The Middlesex Guildhall is a historic court building in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

which now houses the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

and the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

. The building stands on the south-western corner of Parliament Square, near the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. In 1970, the building was listed Grade II*. Constructed in the early 20th century, the building was designed by Scottish architect J. S. Gibson and sculpted by British artist Henry Fehr. The

guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

is described by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

as Neo-Gothic with Flemish-Burgundian references. Initially serving as an

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

for

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...

and as a court of quarter session, it has undergone several iterations. The building later served as a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

centre, until the establishment of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in the early 21st century.

History

The site on the south-western corner of Parliament Square was originally the belfry of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. The first

, designed as an octagon with a Doric portico by Samuel Pepys Cockerell, was built for the justices of the

City and Liberty of Westminster The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for th ...

and opened as the "Westminster Sessions House" or "Westminster Guildhall" in 1805. In 1889 Westminster became part of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

, outside of the jurisdiction of the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. In the division of property between the

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

county councils, the guildhall at Westminster went to Middlesex in exchange for the Sessions House in Clerkenwell which went to London. In addition to being a facility for dispensing justice, following the implementation of the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

, which established county councils in every county, the Guildhall also became the administrative headquarters and meeting place for

. Middlesex county leaders decided, in the context of their increased responsibilities, that the first Guildhall was inadequate for their purposes, and a second Guildhall, designed by F. H. Pownall in the neo-Tudor style, was constructed on the site in 1893. After the county leaders found that the second Guildhall was actually too small, the current and third Guildhall, designed by J. S. Gibson, was built between 1906 and 1913. The architectural historian,

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

, described the design as "art nouveau gothic style". The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of nine bays facing Parliament Square; the central section of three bays which slightly projected forwards, featured an ornate arched doorway with a segmental arched window spanning the first and second floors and a tower above. A 17th century door, which had originally been part of the Tothill Fields Bridewell prison, was installed in the basement of the building. The building was decorated with medieval-style gargoyles and other architectural sculptures by Henry Charles Fehr. Following the implementation of the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

, Middlesex County Council and the Middlesex sessions were abolished in 1965, but the Guildhall continued to be used by the Greater London

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

. After the abolition of the Quarter Sessions in 1972, it was used as a venue of the

. The Guildhall ceased to be operate as a Crown Court following the completion of new courthouses in London such as Harrow Crown Court, Isleworth Crown Court and Knightsbridge Crown Court in the 1980s and 1990s. The Middlesex Guildhall was closed for refurbishment in 2007 to convert it for use as the site of the new

and the

. The Supreme Court, established in law by the

Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law ...

, started operations on 1 October 2009.

Controversy over conversion

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom - Library - 1

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. Conservation groups opposed the planned conversion which involved the destruction of the original interiors of an important historic building. The Middlesex Guildhall 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 ...

, and the statement of importance by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

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" on 26 August 2004. The conversion works eventually involved the loss of many of the original fixtures and fittings. Save Britain's Heritage unsuccessfully contested the conversion. As part of the refurbishment, new carpets designed by Sir Peter Blake, featuring a reinterpretation of the Supreme Court's official badge, were laid in the building.

References

External links

Middlesex Guildhall profile
from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom's official website
In pictures: UK Supreme Court
{{Authority control Art Nouveau architecture in London Art Nouveau government buildings Government buildings completed in 1913 County halls in England Court buildings in London Edwardian architecture in London Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Legal buildings in London Local government buildings in London National government buildings in London Parliament Square Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Works by James Glen Sivewright Gibson 1913 establishments in England National supreme court buildings

History

Controversy over conversion

See also

References

Further reading

External links