Exeter Law Courts
Exeter Law Courts
LocationSouthernhay Gardens, Exeter, England
Coordinates50°43′17″N 3°31′30″W / 50.7213°N 3.5251°W / 50.7213; -3.5251
Built2004
ArchitectJacobs Babtie
Architectural style(s)Modernist style
Exeter Law Courts is located in Devon
Exeter Law Courts
Shown in Devon

The Exeter Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, England.

History

Until the early 21st century all criminal and civil court hearings were held in the old Law Courts at Exeter Castle.[1][2][3] However, as the number of court cases in Exeter grew, it became necessary to commission a more modern courthouse for both Crown Court hearings and County Court hearings. The site selected by the Lord Chancellor's Department had formed part of the original site of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital at Southernhay.[4]

The new building was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 2002.[5] It was designed by Jacobs Babtie[6] in the Modernist style, built by Sir Robert McAlpine at a cost of £20 million and was completed in 2004.[7][8][9]

The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing west along Southernhay Gardens. The left hand section was faced in white cladding and fenestrated at the corners by four small casement windows on two levels; the central section featured a three-storey atrium, while the right hand section, which was also three storeys high, featured a narrow full height blind wall with a Royal coat of arms at second floor level and, to the right of that a curved section with three tri-partite windows at second floor level. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate six courtrooms.[10]

Notable cases included the trial and conviction of Lisa Hayden-Johnson, in January 2010, on charges of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.[11][12][13] They also included the trial and conviction of two men, in April 2013, over a plot to rob and murder the singer, Joss Stone, at her home in Cullompton, Devon.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ Historic England. "The Castle (Crown Court) (1169617)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  2. ^ "We went inside the forgotten and haunted jail cells of Exeter Castle". Devon Live. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Exeter Combined Court Centre, The Castle, Exeter". National Archives. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Ordnance Survey Map". 1914. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Exeter Crown & County Court, UK". HICL Infrastructure. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Exeter Courts PFI". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Exeter Magistrates' Court to be sold and all cases moved to crown court". Devon Live. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Exeter Crown Court". Barbour Product Search. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Crown Court (Exeter)". Hansard. 5 February 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Exeter". Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Mother jailed for faking son's illness". The Guardian. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Devon woman jailed for 'sick son' con". BBC News. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Mum jailed over 'most ill child' pretence". The Independent. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Joss Stone death plot: Junior Bradshaw and Kevin Liverpool convicted". BBC. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Huddersfield man jailed for plot to behead soul singer Joss Stone". Examiner Live. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Joss Stone murder plot man Junior Bradshaw jailed for 18 years". The Independent. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

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