The matriarch of Gray’s

Our walls are festooned with pictures of old white men, the treasurer (elected head) of Gray’s Inn said last week. Sir Andrew McFarlane was about to redress the balance by unveiling a painting of Edith Hesling (1899-1971) the first woman to be called to the bar by Gray’s — one of the four inns of court that train and support barristers.

That was in 1923 and Hesling then established a busy and wide-ranging practice in Manchester. Her career-defining moment came in 1946 when she became the first woman to preside in the county court.

Hesling married in 1927 but continued to practise under her maiden name, an unconventional move at the time. When her daughter Anne became a barrister in 1951, they became the first mother-and-daughter at the English bar.

Helen Airey, one of Hesling’s granddaughters, practised as a solicitor. And she was at Gray’s Inn last Thursday to see her own daughter help McFarlane unveil Hesling’s portrait. Deborah Airey was called by Gray’s in 2024 and has recently joined 7BR chambers after completing her pupilage there.

To hear her great-grandmother’s advice to those who might follow her — and to watch the unveiling — click the ► symbol above.

The portrait was made by Keith Breeden RP, whose pictures of Lady Rose of Colmworth and Lord Etherton GBE are already on display at Gray’s. He also painted the lady chief justice for Inner Temple. Unlike them, of course, Hesling was not painted from life.

I should explain why Hesling’s gown appears in my recording to be decorated with ghostly green lights. Unusually, the frame is glazed and the glass has been coated to reduce reflections. But it was positioned on the easel at an angle that reflected the candle-shaped ceiling lights, rendered green by the glass coating. They are less intrusive now that the picture is safely up on the wall.

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