The Middlesex Guildhall is the home of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

. It stands on the south-west corner of

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is a Grade II*

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 ...

. Constructed beginning in 1906 in what has been called "art nouveau gothic" style, initially the Guildhall served as an administrative and court centre for

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...

. That was abolished in 1965, and it later served as a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

building until the establishment of the Supreme Court in the early 21st century.

History

London, The Supreme Court -- 2016 -- 4814

The site on the south-west corner of Parliament Square was originally the belfry of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The first

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, designed as an octagon with a Doric portico by

Samuel Pepys Cockerell Samuel Pepys Cockerell (1753–1827) was an English architect. He was a son of John Cockerell, of Bishop's Hull, Somerset, and the elder brother of Sir Charles Cockerell, 1st Baronet, for whom he designed the house he is best known for, Sezinc ...

, was built for the justices of the City and Liberty of Westminster and opened as the "Westminster Sessions House" or "Westminster Guildhall" in 1805. In 1889 Westminster became part of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

, outside of the jurisdiction of the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. In the division of property between the

and

county councils, the guildhall at Westminster went to Middlesex in exchange for the

Sessions House A sessions house in the United Kingdom was historically a courthouse that served as a dedicated court of quarter sessions, where criminal trials were held four times a year on quarter days. Sessions houses were also used for other purposes to do w ...

in Clerkenwell which went to London. In addition to being a facility for dispensing justice, following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, which established county councils in every county, the guildhall also became the administrative headquarters and meeting place for

. Middlesex county leaders decided, in the context of their increased responsibilities, that the first guildhall was inadequate for their purposes, and a second guildhall, designed by

F. H. Pownall Frederick Hyde Pownall (22 August 1831 – 1907) was a British architect. He was County Surveyor for Middlesex for about 45 years, and designed both Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. Life He was the son of John George Henry Pownall (1 ...

in the neo-Tudor style, was constructed on the site in 1893. After the county leaders found that the second guildhall was actually too small, the current and third guildhall, designed by J. S. Gibson in what

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

called an "art nouveau gothic" style, was built between 1906 and 1913. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of nine bays facing Parliament Square; the central section of three bays which slightly projected forwards, featured an ornate arched doorway with a segmental arched window spanning the first and second floors and a tower above. A 17th century door, which had originally been part of the

Tothill Fields Bridewell Tothill Fields Bridewell (also known as Tothill Fields Prison and Westminster Bridewell) was a prison located in the Westminster area of central London between 1618 and 1884. It was named "Bridewell" after the Bridewell Palace, which during the ...

prison, was installed in the basement of the building. The building was decorated with medieval-style gargoyles and other architectural sculptures by

Henry Charles Fehr Henry Charles Fehr Royal British Society of Sculptors, FRBS (4 November 1867 – 13 May 1940) was a British monumental and architectural sculptor active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He produced several notable public scu ...

. Following the implementation of the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

, Middlesex County Council and the Middlesex sessions were abolished in 1965, but the guildhall continued to be used by the Greater London

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

. After the abolition of the Quarter Sessions in 1972, it was used as a

. The Middlesex Guildhall was closed for refurbishment in 2007 to convert it for use as the site of the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the

. The Supreme Court, established in law by the

Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lo ...

, started operations on 1 October 2009.

Controversy over conversion

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom - Library - 1

After the government chose the Middlesex Guildhall as home for the new Supreme Court, it was realised that a great deal of work was required to renovate the building and adapt it to the new use. Renovation plans were developed by architects Feilden+Mawson LLP, supported by Foster & Partners. Conservation groups were concerned that the planned conversion would be unsympathetic to such an important historic building. The Middlesex Guildhall is a Grade II*

, and the statement of importance by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

classed the three main Court interiors as "unsurpassed by any other courtroom of the period in terms of the quality and completeness of their fittings" on 26 August 2004. The conversion works involved the removal of many of the original fixtures and fittings.

Save Britain's Heritage Save Britain's Heritage (styled as ''SAVE Britain's Heritage'') is a British charity, created in 1975 by a group of journalists, historians, architects, and planners to campaign publicly for endangered historic buildings. It is also active on the ...

unsuccessfully contested the conversion.

References

External links

Middlesex Guildhall profile
from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom's official website
In pictures: UK Supreme Court
{{Authority control Art Nouveau architecture in London Art Nouveau government buildings Government buildings completed in 1913 County halls in England Court buildings in England Edwardian architecture in London Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Legal buildings in London Local government buildings in London National government buildings in London Parliament Square Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Works by James Glen Sivewright Gibson 1913 establishments in England National supreme court buildings

History

Controversy over conversion

See also

References

Further reading

External links