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The Vinerian Professorship of English Law, formerly Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, was established by Charles Viner who by his will, dated 29 December 1755, left about £12,000 to the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, to establish a Professorship of the Common Law in that University, as well as a number of Vinerian scholarships and readerships.
Until the establishment of the Vinerian Chair, only Canon Law and Roman (Civil) Law had been taught at Oxford and Cambridge. Only the Inns of Court provided any instruction in the Common Law, which was of most practical use to practitioners. Upon Sir William Blackstone's appointment to the Vinerian Professorship, his lectures were the first to be given on English Common Law at any university.