The Peterborough Combined Court Centre is 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 ...

venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

venue, which deals with civil cases, in Rivergate, Peterborough, England.

History

Until the late 1980s, the main venue for criminal court hearings in Peterborough was the magistrates' court in the Sessions House in Thorpe Road. However, as the number of court cases in the Peterborough area grew, it became necessary to create modern courtrooms for the crown court and the county court. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department had originally been divided by a river known as Bell's Dyke and was occupied by a foundry owned by a local bellmaker, Henry Penn. A modern magistrates' court building was completed on the west side of the site in 1978, leaving space on the east side for the proposed combined court centre. The new combined court centre was designed by Cambridge Design in the

Modernist style Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

, built in glass and steel at a cost of £4 million, and was completed in 1987. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing south towards The Embankment. The ground floor, which was projected forward, featured a row of eight columns which divided the bays and supported a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

ed pavilion roof. The central section of three bays was fenestrated with

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a cas ...

s while the outer bays were recessed under the pavilion roof. The first floor, which was narrower, was designed in a similar style with a central section which was fenestrated, and some outer bays which were recessed under another pavilion roof. The second floor, which was narrower again, was fenestrated and surmounted by a pediment containing a Royal coat of arms. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms. In October 2001, three prisoners escaped from the building after they had attacked Group 4 security officers and then placed them in a holding cell. Notable cases have included the trial and conviction of Jamie Juste, in July 2009, on a charge of

grievous bodily harm Grievous bodily harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The ...

committed against his female partner after they had both taken part in a discussion about alleged infidelity on the Jeremy Kyle Show. His partner had sustained a "shattered eye socket and cheekbone and bite marks".

Notes

References

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External links

Court information
Buildings and structures in Peterborough Crown Court buildings Government buildings completed in 1987 Court buildings in England