Battered haddock with skin on fries, mushy peas, tartare sauce and lemon wedge | Contains Gluten [Wheat], Egg, Fish, Milk, Mustard, Sulphites | |
| Vada pav in a soft roll with chutney, served with skin on fries and and side salad (ve) | Contains Gluten [Wheat], Mustard, Soya | |
| Desserts | Coconut and mango pannacotta (v) | Contains Milk |
| Mocha brownies (ve) | Contains Gluten [Wheat], Soya | |
| Seasonal fruit salad (ve) | ||
| Please note that we will try our best to stick to this menu however, dishes, ingredients and allergens may change on the day. | ||
Gray’s Inn has been home to lawyers since before 1388 AD and is today one of the four Inns of Court responsible for the education and training of barristers before and after their Call to the Bar. The sixteenth century was known as the “Golden Age” of the Inn, when Queen Elizabeth I herself was the Inn’s Patron. In this period the Inn was renowned for its “Shows” and there can be little doubt that William Shakespeare played in Gray’s Inn Hall, where his patron, Lord Southampton was also a member. Tradition claims that the Great Screen was built from the timbers of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario, the flagship of the Andalucian Squadron of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Some of the exquisite stained-glass windows in the Hall date back to 1462. Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn, Sir Winston Churchill and Mr Franklin Roosevelt (then Minister of Munitions and Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy, respectively) first met in 1918 at the high table within Gray’s Inn Hall.
Bookings can be made through this link: Buy tickets – Vappu-Valborg Lunch – The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, 8 South Square, London