The Crown Courts, England

The Crown Courts are traditional English courtrooms, dating back to the Victorian Era. There are several courtrooms with associated office spaces. The dual-level basement houses the holding cells. The first town hall had existed on this site since around 1700.

Several phases of extensions and additions were constructed in the mid and late 19th Century including a new main entrance, as well as a new clock tower. As the town’s administration outgrew these buildings, they moved to larger premises elsewhere. The building then became the towns High Court and Crown Court at the close of the 19th Century. By the 1970s the building was awarded Listed Building status. Sadly,15 years later the courts were relocated to a newer premise, and this building fell into disuse.

Courtroom 1 has the grandest entrance, with pillars and decorative moulded plaster surrounds. The entrance way is well-lit by narrow skylights above the doorway. However, inside Court 1, it is almost totally dark. The skylights have been boarded in an attempt to preserve this historic room. This late 19th Century courtroom features intricate metalwork supporting the skylight, as well as the original magistrate’s bench with iron support posts and crest. There is public viewing gallery, overlooking this courtroom.

Courtroom 2 and 3 are on the first floor. The second courtroom also has a large central skylight and similar but plainer fittings to the first courtroom. Courtroom 3 is the smallest, and plainest of the courts.

There are several offices on the first floor, most having oak and marble fireplaces. These would likely have been administration and clerical staff offices.

There are two levels of holding cells in the basement, which are dimly lit by narrow barred windows. It is said underground corridors connect these levels to the nearby police station.

The roof is in a poor condition above the main staircase. Water damage as caused floors to partially collapse in some of the upper storeys. The Crown Courts were visited in 2015 and 2018, the decline in the building over these few years has been very dramatic. Floors that were traversed without hesitation on the first visit, were bypassed entirely on the second visit due to their soft feeling underfoot.