Marlborough Street Magistrates Court was a court of law at 19–21 Great Marlborough Street, Soho London, between the early 19th and late 20th centuries. It was designed by the Surveyor to the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

John Dixon Butler John Dixon Butler (December 1860 – 27 October 1920) was a British architect and the Surveyor to London's Metropolitan Police Service, Metropolitan Police from 1895 until his death. He completed the designs and alterations to around 200 police ...

. The court saw many significant trials, including those of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

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, Keith Richards and John Lennon. The court closed in 1998 and is now The Courthouse Hotel London, a 5-star hotel next to London Palladium Theatre, and opposite Carnaby Street and Liberty London.

History

The Courthouse Hotel is located in the old Grade II listed Marlborough Street Magistrates Court building, which was the second-oldest magistrates court in the UK, dating back to the 1800s. The building has a turbulent history from its time as the Marlborough Street Magistrates Court, which set the scene for many famous cases over the years, involving figures such as John Lennon,

, Johnny Rotten, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In 1835 Charles Dickens worked as a reporter in the building for the '' Morning Chronicle'', and Louis Napoleon appeared in court as witness in a fraud case between attempts to establish a second empire in France in 1847. In 1895

took the Marquess of Queensbury to court on a criminal libel charge. The current building was designed between 1912-1913 by the Surveyor to the

. In 1963

was taken to court over sex allegations which led to the Profumo scandal becoming public. In 1966 Bob Monkhouse faced a charge of conspiracy to defraud film distribution companies, and in 1967 former television presenter Katie Boyle gave evidence against a man facing careless driving charges after an accident. The building was centre to Mick Jagger's 1969 court case in which he was fined £200 for drugs charges. In 1973 fellow

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

member Keith Richards was fined £205 for possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

, mandrax, a

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

and an antique shotgun. In 1970 John Lennon was taken to court for exhibiting pictures deemed too sexually explicit in the London Art Gallery at 22 New Bond Street, and artist Francis Bacon was accused of possessing cannabis. In 1971 songwriter Lionel Bart was taken to the courthouse charged with drug possession and in 1977

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

singer Johnny Rotten was fined £40 for possessing amphetamine sulphate. The last notable case before it became a hotel was in 1981 when John Miller, who masterminded the kidnapping of Ronnie Biggs, appeared in court after being arrested on arrival back from Barbados.

Hotel

The Magistrates Suites are located in the high-ceiling Judges quarters on the first, second and third floor of the original building, and contain the original Robert Adams fireplaces and oak flooring.

References

External links

Official site
{{Hotels in London Hotels in London Former courthouses in England Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Soho, London