Peterborough Combined Court Centre

The Peterborough Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Rivergate, Peterborough, England.

Peterborough Combined Court Centre
Peterborough Combined Court Centre seen from the Lido Gardens
LocationRivergate, Peterborough
Coordinates52.5699°N 0.2399°W / 52.5699; -0.2399
Built1987
ArchitectCambridge Design
Architectural style(s)Modernist style
Peterborough Combined Court Centre is located in Cambridgeshire
Peterborough Combined Court Centre
Shown in Cambridgeshire

History

Until the late 1980s, the main venue for criminal court hearings in Peterborough was the magistrates' court in the Sessions House in Thorpe Road.[1][2][lower-alpha 1] However, as the number of court cases in the Peterborough area grew, it became necessary to create modern courtrooms for the crown court and the county court. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department had originally been divided by a river known as Bell's Dyke and was occupied by a foundry owned by a local bellmaker, Henry Penn.[4][5] A modern magistrates' court building was completed on the west side of the site in 1978, leaving space on the east side for the proposed combined court centre.[6][7]

The new combined court centre was designed by Cambridge Design in the Modernist style, built in glass and steel at a cost of £4 million,[8] and was completed in 1987.[9] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing south towards The Embankment. The ground floor, which was projected forward, featured a row of eight columns which divided the bays and supported a modillioned pavilion roof. The central section of three bays was fenestrated with casement windows while the outer bays were recessed under the pavilion roof. The first floor, which was narrower, was designed in a similar style with a central section which was fenestrated, and some outer bays which were recessed under another pavilion roof. The second floor, which was narrower again, was fenestrated and surmounted by a pediment containing a Royal coat of arms. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms.[10]

In October 2001, three prisoners escaped from the building after they had attacked Group 4 security officers and then placed them in a holding cell.[11]

Notable cases have included the trial and conviction of Jamie Juste, in July 2009, on a charge of grievous bodily harm committed against his female partner after they had both taken part in a discussion about alleged infidelity on the Jeremy Kyle Show.[12] His partner had sustained a "shattered eye socket and cheekbone and bite marks".[13]

Notes
  1. The county assizes for the county of Huntingdon and Peterborough were held in Huntingdon Town Hall until the county was abolished in 1974.[3]

References
  1. "Since 1842, The Sessions House has Been Making History. Now it's Creating a Historic Sale". Cision PR Web. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  2. Historic England. "Old Gaol (1126946)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  3. Donald, Sir Robert (1969). "The Municipal Year Book and Public Services Directory". Municipal Publications. p. 1108. The town is the administrative centre for the county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. Assizes and Quarter Sessions are held in the Shire Hall (built 1745)
  4. "Peterborough Cathedral five old bells". Henry Penn. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  6. "Contract Information". The Electrical Review. 1974. p. 10. Cambs CC to build Magistrates' Court block in Bridge Street, Contractor: Bacal Contracting
  7. "Proposal on the future of Cambridge Magistrates' Court" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. 18 January 2018. p. 11. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. "Capital Building Programme". Hansard. 26 January 1996. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  9. Mulcahy, Linda; Rowden, Emma (2019). The Democratic Courthouse: A Modern History of Design, Due Process and Dignity. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0429558689.
  10. "Peterborough". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  11. Allison, Rebecca (15 August 2003). "Group 4: a history of blunders". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  12. "ITV defends Jeremy Kyle show after attack by judge". The Guardian. Press Association. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  13. Cadwalladr, Carole (2 August 2019). "A malign show on a bankrupt TV channel". The Observer. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
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