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Guildford Crown Court

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Guildford Crown Court
Guildford court house - geograph.org.uk - 3144365.jpg
Guildford Crown Court
LocationBedford Road, Guildford
Coordinates51°14′20″N 0°34′44″W / 51.2389°N 0.5790°W / 51.2389; -0.5790Coordinates: 51°14′20″N 0°34′44″W / 51.2389°N 0.5790°W / 51.2389; -0.5790
Built1986
ArchitectProperty Services Agency
Architectural style(s)Modernist style
Guildford Crown Court is located in Surrey
Guildford Crown Court
Shown in Surrey

Guildford Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases in Bedford Road, Guildford, England.

History

King Henry III designated Guildford as a location for the Surrey County Court and assizes in August 1257.[1] A corn exchange and assizes hall was established on the site of the former Three Tuns Inn, in the early 19th century; the building, the front of which survives as the "Tunsgate Arch", was designed in the neoclassical style with a tetrastyle portico formed by Tuscan order columns supporting a pediment and completed in 1818.[2][3] However, by 1860, the building was found to be "grossly inadequate".[4]

The assizes then moved to the County Hall in North Street: that building, which had been commissioned as a mechanics' institute in 1845, was considerably altered and extended for public and judicial use to a design by Thomas Goodchild in 1862.[5] It was badly damaged in a fire in 1963 and was subsequently demolished.[6][7] As the number of court cases in Guildford grew, it became necessary to commission a modern courthouse. This issue was temporarily resolved when a new law courts building (now referred to as Guildford Magistrates' and County Court) was opened in Mary Road in May 1976.[8]

However, what the borough still needed was a courthouse with dedicated facilities for Crown Court hearings, which require courtrooms suitable for trial by jury. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department, on the west side of Bedford Road, had been occupied by a cricket ground and a gas works.[9]

The new building was designed by the Property Services Agency in the Modernist style, built in red brick at a cost of £4.7 million,[10] and was completed in 1986.[11] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of 23 bays facing onto Bedford Road. The central section of three bays featured a short flight of steps leading up to an opening with two glass doors. Above the opening, there was a pitched roof surmounted by a triangular pediment bearing a Royal coat of arms. The whole structure, including the wings of ten bays each, was single storey and fronted by a prominent colonnade, formed by square columns supporting an entablature. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms. [12]

Notable cases have included the trial and conviction of Sally Challen, in June 2011, for the murder of her husband, Richard Challen; her plea to have the conviction reduced to manslaughter was accepted by a judge at the Old Bailey in June 2019.[13][14]

Discover more about History related topics

Henry III of England

Henry III of England

Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. Cardinal Guala Bicchieri declared the war against the rebel barons to be a religious crusade and Henry's forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in 1217. Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225, a later version of the 1215 Magna Carta, which limited royal power and protected the rights of the major barons. His early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230, the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle. A revolt led by William Marshal's son Richard broke out in 1232, ending in a peace settlement negotiated by the Church.

Assizes

Assizes

The courts of assize, or assizes, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, most notably those subject to capital punishment or later life imprisonment. Other serious cases were dealt with by the quarter sessions, while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions.

Corn exchange

Corn exchange

A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchange. Such trade was common in towns and cities across England until the 19th century, but as the trade became centralised in the 20th century many such buildings were used for other purposes. Several have since become historical landmarks.

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styles of architecture in most of Europe for the previous two centuries, Renaissance architecture and Baroque architecture, already represented partial revivals of the Classical architecture of ancient Rome and ancient Greek architecture, but the Neoclassical movement aimed to strip away the excesses of Late Baroque and return to a purer and more authentic classical style, adapted to modern purposes.

Portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultures, including most Western cultures.

Pediment

Pediment

Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pediment is sometimes the top element of a portico. For symmetric designs, it provides a center point and is often used to add grandness to entrances.

Mechanics' institute

Mechanics' institute

Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts, were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men in Victorian-era Britain and its colonies. They were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees. The mechanics' institutes often included libraries for the adult working class, and were said to provide them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.

Lord Chancellor's Department

Lord Chancellor's Department

The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales.

Modern architecture

Modern architecture

Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function (functionalism); an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament. It emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after World War II until the 1980s, when it was gradually replaced as the principal style for institutional and corporate buildings by postmodern architecture. According to Le Corbusier the roots of the mouvement were to be found in the works of Eugène Viollet le duc.

Colonnade

Colonnade

In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curved. The space enclosed may be covered or open. In St. Peter's Square in Rome, Bernini's great colonnade encloses a vast open elliptical space.

Killing of Richard Challen

Killing of Richard Challen

On the morning of 14 August 2010, Richard Challen was killed by his wife Sally Challen in Claygate, Surrey, England. Sally, 56 at the time, beat the 61-year-old retired car dealer with a hammer 20 times, killing him, after he told her not to question him. She then covered the body and left a note that said, "I love you. Sally." The killing occurred in the kitchen of the couple's marital home. On the following day, Sally travelled to Beachy Head, intending to kill herself.

Old Bailey

Old Bailey

The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The street outside follows the route of the ancient wall around the City of London, which was part of the fortification's bailey, hence the metonymic name.

Source: "Guildford Crown Court", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 19th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guildford_Crown_Court.

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References
  1. ^ Field, Marion (2022). The story of Guildford (2nd ed.). Andover: Phillimore. p. 18. ISBN 978-0750998994.
  2. ^ "Nostalgia: Fascinating history of Guildford's Tunsgate revealed in Surrey Advertiser archives". Get Surrey. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Investigations Start Into Tunsgate Arch Masonry Fall". The Guildford Dragon. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  4. ^ Chamberlin, Eric Russell (1970). Guildford: a Biography. Macmillan. p. 193. ISBN 978-0333019535. the Guildford Assize courts were found to be grossly inadequate
  5. ^ Malden, H. E. (1911). "'The borough of Guildford: Introduction and castle', in A History of the County of Surrey". London: British History Online. pp. 547–560. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  6. ^ "The British Almanac". The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 1863. p. 260.
  7. ^ "Theatre Royal (with Borough Hall)". Theatres Trust. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Throwback Thursday: Guildford in the 1970s". Get Surrey. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Capital Building Programme". Hansard. 26 January 1996. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Courts (Construction)". Hansard. 20 December 1990. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Guildford". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Woman who killed husband with hammer walks free from court". The Irish Times. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Sally Challen: Husband 'controlled the world around her'". The Irish Times. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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