 The Middlesex Guildhall in May 2009 |
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| Building | |
|---|---|
| Type | Court building |
| Location | London |
| Address | Parliament Square, LONDON, SW1P 3BD |
| Construction | |
| Started | 1906 |
| Completed | 1913 |
| Renovated | 2007-2009 |
| Design team | |
| Architect | J. S. Gibson |
| Renovating team | |
| Renovating Firm | Feilden+Mawson LLP |
The Middlesex Guildhall is the home of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It stands on the south-west corner of Parliament Square in London.
The Middlesex Guildhall was originally built for Middlesex County Council and the Middlesex Quarter Sessions, replacing the Middlesex Sessions House in Clerkenwell. Westminster was not in the administrative county of Middlesex even at the time of the Guildhall's construction; however, the county council and county sessions were based here. The county council and the Middlesex sessions were abolished in 1965 and the Guildhall continued to be used by the Greater London Quarter Sessions. After the abolition of the Quarter Sessions it was used as a Crown Court centre.
The Middlesex Guildhall was closed for refurbishment in 2007 in order to convert it for use as the site of the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom[1] and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Supreme Court, established in law by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, came into being on 1 October 2009.
Contents |
History
The current building was built between 1912 and 1913, designed by J S Gibson, in what Pevsner termed an art nouveau gothic theme, and decorated with mediæval-looking gargoyles and other architectural sculptures by Henry Charles Fehr.
It stands on the site of its immediate predecessor (built 1893), which in turn was the result of an extension of the single-storey Westminster Guildhall, built in 1820 for the justices of the City and Liberty of Westminster.
The Guildhall also incorporates in the rear a doorway dating from the seventeenth century which was a part of the Tothill Fields Bridewell prison and moved to the site to be incorporated in the building.
Controversy over conversion
After the Government chose the Middlesex Guildhall as home for the new Supreme Court, it was realised that a great deal of work was required to renovate the building and adapt it to the new use. Renovation plans were developed by architects Feilden+Mawson LLP, supported by Foster & Partners.[2]
These plans attracted much controversy from conservation groups, which claimed that the conversion will be unsympathetic to such an important building. The Middlesex Guildhall is a Grade II* listed building[3] and the statement of importance by English Heritage on 26 August 2004 classed the three main Court interiors as "unsurpassed by any other courtroom of the period in terms of the quality and completeness of their fittings".
The conversion works involved the removal of many of the original fixtures and fittings. SAVE Britain's Heritage stated that "No other owner of a Grade II* listed building would be allowed to strip out interiors of this quality on the basis of a vague promise to display a few key pieces in the basement and find a home for the rest in some other building not yet designed or built."
See also
References
External links
- Ministry of Justice website
- Article by SAVE Britain's Heritage
- BBC News: Grand designs
- In pictures: UK Supreme Court
- RIBA Journal
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Coordinates: 51°30′01.3″N 0°07′41.3″W / 51.500361°N 0.128139°W
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