Ipswich Crown Court

Ipswich Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Russell Road, Ipswich, England. It was completed in 2004.

Ipswich Crown Court
Ipswich Crown Court
LocationRussell Road, Ipswich
Coordinates52.0532°N 1.1442°E / 52.0532; 1.1442
Built2004
ArchitectAustin-Smith:Lord
Architectural style(s)Modern style
Ipswich Crown Court is located in Suffolk
Ipswich Crown Court
Shown in Suffolk

History
Main entrance to the court

Until the early 21st century, crown court hearings were held in the Civic Centre complex in Crown Drive, which was completed in the 1960s.[1][2] After the judicial facilities in the Civic Centre were deemed to be inadequate, the Lord Chancellor's Department decided to commission a new courthouse: the site chosen formed part of the Ipswich Village Development.[3]

The new building was procured under a Private finance initiative contract in 2001.[4][5] It was designed by Austin-Smith:Lord in the modern style, built by Mowlem and was officially opened by Lord Falconer on 15 October 2004.[6][7] The design involved a long glazed wall, which enclosed the main hall and entrance, and a stainless steel roof which was cantilevered forward on gable walls supported by narrow columns. The gable walls, the columns and the full-height recessed wall on the extreme right, which displayed a Royal coat of arms, were all constructed from white Suffolk bricks. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate five courtrooms.[8]

Notable cases heard at the court have included the trial and conviction of Steve Wright, in 2008, for the murder of five sex workers,[9][10] the trial and conviction of Paul Clarke and Lorraine Thorpe, in 2010,[lower-alpha 1] for the murder of Rosalyn Hunt and Desmond Thorpe,[12][13] and the trial and conviction of Stephen Anthony Searle, in 2018, for the murder of his wife, Anne Seale.[14][15]

Notes
  1. Upon being convicted, Thorpe officially became Britain's youngest female double murderer, being only 15 at the time of the attacks, a fact that was widely reported in the media.[11]

References
  1. "Ipswich Crown Court". Government Buildings. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  2. Rock, Paul (2019). The Official History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales. Vol. 2. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429892189.
  3. "Ipswich Village on schedule". The Ipswich Star. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  4. "Mowlem scoops £20m courts PFI project". Building. 17 August 2001. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  5. "New Crown Court to go ahead". The Ipswich Star. 16 October 2001. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. "The New Crown Court". The Ipswich Society. 1 January 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. "Hunt protestors target court opening". East Anglian Daily Times. 16 October 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. "East Anglia Crown Courts". architecture.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014.
  9. "Steve Wright guilty of Suffolk murders". The Guardian. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. "Steve Wright murders 15 years on: How the case unfolded". The Ipswich Star. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  11. "Youngest female double murderer jailed". The Independent. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  12. "Man gets life for Ipswich double murder". BBC News. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  13. "Double Suffolk killer must serve 27 years in jail". East Anglian Daily Times. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  14. "UKIP councillor murder trial: Wife 'too old to start again'". BBC. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  15. "Former Suffolk councillor had threatened to kill wife before, court hears". East Anglian Daily Times. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
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