Blackfriars_Crown_Court

Blackfriars Crown Court

Blackfriars Crown Court

Judicial building in London, England

Blackfriars Crown Court was a Crown Court centre which dealt with criminal cases at 1–15 Pocock Street, London SE1.[1] It is located in Southwark a short distance from Blackfriars Road, from which it takes its name.[2]

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History

The site was used by HM Stationery Office from at least the 1920s.[3] The current building was designed in the modernist style, constructed by The Pitcher Construction Company[4] in red brick with stone dressings, and was opened as a new printworks for HM Stationery Office in the 1950s.[5] The design involved a long rectangular frontage facing into Pocock Street.[6]

In the early 1990s, Lord Chancellor's Department decided to close Knightsbridge Crown Court in Hans Crescent[7] and to establish a new crown court at the old printing works.[8] The building was then refurbished, augmented by a semi-circular portico, formed by Doric order columns supporting an entablature, and re-opened as a courthouse in 1993.[6] Internally, the building accommodated nine courtrooms.[9]

In 2013, a judge at the court ruled that a woman should remove her niqāb while giving evidence.[10]

In 2015, Lorraine Barwell, a custody officer at the court, died after being assaulted while escorting a prisoner to a van.[11]

After cases had been relocated to Snaresbrook, Wood Green, Inner London and Kingston upon Thames Crown Courts, depending upon the prosecuting authority, the court closed on 20 December 2019.[12]

In December 2020, a planning application was submitted for a mixed use development, which would see the roof of the building transformed into an "urban forest".[13] In 2021, the building was used to film legal scenes for the Netflix revival of Top Boy.[14]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Blackfriars Crown Court. Gov.UK Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. [2]
    Roberts, Howard; Godfrey, Walter H. (1950). "'Blackfriars Bridge and Blackfriars Road', in Survey of London: Volume 22, Bankside (The Parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch Southwark)". London: British History Online. pp. 115–121. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  3. [3]
    Schedule of places to which access was prohibited at that time under the Official Secrets Act "No. 33212". The London Gazette. 19 October 1926. p. 6686.
  4. [4]
    "Mr F. B. Pitcher, Chairman of The Pitcher Construction Co., Ltd". Arthur Lloyd. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. [5]
    "Loman Street, London, SE1: layout and planning for a new building". National Archives. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Report Blackfriars Crown Court 1-5 Pocock Street London SE1 0BT.pdf" (PDF). Southwark London Borough Council. 21 November 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  7. [7]
    "Knightsbridge Crown Court to be sold". The Lawyer. 3 July 1995. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. [8]
    "Blackfriars Crown Court". London SE1. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  9. [9]
    "Proposal on the future of Wandsworth County Court and Blackfriars Crown Court" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. 18 January 2018. p. 8. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  10. [10]
    Grierson, Jamie (17 September 2013). "Wearing niqab should be woman's choice, says Theresa May". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  11. [11]
    "Custody officer dies after attack at Blackfriars Crown Court". BBC News. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  12. [12]
    "Purpose-built court building reopens - as a film set". The Law Gazette. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  13. [13]
    "Fines to pines: London's first urban forest to rise above former Blackfriars Crown Court". Evening Standard. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  14. [14]
    Aishah Hussain (21 January 2021). "Netflix's Top Boy uses sold off crown court to film legal scenes — as criminal case backlog hits 457,518". Legal Cheek. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
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