Downpatrick Courthouse is a judicial facility on English Street,

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...

, County Down,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The courthouse, which served as the headquarters of Down County Council from 1878 to 1973, is a Grade B+

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Downpatrick Courthouse (02), August 2009

The site currently occupied by the courthouse is thought to have been previously occupied by St John the Evangelist's Priory, sometimes referred to as "the Monastery of the Irish", which was established by

Saint Malachy Malachy (}; Modern ga, Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair; ) (1094 – 2 November 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to the apocryphal ...

in the 12th century. The current building, which was designed by Hugh Darling of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...

, was completed in 1735. It was substantially rebuilt to the designs of the county surveyor, Henry Smyth, after a major fire in 1855. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of nine bays facing onto English Street; the central section of three bays, which slightly projected forwards, featured a single-storey porch with a round headed window at the front, doorways on each side and

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

s on the top; there were sash windows on the first floor and there was a carving depicting the Royal coat of arms flanked by two figures, carved in

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, depicting

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

and

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

, on the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

. A tunnel was built from courthouse to the basement of the town gaol (now part of Down High School), about to the north, in 1857. The building was originally used as a facility for dispensing justice but, following the implementation of the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...

, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for Down County Council. The county council continued to use the courthouse as its headquarters until the county council was abolished in 1973. In an incident in May 2003, two men being held at the courthouse overpowered a policeman and escaped from the building: both men were subsequently re-arrested. In May 2012 the justice minister, David Ford, said that he accepted an inspection report recommending that the Downpatrick Courthouse should close in a proposed rationalisation of the court system. In October 2017, it was the venue for the premier of a play, "Lives in Translation", written by the Irish playwright, Rosemary Jenkinson, about a woman, Asha, who was seeking

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

after fleeing from conflict in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

References

{{Reflist Buildings and structures in County Down Courthouses in Northern Ireland Grade B+ listed buildings Government buildings completed in 1735 County halls in Northern Ireland