History

Archaeology

Long before the earliest courthouse was built here, the site was occupied by Westminster Abbey’s Sanctuary Tower and Old Belfry, where fugitives could seek refuge from their pursuers on Thorney Island. Thorney Island or 'The Island of Briars' as it was also known was a slightly elevated area of land at the junction of the river Tyburn and the Thames. The Tyburn was culverted over and is now one of London’s subterranean rivers.

The site lies within the Lundenwic and Thorney Island Area of Special Archaeological Priority, as defined in the City of Westminster Unitary Development Plan. A desk-based Archaeological Assessment from the Museum of London Archaeological Service (MoLAS), commissioned by HM Court Service and published in March 2005, describes the site as having been subject to continuous development from at least the medieval period onwards as part of the Westminster Abbey precinct.

Westminster Sessions House and Middlesex Guildhall

Since the beginning of the 19th century the site has been home to three guildhalls. The first completed in 1808, Westminster Sessions House in which the Justices of the Peace for the Liberty of Westminster held sessions. In 1889, the old courthouse was replaced by the first Middlesex Guildhall, which housed the Middlesex County Council and Quarter Sessions. However, even this soon became too small, and the present building opened its doors just before the First World War in 1913.

During the Second World War five countries with governments in exile used the building to hold courts, staffed by their own judges, to deal with maritime and military offences committed by their nationals. These countries were Belgium, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, and Poland.

Crown Court

In 1964 Middlesex ceased to exist as an administrative and judicial area. the Guildhall was converted in the 1980s to a Crown Court with seven busy criminal courtrooms.

In 1969 the Greater London Authority resited the gateway of the Westminster House of Correction or Bridewell later known as Tothill Fields prison into the rear of the building. This is all that remains of the 17th century prison and can be viewed on Little Sanctuary.

Supreme Court

When the Government announced its intention to create a Supreme Court for the United Kingdom in 2003 the search began for suitable premises. The senior Law Lord at the time, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, made it clear that The Supreme Court’s eventual home would need to reflect the reasoning behind this constitutional change:

“The creation of a Supreme Court is driven by the need for transparency and clarity in our constitutional arrangements. Its setting should reflect the public right to come and see an institution which belongs to them, in action”.

As the former Middlesex Guildhall is on Parliament Square the Supreme Court remains close to other official state buildings such as the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the Treasury.

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