Sessions House, Ely
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The Sessions House, formerly the Shire Hall, is a
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...
in Lynn Road, Ely, in the county of
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...
, England. The building, which is now used as the meeting place of the City of Ely Council, 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 building was commissioned by the justices to replace an earlier sessions house in the Market Place. The site they selected, on the east side of Lynn Road, was owned by the Rev. John Bringhurst and the Dean and Chapter of Ely. The building was designed by Charles Humphrey in the
Palladian style Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
, built in buff brick with stone facings at a cost of £6,000 and was opened as the Shire Hall in June 1821. The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of nine bays facing Lynn Road with the end bays projected forward as pavilions. The central section of four bays formed a full-height
tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...
with four fluted
Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...
columns supporting an
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
with
triglyph Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are ...
s and a pediment with the Royal coat of arms in the tympanum. At the back of the portico was a central double door. The other bays on the ground floor and all the bays on the first floor were fenestrated by
sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...
s with
architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...
s. The north end block was fenestrated by a round headed window, while the south end block was fenestrated by two cell-type windows. Both end blocks were faced with corner
pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s and balustraded at roof level. Internally, the principal room was the main courtroom which was at the centre of the building. In 1828, the Shire Hall was the venue for the trial and conviction of the poacher, John Rolfe, who was accused of murdering his poaching companion at
Littleport Littleport is a town in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and Mare Fe ...
. Rolfe was subsequently executed by hanging. A house of correction with 35 cells was erected behind the building in 1843. At the same time a chapel in the south end block was converted for use by the local police. The building was initially used solely for judicial purposes but in 1850, it also became the meeting place of the
local board A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...
, which met for the first time under the chairmanship of the dean of Ely Cathedral,
George Peacock George Peacock FRS (9 April 1791 – 8 November 1858) was an English mathematician and Anglican cleric. He founded what has been called the British algebra of logic. Early life Peacock was born on 9 April 1791 at Thornton Hall, Denton, nea ...
, on 11 October 1850. In 1894, the local board was succeeded by Ely Urban District Council, which also used the Shire Hall as its meeting place. In the early 20th century, the 6th Cambridgeshire Rifle Volunteer Corps used the north end block as an armoury. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the council converted the old fire station at 6 Lynn Road to become its offices and meeting place, and relocated there. The Shire Hall, which gradually became known as the Sessions House, remained in judicial use until 2011 when it closed, as part of central government measures to close 93
magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...
s across England and Wales. The building was subsequently acquired by City of Ely Council in 2013 to serve as its offices and meeting place. A scene from the comedy film, ''Harvey Greenfield Is Running Late'', starring
Annette Badland Annette Badland is a British actress known for a wide range of roles on television, radio, stage, and film. She is best known for her roles as Charlotte in the BBC crime drama series '' Bergerac'', Margaret Blaine in the BBC science fiction se ...
, was shot in the building in 2022.


See also

* Listed buildings in Ely, Cambridgeshire * Grade II* listed buildings in East Cambridgeshire


References

{{reflist Ely, Cambridgeshire Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire Crown Court buildings Government buildings completed in 1821 Grade II* listed government buildings Court buildings in England