Blackfriars Crown Court

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]

Blackfriars Crown Court
Blackfriars Crown Court
LocationPocock Street, Southwark, London
Coordinates51.50251°N 0.09993°W / 51.50251; -0.09993
Built1950s
Architectural style(s)Modernist style
Blackfriars Crown Court is located in Greater London
Blackfriars Crown Court
Shown in London

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] and, 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. Blackfriars Crown Court. Gov.UK Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  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. 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. "Mr F. B. Pitcher, Chairman of The Pitcher Construction Co., Ltd". Arthur Lloyd. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. "Loman Street, London, SE1: layout and planning for a new building". National Archives. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  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. "Knightsbridge Crown Court to be sold". The Lawyer. 3 July 1995. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. "Blackfriars Crown Court". London SE1. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  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. Grierson, Jamie (17 September 2013). "Wearing niqab should be woman's choice, says Theresa May". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  11. "Custody officer dies after attack at Blackfriars Crown Court". BBC News. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  12. "Purpose-built court building reopens - as a film set". The Law Gazette. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  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. 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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