Middlesex Guildhall
The Middlesex Guildhall is a building in the City of Westminster on Parliament Square in London ; it serves as the seat of the UK Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council .
history
The bell tower of Westminster Abbey used to be on the grounds at Parliament Square . Between 1750 and 1800 the square was also used as a marketplace. After the judges of the City and Liberty of Westminster took over the site, Samuel Pepys Cockerell built the first town hall in 1805 in the shape of an octagon with a Doric courtyard . When Westminster became part of the County of London in 1889 , the land on which the City Hall stood went to the County of Middlesex as part of a territorial reform . In 1893, a new Tudor-style building was built based on a design by Frederick Hyde Pownall .
The current building was designed by J. S. Gibson and built in 1912/1913. So that it blends in with its surroundings, gargoyles and statues by the sculptor Henry Charles Fehr in the style of the Middle Ages were installed. In 1964 Middlesex County was dissolved and the building served as a criminal court with seven courtrooms.
Part of the wall of Tothill Fields Bridewell Prison is embedded in the rear of the building .
modification
After the British government selected the Middlesex Guildhall as the seat of the Supreme Court, architects from Feilden + Mawson and Foster + Partners were commissioned to plan the renovation. These plans have been extremely controversial. In addition to the very high costs of over 50 million pounds, monument conservationists feared that the planned renovation would not do justice to such an important building. Although the building is listed as a major building of general interest on the list of monuments , much of the original furnishings were removed according to these plans.
Individual evidence
- ^ Robbins, Michael: Middlesex (= A New Survey of England). Collins, 1953.
- ↑ Information about the Middlesex Guildhall ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of the United Kingdom Supreme Court.
- ^ Department for Constitutional Affairs - Constitutional Reform
- ↑ Report from The Telegraph newspaper from January 25, 2007
further reading
- The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom: History, Art, Architecture . Chris Miele (Ed.) Merrell, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-8589-4508-8 .
Web links
- Article from the conservation organization SAVE Britain's Heritage
- BBC News: Grand designs
- BBC: In pictures: UK Supreme Court
Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 1.5 " N , 0 ° 7 ′ 41.3" W.