The Inner London Sessions House Crown Court, more commonly known as the Inner London Crown Court is a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

building in Newington,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is located in the Sessions House on Newington Causeway at the corner of Harper Road. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The first building on the site was designed by George Gwilt the Elder and opened as the Surrey County Sessions House in 1791. It was adjacent to the

Horsemonger Lane Gaol Horsemonger Lane Gaol (also known as the Surrey County Gaol or the New Gaol) was a prison close to present-day Newington Causeway in Southwark, south London. Built at the end of the 18th century, it was in use until 1878. History The gaol was ...

which was also designed by Gwilt. Important cases in the 19th century included the trial of the Reverend Robert Taylor who was convicted of

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

at the Surrey County Sessions in April 1831 and then committed to Horsemonger Lane Gaol. The gaol was demolished in 1881 and replaced by a public park, Newington Gardens, which opened in 1884. In London 19th-century

cant CANT may refer to: *CANT, a solo project from Grizzly Bear bass guitarist and producer, Chris Taylor. *Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini CANT (''Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini'', the Trieste Shipbuilding and Naval Aeronautics; also ...

it was called ''The Slaughter House'', a reference to the executions that took place there. Following local government re-organisation in 1889,

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

inherited the

Middlesex Sessions House The former Middlesex Sessions House or the Old Sessions House is a large building on Clerkenwell Green in the London Borough of Islington in London, England, built in 1780 as the courthouse for the Middlesex Quarter Sessions. It is a Grade II* l ...

, which was no longer in Middlesex, and the Surrey County Sessions House, which was no longer in Surrey. For a while the London county leaders decided to share the judicial work out between the two locations. After deciding this arrangement was inadequate for their needs, the justices decided to close the Middlesex Sessions House and rebuild the Newington Causeway Sessions House so that it could accommodate the extra judicial workload being transferred from Middlesex Sessions House. Meanwhile, the Surrey county leaders established new administrative facilities for themselves at County Hall in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

in November 1893. The new and expanded Sessions House was designed by the London county architect, W. E. Riley, in the

classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

and was completed in 1921. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of 11 bays facing Newington Causeway with the end three bays on each side slightly projected forwards; the central section of five bays featured an arched doorway with a pediment above; there were pedimented round headed windows on the first floor and small square windows on the second floor. The building was designated as a Crown Court venue in 1971 and was extended in 1974 to provide 10 courts for use on the South Eastern Circuit. An annex was also established just to the northeast in Swan Street. Recent cases at the courthouse have included the trial following the 2009 Upton Park riot in August 2009: 80 people suspected of violence before and after the match were arrested and several

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

fans were convicted in the courthouse of violent disorder in April 2010, receiving prison sentences, including one of 20 months.

References

{{reflist

External links

Court information
1921 establishments in England Crown Court buildings Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Court buildings in London Government buildings completed in 1921

History

See also

References

External links