Lisburn Courthouse is a judicial facility in Railway Street in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is home to the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

's and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

courts.

History

In the late 19th century and in much of the 20th century judicial matters were considered in the old courthouse which had been designed by John MacHenry and completed in 1884. It was built at the personal expense of the local landowner and Member of Parliament for Lisburn

Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet (21 June 1818 – 20 July 1890) was a British aristocrat, art collector and Francophile. Based on the Return of Owners of Land 1873, he was the 24th richest man in the United Kingdom and the 73rd largest landow ...

, of Antrim Castle, and demonstrated his significant financial and political commitment made to the town. The design was based on a largely un-executed design by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...

for the ''Villa Ragona Cecchetto'', in Ghizzole, Montegaldella, Veneto, Italy, for his client Girolamo Ragona, a deputy of the nearby City of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

. It involved a symmetrical main frontage which featured a

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 with

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...

columns supporting a

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 ...

and a heavily carved

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

, on which was sculpted the Wallace

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and his motto "Esperance" (English: "hope"). However, after it was not adequately maintained, its condition deteriorated and it was, ultimately, demolished in 1971. The demolition took place in the face of strong local opposition from local heritage groups and the author, Charles Brett, said shortly after the demolition that "the building was by no means beyond restoration when it was demolished." It was replaced by a modern facility on the same site which was designed in the

Brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

and was completed in around 1980. The design involved a central section which featured a glass entrance on the ground floor and a row of glazing on the first floor with black panels above and below; the left and right sections were left as bare concrete: it has been described by one of the local councillors as "one of the city's ugliest buildings". In May 2012 the justice minister, David Ford, said that he accepted an inspection report recommending that the Lisburn Courthouse should close in a proposed rationalisation of the court system.

Cases

Lisburn was initially used by

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

before it was opened to county legal matters. Two sessions were regularly held each day by twelve staff in 2005.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Lisburn Courthouses in Northern Ireland Government buildings completed in 1980