The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, in Derby Square,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, are operated by

His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. It was created on 1 April 2011 (as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) by the merger of Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunal ...

. The building is used by the

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 ...

, the Magistrates' Court, Liverpool District

Probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

Registry and the Liverpool

Youth Court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

History

Until the mid-1980s, all Crown Court cases were heard in St George's Hall. However, as the number of court cases in Liverpool grew, it became necessary to commission a more modern courthouse for both criminal and civil matters: the site selected by the

Lord Chancellor's Department The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales. Created in 1885 as the Lord Chancellor's Office with a small staff to assist the Lord Chancell ...

had been occupied by

Liverpool Castle Liverpool Castle was a castle in Liverpool, England, that stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century (1237–1726). Construction The castle was probably erected in the 1230s, between 1232 and 1235, under the orders of William ...

between the 13th and 18th century. The new building was commissioned by the now-defunct

Property Services Agency The Property Services Agency (PSA) was an agency of the United Kingdom government, in existence from 1972 to 1993. Its role was to “provide, manage, maintain, and furnish the property used by the government, including defence establishments, offi ...

, who were seeking a design which expressed authority and power. Construction of the new building started in 1973. It was designed by Farmer and Dark in the brutalist style, built with vertically ribbed

pre-cast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast be ...

panels in dark, reddish tones at a cost of £43.4 million, and was officially opened in 1984. Hearings of the Liverpool Magistrates Court, which had been held at the courthouse in Dale Street, transferred to the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts in 2015.

Architecture

The design features towers on the north and south sides which were intended to echo Liverpool Castle. Pollard and

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 ...

describe the architecture as "hulking" and "dispiriting", but "richly sculptural". The front facade of the building features a four metres wide version of the Royal coat of arms. Cast in

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

, it was designed by British sculptor

Richard Kindersley Richard Kindersley is a British typeface designer, stone letter carver and sculptor. Career Kindersley studied lettering and sculpture at Cambridge School of Art and in the workshop of his father David Kindersley David Guy Barnabas Kind ...

. The interior, which accommodates 28 court rooms on 10 storeys, contains strips of brown ceramic tiles in strips between the staircase tower windows.

Notable trials

Notable trials have included: *The trial and acquittal of

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A life ...

for tax evasion in 1990 *The trial and conviction of Michael Barton for the murder of Anthony Walker in 2005 *The trial and conviction of Sean Mercer for the

murder of Rhys Jones On 22 August 2007, Rhys Milford Jones, an eleven-year-old English boy, was murdered in Liverpool while walking home from football practice. Sean Mercer, aged 16 at the time of the shooting, went on trial on 2 October 2008, and was found guilty of ...

in 2008 *The trial and conviction of the

Gooch gang Gooch is a surname. Gooch or the Gooch is also a nickname. It may refer to: Surname People * See Gooch baronets for a list of baronets with the surname (some are listed below) * Alexander Gooch and Alice Driver, Alexander Gooch (died 1558), Engli ...

for murder in 2009

References

{{Liverpool B&S Court buildings in Liverpool Buildings and structures in Liverpool Crown Court buildings Government buildings completed in 1984 Brutalist architecture in Liverpool 20th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Monuments and memorials to Queen Elizabeth II