Get Our Extension

Reading Crown Court

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Reading Crown Court
Reading Crown Court (1).JPG
LocationReading, Berkshire
Coordinates51°27′22″N 0°58′01″W / 51.4562°N 0.967°W / 51.4562; -0.967Coordinates: 51°27′22″N 0°58′01″W / 51.4562°N 0.967°W / 51.4562; -0.967
Built1861
ArchitectJohn Clacy
Architectural style(s)Baroque revival style
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated14 December 1978
Reference no.1113476
Reading Crown Court is located in Berkshire
Reading Crown Court
Location of Reading Crown Court in Berkshire

Reading Crown Court is a judicial facility in Reading, Berkshire. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]

History

The building, which was designed by the county surveyor, John Clacy, in the Baroque revival style and built at a cost of £21,644, was completed in 1861.[1][2] It became the main venue for the assizes from 1867 when Abingdon County Hall ceded that role to Reading.[3] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with seven bays facing onto The Forbury with the end bays projected forward; the central section of five bays featured a three-bay portico with Doric order columns; there were round headed sash windows flanked by Ionic order columns on the first floor.[1] The complex included the county police station which was built behind the courthouse.[4]

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it also became the meeting place for Berkshire County Council.[5] The administrative staff and committee rooms of the county council were accommodated in the Shire Hall next door.[6] In 1981 the county council moved to a new Shire Hall at Shinfield Park and subsequently it was used solely by the Crown Court.[6]

Important cases heard by Reading Crown Court included the trial and conviction of Leslie Bailey for the murder of Mark Tildesley in December 1992[7] and the trial and conviction of Llewellyn Adams, Indrit Krasniqi, Michael Johnson, Jamaile Morally, Joshua Morally and Adrian Thomas for the murder of Mary-Ann Leneghan in March 2012.[8] It was also the venue for the Munir Hussain case, in which a businessman, Munir Hussain, was tried and convicted of assaulting a burglar, Walid Salem, in December 2009.[9]

The initial stages of the trial of Jed Foster for the killing of Andrew Harper were also heard at Reading Crown Court in August 2019,[10] but on 19 September the Crown Prosecution Service said that they had discontinued the case against him.[11][12][13]

Discover more about History related topics

County surveyor

County surveyor

A county surveyor is a public official in the United Kingdom and the United States.

John Clacy

John Clacy

John Berry Clacy (1810–80) was a Victorian architect whose practice was centred on Reading and Wokingham in the English county of Berkshire.

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestant church with a new architecture that inspired surprise and awe. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675), when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Bavaria and Austria. In the Late Baroque period (1675–1750), it reached as far as Russia and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in Latin America. About 1730, an even more elaborately decorative variant called Rococo appeared and flourished in Central Europe.

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.

Abingdon County Hall Museum

Abingdon County Hall Museum

Abingdon County Hall Museum is a local museum in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. The museum is run by Abingdon Town Council and supported by Abingdon Museum Friends, a registered charity. It is a Grade II listed building.

Doric order

Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. Originating in the western Doric region of Greece, it is the earliest and, in its essence, the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.

Ionic order

Ionic order

The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan, and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite order. Of the three classical canonic orders, the Corinthian order has the narrowest columns, followed by the Ionic order, with the Doric order having the widest columns.

Local Government Act 1888

Local Government Act 1888

The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of Parliament which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect on 1 April 1889, except for the County of London, which came into existence on 21 March at the request of the London County Council.

Berkshire County Council

Berkshire County Council

The Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, also known as the Berkshire County Council, was the top-tier local government administrative body for Berkshire from 1889 to 1998. The local authority had responsibilities for education, social services, public transport, planning, emergency services and waste disposal, and had 87 members. Berkshire County Council shared power with six lower-tier district councils, each of which directed local matters.

Crown Court

Crown Court

The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Killing of Andrew Harper

Killing of Andrew Harper

On 15 August 2019, 28-year-old English police constable Andrew Harper was killed near Sulhamstead, Berkshire, England in the line of duty. Harper and a fellow officer were responding to a report of a burglary, after which Harper was dragged behind a car for a mile (1.6 km), causing his death. In July 2020, three teenage males were found guilty of manslaughter and received sentences of 16 and 13 years imprisonment. They were acquitted on the charge of murder. Harper's killing led to the passing of Harper's Law, which introduced a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for anyone convicted of killing emergency workers.

Crown Prosecution Service

Crown Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Source: "Reading Crown Court", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 6th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Crown_Court.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

References
  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Assize Courts, Reading (1113476)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Victorian Architecture in Reading" (PDF). The Arts Society Wokingham. 3 April 2019. p. 7. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  3. ^ "County Hall". Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Timeline History of Reading 1801 to 1900". Visitor UK. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Local Government Act 1888". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  6. ^ a b "From old Shire Hall to sheer class". Reading Post. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  7. ^ Frost, Bill (23 October 1992). "Convicted paedophile jailed for raping and killing boy of 7". The Times. London. p. 3.
  8. ^ Laville, Sandra (28 April 2006). "Murder gang must serve 27 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  9. ^ Sherwin, Adam. "Jail for courageous Munir Hussain who beat intruder with cricket bat". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  10. ^ "Jed Foster appears at Reading Crown Court charged with the murder of PC Andrew Harper". Reading Chronicle. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  11. ^ "CPS further update in relation to the investigation into PC Harper's death; The Crown Prosecution Service". www.cps.gov.uk. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Murder charge dropped against Jed Foster over PC Andrew Harper death". Get Reading. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Why charges were dropped against Jed Foster in PC Harper trial". Oxford Mail. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.